Innova Senior and Lite for Cats

[garypen]

Does anyone have any experience with Innova Senior and/or Lite for cats, in either wet or dry?

I have two cats that are eating a mixed diet of California Natural Dry (from Natura, the company that makes Innova), and Merrick canned (in an effort to avoid Menu and ANI).

The younger cat eats mostly the wet food, with some dry. And, is a little chubby. Not fat. Just a little chubby belly.

And, the older cat, almost 9 years old, eats mostly dry. He likes to eat small portions, many times a day. When he's had his fill with the wet, the youngster comes over and finishes it for him.

So, I thought I might try the dry Innova Senior, either mixed with the CalNat, or instead of, just to make sure he gets his proper middle-aged nutrition. The lower fat probably would be good for the younger cat when she nibbles on the dry food.

And, I thought the Innova Lite canned might be good for the youngin, since she eats mostly wet food. But, it seems to have about the same kcal as the Merrick. So, I'm wondering if it's even worth it to switch. In fact, Natura's own CalNat Chicken n Rice canned food has less kcal than their Innova Lite.

So, I just wanted to hear if anybody has noticed any improvement in their older cats' health, or weight loss in their overweight cats.

Thanks.

[jenny]

I was trying to figure out if the Innoval Reduced Fat canned that they have on their web page (says 'coming soon') is the same thing as the Lite in the stores?  I did the dry matter conversion on the Reduced Fat on their web page and it looks pretty good.  Got to admit, though, I didn't look at much else.

[garypen]

The ingrediant list between the Lite and Reduced Fat is similar, but not exactly the same. The analysis is slightly different as well. I think the "Lite" looks better, actually. I wonder why they are changing the name and formula?

[lacy]

I really dont mean to upset or scare you, but I had read a review that really bothered me recently. It was on rateitall.com A girl claims that the Innova reduced fat killed her cat. I pray that is not true. Also a lot of people on there claim that EVO did also. Very scary. I hate reading stuff like that. What do you guys think?

[garypen]

I'm not upset or scared. I tried the Lite canned formula, not Reduced Fat. They do appear to be different. And, I also picked up a bag of the Senior dry. But, regardless of which formula, I've never really heard too many negative reports about any of the Natura products. On the contrary, I usually hear raves about almost every one of their brands and recipes. (On occasion, I have heard about weight gain from EVO, due to the high calories.)

BTW, were those reports of deaths from dry or canned? And, what did they say was the cause of death? Acute renal failure? Or, something else? Did they have the food analyzed?

[lacy]

No it doesnt say for the reduced fat Innova, but she gave her email, so I emailed her. On the EVO it said they died from kidney failure, or organ failure. Here is the link.

http://www.rateitall.com/i-131200-innova-cat-food.aspx

[garypen]

Interesting. But, I'm not gonna get too worried about a couple of those posts on a product rating site. I would think that if there were a serious or widespread problem, we'd be seeing it on pet and pet food forums.

It sounds to me like there could have been a rancidity problem with those cases due to Natura's lack of preservatives, and mostly natural ingredients. (I have read one or two instances of people complaining about rancid smelling dry Natura products.) I think it's important to check the expiry date, and smell the newly opened food for freshness before feeding it to your pets.

In fact, just today, after I got to work and noticed the upcoming expiry date of Aug '07, I went back to the store and exchanged a bag of Innova Senior for a newer one. To me, that soon of a date meant it has been sitting around for a while. And, I wasn't comfortable with that.

People need to pay attention to stuff.

BTW, if you check out that same site's ratings for Innova EVO, it's almost all 5 stars, giving it the highest rating for all cat foods. (CalNat also rates highly.) So, it's hard to take a couple of negatives there that seriously.

[Davis]

Gary, for some reason I can't find the "lite" formula on Natura's website.  Can you point me to it?  I only see "reduced fat".  The senior formula looks better than the reduced fat, and has a better protein/carb ratio.

Those reviews are odd.  There is not enough information given for us to understand what really caused the kidney failure.  We don't know how old all those cats were, whether they already had renal disease, etc.  After one review related to renal failure, then the reviews occurred.  The most ridiculous claim was the one about the lady who said that her cat ran in front of a car because it hated the food.  Come on! Credibility is important when considering things like this. 

[jenny]

For the EVO, one of the things I have read (even on a vets web page) is that it is high in phosphorous.  The warning from the vet page was that if the cat has any pre-existing renal conditions, EVO would be bad.

[Davis]

Yes, that's true. That is why those reviews are not that helpful, because those cats may have had pre-existing conditions. 

As far as I know, all high protein foods are higher in phosphorus than those with less protein, and there is so much emphasis on higher protein/lower carb diets being healthier for cats.  There seems to be a catch22 here, when it comes to renal disease.  What are cat owners who have cats with chronic renal disease supposed to feed their cats?  Higher carb foods with more cereal?  That doesn't sound healthy for them either.

[lacy]

One thing I think I would like to see is a warning on Naturas page and on the EVO bag. Just so people can be careful when feeding the EVO.  Some people may not know if their cats have a pre-existing condition. A lot of people are just going out and buying it, without researching, because they believe its healthier for their cat, and in some situations it may not be.

[garypen]

Davis - The "Lite" formula appears to be discontinued in favor of the Reduced Fat, which is marked as "coming soon". I think I prefer the Lite formula on paper. It even has less fat.

In addition, both of my cats seem to love it! (Especially Mr. I-prefer-dry-food) He cleaned his bowl. So, I will head back to the store and pick up a case. Hopefully, it will be enough to reduce little Lucy's pudge. I don't wanna give Menu too much business.

As for the Senior dry, they seem to prefer it, if only a little, over the CalNat. So, I'm cool there. I'm not too concerned about little Lucy eating a senior food, as she doesn't normally eat too much dry. And, it's still a healthy food. Pretty high in protein at 38% (CalNat is 36%). It's also not too low in fat, but lower than CalNat 12 vs 16, and only slightly more carbs (30% vs the usual 40+% of most "lite" dry foods). So, she should be fine. It seems like it might be a good food for helping dry-eating fat cats lose a little weight.

[reddancer]

My cats have been eating the Reduced Fat dry since March and they're both doing great. I think there's a lot of paranoia amongst people since the pet food recalls. If a pet gets sick, the first thing that comes to mind is to blame the food, even if there's no proof. This food has high carbs though, which I don't like and I will be switching them to California Natural once the Innova is gone, and will be buying a small bag of EVO to mix in their wet food and to use as "treats."

[jenny]

Davis, I don't know a lot about CRF - but I know a lot of people use this web page as an excellent resource for information.  It also has links to other sites.

http://www.felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm

[Davis]

Davis - The "Lite" formula appears to be discontinued in favor of the Reduced Fat, which is marked as "coming soon". I think I prefer the Lite formula on paper. It even has less fat.

Oh...that explains why I wasn't seeing it.

In addition, both of my cats seem to love it! (Especially Mr. I-prefer-dry-food) He cleaned his bowl. So, I will head back to the store and pick up a case. Hopefully, it will be enough to reduce little Lucy's pudge. I don't wanna give Menu too much business.

I hope Natura doesn't drop their plans to discontinue with Menu if the canned sales don't fall off enough.

As for the Senior dry, they seem to prefer it, if only a little, over the CalNat. So, I'm cool there. I'm not too concerned about little Lucy eating a senior food, as she doesn't normally eat too much dry. And, it's still a healthy food. Pretty high in protein at 38% (CalNat is 36%). It's also not too low in fat, but lower than CalNat 12 vs 16, and only slightly more carbs (30% vs the usual 40+% of most "lite" dry foods). So, she should be fine. It seems like it might be a good food for helping dry-eating fat cats lose a little weight.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck.