Cat Questions

What’s different about Thrive pet food?

At Thrive we believe that you and your pet are what you eat. So we’ve used our 30+ years of experience of making premium quality food for humans to create a revolutionary ‘real’ pet food with simple, easily recognisable ingredients. We insist on using human-grade cuts of meat or fish, no substitutes and absolutely no ‘animal derivatives’. Our food is completely pure and free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, added sugars, wheat, gluten, dairy, soya and GM ingredients (you could say it’s what we leave out that makes us different).

Why 'wetter is better'?

We formulate our recipes with ‘free liquid’ water. Unlike a lot of other ‘wet’ foods we don’t use added fillers or artificial gelling agents which ‘bind’ water and make the products appear to be less wet. This often leads to renal failure in cats as they are not being sufficiently hydrated from their food. When it comes to wet food, our philosophy at Thrive is: “wetter is better!”

What do you mean by ‘Complete’ food?

‘Complete’ is a phrase that guarantees our pet food has all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients required for a balanced diet, as per the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) recommended guidelines. While most dry pet food is complete, the vast majority of wet foods are not, so will instead be labelled as ‘complementary’. All Thrive foods are complete, so whether you feed them together or on their own, you can be sure that you are giving your pet a nutritionally balanced diet.

What does vet-approved mean?

Thrive products have been recommended and sold by more than 1,000 vets since 2003. We develop every recipe with our panel of specialist nutritional experts.

What’s special about the ingredients that you use?

We use human-quality ingredients – not the dodgy bits! For example, our Chicken and Shrimp treats are just that: whole peeled shrimp and chicken breast. These are the same ingredients that go into salads, soups and sandwiches that you’ve probably eaten yourself. The tuna is caught by pole and line, and only responsibly fished tuna is used in our Thrive Complete wet food.

Does your cat food contain wheat?

Poor ingredients in some pet foods have caused many cats to develop allergies to cereals and gluten. For these reasons, all Thrive cat food is free from cereals and grains. Where necessary, we’ll use small quantities of simple carbohydrates like potato and sweet potato that are a bit easier to digest and hypoallergenic too.

What are the salt amounts in the range?

We don’t add salt or sugars to any of our complete foods. Some of our treats have some salt in them, Shrimps are naturally high in salt and sea fish will have more salt naturally present than in meats, but that’s about it.

Why is taurine added to your cat food?

Taurine is an essential amino acid and a key dietary requirement for feline health – a lack of it can lead to blindness, tooth decay and heart conditions. Since cats cannot produce taurine, it has to be present in the foods they eat.

Although most meat, shellfish and coldwater fish contains significant amounts of taurine, we top it up after processing to ensure your cat has the correct daily intake.

What safeguards do we follow regarding animal welfare?

We care about every single ingredient that goes into Thrive products, that’s why we have such short ingredient lists! As such, we insist on the highest welfare standards in respect of the care of all livestock.

Our products are either manufactured in compliance with current UK and EU animal welfare legislation, or where appropriate within the parameters of internationally recognised animal welfare organisations such as Red Tractor and Friend of the Sea. Our fish products are derived from sustainable sources. We have also been awarded ethical accreditation by the ‘Ethical Company Organization’.

What is our policy on animal testing?

We do not believe in testing our products on caged animals and do not carry out invasive testing as our pet foods contain only pure ingredients.

All new Thrive foods are tasted by the human owners of Thrive first, and only then do we offer them to our pets and our friends’ pets to see if they like them. We can see no value to testing pet food products on animals that are not kept in a loving environment purely and simply as pets.

For your peace of mind, our pet foods are also tested by a number of independent outside labs and authorities to ensure they meet recommended nutritional guidelines.

How much should I feed per day?

Unlike dogs, most cats are about the same size and with a normal activity level (sleeping all day and who knows what at night!) they need between 2-3 cans of our wet food.

Should I add water?

There’s no real need add water to our products as the high amount of free liquid that cats get from our Thrive wet foods is perfect for their needs.

My pet needs a hypoallergenic diet. Is Thrive suitable?

Allergic reactions are mainly in response to allergens like gluten, and specific proteins. Thrive food does not contain any wheat, dairy, soya or GM ingredients. Most of our food contains a single type of protein, but occasionally will contain protein from a similar species like salmon and tuna, or chicken and turkey. This way you can clearly see if our foods contain something that your pet is allergic to; we don’t hide our ingredients under terms like ‘meat or animal derivatives’. For this reason, Thrive foods are a popular choice for vets to use as exclusion diets when they are trying to determine what protein a pet is allergic to.

When should I change from buying ‘kitten’ food to ‘adult’ food?

It depends on your cat, but we think anytime from 9 to 12 months of age.

Is your packaging recyclable?

We focus on the components of our packaging being as close to 100% recyclable as is currently practicable, and where possible they are derived from recycled raw materials.

How much should I feed my cat?

We do have feeding guides as is required by legislation and regulation however, heeding guides are ONLY guides. Every cat is different. Every cat will require a different amount of food each day depending on so many reasons. Firstly cat breeds range in size from Main Coon to a Singapura and simply saying feed x amount per kg of cat weight is the best we can do but isn’t really correct. Other factors such as whether it is winter or summer; as they will eat more in the winter, their activity levels that day, their age and whether they are having a growth spurt and so many more factors leaves one with the only answer which is to give your cat a good cuddle once a week. You need to feel ribs but not necessarily see them. We recommend feeding a can in the morning, dry food is left during the day for them to graze on and another can in the evening.

Can I feed both wet and dry foods?

We recommend to feed a can in the morning, dry food is left during the day for them to graze on and another can in the evening.

If I overfeed will my cat get fat?

Food and cuddles are your cat’s two priorities and it is important they get enough to completely satisfy their needs. Because thrive is incredibly healthy food made perfectly to fit their digestion, unlike high processed foods such as McDonalds Mcnuggetts, or cheaper pet foods, excessive weight gain is hard to do.

How do I know if my cats over weight or underweight?

Fundamentally, of course, a cat and/or every living creature needs a calories intake that meets their calories usage to keep at the same weight. The problem with this is that what they require changes EVERY day. All creatures and indeed all cats are different and they use up calories depending on so many things such as time of year, they eat less in summer, their activity levels, if they sit around or are out partying all day makes a huge difference and so much more. We suggest giving your cat a good feel, disguised as a cuddle once a week and if you think they are getting a bit larger, reduce it. And Vis a Versa. Ensure if they are overweight to reduce the amount by a very small amount and take months to get to your goal; there is NO rush.

Choking on food or treats.

In the 20 years of thrive we have sold millions of packs and no creature has ever harmed itself on our products. Of course, last with kids, always be around when you feed them. As general scavengers cats have learnt to eat anything and everything and to mostly get it down them and quickly. ….

I have another question; how can I get you to answer it?

Just contact us, and we will get back to you with an answer.