Need Opinion On Orijen

[patti511]

Hi...I know I’m all over the place today with my posts - that’s how my brain is today :-)
Has anyone tried Orijen Tundra?

 

[patti511]

I ordered Dr Elsey’s Cleanprotein dry & canned. I came across Tundra in a pet store and am intrigued with all the different protein sources, but the carb level is average - 20%. I got a sample and the cats ate a little. Not sure if I should continue.

My goal is to feed them a low carb/high protein diet that I can afford for 6 cats. Canned alone and raw is too expensive for 5. Right now I divide one 5.5 oz. can mixed with dry for my three downstairs cats in the a.m. and p.m. The other two upstairs cats prefer dry, but I manage to get them to eat a little canned sometimes if I mix it. I just need a quality dry to mix.
The wet I feed is a rotation of Instinct, Whole Earth, Applaws, and now Natural Feline, too.

 

[mizzely]

Having dealt with cat food allergies before, Orijen makes me nervous lol. So many proteins!

Otherwise, I think it's a very expensive food for what it is and that other foods with much lower carbs are actually cheaper

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I love Dr. Elsey's. See how your crew does with the Dr. Elsey's. It's less than 7% carbs and over 50% protein, the best of any dry food in my opinion. Chewy-dot-com will have really good sales on the dry food (like 30% off a 6lb bag) from time to time, so you can definitely stock up. Also pay attention to the calories in a cup! Cats need significantly less of that food.

Good on you to try and get some moisture into their diet! Another food you can try is the Chewy brand Tiny Tiger (I promise I'm not a rep for them...lol). Fairly cheap and is basically a cheaper copycat of Fancy Feast.

 

[patti511]

Orijen gets me nervous, too. Hard to pinpoint if diarreah or vomiting occurs. I got a small bag and they do like it. I’m looking forward to the Dr Elseys coming tomorrow. To me, it sounds like the purrfect dry food. 4 of my 5 eat wet food, but I can’t feed wet exclusively...just too much $. I get myself crazy researching cat food ingredients and I want them to have only premium food. I’d rather give them a mix of top quality canned and dry, than poor quality canned only. I know they should be eating all wet or raw, but in reality they only get about 1/4 cup of dry a day. I don’t free feed because my Bengal is a glutton and the others would starve to death.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I get myself crazy researching cat food ingredients

Don't we all?? I guarantee every single person on this site has their own food research stories...haha!

I want them to have only premium food. I’d rather give them a mix of top quality canned and dry, than poor quality canned only.

Remember: the most premium cat food is only premium...if your cats will eat it! They don't care if it's $0.25 or $5 a can...the heart wants what it wants. Remember, any hydration you can get into your cats is better than none at all due to their lack of a thirst drive. I even add water to my cat's canned food, especially my Emerson and Dexter. If yours will tolerate it, I would go for that.

 

[patti511]

They all eat canned Instinct, Whole Earth, Applaws and Feline Natural. All but my one pain-in-the-butt cat who licks at the canned food and walks away. She’s a real problem. She was eating canned until my vet recommended Royal Canin Calm dry food because she has anxiety issues. It’s kitty-crack crap food. I’m trying to wean her off and replace it with a high quality dry because she needs her “crunch.”
I always offer her canned. She licks it a few times. That’s it.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hi... Has anyone tried Orijen Tundra?

... I came across Tundra in a pet store and am intrigued with all the different protein sources, but the carb level is average - 20%. I got a sample and the cats ate a little. Not sure if I should continue.

My goal is to feed them a low carb/high protein diet that I can afford for 6 cats. Canned alone and raw is too expensive for 5. Right now I divide one 5.5 oz. can mixed with dry for my three downstairs cats in the a.m. and p.m. The other two upstairs cats prefer dry, but I manage to get them to eat a little canned sometimes if I mix it. I just need a quality dry to mix.
The wet I feed is a rotation of Instinct, Whole Earth, Applaws, and now Natural Feline, too.

If you ever do try to switch fully to just serving canned rotations, and if they liked the taste of Orijen Tundra dry food, you might consider buying some of the freeze-dried Tundra treats since it might be that they have a very similar enticing smell and taste to your kitties. I can vouch that my cat really like the Tundra freeze-dry treats.

Use the Tundra freeze-dry treat as a topper over your canned food, to entice them to eat the canned ( ) The Tundra treat in particular is formed as small pellets, but it can be smashed a bit to become a crumbly topper you can lightly mix in with wet food. You don't need much of it as this sort of topper so, really, although you are buying a bag of treats, if using just those few pellets, crushed or crumbled, per meal it can last for weeks -- and may be worth it $$ if you can get your cats to eat wet food entirely. Used lightly (as a topper or treat only), it's better than dry food too since it's a more limited ingredient, high protein addition to their diet.

The freeze-dry Tundra treats and also the Lamb are training treats that I use with my cat, but I can easily see them being used sparingly as a food topper on wet food.
Tundra • ORIJEN
Romney Lamb • ORIJEN

 

[Kat0121]

I love Dr. Elsey's. See how your crew does with the Dr. Elsey's. It's less than 7% carbs and over 50% protein, the best of any dry food in my opinion. Chewy-dot-com will have really good sales on the dry food (like 30% off a 6lb bag) from time to time, so you can definitely stock up. Also pay attention to the calories in a cup! Cats need significantly less of that food.

Good on you to try and get some moisture into their diet! Another food you can try is the Chewy brand Tiny Tiger (I promise I'm not a rep for them...lol). Fairly cheap and is basically a cheaper copycat of Fancy Feast.

I agree 100% about Dr Elsey's and so do my 2 very picky eaters. They love it. They used to eat Orijen Cat & Kitten and then rejected it.