Wellness wet cat food makes a claim of “guaranteed levels of probiotics”…
…however we could not find what that guaranteed level is anywhere on their website. Some pet foods that guarantee probiotics will include them in the Guaranteed Analysis information, Wellness did not. Wellness did offer a complete nutrient profile for this cat food, however probiotics was not included there either.
So we sent Wellness these questions: Your website page for the Wellness Core Digestive Health Chicken Pate Recipe states “guaranteed levels of probiotics to support digestive health…” However I can’t find those guarantees on the webpage. The Guaranteed Analysis doesn’t include probiotics and I downloaded the full nutrient profile for the food and don’t see the probiotics guarantee there either. Can you provide where on your website that information is provided? Is the guarantee of probiotics only listed on the website, or is that guarantee stated on the pet food label too?
Wellness also claimed “high quality protein” for this cat food. We asked them: Also for this product, the webpage states “High-Quality Protein”. Can you explain what high quality protein is? Are the protein ingredients feed grade or human grade? If they are feed grade, how is the determination of ‘high quality’ made?
And for a Wellness dog food we asked similar questions about protein quality: On your webpage for Complete Health Deboned Chicken & Oatmeal dog food there are several statements regarding quality of ingredients. On the product description it states “premium chicken”. One of the icons on the page states “High-quality nutrients” and under Key Ingredients it states “high quality ingredients”. Again, with the dog food can you explain what premium and high quality means? Are the ingredients human grade or feed grade? If they are feed grade, how is a determination of premium or high quality made?
We sent these questions twice (4/26/22 and 4/29/22) via their email address (info@wellnesspet.com). And we sent these questions via their contact form on 5/3/22 (which we received a confirmation of receipt). Wellness did not respond to any of our messages.
Should Wellness decide to answer our questions in the future, their responses will be shared.
Wishing you and your pet the best –
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Beth
May 4, 2022 at 10:52 am
I just posted on their FBook page this morning:
“As the parent of several fur babies that eat Wellness brand foods (lots of money per month) and a regulatory professional, I’m concerned as to why the Wellness company has not responded to 3 attempts from The Truth About Pet Food to obtain information about product ingredients and claims as to probiotics, the company’s definition of “high quality protein” and related quality and ingredient questions.
Hopefully, your company is working to complete a thorough response that we can look forward to reading soon.”
Leona
May 4, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Thank for the post on FB, as well as thanks for taking charge TAPF! I feed Wellness to my babies and want answers, too.
Caron Allen Taira
May 4, 2022 at 11:20 am
I am so frustrated by big pet food corporations not being held accountable for their claims.
Tina Rock
May 4, 2022 at 12:23 pm
I used to feed my cats Wellness grain-free wet cat food. All seemed OK but then my older cat started acting “off”.
I switched them off of Wellness and onto Vital Essentials dehydrated rabbit, which they LOVE, and also Caru Stew.
Having lost 2 cats in 2019, I suspect because of feeding them canned catfood, I am very wary about what to feed my cats.
I would not trust Wellness to provide effective probiotics in a canned cat food. My one cat enjoys plain whole Yogurt (small quantities) and I also feed both of them raw cow’s milk.
Sherry
May 4, 2022 at 11:30 pm
I bought Wellness Grain Free Gravies Tuna Dinner for my older cats. The first ingredient is fish broth. Sounded fairly benign to me but then I began to have second thoughts before feeding it. I asked two different people in customer service what kind of fish is in the fish broth because one of my cats has a serious allergy. They said it was proprietary. Zero info. End of story.
Keith
May 5, 2022 at 10:25 am
My cat has gotten bad urinary blockages from Wellness canned cat food when he was 2 years old to the point that now he can only eat prescription Hills c/d dry and canned.
I know it’s not the best brand, but it’s been keeping my cat alive and healthy now for 10 years.
I got a puppy recently and now feed him Science Diet Puppy.
I just trust this brand because if it’s keeping my beloved cat alive then I can trust it to keep my puppy healthy also.
I’m aware of the past recalls with the brand, but I will take that risk when the benefits outweigh them.
Michael
May 9, 2022 at 8:03 pm
I believe that the Wellness dry cat food products contain probiotics but their wet products do not. Probiotics are included in the Guaranteed Analysis for dry foods and are not for the wet foods.
Tim Quell
January 20, 2024 at 10:24 am
Found live larvae and bugs in two new bags of wellness raw rev
Dog got very sick from it
Please check your chow