Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Alternative to Katkin

28 replies

BirdIsland · 10/04/2023 20:02

My cats have been on Katkin for a couple of months, and had really taken to it - they're elderly, one with a very sensitive tummy, so I was pleased I'd found something good for them that they liked.

BUT, Katkin seemed to have changed how they produce their products and the food is now grey slop that turns watery when warmed. Even worse, it has given my girl the most horrendous diarrhea, to the point I'm going to need to take her to the vet (I've only just realised that it started after the last Katkin delivery, and I feel awful that I didn't make the connection sooner 😢).

So can anyone recommend an alternative to Katkin? I'm keen to have something fresh and I'm willing to pay a premium for good quality. I've just ordered a trial box of Untamed, but it doesn't seemed to be fresh in the same way that Katkin is/was?

OP posts:
brokenarmabroad · 10/04/2023 20:39

There are lots of us in the same position.

DCat used to have a mix of Untamed and Katkin, but over time he was increasingly preferring Katkin so he's been exclusively on it for around six months and absolutely thriving on it. He doesn't seem to mind the new Cluck (the only one of the new trays we've had so far) but he seems to need to eat a lot more of it to be satisfied so I'm sure it has more water in it.

The backlash has been so huge that if they manage not to go bust over it I'm quietly hopeful that they will revert back. The survey I got from them certainly seemed to imply they are having a major rethink.

If they don't I'm not sure what we will do. The only real comparable seems to be one of the raw diets but I know there is quite a lot of debate over whether raw is good for cats.

BirdIsland · 10/04/2023 20:57

I've just ordered a trial of Untamed, so we'll see how that goes, and a box of Blink to tide us over. I'm not sold on a raw diet for them, particularly at their age.

I've just dug out the Katkin survey and completed it. They seem to have completely ruined their product and alienated what was a pretty loyal customer base - totally baffling. I'm not sure I'd even trust them if they reverted back now.

OP posts:
CrystalMaisie · 10/04/2023 21:10

I cancelled my katkin subscription tonight. Hoping for some recommendations, Blink and Lily’s kitchen upsets one of my cat’s stomachs.
I’ve just ordered a trial box from the Cool Cat Club, seemed to have good reviews.

Clarich007 · 11/04/2023 09:32

I can recommend Untamed. The food is fab, in recyclable small tins. Their customer service is brilliant, emails are usually answered within an hour.
It saved my cat who had a nasty virus with awful digestion problems.
It's human grade chicken or fish and really high quality.
I tried him on Katkin too but that too upset his tum.

LeChatChat · 11/04/2023 13:01

Beware - only the gravy Untamed is a complete food; the jelly food is complemetary (ie a calorific snack). Untamed are not very forthcoming about this - it's only mentioned once on their site and not at all in the bit where you can change what you receive in your order. I wondered why my cats were always hungry yet getting fat and found the answer on a random Reddit thread!

BirdIsland · 11/04/2023 13:34

@LeChatChat that's really helpful, thank you, I hadn't noticed that at all when choosing my trial box - annoyingly I've ordered all jelly as my cats prefer that, but one in particular doesn't eat anything other than wet food so we'd need the gravy ones if we moved to that.

All that said, at the post-Katkin trip to the vet this morning (which cost me £100!!) they recommended I feed hypoallergenic food, I'm sure I've tried similar before and they just point blank refuse it.

Sorry for all those also having Katkin problems, such a shame and I could totally live without the hassle of finding new food.

OP posts:
CoconutNoodles · 11/04/2023 17:48

I ordered a trial box for The Cool Cat Club

Katkin refunded me half of what I paid for my last box - but I will ask for full amount

The Cool Cat Club - Proper food, delivered monthly

https://thecoolcatclub.com/?r=VLPoxkgSXUTi

JJhappycat · 11/04/2023 19:54

This has been such a fiasco, and such a huge shame. It took me a while to move my almost 13 year old cat onto Katkin a few months ago. But it seemed worth the effort given the initial results. It is expensive, plus it took a bit of time working out which flavours he would/wouldn't eat, but I was so impressed initially. My cats coat became silky and shiny after just a few weeks, and he seemed to have so much more energy. I was about to become a lifetime loyal customer and felt happy it was money well spent.

However, that has all changed. Totally out of nowhere, they emailed to say they would not honour my order due in one working day. Instead they gave an earliest delivery date one month later. Really? What was I meant to suddenly feed my cat? As so many of us know, cats are notoriously fussy and need to be transitioned slowly. Like so many other customers, we were were left totally in the lurch.

It seems those who did get their orders then found out the hard way that Katkin has either changed the recipe, the way of cooking and/or their whole ethos overnight. You only have to look on Trust Pilot to see how widespread this is, which is very sad. No surprise to find a multi million pound investment behind the change in manufacturing, leaving many thousands of people and cats let down. With no warning, this is inexcusable and irresponsible.

Long story short, I have spent a lot of money on various trials or full orders over the past week trying to find an alternative. Blink, Untamed, and I'm now waiting for a Cool Cat Cub trial. I did try Bella and Duke too. They don't do trials, so you have to order a months supply. The whole order turning up fully defrosted. It's raw food, which I wasn't too keen on anyway, but I was giving it a go. I am now having to throw it all out. Customer service have still not responded to my request for advice, 4 days later, so not very impressed.

If anyone has any other suggestions I'd love to know. I have looked at how to make healthy cat food myself, as I figure if Katkin can steam food, so can I. You do need to get the right amount of bone, taurine, liver etc and also need to be careful not to cook bone shards amongst other things. As a pescatarian for many years, this may all be a a step too far for me...

I just don't understand why Katkin had to break a good thing. It makes no commercial sense....

AndISeeNothingWrongWithThat · 11/04/2023 20:06

DCat has been enjoying Cool Cat Club food for a few months now and the price is reasonable for the decent fish/meat content.

I like seeing recognisable content in the food and would recommend the tins in particular.

AnnaMagnani · 11/04/2023 20:09

Mine are on Canagan. It's isn't fresh but it is whole, high quality ingredients and basically all meat.

In a moment of madness I tasted the salmon flavour and it does actually taste like a salmon fillet.

The cats go nuts for it, they don't need to eat that much in a day and they have noticeably had the improvement in skin and energy.

brokenarmabroad · 11/04/2023 21:44

I'm just so gutted about KatKin. The biggest proof for me of how good it was for DCat is that his poo didn't smell AT ALL. Literally not at all, unless you virtually stuck your nose in the litter scoop.

He used to have Untamed before, and although it is 100% meat it didn't have the same miraculous impact on his digestive system.

If Katkin don't go back to their previous recipe and process I do think there is clearly a gap in the market for someone else to replicate their original product.

BirdIsland · 12/04/2023 08:35

My box of Untamed is arriving today, and I've got boxes of Wainwrights and Royal Canin at home to try (not fresh in any way, but hypoallergenic as the vet suggested). I also got a box of James Wellbeloved which has been roundly rejected. When looking for alternatives I found it interesting that beef and pork cropped up regularly as not being great for cats tummies - not something I knew.

My poor old girl is on anti acid tablets for a week, with a food supplement to get her weight back up and a long lasting painkiller injection. Poor thing is feeling very sorry for herself!

Still not heard back from Katkin in relation to my refund request but I'm not surprised, I imagine it's been a pretty horrific few weeks at Katkin HQ.

OP posts:
AmongstTheCosmos · 12/04/2023 17:03

I hope you dcat feels better soon OP.

I'm so shocked and disappointed in Katkin. I don't understand why they've made such a hideous own goal. My cats have absolutely refused to eat the slurry which Katkin sent this month so I too am waiting for a refund. I'm so fed up!

DomingoinLittleOakley · 12/04/2023 18:18

I've got my next Katkin box arriving tomorrow but have just had an email to say that they are swapping some of the varieties I ordered for others as "a last-minute change means there wasn’t enough meat meeting our high standards this week".

They haven't said which ones, and it's too late to cancel now, so I shall have to wait and see what arrives. I had no idea there was anything going on.

BirdIsland · 13/04/2023 08:23

@DomingoinLittleOakley I got the same message before my last delivery - I only received Cluck, Moo and Gobble, all in the new packaging.

OP posts:
Belami · 13/04/2023 08:46

My girl also loved her Katkin , she didn't take to the new recipe at first but seems to be eating it fine now. Although I have noticed she seems to finish it a lot quicker than before, so I'm wondering if the calorie content is the same?

Does anyone know why Katkin decided to make this big change??

CoconutNoodles · 13/04/2023 13:52

Belami · 13/04/2023 08:46

My girl also loved her Katkin , she didn't take to the new recipe at first but seems to be eating it fine now. Although I have noticed she seems to finish it a lot quicker than before, so I'm wondering if the calorie content is the same?

Does anyone know why Katkin decided to make this big change??

Apparently they received a huge investment and needed to change the packaging to comply with environmental pressures also changing the way they cook the food in order to use the new package.

Clarich007 · 13/04/2023 16:46

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

DomingoinLittleOakley · 14/04/2023 17:24

BirdIsland · 13/04/2023 08:23

@DomingoinLittleOakley I got the same message before my last delivery - I only received Cluck, Moo and Gobble, all in the new packaging.

I only got Cluck, Quack and Gobble, so just missing Splash. All in new packaging, which takes up quite a bit more room in my freezer.

The first Cluck went down very well - in fact I think she prefers it to the original, but she can be quite contrary so I will hold off on any sort of judgement until we've been through a few more.

LeChatChat · 15/04/2023 11:30

Beware the new Splash - you're lucky you didn't get it. It smells like (and looks like) diarrhoea.

CoconutNoodles · 15/04/2023 11:47

Splash was already horrible before, my cat never liked it.

I’m trying to give 15 double trays of the new Katkin food away for FREE and no takers. No shelters near me and I don’t drive.
It will have to go to the bin because I have grocery delivery today and need the freezer space:(

AndISeeNothingWrongWithThat · 15/04/2023 12:42

Do you maybe have a nearby supermarket witha Cats Protection (or similar) collection point? Our local Morrisons has a box for donated food.

CoconutNoodles · 15/04/2023 13:22

AndISeeNothingWrongWithThat · 15/04/2023 12:42

Do you maybe have a nearby supermarket witha Cats Protection (or similar) collection point? Our local Morrisons has a box for donated food.

Would they have a freezer available you think?

AndISeeNothingWrongWithThat · 15/04/2023 13:39

Ah, I totally forgot about that aspect, sorry! Back to the drawing board.

GlomOfNit · 16/04/2023 22:52

LeChatChat · 11/04/2023 13:01

Beware - only the gravy Untamed is a complete food; the jelly food is complemetary (ie a calorific snack). Untamed are not very forthcoming about this - it's only mentioned once on their site and not at all in the bit where you can change what you receive in your order. I wondered why my cats were always hungry yet getting fat and found the answer on a random Reddit thread!

Infuriating, isn't it? I think I'm going to cancel my Untamed subscription - my cat hoovered up the trial box, even the gravy, but preferred the jelly ones (he only liked fishy jelly Felix before this). There was NOTHING at all obvious on the tins or the website about this - as in, don't get your cat hooked on the jelly ones, they're not good for them! So my first monthly order was mostly jelly and it was only then I read something about them only being complimentary. My second order was therefore mostly gravy and he usually leaves it. I hated Felix because it feels low quality (and he was often leaving the chunks and eating the jelly) but at least it had the right additives!