Evo Replacement

[danewillow]

EVO is being discontinued. A cat, Olive (13 year old rescue), that I consider mine but my ex has (long story) will only eat EVO kibble. She has chronic kidney failure and I, as well as my ex, have tried numerous foods to switch her to something more kidney friendly. She'd rather starve than eat anything else. Any suggestions? She won't eat canned or raw either. I've dealt with picky cats. She takes the prize.

 

[Kieka]

If the food is being discontinued then switching really is the only choice. Try to find a replacement with as close as possible ingredients and do a very slow switch before you run out of the Evo. By very slow I do mean as slow as you can with the remaining Evo. Mix just a tiny bit of the new food in and slowly increase the new to old food ratio over as long as you can. When you get to the new food being most of the food, crush and sprinkle the powder of the Evo in with it in slowly reducing amounts. Hopefully, with a very gradual and slow switch the change won't be as pronounced and noticeable.

 

[pippen]

Good luck finding something that works for your girl. I'm also looking for a replacement for Evo, only for a young healthy cat. He has a limp from an injury from before I got him. It doesn't keep him from scampering around, but the vet does want me to keep his weight consistent.

I would like a brand that could be purchased locally, at Petco or PetSmart. Unfortunately I just learned it was being discontinued and I only have 2 cans left to make a transition.

 

[35 year catdad]

My 12 week old loves Kitten EVO (probably cause its 50% protein) wellnes core kitten was a fav before Evo and is 45% protein and she loved it also. Actually I mix Evo, Wellnes Core and used to use some dry Solid Gold but its #2 ingredient is potatoes and #3 is canola oil = the runs and vomiting. I feed 1/2 dry and 1/2 wet. I always give some dry after wet food to clean the teeth! it works on my 16 and 11 yr old too. Their breath is better that way. wonder why they are discontinuing it? My older cats have been on Taste of The Wild venison and do very well on it. It has sweet potatoes - maybe they are better than what Solid Gold Indigo Moon formula uses?

 

[35 year catdad]

Good luck finding something that works for your girl. I'm also looking for a replacement for Evo, only for a young healthy cat. He has a limp from an injury from before I got him. It doesn't keep him from scampering around, but the vet does want me to keep his weight consistent.

I would like a brand that could be purchased locally, at Petco or PetSmart. Unfortunately I just learned it was being discontinued and I only have 2 cans left to make a transition.

I called EVO (Mars Pet Care) and asked why/ they discontinued it? Economics- its expensive to make cause its good quality and I guess we aren't willing to pay enough for it. Thats a shame,maybe they need great marketing but that ups the price we pay.....
I checked out Wysongs pet foods and Dr Wysong is one nutrition expert! Will try their Nuture for kittens -38% protein but not boosted by cheap plant proteins. Chewy sells it and I will ask my neighborhood pet supply to carry their brand.

 

[duckpond]

My 4 cats ate EVO for years, they loved it. Then Dr. Elsey came out with their clean protein, a chicken recipe, and a salmon recipe. My cats like it better than the Evo, and so do i. I normally buy the 6 lb bag of the chicken and the 2 lb of salmon, that with some wet food daily and they are happy and healthy. The Dr. Elsey chicken is 59% protein, and 95% of the protein is animal based.

 

[pippen]

So far I haven't had any luck. First I tried Koha chicken canned. My cat loves it, but it seems to be constipating him, as he was going 3 days between poops and it was much drier than usual. Ditto with Nature's Instinct which I tried next. He's peeing normally for the most part, although he did have one unusually large pee. Appetite is good, and normal activity level.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[10009891]

I've seen potato, pumpkin, broccoli, banana, apple, carrot, corn, etc... in some cat foods. I thought cats were mostly carnivorous? I guess these are just fillers with low percentage of actual meat in certain cat foods.

 

[Ceracera]

Does anyone have a link to the announcement? When will evo officially stop being in production? I see its already out of stock on chewy.

 

[BrilliantMistake]

I called EVO and the customer service man I spoke with said the discontinuation was due to falling sales. It is such a shame to lose this food, as it is unique in a highly-saturated cat food market. He also informed me that the food would be decreasingly available through March, after which it will be completely discontinued. Whether this means they are still manufacturing it through March, I don't know. As many have already realized, the food is getting harder to find.

To my knowledge, there has still not been any formal announcement by the company. I only realized there was a potential issue when I tried to order it from Chewy over the New Year's holiday weekend, which was sold out, as was PetFlow and all of the other online merchants listed by Natura/Mars on the EVO website.

When the recalls happened a few years ago, I tried in vain to find another comparable food that my cats would eat and could eat (due to IBD). Throughout the recall, I continued feeding my IBD cat the EVO I had on hand, as he would not eat any of the other foods and my other cat fortunately was not as picky. I bought at least a dozen other dry grain-free foods, and my IBD kitty would not touch them.

I have started purchasing more potential cat foods to try, and have been so very fortunate to find CleanProtein. So far, fingers crossed, both cats eat it and the IBD kitty isn't vomiting.

My veterinarian suggested two prescription foods that are allegedly high in protein and low in carbs, and when I investigated their ingredients and nutrition, found them to be fairly inappropriate and even objectionable.

I have emailed the company suggesting that they try to sell EVO to another company, but I'm sure they've already investigated that option. I also explained to them that cats with certain conditions such as IBD and diabetes rely on this food, and price, while a factor, has certainly not been the most important reason for choosing EVO. Indeed, many cat parents consider this food as part of their cats' medical treatment.

I would definitely give the CleanProtein food a try!

 

[Ceracera]

Well, Mars (evo's parent company) launched Crave. I guess that's Evo's replacement?

 

[10009891]

So what other option there is in food choice now for you guys?

 

[duckpond]

Well, Mars (evo's parent company) launched Crave. I guess that's Evo's replacement?

i don't think crave is a bad food, but i don't think its as good as Evo was. i am now feeding my cats Dr. Elsey's clean protein and some of the Farmina flavors. I am not happy with Mars and all the changes they have made to their food lines.

 

[10009891]

I see Crave food at the supermarkets with all the other substandard choices.

 

[Olympia7]

i don't think crave is a bad food, but i don't think its as good as Evo was. i am now feeding my cats Dr. Elsey's clean protein and some of the Farmina flavors. I am not happy with Mars and all the changes they have made to their food lines.

How do you like the Dr. Elsey's?

 

[Olympia7]

For those of you who feed only canned foods has anyone tried the Cornucopia cat food yet? Cornucopia Pet Foods - The Power of Preventative Nutrition

 

[duckpond]

How do you like the Dr. Elsey's?

I really like the ingredients in Dr. Elsey's. I have 4 cats and i think it is the first food they all 4 really like, which is Great! They love the Chicken flavor, I tried the Salmon and they were not fans. They all eat it and seem to enjoy, it is high protein, so no one seems to over eat. They have been eating this for 6 months or so, I free feed it, no one seems to have gained any weight, right now they are are all at a really good weight for each of them according to our vet. My one male cat that could have stood to loose from 1 to 2 lbs seems to have done so, without effort or struggle, he likes the food, but doesn't over eat. He also has a scarf and barf issue with some foods, that seems to have stooped since switching primarily to the Dr. Elseys. I do rotate in some Farmina, or Orijen occasionally for variety, as well as wet each day. All in all i think the Dr. Elsey's is the favorite food of all 4 cats. Mine too, for the quality, how healthy my cats seem to be, and the fact that they all really like it. They should enjoy the food we feed them

 

[Olympia7]

I really like the ingredients in Dr. Elsey's. I have 4 cats and i think it is the first food they all 4 really like, which is Great! They love the Chicken flavor, I tried the Salmon and they were not fans. They all eat it and seem to enjoy, it is high protein, so no one seems to over eat. They have been eating this for 6 months or so, I free feed it, no one seems to have gained any weight, right now they are are all at a really good weight for each of them according to our vet. My one male cat that could have stood to loose from 1 to 2 lbs seems to have done so, without effort or struggle, he likes the food, but doesn't over eat. He also has a scarf and barf issue with some foods, that seems to have stooped since switching primarily to the Dr. Elseys. I do rotate in some Farmina, or Orijen occasionally for variety, as well as wet each day. All in all i think the Dr. Elsey's is the favorite food of all 4 cats. Mine too, for the quality, how healthy my cats seem to be, and the fact that they all really like it. They should enjoy the food we feed them

That's great, thank you for the reply, going to add it to my list of foods to find at the pet store!!

 

[duckpond]

That's great, thank you for the reply, going to add it to my list of foods to find at the pet store!!

So far i have not found Dr. Elsey's in a store, but we are a small area, so maybe you will have better luck. i normally order off Chewy, and they do have a 2 lb bag so that you can try it before buying the bigger bag. or you can order from Dr. Elsey's website as well.

 

[Olympia7]

So far i have not found Dr. Elsey's in a store, but we are a small area, so maybe you will have better luck. i normally order off Chewy, and they do have a 2 lb bag so that you can try it before buying the bigger bag. or you can order from Dr. Elsey's website as well.

I found it at pet supplies plus, so hubby is supposed to pick it up for me on his way home, I hope she likes it!!