# what do you guys think about wellness



## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i saw this post on amazon under a wellness review

WELLNESSS,TASTE OF THE WILD,NUTRO CAT,AND FLAT OUT ANY PURINA PRODUCT,DIAMOND,AND ANYTHING MADE BY MARS PET FOOD IS EITHER BEEN RECALLED FOR CONTAMINATED INGREDIENTS,OR LACK OF NECESSARY NUTRIENTS,THAT HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS ILLNESS AND DEATH,DO RESEARCH -GOOGLE CAT/DOG FOOD RECALLS,I WORKED FOR A MAJOR PET STORE,AND STUDIED ALL THE FOODS,FOR AT THAT TIME MY 13 CATS AND THREE PIT BULLS,THE BEST IS BLUE WILDERNESS,BLUE FREEDOM,OR EVEN REGULAR BLUE ,BUT SOME OF MY CATS DID NOT LIKE IT ,THE OTHERS BLUES ALONG WITH BASICS ALL HAVE DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES ALONG WITH ACTIVITY LEVEL/PROTEIN /FAT GUIDELINES FOR ALL AGES,STICK WITH A LOWER PROTEIN FOR OLDER ANIMALS,AS TOO HIGH WILL CAUSE KIDNEY DAMAGE,DRY FOOD IS BEST ,PROVIDE PLENTY OF CLEAN WATER,I AM OBSESSIVE ABOUT MY ANIMALS HEALTH,ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING SOME.MARS PETS FOOD PLANT IN COLUMBIA S.C .IS A NIGHTMARE,ALONG WITH FORGIVE ME BUT STREET LIKE LOOKING PEOPLE WORKING THERE ,THE PLACE IS DEPLORABLE AT BEST,I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN OPERATE,OTHER THAN ,POLITICS.DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR ANIMAL,IF DO NOT VET BILLS OR YOUR PET TO SUFFER.PLEASE!!!

im thinking of mixing chicken soup for the soul light and blue spa select weight control or innova. i have no idea what to feed my hedgehog and dont know how anyone online could know if what they were reading is true.


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i read in the food topic to look up what goes in a hedgehogs diet but theres all kinds of colliding information so i just picked the three reccommended from that topic based on heath and taste and what they told me were healthiest and the reasons they gave


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i dont really know how to feel about wellness based on that post its made me want to stay away from all of those brands. i looked up wellness in the recall list and it had a slew of recalled wet cat food but that was just wet cat food i dont know about the dry


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## shmurciakova (Sep 7, 2008)

I have Wellness Core (dry food)in my mix...the only problem I have with it is that the protein content is too high. I don't know about the recall and I am not sure why the poster lumped it in with Purina, unless they are made by the same company?
Who knows if it is true or not, I'd say just read the labels and choose as best as you can. The brands you mentioned should be fine.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

The Wellness recall was a while ago. I have it in my mix, but it's not a main part because it's so rich.

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product- ... ngredients


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i meant im not sure what to read about websites that so "this is nutritionally good for your hedgehog" cause so many websites tell you different things. so i just dont know which catfoods to give them and give them the three best ones. or the three most mentioned ones.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

This website is what most people and owners base their nutrition off of.

These foods are pretty popular around here:
http://bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/bc-weig ... animal=cat

http://bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/wildern ... animal=cat

http://bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/wildern ... animal=cat

It's honestly a good idea to make a mixture of three or more foods to get a better nutrient percentage.


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

would innova weight management be good? i dont see innova reduced fat cat on their food list

http://www.innovapet.com/products/1788

i didnt want to get the blue buffalo longevity cause its only got 8 percent fat


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

well im already giving him chicken soup for the cat lovers soul lite and thats only 9 percet fat so i wanted to get him one thats got about 12 or 13 percent fat. my last hedgehog was kind of skinny and a runner. i read in the food topic i think it was on the second page or so to go look up nutritional stuff on other websites. i dont see a list of nutrients you should be giving your hedgehog on here


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i want to make sure hes getting enough fat and then i can put a third one on there


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I use a mixture of Wellness Core, Blue Buffalo, and one other. Before I bought them I read all of the ingredients and protein/fiber content and everything and I really thought I picked out the best options, and Piglet seems to like them.


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

im so excited i just went to petco and theyve got innova and blue buffalo weight management which were the kinds im going to get. theyve got wellness too and i might add that in it later. that review just kind of threw me off. they dont have chicken soup for the cat lovers soul lite i guess i can order that online. last time i went to get food for a hedgehog they didnt have any of that there. well in a pet store.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Wellness is a good food, the only problem with it with hedgehogs is that it can be too rich for some and cause them to have loose poops. Many owners choose to avoid it because of that, just so they don't have to worry about it. Others go ahead and try it and will find whether their hedgehog tolerates it or not. I used to give Lily Wellness Indoor in her mix and she never had problems with it. It just depends on the hedgehog.

As far as nutritional requirements for hedgehogs, they seem to do well on the balances found in cat foods. In terms of protein, fat, etc. it's best to keep protein around 28-35%, though you can put a higher one in your mix if you want. Just try to keep it at 40% or under, at least. With fat, it depends on the hedgehog - most people aim for 10-15% in their mix, but runners sometimes need higher fat, between 15-20%. If that happens, it can usually be resolved by switching out a formula for the adult version or kitten version, which both usually have more fat than the indoor, weight control, senior, etc. versions.

If you're interested in checking out whether a food has good ingredients and is healthy for your hedgehog (or any other pet), here's a great website - http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ It has lots of great information on how to read dry animal kibble labels, what ingredients are bad, what to look for, etc. Lable Info 101 tells you how to get information based on the bag (name of the food, words on the front, what the nutritional label says, etc.), Ingredients to Avoid is just that (and very useful for understanding why foods like Friskies, Beneful, etc. aren't good foods at all), and Meat vs. Meat Meal is pretty interesting too.


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

I think that if you're taking any advice from people on Amazon forums that type in all capital letters, then you've made a poor decision somewhere along the line.


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## Twisted Angel (Dec 21, 2009)

Innova is now manufactured by P&G (large conglomerate, makers of iams and the like), and the quality of the food has changed. There have been some complaints about the color and smell of the food changing, and cats with sensitive stomachs suddenly getting sick off of it. There was a large uproar about it on several pet care forums. Not telling you not to use it, just want you to have the information.

Innova Evo canned 95% meat used to be my "emergency canned" food for my cat... now I don't allow it in the house.


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## stringmouse (Feb 3, 2012)

alexvdl said:


> I think that if you're taking any advice from people on Amazon forums that type in all capital letters, then you've made a poor decision somewhere along the line.


my thoughts exactly. :lol:


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

thanks twisted are there any brands youd recommend. im gonna use a blue brand and chicken soup for the cats soul light so far. you dont know if that guys telling the truth or not he could be angry and just concerned? i will try out wellness.


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

ok lily


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

thanks for the food information too. i read all the posts from the bottom up


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## pickles17 (Feb 18, 2012)

A lot of cat foods that are popular here were included in that old recall, I wouldn't worry about it now.

I found wellness to be okay for some hedgehogs, I had one that was fine with it and one that had grainy poops due the richness. Also, I used to feed a blue buffalo/wellness mix and they would always eat the BB first and leave the wellness so I don't know how 'tasty' it is. I've seemed to have good luck with Innova low fat. Good luck!


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

would this be a good meal to feed them? it doesnt look like it has a lot else in it. or good to add to the mix

http://www.brotherscomplete.com/Brother ... RMULA.html


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

man this is confusing. for a little while they were saying its crap cause p & g had it now theyre saying its good

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food- ... -food-dry/


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## jngy slate (Mar 14, 2009)

i wish there was a way to just know what htey like. this time ill be feeding them a mix of 3 or maybe 44 different foods lst time i was just feeding crisps chicken soup for the cat lovers soul lite cause i think my mom didnt want to buy any other cat food. i cant be sure but we stuck with one.


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## Twisted Angel (Dec 21, 2009)

That guy's information is actually fairly accurate. He just didn't present it in the most intelligent way. That said, pretty much every brand has had a recall. Its not so much the recall that should be paid attention to as HOW they handle it. Nutro, for example, tried to cover up the fact that the food was making pets sick for the LONGEST time. So Nutro is a no go for me. I wouldn't touch Innova because of the P&G thing.

I haven't looked at the percentages of these foods, but there are a few brands I come closer to trusting than any other, though I don't trust large companies completely, not EVER.

The A List:
Wysong
Hound & Gatos
Orijen/Acana 

The Rest:
by Nature
Artemis
Merrick/Before Grain
Earthborn Holistic
Fromm
Lotus
Nature's Logic
Canine/Feline Caviar
Pinnacle
PetGuard
Ziwi Peak


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## Twisted Angel (Dec 21, 2009)

Oh, and the Brother's Complete looks great, but I don't know a lot about it. I do know that most here seem to avoid dog food because of the kibble size.


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