Melamine in Corn Gluten Linked to South African Pet Illnesses
The 29 cases of renal failure in South Africa has been linked to melamine in corn gluten used in pet food. Corn gluten is used extensively in the US.
Tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet-food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine, says the manufacturer.
The contaminated corn gluten was delivered to Royal Canin by a South African third-party supplier and appears to have originated from China.
We were tracking cases of the South African pet deaths before and have heard rumors of corn gluten contamination.
At this point, we believe that all corn gluten should be considered at risk for contamination and should be tested by every pet food manufacturer and the FDA.
Please help us track all pet food that contains corn gluten in this Forums thread.
Update: 30 pets die from contaminated food. A stunning quote:
An independent pathologist, Professor Fred Reyers said the outbreak may not be an isolated incident. He believed there was sufficient evidence to suggest a link between this outbreak and a similar one in Cape Town as well as one in the United States.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was a difficult decision (and we know that some will accuse us of sparking panic) but based on patterns of development and expansion of recall in the US, Itchmo has issued an email Safety Alert to pet parents out of abundance of caution. We believe all pet parents should be given the information to make informed judgements to form their own reactions. We believe it is not up to us to decide what you should or shouldn’t know.
(Thanks to Howl911)
April 19th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I am SO happy for people to please read my post at kumpi.com.
I am SO saddened to all who have shared of their loss. Warm hugs.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
PLEASE read my post at kumpi.com in it’s entirety.
I KNEW that this would hit gluten meal and my nutritionist had the foresite to never use a derivative like that for protein. He does not believe in trying to fool Mother Nature like that. Meats are our primary source for protein and I have to qualify that statement only because cornmeal does have an 8% protein content.
KUMPI is SAFE.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I think the FDA & Pet food CO’s needs to test all gutens and protien concentrates, currently in the US, PERIOD!!
Also a cease import on any products from China until this is cleared up and our invesitgators are allowd in!
April 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
ITCHMO
Maybe the headline is: All grain products (wheat, corn, rice, soy, barley).
just whatever, needs to be tested.
I continue to also be concerned about the human food supply. Can the FDA put out a warning to US food companies?
April 19th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I agree with Katie, we need a temporary ban on all food imports from China. This won’t solve the problem, because
1. There’s lots of tainted food here already
&
2. I’m sure they’ll find other countries glad to smuggle the products through their supply
but it’s better then nothing.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I remember when we all first started getting reports of Iams dry food making pets sick, and looking at the ingredients which were all CORN, including corn gluten as one of its high-ranking ingredients. Now it all makes sense.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
The expected shoe has dropped. Any company not coming clean by the end of the day to tell us they’re testing can eat it’s stock of food themselves, as they’ll be out of a job.
I guess we all know what the VIN vets were worried about now, don’t we?
April 19th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
My cats have been eating Royal Canin. i stopped feeding the Special 33 as it contains wheat gluten, as well as corn gluten. The other varieties i have here are the prescription Urinary SO (corn gluten meal), Persian (corn gluten meal), Selective 35/30 (corn gluten meal, rice hulls?, soy protein isolate?), Baby Cat (wheat gluten), and Kitten (corn gluten meal).
i have Newman’s Own dry food, but no one will touch it. Just bought Wellness Core dry food, which is grain free, and i think i have some interested takers. Is there a thread here on safe cat foods, or is there such a thing anymore?
April 19th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I’m reposting something I originally posted yesterday at noon. It’s looking like I was right on - especially my last paragraph.
I started to do a preliminary search of pet foods that use RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE (RPC). I also did searches under RICE PROTEIN and RICE GLUTEN.
This is just a precaution until we know more, i’m not sure who supplies to the companies below but i’m doing this to be safe and to make sure the food I feed doesn’t include this filler. (As of Monday I am feeding Merrick to all my pets - they were on Natural Balance since January of this year).
I have found these companies so far that have/or continue to use RPC:
NUTRO - Natural Choice & Natural Care Adult CAT food (dry)
PROPAC - Lamb Meal & Rice DOG food (dry) lists RICE GLUTEN as their 4th ingredient
BLUE BUFFALO (in their top 10 ingredients for dog food they list rice protein concentrate at #7… http://tinyurl.com/2zje3k)
SENSIBLE CHOICE - RICE GLUTEN appears in a lot of their products
CASTOR & POLLUX - Natural Ultramix Canine Weight Mgmnt.
WELLNESS - WellBars - 2 of the flavors contains RPC
LIVESMART - Weight Mgmnt. Chicken and Brown Rice formula
BLUE SPA SELECT - Hairball Control Cat (dry)
HILL’S - Rx food Z/D for cats (dry) RPC IS 1st INGREDIENT!!
HILL’S - Rx food K/D for dogs (wet) RPC is 5th ingredient while something called “Maize starch†(hmmm) is the first ingredient
Also, I’m noticing a lot of other concentrates and glutens in my searches.. i.e. Soy Protein Concentrate (Fancy Feast, Nature’s Recipe), Fish Protein Concentrate (Newman’s Own), Vegetable Protein Concentrate (Advance Pet Foods) and Corn Gluten (meal) - that one is in too many to name. The reason they piqued my interest in because a lot of these companies from China that made the wheat gluten also make these items above.
I hope they release the names of all companies who receive the RICE PROTEIN CONCENTRATE because many of them, just like Natural Balance, might not even be listing it on their ingredients.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Nikki ~
Corn, cornmeal are TOTALLY different from “corn GLUTEN meal” - there is already enough confusion!!
GLUTEN is a PROCESSED form of grain which is the extracted protein. It is NOT to be confused with corn being used in it’s whole grain form.
Just because manufacturers decided to use the GLUTEN as a source of protein from a grain, do NOT raise suspicion against the grain itself which when used in it’s WHOLE form has great nutritional benefits.
They have to use chemicals to get the GLUTEN out of the grain. The grain in and of itself is PURE.
THOROUGH testing is done on whole grains and not one truckload of grain used in Kumpi goes untested with meticulous probing to insure that it’s use in my product is safe.
PLEASE everyone, read my entire statement at kumpi.com to see the difference I am talking about.
I could have used corn gluten meal to save money on protein, but I did not!!! From the beginning, I would have no part of cheapening my product line to save money.
I thank God for blessing me with a nutritionist who guided on a honest (and more expensive path) since both he and I regard animal life as sacred.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Merrick is what I am using also. No,wonder my littlest cat was so sick she was eating FF Elegant medely (wheat gluten and soy protien concentrate) as night time snack and eating HIlls SD C/D wet and dry both loaded with corn gluten. YIKES. My other cat with less sympmtoms was eating the fancy feast savory salmon with no gluten and FFEM at night time with Eukanuba sensitive stomach. Both cats however are being monitored due to incresed Creatitine leaves in the last 3 weeks.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I don’t want panic either but let me tell you something. The more this unfolds the more it looks like they may be exploiting this pet disaster at this point to hide the fact that human foods may be victim to this Chinese crap. Think about how long these food and ingredient imports from China have been going on unmonitored. The fact is. This crap is being used in HUMAN FOODS.
It can not be denied.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
ITCHMO,
I contacted CONAGRA here in KC, and made them aware of the issue wrt pet food. Asked the lady to bump it up to management, and try to get the word out to food companies.
Also sent info to my Homeland contact - he said last week it was FDA problem, but FDA is swamped. Bet they don’t know about the corn.
Also contacted Kurt at the Pet Food Institute - he’s out to lunch.
FDA really need to push the red button. This is very serious.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
PLEASE support the companies that do not list any GLUTEN or CONCETRATES on their labels. Do not demonize rice, corn or wheat in their whole form. The companies using them have done so to use a cheap form of grain protein vs. spending their money on the more expensive source of protein - meat.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Why do you think EU and other countries have been literally many BANNING Chinese food products for the past 15 years. They don’t want it in their FOOD SUPPLY.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Called both my Senators, and working through Congressmen. Someone has to get the press on it and AWAKE. And we’ve got to tell the pet food companies it isn’t about ChemNutra and it isn’t about Wilbur-Ellis, it’s about the country of origin of their gluten and protein products. People, get on the phone and sttart calling, and start emailing.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Colleen,
Menu makes both Newman & Wellness. I personally would avoid anything or any company that has any association with Menu.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Evy,
NB didn’t have rice protein LISTED on their label either. In fact, it was supposed to be grain free.
And Steve, I agree with you 100%. It’s ridiculous to have elaborate food safety regulations in this country and allow food in from a country that has virtually none.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Evy has a point - don’t lump the GLUTEN, PROTEINS and CONCENTRATES along with the whole grains and rice and things like that - be careful to note
if the RICE, SOY, CORN, or FISH has a PROTEIN, CONCENTRATE or GLUTEN after it - if so, I would stop feeding the food until this is all explained and safety is assured.
Also, this obviously will not help with products who haven’t listed those items on their ingredient list - that’s why it’s important that the FDA push the red button, as another poster stated.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
The food I feed my three cats has corn gluten:
ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Dietâ„¢ feline CALORIE CONTROL CC 38â„¢ HIGH PROTEIN Dry
Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, cellulose fiber…..
(boy - that doesn’t sound very good does it!! rice corn, wood fiber!!)
April 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Every ingredient used in Kumpi pet foods are on our labels.
No Kumpi product has any hidden glutens or concentrates. We use only the whole pure grain. Again, please read kumpi.com for additional clarification.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
JOHANNESBURG
30 pets die from contaminated food
Thu, 19 Apr 2007
Pet owners will be compensated for animals which died from eating contaminated pet food, Royal Canin Petfood manufacturers said on Thursday.
This followed the death of 30 animals to date after a batch of the company’s pet food was found to be contaminated with a substance called melamine.
“First, we are sharing their distress. We are pet lovers, we are a responsible company. We will take action,” said Royal Canin managing director Gregory Watine.
He said the company would take full responsibility if pets were found to have died after consuming the contaminated food.
Little late Mr. Watine. Why didnt you pull the foods prior to having 30 die? Is it going to take 30 here & 30 there for other companies to pull the product?
WHO ARE THE OTHER 4 COMPANIES THE PRODUCT WAS SOLD TO IN THE US?
April 19th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I have to say this isn’t just about Menu Foods anymore! I think this is a HUGE Chinese import issue and and an FDA issue!
Pet food compaines who choose not to test the gluten and protien products are asking for disaster at this point.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Evy animals do not need rice, corn, or wheat as a mainstay. Many animals have allergies to it also. Probably not enough to cause concern and they are minor annoyances. But it can cause some problems. The use of supplemental nutritional elements is important. What we have to consider is that most American Pets are Urban dwellers and they can not have a 100% fresh nutrient rich prey everyday as nature intended.
I think the issue of crops for pets has a long way to go till refinement. And we still are in a mind set of “whats good for us certainly must be good for our pets”. People don’t even realize that some human food stuffs are deadly and pets should NOT HAVE OR GET NEAR.
What we also know is that 9 times out of ten people prefer taste over nutrition. Another concept that is obsolete and long overdue an examination.
Palatability, a big buzz word in the Pet Food Industry.
Translation, what do we have to do to get these pets to eat this garbage.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Just a quick response to Monika —
I was at my vet yesterday, they had a printout taped up from Hill’s (ind it’s at http://tinyurl.com/2n5rkv) stating that they have tested their rice protein concentrate and it’s melamine-free (also, it’s from different suppliers).
I know that Z/D is a low-allergen diet; that’s probably why they use rice protein in it. Assuming that cats do metabolize the protein fraction from grains, it may sometimes be healthier to use (uncontaminated!) processed grain protein rather than whole grains. And yes, grains are in general not good foods for cats — but that one kitty I had who was allergic to everything did very well on Z/D. (the other cat didn’t, though, and luckily the ‘petting zoo’ diets — venison, rabbit, lamb,– worked before I had to try kangaroo…)
April 19th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
FORGET TEMPORARY BAN!!!
the criminals that are selling this poison are hidding behind a communist goverment? NO 1 is going to prosecute ‘em? they’r “safe”..
CHINA NEEDS TO BE THROWN OUT OF W.T.O. PRONTO!
im amazed people can’t figure it out.. ?IT’S HIGHLY LIKELY THAT THERE’S
A LOT MORE THATS HEADED OUR WAY??? the Comunist country has a
well known history of activities that fit a pattern of DOMINACE..
hello world???
April 19th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
As far as grain allergies in the case a pet has an allergy to it it usually manifests itself in the form of an itch here and there. You may not even notice it but in some cases it can be more complex. The big problem and expense is isolating the allergen. And maintaining a good diet without having to resort to some prescription crap.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
There is no ultimate panacea but Americans shouldn’t have to scream, shout, demand, and fight to have basic safe food for themselves and their pets.
This whole situation is outrageous.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I just KNEW corn gluten was not far behind! Damn these people. This is beyond ridiculous now, especially when the media isn’t reporting the true extent of this recall. These recalls should be HUGE news, and they seem content to mostly bury it and report those crazy low death toll numbers. What is petconnection.com saying now, like 4500 deaths? I can’t believe this isn’t bigger news.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
JOHANNESBURG
30 pets die from contaminated food
Thu, 19 Apr 2007
Pet owners will be compensated for animals which died from eating contaminated pet food, Royal Canin Petfood manufacturers said on Thursday.
This followed the death of 30 animals to date after a batch of the company’s pet food was found to be contaminated with a substance called melamine.
“First, we are sharing their distress. We are pet lovers, we are a responsible company. We will take action,” said Royal Canin managing director Gregory Watine.
He said the company would take full responsibility if pets were found to have died after consuming the contaminated food.
It was still under investigation whether pet owners whose animals had not died but were ill would be compensated for their veterinary costs.
A little late Mr. Watine. Why did 30 have to die before you decided to do something about it?
Paying a vet bill isnt going to make up for your killing someones pet.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I have seen the kumpi propaganda enough already?
basicly all grain is unhealthy for kats,and over time kills.
the whole purpose of this board is to identify dangerous products
or acknowledge a lost life?
with all the heartbreak in this world isint enough that pet foods are
killing our friends?
if you want to sell your product please limit the add to once a week?
thanks
sincerly , disgusted
April 19th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
TiaRachel,
I am glad Hill’s has tested their RPC and gladder still that it has tested
negative as I know how huge they are. Let’s hope the rest of the companies
start coming forth with statements and start releasing testing results - which should include tests on all GLUTENS, PROTEINS and CONCENTRATES, be they corn, wheat, rice, soy, vegetable or fish.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
“f you want to sell your product please limit the add to once a week?
thanks
sincerly , disgusted”
I second that - please Evy go away and stop gloating how your food is so much less bad than the other people’s.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Damn it. I’ve gone through 4-5 different types of dry food in the past 2 weeks. No wheat gluten… then, no rice protein… now I have to find something w/ no wheat, rice OR corn. I’d tried Innova Evo but, even being a “no grain” dry food, it still had that weird crumbly stuff on it and my cats refused to eat it.
What the heck is going on w/ this industry ?
April 19th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
“I have seen the kumpi propaganda enough already?
basicly all grain is unhealthy for kats,and over time kills.”
If you feel Evy is out of line, tell the itchmo moderators. Otherwise chill as your post is hyper, and not entirely true per the grain issue and you spelled cats incorrectly btw.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Sorry about the double post again.
Sometimes it wont post so I resubmit and then it appears twice?
April 19th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Beneful contains corn gluten meal. Given all of the complaints about beneful, I’m not inclined to think that it’s a coincidence.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I will not use anything that has partial grains or protein other other whole meats, grains or vegetables. I do not care if X company tests “their” batch of protein, gluten soy, fish meal egg powder or anything else - if it hasn’t been tested by the FDA I don’t want to hear it. basically, I don’t want to hear any company telling me anything is safe. There is no reason to trust anyone right now, since no one, not one company, knows for sure that every ingredient they have obtained from a second or third party is not involved. And I have no reason to trust that their testing is done the way I would handle the testing (are you GLP? I doubt it).
I’m done - it’s off to the outer aisles of the grocery store. Whole meat, veggies and grains. period.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I’m with you, Disgusted. Enough already with shoving your product down our throats!
April 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Colleen,
There is a thread on what to feed your cats here:
http://www.itchmo.com/read/wha.....t_20070326
PLEASE - consider eliminating dry food! Dry food has been linked to feline diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, urinary tract disorders, and gastro-intestinal disorders. Feed canned or raw.
For more information, see:
www.felineoutreach.org
www.catnutrition.org
www.catinfo.org (Dr. Pierson’s site)
www.yourdiabeticcat.com (Dr. Hodgkins’ site)
April 19th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
and if you chose to feed only canned, be damn sure there are no glutens or rice protein in them!
April 19th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
One of my cats will not eat any wet food what so ever.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
I posted some thoughts about the “dirty bag” and “pink bag” issues in another thread here before the link with the corn gluten was made known. Given this latest revelation, it no longer seems in any way plausible that there was _accidential_ contamination of the grain products, which is what the “dirty bag” theory was all about.
Sadly, it now seems fairly certain that the Chinese are _routinely_ adulterating their processed grain products with melamine in order to fool nitrogen-based protein testing into yielding higher results, thereby upping the value of the product. The pink bag (which was still CLEARLY included by error) now seems proof that the baggers are keeping the bagged melamine on hand to add to the grain deriviatives. Time for the US to put its food firm;y down and halt ALL grain-based shipments from China, period, until there are answers. Only an economic hit of that magnitude is likely to get the Chinese government to cooperate in any way at all.
As for those now rushing to shun all grain in any form — really, just take a breath and CALM DOWN. There is a WORLD of difference between whole brown rice or corn (or oats, flax, barley, wheat, or any other whole grain, for that matter) and the amorphous white powder resulting from protein extraction. Any yahoo can tell if a bag has whole brown rice in it or not just by looking, but white, odorless powder is white, odorless powder; could be any one of hundreds of different things. The more refined a product is, the easier it is for contaminants to creep in, and the harder it is to find them.
And for the comment about NB not having rice listed and supposedly being grain free, that was the CANNED venison CAT formula only, which is NOT RECALLED and still has NO RICE. The bagged venison formulas for both cats and dogs have had rice in them all along (I’ve used both for almost 2 years and know what the ingredient labels have said). Heck, the dog formula is named “venison and BROWN RICE”. You thought that was grain free?? The rice _protein concentrate_ was new, as of late March, and yes, it was being added to increase protein content since NB’s V&BR formula has been really slammed by several of the supposedly “elite” pet food rating forums as not having enough protein. Since the formula ALREADY contained rice in more than one form, adding this was not a huge risk from an allergy-management standpoint, but I’m still not thrilled they altered the formula without notice.
Anyway, people wanting to DO something instead of just vent outrage should contact their US senators and representatives about shutting off Chinese grain-based imports until a thorough international investigation can be carried out. Maybe WHO would be a logical coordiator, as adulterated grains must surely be considered a world health issue.
Be polite, do not use vulgarities, use proper spelling and grammar. Like it or not, people pay more attention to people they percieve as articulate and educated. Raise concerns that since many of these pet food processors seek out and use HUMAN GRADE ingredients the food supply for people may be compromised as well. And if you’re registered to vote, be sure and mention it! If you’re not registered to vote… go do that first! You can’t change anything if you can’t/don’t vote, and elected officials pay little attention to non registered constituents.
Send letters to your local newspaper editor as well, or copy them on yur letters to your representatives. Don’t overlook your state legislatures: if the Fed fails to act or acts too slowly, state ag boards can and do halt imports of specific items within their own borders pretty swiftly. If we have to do it state-by-state, fine. Call local TV stations and ask when they plan to do a story about this. In other words, make noise…but do it it places where you’ll have an audience that isn’t composed only of other angry pet owners. It’s nice that we have each other to vent to, but we aren’t the ones who need to be urged to action.
And again… best wishes to the families hit by these tainted foods. I can’t even imagine how awful this is for you all.
Love to all the pooches and kitties,
donna
April 19th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
NUTRO DRY MAX CAT GOURMET CLASSICS ADULT ROASTED CHICKEN
CONTAINS CORN GLUTEN MEAL - PRODUCED THE KIDNEY SYMPTOMS in my cat.
Seems safest to avoid grains altogether but particularly wheat corn and soy.
If not, stick w whole ground grains - pref oats although brown rice is also often used.
Yes, it is better to feed canned or raw to cats but feeding canned is very risky right now so if your’e using a safe dry, read labels carefully to make sure no suspect ingred are in any canned you switch to. There aren’t a lot of canned choices out there that are grain free. A few. Read the links and read the labels. Jerking your cat from food to food is not that smart either. If you’re not having problems, do it gradually if you can.
Wellness CORE is a grain free dry. Maybe an option that’s safer for now.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Please excuse me, since I mean no offense.
I have been working mostly alone for nine years to keep my company going. I have driven the forklift, offloaded the food, stacked it, labeled 20# product, done deliveries, invoicing, content for web site, all accounts payable/receivable, purchasing boxes to ship the FedEx in, doing all of the FedEx myself (I am hoping that some day there will be a Tape Gun Olympics) - answering phones, emails, going in stores to hand out samples and information (that I had to assemble in my own time at my home) - all by myself, because I saw this day coming.
I am no different from you as a pet lover. What I am posting is not propaganda. My initial intent was to make sure people understood what “gluten” actually is. I was posting further and more aggressively when Nikki started to bash on corn.
And dogs do need carbohydrates as part of a balanced diet. And Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins already ‘outted’ the myth of meat being at the top of a label as a means for the industry to pack cereal/grain into the food by splitting out ingredients. I have taken a LOT of grief for nine years, trying to find whatever way I could to alert pet owners that meat as a first ingredient means more grain and that grain as a first ingredient means more meat.
If you would have spent the years and months I have sacrificed for my dog and my cat - and many other pets as well whose owners have absolutely no concern whatsoever about their lives - I think you would be posting here too.
I’m used to being ridiculed, mocked and attacked. What I’m not used to is FINALLY other’s are starting to realize how corrupt this industry is, key professionals speaking against this industry and I have done the honest and right things to my own hurt.
How many pet owners have you talked with that have lost their precious pet or have one who is recovering??
How many hours have you invested to allow these hearts to share their story?
How many people have you cried along with as they share about their concern for their dog who did survive, but is now suffering from a damaged trachea since the vomitting from the poison was that extreme??
Please do not throw stones at this heart here who cares so deeply. Please.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I am sorry to say I agree with disgusted. I also have heard enough from Kumpi. This is not the place to advertise petfood, when so many people are heartbroken. I agree also with the young lady who earlier said it made her sad to see someone constantly advertising their food in this forum. I am quite frankly very tired of reading constant, lengthy commercials for their petfood. This is a place to help identify dangerous products, NOT SELL PETFOOD. Such behavior is extremely opportunistic at this sad time!! Enough is enough! Lets not turn this board into a space for constant advertisements. This site is desperately needed at this time to help pet owners.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
When was the last time you ate a piece of bread that didn’t have wheat gluten listed on the ingredient list? My dog Otto has liver problems now, so he doesn’t have a great appetite, and I am letting him eat whatever he will eat. Last night, he asked for a piece of my hamburger. I got up and checked, nope I told him, you can have some of the meat, but the bread has wheat gluten in it and only I can eat it. Sorry, only Mom gets to eat the poison!
Just thought I would bring some humor into a dull dreary and aggravating day.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
and again, if you don’t think what Evy is posting is out-of-line “tell the management.” Stop attacking her on the forums, “you” complain she is monopolizing the board with pushing her product, you are just monopolizing the board with attacking her instead of discussing and sharing info.
I appreciate her presence here, she has knowledge and concern that are relevant to these discussions.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
4lgdfriend said
“Yes, it is better to feed canned or raw to cats but feeding canned is very risky right now”
I disagree. There are MANY grain-free canned foods available - many as readily available as your local grocery store! There are several Fancy Feast flavors without grains, Whiskas savory ground pate, etc. There are also premium canned foods without grains like By Nature Organics.
You will have a harder time finding a grain-free dry food. All dry foods MUST contain a starch in order to be manufactured. If it’s not corn, rice, or wheat… it will be potatoes or tapioca… Cats have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates, and in fact carbohydrates have been linked to feline diabetes, obesity, and urinary tract crystals.
Dr. Hodgkins, if you read her publications, will tell you that she insists her clients feed NO DRY FOOD to their cats. She is convinced it CAUSES illness in our cats.
PLEASE - for your cats’ sake, do some reading:
www.felineoutreach.org
www.catnutrition.org
www.catinfo.org
www.yourdiabeticcat.com
April 19th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
that should be if you think what Evy is posting
not don’t think
I have a sinus headache so a bit fuzzy.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Sue J,
Thanks for the good laugh. I needed that today :-)
I did something very similar last night when a piece of my rice cake fell on the floor and my pup went for it. I quickly grabbed it up and said: NOT FOR YOU as I took my 2nd bite. “?”
April 19th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Donna,
I have to disagree with you about NB. The venison and green pea DRY cat food was also recalled. Even now on their website, NB says that this formula has “No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors, Colors, or Bleached Ingredients. Does not contain Corn, Soy, Wheat, Rice, Eggs, Dairy Products or Sunflower Oil.” (It’s near the bottom of the page)
Howl911 has listings for the ingredients of this food before and after the recall. As of April 12th, there was no rice in any form in the ingredient list. Even now, the rice protein is the only rice or rice derived ingredient.
Having said that, at least NB recalled their food. We still don’t know about the other companies that received the rice protein.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Thanks for the funny about the bread. It made me smile. I feel the same way protect my little ones at the moment worry about me later.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
In regards to Monika’s comments about testing all GLUTENS, PROTEINS and CONCENTRATES, be they corn, wheat, rice, soy, vegetable or fish>
I too noticed in my web search how much of this comes from China. I also noticed a lot of FISH MEALs are imported from China and also wonder about the other MEAT MEALs. Perhaps more possible suspect contimanted pet food ingredients? I would suppose that melamine could be used to elevate protein levels in the imported fish meal or meat meal product as well.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
“Dr. Hodgkins, if you read her publications, will tell you that she insists her clients feed NO DRY FOOD to their cats. She is convinced it CAUSES illness in our cats.
PLEASE - for your cats’ sake, do some reading:
www.felineoutreach.org
www.catnutrition.org
www.catinfo.org
www.yourdiabeticcat.com”
That is one vet’s opinion, you will find vets who disagree. We can all post links that prove our point and some will be truer info than others. I trust my own doctor and I trust my cats vet before I trust anything over the internet. If you can’t trust your doctor or vet, find one you can trust. Telling people they must feed this or that or doom will result gets annoyingly preachy. I think we have been over this before. It is fine to state this an opinion that your animals will do better eating such and such. But, you start adding inappropriate fear to the already present fear here by implying one will kill cats by feeding them any kind of dry. Again, one vet’s opinion vs. another.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
[…] wrote: BREAKING NEWS: Melamine in Corn Gluten Linked to South African Pet Illnesses. First wheat gluten, then rice protein concentrate, now corn gluten. Please read the lastest […]
April 19th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Lynette….no other cat food has made over offered over 80% of the protein from meat. She is right, that as a rule, dry cat food is insane. Far too heavy in carbs.
I will not get into any argument over wet vs. dry, but with the vast majority of cat owners already feeding wet food, the diseases have continued in cats at an alarming rate. So wet food is not the magic bullet either. Corn gluten meal has been abused as a protein source in cat food with it being high in protein and low in ash. I feel it is important for consumers to start doing some real learning too! But the online *nutrition information* is not always accurate either.
Right now I just hurt so bad for the pets at risk at the hand of corporate greed. Please know the science of advice, since that is where I’m coming from. There is a backwash of fear from *online advice* that is not warranted. There is enough legitimate fear already without adding to it.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I’m switching to grain free Nature’s Balance Duck and Potato. It’s an allergy formula, so they shouldn’t be able to add corn, wheat, rice, or any of their proteins, glutens, etc.
Personally, I’m not holding NB responsible, even though I have a dog now sick after eating the NB Venison. The rice protein was supplied to NB by Diamond. Even Diamond really isn’t to blame here, although it would have been nice for someone to test all these ingredients before dumping them in our pet food. The importer I do hold partially responsible as I believe THEY should have been testing this crap before selling it.
I ultimately hold China responsible, as I strongly suspect that this was intentional poisoning so they could get a better price for their crappy glutens and proteins. I believe we should ban ALL food and food products, including vitamins, herbs, etc., from China. No exceptions. We get enough tacky nick-nacks from them anyway.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
“I ultimately hold China responsible, as I strongly suspect that this was intentional poisoning so they could get a better price for their crappy glutens and proteins. I believe we should ban ALL food and food products, including vitamins, herbs, etc., from China. No exceptions. We get enough tacky nick-nacks from them anyway.”
When production uses slave labor, shoddy products get produced.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Wow. Obviously we are all extremely frightened and unsure as to what to feed to keep our pets safe and healthy. As for me, I speak constantly with my vet trying to make the right decisions on foods. Our pets are family members and while yes, I am sure I am ingesting the poisons in pastas, desserts, breads, etc, I refuse to feed them to my pets!
I do not believe Evy is trying to sell her food through this venue. In fact, Evy is extremely knowledgable about pet foods having literally created foods from the ground up. I for one am glad to have the assurance from a real live human being that Kumpi is safe! In addition, I greatly appreciate Evy sharing her knowledge and helping me to learn and make what I hope are good choices.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Could we PLEASE STOP talking about Evy and that food, alright already, it’s great stuff, are you happy now? Just ENOUGH already.
And I HAVE emailed the webmaster.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I am very greatful for Evy’s presence here. I have taken it that she is here to educate and help us understand what is going. on. I haven’t taken it as her trying to sell or push Kumpi on anyone. I don’t see the CEO’s, founders or presidents of any other company’s here trying to help us all make sense of this horrific mess or gaurentteing that their products are safe. That they are made right here in the good old USA, that the ingredients are from right here in the USA. Nothing imported and no short cuts being taken to maximize profits. I personally only feel safe dealing with a company like Evy’s. I would be terrified to buy anything off a retail store shelf right now. If it weren’t for Evy and Kumpi I would be home cooking for mine right now. Thanks for loving and caring for us and our furry friends Evy and please don’t stop educating us on the what is really important here.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I truly believe that a product can speak by itself. Westie Rescue of Missouri has been feeding their Westies with skin issues and other health ailments Kumpi for nearly two years - many of our volunteers have now placed with personal pets on Kumpi. The remarkable difference it makes in these allergy prone little Westies is night and day. Please take time to visit our site and see what we are speaking of.
Westie Rescue of Missouri stands beside Kumpi and we have to say - while everyone is attacking its President, Ms. Serpa, its over some misguided information - not that main point here - Kumpi has not, nor will kill ANY of our pets due to Melamine or any other tainted gluten.
It makes our organization sleep very well at night.
THANK YOU KUMPI and Ms. Serpa for protecting and helping our rescues and personal pets.
Angie Jamison
Westie Rescue of Missouri
April 19th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Lisa C:
Yes, NB has stated numerous times that they added the rice concentrates to ALL dry venison formulas toward the end of March. By law, they have up to 6 months to change ingredient lists (that includes web listings, btw). April 12 was maybe 2 weeks after the change - a far cry from 6 months.
Many manufacturers don’t employ enough full time web folks to keep their sites well updated, so it probably wasn’t on anyone’s high-priority to do list UNTIL NB realized that their AMERICAN supplier was importing the rice protein and that it was adulterated. At that point, NB did the right thing and immediately recalled the products and started updating their site. And even then, they were probably a bit distracted trying to get FACTS to publish, and the job was complicated by the huge influx of traffic they had to be recieving at that point. Trying to push an update out to a swamped server is no picnic.
Everyone acts like these screen grabs of ingredient lists are some huge “gotcha!” proving a huge consipracy. Puh-leeze! Web updates are a really low priority most places that don’t depend on a website for their entire business model. I should know: I’m a freelance web designer, and let me tell you, companies don’t want to pay for updates unless it’s a dire necessity! If that were NOT true, I’d have a bigger house, better car, and a lot less debt :)
Anyway, the lack of rice protein on bag labels and the website proves exactly NOTHING. The change was very recent; labelling and web content had not yet caught up; and a trusted supplier was actually buying from outside the US, which is something no purchaser would EVER be able to know without a mole in he supplier’s purchasing and accounting offices. All the testing in the works won’t tell you that rice was grown in China instead of Carolina. Unless you grow it yourself, harvest it yourself, process it yourself, bag it yourself, and distribute it door-to-door yourself, there’s just no way ANY manufacturer can be 100% certain of ANY ingredient. Period.
Let’s focus our anger in the right direction: unscupulous producers who are ILLEGALY ADULTERATING PRODUCTS. That these producers are located offshore makes fighting back more difficult, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Crying that this pet food maker should have tested more, or crowing that at least MY food is safe (for now…) isn’t helpful. No manufacturer is going to have the resources or time to thoroughly test every single batch of every single ingredient they use, every single time for every known contaminant. That’s simply not feasible, people. Do you obtain independent testing for every apple, every head of lettuce, every pound of ground meat you buy before you feed it to your families? No, I thought not.
Pressure your elected representative to crack down on China, hard and fast. When their losses climb into the hundreds of millions, we’ll have their full attention and cooperation. And it will be a valuable object lesson to other producers who might be tempted to add “a little something” to make a quick buck. Be mad. Be vocal. But aim it in the right direction, please.
Love to all the pooches and kitties,
donna
April 19th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Wheat - Rice &
HERE COMES THE CORN GUYS!!!!!
Tests have confirmed that Vets Choice and Royal Canin dog and cat dry pet-food products contained corn gluten contaminated with melamine, says the manufacturer.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Sorry, Evy, I can’t feed your foods to my cat. He has food allergies and needs to be kept away from foods that contain any grains. Have you thought about making some grain-less foods?
April 19th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Evy I think it might be best if you refrained from posting your website or your company name in your posts as it is seen as a advertisement.
I will share my opinion with you, many dogs are allergic to corn and your food is full of it, I do not consider your food a super premium, I think its more of a bridge food much like natures balance. I live in Colorado, just like you and many of the boutique stores here that carry your food will tell their customers that is an affordable brand. It’s basically the low end of the lines they carry. You need to stop with your propaganda, your food isn’t horrible, it isn’t involved in the recall (yet) but it isn’t the holy grail.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Evy,
Using whole corn or not. Corn has no business in a cat’s diet period. They have NO dietary need for grains. Corn can be extremely hyperallergenic and can irritate IBD.
I agree with Lynette. I HAD a morbidly obese cat that ate dry food and he became diabetic. Within 2 weeks of a diet change to a low carb, grain free wet food he no longer needed insulin. He also started losing weight. *8* pounds in 2 years.
Diet is just not about carbs and grains either. Cats need moisture with their food, they will never drink enough water to compensate. They originated from desert animals and got most of their moisture from prey. You wonder why cats have chronic renal and urinary issues, perhaps because they are chronically dehydrated.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I’ve been feeding my dog, Maxx, KUMPI for 5 years. My cat Chip has been eating KumpiKat for longer than that. They’re happy,their coats are shiny, they have loads of energy, and after their recent physical, have never been healthier. I’ve given friends samples of both when they commented that their pet, dog or cat, was a finicky eater - kind of like a kid with brussel sprouts. They’ve switched to KUMPI and the pets actually look forward to meal time. I’ve fed Iams and FancyFeast before I bought KUMPI foods. In the long run, I think the KUMPI is actually cheaper and definitely more convenient. It’s delivered right to my door and the pets eat less than they did of the other foods. Every month Dayle, my dog before Maxx, used to eat more than her weight in food from the other companies. I’m guessing there was more fluff and filler to bulkk up the food. With the KUMPI, a bag would last at least 6 weeks. Not bad for a 65# greyhound-collie mix. She lost her life to a H-R driver - had nothing to do with her food. As long as I have pets, I’ll keep buying KUMPI - they make a real, healthy food; Chip and Maxx are all the proof I need.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
there is NO corn or corn gluten meal in KumpiKat cat food
IF you would all stop misdirecting your comments about my product, I would happily refrain. But if you continue to make comments that give my product a bad name that are not ‘just’ I will post in rebuttal.
And please know, I am already doing a LOT of refraining.
:)
April 19th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Uhhh who called the kumpi testimonial patrol? It’s great your pets are doing great but this isn’t helping us figure out what foods need to be avoided.
Evy please respect what this post is about and what we are trying to do. Perhaps you can put a stop to these posts.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Apollo’s Mom:
1> Mandatory country of origin labeling for all ingredients
2> All shipments from China tested in the US at the Chinese companies expense for inorganic nitrogen content, and have a USP standard for wheat, corn and rice protein to test against
3>call your government reps, call CNN, call FOXnews and call your locals.
4>call your vet’s office too and fax them some articles so that they have the right info to give to their other customers
do we agree?
oh, allmost forgot boycott Kumpi since they are so damn annoying!
April 19th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Come on all,….
Anyone heard of who the other 4 companies are yet? I dont see the 4 companies who purchased the product coming forward like they should. They know who they are and we will find out. Let’s just hope it doesnt take 30 deaths for them to come forward.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I think its great that Kumpi is safe but what good does tht do anyone who doesn’t live in Colorado and needs to feed their cats tonight, I need something safe a nationally distributed to trust for the moment. I am hoping Merrick is the answer holding my breath. Would love to try Kumpi but being on the eat coast thats a little hard to do, in this time pressed situation.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Evy said: “I will not get into any argument over wet vs. dry, but with the vast majority of cat owners already feeding wet food, the diseases have continued in cats at an alarming rate. ”
Sorry, but that’s incorrect. The majority of pet owners feed dry food, not wet. Most that do feed wet feed wet and dry. Few feed wet only.
I don’t have the industry numbers in front of me, but I can track them down if you like. They show the VAST majority of pet food sales are dry food.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
kellkell ~
I cannot help the fact that people who feed Kumpi products have been following this closely. My customers know me personally since I have valued being a personal type of company. What is wrong with their decision to defend me? Especially when I look up and read ‘boycott Kumpi since they are so damn annoying!’
I have dedicated nine years because I saw this pandemic coming. Don’t kill the messenger. I am not going to make that much money from this blog. You haven’t been around all of the blogs where I was the voice of reason, telling folks about the hike in the cost of ingredients last Oct/Nov and not to panic over their Canidae, etc. food since it was more than likely a formula change that caused their pet to not eat it with the same enthusiasm. I have spent hours NOT promoting my product line, but rather trying to help. You would need to go back through pages and pages of comments before having the right to indict me for ’selling’.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Nutro Max Hairball Formula Roasted Chicken for cats has corn gluten in it. I have contacted Nutro and told them of the corn gluten problem and told them I wanted to know where their corn gluten originated from. They took both day and evening phone numbers and said they would get back to me. I was transferred to corporate so this wasn’t just a customer service rep. They have been good at getting back to me in e-mails I must say. I had a feeling that corn gluten wasn’t far behind. Nutro Hairball formula doesn’t have any of the others just the corn gluten and ground rice. I am switching to Innova Evo which has no grains at all. They also get grain free Fancy Feast and one gets 1/2 jar of meat baby food.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Who is responsible… the FDA, the USDA, the companies that makes this stuff is to blame also (Sorry, Anon… they HAVE to take the blame as well); after all, why did they purchase foriegn, poorly-monitored glutens in the first place… to save the almighty dollar. That’s what all of this comes down to, folks. The poor ol’ American grain and corn farmer was run out of town on a rail quite a while back because it was cheaper to purchase foriegn products. Looks like it’s biting us in the a**, now, huh? I cannot BELIEVE that this melamine stuff is used in some places as FERTILIZER??? Absolutely, Steve, it’s in the human food stocks. How on earth can it not be? I love the idea of writing to your congressmans, sentators about this. I’d say also a permanent imbargo of all agricultural products from China is not a bad idea at this point, too. First wheat gluten, then rice protien, now corn gluten… what else is left? Never mind… don’t answer that… I’m too scared to find out. Anyhoo, sorry for the vent. It’s been building for a while :-). I just purchased Wellness CORE last night; Emily and Harry went nuts about it (Emily actually gorged herself a little too much and everything came back up… serves me right for turning my back for a minute!). Then I saw that some of their dog treats were recalled today! The same bloody thing that happened with the Dick Van Patten stuff we bought. I feel like we’re fighting a losing battle. :-(
April 19th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
(sorry… forgot to put may name in before I hit send!)
April 19th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Here are the stats:
2003:
Dry dog food $5,485 million
Canned dog food $1,416 million
Dry cat food $2,416 million
Canned cat food $1,735 million
April 19th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
We free fee our cats dry food and each eats canned food 4 times a day for a total of one can wet food per day per cat. This is on veterinarian advice.
At this stage, I am continuing to feed Natural Balance canned food. I am very impressed at how quickly they began removing product from shelves, before knowing for certain there was a problem. Because they were so proactive while other companies are still out there hiding I’d rather feed canned food from a company who addressed the problem.
I have tried many different brands of “healthy foods” and they aren’t healthy if the pet won’t eat them. Merrick, Canidae, Wellness and MANY others are refused by my cats. The only one I haven’t tried was Fromm which my local store insists they’ll love. I bought a can and brought it home, but then I saw that it was a product of China in little bitty letters.
I have no plans to “boycott” anyone, but I will not feed any foods that contain rice protein concentrate, corn gluten or wheat gluten. Nor will I feed cat food containing any corn.
Thanks for all the great information here.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Evy Says:
April 19th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
there is NO corn or corn gluten meal in KumpiKat cat food
No corn in your cat food, but corn in your dog food. Corn is very hyperallergenic for dogs too.
Rice flour and Oatmeal (grains) in the cat food=inappropriate for obligatory carnivores.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I just wanted to just thank Itchmo for all the info. The associated press is a joke on this topic. Also, thank you to everyone how has taken the time to research the what/where/who of what is going on.
At this point, like many of you I fear this is only going to get bigger and bigger. And many more “quality” foods will be recalled. It’s just a matter of the powers that be getting their CYA set up before they issue the recalls.
It is absurd how slowly information is being released.
That being said, I’ve started the research and really believe I have no options but to cook my boys meals myself.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
New recall - Blue Buffalo just issued a recall of their kitten food.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Someone just came and asked me because they had just bought new food for a dog that I recommended that they might look at Royal Canin Bulldog special breed. I checked the ingredients, soy isolate. Not sure, but it looks to me that soy isolate and soy protein concentrate could be in the same boat, just look at the manufaturers,
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April 19th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Voluntary Recall of Spa Select Kitten Dry Food
Dear Pet Parents:
The Blue Buffalo Company has undertaken a voluntary recall of one production run of our Spa Select Kitten dry food. The production code on the recalled product is:
“Best Used By Mar. 07 08 B.”
We have taken this action because the rice protein concentrate used for this run was obtained from Wilbur-Ellis, the same company who supplied this ingredient to Natural Balance. Test results received late last evening (4/18) indicated that this rice protein concentrate tested positive for melamine. This is the first and only time our manufacturing partner sourced an ingredient from Wilbur-Ellis, and we had no knowledge that they had imported the ingredients from China.
We have advised the FDA of this finding and will be working closely with them on this issue.
Of the 4,752 bags produced in this one run, we were able to prevent the majority from ever entering retail distribution. We are working closely with our retail partners to remove this product immediately and will be re-stocking the shelves with Spa Select Kitten dry food that was produced without any rice protein sourced from Wilbur-Ellis as soon as possible.
If you currently have a bag of Spa Select Kitten dry food, please check the code date and if it matches the one shown above discontinue use immediately and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. If your cat has eaten any of the recalled food, please call your veterinarian immediately to discuss if there are any risks to your pet.
Should you have a specific question call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-919-2833 or email us at info@bluebuff.com. We understand your desire for immediate answers and we will be working to get back to you as quickly as we can.
No other Spa Select cat food or dog food, canned or dry, is included in this recall.
As a family owned company whose reason for being is to provide cats and dogs with the highest quality natural foods, we are extremely upset by this recall and can’t begin to apologize enough to our customers. From our perspective, it is unacceptable to produce even one bag of food with the potential to cause a pet to become ill, and we will further tighten our ingredient sourcing and quality assurance procedures as a result of this incident.
Sincerely,
Bill Bishop
President
The Blue Buffalo Company
April 19th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Petistusa had a statement from Fromm on that matter, I can try and dig it up if you are interested.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
For those who want to cook there food, you might want to check www.balanceit.com
The recipes are pricey but these are formulated for your specific pet and are created by board certified veterinary nutritionists.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
CL:
Who makes Blue Buffalo? Do we know where they are located?
April 19th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
“Fromm which my local store insists they’ll love. I bought a can and brought it home, but then I saw that it was a product of China in little bitty letters.”
I always forget that brackets don’t work in this format.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
I’ve read a few post on here on how people are so impressed with NB for recalling their product before they had “proof” etc. etc. All I can say is I am not and will never buy any NB product again. 2 reasons:
1. How handy no one new this rice crap had been added to their formula, but the website just happens to be updated once the issue a press release.
2. And much more important to me. In their press release on April 17th NB stated “over the last four days we have notified our distributors and retailers by phone and e-mail to immediately stop selling and return all recalled Venison dog foods and treats and the Venison dry cat food.”
Past 4 days? And yet no press release until April 17th? I feed my dog that crap during those 4 days! 4 days of feeding your pet poison could make all the difference between them living and dying. Some great company……
April 19th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
someone says
“I think its great that Kumpi is safe but what good does tht do anyone who doesn’t live in Colorado and needs to feed their cats tonight, I need something safe a nationally distributed to trust for the moment. I am hoping Merrick is the answer holding my breath. Would love to try Kumpi but being on the eat coast thats a little hard to do, in this time pressed situation.”
its not really a time-pressed situation, really. its been junk for years. funny thing about importing pet food ingredients from China is the Chinese have such little regard for pet ownership the government slaughters them in the streets enmasse. if your looking for something “safe”, well it probably aint at petsmart, or walmart, or any mart. I DONT WANT TO ADVERTISE FOR ANYONE IN PARTICULAR AND DISRUPT THE DELICATE SENSIBILITIES OF FELLOW POSTERS, BUT OPTIONS GROW NARROWER BY THE DAY. Melamine is the evil of today, but it is not the only junk that has ever gone into a bag of pet food. It just kills faster. I would love to post here a brand that I know of, that is readily available, to help someone out. But I quite frankly would not trust any of them enough. Except one. But you guys are sick of hearing about it.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Wow, would anyone have known before NB that rice protein concentrate had a problem? We were all checking labels for wheat gluten. I have more respect for Natural Balance than I do for Blue Buffalo who just now admitted to using Wilbur-Ellis rice protein concentrate.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Evy sorry to be so blunt but my cat has an allergy to grains you use in your food. WHOLE OR NOT. Not all animals have these allergies but some do. How bout just letting people make their own decisions now. You’ve achieved your MIND SHARE here at Itchmo. So how bout just giving it a rest a while?
You have to let the consumer be the ultimate decision maker. There is no need to HARD SELL anyone.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
It’s so surprising to see how many foods whether ingredients or fully processed foods are imported from China. What are we sacrificing or
willing to risk to save a few dollars? Next time you go to the grocery
store read your labels to see where what you are buying was made.
Dill pickles, smoked oysters, things you would not imagine are imported
from China. It’s really shocking. Food handling and processing standards
in China are not the same as here in North America, and another thing
why the heck do these pet food companies support the economy in a country that clubs dogs to death as a cheap way to solve a problem that should be taken care of by educating, and also a country that has a
prolific cat and dog fur trade? These pet food manufacturers claim that they love pets, well why are they supporting China? $$$$$
Condolences to all that have lost their beloved companions……..thanks to itchmo, my six pack of dogs were saved from eating the NB Vension and Rice I had just purchased……( I had beleived that all ingredients other than the venision was domestic) :-/
April 19th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
http://www.bluebuff.com/
April 19th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I don’t have respect for either of them. If you praise NB for making us aware of the problem in rice protein concentrate. Might as well praise Menu Foods too!
April 19th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Uh… just a question… are people blaming the Chinese government for contaminating the product, or the company in China that produced it?
The government may be protecting its people, but that doesn’t mean that the Chinese government knew the company was doing it.
I know people are mad and that food production in China as well as manufacturing is a problem and they need to address the issue. But, let’s be clear about who is being accused of what, maybe?
April 19th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Would I know if my cats were sick?
While I am now feeding them Innova, they ate Sensible Choice up until 3 weeks ago.
Sensible Choice, made by Royal Canin, has corn gluten.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Chad, I agree. I can not respect any company that puts their name on a product and have no idea what, or where the ingredients came from.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
“The government may be protecting its people, but that doesn’t mean that the Chinese government knew the company was doing it.”
It is hard to separate the Chinese goverment from the companies that are making its economy richer.
I recommend a film called China Blue
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/
Which I saw last week on PBS.
Also, seems the Chinese government is impeding the FDA from sending inspectors in to view those plants. I believe I found it on a link someone posted here. Maybe someone else remembers what I am talking about. The article might be in my “history.”
April 19th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
http://www.bluebuff.com/contact/
Call us at:
(800) 919.2833
Write us at: The Blue Buffalo Co.
P.O. Box 770
Wilton, CT 06897
http://www.bluebuff.com/produc.....tion.shtml
http://www.bluebuff.com/products/ingredients.shtml
Their claims are that the ingredients used in Blue Buffalo Foods are human-grade.
So, what’s happening here–is this misinformation re: human grade ingredients, or are non-human grade ingredients being passed off from China as being human grade ones? Not making judgments–but it’s either one or the other.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Steve - I don’t believe Evy is trying to make a hard sale to anyone. She is not only a concerned pet owner, but someone who understands the industry and how important good nutrition is to pets. No one food is going to be perfect for every pet as it sounds in your writing.
What Evy is trying to do is educate us on pet nutrition and what to look out for.
To All - I use Kumpi for all 5 of my cats and my 3 dogs. I’ve never been more happy with a food product. That doesn’t mean that if my cat had an allergy that I would not be wise enough to try something different. I would however check with my vet and perform some tests to see what the allergy is. Sometimes we change food thinking that will resolve the issue and it isn’t even the food! And we wonder why our pets don’t get better.
Others have mentioned they would like to NOT have to order online. You know, it is not that difficult to go the extra mile and order online and get it delivered. I’ve spoken with Evy late into the night during this whole recall mess and she and her team of dedicated folks have worked extra hard to get the extra orders out without even increasing the cost of the food. That extra time and changes in pickup and delivery times for their shipping process increases their overhead. But again - no increase in costs. I’m not saying prices won’t ever go up…but it speaks volumes that she is willing to go the extra mile and help us all out.
They way I look at it - your pet is like a child - you do what you have to do for that LIVING being who DEPENDS on you to TAKE CARE of him or her. I ordered extra bags of food so I could stock pile a few weeks and get my order schedule underway. That may not be feasible for some, but what I do is reduce my Blockbuster rentals, going out to eat for myself, etc… to make sure I don’t cut out the right nutrition for my companions who give me nothing but love and support and cheer me up any day of the week.
Go Kumpi - thanks Evy!
Robert Davis
April 19th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
please… enough with the kumpikat. please.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Well, I’m done with this blog for a while. Should we rename it Kumpi’s Blog?
April 19th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Unfortunately suppliers do not tell those they are supplying where they get the products from. In fact, the information they give/gave to Menu Foods, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Royal Canin, etc may NOT have even been truthful. The truth of the matter is that unless you personally grown your own food sources you have no idea what you or your pet are eating, nor do you know for certain from what country it has come from. Since few people have the time, space or resources to grown their own food including the raising, caring for and slaughter of meat, poultry and fish, we are in the unfortunate position of having to trust others. For me, I trusted the FDA and the USDA to govern the food supply for my pets and my family. Now I am learning that my trust has been sadly misplaced.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Thanks, Traci, I’ve heard of that production. There is also an article in Vanity Fair this month about the pollution of waterways and heavy manufacturing in China that is very interesting. The article is primarily about companies now being paid by goverments to go in and privately regulate water production due to pollution and poor infrastructure.
I have also read that the FDA is having troubles with inspecting the plants. I just wanted to be clear on the distinction between the company (a lot of companies being now privatized by China) and the government itself, who again, may be protecting the companies, but may not necessarily be the culprits themselves. Of course, they do bear responsibility, too.
I just don’t want China to shut down at all the criticism, which means we won’t get anywhere with the inspections. Anyway, just thinking out loud.
Thanks again for the link.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
It would be great if the admin stepped in and helped keep the propaganda off here. I can tell you this much, these K posts have solidified my opinion of the product, and being someone that people come to for advice on what to buy, I know what is absolutely not going to be on my list.
After careful consideration I think that any food using a non meat protein should be on the no no list for now. If the word gluten or the word protein in conjunction with a grain is on the ingredient list we might best be served not feeding it to our pets. I’m also staying away from any menu foods produced foods because I fear cross-contamination. There is a reason that those peanut warnings say that foods made with peanuts are made in the same place, cross contamination happens. Since we’re dealing with a powdered ingredient I think the possibility is even higher.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Our policy is to remove comments only for profanity and hate speech. However, I would ask all commenters to post testimonials and other food recommendations in our Forums (www.itchmo.com/forums).
April 19th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
[…] Itchmo » Blog Archive » BREAKING NEWS: Melamine in Corn Gluten Linked to South African Pet Illnesses __________________ […]
April 19th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Lynette: I don’t have to defend myself to you. I’ve researched this for years and worked with cats with very difficult illnesses. Hodgkins did a great job but advocates meat by-products???? UGH. The links you posted are readily available and among the first any serious student of feline nutrition will read. I am fully aware of the advantages of a wet diet, canned or raw, over dry and all the reasons for those advantages. I was speaking to the maj of pet owners right now who have not spent years doing their own research. Many have ltd access to brands - so it was thoughtful of you to post a few of the canned alternatives YOU think are SAFE right now. The best I can say for Fancy Feast and Whiskas are that they are not the worst. Do a little reading and Purina won’t get your vote. Sorry. Personally, although I’d prefer a wet food my cat refuses it so - I’m sticking with a safe dry in this crisis. When it’s over, I’ll consider something else from what is actually nutritious and safe and available — and that my cat will eat. You’re free to do the same. Try to contribute and be helpful without sounding like an annoying know it all.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
“Others have mentioned they would like to NOT have to order online. You know, it is not that difficult to go the extra mile and order online and get it delivered.”
I regards to Evy’s or any other brand not readily store retailed across the country, I think some people have a fear of ordering online for security issues. I am just getting over it the past few months and have ordered a few things via the web, one just today by PayPal. With all the fear people have of cyber crime and snooping malware I can understand. If you are concerned about online shopping a particular company, ask them what measures they use to secure your info and learn how to secure your own info on your computer (learn about malware and cyber snooping etc and what to do on your end to be secure).
April 19th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I love my kitties more than anything, and I want only the best for them. It took me a long time to find a food for them that I felt comfortable with, that I knew was going to be good for them long term and also something that they liked. No doubt everyone feels the same way and wants only the best for their pets. Our pets are our kids!!!
I think it is a disgrace that for so long, pets have been getting the “bottom of the barrel” when it comes to nutrition. People think, “they are just animals, who cares? why spend a bunch of money?” Ridiculous. We are talking about our companions, our friends. I have had all three of my labs and my two kitties on Kumpi for several months now, and I have to stick up for Evy and her product on this one. I am very happy with the results I have seen and I hope others will see the light. I am the worlds biggest skeptic on being “sold” but in this case, I can be at ease knowing I am giving my “kids” a quality product. I am a scientist and therefore VERY aware of what goes into these foods. It literally makes me sick to my stomach the sacrifice in quality for our pets. Why wouldnt we want the same quality for them as we do ourselves? I realize some of these foods are actually considered very good food, how would we ever know??? This could happen at any point to any company. The bottom line is that we need to take a stand and stick up for our pets, DEMAND the quality they deserve. Recently on the last recall, the CO Human Society alone, lost 98% of its food. That makes me want to cry. Donations need to be made and people need to be eduacated and aware. This is a much bigger issue than we even know.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
PLEASE STOP WITH THE KUMPI TESTIMONIALS!!!!!
We get it, evi and her clients think its the best food ever made!! ENOUGH ALREADY you kumpi people are scaring off posters who have had valuable comments and insight. You don’t need to bash our heads in with KUMPI IS WONDERFUL, EVY IS THE BEST, ENOUGH!!!!
April 19th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
IMHO any dog food containing corn should be avoided. It is a cheap filler.
Corn is a difficult to digest grain that is a common cause of allergy problems. Corn gluten meal is a low quality product for which the AAFCO definition is “the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.†In plain English, that which remains after all the nutrititious bits have been removed.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Does anyone have any opinions or reviews of “The Honest Kitchen” line of products? We’re considering switching to this mainly due to the fact that they’re the only company I’ve been able to find whose ingredients list isn’t a mini-novella. So far as I can tell, they don’t use any grain glutens (course, I thought that about NB when we switched to them) and we’re going to test out some samples I ordered.
This is the dehydrated stuff that you mix together at home. I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with that, since we’ve always fed our guys dry food (Hill’s and then NB, *not* the V&GP thank god..) and this would be essentially switching them over to straight wet food.
Any opinions appreciated. This isn’t meant as an ad, since I’ve never used their product; just want to know if anyone else has, without the schpeil please.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
THIS IS NOT A KUMPI SITE AND THIS IS NOT A KUMPI FORUM!!
CITFO!!!!
The constant posts about this brand is not a way to win people over and the internet doesn’t forget, not even smart from a marketing perspective.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
If anyone has allready mentioned this pet food….I apologize for the repetition but I just wanted to make sure that I posted it before I have to log off.
I’m not speaking for all Purina pet products…..but I know for a fact, that BENEFUL ORIGINAL CHICKEN DRY DOGFOOD…contains corn gluten!!! I know, because, that’s what I used to feed my dogs….until 3 weeks ago….before I started home cooking for them.
For any who may have doubts….please go to the Purina website and you will find it listed there…..along with the ingredients for other Beneful formulas.
This is just horrific….but I gotta’ say…..I just had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to end with Wheat Gluten being the culprit…it’s so sad!!!
April 19th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Fivecatsandadog you should call them, they are very helpful, I know several dogs thriving on their food (as well as other manufacturers brands). They have no glutens and no proteins that are grain derived. Their phone number is (858) 483 5995 I suggest a quick call might answer your questions.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I have been reading every post I could for the last several weeks as our dog Buddy spent 4 days in an emergency clinic early in March..We believe it was due to Iams canned food..He is still alive but has many problems and we have already spent over $5,000 and have much more to go…We feel grateful we were able to make the financial commitment and he is still alive..
At the onset of all these petfood tragedies and the exposure of big business atrocities, the posts had most pet lovers bonding together to try and learn and/or share any tiny scrap of information they could…Now, many are choosing to attack each other instead of the real villains…Why? Because it is easier?
I personally have read many opinions often with opposing ideas, many duplications of information and many speculations presented as facts but with no sources or documentation..Big deal..It is my responsibility to sort through the information and then evaluate it myself…
Many, including myself, have utilized this forum to try and find solutions as to what to feed their pet…If Evy is willing to share information and be the first person I have heard actually willing to stand behind their product without smoke and mirrors, why the #$^$@ is she being attacked..???
If you don’t like what she says, don’t read it…I may not like the nasty tone of Anonymous or Disgusted but that does not give me the power to control what they say or feel…
When you start attacking your own group who are sharing a common interest as special as our love for our pets, you have weakened the group as a whole and will certainly please the corporate power brokers with no scruples or conscience…
What I have learned to date from all of this is actually kind of simple..I will need to be more vigilant and do more work to examine all of the food etc in my life and more importantly, I will enjoy the things I love most, my family including dogs, each and every day…No more taking anything for granted…
April 19th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Is it safe to return yet? i was dreaming of corn, wheat,and grain free foods
for my pet!
im not knocking kumpi ? i simply haven’t the resources to buy it! so all you rich kids buy kumpi’s foods.. there.. now from my prespective cats don’t
wallow ’round like water buffalo lookin for gains to eat ? not since nature
decided to make cats,and mine really likes (opps? no endoursments please).
meat, yes thats right my little carnosaur loves meat.. mouse , vole,
bird.. even snake? and i am satisfied to say i encourage my kat (cat)
to go out in my wooded backyard an KILL an EAT! it’s safe,cheap and
contains NO gluetins ,corn , wheat , rice,soy or other rabbit food?
sincerly,
disgusted
April 19th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Has anyone heard about the Wellness wet cat food? Just curious if that is included in this mess.
Whoa on the snippy little bloggers. I am only trying to help you. I am not trying to advertise anything! Is this romper room or a place where people can vent and try to help each other. Again, use all that energy to do something positive and proactive. I just left a shelter two hours ago dropping off $400 worth of donations. What are you doing?
April 19th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
” I just left a shelter two hours ago dropping off $400 worth of donations. What are you doing?”
Amen and thank you.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Nobody on here should be hyping any food since none of us know for sure what is safe and what isn’t.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
The Paws no kill shelter in Lago Vista, Tx has been battling this for weeks. Someone donated recalled pet food and it was fed by staff who did not know any better. At least two cats have died and 40 are under observation. This is the only incident that has had any media attention in the Central TX area.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Thanks for the info KellKell, I’ll give them a call shortly. I’m glad to hear that there are animals doing well on their food, we’re going to go crazy if we don’t find a safe alternative soon. We’ve been so lucky; we’d stopped feeding our one cat the savory cuts just weeks before Menu’s tainted “window” by sheer coincidence. We then put her on Royal Canin, and thankfully this mix has no corn, rice, or wheat so far as I can tell (but don’t know if I entirely trust them). With the other kids, we *almost* bought the NB’s V&GP for them. Thank god we didn’t. We feel so horrible for others who weren’t so lucky, almost feel guilty that we escaped it (so far).
April 19th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Roz, Kudos to you for dropping off $400 in donations, my point was it is clear that Kumpi is not involved, we know that, we have known that for quite a few posts, we need new information not a testimonial. As for what I am doing my company has raised and donated nearly 10 times your donation to help with this mess. So what, who cares, thats my decision and the least I can do for the furry ones I love.
People have asked repeatedly for the propaganda to stop, people have left because of it. It would be great if instead of trying to compete on donations and giving product testimonials about a known clean food (at least its clean with the current info we have) how about you help us figure out who the other 3 companies are that have the contaminated rice gluten?
April 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Roz, Wellness canned food is made by Menu Foods (or at least some of it is). But it is suppose to be grain free.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Hey Anon, you don’t like Evy’s post skip over them then. I appreciate Evy’s knowledge about the pet food industry. How often can you go to a forum & have someone who’s actually in the industry & know what she does?
I returned 2 unopened bags of Royal Canin yesterday because of the wheat & corn gluten in them. I was afraid to start feeding new bags to my cats. I know a lot of people don’t like Eukanuba, but that’s what I exchanged the Royal Canin for. At least they use mainly meat proteins and NO glutens. As for the by-products, I e-mailed them last year about it and it seems they use high quality by-products so I’m not worried about it.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Fivecatsandadog you can only go with what you know and that’s honestly what is so completely scary about this situation. We are trusting these companies and what they are saying. My concerns is actually with what THEY don’t know. I think the best course of action is what I said earlier, in avoiding the glutens and non meat based proteins entirely. Of course who is to say that something else isn’t going to turn up contaminated. Again we have to go with what we know. Even cooking for our pets, we’ve had human food recalls of late too. We have to educate ourselves and do the best we can. This whole thing sucks.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
True, true. It’s a frightening time in general, that’s for sure.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Hey Fivecatsandadog when you call HK post what they say in here, I don’t think I’ve seen a post about them yet so it would be good to hear what they have to offer. Please? Thanks! :)
April 19th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Oh, and Roz,
as far as Wellness, people have brought up the possibility of cross-contamination. Wellness would have you believe they are safe because they carefully inspect their production lines and clean them to avoid such issues. You may find something of more detail on a statement from them at Petsitusa (even on Wellness/Old Mother Hubbard itself) or the new pet food list website mentioned on Petsitusa. Teresa who runs the blog might be able to tell you through email?
http://www.petsitusa.com/blog/
If you feel that boycotting Menu Foods is the right thing to do, you wouldn’t want to use them (they use MF for canning as do others that are quality like Innova). I think Wellness Cat is good food and safe since I have decided to trust on the cross-contamination issue and hopefully they will switch from using MF but I am not boycotting all MF associated food (and no one is going to convince me to either). Most of the cat food moist is grain-free and I believe the ones with grain only use whole brown rice. I feed the moist myself as does the rescue/pet store I volunteer at.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Please don’t bash Evy, she’s only trying to help. I, for one, appreciate her comments and her knowledge. The great majority of her posts have just been sharing information that I really didn’t know. I haven’t seen any other pet food companies coming forward to help us at all, most are just providing non-answers to our very pointed questions. Evy even calls you personally to answer your questions and concerns, don’t know that any other company president does that. Please don’t try and make her go away, it doesn’t seem to be advertising to me. I have appreciated all her posts.
And yes, I feed KumpiKat. I just started a couple weeks ago, and everyone is doing really well on it.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Geez Roz?,
how about donating $400 to me? (see what i mean, it ’s the poor man’s pet
thats trapped?) shelters , feral colonys, we are trapped!
free kat food > mouse , vole , snake.. a bird or 2?
im definately leavin this blog, it’s become a bank for the x-pensive , pet owner , an please “roz” im poor, i really hate people who boast money?
your not the only person who trys. (if you want a childish description of what i do? well fellow you’l be disapointed you ain’t gettin it..
ITCHMO ADMIN: No one is saying that you have to buy expensive food or organic to feed non-poisonous food to our pets. We want ALL food to be safe and wholesome. Please let’s concentrate our energies on making ALL pet food safe.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Here’s a link to an article speculating that the melamine was added intentionally to increase protein levels, and also describes how the chinese govt is obstructing our investigation. http://www.baltimoresun.com/ne.....-headlines
Here’s info that will make you sick—our pets were sacrificed to save 20 cents/lb of wheat gluten. http://www.boston.com/business.....mport_gap/
April 19th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
“im definately leavin this blog, it’s become a bank for the x-pensive , pet owner , an please “roz†im poor, i really hate people who boast money?
your not the only person who trys. (if you want a childish description of what i do? well fellow you’l be disapointed you ain’t gettin it..”
I am not wealthy either, but I thank him or her for doing something good with the money instead of buying some new fashionable outfit or electronics toy. I have yet to see you contribute anything under your moniker other than rant at someone else for what they have posted. That IS childish.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I am going to supply an answer here? i am certain some of you have already figured it out? it’s not in a can? it’s not ina pouch.. and it’s not even in kumpi kat ! it’s a mouse!
thank you, ;~) disgusted
April 19th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Disgusted,
I think you’re taking other’s posts too personally. All Roz did was report what she did. She did not mock your financial situation. I’m not rich either, but I appreciate people donating pet food to shelters
I only can donate a little per month, but I’m calling the local animal shelters to make sure they are up to date with the recall. It’s the least I can do, and maybe you can help too.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
“For those who want to cook there food, you might want to check www.balanceit.com
The recipes are pricey but these are formulated for your specific pet and are created by board certified veterinary nutritionists.”
I’m sorry, but I found the recipes at BalanceIT.com highly inappropriate for cats. I can make cat food from tofu and spaghetti? According to them… but cats are obligate carnivores and I wouldn’t have very healthy cats.
4lgdfriend: I’m glad you’ve read those sites, because they contain a wealth of information, including on byproducts. I AGREE WITH YOU that byproducts are “icky” and mystery surrounds what “meat” is in a pet food. I am merely pointing out options… and I added options without byproducts after your comment, and a link to an entire webpage of cat foods without byproducts. I was merely pointing out options, and in my mind Purina’s Fancy Feast is one of them - because though it may contain byproducts, it (as far as we know) doesn’t contain toxins. Organics by Nature is another (superior) option - but some people want food TONIGHT and may need to buy something at a grocery or convenience store.
I have studied feline nutrition for years as well, and also worked with many cats with special needs (diabetes, renal disease, gastro-intestinal disorders, obesity….). Let’s both share our information with each other and others - I think we AGREE on many points, though we may disagree on some.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
“I only can donate a little per month, but I’m calling the local animal shelters to make sure they are up to date with the recall. It’s the least I can do, and maybe you can help too.”
Shelters and rescues need volunteers also, as well as money, sometimes more so. Even if all you can do is hold and animal a few times a week and give it some love and attention.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Yes you are right.. electonic toys that kill the polinators? (bees).
silicon cells that are more toxic than nuclear waste..
we have a clean , wholesome planet don’t we traci?
evil men who cut $.20 off a can of pet food to make themselves rich!
traci the answer is not in canned food, or bagged food , or shelter donations, it’s in careing , giving animals homes , not buyin’ em a few days
of life? (you really can’t say anything against this..) we’v wreaked the planet? i have worked with a rescue group for years, (not susposed to
endourse though!). it’s not about money.. it’s about loving yourself, loving
life , sharing the life with all life?
sigh..
yours,
disgusted
April 19th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Well, disgusted, how ironic. I am not wealthy either, funny you think that is the only way people can help and make donations. Sad that you can’t even donate your time, money is not the only thing that makes a difference. Not that I need to justify anything to you, but all of the $400, was from several caring people who are doing the best they can and want to make a difference. Even one animal at a time.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
“endourse though!). it’s not about money.. it’s about loving yourself, loving
life , sharing the life with all life?
sigh..
yours,
disgusted”
I thought you were leaving, are you staying around just to make things snarky around here? And, yes, I am certainly implying that.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
“Yes you are right.. electonic toys that kill the polinators? (bees).
silicon cells that are more toxic than nuclear waste..”
Oh, by the way, aren’t you using a computer right now?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
traci,
every year i rescue ferals.. this winter i donated over $800 to help?
all my animals are either strays, shelter animals , my favorite is the cat
that was a day away from being put to sleep, i saved her.. i pulled 3 kittens
from a crawl space in a blizzard they’r alive because i saved ‘em.
my outdoor cats are ferals , they live under my home.
im not impressed by money talk.. what does it matter..
alot of people give, but few sacrifice?
yours,
disgusted
ITCHMO ADMIN: Disgusted, no one is doubting your intentions and I am sure that you are not doubting others. But lets please direct our energy in getting recalled food off our shelves or finding out whose else has tainted rice protein by calling pet food companies. Thanks.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
My computer is a pentium pro, it’s over a decade old..
i have 1? an i hate it.. (but i admit i use it?).
1 thing you guys haven’t figured out yet, the garbage that we’r tearing
the earth up for is killing us in ways we haven’t even begun to see.
the power cells they’r using are made by 1 of the most toxic proceses know to man.. it’s the production , the materials .. if you doubt? look at China..
thanks, disgusted !
April 19th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Will those with nothing new or pertinent to say please leave this blog. Thanks.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Wise words. We would rather that you to stay and contribute positively. If you prefer, please take your comments to this board in our Forums.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
with respect to www.balanceit.com please take a closer look. They are giving you the option of selecting the protein source and the carb source you prefer to make the food with. You don’t have to use tofu or spaghetti. As much as it boggles the mind, some people prefer to be vegetarians, both for themselves and their pets. Tofu is just one option, although after selecting that I got a no recipes for that protein available message. You can choose chicken breast, ground beef, pork loin, lamb chop or atlantic salmon too. I picked chicken and barley as a test and received the option for a chicken and barley recipe and a low carb chicken and barley recipe.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Hey itchmo,
i like your blog.. it is a fine place to discuss ways to save the animals..
i have an idea?? we all know that wild is best? how about a safe enviorment for pets/wildlife.. let me tell you a sad story, i have a coyote
problem ’cause of my ferals.. the fuzz won’t let me shoot the coyotes?
everywhere i turn i get (poop). i try d.e.c. (ny dept of conservatives)..
i call animal control , they can’t help? i tried the sherif, same thing..
we need to let ‘em run free.. they’d be better off , my ferals are very
independent but alway are their when hungry? my point is, people try
and make animals pets.. and in doing so we’r killing ‘em?
April 19th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
lol maybe I didn’t spend enough time checking it out, but I just tried creating a recipe with tofu and rice for a cat and it had no recipes for that ;)
April 19th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
[i[Nancy said:
Here’s info that will make you sick—our pets were sacrificed to save 20 cents/lb of wheat gluten.
http://tinyurl.com/27qwlk
[/i]
Evy did mention earlier how production costs for pet food companies were forced up recently. I think some companies didn’t know if the increase in food would sit well with the general public. I’m able to barely pay $25 every two weeks for Natural Balance. Image if the cost all of a sudden rose to 28.00
I don’t feed my feline herpes girl, Paikea, any dry food. Others like to feed dry, but, low cost, good food is hard to manufacture, that’s a given. Hence, consolidation and such and bulk buying.
Has anybody really started to talk about good formulas for potential cat and dog food companies? A food that would be affordable yet nutritious, located in stores or online? I know a lot raw B.A.R.F. stuff has been talked about, but let’s face it: a lot of people can’t or aren’t going to pay a lot of money for pet food and even fewer are going to make their own food.
Anyway, just babbling again. OK, off to feed my cat. I hope she makes it through the expereince. sigh.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Dear All
If I have offended anyone by writing how well Kumpi has positively impacted my pets life…then I apologize. During all this time of recall as a pet person I wanted to let people know of a brand that I use and trust. Many people had been asking about that so I post. And when I see others make statements that are not accurate - then I will post as well. That is what forums are for.
To decide against a brand because folks believe I or others have posted so much about Evy and Kumpi then you are removing a good alternative to your pets diet because you got mad at me or others and your pets are the ones that might just be missing out.
So - for this post I will not write anymore about Kumpi or Evy. I know the results I see and I’m very pleased.
Best Regards,
Robert Davis
April 19th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
As someone who deals with product recalls as part of my job, I think it’s worth pointing out that it can take quite a while for a company to confirm information about manufacturing and distribution. Once they confirm they may have affected product, they test, communicate with the FDA, compose a press release, run it through all management and Legal, prepare phone operators with information for the inevitable calls, and then send out the press release and update the website. I’m not saying some companies don’t sit on the info for longer than they should, because I know for a fact they do. Some for a horrifying length of time. But, unfortunately, in the real world companies don’t tell the public “there might be a problem because we’ve used that manufacturer also”. They are in business to make money. They verify the info internally, then work to make the public aware in the best way they can without harming their business. The good companies are the ones who do it quickly (within days). The bad ones wait weeks.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
evy - you’re heart IS in the right place. Sorry, I hit the submit by mistake.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I had a light bulb go off and hopefully someone here will tell me that I’m either right or wrong! I have carefully researched pet foods for years and not because of these recalls. In fact, I started because I always fed my vet’s preference (Hills) but still ended up with an obese cat who had IBD and diabetes and ultimately died of intestinal cancer. Thru my research, I came to believe that corn was not good for my cats and was likely the cause of the allergies that caused that IBD that ultimately created the likelihood of intestinal cancer and to top that off the diabetes issue. When we got our 2 kittens we began using corn free food. My vet is totally against raw diets and I respect that but work closely with my vet anytime I find a new food I’d like to introduce. Nothing gets fed that he doesn’t approve.
Many times I’ve read here that cats shouldn’t have grains, that they are carnivores and need meat diets. Okay, I think I understand the thought process. After all, years ago, before cats were house pets (and I do believe indoor cats will live the safest and the longest and the healiest) they ate birds, mice and other rodents rather than hanging out in the rice paddies or the wheat fields.
But this is where the light bulb came on. Years ago I worked at a brewery. GRAIN, grain and more grain is at a brewery. From the barley to the hops to whatever and the rodent population is incredible! Mice and rats eat grain. Birds eat grain, seeds, fruits and vegetables…I know, my garden gets carefully picked over when full! Since they are what they eat, doesn’t it stand to reason that cats were getting a well balanced meal by eating a bird and a mouse who first ate grains and fruits and vegetables? Taking that a step further, if we feed meats shouldn’t a well balanced food then include grains and fruits and vegetables to compensate for what the birds and mice ate?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Rhonda, I think I’ve read that by the time it gets through the mouse’s system, that the grains are broken down to a point where they aren’t nutritionally lacking at that point. But I’ll go ask on the yahoo group, Whole Cat Health that I’m on. I think I’ve read that someone there. It’s a good board for holistic talk on animal care. That and Holisticat, but their board has fees.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Thanks, I’d appreciate the input. I understand that by the time the cat eats the mouse that ate the grain that the cat isn’t eating the grain. But to me (and I’m not a rocket scientist) the cat is get the benefits of the nutrients that the mouse absorbed from the grains or that the bird absorbed from the fruits and vegetables.
Just trying to keep learning and making sound choices for my children…
April 19th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Just feed your babies people food with veggies and other good things and a little olive oil in each batch. No worries then.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Fivecatsandadog - Honest Kitchen seems OK, not that it means much nowdays. Long before all this started I got some samples for my dog. He is a bit of a picky eater but he wanted NOTHING to do with it. I can’t really blame it, it reeked!
But, I do know some dogs who are on it and seem to like it. Just saying if they are picky try a sample first.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Chad, the Honest Kitchen smells like a health food store, when we mix it up thats what I think of. Very earthy smelling food, well at least Force is. My dog goes bizerk for it does a dance while waiting for it to hydrate and when the timer goes off look out. So just like us I guess they all have different tastes. We know a dog that turns up her nose at raw food, never saw that before, to each his own I guess. :)
April 19th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
roadchild - Seeing I’ve never been in a health food store I will take your word for it =).
Glad your dog likes it, I thought highly enough of it to try and switch him over but no go. Then again this is the dog who would much rather eat the .49 cent food that just reads “DOG FOOD” on a white lable then anything I would actually feed him!!
April 19th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Rhonda,
In the wild, big cats take down their prey and eat the contents of the stomach. In most cases, this contains grains, grasses and veggies. They then eat the meat. Because of this, I’m not entirely convinced that cats don’t benefit from some amount of grain, and I certainly don’t think grain (in smaller doses) is harmful. Just because they are carnivores doesn’t mean then don’t eat (and need) other foods in their diet.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
In the past when I had 1/2 time outdoor cats, I noticed that they would intentionally eat fresh grass.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Sorry Evy, my apologies, I would not want to hurt an innocent person’s feelings. I should not have made any assumptions regarding your motivations in writing your posts.
I had no way of knowing your true agenda, and you may indeed simply be trying to be helpful, probably are. Don’t know what got into me. We are all emotionally exhausted at this point, well, at least I know I am. I will try and find the itchmo forum.
I have many cats of my own and also that I foster, they will all probably wind up mine. I am a rescuer, love them all and am desperately trying to find out what is safe to feed them. So long, Have a good evening and good luck to you all.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
“Evy I think it might be best if you refrained from posting your website or your company name in your posts as it is seen as a advertisement.”
I agree. Further, it’s considered a “no-no” on most blogs to mention one’s own business and products.
Here at Itchmo, we’ve read innumerable posts about the products. Itchmo has kindly featured your product several times — beyond what most bloggers would do. We’ve read enough. Thank you, but please no more.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Lori,
Thank you! It made sense to me that some grains, fruits and veges are beneficial. Your information confirms that for me.
Like Geff, past experience certainly showed an interest in grass, so they must know instintively that green things are or can be good for them.
Rhonda
April 19th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
For those who are interested, I just received an email from Natural Balance responding to previous a previous email from me stating:
We do use all US ingredients, and this is a case of one of our US suppliers not giving us what we asked/paid for. We directly requested US rice protein concentrate, and were obviously provided with something else. We will be making changes to our product purchasing to prevent such errors, and will likely be changing our suppliers.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Rhonda, thanks for that re: NB.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
What about purina? like pro plan?
April 19th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
NB wrote Rhonda:
“We do use all US ingredients, and this is a case of one of our US suppliers not giving us what we asked/paid for. We directly requested US rice protein concentrate, and were obviously provided with something else. We will be making changes to our product purchasing to prevent such errors, and will likely be changing our suppliers.”
This humbled me for a moment. Then it dawned on me: How the hell can they claim this is the fault of their supplier? This ingredient WASN’T supposed to be in this product in the first place!! I printed out the google cached copy from 04/12 of the NB V&GP dry cat food that didn’t even list it as an ingredient. So how do I know if this crap wasn’t inserted into the normal/ultra NB food I’ve been feeding my animals?
I believe they made a better response than the other guys, but I’ve still lost all respect for them.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
By “better response”, I mean their response in issuing a recall once reports of something wrong came in. I don’t mean their tap-dance explanation is a better response. If that wasn’t already apparent with my disgust. ;-)
April 19th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Hey Chad,
You’ve got the dog that likes the toilet paper inner vs the $10 toy huh? That’s funny and I could see how that would be a benefit because HK isn’t cheap. ;) But I do understand picky eaters are no fun especially when you’re trying to teach them that just because they like french fries doesn’t mean they should eat them at each meal. Hope you found, or have already found a good healthy food he’ll eat. This thing is just wiping me out and we aren’t even dealing personally with a suspect food!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Usually I’ve heard estimates that the contents of the prey’s stomachs would amount to 5-10 % carbs and should be considered in a cat’s diet. It seems to make sense to me.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
5catsandadog,
While I agree with your thought process, I also understand the flip side. From what I’ve heard other similar products were considered better because they had higher protein values so NB tried to boost their protein value with some rice protein concentrate in order to compete. It doesn’t make it right, but in the world of business you must be able to be above your competitor.
While everyone is very upset and angry over not knowing that this was added in advance I think that NB’s intentions were good and they believed they were adding a reputable product and intended no harm.
I was feeding this food and am incredibly thankful that I was not affected by the change. At the same time, even if they’d put the change on the bag, in all honesty I would have kept feeding it. I was avoiding ALL gluten and even purchased gluten free products for myself and my husband and this would not have been printed on the label as rice gluten. On the other hand I have to wonder why similar products had higher protein values…does that mean they were/are adding this protein without acknowledging it? That’s a scary thought!
April 19th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Heather, my 5 cats have been on ProPlans (wet w/rice) and love it, but………….wheat gluten is the 4th ingredient (they said they don’t use the menu plant but do buy the gluten from all over including china, when i called), and the carb content is around 20%. We’re struggling with weight problems in a couple of my babies, so will be transitioning off PP to homecooked with no grains/low carbs.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Teric,
How did you find out Newmans food is made by Menu food. I couldn’t find anything like that anywhere. I keep changing food and the next thing I know, it’s recalled. I just bought some of Newmans food. I thought that brand was organic. When I looked at Merrick’s web site, it seemed ok, but farther into it I started to find Royal Canin products. I just throw out what I had left of that, which my babies love. I do have NB Venison can for cats and the Tuna and Shrimp which they love, but I’m afraid to give it to them. The tuna has brown rice flour. It gets more confusing everyday. I’m afraid I’ll hurt them just because of feeding them.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Hey everyone! I’ve been doing some research and I found this great site for homemade cat food. http://www.stretcher.com/stories/03/03jan27a.cfm
April 19th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Oh, and can anyone tell me about Life’s Abundance cat food? Has it been recalled also? Thanks!
April 19th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Rhonda - the mouse (or other prey) might have a bit of grain or other plant material in its stomach, but it would be a small amount and liely already partially digested. Cats lack the enzymes necessary to digest plant material.
In addition, cats often leave the intestines behind when they consume prey.
Even if the cat ate the entire mouse, and we assumed the mouse had just eaten and hadn’t digested much of the grains - it would be a very small amount. Certainly less than most commercial dry foods which are 25% or more carbohydrates. Mice are generally under 5% carbohydrate.
Check out catnutrition.org
April 19th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Rhonda - I have to say NB intentions were not good. When I am evaluating protein in cat food, I want MEAT protein. They don’t need it from plants. The partially digested food from the mouse’s stomach and intestines contributes carbs and fiber - at about 5-10 %.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Rhonda, I was feeding my cat the NB venison and peas because I thought it was grain free. If I had seen rice protein concentrate on the label, I definitely would have questioned it. Also, that food is advertised to be a food for allergies….single source protein and single source carb. By adding a rice protein, doesn’t that defeat its purpose??? I think NB made a huge mistake by changing their food and I told them that.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:50 am
I have been reading the posts here almost from the get-go over food recall. I do want to say one thing before getting to my concern. The following is not screaming but emphazing my point. THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT EVY ADVERTISING HER PET FOOD I FEEL ARE UNFOUNDED. THE WAY HER POSTS READ TO ME IS THAT SHE IS SUGGESTING PEOPLE GO TO HER SITE TO READ AND LEARN ABOUT THE NUTRITIONAL FACTS OF THE ANIMALS’ NEED AS OPPOSED TO REPEATEDLY POSTING THAT INFORMATION. With that said I will also state that I do not use Kumpi dog food. so I do not have an agenda about Kumpi. I am on a fix income and have 3 dogs the smallest is 75lb and the largest is 110lb. I am worried and scared. I was feeding Nutro Max large adult to two and the Senior with glucosomine etc. Now that this brand and virtually all (barely) affordable foods are suspect— what do I feed my dogs? I agree with Barbara–it is getting confusing. I did learn years ago to only use foods that were preserved with natural preservatives when I raised GSDs. What good is feeding foods preserved with ethoxyquin, BHA etc even if they have the so called proper nutritional ingredients–still feeding killer food. So please someone tell me—is there a safe food that someone in my financial situation can feed the dogs? Or a recipe for homemade? I know dogs naturally eat grains. Mine would go to the barn and get an ear of dried corn and eat it on their own. Or catch fish out of the pond— so it is a natural food to them. Sadly we are not on the farm anymore and it gets scarier all the time having to buy processed food now. Do I have to give my dogs up and HOPE someone will adopt them that can afford the high quality food? There HAS GOT to be an acceptable medium somewhere. So please quit arguing about who is doing what and let’s just deal with the issues of bad food ingredients and what we can do for our animals. Yes write and b*tch to your representatives and congressmen. Get NAFTA repealed. But for here and how help those of us who are in a real bind about what we can feed.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:33 am
[…] rice protein concentrate. No illnesses are confirmed in relation to these items. Royal Canin also recently recalled pet food in South Africa due to melamine found in corn […]
April 20th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Royal Canin’s Veterinary diet Urinary SO 30 **may** also be contaminated.
In Feb ‘07, before the recall mess hit, Royal Canin’s Veterinary diet Urinary SO 30, both dry & canned, caused my kitty to have projectile vomiting within 10 minutes or so of ingestion. Regretfully, I tossed the bag of dry before the recalls started coming, but I do still have some of the cans. The ingreds list on Royal Canin’s website shows that the canned version is preserved with BHA/BHT (now THAT’S healthful, isn’t it?), and the dry version has …… corn gluten. Yep, gonna talk with my Vet re where to send that s**t for testing.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Heather -
I’ve been using ProPlan Sensitive Skin & Stomach for my 3 dogs for years and all do well on it, including one who had GVD and is now tacked. That variety is fish based and has NO glutens, no rice, no BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin. Although I’m as twitchy as everyone else re waiting for the next shoe to drop, the ingredients so far seem safe. Per the ProPlan website, the food is mftd [i.e., not just distributed] by Purina in MO. Whether that is truthful or not, who knows.
Angel -
Yep, feeding 3 big kids is expensive. BUT, you will feed less with high quality foods because there are more nutrients and less filler, so the cost typically evens out. Of course, the question then becomes, WHICH high quality food is safe these days?
April 20th, 2007 at 2:53 am
At least Evy identifies herself as a pet food maker. My experience on the web is that whereever a controversy starts, stealth posters appear who pretend to be ‘average readers’ but are really there to do damage control and detroy any posters who have good arguments against their products. Evy behaves honorably, and doesn’t insult other posters. She is consistent and you can easily scroll by her.
I think itchmo posters have kept my cats alive. i am investigating all their suggestions and thank god have avoided two recalled foods that I had bought as substitutes for the food that sickened my babes.
I looked up Ohio Pet Foods mentioned above. They make dry food only, using only US grains. They also make their own brands which do include corn. http://www.ohiopetfoods.com/Recall.htm
I am keeping them under consideration as well as Life’s Abundance dry that the poster said is made by Ohio. However I have reached a point of distrust. Who makes their herring meal, or chicken meal?
I don’t care about a temporary ban on Chinese imports. I just want to know if an item is made in China. I can choose to buy something else.
Krogers labels their frozen Kroger vegetables with countries of origin. I check the label and buy USA, skip Mexico. That is why I only buy Krogers fozen veggies. That is why I buy only Ocean Spray cranberry juice - product of USA.
A lot of fish is Product of China. That means the ship is registered in China but the fish is from any waters. However, Chinese fishers use 50 mile nets that are destroying fish populations. Chinese ships are China or Latin America registered. And who regulates their food safety, freezer temps, or use of chemicals, insecticides or cleaning compounds?
I buy fish product of USA, Canada, Europe or New Zealand where at least the ships are paying Western taxes and subject to Western inspections. And frankly they have Western consciences, they aren’t police states run on bribery.
Give me the facts and I can make my own decisions.
If you don’t want to pay a web designer to update your web page ingredients list, take down that page. I coded screens for years. It is NO BIGGIE to disable a page. Takes about two seconds. Any company that publishes a false list of ingredients is commiting fraud.
If nothing else, go into the HTML text for that screen and simply insert into any sentence a statement that the list is ingredients is incorrect. The words on any screen can be located in the code with a simple search. use the edit key. NB has no excuse
April 20th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I’m with other posters on here that the safest thing to do (at the moment) is to avoid any foods with gluten or protein concentrate in them. If you google wheat/rice/corn etc. gluten, most of the manufacturers are in China so it’s not unlikely that there’s more China-product coming into the supply chain and we just don’t know about it yet. This is not meant in any racist way…I live in Asia and it’s just a fact that food process controls are not as tight here as they are in the US. Also, it’s quite usual for companies over here to “enrich” their product. So, for example, it might be that the Chinese manufacturers “enriched” the protein content in their Glutens by deliberately adding melamine (which was not known to be toxic at the time). Or, the other alternative is just that the controls are not in place to ensure the quality of the product. So, with what we know at the moment, I would advise everyone to avoid all grain glutens & protein concentrates.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Nina,
Very well said.
Sounds like you’d be a good FDA commissioner!
April 20th, 2007 at 11:48 am
E Wem wrote: “At least Evy identifies herself as a pet food maker. My experience on the web is that whereever a controversy starts, stealth posters appear who pretend to be ‘average readers’ but are really there to do damage control and detroy any posters who have good arguments against their products. Evy behaves honorably, and doesn’t insult other posters. She is consistent and you can easily scroll by her.
“I think itchmo posters have kept my cats alive …”
How true about Evy, and that’s to her great credit. And it is insidious how marketing and PR people attempt to infiltrate boards all over the ‘net.
Your second paragraph — SO true. I have learned so much from all of you and from Ben/Itchmo, whose dedication and discipline in providing all the news constantly impresses me.
Separate thought re China/imports: It’s one reason I never go to WalMart. As long as American consumers reward companies like WalMart that make a fortune off cheap Chinese labor and lax oversight, we’ll never get these problems solved.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
As responsible pet owners, we need to research what our pets need to be healthy, just like we do for our children. You don’t (I hope) stock up on the $.39 cent hamburgers at McDonalds because they are cheap and feed them to your family???
The ONE good thing, well good is probably not the right word..POSITIVE thing that has come out of all the pet food recalls, is people are FINALLY paying attention to what they are feeding their dogs and cats. There are MANY more bad foods out their than good foods and not just because of the Melamine and rat poison. There are some good quality kibble (a few), but as mentioned before, we may not know until it is too late if their distributors have made a switch on them. We don’t know if the “switch” has been made by our bread manufacturers, either.
If you are afraid of feeding kibble of any kind, you have 3 choices:
1. RAW, which requires much research to do it right or it will cause more harm and good. However, it IS the best, healthiest option for our pets.
2. RAW Frozen, from companies such as Natures Variety (there are others, but I can’t remember their names) which is sold in specialty pet stores. It has the meat, bone, vegi’s, and everythying you would put in RAW ground up into patties. Of course, it cost more than RAW, but is more convenient.
3. Dehydrated foods by companies like The Honest Kitchen and Natures Variety. These companies use human grade food, so if you are afraid to feed it to your pets, then you should be afraid of eating food yourself, because they use the same food we eat.
Of the three non-kibble options, RAW is the least expensive if you buy in bulk, which requires freezer space.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
“Rhonda Says:
April 19th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
In fact, I started because I always fed my vet’s preference (Hills) but still ended up with an obese cat who had IBD and diabetes and ultimately died of intestinal cancer. Thru my research, I came to believe that corn was not good for my cats and was likely the cause of the allergies that caused that IBD that ultimately created the likelihood of intestinal cancer and to top that off the diabetes issue. When we got our 2 kittens we began using corn free food. My vet is totally against raw diets and I respect that but work closely with my vet anytime I find a new food I’d like to introduce. Nothing gets fed that he doesn’t approve.”
Rhonda, I am confused..you state that you fed your cat HILLS at your Vets recomemdation, and it killed your cat, yet “nothing gets fed that he doesn’t approve”????????????
Vets get most if not ALL of their “nutritional” training fron the pet food companies whose products (HILLS) they sell in their offices. I wouldn’t trust my Vet to tell me what to feed my animals anymore than I trust my Doctor to tell me what I need nutritionally….I would go to a nutritionist for that. And, most vets are against raw, because either they are completely uneducated about nutrition or they are concerned (rightfully) that people will not do it properly….here’s a steak fido….WRONG..
Please everyone….What a vet tells you is NOT gospel…do your own research.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Itchmo says:
“We believe all pet parents should be given the information to make informed judgments to form their own reactions. We believe it is not up to us to decide what you should or shouldn’t know.”
Thank you so much for this statement on your Friday home page! I do believe that I have the brain power to read and understand the written word and make up my own mind. Thank you!
I have just spent at least 30 minutes reading this thread and I must say, I am disgusted by some of the posts. The hostility is unbelievable. My mother used to tell me, “IF you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Rather than trash someone or their post, try to post something positive and helpful.
In that vein…my cats absolute love it when I bring them cat grass from the little organic market by my house. It is organic wheat grass. They do not throw up after eating it, and I notice it in their stools when I clean the cat box. I would think that it is fiber and we all need fiber in our diets.
For those of you that would like to know what I am feeding my cats since the recall, since I didn’t feel comfortable with the Purina One Senior Protection Formula any longer:
1) Diamond Foods “Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul.”
2) Wysong’s “Vitality.”
Both are holistic and dry foods. For a treat now, they get a tiny bit of raw hamburger (which they LOVE) or a tiny bit of cooked white fish. They did not care for the fish raw.
I am posting what I feed for distraught cat parents that are at a loss as to what to feed now. I have been feeding these foods for 3 or 4 weeks now and have noticed quite a difference in their energy levels. They eat less, which I attribute to the more meat vs. less filler grains in both foods. I am happy with both of these foods.
Please do not take this as some kind of advertisement, just a helpful post. I have had cats in my life for over 45 years. To me, life without a cat is not complete.
Sue
April 20th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I decided to go to Wysong’s internet page to do some reading and I found the following:
http://www.wysong.net/menufoods.shtml
It is worth reading. They have addressed all the information and misinformation that they have found on pet blogs and message boards. They especially have answers to many of the questions and concerns from the posts on this thread today. I was surprised about what they said. These people are honest…I like that.
Sue
April 20th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Mishele,
Sorry, I wasn’t more clear. The time span of years with pets has caused change of vets due to their retirement. My very first pets’ vet was the one who felt Hills was the best. So that’s what I fed. Some 28 years later I have new, young vets who are very open to “natural” and “holistic” foods. The new vets are not nutritionists, but I believe they have a better understanding of pet nutrition than I do, so yes, I do ask what they think and whether they consider the diet to be well balanced. That’s what I pay them for - their higher education and experience. That doesn’t mean they will always be right as no one is always right. But they are a resource. As for my old boy who died? I blame his diabetes and IBD on corn. But I fed the food. I was the one who wasn’t educated enough to understand the food allergies and the corn. So perhaps I’m the one the killed him rather than the food. Or perhaps I know that he and I had 15 wonderful years together and we loved each other and I cared for him to the best of my ability.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Rhonda, I am glad to hear you switched vets, the younger ones are definitely more aware of nutrition, just like doctors are.
I wouldn’t take all the blame for your babies illness. We (society) are taught to “trust” medical professionals, and if they tell us to do something, most will just do it becaue “they are the doctor”. That’s what I meant when I said the “positive” thing in the pet food recall is people becoming more aware and taking more responsibility in what we feed…We can’t kick ourselves for what we didn’t know in the past; we can only try to do better in the future.
April 21st, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I just found the ingredient corn gluten in Purina Cat Chow. I have been feeding my cats for a long time this product, but a few weeks ago I noticed that they threw up once or twice and today I see that you have posted corn gluten to be harmful. It is also found in Nutra Nugget Cat Food.
It is not used in the dog food by them, but it is in the cat food ingredient.
What can I feed my cats. It seems everything contains the corn gluten. I await to hear from you.
April 21st, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I’ve switched my cats over to Felidae. I have one dog on Science Diet Z/D Ultra and will probably keep him with it because everything else makes him throw up. I also have one dog on Science Diet Adult Small Bites. It does contain corn gluten, though, so I will try to switch him over to Canidae, but in the past he has always turned his nose up at anything but the Science Diet Adult. And my other dogs are on Canidae.
April 21st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Gail King,
Check out websites for Felidae/Canidae and Natura.
http://www.canidae.com/
http://www.naturapet.com/
These two seem to get good comments here. Some other good foods as well.
I use Natura’s Innova. Tried Natura’s EVO, but switched to Innova because it’s lower protein. Vet was concerned that my kat kids may have subclinical kidney damage, so he thought the lower protein would be better for them.
Any questions, please post. Lots of folks here who know tons about the different foods.
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:00 am
I am the author of a couple of books on the pet food industry, “Food Pets Die For:” and “Protect Your Pet:” This is an industry that I have researched/investigated for over 16 years now. The Menu pet food is a massive recall but please stop to think about the other dubious ingredients that are in these products that our pets are eating on a daily basis. Pentobarbital, a euthanizing drug, was found in over half of the dry commercial dog foods the FDA/CVM tested a few years back. I believe about 42 foods were eventually tested (no cat foods were tested). Any drug in a food, human or pet, id deemed “adulterated” and pulled from the shelves. I questioned Stephen Sundlof as to when this drug would be removed from pet foods. His reply, “This drug is not approved for use in pet food; so it should not be present in these foods. That being said, CVM is not planning to undertake any special enforcement efforts to detect pentobarbital in pet food.” The reasoning is that pentobarbital was shown in low levels and therefore was unlikely to cause any problem in dogs eating this food. The reason it was tested in the first place was because vets were stating that it was taking more of this drug to euthanize dogs. If it was having no affect why in the heck did they test it in the first place?
Just my two cents.
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:22 pm
“e wem” wondered about OhioPetFood and the chicken meal and herring meal in HealthyPetNet’s Life’s Abundance. I just wanted to let you know that I received an email from Trilogy (the parent company of HealthyPetNet) and I posted it on my Safe Pet Food Blog. Yes, I am a distributor — none of the links on the blog go to my website so hopefully you will be willing to read what I post. Trilogy states that they use “only human quality ingredients from US sources”.
I have only the highest regard for the people I’ve associated with at Trilogy so I believe they truly do only source within the U.S. The formulator, Dr. Jane Bicks, is adamant about not using foreign materials because she has long known of their pesticide and fertilizer use.
Here it is if you’d like to see it:
http://safepetfood.wordpress.c.....s-sources/
And may I just say, I have always appreciate the Evy and the Kumpi presence on this forum.
There is an old saying by Martin Luther — I’ll convert it for pet usage rather than religious usage. It would go something like this: The city of [those who love pets] is like a walled city surrounded by death on every side. Each one of us has a place on the wall to defend. But we find ourselves pushing and shoving and trying to throw one another off the wall. We should be calling out encouragement to one another.
So, for all those who feel strongly about THEIR preferred safe pet food (and there are many great pet foods), God bless you! Hang onto your place on the wall.
April 29th, 2007 at 11:58 am
The problem is that this is not just about adding melamine to make money. Behind the scenes there are very bad people and companies intentionally placing contamination in our food supplies and product lines on purpose. Simply if you can slowly bring the disease rates up via the product lines you sell and then make money treating the very disease you caused via drugs, treatments etc. Then the company has the best of both worlds….cause the disease and then treat the disease. They will cash in at both ends fo the spectrum. It is the unlitmate business model.
When did we think it was OK for a company that has a past long history of making poisons, weed killers, glues, dyes etc. generally bad disease causing substances….change its past business model and start producing foods and medicines and treatments for disease? Then still allow them to sell and produce their chemical poisons to our populations? The chemists know how to manipulate the formulas and they know the outcome of the exposures. With international invlovements…these companies operate in countries around the world that have no ethics. What they do is anything they want to….to make money. You and I and our health is the end commodity. It is not necessary to affect all people just enough people to have a market place for their drugs. The goal is only to crreate chronic health conditions requiring long term drug regimes and a money source via your failing health.
The company that is the model for this type of international buisness practice is Novartis. They create the poisons, they pander the poison, they sell food stuffs and now they treat diseases and are the third largest drug company in the world. This company formed and did a complete 360 turn in their business model in the last ten years. Who is watching out for your back? These people are cashing in at both ends of the business model. A simple vist to the home page and a review of their history and merger tells the story. The FDA has some major problems to investigate and its all about money…..
Obewan
May 1st, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Has anyone had any real experience using Balance-It supplements? I live in Costa Rica and, except for some dubious local tuna products, the only canned cat foods available are 3 varieties of regular Friskies.
Since moving here over a year ago, I’ve fed my 2 cats Hill’s Prescription C/D (corn gluten is #3 on the ingredient list and I just noticed that the “version” we get here is distributed in Latin America and (ouch!) South Africa. One of the cats has endured 2 episodes of near-fatal, unexplained renal failure in the past year and for the past few weeks I’ve been home cooking for them.
But it seems clear that essential nutrients need to be added to any homemade cooked diet (I tried raw several years ago but the cats would not eat it.) Many of the recommended nutrients, including taurine, aren’t available here. My plan, therefore, is to have a friend in the US ship some Balance-It to me, since it seems to contain all the supplements recommended on various cat nutrition sites.
Any reactions (other than complaints about tofu, etc.) or other suggestions?
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
A follow-up to my post (above) asking if anyone has tried Balance-It: does anyone have experience with a Wysong product called “Call of the Wildâ€? Apparently it’s intended as a supplement to a raw meat diet but I would use it with gently cooked meat. The fact that Wysong’s recall page is still “under construction” gives me considerable concern about the company.
Many thanks for any help.
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