Evanger's cat food?

[Cammie]

Does anyone feed Evanger’s or have any info on the brand, good or bad?

http://www.evangersdogfood.com/

My 10-month old kitten is only able to eat beef- she’s allergic to chicken, egg and seafood. Currently she’s on EVO 95% beef, and is doing well on it. I am looking for a potential back-up in case EVO ever goes sideways for us, and the only other brand I can find that is straight beef is Evanger’s. It is cheaper than the EVO, which would be nice for my budget, but I’m not familiar with the brand at all.

And if there is another all-beef brand out there, please let me know about it! I’m unsure if she would be okay on venison (which is more expensive), and the only rabbit I can find is “supplemental”, rather than a complete meal. Beef seems to be the only reliable option for her. Dry cat food is impossible to find without chicken/egg/seafood ingredients. She does get Evanger’s freeze dried beef lung (:dead:) along with Pure Bites freeze dried beef liver as treats, but otherwise is restricted to her canned beef. Except of course, when she gets bites of hamburger and steak from my plate. :lol:

[Limone]

we have had out dogs on their (dog food) for about a year. We just switched them over to science diet because one dogs skin got very dry and itchy and the other wouldn’t eat it without wet food. they are much happier on science diet. I’m not sure about their cat food but i would look into it. My vet also mentioned avengers will likely be going out of business soon so we should think of other brands. its worth a shot but what we had switched our onto it for (dry skin) it seemed to help with for some time in the long run I think her skin is now dryer. We also found it is easier to ground up chicken or beef for their wet food an it ends up begin much cheaper then buying wet food! Hope that was some help!

[Cammie]

Dang, no one else has tried feeding this brand?

My vet also mentioned evangers will likely be going out of business soon so we should think of other brands.

I can see why, if no one in this community has tried it, they must have a very limited customer base…

[RougeEmpire]

I have fed Evangers. They make about a BAJILLION varieties of food. Everything from Mackeral in a can (seriously a whole mackeral in a can) to canned rabbit, pheseant, duck, bison ect. I REALLY like Evangers and think it’s a great product. I’ve gotten the pickiest of eaters to eat Evangers. They make everything from a “complete” canned food to straight into 99% meat (no additives). I know there is a feed store in Salem Ct that sells a TON of it, I buy Evangers there and there are about 30 vararieties of just the canned food they carry. I would say if you can get it STOCK up. If you have a really picky eater try the Mackeral in a Can, my cats ATTACKED each other over it! But as a world of caution put in the fridge and let it chill and "set up’ a bit before opening it. It will cut the fish smell down!

[Cammie]

Thanks for the info on it. Next time I stop in at the outlet store, I’ll pick up their version of the EVO I’m feeding now. The ingredients looked the same, I just wasn’t sure of the quality since I had never heard of the brand before.

I’m sure little miss kitty would LOVE to try a mackeral in a can, but alas she would most likely be allergic to it. :rolleyes:

[Simkie]

I tried the Evanger’s chicken canned food for my cats. They were not impressed and I COULD NOT STAND the smell. Perhaps if I’d fed it more than a couple days the cats would have gotten used to it.

I also feed EVO and I have no idea what I’ll do if the P&G people change it. Homemade raw diet?

[bdj]

Haven’t ever tried Evanger’s cat formulas, but my dogs are totally fine with any of their canned dog foods.

Don’t know how easy it would be for you to find in your area, but have you considered trying her on a raw diet? It seems like the raw is much easier to find in a “limited ingredient” formula if there are things you have to avoid.

Bravo Balance has an all beef formula: http://www.bravorawdiet.com/product/balance/index.html (Not saying this is the be all and end all of raw foods, just the first one that came to mind because I know it’s supposed to be OK for cats, and has convenient packaging - the portioned patties are really easy to deal with.)

I feed some raw, some cooked to my dogs and while raw isn’t quite as convenient as just scooping some kibble or opening a can (you have to remember to thaw it out!), it really doesn’t cost any more than high end canned food.

[RougeEmpire]

they are constantly adding new lines and “game” meats. I think there is a salmon one now, there are some REALLY gamey smelly ones that are nothing more than meat in a can and pressure cooked (like spam) with no addatives or minimal. Great for pets that need to be encouraged to eat. The WHOLE fish ones are pressure cooked so the bones are soft, totally safe to feed to a dog or a cat. I think they have well more than a HUNDRED varieties of canned pet food. its pretty hard not to find SOMETHING your pet will eat, lols!

[Cammie]

Don’t know how easy it would be for you to find in your area, but have you considered trying her on a raw diet?

I would be fine with trying this, and have some good options available locally, but I live in a tiny studio that only has a dorm-sized fridge. The freezer compartment is minuscule, and is really only good for ice cubes. If I put ice-cream in there, it ends up being soft-serve. :lol: The manual for the fridge says the freezer is “not intended to keep food frozen”. :rolleyes:

This kitty was nearly dead from starvation when I found her at roughly 12 weeks of age. She only weighed 1 1/2 pounds, and was nothing but bones. She originally was on both canned and dry food, but once the allergies became apparent I’ve only been able to give her the canned beef EVO. She also has developed quite a fixation on food. Since she no longer has dry available at all times, she seems to think that its necessary to be in a permanent hysteria about eating. You would think she hadn’t eaten a week, and she gets fed three times a day. Yelling at the top of her lungs, swatting at the plate when I put it down for her, swiping at my fork if she gets within range when I’m eating… She’s utterly ridiculous now.

I also feed EVO and I have no idea what I’ll do if the P&G people change it.

This is my concern as well, and why I was asking about the Evanger’s. I did get a new case of EVO the other day and the first can I fed her seemed odd. It took her whole minutes to eat her portion (which is VERY out of character!), and it seemed like it was “sticky” the way she was eating. I immediately compared the ingredients to an old can, and they are still the same. Maybe it was just a random odd can. She ate it just fine and had no ill-effects from it. I REALLY hope they don’t change anything on it, or stop making it!

[bdj]

[QUOTE=Cammie;5602605]
I would be fine with trying this, and have some good options available locally, but I live in a tiny studio that only has a dorm-sized fridge. The freezer compartment is minuscule, and is really only good for ice cubes. If I put ice-cream in there, it ends up being soft-serve. :lol: The manual for the fridge says the freezer is “not intended to keep food frozen”. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Oh, that sucks! Why do they even HAVE a “freezer” compartment, then - that’s just wrong!

I was thinking about novel proteins, and remembered about Addiction - they’re about as novel as it gets - they have brushtail - which is some sort of Aussie/NZ possum critter. They also have canned formulas (no beef, but venison, buffalo, rabbit, and the above mentioned brushtail) and one brushtail based dehydrated raw. I haven’t tried that one with my big dumb cat, but the dogs like the dog versions, and it’s VERY convenient. I think they might be more expensive, though…
http://www.addictionfoods.com/usa/products.php

Honest Kitchen has great stuff, but their cat formula is chicken based.

Just had a thought - related to the no freezer issue… and I guess it would depend on how convenient a frozen raw food source would be for you - but you could get the frozen stuff in small quantities (say, a 2 lb chub at a time) and just let it defrost in the fridge. I know that’s how I sometimes do the dogs’ raw food - because a chub takes us a few days (4, usually) to go through, and it has to be defrosted for them to eat it anyhow… You’d definitely get to know your local pet store folks pretty well if you did it that way.

I tend to mix up what my animals eat all of the time - cat gets a different flavor/brand of canned every other day, dogs get different raw or canned just about everyday and everyone’s kibble is always “some of this, some of that” - so nobody’s tummy gets upset if I have to change things up a little bit and no one is fussy about what is served - if it’s in a bowl, my crew will eat it! This might not work so well for other folks, though.

[Cammie]

Oh, that sucks! Why do they even HAVE a “freezer” compartment, then - that’s just wrong!

You’re telling me. Its not that bad living without a proper freezer, except for the whole ice-cream issue. Initially I thought it would be good for me and I would be forced to cut back on my ice-cream consumption. Instead it just means I eat the entire pint at once. :lol:

I stopped by the pet food outlet place again today and picked up two cans of the Evanger’s to give it a whirl. One regular beef, and one “premium” beef with gravy. That ought to blow her mind.

Newman’s Own also makes a beef/liver can, so I picked up that as well. But its pretty expensive, so its not going to be a solution. It’s $1.19 for a 3 ounce can- the EVO beef is $1.19 for a 5 ounce can.

The food outlet is fairly convenient to one of my office locations, so I could probably work out a way to do the frozen/defrost in fridge over a few days without too much difficulty. Kitty is so convinced she’s desperate for food she probably wouldn’t even care if she had to eat it frozen. At least that would slow her down! :winkgrin:

[wendy]

no freezer? what about the freeze-dried raw diets? you can easily store it and just have to remember to soak it in water.

[Simkie]

@Cammie;5602605

This is my concern as well, and why I was asking about the Evanger’s. I did get a new case of EVO the other day and the first can I fed her seemed odd. It took her whole minutes to eat her portion (which is VERY out of character!), and it seemed like it was “sticky” the way she was eating. I immediately compared the ingredients to an old can, and they are still the same. Maybe it was just a random odd can. She ate it just fine and had no ill-effects from it. I REALLY hope they don’t change anything on it, or stop making it!

My kitties do not like every third or fourth case I get of the EVO chicken, and it looks different. Label is the same. I honestly cannot recall if this started when P&G purchased Natura Pet. I should start paying more attention to batch numbers or something.

FWIW, the guy who heads up the P&G pet food division lives in my town and takes his pets to my vet (small world, eh?) My vet stocks Innova, so he’s concerned about the purchase, too. The P&G guy has assured my vet that nothing will change with the purchase and that P&G purchased Innova Pet in order to procure a set of ultra-premium brands (and their faithful customers.)

I am guardedly optimistic that he’s telling the truth and nothing will change, but–like you–am looking for alternatives. Think I have one for the dogs, but the cats are still an unknown

[rubygirl1968]

I tried Evangers for my cats, but none of them liked it so I haven’t used it regularly. I think it’s a good food though and it’s alot cheaper than Evo, but no point in buying it just to throw it away.

Newman’s Own has an all beef cat food - http://www.jbpet.com/newmans-own-can-cat-food-beef,7203.html

By Nature (sold at Petsmart in my area - NC)
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/9349/By-Nature-Natural-95-Percent-Meat-Beef-and-Liver-Formula-Canned-Cat-Food

Before Grain has one -
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/9492/Before-Grain-96-Percent-Beef-Formula-Canned-Cat-Food-6

I don’t know if the barley is a problem for you or you kitty, but mine liked this brand of food quite a bit.
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/657/PetGuard-Coleman-Natural-Beef-And-Barley-Dinner-For-Cats

Wysong also has the Au Jus line for both cats and dogs - it’s all meat and has nothing added, so you would have to add a vitamin/mineral/taurine supplement to it. But I know they have beef, chicken, duck and venison. I believe their supplement is called “Call of the Wild”. At my pet food store, it’s actually in the dog section, but the ingredients are identical - plus it’s cheaper to buy the big cans.

Btw, I’m new to the forums, but I promise I’m not a troll, just new.

Stephanie

[Cammie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll take a look around to see if I can find the By Nature. The Petsmart near me has a lousy selection of the healthier food. The Before Grain beef won’t work- it has dried egg in it.

I did buy some of the Newman’s Own to try, but its way too expensive. Makes EVO look like a bargain price-wise!

I bought two cans of Evanger’s but have not given her any yet. That will be the next experiment after she finishes the last bit of the Newman’s Own can.

I’ve never seen the brand with the barley in it, but I don’t know that I would try it since barley wouldn’t do anything for her nutritionally. And knowing her, she probably would be allergic to it! :lol:

[rubygirl1968]

I agree Newman’s Own is outrageous, price wise. The only time I buy it is if it is on sale. My local supermarket carries it and the PetGuard food, but it costs alot more there than at the pet food store.

PetGuard is definitely not grain free, but is a good alternative for my picky guys. ; )

I know you said you had an issue with refrigerator/freezer storage, but here’s a link to an easy homemade diet that only makes two days worth of food, so may be an option in case of a recall or other problem with food distribution. With a tiny frig/freezer it probably wouldn’t be good long-term.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/easy-homemade-diets-for-cats-and-dogs/

Sorry I wasn’t able to help more - next time I’m at the food store I’ll look around and see if there are other brands that I’m not aware of.

[Cammie]

Kitty just got her first half-can of Evanger’s, and just inhaled it. And then spent 10 minutes carefully licking the plate and inspecting the surrounding floor for any missed crumbs. :lol:

Granted, she will eat ANYTHING and is obsessed with food, so I’m not surprised she ate it quickly. But she was very excited about it, where the Newman’s Own she didn’t care either way.

Interesting how different the texture is between the brands, for what essentially is the same ingredients. Evanger’s didn’t smell any worse than EVO, but was oilier and more like hamburger rather than pate in texture.

Provided the Evanger’s doesn’t bother her system in any way, at least I have another option besides the EVO I can get easily.

Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions!