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A few months ago, Wellness contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in trying their grain-free canned cat food recipe for my cats. I accepted the invitation and their company sent me several cans of the food, in several different varieties.
In the interest of full disclosure, the samples were provided in exchange for writing a review should I find the food acceptable. Despite the free samples, those of you who know me know I won’t publish a review if I do not find the product satisfactory.
I’m happy to say that I found all of these Wellness diets more than satisfactory. The diets come in three different textures: minced, sliced and cubed. They are also available in a variety of different flavors. I tried about 6 of them for my cats. And all six of my cats seemed to love each and every one of them!
I like these foods for several reasons. Firstly, I like the ingredients. The protein sources in each can were at the top of the ingredient list. Most of the foods contain a single protein source: chicken, turkey, tuna or salmon. There are a couple that are a combination of turkey and salmon.
To be quite honest, I’m still struggling with the whole grain issue, whether cats should or should not eat grains. However, I certainly don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeding a grain-free diet. And these diets fit that bill. In addition, they are also free of preservatives and artificial colors or flavors.
One of the things I like most about these foods is the fact that they are canned. While I don’t feed an exclusively wet diet to my cats, I do prefer that they have some wet food. I believe that canned food by nature of the increased moisture content contributes to keeping cats hydrated and healthier. And that’s something I definitely want for my cats.
To sum it up, I would recommend Wellness’ canned grain-free diets to any cat owner. I do intend to continue feeding it for my cats as well, although I do usually rotate their diets on a regular basis simply because I do not want them to get used to eating only one type of food. So though I probably will not feed these diets exclusively, I will likely continue to feed them regularly.
About Lorie Huston, DVM
Lorie Huston is a veterinarian, pet health and pet care expert, professional writer, blogger, social media and blogging consultant, and SEO strategist.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I just switched my dogs to Wellness, and they seem to really like it. I like the ingredients. Haven’t tried it for my cat yet, but maybe I will. What do you recommend for a cat who needs to lose a few pounds?
That’s a tough one, Kyla. But generally, a reduction in calories and an increase in exercise. I think the high protein, low carbohydrate diets are good for cats that need to lose some weight but watch the fat content too. Sometimes it’s pretty high. And of course you need to make sure they are eating and are getting adequate calories. Fatty liver disease is a threat if cats don’t eat.
Thank you for this review. Wellness was one of the brands that my vet mentioned to me in reference to Cody’s food allergies, however, he STILL can’t eat this because if I am not mistaken it contains chicken broth.
Cody is not permitted to have chicken, beef, wheat, corn or dairy. Wellness was one of the brands I was looking into when I was trying to purchase something for Cody that was more “mainstream” as in available to purchase someplace OTHER than at the Vet. When I read ingredients on the grain-free flavors I still saw chicken broth listed.
Please let me know if I am incorrect. Thanks! Oh and Cody eats wet AND dry food!
They do have flavors that do not have have chicken broth I believe, Caren.
I think the negative reviews are as important as the positive ones. If not more so. I am bothered to think that companies are soliciting reviews then asking if they aren’t positive to not post them.
As to the whole “grain free” movement for cats, I can tell you first hand I have owned three cats who had health issues while being fed a premium dry food diet that cleared up once they got on a low carbohydrate high protein diet. Em had Diabetes and Jack and Eli had urinary crystals. I also fostered four diabetic cats that had their blood sugars stablize once they were put on a low carb diet.
I did a lot of reading on the subject, and I think http://www.catinfo.org is a great place to start if you are interested in reading about feline nutrition. It is run by a vet who studies feline nutrition. Another great resource off line is the book “Your Cat” by Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM.
Thanks for providing the references, Connie.
pet care says
I agree, Wellness diets more than satisfactory.