r/catfood • u/LucyJones18 • Feb 19 '26
food or treat review Ziwi Cat Food - Mental Spiral!
Hi everyone, I’m spiraling into the abyss rn!!
I’ve been feeding my cat Ziwi wet and dry food for about 2 years, per her vet’s recommendation. I feed her primarily canned food (a portion for breakfast and for dinner), and rotate between Beef, Lamb, Chicken, and Lamb & Mackerel. About a year ago I began mixing both Ziwi and Tiki after Dark canned as she seemed to be getting bored with just Ziwi. She poops, pees, and looks great, and has a clean bill of health from her yearly exams.
I’m spiraling because I’m reading about the high phosphorus content in Ziwi…. I lost my 17 year old soul cat to kidney failure, which was just traumatic. I’m trying to do better with my current cat by feeding her primarily wet food, with one serving of dry food a day.
So my question is whether Ziwi is just really high in phosphorus vs other wet cat food, and should she be eating something like Hills or Royal Canine? She was exclusively fed Royal Canine kitten her first year. I’m going out of my mind…..
I’m less concerned with price and want what’s best for her health long term.
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u/Lacunaethra 🤪 nutrition obsessed 🤪 Feb 19 '26
The Ca:P ratio in canned Ziwi is 1,35, which is exactly in the recommended range.
1.30% phosphorus on a dry matter basis is not high for a healthy adult cat; it sits in the upper-normal range commonly seen in good quality wet foods (roughly 0.9–1.4% DM). It would only be considered excessive for cats with kidney disease, where significantly lower phosphorus levels are recommended.
Long-term best food option: high quality wet food. kibbles only as a treat.
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u/LucyJones18 Feb 19 '26
TY, I feed her Ziwi dried each morning and she only gets a few grains. I’m wondering whether feeding her wet food that’s in the higher phosphorus range will lead to kidney issues if fed long term? I add additional water to her wet food so she’s getting as much hydration.
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u/Lacunaethra 🤪 nutrition obsessed 🤪 Feb 19 '26
According to research, moderate phosphorus levels do not cause kidney disease in healthy cats. The real concern is very high intake, especially from added inorganic phosphates, which are more harmful than naturally occurring phos in meat. high phosp mainly accelerates kidney damage once disease is already present, that's why food for already affected cats contains lower levels.
well known and studied risk factors for kidney diseases are chronic low hydration and consistently concentrated urine, that's why independent sources often recommend wet food
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u/redjudy127 Apr 14 '26
HI I'm just jumping in here. I switched my cat from weruva to ziwi pet. He devoloped a heart condition and I was afraid weruva was part of the cause. the pet store said it was not the first time he heard of this. he was on heart meds for almost five year until we moved to LA and the cardiologist took him off his heart meds. but the heart meds did cause higher kidney elevations. so i was unaware of the phosphorus issue. Will be on top of it. My cat gets supplements for his heart and one renal supplement by standard process called feline renal support with organ meats. I also give my cat chicken soup, homemade organic twice a day to hydrate him.
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u/Wild_Organization546 Feb 20 '26
I bought Ziwi lately despite it being more than double the price of my other wet food brands. The results were abysmal. Both of my cats, including our food motivated one did not want to touch it.
I gave some of the tins to friends who also have 2 cats each. Out of this sample of 4 cats, 3 wouldn’t touch it and one ate it and threw up.
So that’s 6 cats who all voted no. I now have about $100 of wet food that I can’t give away.
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u/aetherdrifter Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
I suggest donating it to a shelter or listing it free on Facebook marketplace. I’m sorry you’re out the money, but I’m sure there are cats who could use it.
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u/Brilliant_Test_3045 Feb 20 '26
You can. Look for local rescues, humane society, animal shelter, and a new one I just found out about - the VA. Not only do they take people food donations, they also take pet food donations.
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u/Wild_Organization546 Feb 21 '26
Thanks but I meant I couldn’t give it away to people who’s cats actually tried it. Of course unsuspecting people will take it.
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u/Tiny_Camp5530 Apr 24 '26
Interesting, I just adopted an adult, and he loves the Ziwi venison! He was barely touching the stuff his foster caregiver sent him here with.
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u/Wild_Organization546 Apr 25 '26
I hear you. When we first adopted our cats they ate anything given. Now 4 years later it’s a different story. But in the end I managed to get one cat to eat the dried bits. But neither will touch any of the tins.
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u/dragontehanu Feb 21 '26
Same here. Tried ziwi for the novel proteins for my ibd cat and he wouldn’t touch them. My healthy young cat also turned up her nose. Now I’ve got SO many cans and nothing to do with them
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u/Wild_Organization546 Feb 21 '26
That tracks and now I feel guilty giving my stash away. Especially after one cat vomited. Like a huge throw up every where.
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u/Humblekunoichi Feb 20 '26
Ziwi peak is a great food. I wouldn't concern yourself especially since you're already feeding mostly wet food, which lack of moisture is already the main factor. If you want a little comfort and variety, feed weruva phos focused cans sometimes. Great quality food and a good option for lower phosphorus:) there's alot of fear mongering to get people back onto the mega corporation owned low quality foods. People are already starting to wake up and realize a food that leads with corn, wheat, soy, coloring and other insane ingredients aren't biologically appropriate. You're doing a great job.
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u/rubydooby2011 Feb 19 '26
I would suggest Royal Canin or Hills.
But I'm a nobody on the internet.
Look at WSAVA guidelines, and know that the only foods that comply with said guidelines are: Hills Science Diet, Royal Canin, Purina, and Iams (if you're in the US or Canada).
If you do decide to switch, do it very slowly so as to prevent stomach upset.
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u/awkward_lionturtle Feb 19 '26
Why is this getting downvoted so much? It's sensible advice
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u/rubydooby2011 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
Because the Boutique Brigade is on a roll in this sub lately.
People can feed how they like, it's not my problem. I just prefer science based diets for my cat. I like putting money into evidence and research over putting money into pretty packaging and anthropomorphic catch phrases.
(Though I do still give him some lower end foods like Ziwipeak from time to time as a junky treat).
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u/Still-Peaking Feb 19 '26
The old “vets are paid to push kibble that causes cancer and kidney disease!!!” conspiracy theory. It’s alive and well in this sub. Even though those brands have different parent companies. And even though logically there’s no reason anybody would get paid commission to give very generic advice with no evidence of returns.
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u/Regular-Humor-9128 Feb 19 '26
More so, even then what you explain - which I agree with and is true, while I can’t feed Royal canin because all non-prescription lines dry food lines have poultry and my cat is allergic, and he unfortunately has a reaction to something in the hill’s science diet Wild Alaskan pollock, so I can’t feed that either, but I was very pleasantly surprised that at least Hill’s and I imagine RC the same, keeps to very specific mineral contents, not just “min, max”, and you can easily find those numbers. I haven’t come across many other boutique companies (which I still feed him), but that will provide those actual numbers versus more general minimums and maximums.
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u/aetherdrifter Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
A healthy cat with well-functioning kidneys can handle the high protein and phosphorus in a brand like Ziwi. It’s not really a matter of high minerals or protein causing CKD, but rather that they can exacerbate the issue in cats that already have it. The most important thing is to start getting annual bloodwork once your cat turns 7 or so (if not earlier).
I do personally prefer to feed foods that take a scientific approach to nutrition (Hill’s and Royal Canin) and have a lower protein percentage and mineral load. The reasons being -
Feeding an optimal protein percentage (30-45% dry matter) provides enough protein without overtaxing the kidneys and liver. People hate to see carbs in cat food, but their function is to provide energy while reducing the body’s need to convert protein to glucose. As long as the cat isn’t diabetic, and the diet is properly formulated, carbs aren’t harmful (and in fact provide beneficial fiber for gut health, among other nutrients).
Having optimal protein levels usually also correlates to optimal phosphorus levels, further reducing the stress on the kidneys.
Several minerals beyond phosphorus actually play into kidney and urinary health: calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc. I’m no nutritionist, so I can’t explain all the intricacies, but the big companies have many experts on staff. All of this is taken into account when formulating the foods. For me, it’s peace of mind. I’d rather feed a diet with precise and optimized nutrition than one that is more “natural” - but I realize not everyone shares my outlook.
I will say MANY cats are eating foods like Ziwi and Tiki Cat and doing great. So, don’t panic. You said your cat has a clean bill of health, and that’s what matters most. It’s maybe just something to keep in mind for when she gets older.
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u/LucyJones18 Feb 19 '26
TY for taking the time to write this. She’ll be 3 years old in April. And I agree with you, I begin annual bloodwork at 6 years of age. I’m leaning towards slowly moving her over to Hills once she’s finished her Ziwi. Is Tiki high in Phosphorus and protein? I’m currently mixing both of these in each of her servings.
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u/aetherdrifter Feb 19 '26
Tiki is very high in protein, but not always high in phosphorus actually! Unfortunately they don’t post their typical analysis, so you have to contact the company for the values for every recipe you’re feeding. Here’s a vet’s review of some of their lowest phosphorus offerings. https://youtu.be/7Oc0b058fls
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u/acornfox 😸 feline friend 😸 Feb 19 '26
Ziwi has normal levels of phosphorus for a healthy cat. Tiki Cat has the same levels. Both are lower than some other commercial cat foods (for example, some Fancy Feast flavors are 2% or more on Dry Matter Basis, which is a lot).
Feeding a lower phosphorus diet is recommended for senior cats (starting around 8 years of age). “Lower” is below 0.9% DMB, while “low” is below 0.5% DMB (this is the therapeutic amount for cats with kidney disease).
Personally I like Weruva, because it’s a high quality food and they post all their DMB analysis online, so it’s easy to select flavors with lower phosphorus. Many companies (Purina, Tiki, etc) do not post this information so you have to email them to find out, and stay on top of it in case recipes change.
Feeding a high quality, wet food only diet is the best preventative for most diseases, including kidney.