Customer Reviews

Wellness CORE Grain Free Fish & Fowl Dry Cat Food

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After a terrible accident killed one of my two cats, I got very concerned about her surviving sister's well-being. Call it obsessive, but I started reading books on cat first aid and cat health and nutrition, and one day I was filling her food bowl and I happened to glance at the ingredients in her dry cat food. It was then that I realized that the dry food I was feeding her was JUNK! No nutritive value at all! (She was eating Meow Mix, because she seemed to like it, but not anymore.)

Cats don't need cornmeal or veggies or soy or "natural flavoring" (by the way, I found out that most pet products are "naturally flavored" with manure...that's right, MANURE). Cats don't need fish flavored cereal. They need high quality protein, plain and simple. And this is probably the best stuff I've ever found. No grains, no by-products, all natural, and my cat loves the stuff.

Before I started her on this food, she was sedentary and overweight, and she was throwing up a lot. I always thought it was hair balls, but really I think it was her diet. Since I switched her to this diet, she seems to have a lot more energy, she runs around and plays a lot more, she's lost weight, her coat has gotten shinier and silkier, her eyes have cleared up, and she never throws up anymore.

It's a lot more expensive than other kinds of dry cat food, but really, you wouldn't feed your kids junk food with no nutritive value just because it's cheaper, so why would you feed junk to your pets? I honestly think it's worth the price. It's a great product, and I think I'll be feeding it to my cats for many years to come.

As soon as I brought the bag inside, my cats were swarming all over it like flies, meowing and sniffing and scratching trying to get it open, something they've never done with other dry foods! I barely got it into the kitchen cabinet without the cats. Needless to say, they HEARTILY APPROVE of the flavor and size of the kibble and scarf this stuff down. Cats are happy, I'm happy! I can also feel good about feeding them one of the few very high protein dry cat foods on the market with premium, wholesome ingredients. As soon as I switched them to CORE, their coats got much softer and silkier and their eyes cleared up, and I know it's not my imagination. They have had ZERO vomiting or stool problems as well. My cats are on their second bag of CORE and will be happily eating CORE for the forseeable future.

Cons: The bag's plastic seal is hard to re-seal, it's expensive, and it has a strong fishy odor which my cats love and I don't mind, but it may bother some humans.

I had been feeding my Persian Purina One which he had been doing fine with. We then adopted a Himalayan mix who was constantly throwing up, whether she wolfed down her food or not. She was on original Science Diet. After doing a ton of research I decided that the natural ingredients in Wellness sounded like the way to go for BOTH my kitties. I had considered Science Diet for sensitive stomachs, but the ingredients in Wellness are much more appropriate for a feline's digestive system, so I decided to try it. I slowly mixed their food with Wellness over a week period, and for over a month now they haven been solely on Wellness. I am happy to report my kitty has thrown up only once!! I am so happy. They both really enjoy it. I also feel better that they are eating food that is so much healthier for them. Highly recommended!!"

We have six cats --- a few of whom have bladder, skin/allergy and weight issues. I started doing research on cat foods and landed on a DVM's blog/website that promoted the feeding of grain free and raw food diets for cats. After a lot of reading, I started feeding our cats the Wellness grain free canned food and then supplemented with the CORE dry (otherwise I'm opening a lot of cans a day!). My pickiest eater turned her nose up for a few days without something tempting on top of it, however after about a week she now eats it up --- which is huge as I've been making her food for several years and she has a very sensitive stomach. My two older cats have gained weight and all of them have better looking coats.
Another benefit of feeding raw/grain free is that the solid waste does not smell as bad and is smaller in volume. This food has also helped relieve the symptoms of cystitis in one of my cats.
Expensive, but worth it.

I am a regular ole cat owner. I was feeding my cat Meow Mix or Purina Indoor. I am not an owner that buys nice food or likes to spend a lot of money on food, but I do love my cat. I noticed that he has a problem with vomiting and saw a post on a message board about this food. The grain free formula made sense to me and I knew I could afford it. I got a 5 lb. bag at Petco for about $20 which is a lot more than my regular Meow Mix. I've only had this food for 3 or 4 days, but I noticed that my cat is not hungry and whining at feeding time. In fact, there is often food left in his bowl when formerly there was none. I attribute this to the fact that he is getting filled up my real food and not grain. Again, I am not an expert. I think this food is great! I would definitely buy it again.

I got my 2 kittens about a year ago (June 08) and started them on Innova EVO Cat and Kitten Dry Cat Food (15.4-lb bag). They both enjoyed EVO and the ingredients are very similar to what is in CORE. But I decided to give Wellness Core a try now that they are older because EVO has a higher fat content and more calories and I didn't think they would need as much fat content now that they are about a year old.

They seemed to like the taste of CORE just as much (maybe even a little more), but I will say that CORE has a much stronger, fishier smell than EVO. Also, a 12lb. bag of CORE is about the same price as a 15.4lb. bag of EVO, so CORE winds up being more expensive. Though it is more convenient to just go to PetCo to buy the CORE than it is to go to the specialty feed store to buy EVO.

Bottom line: both are excellent dry cat foods, and I will probably wind up rotating between them. Since they are outdoor cats, I plan on feeding them EVO as the weather gets colder so they can build up a layer of fat for the winter, and Core when it's warmer and they don't need as much insulation.

Although my 4 month-old kitten was initially a little hesitant when I started feeding her CORE (I have no idea what she was eating at the shelter, and the taste was probably pretty different than what she was used to), after 3-4 days she really warmed up to it. Now, about two weeks later, she starts meowing as soon as she sees me get out the food container and can't wait to start eating.

Even after only 2-3 weeks eating CORE, her coat is noticeably shinier and smoother than it was when I brought her from the shelter, and she seems very happy and healthy otherwise. I can't say enough good things about this food!

My cat was eating Purina Cat Chow and 1/2 a 5.5-oz can of Friskies per day at the shelter. I switched him to Wellness Core dry food with ~3 oz of wellness moist food per day (one 12.5-oz can served over four days - stored in the fridge, in the can, and a serving warmed up for 10 sec in microwave). In the end, the dry food only costs about 25% more than the Purina Cat Chow, considering how much less the cat actually eats. The moist food is about twice the expense, if you compare the large 12.5-oz cans of Wellness to the 5.5 oz cans of Friskies.

If you're giving just a dry diet, the switch to Wellness Core is definitely worth the additional 25% in costs. The moist food is about $0.54 per day and the Friskies was about $0.23 per day, so that can add up.

My cat made the switch easily... not a finicky eater.

I got two kittens back in Oct 2006. Unfortunately the smaller one was always throwing up and had watery stools. After trying several other brands over several months with little improvement, I tried Wellness Core brand in Jan 2007 due to the natural ingredients that seemed to be more like what a cat would naturally eat. Both of my cats loved it and the smaller one stopped having stomach problems all together. I noticed that after they had been on the diet a while that their coats got very shiny. They've now been eating this food for over two years and are both active and healthy, with shiny coats and friendly dispositions.

First, I applaud Wellness for coming up with a grain free formula because I think cats are probably better off not eating any grains. Also I give credit that they left out the menadione. Unfortunately though, Core kibble proved to be a bomb in my household. My cats HATE IT with a purple passion. Also there has been a dramatic increase in barfing episodes ever since I introduced it (and yes I did introduce it gradually). I could have put up with the very strong and unpleasant odor it fills my house with if the cats had loved it but given the negatives I am going back to my old kibble - Pet Promise. Mendadione and all.