Changing Foods Again - Tiki Cat And Soulistic

maggiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
98
Purraise
104
Let's just say I am NOT happy about the recent hushed slip in of a few ingredients to Maggie's current diet that has me absolutely miffed with the company.
She was doing so well on it too!

Anyways.... I am going to add more of a brand variety to her diet.

I've looked into countless brands then can across Tiki Cat After Dark. Thoughts before I make the order?

  • Chicken Broth, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Chicken Heart, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Source Of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Niacin (Vitamin B3), Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin K3 Supplement.
The second brand that is local and easily obtainable is Soulistic.

Do other people mix up brands at times? What is your thought on that or is it just best to stick to one?

I'd have her Rad Cat but the little stinker still won't go for it.
 

ScarlettGatsby

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
62
Purraise
20
It seems like mixing brands is a good idea in case of recalls, or ingredient changes. That way they are already use to another food and don't suddenly not have the only thing they are use to eating.

I'm trying to get my cat on a wet food rotation, but she's so picky! I just threw away half a can of Weruva that she wouldn't even lick. She only wants Merrick Duck pate.

My vet said to introduce any new food slowly, so we try new flavors on wednesdays. Then Thursday she has her normal food, and the Friday the new one again. Then I watch for any bad reactions like runny poop or throwing up etc.

My goal is to have 3 different canned options.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

maggiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
98
Purraise
104
It seems like mixing brands is a good idea in case of recalls, or ingredient changes. That way they are already use to another food and don't suddenly not have the only thing they are use to eating.

I'm trying to get my cat on a wet food rotation, but she's so picky! I just threw away half a can of Weruva that she wouldn't even lick. She only wants Merrick Duck pate.

My vet said to introduce any new food slowly, so we try new flavors on wednesdays. Then Thursday she has her normal food, and the Friday the new one again. Then I watch for any bad reactions like runny poop or throwing up etc.

My goal is to have 3 different canned options.
That was my thought when it came down to choosing a different brand of food. I am glad I caught the change right when she was down to her last 5.5 oz can of food so we could just restock up on things. I still have half a can of her old stuff with her new pre mixed for breakfast and the last can to try to get her to transition to the new food, which seems to have backfired on me regardless! Maggie seems to really enjoy Tiki cat and has been picking out the chicken from the mix and attempting to leave the pate variety of her last food. What foods besides Weruva were you going to add to your kitties diet?
20170624_225825.jpg


Tiki cat (before Nulo mixed with it earlier) and yes, that is an ice cream lid! That is literally the ONLY dish she will eat out of. Lol!
I want to add that since the add of Tiki that I have a very content less whiny kitten. She was constantly begging for "milk' ( that's what I call her canned food and always have since I was weaning her with her KMR gruel.)... it just so happened to stick.
 

ScarlettGatsby

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
62
Purraise
20
My cat, Ivy, seems to only like pate textures. We tried tiki cat and she nibbled on it a little, I can't remember which flavor it was (have it written down somewhere). I feel like we have tried so many brands now. Nutro, Soulistic, Authority, First Mate, 2 of the Weruva ones. I know there was a couple more.
So far she has only seemed to like Wellness, and the Trader Joe's Brand. They are the only ones she actually finished all I gave her.

I'm going to try out some Fromm Pate, and one called Whole Earth.

I wish I knew what her diet was like before, because I think it would help figuring it out now.
 

WhiteWolf

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
34
Purraise
9
Location
Michigan
Tiki Cat is a great food, especially the After Dark varieties. I would avoid feeding the formulas with fish in them. The Soulistic Chicken Dinner in Gelee is a good formula but the others have too much fish.
I mix up brands to avoid recalls and also to give them better variety. Weruva and Fussie Cat have a couple of fish free flavors. Also, Wellness is changing it's recipes so the Core will no longer have carrageenan if you can find the new packaging.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,149
Purraise
4,968
Location
Maine
Tiki Cat is a great food, especially the After Dark varieties. I would avoid feeding the formulas with fish in them. The Soulistic Chicken Dinner in Gelee is a good formula but the others have too much fish.
I mix up brands to avoid recalls and also to give them better variety. Weruva and Fussie Cat have a couple of fish free flavors. Also, Wellness is changing it's recipes so the Core will no longer have carrageenan if you can find the new packaging.
Thanks for that note on Wellness... our cats used to love their kitten food but I don't like feeding them carrageenan.

I couldn't agree more about Soulistic foods being too heavy on the fish. Many of them also have tapioca, which raises the carbs substantially.
 

kttn

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
95
Purraise
47
i love tikicat but i can't get over how low calorie it is! sadly that doubles the expense on top of what i thought it was initially
 

lisamarie12

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Messages
1,227
Purraise
318
Thanks for that note on Wellness... our cats used to love their kitten food but I don't like feeding them carrageenan
Our store has had the new carrageenan free Core varieties for the last two months so you may be able to find it as well in your area. Wellness also removed the carrageenan from their minced / cubed / sliced canned line so that's an improvement although it still has the starchy veggies, peas, carrots, etc. Core would be your better option.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

maggiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
98
Purraise
104
Maggie currently is eating the following flavors of Tiki cat:
Tiki Cat Kool in a Luau Chicken with Egg
(No fish in content)
Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau Succulent in Chicken Consomme
Variety pack of After Dark Tiki Cat

The second brand fed is Weruva and of the following:

Cats In The Kitchen Love Me Tender (duck and chicken)
Paw Lickin Chicken
Truluxe Weruva Pekin Duckin
Truluxe Weruva Quick N Quirky
Double Dip
And
Chicken Frick A' Zee

None of which include fish products. I will sit in a store and read labels while my poor man sits there. Lol!

I will change to raw if these foods change ingredients.

As for calories I believe it depends on the cat and the activity of the animal. I like the low fat content in Tiki and the high protein count. Maggie was getting chubby on Nulo and has trimmed up a lot since switching. She doesn't constantly beg for food either. She eats 1 3oz of Tiki or Weruva in the Am and a 1 3oz of it in the pm.

:)
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,149
Purraise
4,968
Location
Maine
Our store has had the new carrageenan free Core varieties for the last two months so you may be able to find it as well in your area. Wellness also removed the carrageenan from their minced / cubed / sliced canned line so that's an improvement although it still has the starchy veggies, peas, carrots, etc. Core would be your better option.
That's good to know about availability, thank you, lisamarie12! And yes, I'd definitely only feed the Core, and probably only an occasional treat of the kitten food, which they really used to love, though I still don't love the ingredient list. (Chicken meal?) Unfortunately, two of the Core foods (fish, chicken/turkey) have potato in them and the indoor formula has multiple pea ingredients, which seems thoroughly silly.
 

lisamarie12

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Messages
1,227
Purraise
318
That's good to know about availability, thank you, lisamarie12! And yes, I'd definitely only feed the Core, and probably only an occasional treat of the kitten food, which they really used to love, though I still don't love the ingredient list. (Chicken meal?) Unfortunately, two of the Core foods (fish, chicken/turkey) have potato in them and the indoor formula has multiple pea ingredients, which seems thoroughly silly.
Chicken meal in the kitten food? That's ridiculous! I'll have to look more closely at the ingredients for all the Core varieties also before I start recommending them. And peas? Yuck. Thanks for the heads up. :)
 

mokapi

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Messages
586
Purraise
614
From what I've always understood, "mealed" meats just have a lower water content (and a higher protein content) than the whole animal, so you're getting more of the animal per pound than you would otherwise.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,149
Purraise
4,968
Location
Maine
Chicken meal in the kitten food? That's ridiculous! I'll have to look more closely at the ingredients for all the Core varieties also before I start recommending them. And peas? Yuck. Thanks for the heads up. :)
They may have changed, I'm not sure! I'd like to think I would have noticed the chicken meal way back when I first bought it, but you never know. (The backstory: I first bought Core when our previous cat was in her last months and I wanted something, anything for her to eat... Grain-free was my main criterion since grains seemed to be her problem. And Core venison/lamb/beef turned out to be one of the few foods she'd eat. I had quite a cat food collection -- it came in handy when we adopted Edwina and Ireland because I had so much to try out on them!)
 

MeganLLB

Accidental Ailurophile
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Messages
1,439
Purraise
1,225
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Yes a note on the meal...you always would rather see chicken meal opposed to just chicken because protein is measured by weight. When you see chicken as the first ingredient it is really mostly water because they pump the chicken full of water so it weights more and is listed first but as for the actual amount of chicken, not much mostly water.

Chicken meal however is not pumped full of liquid, all "meal" means is that it contians only the protein. Essentially it is just the chicken.

I also feed TikiCat but the After Dark was sold out so I got the Succulent Chicken and one of the fish variety packs. One of my cats really only likes fish but I try to work in some chicken in with the fish. My vet said as long as you dont feed fish exclusively it should be fine, so I dont have a problem with the fish flavors.

One cat will only eat it if I mix it with fancy feast. Thats what she was eating when I got her. But they both now eat Dave's so thats in the rotation.

They also eat dry so Im not worried about low cal. But TikiCat is on the priceyer side for such a small can. But one cat doesnt like patte so TikiCat seemed like a good option
 

MeganLLB

Accidental Ailurophile
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Messages
1,439
Purraise
1,225
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
From what I've always understood, "mealed" meats just have a lower water content (and a higher protein content) than the whole animal, so you're getting more of the animal per pound than you would otherwise.
Yes meal means that you are getting just the meat and not meat that has been pumped full of water. I always look to see meal as the first i ingredient in my pets food. If it just says chicken or just says beef thats really mostly water. I always look for meal.
 

poivre

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
144
Purraise
86
Well I am about ready to tear my hair out. Finally I found Tiki Cat puka puka chicken which they really loved with the purple cat on the label. No sooner did they accustom themselves happily to that when the product was sold to someone else and those nasty Tiki Cat people decided to change the formula and I had to train them to like the new ("unimproved" stuff). And THEN what did they do? They cheapened the product even more if you can believe it.
If you check the original and second cans you will see the words white chicken breast and NOW it reads simply "chicken" meaning it could be lungs, liver, etc. and they immediately walked to their dishes and together took one sniff and WALKED AWAY. I was astounded that their noses knew the difference. But I was determined to keep at it and it was sad to no longer see jubilant faces when I'd call out, "Ladies! EAT??"
Now a strange thing has occurred. Just this past week, with new cases of Tiki Cat (very expensive and it goes faster than fast), suddenly they are back to eating with gusto again. Why? I asked myself. Now I am not sure and I have to watch and see but I suspect that the particular batch that I have ordered this time has a different serial number on the bottom and doggone (excuse me -- catgone!) I intend to make sure that that code is the one I intend to find come hell or hot water. (to be determined) Purple cat can come back!!!!!!
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,149
Purraise
4,968
Location
Maine
P poivre we've had similar problems with our cats eating or not eating all kinds of Tiki foods and I've also suspected the problem is recipe changes. They also often sniff and walk away... unless I put some Pure Bite dust on the top.
 

MeganLLB

Accidental Ailurophile
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Messages
1,439
Purraise
1,225
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
They cheapened the product even more if you can believe it.
If you check the original and second cans you will see the words white chicken breast and NOW it reads simply "chicken" meaning it could be lungs, liver, etc.
They make formulas that advertise having organs as a good thing. And if you raw feed, people go nuts to find organs to give to their dogs and cats. In fact in the wild that is the very first thing they eat out- the organs.

Though I agree just saying "chicken" isn't a good thing, it should specify either chicken breast, chicken meal, liver, say the organ meat. But organs aren't bad.
 

mokapi

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Messages
586
Purraise
614
It's chicken by-products-- the feathers, beak, skin, wattle, etc.- that are "bad" for your cat (nutritionally empty). Organs are packed with nutrients; chicken heart is one of the best sources of taurine (the littler the animal = the faster its heart beats = the more taurine it contains), which cats require. Chicken feet, too, are an amazing source of chondroitin and glucosamine.

Cats have INCREDIBLY sensitive noses, and I doubt it's the new ingredients that threw them off (after all, if cats could recognize what food is bad for them, maybe they'd stop drinking antifreeze, willingly eating food packed with corn, etc.)...it was probably just that it smelled different. It's also possible that the batch was bad.

But, again...whole chicken, or even chicken breast, is not necessarily superior in nutrition, and is likely INFERIOR to organ meat nutrient-wise.
 

poivre

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
144
Purraise
86
They make formulas that advertise having organs as a good thing. And if you raw feed, people go nuts to find organs to give to their dogs and cats. In fact in the wild that is the very first thing they eat out- the organs.

Though I agree just saying "chicken" isn't a good thing, it should specify either chicken breast, chicken meal, liver, say the organ meat. But organs aren't bad.
Hi Megan:
I certainly agree with you that organ meats would be a good addition but the truth of the matter is that they are not listed as ingredients. All it says on the can now are: chicken, chicken broth.......
and then all the rest of the vitamins and other ingredients like sunflower seeds etc.
Nothing at all mentioning shredded chicken breast like in the original, which is people food and certainly healthy enough and acceptable even if it isn't organ food.
 
Top