Orijen Wet Cat Food Review

Orijen wet cat food receives the Cat Food Advisor rating, 5 stars.

The first five ingredients in every Orijen wet cat food are fresh animal products.  In fact in most recipes, the first nine ingredients are raw poultry and fish.  This recipe range has high quality animal ingredients and no peas, lentils, legumes, carrageenan or gums.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

The Orijen wet cat food product line includes five cat foods.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Orijen Tuna, Salmon & Beef Entrée Wet Cat Food recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is tuna.  Tuna is an oily marine fish not only high in protein but also omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every cat to sustain life.  

This item is typically sourced from clean, undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings of commercial fish operations.  ¹

The second ingredient is chicken.  Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.  ² Chicken is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The third ingredient is salmon.  Salmon is an oily marine and freshwater fish not only high in protein but also omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every cat to sustain life.

The fourth ingredient is whole sardine.  Sardine is a small, oily marine fish which is nutrient rich, high in protein and is a source of omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every cat to sustain life.

The fifth ingredient is chicken liver.  This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The sixth and seventh ingredients are fish bone broth and beef bone broth.  Although they add both flavor and moisture to a cat food, bone broths are a common component in many wet products. However, since broths consist almost entirely of water, the trace nutrients they contain account for only a fraction of the overall finished cat food.

The eighth ingredient is beef.  Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.  ³

Beef is naturally rich in all 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Recipe star rating 5.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Orijen Tuna, Salmon & Beef Entrée Wet Cat Food recipe looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 70%, a fat level of 20% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 2%.

As a group, the brand features an above-average protein content of 61% and an above-average fat level of 28%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 3% for the overall product line, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 46%.

This means the Orijen wet cat food product line contains higher than average protein, lower than average carbohydrate and higher than average fat, when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Orijen cat food been recalled in the past?

Yes. There was a recall of Orijen cat food in November 2008 that was limited to Australia. The problems had to do with irradiation treatment, required under Australian law. The company says the irradiation was never done outside of Australia and as a result Orijen no longer sells it’s products in Australia.

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.

About

Orijen is produced by Champion Petfoods, a Canadian company.  Reinhard Muhlenfeld, a German-born Canadian started the business — Champion Feed Services Ltd — in a small factory in Barrhead, Alberta, in 1975.  

In 2005, Champion Petfoods launched the Orijen brand; it is now the first and largest pet food manufacturer in Canada employing more than  500 people in  its global sales team and at facilities in Alberta, Ontario, and Kentucky.