Orijen Cat Food Ingredients
According to our research, Orijen manufactures 13 cat food recipes using 123 unique ingredients. To evaluate the quality of ingredients used by Orijen, we've studied all 123 ingredients. In this article, we'll share our findings on Orijen ingredients.
| Cat Food Recipes | 13 |
| Unique Ingredients | 123 |
| Artificial Colors | 0 |
| Animal By-Products | 0 |
| Anonymous Meats | 0 |
| Controversial | 0 |
| Harmful | 0 |
First 5 Ingredients
Cat food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight. The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.
For Orijen, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 cat food ingredients.
- chicken
- turkey
- whole mackerel
- mixed tocopherols
- turkey liver
As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Orijen is chicken. The most common 2nd ingredient is turkey, followed by whole mackerel, mixed tocopherols, and turkey liver.
Artificial Food Coloring Dyes
Orijen does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According to our records, none of the 13 Orijen cat foods contain artificial food dyes.
Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general, we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.
In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most cats consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming to say the least.
To read more about Artificial Food Dyes, click here.
Animal By-Products
According to our records, Orijen does not contain any animal by-products.
Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.
Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including Orijen have decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).
For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products, click here.
Anonymous Meat Ingredients
Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive cat foods.
In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient. For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.
In our analysis, we've looked through all 123 Orijen ingredients. According to our data, Orijen does not contain any anonymous animal-based ingredients.
Cereal Grains
For cats, we typically recommend choosing a grain-free recipe. Cats are obligate carnivores and therefore grains are not species appropriate.
According to our data, Orijen cat food recipes do not contain grains. In other words, all recipes are grain-free.
Please note, kibble production requires a binding agent. Grains are commonly used for this purpose in cat food. When purchasing grain-free cat food, grains are often replaced with another starchy source. This is also not ideal.
To avoid grains and other starchy additions, consider feeding wet or frozen recipes.
Controversial Ingredients
Brands which do not use any controversial ingredients are typically top-of-the-line. Avoiding all controversial ingredients indicates that the brand has not sacrificed quality for cost savings.
Our research indicates that Orijen is one of these top-notch brands. We've looked through all 123 Orijen ingredients and none of these ingredients were classified as controversial in our system
Potentially Harmful Ingredients
Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general, we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.
During our review, none of the Orijen ingredients analyzed were classified as harmful by our system. The absence of harmful ingredients is indicative of a relatively premium cat food brand.
Orijen Cat Food Ingredient Lists
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Kitten Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Kitten Recipe
First Five Ingredients
chickenturkey
salmon
whole herring
chicken liver
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Guardian 8 Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Guardian 8 Recipe
First Five Ingredients
chickensalmon
turkey
whole herring
whole mackerel
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Tundra Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Tundra Recipe
First Five Ingredients
duckarctic char
rainbow trout
whole sardine
venison
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Fit & Trim Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Fit & Trim Recipe
First Five Ingredients
chickenchicken liver
whole herring
turkey
turkey liver
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Six Fish Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Six Fish Recipe
First Five Ingredients
whole mackerelwhole herring
flounder
acadian redfish
monkfish
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Original Cat Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Original Cat Recipe
First Five Ingredients
chickenturkey
whole mackerel
turkey liver
turkey heart
Orijen
Dry Cat Food
Regional Red Recipe
Orijen
Dry Cat Food Regional Red Recipe
First Five Ingredients
beefpork
whole mackerel
beef liver
wild boar
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Wild-Roaming Boar Formula
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Wild-Roaming Boar Formula
First Five Ingredients
wild boarwild boar liver
wild boar kidney
mixed tocopherols
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Original
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Original
First Five Ingredients
chickenturkey
chicken liver
chicken heart
turkey liver
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Six Fish
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Six Fish
First Five Ingredients
whole atlantic mackerelflounder
monkfish
whole atlantic herring
acadian redfish
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Grass-Fed Lamb Formula
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Grass-Fed Lamb Formula
First Five Ingredients
lamblamb liver
lamb tripe
mixed tocopherols
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Regional Red
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Regional Red
First Five Ingredients
beef liverlamb liver
wild boar liver
goat
wild boar
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats
Tundra
Orijen
Freeze-Dried Cat Treats Tundra
First Five Ingredients
goatvenison
wild boar
duck
lamb
