Comments on: Darwin’s Natural Cat Food Review

By: Niko

Niko — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 07:00:33 +0000

I’ve been fostering cats for almost 25 years and have been a Darwin’s customer nearly from the beginning. Along the way, many tweaks have been made in their products and packaging, largely spurred by customer input. While I used to be a proponent of feeding raw for many years and continue to be for my adopters, I’ve been cooking the Darwin’s food once they started having recalls; the primary reason is because, in my experience, cats whose gut and immune systems aren’t in tip-top condition, e.g., kittens and seniors, don’t handle raw very well. As I usually have cats of all ages, I prefer to play it safe and cook it to >165°F these days. I’ve never served Darwin’s at their recommended amounts; it’s too much, and cats can actually gain weight. I use my cooked Darwin’s as the basis for the regular diet (approx. 2 ozs per meal), and add good quality canned as fillers, which provide more variety (taste and texture) and ensure all nutritional bases are covered. The customer service, for the most part over these many years, has been good. I get the feeling something changed in their customer service and fulfillment process post-pandemic so there were some hiccups but it’s okay now. Lucky for me, I live in the Seattle area so if I have a delivery problem or run short I can run down to their plant, which is a huge benefit and one of the reasons I continue to purchase their product. Another reason is, I receive a substantial volume discount, without which I could not afford to feed it to my foster cats.

By: Sj

Sj — Thu, 04 May 2023 08:43:19 +0000

In reply to Matt Schaefer. Hi how much are you feeding your cat? My cat is also 15lbs an and would like to know from a fellow pet owner regarding amount to feed!

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 06:18:43 +0000

Here is Darwin’s response to the FDA “recall:” It is worth reading, and makes me trust them even more…

https://www.darwinspet.com/darwins-responds-to-fda-warning.html?

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 06:06:52 +0000

In reply to Christy.

This sentence: “I am currently trying yet they anxiously wait for it to show up in their bowl twice a day,” should read:

“I am currently trying to reduce how much of this food I feed my kitties and add back in some of their other foods as it is just too expensive for me to feed to them exclusively, yet they they still anxiously wait for it to show up in their bowl twice a day.”

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 06:01:54 +0000

I did quite a bit of research before trying Darwin’s raw cat food. One of the things I was most interested in were the Cal/Ph/Mg levels. This is what they shared with me in Sept 2022 (these numbers are on a dry matter basis):

Chicken for cats:
Calcium: 0.09%
Phosphorus: 0.08%
Magnesium: 0.0096%

Turkey for cats:
Calcium: 0.10%
Phosphorus: 0.073%
Magnesium: 0.016%

Also, the graphic charts they shared with me show the chicken at 2.45 and the turkey at 2.20 (units per 1,000 kcal ME. Only the chicken is a bit higher than recommended levels for an adult cat (2.0) according to their chart. As a comparative, Rebel Raw’s phosphorus level (units per 1,000 kcal ME) for their turkey cat food is 2.64, and their chicken is 2.54 — both higher than Darwin’s.

These numbers are different than the ones you shared in your article, so I’m wondering if perhaps Darwin brought the levels down somewhat? The information I shared above puts their phosphorus levels at an average level and the chicken has a great ratio with the Calcium, which is important. The only thing that concerns me is the pH of their chicken and turkey meals, which I was told was between 5 and 5.6. Ideally, we would want our kitty’s meals between 6.0 and 6.8 to avoid oxalate and struvite crystal formation (thus our desire to watch the Cal/Ph/Mag levels as well).

I also wanted to add that I was stunned by how quickly my kitties jumped on this raw food and now prefer it to all of their other options. One walked right over to the bowl the first time and chowed down. The other took two days, but both absolutely love it. I am currently trying yet they anxiously wait for it to show up in their bowl twice a day. So, so far so good. And their coats have never been softer or more beautiful.

My only question is has anyone else had the stools become more hard and dark (almost black)? They don’t seem to be straining or having issues, but the color is indeed off-putting (with little to no smell).

I am a new Darwin customer, but have been very happy with their product thus far.

By: Mallory Crusta

Mallory Crusta — Thu, 13 May 2021 05:30:20 +0000

In reply to Sarah. Hi Sarah, thank you for sharing your long-term experience with Darwin's Natural and the recent fulfillment issues. This situation sounds far from ideal, and I'm glad that you're making others aware of what you've experienced.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 07 May 2021 22:55:06 +0000

We have been feeding our two cats Darwin Natural for several years and have been very pleased. Until now. Just got off the phone with their customer service concerning the second incident in a row that our cat food delivery did not arrive on time. In March the shipment was delayed by a week due to a “technical” issue. This month the shipment simply did not show up, apparently lost or damaged en route via UPS. These mishaps are hard to swallow given that Darwin just raised their prices. It is also difficult in that we are now stuck for another few days awaiting a new delivery and are basically out of the food our cats have eaten exclusively for the past few years.
To Darwin’s credit, our cats love the chicken and turkey and have become sleek, healthy and energetic on this raw diet. The meals are easy to store and easy to dish out. They did an amazing job of getting our delivery to us on time for a year throughout the murky days of early Covid when all delivery services struggled with schedules. But that actually makes the delivery issues now less forgivable. I will also say it would be worth this company’s time to refresh their customer service protocol with distressed customers. Not once did I hear the words “Sorry your shipment was delayed” or “sorry that Ups didn’t get that handled for you”. They don’t necessarily need to take the blame, but an acknowledgement that this was not okay does go a long way to smoothing things over.

By: Mallory Crusta

Mallory Crusta — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 21:46:26 +0000

In reply to Linda J. Hi there! I just contacted Darwin's Natural, and the representative explained that the introductory 10-lb package for $14.95 is the smallest offering that they have and the closest to a sample size.

By: Linda J

Linda J — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:32:39 +0000

Is there anyway a person can buy just a sample to see if their cats will eat it?
With 3 very picky cats, I would hate to buy and then have to donate it because my cats won’t eat it.

By: Mallory Crusta

Mallory Crusta — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 19:13:06 +0000

In reply to Andrea Z. Hi Andrea, there is no maximum recommendation, unfortunately—this is a rather controversial area. The sentence you mentioned simply indicates that the food exceeds the minimum amount recommended, but it's hard to say whether or not this is excessive for seniors. Again, this is an area that's a bit questionable. If possible, I would consult a trusted veterinarian for more specific advice. Sorry I wasn't able to give more specific suggestions. Best, Mallory