Orijen cat food review and veterinarian reviews

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the advantages of Orijen food are:

• composition from natural ingredients;
• protein components contain at least 70%;
• presence of vitamin components (fruits, vegetables, herbs);
• the composition is clear and completely transparent (even the varieties of added fruit are indicated);
• food is available (Orijen is sold not only in veterinary pharmacies, but also in any small pet store).

The disadvantages of food include its cost: any high-quality food, which includes almost all super-premium food, is quite expensive. In addition, Orijen does not offer wet food (canned food, spiders).

Manufacturer

Champion Petfoods, which manufactures and sells the Orijen line of food, was established more than 30 years ago. The founders set their goal to develop and promote to the masses an international guideline for pet nutrition that would be as close as possible to their natural needs and would not contradict the rules and regulations in nutrition that had been in effect for many years.

Orijen products are manufactured in compliance with all the principles of carnivore nutrition (and cats are carnivores, which some manufacturers seem to forget): meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, vegetables, spices and plants. All components are purchased from local farmers and undergo strict pre-selection.

Champion Petfoods produces another holistic food - Acana.

The most popular Orijen foods

1. Orijen Cat & Kitten
2. Orijen Six Fish
3. Orijen Tundra
4. Orijen Fit & Trim Cat

Orijen Cat & Kitten

Orijen Cat & Kitten is one of the most common and best-selling Orijen dry food for cats and kittens of all breeds. The food consists of 85% processed fresh meat, fish and eggs, and 15% from fruits and vegetables. This type of food does not contain potatoes or grains. The meat used is slaughtered game grown in conditions that are close to natural. In addition to muscle tissue, viscera and cartilage, which are a source of micro and macroelements such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, etc., are sent for processing. They are essential for the health and longevity of furry pets.

Flavor enhancers and flavorings, which are unacceptable in super-premium food, have been replaced with freeze-dried liver, the smell of which is aimed at stimulating the pet’s appetite. This makes the food pellets attractive even among picky eaters.

Orijen Cat & Kitten granules contain: chicken and turkey meat, eggs, chicken and turkey liver, flounder meat, herring, mackerel, sardines, turkey and chicken heart, chicken neck, chicken fat, red and green lentils, green and yellow peas, chickpeas, beans, pumpkin, zucchini, parsnips, carrots, apples and pears, kale, spinach, beet and turnip leaves, brown algae, cranberries and blueberries, serviceberry berries, chicory roots, burdock, marshmallow, lavender flowers, rose hips.

The product contains large quantities of choline chloride, zinc and copper chelate.

Calorie content - 4160 kcal per 1 kg of feed.

The disadvantage of Orijen Cat & Kitten is that it is not suitable for cats suffering from liver problems. In some cases, during the process of getting used to the food, bowel movements may become more frequent.

Orijen Cat & Kitten pricing policy (according to information for the first quarter of 2022):

• 0.34 kg – 411 rub.;
• 1.8 kg – 1739 RUR;
• 5.4 kg – RUB 3,599;
• 17 kg – 9979 rub.

Orijen Six Fish

This food is based on fish. The choice in its favor is often made by pet owners who are allergic to various types of animal and poultry meat. The food consists of 85% ocean and sea fish meat and 15% fruits and vegetables. There are no grains or potatoes in the composition. The product is fully balanced and can be used as the only source of food for a cat. Thanks to the relatively small amount of low-glycemic carbohydrates (no more than 16%), the animal will not gain excess weight.

This dry food is made from fresh chilled or frozen raw fish fillets. Caught fish is not treated with preservatives. One of its parts is dried at a temperature of about 90 degrees. Using this method, the granules are enriched with highly nutritious proteins that have a high concentration. Fresh fish is also a highly nutritious protein. If it had not been subjected to dehydration, it would have required several times more. Due to the large volumes of food at each feeding, the pet's stomach would stretch, making the animal constantly feel hungry.

The food includes not only fillets, but also the entrails and bone tissues of fish, which are rich in microelements necessary for the body. Only copper, zinc and choline are added to this type of food.

Granules contain : sardine fillet (up to 26% of the total volume), hake, mackerel, flounder, perch, sole, blue whiting, cod, red and green lentils, green and yellow peas, chickpeas, beans, pumpkin, zucchini, spinach, carrots, pears, kale, spinach, marshmallow, chicory, burdock roots.

Calorie content: 4120 kcal per 1 kg of feed.

Among the shortcomings, customers noted that the food is quite difficult to find on the shelves of stationary stores. Allergies are possible in pets with individual intolerance to fish.

Orijen Six Fish price (according to information at the beginning of 2018):

• 0.34 kg – 429 RUR;
• 1.8 kg – 1882 RUR;
• 5.4 kg – 3999 rub.

Orijen Tundra

This type of food, in most cases, is purchased to diversify the diet of pets. Food based on chicken or fish may get boring for your cat, and she will eat it without appetite. Because of this, your pet will begin to lose weight and become less active. Orijen Tundra is an excellent alternative to traditional food.

Similar to other Orijen dry foods, Tundra contains 85% meat and 15% vegetables and fruits. There is no grain or potatoes in the food.

The granules contain : meat of goats, sheep, trout, mackerel, sardines and game (boar, deer, duck, duck), liver and kidneys of wild boar, blue whiting, duck fat, red and green lentils, green and yellow peas, chickpeas, beans, lamb tripe, goat heart, pumpkin, zucchini, parsnips, carrots, Red Delicious apples, Bartlett pears, kale, spinach, chicory roots, sarsaparilla, marshmallow, rose hips, blueberries and juniper.

The role of dietary supplements is performed by copper, zinc, and choline chloride.

Calorie content - 4120 kcal per 1 kg of feed.

Perhaps the cat will initially disapprove of this type of food because its granules have a slightly unusual taste. But this property should not be considered a disadvantage, since after about 2-4 uses of food the cat “gets a taste” and eats the food offered as a new delicacy.

Cost of Orijen Tundra food:

• 0.34 kg – 499 RUR;
• 1.8 kg – 2395 RUR;
• 5.4 kg – 4545 rub.

Orijen Fit & Trim Cat

Orijen Fit & Trim Cat is the only specialized food from the Orijen brand. It is produced for cats that are overweight or prone to obesity. The granules contain 85% of meat grown in conditions that are close to natural, chicken and turkey, their eggs and fish caught in a natural reservoir. The remaining 15% of the total mass of the product consists of vegetables and fruits. The food is completely free of grain and potatoes.

Helping an overweight cat from a nutritional point of view is to base its diet on foods that are low in calories but high in protein. With the help of chickpeas, pumpkin, fruits, and herbs that are in the composition, digestion processes are accelerated. This normalizes metabolism and stabilizes the level of glucose in the pet’s blood. This will improve your cat's overall health.

Ingredients: chicken meat, herring, turkey meat, eggs, chicken liver, turkey, flounder, mackerel, hake, chicken by-products, pollock, sardine, red and green lentils, yellow and green peas, butternut squash, parsnips, zucchini, carrots, apples , pears, kale and spinach, turnip and beet tops, brown algae, blueberries and cranberries, milk thistle, chicory roots, burdock, marshmallow.

Calorie content: 3710 kcal per 1 kg.

Buyers did not note any disadvantages of the food, except that dietary food must be fed to pets for 3-6 months. (provided that a different period has not been prescribed by the veterinarian). And only after this period of time will a lasting result of weight loss be noticeable.

Orijen Fit & Trim Cat Price:

• 0.34 kg – 408 RUR;
• 1.8 kg – 1809 RUR;
• 5.4 kg – 3730 rub.

Component ratio

Now the ratio of different groups of components in this product is as follows: 85% poultry and fish components - 15% vegetables, fruits and herbal additives. Previously, this ratio was 80/20. For clarity, the manufacturer converts the percentages into kilograms: for example, a pack of updated Orijen Cat and Kitten food weighing 5.4 kg contains more than four and a half kilograms of ingredients of animal origin, and only 1/3 of them are dried before entering the product, and 2/ 3 - fresh and raw.

Please also note that Gently Dehydrated Meats says “gently dried meat”. Its essence is that, unlike ordinary meat flour, obtained from animal and poultry waste unsuitable for human consumption by processing it at very high temperatures, the dried ingredients of Orijen food are not related to such rendering products

They are prepared directly at the company’s factory, from fresh meat suitable for human consumption, carefully drying this raw material at a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius.

Reviews of Orijen cat food

Vsevolod P .: My British girl was given to me by a girl when she was an adult, so I didn’t know at all what to feed her correctly. Since the cat was adopted from a shelter, her health was not the best. She was thin, boring, shedding a little, and her eyes were watery. I thought that feeding cheap food would be dangerous and I bought Orijen Cat & Kitten (I just caught my eye first) and didn’t realize that I had guessed right. I was too lazy to read reviews about Orijen cat food because I was working a lot at the time. A girl helped me calculate the daily requirement (I was confused about the cat’s weight). The cat likes the food and eats it well. After about 20 days, her fur began to look better and stopped shedding. And my eyes don't water like before. And by the way, the cat is 6 years old, but she began to run and frolic like a small affectionate and playful kitten.

Sukhova Tatyana : Last summer I picked up a kitten in the entrance that someone had thrown away. I still haven’t identified the breed, but is that the main thing? She began to nurse him. A week later, the neighbors dropped another baby at the door (apparently someone told me that I picked up Cracker). My heart sank, I can’t take one and leave the other to the mercy of fate. The kittens were weak, but they took food from each other, it seemed that they were not full. Concluding that the reason was the babies’ distended stomach, I decided to choose high-quality food for them. The store consultant recommended trying Orijen Fit & Trim Cat. Of course, I didn’t like the price, but I decided that my budget could handle it, the main thing was to help the kids. So we lasted for half a year. Kreker and Busya got stronger and grew up and I, with a clear conscience, switched them to food that was a little cheaper.

Irina Petrovna Golovan : The Marquis is a terrible pest. I'm tired of pleasing him. It's so hard to feed him. If the food is not to his liking, he turns away, meows and leaves. He also gets offended for a couple of days until you buy him something tasty. But I love him very much, with all my heart, so I can’t give up on it. I have been feeding him Orijen and Acana food for a couple of years now. Only he still somehow perceives them. And that's until he gets tired of them. Therefore, I only buy a small pack, but I take two or three types at once. Then I pour the food into a jar with a tight lid and offer my gourmet a little bit. For a couple of days he agrees to eat one taste, then he gets tired of it and I get another one. I am happy with this result too. Food with game goes well. I would be grateful if anyone recommends other ways to feed a picky eater.

Reviews from experts

Petrushin Maxim Alekseevich, 21 years of work experience : Orijen food is quite expensive. I don't see any other disadvantages. Among my patients there are different cats. I have noticed a trend that pets who eat super-premium food look and feel better. At the request of one of the clients, I carefully studied the composition of Orijen. As a specialist, I can say the following: the product is of quite high quality. Would I recommend it? I think yes. Saving on food can negatively affect the costs of medications, tests and visits to veterinary clinics. Poor-quality feed ranks first among the risk factors for the development of gastritis.

Neveselova Anastasia Petrovna, 8 years of experience: As a rule, I recommend feeding overweight pets with Orijen dietary food. The composition of the food is balanced, the decrease in body mass index occurs smoothly and, at the same time, the pet does not suffer from hunger. I love that they are potato and grain free. But other foods from this manufacturer are also worthy of attention. They are especially suitable for cats participating in exhibitions.

Which is better: Orijen or Acana?

There are significant differences between these lines of holistic-class food:

1. In Orijen food, the meat content reaches 85%; in the case of Akana products, the figures are more modest - 50–75%.
2. In ready-made Orijen diets, the amount of protein is 38–44%, in Akana feeds it is 29–35%.
3. In Orijen products, the share of fresh (not raw) meat is 66%. For Akana feed the figure is lower: 33–50%.
4. Orijen formulas use many types of meat (more than 5). Akana food does not have such variety.
5. Orijen products contain fewer carbohydrates due to a reduction in the proportion of plant components: 15–18% versus 20–30% in Acana food.

Acana dry foods are inferior to Orijen products, but in some cases they are preferable

The Orijen line is more suited to the needs of animals, but if it is switched abruptly, it can cause side effects due to the fact that the pet’s body has already adapted to digesting plant ingredients. Akana food is a more versatile product. These formulas in most cases do not cause negative reactions. They can be used to transition to Orijen as an intermediate link. In general, buyers are advised to choose on their own, based on the individual characteristics of the pet and its reaction to ready-made diets.

Conclusions about food

The Orijen line includes four types of food. Despite the fact that the food is quite expensive, it is in demand among buyers.

Balanced dry food keeps your pet healthy at any age. Only the composition of Orijen food differs. One is universal and suitable for any age and breed, the other contains only fish and is intended for pets who are allergic to chicken. A distinctive feature of the third is the game meat included in the composition, and the fourth is its reduced calorie content.

Tags: feeding, Feed reviews, Nutrition

Feeding tips

It is recommended to feed animals with Orijen food 2 times a day, dividing the daily food intake into 2 doses with an interval between feedings of 8-12 hours. To determine the optimal daily dosage of the product, you must use a special table available on the back of the package.

However, since each animal is individual, the amount of daily food portion may vary.

If your pet is constantly hungry and looks too thin, you should increase the dose, but if, on the contrary, it rapidly begins to gain weight, you need to reduce the amount of product.

When feeding your cat dry food, be sure to ensure that fresh, clean water is always freely available.