Montego

Montego Information

Montego is a South African-based pet food company and is well-known throughout the country.

Montego has been in operation in South Africa for over twenty years and has grown significantly over this time period to be one of the largest pet food brands in South Africa.

Rather than just a single brand, Montego has a number of sub-brands of pet food, including Monty & Me, Wuma!, Classic, Karoo, Field And Forest, Bag O’ Wags, Sauce, and XenPet.

This review page discusses the majority of these Montego sub-brands, including Monty & Me, Wuma!, Montego Classic, and Karoo.

However, we have chosen to cover Field And Forest on its own separate review page, which you can find here.

For those of you wondering where Montego pet food recipes are produced, based on our research, they are produced within South Africa, at a factory in Graaf-Reinet in the Eastern Cape.

Their website mentions they’ve gone from producing 65 tonnes of pet food a month to now producing over 300 tonnes a day, which is an impressive volume and shows how popular their brands are in South Africa and beyond.

You can purchase Montego recipes from a large number of physical retail pet food stores like Absolute Pets, as well as some of South Africa’s online pet food websites like Pet Heaven.

Montego Product Range

Dog Food

Between the several Montego sub-brands of dog food, there is a moderately sized range of products available.

However, while each sub-brand may have its own unique traits, all the Montego brands seem to follow the same template and offer a mix of puppy recipes, adult recipes, and senior recipes.

This setup offers some advantages as it may make it easier to transition a puppy to the adult version of the recipe as they age up.

In addition to traditional dog food recipes such as dry food and wet food, Montego also offers some more unique products such as a large range of dog food treats, dog food sauce, supplements, and grooming products.

Cat Food

The range of cat food products available from Montego is significantly smaller than the dog food range but has grown noticeably over the last few years.

Despite being smaller in size, there is still some variety within the range, and Montego offers both Kitten and Senior cat food recipes to appeal to all age ranges.

While many of the dog treats produced by Montego could be fed to cats, they only produce a tiny range of cat-specific treats.

This also applies to Montego’s range of supplements from their XenPet sub-brand, which are also focused on dogs rather than cats.

Montego Nutrition

Dog Food

The nutrition offered by Montego recipes tends to be quite poor and ranges from below-average to slightly above-average when compared to other brands.

This nutritional profile includes moderate proportions of protein and fat and an excessive proportion of carbohydrates.

You can see an example of this below, which is the nutritional profile of one of Montego Classic’s dry dog food recipes.

However, the Field and Forest brand from Montego does offer a better nutritional profile which is higher in animal-based protein and fat. You can check out our review of the brand here.

If you’d like to learn more about canine nutrition, including which animal-based protein and fat is an important component of their diet, be sure to head over to our Dog Food Guide.

Cat Food

The nutrition offered by Montego cat food is similar to their dog food in that it is poor when compared to many other brands.

It is usually below-average to average and includes moderate proportions of protein and fat and a very excessive proportion of carbohydrates for a cat.

It is important to understand that cats should not consume too high a proportion of carbohydrates in their diet as they are obligate carnivores.

Being an obligate carnivore means that they do not need to consume plant-based material in their diet and instead should consume a diet high in meat and fish ingredients.

You can read a more detailed explanation of what being an obligate carnivore means in our Cat Food Guide.

Montego Ingredients

High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients

• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork
• Lamb
• Trout
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Venison
• Ostrich

Montego uses a relatively large range of high-quality meat and fish ingredients, which includes the above.

These ingredients are often in meat meal form, which means they have had their moisture removed in advance.

While some consumers are afraid of meat meals, they shouldn’t be. They can be an incredibly dense source of nutrition.

What is interesting is that Montego uses some less common meat ingredients in its recipes, such as Venison.

Venison is often used in pet food recipes for pets with severe allergies as most pets are less likely to have an adverse reaction to Venison.

You can learn more about the use of Venison in dog food in our article Best Dog Foods With Venison.

Other Notable Ingredients

Some Montego recipes make use of an ingredient described as Meat and Animal Derivatives. This is particularly concerning as this ingredient is incredibly vague and untraceable.

Un-named meat and fish ingredients are widely considered to be low-quality ingredients by almost all in the industry.

Instead, pet food brands should be using named meat and fish ingredients like Chicken or Beef.

Select Montego recipes also contain an ingredient called Vegetable Protein Extracts. These are by-products of some vegetables that can provide a high level of protein.

Named versions of these ingredients, such as Pea Protein or Potato Protein, are usually considered to be low-quality additions, and the un-named version such as these may cause even more worry as its exact constituents are unknown.

Once we are past these two concerning ingredients, Montego chooses to use a small range of grain ingredients in its recipes. Some examples of these grain ingredients include Corn, Wheat Bran, Rice, and Cereals.

Most of these grain ingredients are not considered to be the ideal or best grain ingredients available to be used in pet food recipes.

This is because they are often highly processed or very dense sources of carbohydrates and provide little additional nutrition, such as beneficial vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 

Canola Meal is a poorly understood ingredient in pet food but does feature in some recipes, including those from Montego.

The reason it is included is as it is an extremely popular and cost-effective addition to animal feed. While it is most commonly added to livestock feed, it is also used in some pet food recipes, thanks to its high protein content.

However, many would argue that Canola Meal is not an ideal addition to pet food and is a cheap alternative to high-quality ingredients.

You can read more about Canola Meal in our article Canola Meal In Pet Food.

Chicken Fat is a common addition to pet food recipes throughout the world, including those produced by Montego.

Chicken Fat is most commonly used to boost the level of animal fat in a recipe as well as enhance flavor and palatability.

The reason that Chicken Fat is chosen over other added fats as it is relatively inexpensive and easy to acquire at a large scale. You can read more about Chicken Fat in our article, Chicken Fat In Dog Food.

Beet Pulp is one of the most common minor ingredients to be found in pet food recipes and is present thanks to its high fiber content.

Beet Pulp is a by-product of sugar beer processing, and this leftover substance is an extremely dense source of soluble fiber, which can be included in pet food recipes to support healthy digestion and stools.

However, beyond its fiber content, the ingredient provides very little nutrition, which makes some concerned when it’s present in larger quantities.

Discover more information about Beet Pulp in our article Dried Beet Pulp In Dog Food.

Lastly, Brewers Yeast is an ingredient that is commonly found in pet food recipes in tiny quantities.

It is added to pet food due to the vitamins and minerals it contains as well as its potential health benefits. However, some dispute whether these benefits are noticeable.

You can learn more about what benefits Brewers Yeast can provide in our article Brewers Yeast In Dog Food.

Montego Animal Testing

Thanks to Montego’s FAQ section on their website, we do, in fact, have information on Montego’s stance on animal testing and trials.

Here they state: “No clinical trials are done on our products or ingredients. The only trials that we do on our products from time to time are palatability, digestibility and urine pH trials. These trials are done by Dr Guido Schroeder from Xantah who is a qualified veterinarian.

During these trials dogs are kept in kennels like those of dog breeders. Please visit www.xantah.co.za. Dogs are fed our standard products for a period of 7 to 10 days and the only laboratory tests are then done on faeces and urine of the dogs. The amount consumed per day is also noted and then compared against the amount excreted.“

Seeing transparency and a detailed response from Montego on the topic of Animal Testing is refreshing, as many pet food brands avoid disclosing details about their testing and trials because of fear of customer backlash or negative reactions.

We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will be eliminated.

Montego Recalls

Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), it seems that Montego has issued recalls of its products in the past and is, therefore, not a recall-free pet food brand.

Based on this public notice, Montego issued a recall in 2019 related to the presence of mold in select recipes.

In this notice, Montego stated that as much as 3% of the food they had produced during a select period was more susceptible to mold than normal.

The presence of mold is a common cause of pet food recalls throughout the world and has affected other brands such as Blue Buffalo and Iams.

This incident caused heated discussion in South Africa and was mentioned on multiple online news sites and on tv news.

Later, Montego followed up on this incident and determined that inaccurate moisture readings during their production process were to blame.

We hope that Montego learns from this recall and improves and enhances its safety and quality processes during production to minimize events like this.

Regardless of Montego’s recall history, we encourage all pet owners to be vigilant of any future recalls of Montego pet food or food from any other brand to ensure their pets remain safe and healthy.

Best of Montego

Karoo All Breed Adult With Real Chicken, Lamb & Rice Review

From Montego’s range of dry dog food recipes, their Karoo formulas are those that stood out as the best in terms of nutrition and ingredient quality.

The above Chicken & Lamb recipe is a prime example of this and includes a portion of Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, and Lamb Meal which combine to provide a typical analysis of 24.5% protein and 12.5% fat.

There is also a portion of Whole Egg Powder present which is most likely similar to Egg Product.

These meat ingredients are combined with a mixture of Rice and Beet Pulp which provide the recipe with a portion of carbohydrates and dietary fiber.

Montego Featured Articles

At this time, Montego has not featured in any of our articles.

Montego Full Product Range

Monty & Me

Dog Food

All Breed Puppy

All Breed Adult

Essential All Breed Adult

Essential All Breed Adult Wet

Cat Food

All Breed Adult Cat

All Breed Adult Wet

Wuma!

Dog Food

Wuma! Puppy

Wuma! Adult

Wuma! Plus

Montego Classic

Dog Food

Small To Medium Breed Puppy

Large To Giant Breed Puppy

All Breed Adult

All Breed Senior

All Breed Puppy Wet

All Breed Adult Succulent Beef & Wholesome Veggies

All Breed Adult Tender Chicken & Nutritious Veggies

All Breed Adult Juicy Beef In Deliciously Rich Gravy

Cat Food

All Breed Kitten

All Breed Adult Delicious Tuna

All Breed Adult With Succulent Chicken

All Breed Kitten Wet

All Breed Adult Tender Chicken In Gravy

All Breed Adult Atlantic Salmon In Jelly

Karoo

Dog Food

Small To Medium Breed Puppy

Large To Giant Breed Puppy

All Breed Adult With Real Chicken, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Adult With Real Beef, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Adult With Real Venison, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Senior

All Breed Puppy Wet Food

All Breed Adult Slow Cooked Stew With Real Lamb, Rice, & Country Vegetables

All Breed Adult Slow Cooked Stew With Real Ostrich, Potato, & Carrots

All Breed Adult Tender Meat Bits With Real Beef & Lamb

All Breed Adult Tender Meat Bits With Real Chicken & Lamb

All Breed Adult Tender Meat Bits With Real Venison & Lamb

All Breed Adult Tender Meat Bits With Real Ostrich & Lamb

Cat Food

All Breed Kitten With Real Chicken, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Adult With Real Chicken, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Adult With Real Trout, Lamb & Rice

All Breed Adult Slow Cooked Stew With Real Chicken, Lamb, & Carrots

All Breed Adult Slow Cooked Stew With Real Ostrich, Lamb, & Green Peas

Bags O’ Wags Treats

Moreish Beef Flavoured Bars

Succulent Chicken Flavoured Sticks

Heatlhy Butternut Flavoured Dental Sticks

Tantalising Bacon Flavoured Strips

Cheerfully Chewy Jumble O’ Hearts

Delectable Beef Flavoured Marrow Bones

Delicious Assortment O’ Mini Bones

Tasty Beef ‘An Veggie Flavoured Twisties

Refreshing Mint Flavoured Dental Tubes

Scrumptious Peanut Butter Falvoured Toffees

Bacon Flavoured Spare Ribs

Beef Flavoured Marrow Bones

Butternut Flavoured Sticks

Caramel & Condensed Milk Flavour Squishies

Chocolate & Vanilla Flavour Squishies

Stawberry & Cream Flavour Squishies

Denties

Fried Bacon Flavour Munchies

Grilled Chicken Flavour Munchies

Roast Beef Flavour Munchies

Smoked BBQ Flavour Munchies

Wholesome Original Flavour Crunchies

Juicy Boerewors Flavour Crunchies

Om Nom Nicely Iced Flavour Crunchies

Succulent Spare Rib Flavour Crunchies

Yummy Peanut Butter Flavour Crunchies

Pack O’ Purrs

Cosmic Chicken & Cheese Flavoured Chews

Heavenly Tuna & Rosemary Flavoured Chews

Montego Sauce

Boerewors Flavour

Roast Chicken Flavour

Roast Lamb Flavour

Grilled Steak Flavour

Xenpet

Supplements

Allergy Soft Chews

Calming Soft Chews

Cognitive Soft Chews

Digestive Soft Chews

Mobility Soft Chews

Grooming

Deodorising Spray

Conditioning Shampoo

Foam Wash

Snout & Paw Balm