Lotus Just Juicy Formula/label Change December 2018

mysterylover

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Hi all,
My three kitties have been on Lotus Just Juicy pretty exclusively since April or so of this year (all canned, no dry diet). This happened because one of my cats has digestive issues (bouts of diarrhea) and seems to react to all foods with the other gums, thickeners, etc. He actually did okay with some of the flavors of Nature's Variety Instinct (now just Instinct), until their formula/label change at the end of 2017, at which point I started hunting another food he could tolerate and was thrilled to find Lotus Just Juicy due to the limited ingredients (and he has tolerated the agar-agar well).

I opened the case this Saturday I ordered and realized the label had changed on the chicken. I now know that label changes nearly always come with changes in formula and/or ingredients. I held my breath and compared the ingredients and guaranteed analysis on the one can of older label I still had. Fortunately, the ingredient changes are minimal--the order of some items is different, and they replaced the olive oil with salmon oil. It appears that the potato starch is reduced, which reflects in more of a broth than a gravy--but still substantial meat in the can. The guaranteed analysis somehow is the same. HOWEVER, THE CALORIC CHANGE IS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION, SO I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE. The old formula had 150.75 calories per 5.3 oz. can, and my kitties have been eating half of those cans (75.375 calories) three times a day to keep them at a healthy 8 pounds each. This new formula has reduced the calories in a 5.3 oz. can to 113 calories, which means half a can is 56.5 calories. That reduces each meal by nearly 19 calories or 57 calories a day. In order to keep my cats at their healthy weight, that means me going through an extra 1-1/2 of 5.3 oz cans a day (45 cans a month) for an added cost of roughly $135! Honestly, we have had a reduction in income, and this expensive food has had me stressed over the budget, but my cats, especially the one with the issues with diarrhea, have done so well, gained needed pounds, and looked and acted so healthy, that I felt it was worth it. But $135 more a month is just not possible.

Even if I could afford the extra food, the other challenge is how to get that extra food in my kitties. I would to have time to feed them another small meal a day because my cats will barf up food if I increase the volume per meal, which just means expensive food ends up on the floor, the furniture, etc.

There is no info on the internet right now on this change--nothing on Chewy, nothing on the Lotus site, nothing on the Lotus Facebook. I assume this change will affect all flavors of Lotus Just Juicy for cats--no idea about other Lotus canned foods. I saw on Chewy that Lotus now has a canned rabbit pate formula (not even showing on their website yet). It does not contain fish like the other Lotus cans (and two of my cats got diarrhea after a slow-increase trial up to about 1/3 of their food on the duck flavor of the pate which may have been due to the fish), so I might try it. It is so new that I doubt they would alter that formula again.

Ever since my cats have been basically dependent on this one food brand, I have feared a formula change or even a recall that would leave them with no food. I am hoping the slight change is at least tolerated in a digestive way. I have enough of the old formula turkey and pork to keep enough calories in them for hopefully a couple of weeks, at which point Chewy may get their stock down to all new label.

I welcome any comments or suggestions from others about other foods to try. Amazingly, regular probiotics have not helped my cat with diarrhea bouts, but his last two bouts caused by him stealing human food off a plate (loves cheese but it does not love him) were helped with plain Greek yogurt, so maybe that will help during a trial--maybe I will try Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken again, since it has no gums or thickeners or maybe the Lotus Rabbit Pate. which has 95 calories in a 2.75-oz. meal but more fiber than Tiki or Lotus. Any other ideas? Unfortunately, feeding raw is really not a safe option for the family at this time.

I hope this information helps someone else. I hate when the companies change formulas. I am sure they will say they lowered the calories to help with feline obesity rather than to help the bottom line.

Sorry for the long post.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
I am so sorry, I hate this when manufacturers do this as well!

I don't have great ideas although there is tiki cats chicken, as you mentioned, and maybe Almo Nature Complete?

If you haven't seen this, it could provide some possible (current) choices;

Pet Food Guide
 

kittyluv387

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I feed the rabbit pate by Hound & Gatos. It is pretty pricey but it is more caloric. I'm also currently feeding Lotus Rabbit Pate but I'm not going to continue doing that since Lotus foods are so high in carbs. The rabbit one is over 20% carbs which is typical for that company.

The rabbit pate by Rawz looks interesing and I'm thinking of switching over from lotus to that. I think they have some shreds too if you prefer that. But they don't do e-commerce so you have to use their website to see if they sell in a store near you.

My little lion has a 96% rabbit formula that is impressively caloric but it's not complete so it's only for supplemental feeding. Also they use the synthetic vitamin k ingredient menadione.
 

kittyluv387

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Also have you looked into Dr. Elsey's? I don't think their pates contain any gum.
 
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mysterylover

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I looked into Rawz at one time. It is similar in fat to Koha LID pate-pretty high compared to the Lotus Just Juicy. As I recall, the Koha pate went fairly well at first, but then, there were issues with large, more frequent stools. I was worried that was from the Fenugreek Seeds, but it could have just been the veg in Koha, which Rawz does not have. I did check with a local store that was listed as carrying it, but they actually do not carry it. They said they would order a case for me. At least in a pinch, I can drive to a local store and get the Lotus, though that store is about 20 minutes from my house.

Dr. Elsey's looks pretty good, but again, I might have to order a case to try it.

Yes, the Lotus is higher in carbs than I would ideally like. I was caught between the lesser of two evils, a cat with recurrent long bouts of diarrhea and weight loss or a food with more carbs than I would like that does not cause diarrhea. Unfortunately, I have found that, if the carbs are really low in a canned food, the fiber/veg and number of ingredients goes up. My cats previously ate several varieties of Weruva, and then the cat with frequent diarrhea issues had that resolve when I stopped it. I decided he must have become intolerant to the gum in it, and the first trial of Tiki Cat went well for about 2 weeks before he had diarrhea develop. I do, however, think he was on it daily, maybe more than one feeding a day, as I had him on boiled chicken only as a way to rule out chicken allergy (and no diarrhea on the boiled chicken) and figured Tiki Cat Chicken was at least without any vegetables or gums as a food to try. We tried Fussie Cat, as well, but at least it had gums to explain the loose stools there that did not subside.

Is diarrhea expected when doing a food trial? He had no diarrhea at all when we did the trial with Lotus, which is why it was such a good fit for him. Somehow, I figure if he gets diarrhea from just one tiny bite added to his regular food, it is not a good fit. It seems it would be hard to slowly increase the amount when the first tiny bit caused such a reaction as watery diarrhea. In your experience, is that normal in transitions?

Thanks for your help!
 

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One amazing food often overlooked is Life’s Abundance. They have one flavor (chicken and shrimp) and only sell from LifesAbundance.com. They do sell single cans, though, so you can try it out. Big favorite for our three kitties.

Also, you might want to reach out to Lotus and confirm the calories. I bought a 5 oz can before of their Just Juicy Chicken stew and the label supplied the calories for a 3 oz can - I wondered why Olive was burping so much!
 

Furballsmom

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...as I mentioned above, you might also consider Almo Nature Complete :)

I've transitioned new foods in for my guy a number of times over the years. There has been everything from a perfectly calm tummy/digestive system (usually), to occasional vomit, to lighter colored and softer stools. He has gotten diarrhea now and then.
 

kittyluv387

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That's unfortunate your cat doesn't react well to fat. I would have thought most cats would handle fat better than carbs. I am familiar with how much fat koha has. Maybe hound and gatos then? A lot of people on here are fans of the Dr. Elseys. But they don't have rabbit. I typically feed my cats the "higher end" canned cat foods and haven't had any issues with diarrhea. I don't do any transition. But I feed several different kinds of canned foods in a week so it's not as if they'll suddenly start eating only the new food.
 
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mysterylover

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Thank you all for your input. I looked at Almo Nature Complete. It looks really similar to Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken, but Almo has guar gum and actually is the same price per ounce as the Lotus Just Juicy--Almo looks be slightly higher in calories than the new-label Lotus, though. Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken is actually cheaper by the ounce than the Just Juicy, but who knows, the Almo Complete might be tolerated by my sensitive cat, where the Tiki caused diarrhea at the last trial. Again, I may be just too impatient with trials. Of course, both Tiki and Almo are products of Thailand--not sure if that has anything to do with digestion, though I guess he could be reacting to something they feed the chickens, like antibiotics or the water the chickens drink? Anybody ever heard of that sort of thing?

I might try the Hound and Gatos line if I can find any to try locally. I will have to call around.

Fortunately, my cat is not that sensitive to proteins. He is eating turkey, chicken, and pork in the Just Juicy line. I was just considering the rabbit pate because it had no fish like the rest of the Lotus pate line--not even sure he would not be able to tolerate eating fish, as he ate Fancy Feast for years, which all has some fish, I think. It just seemed like one less possible ingredient that might cause issues for him. The Lotus pate line is also pretty affordable in the 12 oz cans.

Honestly, I do believe much of his issue with diarrhea is fueled by stress. He will be on a food for a while, and then an event will happen followed by a bout diarrhea that can last days or weeks (like when my daughter moved on campus to go to college, when my son started commuting an hour one way to college, when my brother moved in with us and we had to rearrange the rooms). His issues actually seem like IBS from stress rather than IBD with the timing. Neither was really mentioned with the last vet visit for a bout of diarrhea that I eventually got control of by changing his food. He is one of three siblings (or maybe half-siblings looking at the color/markings of his brother and sister). The other two are more flexible and less easily stressed--issues with diarrhea. Tigger actually has also had an issue with stress urination/marking outside the box. I have actually seen him do this when he is clearly stressed and crying about wanting food when I sleep late on my day off. His siblings were sound asleep in the bed with me one day, when I watched him swat his brother, go scratch on something, and then run behind the TV and pee. I was not angry--just felt guilty for sleeping so long and not tending to his needs.

Sigh... Clearly I love my kitties. Again, thanks for your suggestions! Everyone on this site is so nice and helpful!
 

Furballsmom

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Drat, I'm sorry about the Almo, I was hoping...

I guess he could be reacting to something they feed the chickens, like antibiotics or the water the chickens drink? Anybody ever heard of that sort of thing?
This wouldn't be surprising - I hadn't really thought that far into the food chain but you're raising a really good point!

What about foods from Tractor Supply? Paws n Claws, or 4health? Could you rotate these in, and possibly ease the budget a little that way? (I haven't picked up any for a little while so I'm not sure about prices...)
 

m3rma1d

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mysterylover

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Thank you for the suggestions. I will do some research and consider everything mentioned here. I even looked at Bravo, but it is not much cheaper by the meal that what I am feeding, but it does look like the calories are better and carbs lower, and some appear to be more stew. The good thing is that there have been few textures of food that have been rejected by my three, but I do think some chunks or shreds help with slowing them down when eating to avoid scarf and barf. I wish I did not get so stressed out about cat food. They are all doing so well on the Lotus Just Juicy (and also love the taste), despite the fact that the reviews knock it for the carbs and potato starch--and no issues with the new formula thus far--just me worrying about the calories and them losing weight. Again, though, this is an example of how feeding one line of one brand has pitfalls. I have asked what I would have done if they had changed the ingredients drastically and caused vomiting or diarrhea in all of my cats or something--and a recall would lead to a sudden change in food-- Ideally, I would love to have three or so brands of foods they all loved and did well on. I just may have to be more patient on any trials--do some research and then go really slow (and pray that I find an affordable answer that works--or maybe we could just live without electricity! Okay--not an option. Some of your suggestions have got me thinking, though, and are certainly a starting place on this. I do keep telling myself that cat food should not be this complicated. Nobody here has told me I nuts yet, so that is a comfort, as I feel a little crazy spending so much time looking at cat food. With a little prayer, it will all work out, I know! Thank you for reading my long posts!
 

Furballsmom

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Bless your heart!
The hours that we all have spent on research, Excel spreadsheets or just paper notebooks to keep track, calling companies, posting here and talking to people...

Say, have you considered The Honest Kitchen as an added choice/possiblity?
 
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mysterylover

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I have not tried The Honest Kitchen. Do you know if they have samples? I have been lucky to do most trials by buying a can locally (even if it means driving 20 minutes) before ordering online--I am not sure about the eggs it looks like they have in the chicken formula. He had diarrhea after we gave him hard-boiled egg yolk, but I try not to judge on one incident, as he is always looking to get something off the floor.

I also thought about Open Farm--might can get it locally, but it has a lot of veg in it, but no fish oil--of course, no cheaper than Lotus but uses agar-agar, which Lotus has and has been tolerated for now nearly a year.

I have been trying to slowing transition my cats by mixing the new formula of Lotus Just Juicy with the old formula. So far, when ordering Turkey or Pork, it is still in old labels. The chicken, which I guess sells the best, is coming in all new label. Unfortunately, every time I get Tigger, the one with digestive issues, up to half old and half new (by going very slowly), his stools get like pudding. I tried adding some yogurt. He then does not go for a day or two, but when the yogurt clears his system, the loose stools are back and just larger--poor thing. I am thinking it might be the salmon oil they added. The old formula had olive oil. I have spent way too many hours now looking for a food without fish oil. Right now, I have him back on just eating the old formula turkey to try to settle things down. Of course, at some point randomly, I will order from Chewy and get all new formula, so I have to find an alternative (or will be boiling chicken and using baby food until I find something).

I am also considering a trial of Ziwi Peak, since I can get it locally, but I am not sure about the chickpeas. Of course, it is expensive, but at least the calories are higher than the lotus by the ounce, so I can maybe feed less. I also looked at Koha's change in their Limited Ingredient labels. I don't see any fish oil--has agar-agar, which my cat has been tolerating in the Lotus--no pea protein which I think caused the diarrhea when they added that to the Instinct LID, and I think the fat content went down on the Koha, though still in the 30% range on a dry matter basis--at least they sell it locally. I think I read that a lot of people loved Ziwi Peak before they changed the formula, but some cats were turned off by the chickpeas--plus I think the carbs went up. I think the Lotus has lower carbs than Ziwi Peak now. I might try Tiki Cat chicken again. He was able to eat it for like 2 weeks without issues, but then had sudden diarrhea, so I think rotation is good for him--if I can find several brands or flavors in one brand to rotate. Sigh!

I just wanted to update on this. Again, his soft stools are a shame, especially since my other two cats see fine on the new formula and continue to love it (no food is great if they don't eat it, right?)

I appreciate your time and any input for consideration on any of these brands I might be trying. The Koha has ground flaxseed--not sure if that might cause diarrhea.
 

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I know that both Dr. Elsey's and Honest Kitchen will send you samples if you ask. Dr. Elsey's is completely free and I think you pay like $2 for HK to cover shipping.
Dr. Elsey's also has some new flavors on their website that Chewy does not yet have (including a rabbit pate) so maybe they would send you one of them? If you are interested (I know you said all of yours eat wet, but a free sample is a free sample...lol) they will also send you some of their CleanProtein dry cat food. We buy that and give it as a midnight treat (1/8tbsp per cat) before DH comes to bed. Very limited ingredient list and high animal protein.
 

m3rma1d

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I'm annoyed with Lotus.
I asked for samples and they replied with a happy "yes", but they never sent them. I sent a follow-up asking if they forgot, and they never replied.
So I haven't bought anything from Lotus, because I found that a little rude.
I have bought from companies who just said "no" when I asked for samples.

Maybe I'm being a salty jerk, idk.
 

cheeser

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I'm annoyed with Lotus.
I asked for samples and they replied with a happy "yes", but they never sent them. I sent a follow-up asking if they forgot, and they never replied.
So I haven't bought anything from Lotus, because I found that a little rude.
I have bought from companies who just said "no" when I asked for samples.

Maybe I'm being a salty jerk, idk.
I contacted Lotus a while back to ask if I could buy a couple of cans from them to try since there aren't any stores in our area that carry their products. They offered to send me some samples, but days went by, then weeks. So I pretty much just forgot about it. Then one day when Buddy was going through yet another rough patch and I was frantic to find something that he could eat, the samples mystically and magically appeared on our doorstep. :)
 

m3rma1d

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I contacted Lotus a while back to ask if I could buy a couple of cans from them to try since there aren't any stores in our area that carry their products. They offered to send me some samples, but days went by, then weeks. So I pretty much just forgot about it. Then one day when Buddy was going through yet another rough patch and I was frantic to find something that he could eat, the samples mystically and magically appeared on our doorstep. :)

Hmm. It's been since early Oct. I'll keep waiting... Just not holding my breath. Tho it would be cool to get a surprise. :)
 
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mysterylover

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That is another issue, I guess. If I ask for samples, when might they arrive. Of course, I am pretty good customer to be, if my cats can tolerate a food. I had my son pick up a few cartons of Open Farm. It has a lot of veg on the list, with chickpeas and legumes. I just keep thinking that, the more ingredients a food has, the more chance of something not agreeing with my sensitive cat. I am at a point where I am not even sure Tigger would do well on prescription. I looked at the ingredients for Hills d/d, and it is pretty close to Instinct LID duck canned. That is also one that I have not tried because I cannot find it locally. Petco has carried the regular duck but not the limited ingredient. Of course, I have not called every smaller store within 20 minutes of here, so I might have to do that. Interestingly, the Hills d/d costs basically what I have been paying by the ounce for the Lotus (for less calories per ounce with Lotus). Of course, there are some cats who do well on the prescription-has powered cellulose and brewers yeast but at least no by products and no gums. I would have to pay for a vet visit to even try it, though, and I cannot afford that right now. Still not loving all the peas/pea protein. I don't think this has to do with the meat protein he eats, though, since he was fine on the Lotus Chicken/Turkey/Pork for so long and does okay on boiled chicken. Maybe I will check out the samples of Dr. Elsey's and Honest Kitchen. What have I got to lose? Food trials are so scary with this cat--and of course, I also want to feel like he is getting decent food. Thanks for the idea of asking for samples--it might at least ease the financial pain of trying new stuff.
 

cheeser

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Thanks for the idea of asking for samples--it might at least ease the financial pain of trying new stuff.
You'd be surprised how many companies are willing to send you free samples, waive the cost of a few cans of cat food if you're willing to pay the shipping fee (or vice versa), or at least send you some coupons or info about upcoming promotional offers. Signing up to get on a company's mailing list can also be helpful, and if after a while I find that I get more junk mail than anything useful, I just unsubscribe.

I figure the worst a company can do is say no. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, or something like that. :wink:
 
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