Replacement for Innova Evo dry catfood
July 28, 2013 5:44 PM Subscribe
A couple of months ago Innova Evo dry catfood was recalled and I need recommendations for a replacement.
Any recommendations for high-quality (no grains/cereals) dry cat food that's similar to Evo? My concern is that one of my cats (Dizzy) is a picky eater -- I still haven't found a cat-treat he likes. (Louie will eat anything.)
Ideally I'd like to find something that tastes the same as Evo, but who knows what flavors cats consider important...
Any recommendations for high-quality (no grains/cereals) dry cat food that's similar to Evo? My concern is that one of my cats (Dizzy) is a picky eater -- I still haven't found a cat-treat he likes. (Louie will eat anything.)
Ideally I'd like to find something that tastes the same as Evo, but who knows what flavors cats consider important...
It's been a while since I've used Evo dry, so I'm not positive about how similar (in terms of size, smell, etc.) it is, but I've been very happy with Natural Balance Alpha Chicken, Turkey Meal & Duck food. Natural Balance has a few other grain-free dry formulas, as well.
posted by jaguar at 5:58 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by jaguar at 5:58 PM on July 28, 2013
My cat eats Orijen. It's pricey and can be difficult to find, but I think it's fantastic and the vet always compliments my cat. My dog also eats Orijen and receives similar accolades.
posted by vakker at 6:17 PM on July 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by vakker at 6:17 PM on July 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Our picky eater is a big fan of Fromm food, they have several flavors, (Surf & turf, game birds, etc.)
posted by PrettyKnitty at 6:18 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by PrettyKnitty at 6:18 PM on July 28, 2013
We serve Wellness Core grain free. It is slightly less expensive than many of the other brands and very popular with our three.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:35 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by hydropsyche at 6:35 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Our pet food store gave us free samples (for the high-end stuff) we could try before committing to a bag. You should be able to find one that'll do that in your area.
posted by girlhacker at 6:36 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by girlhacker at 6:36 PM on July 28, 2013
My cats like Merrick Before Grain (chicken). It's not the cheapest, and I usually order online, but I don't have a hard time finding it in stores when needed.
posted by juliplease at 6:52 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by juliplease at 6:52 PM on July 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
I used to feed my kitties Orijen and Evo, but switched them to Taste of the Wild (specifically the Rocky Mountain Feline formula) and they've done just as well. It has a higher protein percentage than Orijen and some of the EVO flavors.
posted by Anonymous at 6:53 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by Anonymous at 6:53 PM on July 28, 2013
Seconding Before Grain - our active 3yo girl won't eat anything else...
posted by blu_stocking at 7:03 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by blu_stocking at 7:03 PM on July 28, 2013
Thirding Taste of the Wild, our kitty goes apeshit for it.
posted by ruhroh at 7:10 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by ruhroh at 7:10 PM on July 28, 2013
Orijen for us.
posted by primethyme at 7:42 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by primethyme at 7:42 PM on July 28, 2013
I use Natural Balance grain-free, chicken flavor. It was recommended to me as one of the brands that are good for easing cats into grain-free foods, and I had no problem switching my cat over.
posted by DoubleLune at 7:46 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by DoubleLune at 7:46 PM on July 28, 2013
I switched to Instinct on the suggestion of the pet store (Mud Bay - fabulous Seattle chain), and they cats have done great with it. They're not too picky with food, though. They *are* shocking snobs when it comes to treats, and I've discovered the shaved tuna flakes and freeze dried chicken are super popular.
posted by lorimt at 7:55 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by lorimt at 7:55 PM on July 28, 2013
I just switched my cat from Evo turkey/chicken dry food to Blue Buffalo Wilderness chicken dry food, and my cat took to it immediately. It's a high quality grain-free food, smaller in size, smells similar to the old food. My cat is also a picky eater who won't eat cat treats.
posted by illenion at 8:04 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by illenion at 8:04 PM on July 28, 2013
The people who make Orijen also make Acana, which is basically the same as Orijen, but with a slightly lower protein percentage. (I use Acana dog food, know someone who uses the cat food. We both love it.)
posted by ariela at 10:34 PM on July 28, 2013
posted by ariela at 10:34 PM on July 28, 2013
I recently switched my cats to Nature's Recipe, (Active Adult, Salmon flavor.) I was going to try to transition them to it by mixing it with their old dry food, but when I poured some into the empty bowl they fought each other to get to it before I could add in any of the old stuff. They seem to really love it.
I got it at Petsmart. Be sure to read the description carefully as I don't think all the Nature's Recipe types are grain free but the one I got specifically says it is.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:00 AM on July 29, 2013
I got it at Petsmart. Be sure to read the description carefully as I don't think all the Nature's Recipe types are grain free but the one I got specifically says it is.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:00 AM on July 29, 2013
Petfoodtalk is handy to find a new replacement. Here is their page for EVO, people complaining about the salmonella and the acquisition by P&G, somewhere in there might be some people talking replacements.
There are a few brands of high quality, high protein, no artificial additives, no fillers types of food on the market right now. I think girlhacker has a good idea about the free samples.
Personally I've never fed EVO so can not attest to similarities but I would like to encourage you to try more variety and not to limit yourself to one brand only (if the picky eater is on board with that). Right now I have two different brands of dry food at home (Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain and Applaws Chicken) but feed mostly wet.
Maybe you could try to offer wet food (either canned or homemade or both) to your cats - you might discover that a piece of meat is the ultimate treat!
A rotating feeding system has the advantage that pets get a diversified nutrition. All the pet food is designed to make us believe it to be "the perfect nutrition" but if you read the labels you'll discover how different they really are.
Moreover relaying on one brand becomes tough once the food is contaminated, changes it's formula or becomes discontinued.
posted by travelwithcats at 4:23 AM on July 29, 2013
There are a few brands of high quality, high protein, no artificial additives, no fillers types of food on the market right now. I think girlhacker has a good idea about the free samples.
Personally I've never fed EVO so can not attest to similarities but I would like to encourage you to try more variety and not to limit yourself to one brand only (if the picky eater is on board with that). Right now I have two different brands of dry food at home (Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain and Applaws Chicken) but feed mostly wet.
Maybe you could try to offer wet food (either canned or homemade or both) to your cats - you might discover that a piece of meat is the ultimate treat!
A rotating feeding system has the advantage that pets get a diversified nutrition. All the pet food is designed to make us believe it to be "the perfect nutrition" but if you read the labels you'll discover how different they really are.
Moreover relaying on one brand becomes tough once the food is contaminated, changes it's formula or becomes discontinued.
posted by travelwithcats at 4:23 AM on July 29, 2013
One more word on the dry food diet:
Dry food has about 10% moisture, while cats need closer to 75-80% from their food since they naturally have no strong thirst mechanism.
Most dry foods have a way too high carbohydrates content - even the grain free ones have potatoes, beets, fruits....Ideally a cat diet should be no more than 5% carbs.
The plant matter in pet food can cause a cats urine to become to alkaline which results in struvite crystals and possible blockages and cystitis.
Dry food is about 7 times the caloric value of wet food.
But maybe you don't feed exclusively dry and all is good :-)
posted by travelwithcats at 4:39 AM on July 29, 2013
Dry food has about 10% moisture, while cats need closer to 75-80% from their food since they naturally have no strong thirst mechanism.
Most dry foods have a way too high carbohydrates content - even the grain free ones have potatoes, beets, fruits....Ideally a cat diet should be no more than 5% carbs.
The plant matter in pet food can cause a cats urine to become to alkaline which results in struvite crystals and possible blockages and cystitis.
Dry food is about 7 times the caloric value of wet food.
But maybe you don't feed exclusively dry and all is good :-)
posted by travelwithcats at 4:39 AM on July 29, 2013
After the Evo recall we also switched to Instinct on Mud Bay's recommendation, specifically the rabbit flavor, as we feed our cat the Instinct rabbit wet food already. It took her a few days but she seems to quite like it. Many pet stores seem to have a flexible return policy when it comes to food, so your store may be able to refund you for anything your cat doesn't like.
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:00 AM on July 29, 2013
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:00 AM on July 29, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for all the pointers! I'm going to order them all and see which ones Dizzy will accept.
(Perhaps I should have added a note to please not recommend switching to wet or raw food. I know all the pros and cons.)
posted by phliar at 10:50 AM on July 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
(Perhaps I should have added a note to please not recommend switching to wet or raw food. I know all the pros and cons.)
posted by phliar at 10:50 AM on July 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Dizzy didn't care for Orijen or Natural Balance, but he accepted Taste of the Wild. Switching also seems to have helped Louie's itchiness (he was starting to lick his fur off). Yay!
posted by phliar at 12:25 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by phliar at 12:25 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by joan_holloway at 5:58 PM on July 28, 2013