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.