Under the Sun Grain Free
I have a lot of respect for the Canidae company and rarely hear any complaints about their products. Under the Sun is their budget-friendly option, so we know it won’t be as good as their amazing PURE range, but is it good enough?
You’ll look at the ingredients and find chicken meal as the first ingredient, but we need to assess the top four as being the bulk of the food. Ingredients 2, 3, and 4 are all legumes, so it’s possible 75% of the main ingredients are legumes, compared to 25% meat. This is the reason Under the Sun is cheaper than PURE.
It’s still a good product, and there really aren’t any nasties in the food. The legumes (peas and beans) are a far better alternative than the rubbish you get in many other dog foods.
We find a range of farm-grown fruits and veggies, a decent selection of vitamins and minerals, as well as probiotics for digestive health, omegas for skin and coat, all wrapped up in a naturally preserved product.
This is a decent mid-range dog food from a reputable company. A good mix of quality and a reasonable price.
Ingredients:
Chicken meal, green peas, garbanzo beans, yellow peas, chicken fat, chicken, suncured alfalfa, flaxseed, natural flavor, taurine, minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid), choline chloride, mixed tocopherols (a preservative), green beans, butternut squash, tomatoes, sage, zucchini, apples, carrots, blueberries, pumpkin, cinnamon, rosemary, parsley, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract.
I see that your review is of the old formula. Since then, they have gone to single animal protein source, but have added canola oil. How do you feel about the new formula?
I just bought the Under the Sun Grain-free indoor cat food and my normally ravenous cats refuse to eat it… It’s been 36 hours and not one of my 3 cats have eaten any of it at all.. I don’t understand why… The ingredients seem to be similar to other foods we have bought in the past and I can’t find anything that raises red flags… I finally have to break down and buy something different… My cats are acting crazy from not eating… I feel bad giving a review like this but I just thought it may be useful info to someone..
Hi Heather, it might be because they’re confused about it – cats are slightly autistic. If their old food was a poor quality “junk food” kibble then that can cause a cat to become addicted to a food, meaning a new food isn’t that appealing. Try adding something like chicken stock to entice them to eat it, see how it goes.
We are on our second bag of under the sun kitten with chicken and was eating it fine up until a day or so ago, he is barely eating any of it now im not sure why
Two of my three indoor cats have developed sensitivity to grains, so I switched to grain free food; that resolved the problems. On the recommendation of an Under the Sun representative at a PetCo, I bought a bag of their dry cat food. Disappointed to find that it is mostly vegetables and fruits — for dedicated carnivores — and even more disappointed to find that none of my cats like it. Not even the outside neighborhood cats will eat it. If I mix it with another food they do like, they spit out the Under the Sun bits and leave it on the floor. At least one of my cats gets some exercise playing kibble-hockey with it. Otherwise, it’s wasted money.