Orijen Dry Cat Food
Orijen cat food products are produced by Champion Pet Foods in Alberta, Canada. Champion pet foods also produces Acana brand pet food products. Champion Pet Foods has been marketing and exporting pet foods worldwide since 1975. Orijen is unique, since it is never packaged anywhere other than the Champion Pet Foods manufacturing facility. Many of the main ingredients in Orijen's cat food formulas are locally obtained. Also, Orijen pet food products do not use proteins that have been previously frozen, and are marketed as being hormone-free. Though there are currently no recalls of Orijen pet food products in the USA, Orijen has had to recall their cat food from Australia. This is because upon entry to Australia, the cat food was exposed to high levels of gamma radiation. No other countries are affected by this recall, and Orijen has now stopped selling their product in Australia.
Orijen Dry Cat Food Reviews
Orijen cat food is currently offering two different formulas in a dry kibble form (there are currently no canned cat food formulas offered by Orijen). These formulas are available in a 400g (0.88lb) trial size bag, a 2.5kg (5.5lb) bag, and a large 7kg (15.4lb) bag. Both of these formulas are marketed as being completely grain-free.
Orijen Dry Cat Food comes in the following recipes:
- Orijen Adult Cat and Kitten dry cat food formula uses a very low-carbohydrate recipe. The ingredient ratio of this formula is 75% meat, 25% vegetables and 0% grains. The first five ingredients are Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Russet Potatoes and Lake Whitefish. Other ingredients include sweet potato, salmon meal, spinach and apples. The Guaranteed Analysis contains 45% protein and 20% fat.
- Orijen 6 Fresh Fish with Sea Vegetables dry cat food formula uses Chinook, Salmon, Whitefish, Trout, Walleye, Cod and Herring. Other ingredients include russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, alfalfa, kelp and cranberries. Four of the first five ingredients are fish protein sources. The Guaranteed Analysis contains 42% protein and 20% fat.
Orijen Dry Cat Food Final Thoughts
Many consumers seem to have great results when feeding their cats Orijen brand dry cat food. The Adult Cat & Kitten formula is both easily palatable and digested by all cats. The clear list of ingredients, and the lack of any filler ingredients also contribute to the positive consumer reviews. The 6 Fresh Fish also scored highly with cat owners, though some cats were actually deterred by the strong fishy smell of the food. The main complaint by many purchasers of Orijen brand cat food was the high price. Though this is most likely due to high-quality ingredients, it still presents an expense barrier to pet owners.
Orijen Dry Cat Food Consumer Ratings
Are you a consumer of Orijen Cat Food? If so please take the time to rate Orijen Cat Food. This will make it easier for people who are looking to purchase Orijen Cat Food.
July 5th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I thought my cats would love the 6 Fresh Fish Orijen food but they seem to prefer their old favourite, Eagle Pack Cat food. My dog loves her Orijen, however, and if I could switch my cats to this brand, I definitely would, since I love to support Canadian products.
I’ve always added some canned to the kibble for flavour and balance, and lately have switched completely to Carlyle Just Tuna for cats. My cats are happy
July 16th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
We have been using this dry food for our 2 beautiful Maine Coon boys for about 2 years now. They are in awesome shape with beautiful soft shiny fur coats and loads of energy. I would highly recommend this food to people who really want a superior food for their pets.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I have two adopted cats. Brady is 5 yrs old and I have had him for 6 months. I have tried him on several different wet and dry foods. He loves Orijen. He used to be a Friskies lover. Brady has been doing well for the past couple of months on Orijen.
Our newest addition, Sammy, has been with us for 4 days (yes, days). He is 4 yrs old. Long hair. He had been passed around from shelter to shelter and apparently was quite a mess at one time. He is settling in well, and two days of Orijen he has calmed down, his coat is becoming normal, and hopefully will be a happy healthy cat to meet Brady in a couple weeks.
I have given Brady EVO and several other special cat foods, but he didn’t like them. He self regulates his food very well, so I know when he likes or does not like something.
Oh, and they don’t eat as much Orijen because it doesn’t have all the filler that the other cat foods have in them. So it may seem expensive, but I have found that it lasts much longer. Be sure to keep it sealed to keep it fresh.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:23 am
I have fed my 3 cats Orijen off and on for about 3 years. They used to love it. However, they don’t seem to like the taste very much anymore. Did Orijen change their recipe? They really do not like Acana. I am still feeding the Orijen so I really don’t know what to rate it just yet.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:35 am
We definitely love Orijen in this house. Cheyenne, I think that freshness plays a big part in how much my cats love this food. Once a bag is opened, I keep it sealed in the freezer. Because there are no additives, it can lose freshness quickly once it’s opened.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
We love Orijen here. I feed my dogs Orijen and when i moved in with my fiance i noticed that her cats were going through their food really fast. When fed they would gorge then puke it up. I purchased some trial bags when my fiance was at work. I noticed they seemed put off by the smell of the fish diet but loved the regular. I switched them over on the sly and they are really happy now. No more vomitting and their attitudes and coats are really shiny now.
Scott
September 16th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
I give my cats some of the 6 Fish variety as treats. Currently they are not on any kibble (just canned or raw) but I am considering introducing it as a regular meal for one of my cats, who is quite thin and loves it a lot. I have trouble getting her to eat most other foods, and I’d like to see her gain some weight, so I am going to try her on a bit more of the Orijen dry (as a supplement).
September 17th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I have two cats. 3 year old Tux and 8 week old Chloe. Tux was being fed Nutro for well over two years after a battle trying to find a food he would even eat. Two months ago he made the switch to Orijen. What a difference it has made! He is no longer the scrawney little creature he once was, his muscle tone is amazing, his coat has a sheen to it that looks like we polish him, even his temperment has changed for the better. He won’t even touch the Nutro now!
Then enters Chloe, who came to me underweight, unweaned and sick. She has been weaned from formula to Origin over the course of the last week. After a vet check up it was discovered that she suffers from a heart murmur and that was the cause for her being undersized. The vet said watch and wait. I say good food, good exercise and care. I am confident she will be fine. He says she will always be small, I have watched her grow immensely over the last week and I know she just needs some time to catch up.
I recommend feeding Origin to any cat. Picky eaters, overweight, underweight, all of the above.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
1. There has been much publicity about the effects of gamma irradiated Orijen on cats in Australia. The manufacturer of Orijen, Champion Petfoods of Morinville, Alberta Canada, was quick to point the finger of blame at the Australian Government and claimed that irradiation here was mandatory, they didn’t realise it would happen, and they had no choice in the matter. In fact, Champion had everything to do with the irradiation of its pet food upon entry into Australia, despite their claims to the contrary. I am the owner of an affected cat that ate their gamma irradiated food. I telephoned their office in Canada the night my cat was diagnosed. Peter Muhlenfeld, International Marketing Manager and son of the company’s founder, assured me they did not know until August 2008 that the food had been irradiated, the first they heard of it was when their Australian importer/distributor presented them with the invoices for the irradiation. I asked why Champion Petfoods would want their food irradiated, an unnatural process, when they market it as “biologically appropriate”. Peter agreed with me: “You know, you are right, why would we?” he said. In their website announcements they show surprise at the high levels of irradiation used. One of their salesmen even went on a pet forum to answer questions and he said Champion did not know about the irradiation until after Orijen was on retail shelves. I then applied for all import documents to be released from Australian Quarantine under the Australian Government Freedom of Information Act. In these documents, after many extensive exchanges of emails and the provision of production flow charts and certificates of origin from raw materials suppliers by the importer/distributor to Aust Quarantine, which the importer/distributor obtained from Champion, the importer/distributor was then told that because the food was not heated to 100deg C for 30 minutes during production, if he still wanted to go ahead with the import, the food would need to be gamma irradiated to 50kGy. This was in July 2007. The importer then emailed Australian Quarantine to say he would check with Champion and revert. Just FIVE DAYS later, he emailed Quarantine again to say CHAMPION HAD GIVEN THE GO AHEAD FOR IRRADIATION AND AGREED TO THE COSTS. This was on 5 August 2007. So you see, Champion knew all along that their food would be irradiated, they knew to what level it would be irradiated, and they took just FIVE DAYS to come to the decision that they would agree to the irradiation process for their “biologically appropriate” food. During this five days, do we believe they conducted adequate research into the possible nutrient effects or health effects of the process when they were able, AFTER the cats became paralysed in 2008, to quote that 2007 study? No, we don’t believe they did. And their much touted, so-called “Compassion Fund” has only compensated affected owners for 70-80% of their costs for the period up to May 31 2009. Many of us have incurred considerable veterinary fees, medicine costs and physiotherapy expenses since then and Champion have now washed their hands of us while we compromise ourselves financially to rehabilitate our cats. We are disgusted with Champion Petfoods, their lies, their spin, and their self-aggrandisement in quoting the results of studies and pathology tests, implying they had done all the work, for which they didn’t even reimburse our veterinarians. They even tried to claim a “key role” in getting the irradiation ban on cat food, when we all know it was lobbying by many of the affected owners including myself, the RSPCA, the AVA and our wonderful veterinary neurologist Dr Georgina Child’s research paper on the Orijen issue, supported by the overseas studies in Ireland and Wisconsin, that finally convinced Minister Burke to authorise the ban. I personally wrote to my contacts at AQIS to ask if Champion played any role at all in the ban and they confirmed they had had no correspondence from them whatsoever.
What goes around, comes around and one day Champion Petfoods will reap the results of its wrongdoings in this whole affair. This is not hearsay, I have documentary evidence.
Tania Cummings, Sydney Australia
October 14th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Orijen is the best cat & dog food i have ever used !!!! I started many years ago with the nutro brands and my animals started getting sick from hair balls to dull coats then on to other high brands from blue to the diet to the evo ,Then i found Orijen -after 4 years of feeding this my cats are the best i have ever seen ! One of my cats 10 years old has a abcess on his rear leg that NOTHING short of surgery will clear up – as long as he is on orijen it heals and stays healed with a little seep from the area once in a while but when i tryed another premium brand within 2 weeks i had a major open wound ,after taking away the other food it healed back up in a week ..Additives even though they say NONE this cat will let ya know and my baby i raised on the orijen is the most beautiful huge strong cat you’ve ever seen and NO HAIR BALLS this food keeps everything flowing right !!!!- all my animals are 100% and the senior dog food keeps my old man walking and just adores that food
But the price is killing me !!! My cats go though 20 pounds a month and the price is getting hard to handle been looking at cutting the food like i did before with a side dish of another brand but then here comes
the side affects …Catch 22 …..
October 28th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I have two older persians who have always stuck their noses up at any type of dry cat food. Yesterday I bought Orijen for the first time and both of them were fighting to get to the food. Couldn’t believe it. Smells great and ingredients are top quality.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Orijen is amazing cat food. My cat Yoda is living proof – litterally that this food is one of a kind. My 7 & 1/2 year old Hymalayan was found crouching in his litter box one morning. He had urinated all around the box and blood everywhere. I was so frightened. We immediately rushed him to the Vet and he went through a series of tests. The vet told me that he was diabetic and I was shocked. I had always fed him what I thought was a good cat food, Wellness. The Vet told me I had to feed my cat their prescription food which I immediately refused since the first ingredient is BY PRODUCTS!!! I did my research, bought my cat Orijen and two weeks today took him in to the Vet for a full day to have his glucose testing done every two hours. When I came to pick him up tonight the Vet asked me what I had been doing differently. I told him I had switched my cat in only two weeks to Orijen. Well, my cat’s insulin levels were NORMAL and he doesn’t need to have insulin shots any more!!!! He is bouncing around like a kitten, purring and happy.
I am a believer in Orijen cat food, it is honestly the best food out there for cats!
December 10th, 2009 at 4:20 am
I feed my cats part Orijen and part Eagle Pack. Of course, they love the Eagle Pack because it’s wet food. They’re not big fans of the Orijen because they never eat it all. Maybe they just don’t need as much, I don’t know. But, even the next day there’s still some left in their bowls. They like the chicken Orijen best though, which is fine with me because the fish one was gagging me.
I find the Orijen pricey, but it’s worth it because it has so much nutritional value in it. My cats have nice shiny coats now. They’re my babies, so I want the best for them. I really believe that Orijen is THE best cat food.
I’m also now using a litter that can be flushed down the toilet. This litter is much better for their respiratory systems. It’s expensive, but, like I said, they’re my babies and I want what’s best for them. SO, eventually I’m going to be in the poor house……
February 5th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
i am searching and searching..for the best cat food for my two lovely babies persian..becoz one of my 3 cats had died of FIP recently.it just makes me want to give them the best to the rest of my 2 cats.
after tons of reasearch,i come to the conclusion that RAW diet is best for cats.
but wow, the cost is so high..
so I brought the next best thing for now..i think it should be orijen.
but one thing really bothers me is that, why orijen use POTATO as one of the first 5 ingredients???
its just a cheap filler..
anyhow,i believe its the best dry cat food available for my cats
but please, stop using potato!!
February 8th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
I think Orijen changed their regular adult cat formula in the past 2-4 months or so, maybe longer depending on how long stores have it on hand.
My cats used to eat Orijen adult cat formula with no problem. They seemed to really like it I used it a couple years now, but the last bag both of the cats are not eating it. I got a new bag, and they won’t touch this stuff either.
I don’t trust the pet food companies anymore. I think Orijen is substituting some low grade ingredients in their food now. Why else would both of my cats all of a sudden stop eating it after years of no problems? Nothing else has changed.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
With all the research I’ve done in the past few months I am sickened by the things that I have learned about 80% of the pet food brands out there. Some of them shouldn’t even be classified as pet food. For dry food I suggest Orijen, Acana, Go! Grain Free, Wellness Core and possibly Evo. Do some research and take pride in loving your pet and treating them right.
March 5th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Cats can be notoriously fickle. But my cats have never liked the taste of any food but Eagle Pack. My dog is the opposite, only likes Orijen! Go figure.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Neither my two cats, Binder and Feynman, like Orijen. One of them even suffered from diarrhea after I fed them this product. Personally I would suggest another brand, such as Fromm.
April 12th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
To John: My cats have recently stopped eating Orijen – this frightens me and I am also wondering if they have changed something. If anyone knows if they are changing their food, please post.
April 20th, 2010 at 1:34 am
I had to find new chow for my 16 year old cat. She had been doing well on Nutro most of her life, then got very ill from a recalled batch. The first new food I tried helped for the most part, but she still wasn’t back to her old self. Through trial & error with samples, I found Orijen.
Since feeding her Orijen things have improved 100%! It is the closest thing thing to raw diet I can find in a bag. The lack of grain is key!
It is pricey, but worth every penny for the health it brought back to my cat’s life and the peace of mind it has given me.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Dear Orijen – My cats have been enjoying Orijen Dry for 6 months now. The store I purchase it from had a promotion where if I bought 10 bags the eleventh was free. Now that I am close they tell me that I need to buy twelve to get a free one and it is Orijen that changed the requirements. Is this true? Is this fair? Should there not be a grandfather rule for those who started with the promotion before the change? Signed, a devoted, yet annoyed customer.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:32 am
As with John and Cheyenne, my most recent purchase of Orijen for my cats has resulted in diarrhea, which they did not experience before. Mind you, I used a couple other cat foods for a 2-3 week span, when we couldn’t afford the Orijen. But I’ve really wondered what’s going on with our cats since getting them back on Orijen. It’s been a really difficult transition. And it was never a problem before.
So I too suspect a change in Champion’s formula. And now I don’t know WHAT to think.
Anybody else out there encountering problems with more recent purchases of Orijen for their cats?
June 1st, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I’m not so sure about Orijen, and would like to add my experience to that of John, Cheyenne, and Lynn.
My cat’s on her fourth bag of the adult cat & kitten formula (I got her from the shelter before that), and while she was fine on it for the first couple bags, on her fourth bag (so a couple months into her eating it, maybe at the beginning of May), she began having diarrhea and it happened about three or four times in the span of one month. She also had a weird stretch where she didn’t poo for three days and I was seriously worried, as there’s obviously something wrong with that when she normally does it once a day, and at the same time at that. There’s something fishy going on.
Some more food for thought – I first bought Orijen at the recommendation of a pet store owner – she said people and their pets love it, she hasn’t had any negative reviews. Then after my cat began having tummy problems, I went to another pet store. The woman there told me that Orijen can and actually does (slowly) *kill* your cat, because there is too much meat in it, and their kidneys wear out due to being overworked all the time. So she made it sound very very dangerous. Later, I went to another pet store. The lady in the third store told me that Orijen is only dangerous to dogs because of the meat/kidney thing, but not really to cats – although she still recommended that I switch over to another brand that had less meat in it.
So, altogether, I’ve been told many very different things. My cat seems to be doing okay for the last week or two, and is not having tummy problems anymore (for now). Her coat is shiny and she looks healthy, but that stretch of diarrhea and constipation really made me think, and I’ll probably begin to start phasing out Orijen once the current bag is half empty.
As a new cat owner, I’m annoyed that it’s so hard to decipher what’s truly best for our beloved pets.
June 1st, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Oh, and I guess I should make a note to say that I don’t really remember exactly whether the two pet store workers said it hurt cats’ kidneys or livers. I mostly remembered the main message of it being dangerous – so don’t quote me on the organ
.
June 20th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Orijen cat food is the only food I’ll feed my cats when I have to supplement my cat’s normally raw diet if I’ll be away for any length of time. It’s truly grain fee and both formulas agree with him. I just wish it costed a little less, but it’s still well worth it.
July 3rd, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I just bought the Original Orajen and gave some to my cat and he seems to like it so far. I was feeding him Natural Balance but this seemed high quality. At least potatos are better than corn which some lower quality foods use. I can’t believe when vets try to sell us their prescription pet food and it’s crap. I have a wholistic vet that will work with me and my cat who has a kidney problem but as long as his levels aren’t really high and he’s gained some weight (which he needed to), my vet is happy. He hated the prescription crap and it looked awful.
August 26th, 2010 at 11:19 am
A couple of months ago, in reaction to my cats’ habit of over-gorging themselves and throwing up half their food, I started to do some research on cat food. I discovered that part of the problem was that while any dry food expands in the stomach, grain-based kibble tends to be far worse. Being unwilling to deal with the hassle and expense of raw or canned foods, but wanting to do my best for my fuzzy pals, I arrived at a short list including Orijen. One of the first things I noticed about the cat and kitten mix was that it smells fairly strongly, relative to any other dry food I’ve encountered. I can only imagine what the fish must be like. The second thing I noticed was that my cats went absolutely mental for this stuff, and I had to manually hold the cats back while making sure they got roughly equal portions. They used to know to stand back and wait for it to be served; and with Iams, fear and common sense were enough to hold them back. Now, all bets are off. I’m feeding them less, they’re vomiting far less (sometimes they still eat too rapidly when I sleep in and they get fed late) and their coats have improved; I’m sold. Based on what some folks have said here though, I’ll have to take care when the time comes to get another bag; hopefully the issues you’ve experienced are coincidental and not indicative of a major QC issue.
August 30th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Alot of these reviews do seem positive. I was happy feeding my babies this food EXCEPT for one major problem: they gained a TON of Weight!!!!! The protein levels are sooo high, and 5 of my cats weight went thru the roof!! I had no choice but to stop this food, and am still searching for something good for them. So, i wondered, anyone else out there notice a massive weight gain with their loving kitties on this food??
September 1st, 2010 at 5:10 am
Hi, I just ran across this site, and thought I’d weigh on on the most recent comment.
The back of the bag gives directions for portions. Have you been following those? My cat — two years old, indoor — has been eating this food for several months, and I’ve also observed some weight gain, but nothing like what you’re describing. One thing to remember is that you need to feed your cats much, much less of this stuff than you would if you were feeding them filler-filled junk like Hill’s. Mine (she’s about medium for a cat; her ideal weight is 8-ish lbs) eats not even half a cup per day, and I’m about to cut back. Anyhow, if you know what your cats’ ideal weights are, then you should try following the directions on the bag (I use a measuring cup to be precise and consistent); if you don’t, ask your vet.
Try that. Don’t be concerned if, when you follow the directions on the bag, it seems as though there’s very little food in their bowls. And if at first they beg for more food after they eat what you give them, resist the impulse to give more. Mine complained about the smallness of her portions at first, but her appetite slowly adjusted.
Also, are some of your cats stealing food from others? That may explain the weight gain, too.