As you know, predators must feed on animal proteins - this is precisely their natural needs. Orijen dry food for cats consists of 85% meat ingredients and fully covers the needs of pets for animal protein. Maximum preservation of nutrients is achieved due to the fact that 2/3 of the meat is added to the “dough” of the feed in fresh or raw form.
This means that there is simply no need for the manufacturer to include a huge amount of synthesized additives in the list of ingredients to enrich the diet. Your cat will already receive everything it needs in a natural and highly digestible form. The brand’s assortment includes four diets.
The manufacturer proceeds from the consideration that the needs of kittens after breastfeeding, as well as adult and elderly animals, do not differ in the set of necessary substances, therefore all food in the line is intended for cats of any age, subject to the recommended feeding standards.
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.
Achievements
- food of the year according to the Washington Institute of Glycemic Research (2009–2012);
- maximum 6 stars from the American Dogfoodanalysis Association;
- food of the decade according to one of the largest review sites in the USA “Rate It All”;
- high praise from the famous magazine “The Whole Dog Journal” (USA);
- first place in the ranking according to readers of Spot Magazine;
- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award;
- Innovation Award from the Canadian Province of Alberta.
The company's products have gained popularity around the world. Natural composition, unique recipes, and proprietary production technologies help create a high-quality product. Of no small importance is the taste, which is tempting for pets. Orijen food (Canada) is a healthy diet for all dogs and cats.
Feed class
Orijen food belongs to the group of holistic foods. Holistics are characterized as follows:
- Fresh meat and fish are used as sources of protein: both fillets and offal.
- Sources of carbohydrates include lentils, rice, peas, and sweet potatoes.
- Animals get their fiber from added and processed fruits, berries and herbs.
- Ingredients that can harm the cat's health are not used: wheat, corn, onions, sugar, salt, etc.
- preservatives - only safe ones: for example, a mixture of tocopherols.
- the percentage of vitamins and minerals is several times higher than that of premium food, and even more so economical.
- feed with such a composition cannot be cheap, so the price tag is quite high.
Expert opinion
Dusheba Vera Ivanovna
In 2010, she graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine named after K.I. Scriabin with honors, specializing in veterinary medicine. I regularly attend veterinary conferences, congresses, and webinars.
Whatever food you choose, remember: such food requires constant availability of water in the drinking bowl. You should not allow your cat to be thirsty: after all, dry biscuits very often make you want to drink, and there is not enough water in wet canned food. Give water at a comfortable temperature, purified with a filter or settled.
Orijen replacement food
If for some reason the owner needs to switch the animal to another food after Orijen, then it is worth choosing a product of a similar or better class. In this case, you will need to choose food:
- from holisticists;
- premium class;
- super premium class.
Table: how to replace Orijen food
| Feed class | Product name | Manufacturer country | Type of feed | Features and Benefits | Price |
| Premium | Purina Pro Plan | France | Dry and wet | The food is easy to find in stores, and its price is quite affordable. The product line is quite diverse, there is a series of veterinary foods. | The price depends on the volume and type of feed:
|
| Premium | Brit Premium | Czech | Dry and wet | The food contains a large percentage of meat (for its class), and the price, on the contrary, is one of the lower. In addition, the composition contains no artificial preservatives. | Wet food is sold in 100 gram pouch bags - from 63 rubles, dry food - in packages:
|
| Superpremium | Flatazor | France | Dry | The advantages of the product include:
| The cost depends on the volume of packaging:
|
| Superpremium | Monge | Italy | Dry and wet | The main source of protein is meat. Contains many vitamins and minerals, no artificial preservatives or antioxidants. Among other things, the food is quite common in Russia and has a reasonable price. | Prices for Monge feed:
|
| Holistic | Grandorf | Belgium | Dry and wet | Contains no by-products, plants, corn or wheat | Product prices:
|
| Holistic | Power of Nature | Germany | Dry and wet | The main source of protein is meat products. In addition, the composition does not use artificial preservatives, as well as wheat, corn and gluten. | In Russia you can only buy dry food of this brand. Their cost:
|
Photo gallery: replacement feed
The wide range of Purina Pro Plan food is designed taking into account the individual needs of pets, so among them you will be able to find the one that suits your pet.
Brit Premium is an excellent combination of affordable price and high quality
The peculiarity of Flatazor is that the production of feed takes place on the latest equipment, characterized by good heat treatment, which allows you to preserve all nutrients
The company that produces Monge products guarantees high quality feed, as it carries out careful control at every stage of production: from the selection of ingredients to the packaging of finished products.
Grandorf is a cat food positioned as holistic, produced in Europe according to customer recipes, and sold only in Russia
Power of Nature dry food has been sold in Russia for many years, but only in some pet stores
Range
The Orijen assortment includes universal cat food that best meets the needs of a living organism, regardless of breed and size.
Dry food:
Orijen Cat and kitten - this option is created for animals both adults and small ones. It contains a lot of turkey meat, sardines, fruits and vegetables.
Orijen Fit and trim - it is useful to give to plump pets - and they will not remain hungry, and they will lose those extra pounds in one or two seconds. The meat inside is dietary (turkey, chicken), there are eggs.
Orijen Six fish is based on fish. These are flounder, pike perch, hake, herring and sardines. Suitable for cats with healthy kidneys.
Orijen Tundra is an option for adults. It contains both fish and meat (goat, wild boar), duck fillet.
Orijen Regional red is not sold in Russia.
Available in packs of 340 g, 1800, 5400 and 17 kg.
In 2021, the line was updated and significantly improved, in particular, the percentage of fresh meat increased.
The delicacies are made from pure meat using a gentle sublimation method, thanks to which the food retains not only taste and aroma, but also nutrients. Packed 35 g in individual bags.
Kinds:
- Regional Red (mutton, beef, pork, wild boar and lamb).
- Wild Boar (wild boar fillet).
- Romney Lamb (lamb).
- Six Fish (6 types of fish).
- Tundra (boar, deer, goat, fish).
- Original (flounder, turkey, chicken).
Features of Orijen food for cats
Orijen dry food for cats is a high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet with 40% animal protein and 19% carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits. It does not contain grains or any other sources of high-glycemic carbohydrates, which cause an immediate jump in animals' blood sugar levels and, therefore, increase their risk of gaining excess weight and developing diabetes.
Another important advantage of the food is the use of raw meat in the WholePrey ratio (translated as “whole prey”). This is exactly what the diet of cats (big and small) is like in the wild - they eat the caught prey, as they say, along with the giblets. And also with skin and cartilage, which allows predators to obtain the substances their bodies need in the most easily accessible form. Incorporating valuable organ meats and cartilage into commercial kibble diets allows the manufacturer to reduce, if not eliminate, the extensive list of additives, instead providing your pet with nature's nutrition.
In the Orizhden brand assortment, you can choose a diet with the types of meat that your cat will like most - from traditional chicken and turkey (Cat & Kitten), as well as fish (Six Fish) to exotic types of meat (Tundra). Cats whose shape is far from ideal will benefit from a special low-calorie diet (Orijen Fit & Trim).
Compound
- Meat and offal (fresh chicken, fresh turkey fillet, fresh whole eggs, liver, chicken necks and hearts, deer and wild boar hearts, etc.);
- Herring fat, chicken fat;
- Fish (fresh flounder, fresh herring, sardines, mackerel);
- Mixed tocopherols as preservatives;
- Cereals, vegetables, fruits and plants (rose hips, marshmallow root, lavender flowers, burdock root, turmeric, milk thistle, chicory root, serviceberry berries, brown algae, turnip greens, beet leaves, spinach, kale, apples, carrots, navy beans, green peas, chickpeas, red and green lentils, beans, juniper berries, sarsaparilla root, blueberries, etc.);
- Minerals and vitamins.
Old and new composition of Orijen Cat & Kitten: comparison of the base
In the new food, place No. 1, as before, is occupied by fresh boneless chicken, only now it is not 20%, but 18%. Dehydrated chicken meat has moved from 2nd place to 11th, and instead of 15% it is now only 4% - the predominance of fresh chicken raw materials is obvious, rather than dried chicken. At the same time, the share of dehydrated turkey remained the same - 4%. Instead of 4% fresh chicken liver, 3rd place is now 5% fresh whole eggs (in the previous version of the food there was 3%). And the share of fresh chicken liver increased by 1% - now it is 5%, not 4% as before, and it already occupies 4th place in the list of ingredients. If previously 4% of fresh turkey meat closed the top five components, now it is already 7%, and it is higher in the list, in 2nd place.
As for poultry by-products, the shares of fresh chicken liver and fresh chicken heart are quite insignificant, by only 1%, but they have increased. Among the new by-products, we note the appearance of 4% fresh turkey heart.
Advantages and disadvantages
- Corn and wheat are not added to Orijen food, since such food has a detrimental effect on the well-being of cats and causes a number of dangerous ailments (obesity, diabetes, heart problems).
- Only fresh, boneless chicken is used. It is not frozen. Meat and meat components are sufficient for the development of the animal.
- Sweet potatoes have been added as sources of carbohydrates (they practically do not cause allergies and are well tolerated), as well as brown unrefined whole rice (increasing the energy value of the feed), chickpeas, and lentils.
- Preservatives are exclusively natural.
- Orijen food is difficult to find in a regular pet store, and they don’t carry it in large hypermarkets. You'll have to order online.
- No canned food.
- Its price is high and not every cat owner can afford to buy such food.
Get acquainted with interesting cat breeds with the help of our encyclopedia: Cohona, Pixie Bob, Skif Tai Dong.
"Acana" or "Orijen"
Orijen feeds have 15-30% more meat content than Acana feeds.
ORIJEN food contains from 38 to 42 percent protein, while Acana has no more than 29-34 percent protein.
The carbohydrate content of Acana food is higher compared to Orijen food. So in Orijen feeds their share does not exceed 22%, and in Acana feeds it reaches 30%.
Orijen's fresh meat level is approximately 29%, while Acana's is only 12%. In addition, Orijen can contain up to five different types of meat products, while Acana has only three.
Reviews from veterinarians
Valentin, Irkutsk
“I recommend Orijen food to everyone, because I feed it to my cat and see a positive result. The choice of flavors is, admittedly, small, but cats are not people, they don’t need much variety. I can reassure those who are embarrassed by the high price: this food is consumed very economically, unlike cheap options. And finally, it is good for animals. Try ordering one package, feed it to your cat for a week and see for yourself how much better it is.”
Natalya, Moscow
“I am often asked: why switch a cat to premium food if she calmly eats cheap Whiskas? In these cases, I always answer: people can live on pasta and potatoes, but by the age of forty they have a dubious bouquet of chronic diseases. Good nutrition and maximum nutrients are the key to health and longevity. Orijen food fully meets these requirements.”
Maria, St. Petersburg
“I increasingly notice that my furry patients suffer from obesity. It's not just about housing, but also about low-quality grain feed, oversaturated with carbohydrates, but poor in proteins. In order for the cat’s weight to return to normal, I advise the owners of the Canadian food “Orijen”. In a month your pet will be unrecognizable! Not a drop of fat - just muscle. I recommend to all!"
Reviews of kitten food
Sofia : “I want to share my experience of feeding ORIJEN Cat & Kitten. I switched my kittens to it after natural food. For the first week, the babies ate reluctantly. This means that there are no cheap flavors, as in premium foods. Then we tried it. I've been breastfeeding for about a year. The stool is regular, but very “fragrant” - this is perhaps the only negative.”
Nikita : “I read a lot of reviews on the Internet that this food contains too much protein. Strange statements - cats are predators!”
