Should I Be Scared To Feed Evanger’s?

[ty3535]

Hi!

I searched some old forums but I’d love if someone could give me a more current opinion.

The short version is Enzo has IBD and there are several fillers/ingredients I won’t feed like carrageenan, and I try to avoid agar agar and guar gum if at all possible. I also need novel/exotic proteins because of his extensive list of protein intolerances (chicken/beef/lamb/fish) and because he’s picky. He currently eats Walk About Kangaroo and will sort of eat the Goat from the same brand.

Evangers seems to be the solution to almost all of my problems. Plenty of novel proteins and limited ingredients on my “will not feed” list. My worry is the nightmare I read about the heartbreaking incident involving the death of a dog due to tainted food.

It appears the company has done everything possible to comply with the FDA, switching suppliers and building a new facility. The reasonable person in me thinks that it could happen to any food company and I shouldn’t totally discount them. The crazy cat mom in me though is terrified of something awful happening.

I want to start a rotation because the vet thinks it will lessen the likelihood of developing another intolerance. I have exhausted almost all other options and I can’t/won’t feed raw.

Can anyone give me any insight on their feelings about Evangers? (The wet food). Thank you!

 

[Blakeney Green]

Almost every pet food company (including the higher end ones) had some kind of issue or recall at some point in the past. If we avoided anything that had ever had a problem, we would have nothing left to feed our cats. What happened with Evangers was unfortunate and very sad for that family, but it also sounds like the company has worked very hard to correct the issue. Personally with any pet food company I would focus more on current safety practices than on something that happened in the past.

 

[ty3535]

Almost every pet food company (including the higher end ones) had some kind of issue or recall at some point in the past. If we avoided anything that had ever had a problem, we would have nothing left to feed our cats. What happened with Evangers was unfortunate and very sad for that family, but it also sounds like the company has worked very hard to correct the issue. Personally with any pet food company I would focus more on current safety practices than on something that happened in the past.

Thank you! Hearing it from someone else makes me feel *a lot* better!

 

[sabrinah]

Many varieties of Evangers are for intermittemt or supplemental use only, so if you want to make it the primary food you'll have to figure out what to add (like supplements) to make it a complete diet. Many small cans are complete, but not the big ones.

 

[duckpond]

I agree with Blakeney Green if Evangers works for your cats i would feed it to them, and not worry.

 

[ty3535]

Many varieties of Evangers are for intermittemt or supplemental use only, so if you want to make it the primary food you'll have to figure out what to add (like supplements) to make it a complete diet. Many small cans are complete, but not the big ones.

Oh holy smokes I didn’t realize that! Thank you! I did find the super premium quail at Chewy and it isn’t really clear on if it’s supplemental or not. I emailed them to check but haven’t heard back yet.

 

[LTS3]

The Evangers Game Meats line is not a complete diet. Those foods are only supplements to be fed in addition to dry food.

The Super Premium line has a few novel proteins but they all include guar gum.

Have you tried Rawz canned turkey? Or Nature's Variety LID? Those brands don't have gums.

 

[Furballsmom]

I have exhausted almost all other options and I can’t/won’t feed raw.

Hi - have you tried any of the current commercial raw products such as Primal Pronto nuggets (super easy to feed, in my case I add a couple nuggets to the Big Guy's regular canned food every couple of days) or Radcat?
Back to "regular" commercial food, have you tried Ziwipeak?

 

[Tobermory]

Here’s a great site to use if you want to check out ingredients for dozens of brands all in one place. The site does do ratings, but more useful to me was the listing of ingredients for each food. I always checked actual labels before I bought just in case the company had changed the formula and the website hadn’t updated yet.
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[lisahe]

I'm sorry to hear about Enzo's IBD but am glad he's left you a few proteins to work with!

I also wouldn't worry about Evanger's past problems.

If Enzo can eat chicken liver (IBD can be so quirky that I wonder if that might be possible for a cat who has trouble with chicken muscle meat...), you might try Koha's duck stew, which our cats love and which, like Rawz, uses fenugreek as the thickener.

 

[Furballsmom]

yet another case of lisahe saying what I was thinking to say

 

[lisahe]

yet another case of lisahe saying what I was thinking to say

I'm just reading your mind, Furballsmom!

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[ty3535]

LTS3 I did notice the guar gum, but it’s gotten to the point where I’m having to make concessions because of both his finicky eating habits and his intolerances. I’ve tried the Halo quail recipe and he wouldn’t eat it. So now I’m second guessing even trying the Evanger’s Super Premium. I have tried Rawz turkey, he wouldn’t even attempt to eat it. Usually he’ll at least lick at new food and try it. I have the Natures Variety LID here actually, I tried it a few months ago. It’s too dry, and when I tried adding water he then wouldn’t eat it

Furballsmom I did try Primal and RadCat. I also tried using premix and adding my own protein (I tried turkey and pork). None worked, and it was a tedious process as I tried to convert him over a 3-4 month period and he still never took to it

Tobermory That’s an awesome site! Thanks so much!

lisahe I’m not sure about chicken liver but he hates duck

Thank you all so much for talking me through this and giving me suggestions!

 

[Tobermory]

LTS3 I did notice the guar gum, but it’s gotten to the point where I’m having to make concessions because of both his finicky eating habits and his intolerances. I’ve tried the Halo quail recipe and he wouldn’t eat it. So now I’m second guessing even trying the Evanger’s Super Premium. I have tried Rawz turkey, he wouldn’t even attempt to eat it. Usually he’ll at least lick at new food and try it. I have the Natures Variety LID here actually, I tried it a few months ago. It’s too dry, and when I tried adding water he then wouldn’t eat it

Furballsmom I did try Primal and RadCat. I also tried using premix and adding my own protein (I tried turkey and pork). None worked, and it was a tedious process as I tried to convert him over a 3-4 month period and he still never took to it

Tobermory That’s an awesome site! Thanks so much!

lisahe I’m not sure about chicken liver but he hates duck

Thank you all so much for talking me through this and giving me suggestions!

Have you tried toppers with the different foods you’ve given him? Sometimes if they can be enticed to start in on a food because they like what’s on top, they just keep eating.

 

[ty3535]

Have you tried toppers with the different foods you’ve given him? Sometimes if they can be enticed to start in on a food because they like what’s on top, they just keep eating.

I’ve tried some in the past, Pure Bites I think they were called, and it didn’t convince him. Because he has to eat only wet food (very few teeth) the gravy toppers don’t really work. He will be the death of me, or at the very least he is absolutely shortening my life span

 

[sabrinah]

Many cats can still eat dry with few or no teeth left. A lot of cats don't chew to begin with so its not a huge change. If you could find a suitable dry food for your kitty's issues (ziwi peak maybe?) It could work as a topper or just additional meals.

 

[Tobermory]

I’ve tried some in the past, Pure Bites I think they were called, and it didn’t convince him. Because he has to eat only wet food (very few teeth) the gravy toppers don’t really work. He will be the death of me, or at the very least he is absolutely shortening my life span

If Pure Bites don’t work, here are some other topper ideas:

• FortiFlora — It’s a mediocre probiotic but it’s very appealing to cats because it has animal digest as its first ingredient, the same thing that coats dry food. Most cats love the taste of it.
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Crushed crumbles of dry food
• Bonito flakes — Can be found at Asian markets or sometimes in the Asian food section of a large grocery store.
• Freeze-dried treats or freeze-dried raw food — Crumble into dust or small pieces over food. I use Pure Bites chicken treats and Northwest Naturals liver treats (there are several kinds), but there are lots of choices. For freeze-dried raw, Stella & Chewy’s and Northwest Naturals may also work. Primal is another choice.
• Baby food — Beechnut or Gerber Stage 2. You want a baby food that is a protein only although the Gerber contains cornstarch. It should have no onions or other additives. Please read labels carefully.

 

[ty3535]

Many cats can still eat dry with few or no teeth left. A lot of cats don't chew to begin with so its not a huge change. If you could find a suitable dry food for your kitty's issues (ziwi peak maybe?) It could work as a topper or just additional meals.

I don’t want to feed him dry food exclusively because he’s had several urinary infections and the wet food gives him the added moisture. I can definitely try crushing some up to use as a topper though, that’s a good idea. And he likes the Ziwi Peak lamb pate. Thank you!

 

[ty3535]

If Pure Bites don’t work, here are some other topper ideas:

• FortiFlora — It’s a mediocre probiotic but it’s very appealing to cats because it has animal digest as its first ingredient, the same thing that coats dry food. Most cats love the taste of it.
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Crushed crumbles of dry food
• Bonito flakes — Can be found at Asian markets or sometimes in the Asian food section of a large grocery store.
• Freeze-dried treats or freeze-dried raw food — Crumble into dust or small pieces over food. I use Pure Bites chicken treats and Northwest Naturals liver treats (there are several kinds), but there are lots of choices. For freeze-dried raw, Stella & Chewy’s and Northwest Naturals may also work. Primal is another choice.
• Baby food — Beechnut or Gerber Stage 2. You want a baby food that is a protein only although the Gerber contains cornstarch. It should have no onions or other additives. Please read labels carefully.

Surprisingly enough, I have almost a full box of FortiFlora packets that I tried as a food enticer with no luck. I didn’t try the cheese or dry food crumbles, those are good ideas, thank you! I’ve tried baby food a few years ago and he wouldn’t eat it. I’m wary of Bonito flakes because he can’t have tuna and I’m pretty sure that’s what they are? He recently had the abdominal surgery to remove hair ties/rubber band (almost a month ago) and I’m probably just being paranoid but he seems a little off. He hasn’t eaten as much since he’s had the staples out so I think I’ll be heading to the vet tomorrow. They said they did a follow up X-ray after the surgery but now I’m worried they missed something.