Holistic Select 5.44kg Dry Cat Food Varieties
BUY 1 GET 1 FREE
Holistic Select cat food combines the Holistic Select Unique Digestive Health Support System (with pre & probiotics, natural fibres, digestive enzymes and digestive botanicals) - along with healthy, natural ingredients like fruits & veggies, healthy proteins, whole grains and omega fatty acids to provide your cat with optimal nutrition.
Offer available online or in store.
I'd say it's pretty obvious this brand is targeted at douchebags.
Fair point about marketing and I have no experience of this brand, but…
All you have to do is smell the rancid vapour when you open a can of Whiskas or equivalent to know that the better "premium" brands are not "the same crap that's in the regular version". I'd trust a brand like Science Diet or Royal Canin more than this perhaps, but they definitely are NOT the same content as budget supermarket brands marked up in price.
It doesn't work like that. Meat that is so rancid that it would kill a human being is a feast for a dog. I'm not sure about domestics but I know some of the big cats love rotten meat whereas others won't touch it and that's the great thing. Taste and smell were evolutionary advantages for a good reason.
Also I wouldn't really trust anyone that uses catchwords like "Science" or "Royal" in their name because being good at marketing has zero bearing on the quality of the product, and why would it need to be? Chances are it was started by someone from a marketing background who worked out how to sell something then got the thing to sell rather than the other way around.
Points noted, but advice here from Choice…
"But if you want what humans think as 'quality' ingredients and nutrient quantities above those recommended by AAFCO, then expect to pay more. "The cheaper ones tend to be less flavoursome, less palatable and probably, on the whole, have less meat products in them," says David Fraser, Professor of Animal Science at Sydney University.
Premium brands are more likely to claim they use ' real muscle meat', fish or poultry as their main ingredient. Some supermarket brands use less muscle meat and make up the balance with meat by-products like organs, blood and bones, which are equally good nutritionally. A higher proportion of muscle meat and other expensive ingredients can lead to a reduction in faecal volume as the food is more easily digested. Look for 'real meat'."
So while equally nutritious, you're getting "less flavour some, less palatable". Not an expert myself, but my first cat died last year at the age of 23, which is 10 years more than the average lifespan of most cats.
Also, not having a dig at you but to choose NOT to buy something based on a marketing name seems as ill informed as being a "hipster douchbag" and buying solely because of a lame marketing name. If you've done the trials and decided that the "iWackyDroidPhone" is the best phone, go ahead and buy it!
I've opened a few tins in the past looking after friends cats but I detest the smell and taste of Tuna and Salmon, actually all oily fish, so judging it by that criteria would be a big fail for me. I'm sure you've got foods you hate the smell of but that doesn't mean they're not edible and nutritious.
edit: Yes I certainly get your point, though I wouldn't say it's quite as ill informed (if using it as a general rather than a hard rule), but it's usually not a good sign if they have to resort to cheap marketing tactics. A good product sells itself. A bad product has to be sold.
Couldn't have said it better, except in chaser-style satire:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M6FtXP2I2LY
Wow, forgot they actually mentioned this brand! Oh the hilarity. And silvertone, I'm not sure that judging pet food based on how it smells to a human is a good indicator of quality, because cats love earwax, but it smells pretty funky to me (possibly worse than wiskas).
http://lifehacker.com/befriend-a-cat-with-your-earwax-152980…
Haha, fair point about the earwax I guess ;)
I must admit i spend more than i should on cat food. I have bought the cheap stuff in supermarkets and then the premium once i heard the benefits. It is actually true, the premium cat food, generally has more % of meat and less of the stuff they cant digest (corn etc) and fillers.
Its true what they say about the poop too. She goes alot less than she use to and we dont feed her nearly as much. Id never tried this stuff, but more of the other premium brands like eukanuba, iams etc but at this price i will give this a go.
I do agree with what you are saying about the marketing but going off the reviews (nearly all 5 star)& ingredients, people seem very happy with these products.
My cat wont touch any form of cat food, always scream for KFC TUESDAY $9 FOR 9
Mine either, except for his breakfast kniblets. I buy steak that is less than $10 per kilo and he has that raw, every second night. The other nights he has tinned pink salmon.
It only costs about $1.50 per day plus some kniblets to feed them proper raw meat and fish.
I once served my big monster some tinned Whiskas and he rushed over an bit me on the ankle. : )
Holistic Select is a US based company. It's part of the WellPet Company. One of the more commonly known brands is Eagle Pack.
It is very sought after by pet owners who detest feeding their pets food which is from companies who test their products on animals. WellPet is one of the very few worldwide that falls into this category (locally, VIP, SAFCOL, Blackhawk, Nature's Gift are options).
http://guide.ethical.org.au/guide/browse/guide/?type=56
However, focussing on the offer here -
It is a good offer from WellPet and doesn't come up very often. I'm not sure if they are still continuing their VIP/frequent purchasers programme which may have added benefits for multiple purchases.
But there are competitive kibbles out there such as Blackhawk - $100 (give or take depending on the store) for 20kgs which in my mind offers far better value for money. In the end though, it really comes down to the animal and storage (not everyone can store 20 kgs worth!).
"Holistic" is a vague description which is meant to attract hippies and hipsters because it sounds so mystical. It actually means that something is "Characterized by the belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole."
What the hell does that even mean?
I'd be willing to bet that anything marked "holistic" is the same crap that's in the regular version, just marked up because people think that holistic stuff is worth more.