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from Chicago on 9/4/2008
High meat content and no grain! Cats are carnivores.....grain is unhealthy! My cat loves this food. I alternate this with Wellness canned and my cat has never been sick a day in her life(7yrs) Her coat is beautiful and she is always full of energy and has always maintained a healthy weight. I would recommend this to any cat owner.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
I recently started researching the heck out of dog food, wanting to get my dogs on a grain-free diet to try and stop the "itchy-ness", occasional ear infections, not to mention giving them the best diet I can afford. I searched the web and spoke with 3 different pet-food store owners who offered the type of foods I was looking for.
After learning a lot about dog nutrition, I started thinking about what I'd been feeding my cats. More research. Armed with a ton of information, I learned the dry Royal Canin i/d I was feeding my carnivorous kitty's on the recommendation of my vet was a pretty crummy food as far as their protein needs go. While there are as many opinions about which food is #1 as there are pet owners, there is consistency among which brands offer high-quality ingredients. Most of which, are offered on this website. It pretty much comes down to a matter of which of these wonderful foods your cat will actually eat, how it fits into your budget, how accessible it is to get and if it's in a form that fits into your lifestyle (dry, wet, frozen, raw, etc).
As for myself, I went out and got several free samples of various high-quality, grain-free foods...Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Natural Balance, Instinct, Fromm (he didn't touch it), etc. After presenting him bowls of each, it was clear the finicky Eddie preferred the Wellness Core. (My other kitty will eat anything, so he didn't get to vote!) The foods he snubbed are all excellent, but for whatever reason, he didn't prefer them. I'll be supplementing Wellness CORE with various high-quality canned foods to provide moisture and give him a variety of protein sources.
I don't know if it's my imagination, but a week into this, it seems his coat is healthier as is his energy level.
As far as the reviewer who commented on the "triangle shape" not being palatable to her cat, I'd like to report Wellness CORE is now small and sphere shaped... a bit larger than a BB. It's actually smaller than Innova EVO.
from Smithfield, VA on 8/16/2008
This is a great alternative for owners that can not feed raw or homecooked meals. I am excited about the amount of meat based protein and the controled mineral content. My cat loves this food! He has a history of easy GI upset (resulting in horrible diarrhea) but on this food, his stool is normal and no matter what canned food I add into his diet, he maintains a normal stool. I absolutely love the food and thank Wellness for coming out with this line of foods. I am a little disapointed in the kibble shape and size but the excellence of the product far exceeds this slight problem.
from Providence, RI on 6/28/2008
I am simply amazed at the difference in my two munchkins' transformation after switching from Science Diet's "Natural" formula.
I'm not into holistic medicine or natural remedies (scientist by trade), so dealing with the over-abundance of 'natural' foods is downright annoying to me. If the bag contained nothing but ebola virus, mustard gas, and roundworms it would still be 'natural'. I did a good amount of research on foods after I finally got tired of the mysterious vomiting incidents. I tried several other foods you can get on most pet store shelves, and SD was the best I was able to find at the time.
I took the time to actually look into some of the sites by vets and PubMed primary research articles. If I had to summarize, cats are the only remaining 'true' carnivores - they need meat and nothing else. The ingredient list for the Wellness Core is literally about as perfect as you can get for a dry food (one cat will not eat wet food). As another reviewer mentioned, the pellets do crumble into dust pretty easily, but again, one cat cat didn't chew her food very well, and I think the vomiting was due to the pellets expanding in her stomach after swallowing them whole.
One cat was overweight and somewhat lethargic, and now a very healthy weight and more active. The other had an eye infection as a kitten, which causes his one eye to leak a little. Somehow THAT cleared up after switching (not completely, but it is much improved). Both cats had good coats before, but are now softer than I have ever felt on any cat. Both are eating much less, probably because the protein source is so much more dense, and come running when I go to empty out the leftover bits and pour a fresh serving.
There are a few gimmicky ingredients that I'm not convinced do anything other than make for a noticeable stand-out word on the label, making it sound like there's some magic to, say, cranberries, which somehow cats survived over hundreds of thousands of years without, but are now absolutely vital. People notice "cranberry" and read an explanation of how they might do something good. Guaranteed 50% crude protein is less sexy, but where it's all at.
from Chicago on 4/29/2008
This is the best dry food I have ever seen! Cats are carnivores.....they need meat. My cat will not eat a raw food diet which I think is best but I feel good about giving her any Wellness brand food.....very high quality!
from IN on 10/4/2007
This is a great food. I have tried all of the other grain free foods out there (yes, ALL!) and this is the only one ALL 5 of my cats will eat. Also, [...] They clearly state that 95% of their ingredients are from North America and the ones that are overseas must meet strict guidelines. Read their website for all of the quality controls they have. I think this is a great company and will continue to feed Core to my babies.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from East End LI, NY on 9/17/2007
All 5 cats love it (that's the best review ever if all FIVE cats love it!) and I can't keep our little Silky Terrier out of the bowl either. :)
Thank You!
[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
from College Point, NY on 8/31/2007
I know Wellness has a good reputation, and is one of the best known quality brands.. I've fed it in our cattery for years along with other high quality brands such as Innova and Nature's Variety. I was excited to see Wellness come out with a grain free dry food, so I gave it a try. Two out of 19 cats ate it; and I do NOT have a picky clan. It's expensive, and I wasn't impressed by the ingredients. To make matters worse, I've read a lot of discussions on natural feeding pet blogs about Wellness toting that their products are MADE in the USA, but that the ingredients are coming from overseas. the best thing to do is call them yourself, ask questions and judge for yourself by their answers. If you are going to spend your money, stick with Innova Evo and Nature's Variety. I wasn't happy with Core at all.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Leominster, MA on 8/20/2007
My oldest cat, Molly, is almost 11 years old. She has been vomitting after meals and has been very lifeless and gaining weight. I tried this product and she (although she doesn't necessarily like it that much.... you know, change) she has stopped vomitting and seems to have more energy. It has only been a few weeks that we have been giving this to her. I notice an improvement but I think, like all of us humans, she doesn't like being put on a low carbohydrate diet. I do intend to continue using it and will update with progress notes. By the way, her son (almost 9 yrs old) eats it too and doesn't seem to mind the different taste. So far I'd rate it as very good (because of the noticeable affects it has on Molly) and, I must admit, I am much happier with the condition of my carpets! Thank you.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Las Vegas, NV on 7/16/2007
Finally a food that my cat with many allegies can eat. My other cats love it and are eating it as fast as I can shovel it in a bowl. Thank you Wellness
[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from Chardon, OH on 6/21/2007
Wellness Core is a great addition to the Wellness family. I have 5 cats of my own and also do cat rescue, so I often times have additional foster cats in. It is amazing to see the improvement in the cats after getting on a good diet. I love Wellness, but my oldest cat has developed an allergy to grains, so Core has been my godsend for her! I mix it with their canned food (grain free formulas), and all my cats eat it without hesitation! A+++ And bless the company that has made it their priority to do well by our companions.
[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
from southeast, Wisconsin on 6/21/2007
My 9 cats love all the other Wellness dry and canned foods but don't care much for this one.I think it powders up too much when they chew it and some of them vomit it back up because it makes them cough and hard to swollow.They are little triangle shaped and not the round shape like Wellness' other dry foods.They just are not attracted to it like the other flavors of kibbies.
[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
from Pinole, Ca on 4/28/2007
We decided to try the Wellness Core because our kitties used to eat the regular Wellness before we switched to Innova Evo last year. Only one of our four kitties is willing to eat the Core, the others won't give it the time of day.