Strictly Wellness

[garypen]

Gosh, how sad that it has come to picking a food based on lack of illness or death.

Tell me about it! 

[Geff]

Gosh, how sad that it has come to picking a food based on lack of illness or death.

Tell me about it! 

I'm reminded of a self help author named Melody Beatty who pointed out to a woman that picking out a boyfriend strictly on the basis that he won't beat her isn't exactly functional.............

[Davis]

I'm reminded of a self help author named Melody Beatty who pointed out to a woman that picking out a boyfriend strictly on the basis that he won't beat her isn't exactly functional.............

ROFL....Good one!  At least I'm getting some good laughs out of all this.  Thanks Geff. 

[Lisa M]

Seriously, I think everyone can stop fretting about wellness.  I was told by several vets five years ago that my cat wouldn't survive until the end of the week-kidney failure.  I took her off all the prescription junk food and switched to wellness canned and dry and she took her remarkable turn for the better.  She is now 16 and currently walking all over my key board.  I've been feeding her and my other cat wellness for past 5 years, through all the recalls and continue to feed it to them with no problems at all.  So, I'm thinking if my severely kidney compromised cat can eat this food and thrive, it's probably ok.  Now, I do feed them a variety of other high quality foods that I also beleve are safe(evangers canned, merrick canned, nature's logic dry, halo spots stew canned, nature's variety raw medallions and canned, homecooking-don't know how safe this one is!!), but wellness is always their staple and by far, their favorite--their most favorite at the moment is beef & salmon and sardine, shrimp & crab, but they like all of the flavors.  Iv'e recently started feeding a stray cat wellness and within a week her fleas were gone and her coat is shining in the wind--unfortunately, she may be preg, so soon there may be nice, shiny kittens running around my streets.  Anyone want a nice, shiny pregnant cat??  Seriously, I'm actively trying to find her a GOOD home.  She's very sweet and don't forget shiny!!  She's free and I'll send a boat load of wellness with her.  Any takers?  Anyway, for those of you who have been endlessly contemplating wellness, just go buy it already and you can finally get a good night's sleep.  Good night!!  PS:  With that said, I'll feel real bad if their is a recall on wellness next week 

[garypen]

Wellness Update:

I just got samples of Indoor Health, Healthy Weight, and Core. Of course, one can't truly rely on their cats' initial reactions to a new food. But, here is how my two felines reacted to the 3 new flavors, as well as the Complete Health Chicken that I started a few days ago.

Complete Health Chicken: Lucky took to it immediately. Ate it out of my hand like it was a treat. OTOH, Lucy wouldn't eat it by itself. However, a simple transitioning using a mix with her current dry, Innova, and she now eats it by itself. The transition only took a couple of days.
Description: A visibly higher-quality kibble than I have ever seen. Solid, dark, pellet-shaped, uniform in color. No crumbs or powder in the bag, at the bottom of the storage container, or in the bowl! (I've never seen that with any kibble before.) Strong, but pleasant, aroma for dry food. (Most cat kibbles smell like butt to me.)

Indoor Health: Neither cat seemed too excited about it out of the bag. I would imagine that they could transition to it. But, none of the initial excitement from Lucky that he had for Complete Health Chicken.
Description: Similar in shape, but lighter, with occasional swirls of darker color. Seems a tad less dense, as well. Smells ok, but not as nice as Complete Health. I prefer the nutritional analysis of this formula in general over the other Wellness dry formulas, except perhaps for the lower protein level of only 30%.

Healthy Weight: They both seemed to dislike this one. Not only did they not show any excitement, they walked away quickly, as if it really didn't appeal to them. I'm not sure I would want to feed it to them anyway. Lucky is kinda thin to begin with.
Description: I can't remember the color right now. But, I certainly remember the aroma. It smelled like pipe tobacco to me! (No wonder the cats thumbed their noses at it.) It's shape is similar to the above two formulas, but seemed a little softer than Complete Health.

Core: This is the shiznit, as the kids say. Both cats ate it like a treat right out of the bag. They loved it from the get go. I'm sure they wouldn't mind having this as their staple kibble.
Description: A more traditional kibble than the rest of the Wellness dry formulas. Trangular in shape, medium brown in color, and a little crumbly. (No more than any other brand of kibble. But, compared to the other Wellness kibbles, it's a change.) It has a rich aroma, like the Complete Health. I like the high 50% protein level, combined with the relatively low fat level of 18%. It is approx the same calories as Complete Health. But, there are a few nutrients missing that I would like my cats to have. (L-Carnitine, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and higher fiber. )

Conclusion: When it comes to taste, Core won with both cats. Second place would be Complete Health, as Lucky loved it from the start, and Lucy has transitioned to it just fine. Indoor Health seems like they would transition to it OK. But, I'm not so sure about Healthy Weight.

Both Complete Health and Core seem a tad high in calories. But, obviously, it's too early to tell if they will make my cats fat. Indoor Health seems like a perfect formula for indoor cats, other than the relatively low protein level of only 30%. Healthy Weight is probably only something that should be considered in cases of obesity. Although, the calorie level is similar to Indoor Health. And, other than increased L-Carnatine and lower fat content, I don't see any other major weight reduction benefits. (Calories are calories.)

I am weighing whether to just continue with Complete Health, use a 50/50 mix of Core and Indoor Health, or just go with Indoor Health. (They also get a 1/4 can each of Wellness canned food each day, FYI.) Any suggestions from you folks, especially those who use Wellness, would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Davis]

Wellness is a cure for fleas?  I'm glad that it's a good food, especially since I just ordered some a couple of days ago, but I'm not buying into any miracle cures.

I'm getting the Salmon dry formula.  After checking the analysis, it was a little lower in phosphorus, yet the protein content was the same as the other formulas.  That looked good for my cat.  Now if they'd just remove the garlic.

There was a time when most of us did not want to purchase any foods from companies that used Menu, or at least did not vow to discontinue using them.  Now it seems that we have all caved in for lack of options.  How unfortunate.  And in this case there is a possible ANI connection as well, or some unknown.  Sigh.....  Our pocket books don't seem to be talking very well.

[garypen]

Avoiding companies that simply did business with Menu, even if not purchasing any actual Menu-made products, was just reactionary and made little sense. The money spent on a non-Menu-made product did not end up in Menu's pockets. There is no need to feel guilty at all about buying a non-Menu product from a company that uses Menu. None at all.

OTOH, avoiding Menu-made products made, and still makes, perfect sense, and is perfectly understandable. I do feel guilty about using Menu-made products now. And, it is a shame that I have had to resort to it, as you say. Why is the pet food industry so f-ed up like this?

The same goes for ANI. And, I wish I knew for sure whether any of the Wellness dry formulas are made by them. I might be forced to change brands yet again. I trust ANI even less than I trust Menu. Way less.

[lacy]

My cats are a bit overweight. Right now i am trying the Complete Health, but one thing I noticed is that is doesnt have L-Carnitine and I know that helps with weight loss.  The indoor and the healthy weight do have it. I have been reading that overweight cats actually need a high protein, high fat diet to lose weight, but the healthy weight and indoor cat have low protein and low fat. Im a little confused on this. Also my cats have more energy on higher protein diets. Im not sure what to do. It would be perfect if the complete health had L carnitine in it.

Garypen,
I also forgot to mention in the pm that we rescued a kitten from a shelter and we just put her on Wellness kitten. She is doing great! So much energy!

[himimom1254]

I just started Andy on Wellness Complete Health, but he's having loose stools from it after having been on California Natural for years.  I'm transitioning slowly so we'll see what happens.  I'm hoping his gut will settle down after a few days, but I had this issue some time ago when I tried to put him on it before I found out about CN.

[garypen]

My cats are a bit overweight. Right now i am trying the Complete Health, but one thing I noticed is that is doesnt have L-Carnitine and I know that helps with weight loss.  The indoor and the healthy weight do have it. I have been reading that overweight cats actually need a high protein, high fat diet to lose weight, but the healthy weight and indoor cat have low protein and low fat. Im a little confused on this. Also my cats have more energy on higher protein diets. Im not sure what to do. It would be perfect if the complete health had L carnitine in it.

That's one reason I was contemplating a mix of Core and Indoor. It would provide a high 40% protein level, but with less fat and calories than either Core alone or Complete. Plus, it would have the benefits of Indoor, such as L-Carnitine, Glucosamine/Chondroitin, and Fiber, albeit at lower levels than Indoor alone.

[lacy]

Mixing foods is a good idea. Im not sure how I feel about the grain free dry foods yet. Maybe I could mix the Indoor Health and the Complete Health. Mixing foods isnt bad right??

[himimom1254]

I've toyed with the idea of mixing Core and Complete.  I still might do that on down the line.

[eternaljester81]

I just started Andy on Wellness Complete Health, but he's having loose stools from it after having been on California Natural for years.  I'm transitioning slowly so we'll see what happens.  I'm hoping his gut will settle down after a few days, but I had this issue some time ago when I tried to put him on it before I found out about CN.

I've read other reports of cats having a difficult time transitioning from Cal Nat to Wellness.

[garypen]

I had no problem with the transition. However, I switched from CalNat to Innova first, then to Wellness.

I've had no problems with soft or stinky stools with Wellness so far. It's only been a few days, of course. But, I think I would have noticed changes in poop by now, with the short digestive system of cats.

If anything, it may be less stinky, now that I'm thinking about it. Previously, when Lucy pooped (lucky's were not too bad), I could smell it  for a while afterward, all over the 2nd floor of my house. And, that is with a covered litter box. I don't recall needing an oxygen mask anymore since switching. Hmmm. I'm gonna pay attention to see if that's indeed the case.

[garypen]

Mixing foods is a good idea. Im not sure how I feel about the grain free dry foods yet. Maybe I could mix the Indoor Health and the Complete Health. Mixing foods isnt bad right??

I've toyed with the idea of mixing Core and Complete.  I still might do that on down the line.

I guess I can wait until I run low on Complete before making that decision. I probably have a couple weeks worth left, though. (That 2.8lb bag goes a long way, even with two cats.)