Honest Kitchen Quality Went Down?

[hopps]

Hi everyone,

So I've been feeding Chloe Honest Kitchen Prowl and Grace for a few months. Everything was great litter box wise. Her poops smelled a bit more than when she was eating a 100% raw diet but it was whatever. I bought a new box a month or so ago and I realized her poops have been smelling A LOT. Like the whole living room smells like cat crap. It smells similar to when she was eating canned food for a few days (we had an ant infestation so the canned food was the only thing available and that was about 4 months ago). And also her breath isn't very pleasant smelling either. Has anyone else noticed a change the past month or so with Honest Kitchen?

 

[emandjee]

Hi Hopps,

I personally haven't tried Honest Kitchen Prowl or Grace, but I do feed my cats commercial raw. I think if Chloe's stools smell, it probably has to do with the ingredients in the food or some kind of digestive issue she has. Just wondering why you choose Honest Kitchen, though? After reading the ingredient label, I think there's a lot of unnecessary plant products in there....potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin makes up number 3, 4, & 6 spot. Are her stools softer? Soft stools can be more pungent, and if you're also using an enclosed litter box, it usually will make matters worse since the air circulating in the box will be minimized. I'd try to give her a different brand of raw or feed her on a prey model raw diet to see if it helps any. If not, there can be a pathogen in her GI tract causing issues, so getting her vetted will be a good idea.

If her breath is also smelly, did you check her mouth/teeth for any lesions, tooth problems or gingivitis? Any red gums along the teeth would indicate gingivitis, so if she's not feeding on bones like chicken necks/wings, tartar can easily build up. Again, getting her vet checked will be best in assessing this.

Hope it's nothing serious for Chloe and you get her checked in soon! 

Best vibes to both of you.

 

[hopps]

 
Hi Hopps,

I personally haven't tried Honest Kitchen Prowl or Grace, but I do feed my cats commercial raw. I think if Chloe's stools smell, it probably has to do with the ingredients in the food or some kind of digestive issue she has. Just wondering why you choose Honest Kitchen, though? After reading the ingredient label, I think there's a lot of unnecessary plant products in there....potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin makes up number 3, 4, & 6 spot. Are her stools softer? Soft stools can be more pungent, and if you're also using an enclosed litter box, it usually will make matters worse since the air circulating in the box will be minimized. I'd try to give her a different brand of raw or feed her on a prey model raw diet to see if it helps any. If not, there can be a pathogen in her GI tract causing issues, so getting her vetted will be a good idea.

If her breath is also smelly, did you check her mouth/teeth for any lesions, tooth problems or gingivitis? Any red gums along the teeth would indicate gingivitis, so if she's not feeding on bones like chicken necks/wings, tartar can easily build up. Again, getting her vet checked will be best in assessing this.

Hope it's nothing serious for Chloe and you get her checked in soon! 

Best vibes to both of you.

Thanks! The weird thing is she was doing great on Honest Kitchen. Had the same results as feeding home prepared raw. It started happening recently when they changed the box.

I started her on Honest Kitchen because she was eating that with more vigor than home made raw. She wasn't really eating bones or other organs besides liver. I was afraid that she wouldn't get all the nutrition she needs. Hopefully now that she's older she'll eat more bones and all that stuff. 

Her teeth look great and the vet said her mouth looked very healthy. I think it's best to get back on the PMR diet.

 

[pushylady]

I speak to Honest Kitchen as I've never tried it, but I used to feed my boys mostly Wellness. They did OK on that, then suddenly the company changed their recipe and neither cat is a fan any more. So I know that the companies do change recipes, and they don't always advertise this fact.

 

[emandjee]

I speak to Honest Kitchen as I've never tried it, but I used to feed my boys mostly Wellness. They did OK on that, then suddenly the company changed their recipe and neither cat is a fan any more. So I know that the companies do change recipes, and they don't always advertise this fact.

Wellness used to be owned by Proctor & Gamble Co. but has been recently bought out by Mars Inc., hence the quality of the food is probably downgraded while increasing prices for even higher profits. I've also heard Wellness foods will not be sold at some big box stores, and their packaging is being changed. It's very sad when this happens, so it's always best to find several brands of pet food your cat enjoys so you and your cats are not at the mercy of these large corporations. Company changes occur more often than we like, unfortunately.

 

[hopps]

I speak to Honest Kitchen as I've never tried it, but I used to feed my boys mostly Wellness. They did OK on that, then suddenly the company changed their recipe and neither cat is a fan any more. So I know that the companies do change recipes, and they don't always advertise this fact.

Yeah I'm thinking they changed something! I mean cat poops don't turn smelly overnight for no reason right?

 
Wellness used to be owned by Proctor & Gamble Co. but has been recently bought out by Mars Inc., hence the quality of the food is probably downgraded while increasing prices for even higher profits. I've also heard Wellness foods will not be sold at some big box stores, and their packaging is being changed. It's very sad when this happens, so it's always best to find several brands of pet food your cat enjoys so you and your cats are not at the mercy of these large corporations. Company changes occur more often than we like, unfortunately.

i remember when Natura was bought by P&G. I'm pretty sure the quality of the food went down :/

Does anyone know something like Hare Today for the west coast?