Hi David,

Thanks for clearing that up and no you didn’t waffle, I’m glad you went into the detail that you did as now I feel better about giving my two cats this food. Good point about providing them with alternative food as well as my two get wet food and freeze dried as well. Thanks again.

Hi Linda, Orijen is very high meat content which is what really matters, and there’s little to no evidence legumes hinder taurine absorption – only diets with too much fibre preventing a cat recycling taurine in bile.

It’s best to look at it this way: Cat foods with any significant amount of legumes – OR grains, potato, tapioca, or other non-carnivore foods – may be deficient in both taurine and nutrients your cat needs as a carnivore. Usually in kibble taurine is added as an afterthought rather than being provided via animal ingredients. So in short, it’s those “fillers” which are the real problem, and not just taurine related.

As Orijen has such a high meat content, your cat is at far less risk from taurine deficiency than literally most cats worldwide fed grain-based, legume-based, or other filler-based kibble.

However, I wouldn’t rely fully on kibble either. When you start adding other animal-based foods, such as air/freeze dried, raw, BARF, raw meaty bones, that small legume content in Orijen (which I should add does have benefit as cats do need a little fibre in their diet) becomes inconsequential. Cats in the wild consume fibre from fur and feathers, so many raw feeders miss this small but essential part of their diet.

Hopefully that answers your question – I waffled a bit, sorry!

Hi David,

What do you make of Orijen original dry cat food and the inclusion of two kinds of lentils as well as peas in the ingredients? Is is true that having these ingredients in cat food interferes with how a cat’s body absorbs taurine and therefore can make them very ill or is that a myth?

Hi Julie, despite Mars taking over Champion, the production of Orijen is still handled independently by Champion in the original facility. I can’t say I’ve seen any noticeable change in quality despite a few minor recipe tweaks. The recipe for Orijen Senior (Guardian) is excellent for a dry cat food – astoundingly so compared to most dry cat foods.

Hello,

Thanks for your fantastic reviews! I have been feeding my 10 year old cat wet food only but that has been getting harder with the increasing costs!

I have been feeding her Kiwi Wild South Pacific Fish Recipe dry with Zealandia, talentail and occasionally cat forest wet food. Per your suggestion I am trying to mix things up for optimal health.

Is Orijen senior a good alternative and has been any change since Mars bought Champion?

Thanks so much!
Julie

I have been using the Blackhawk grain free kangaroo and chicken as it’s palatable and easy to get, however there has been a noticeable increase in begging behaviour in my cats.

Thanks!

‘So unfortunately Orijen has had issues with their ingredients and are under investigation as to their ingredients not being approved for american standards of consumption, we are not aware when or if they will be bringing orijen back, we apologise for the inconvenience.’

This is from Petbarn as I finally asked after weeks of trying to wait for some to buy.

Will there be an updated list of best cat foods for 2026? It would be great to have ones that are easy to buy as I am finding some of the recommendations hard to find a stockist or stock in America