Natural Balance Pulling Venison Formulas
UPDATE on 4/17: Natural Balance recall expands.Â
ORIGINAL POST: Itchmo has confirmed an email from Natural Balance that they are removing two products from sale:
- Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula
- Venison and Green Pea Dry
DogCat Formula
These products do not contain wheat gluten. No deaths or serious illnesses have been reported and no recall warning has been issued. The warning applies only to products sold in the last week, according to Natural Balance.
Please know that at this time we are removing this product from the shelves, as we have had some phone calls indicating gastric upset after eating this formula. At this time, we are unsure if this could just be a particular batch problem, or simply customers switching diets too fast. However, in the meantime while we are looking further into this matter, we are not recommending to feed this formula, and are suggesting to feed our Potato and Duck or Sweet Potato and Fish Dry Dog Formula.
(Thanks Joan)
UPDATE: Why is this not on the FDA or the Natural Balance site? We don’t know. What we do know is that this information was sent to Itchmo and that we confirmed by calling the original author of the email at Natural Balance.
We think that quick product removals are a good move. But how many other product removals happen each year without notice to customers?
UPDATE 2: Natural Balance is increasing the severity of the reported cases to include kidney problems. Natural Balance and the FDA finally posted a notice on their homepage. The first report regarding the product failures arrived at Itchmo on Saturday.
Full release after the link.
From Natural Balance’s Web site:
NOTICE:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.
Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.
We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.
NO OTHER NATURAL BALANCE PRODUCTS ARE AFFECTED.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
At least they are pulling it right away. That’s what all the other companies should have done.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I’m interested in dog sickness/death. Found following info, but please note date of 2005.
Have wondered what happens to the GM stuff. I don’t want my dog eating corn that makes it’s own fertilizer or pesticide.
http://www.saveourseeds.org/do....._bt10.html
“On Tuesday 22nd of March 2005 Sarah Hull, a spokeswoman for the international agrochemical and GMO company Syngenta announced that farmers in four U.S. states planted 37,000 acres (15.000 ha) with the experimental Bt10 corn variety from 2001 through 2004. She refused to say which four states.”All current plantings and seed stock have been identified and either destroyed or isolated for future destruction,” Syngenta said in a prepared statement. While most of the corn produced from the Bt10 seeds, engineered to act as a pesticide, likely went into animal feed, some of it may have entered the human food supply, Hull said.”
April 15th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I credit Natural Balance for doing this right away versus waiting a few weeks or even longer. It shows they take this as a serious matter and want to make sure it isn’t a case of just changing foods fast. I did change the cat and dog foods already in Dec. after my cat became suddenly paralyzed in the hindlegs/tail. I went on a crusade to find a good food, and in the meantime gave Nutro, Iams, Eukenuba (until I read more about them and what is in them). I finally settled on Natural Balance for the cats and Fromm for the dog-though Natural Balance can for the dog also. The cats have the venison and green pea dry and different flavor canned, so now I find it a little frustrating to read this. I do believe that Natural Balance is one of the best pet foods, and of course even when a human does a complete dietary change, there will be some gastric upset, so I am praying that is all it is.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I applaud Natural Balance for moving quickly on this. While I recognize this announcement is about the dry canine formula and generally feel Natural Balance is high quality food, I feed my cats their canned feline venison & pea food and this announcement creates some concern for me. My cat has IBD, so changing her food is no small matter.
Itchmo, thanks so much for your email alert.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
?????? Who says they recalled right away ????? We have no indication of when the first complaint was received.
April 15th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
It sounds from their message that the complaints were all within this past week. At least, that is how I read it.
April 15th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Well, if they are saying that it’s only last weeks batch that we need to worry about, then I’m assuming that the complaints must be fairly recent.
We have been using Natural Balance dry for the dogs and the cats. The dogs seem to be fine..but the cats are still getting a little stomach upset from the change. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of animals are having gastric problems due to food changes. you’re really not suppose to switch them cold turkey, but what else could we do in these circumstances?
April 15th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I’ve never seen a total fish flavor for dogs, but anyway, this news is why I never fed my cats meat, and particularly venison flavors, only fish flavors.
As a vegetarian, I never trusted the govt. about the realm of mad cow disease…or the bird flu virus (chicken)…just in case they were using the poor animals remains in the pet foods.
Venison meat is known to sometimes have (sp?) Crutzfelds-Jacob disease, which causes severe brain damage in humans, then fatalities.
However, I still trust “Natural Balance” because they have inspectors on top of inspectors…on top of inspectors….and I am more inclined to believe their recall being about gastric upsets from pets changing foods.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
How come they are not reporting this on their web site?
ITCHMO ADMIN: Good question. I don’t know why. It’s a quiet withdrawal, I suppose. We received this news last night, but waited until today to be able to confirm it, but we did not have a chance to ask that question.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Applaud Natural Balance?? After they kept lying through their teeth to “Who Feeds What” ???
NO WAY!!!
NO food should cause gastic distress and trying to cover up what is wrong with that comment is idiotic. Think about this rationally. They are talking with customers and know the complaints and the nature of what has happened - whether or not it was food changes or regular customers.
Sorry, but after Natural Balance LIED and kept changing their story about who made their product lines, lets just get real and say that Diamond Foods makes their dry food mmmk?
Watch for other dry dog food too. Evy posted about that on another Itchmo blog and I think she is on to something. There will be more dry foods being recalled because there has just been too much buzz online about too many dry products making animals sick.
This is not about ‘gastric upset’ from changing diets.
I will NEVER trust Natural Balance ever again after all the crap they gave to “Who Feeds What’ - they kept spinning their story and the lies kept coming. I wish that ALL of the original posting about their companies lies would still be online.
Natural Balance LIED and that is just wrong. I don’t trust liars.
You know they are going to spin this ‘recall’ to their favor. Sorry, more corporate garbage. You think Dick Van Patten does anything more than get money and pose for pictures?
April 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I do believe that the problems are more than likely from switching foods. Natural Balance is a good food that contains fewer grains and more nutritious protein sources. A lot of pet owners have been turning to higher quality foods, which means a higher concentration of real animal proteins. Dogs that are accustomed to eating poor quality foods with high grain proteins would definitely need to be transitioned slowly onto any premium food. Add to that, that venison is a novel protein that few dogs eat regularly and viola, upset stomach!
For now I am going to continue to trust Natural Balance.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
its good they let people aware about this i think maybe some pet owners are having to do the change cold turkey especially cause they probably may have been feeding them one of the recalled foods or just decide to make the change.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Anonymous-It is good they let people know this? They are only covering their butts, that is all. This has nothing to do with changing diets. They are pulling ALL their dry venison dog food - think about it?
This industry has so screwed with your brains and you are still willing to bet on something you buy at Petco or Petsmart. Think corporate and big and you are falling for packaging and branding.
Natural Balance lied and I will never trust a liar.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
wow this is scary we feed this brand and only feed the vension and brown rice formula I tried to call Natural balance but being a Sunday they are closed I called my pet store they had heard nothing about Natural Balance having a recall
April 15th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
To all my pet-loving friends,
This morning, after five days and nearly $3000 of veterinary care, our beloved Bella passed away. For those of you didn’t know her, Bella was Ross and Chantal’s gorgeous 5 year old Doberman. She was healthy and well-loved all her life but suddenly went into renal failure earlier this week.
Bella had never been fed any of the pet foods listed on the FDA’s recall list but crystals in her urine looked suspiciously like those found in the urine of other animals who’ve died from the contaminated food. There is really no way to know yet what caused her kidneys to fail, but I wanted to share this information with everyone as they try to decide what’s best for their pets.
Bella has eaten Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance for a few years and in that time she’s tried several of their varieties. A week or so before she got sick they had started a new bag of the Venison and Brown Rice food. Just before that, she had a few meals of Natural Balance food rolls, a semi-moist food packaged like ground sausage. At the emergency clinic this weekend there were two other young (2 & 5 y.o.), healthy dogs in renal failure who were also eating Natural Balance. At the time of Bella’s death, one of those dogs had already died. In all of these cases there was no known exposure to toxins. Bella also tested negative for Addison’s disease and on ultrasound she did not appear to be suffering from an infection.
The following is posted on the Natural Balance web page:
“NOTICE:
Natural Balance® products are
NOT involved in the Pet Food Recall.
NO Natural Balance® products are associated with
Menu Foods, or any other company involved.
For more information, go to www.fda.gov.â€
There may no connection between the food and the kidney failure. It is also possible that even if the food is to blame it has nothing to do with the food recall already in effect for other brands. Food can be tainted with many different toxins and it is, apparently, nearly impossible to know exactly what is in any commercially-available pet food or where manufacturers source their ingredients.
Tissue samples were collected from Bella to be analyzed in connection to the food recall. If we get any further information I will share it with you all. Many vets are noting a spike in renal failure in young dogs and cats and we are all confounded about what to blame and what to do.
For now, I will be investigating commercially-available food and will probably continue to feed Busta from the bag of food he’s been eating for weeks. However, I may in the future change back to the homemade diet he once ate (which is labor-intensive and not necessarily nutritionally balanced) or I may choose another brand of food. I wish I had better answers, but for now please consider what you choose for your pet and inform yourself as much as possible.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I just called the company this morning and this is not true! Fake!
ITCHMO ADMIN: Jennifer, I assure you that this is not fake. I spoke with a rep at Natural Balance today to confirm this information.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Katie ~
I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. Tracy is right, I posted about dry dog food problems and I am concerned about there not being a central point for communication.
I am confused as to why The Natural Balance website has no information about this voluntary action on their part.
I do know the industry spike in ingredients back in Oct/Nov had to have set the bigger corporations on their heels. And it isn’t just the ingredients to be concerned about, it’s the formulation too. There could be too much of a ‘common’ ingredient in the foods.
In looking at the Natural Balance ingredients for their Venison foods, I see what I’ve been trying to talk about all along - potassium chloride. Prices got jacked up and someone who doesn’t know about extensively about formulation could have put too much potassium chloride in the food. It is a ‘cheap ingredient’ and a dry and it is a common denominator in this all.
I am going to be keeping my eyes open for dry food recalls and potassium chloride. I’m telling you, formulation is as important, if not more important, than the ingredients.
Everyone, just keep a close eye on your FurKids.
Any ideas, any one, of how to get a central point for folks having problems with dry foods? They are all over the world wide web and making me sad.
Katie, warm hugs to you.
And by the way, two ingredients in pet food at high levels that cause ARF (Acute Renal Failure) are iodine and potassium chloride. Things that make you go hmmmm.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I don’t use this food but when switching mine several weeks ago I did mix. As soon as they were eating pure new food they were cleaning their bowls! Go figure! I was not feeding a recalled food prior to the switch but it was a big company and premium priced food that I no longer trusted. I only mixed for 3 days and I had upsets prior to switching/ mixing but none after. Go figure again…
Maybe since Natural Balance got so much flack about the “Who Feeds What” they decided to save face a bit. They forgot that we are the customers and we are always right eh? smooch smooch.
I have friends that feed Natural Balance and I sent the Alert to them. I didn’t know if they did feed this but I just sent it!
Keep adding the link to your emails to friends and family to sign up for the notices, it isn’t over till the fat lady sings!
April 15th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Sheesh!
Even tho we switched to Natural Balance over a month ago (just before the recall), I have been looking for a replacement dry and canned for 7 dogs and 1 Mama cat with 5 kittens.
I thought I would have some time to decide, but alas, I might not.
How can one flavor be removed and leave us to fully accept the safety of the rest??
I called Natural Balance upon opening the most recent 35# bag of dry because there were extra little “crumbs” all over each piece. They told me it was nothing to worry about, just some extra canola oil on that batch.
EVERYTHING is suspect now… I was going to PetCo today. Glad I waited.
Thanks Itchmo for the quick updates/notices!
Martha
(:::considering taking additional BP meds:::)
April 15th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Gastric upset is normal when changing foods, but not all of a sudden from longterm customers/users…
I switched my dogs and cat to home made only as of February.I trust no one, especially a government that sold us like heads of cattle to make profits for PIG Business.we are disposable, there are enough of us, we always make more…
I read Sweet Deception, a book by Dr Mercola.An indepth explaination on how the FDA( is partially funded by the businesses it’s supposed to regulate) works or does not. The book is mainly about about the chemical contortions like Splenda, Nutra Sweet etc. , but explains a whole lot more.
If you think ‘they’ do not care about our companion animals, you are right.They first stopped caring about the humans.The listened to their lawyers, it’s cheaper to settle a few suits, than to do it right.Or file for Chapter 11 and drag it out for a decade or more.. exxon, yet to pay a dime for the Sound they ruined.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Do not buy anything from a Petsmart or Petco. Period. They are wheelers and dealers for big companies. Anyone who buys any food from a ‘department store’ place like that is asking for trouble. Hasn’t anyone learned anything from the recall? It is bad enough that the ‘general public’ buys from them, but a more educated heart could never trust any place like a Petsmart or Petco. I trust Itchmo and that he would not post anything unless he knew it was true. However Natural Balance is LYING again on their site. Remember those three words NATURAL BALANCE LIES.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
ok so should i pay $30 for a 17lb bag of dog food at a small local pet store or $19 for the same size bag at Petco. Its the same brand (Natural Balance Ultra Premium Dry Dog Food) - so what difference does it make where I buy it ???
April 15th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Can someone direct me to the OP’s source for this information? I can’t find it anywhere. It’s not on NB website or FDA.org and no news announcements have been made. I’m a little concerned about this statement with no coaberration to back it up. JMO…
ITCHMO ADMIN: Hi Pam. This is the original post of this info. I called and confirmed this with NB today at their main number, speaking with the writer of the email from Natural Balance. They are not under any obligation to announce this type of information — especially since the reports are of gastric upset, not something more serious.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Tracy,
Are you not afraid of being sued for slander by saying Natural Balance Lies on a public forum?
April 15th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Katie,
Very sorry about your dog. Did you keep some of the food? Do you or your vet have a way to get the food tested.
This may provide a clue about what’s really going on.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Katie,
forgot to add:
Have you called your FDA Area Complaint Coordinator? You can find the number for your area on the FDA website. If the screener gives you a bad time, ask for the supervisor.
Does that food have any corn in it?
April 15th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Thank you Itchmo Admin, but I didn’t ask for the OP, I asked for the source. The beginning of this thread says this information came from an email, then you say you talked to them to verify. I’m only concerned because I feed NB and want my information correct. I called NB a few minutes ago and they are closed although, I will call them back tomorrow to verify this information. If I have offended, I am very sorry, however, I have learned that sometimes information on a blog should and needs to be verified.
ITCHMO ADMIN: No, I am not offended at all. The source was an email I received via a reader. Then, I contacted the author of the email at the company to make sure that the email was legit and that the info was accurate. When I called, the removal had expanded to Venison and Green Peas as well.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Thanx for the info–what’s next??? it’s time to get back in the kicthen, because i feel that i cannot trust any of these companies anymore—and to say WE do not balance our pets’ diets??? i’d rather have her eat a pizza. go back to your lousy acting dick (from chenango cty, btw)
April 15th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
ITCHMO IS RIGHT ON
Please call any local Petco and THEY WILL VERIFY THAT THIS SITE BROKE THE NEWS FIRST.
Call Petco and they will tell you about the email they received from Natural Balance.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Kae-I am not afraid of slander at all. As a matter of fact, just write to the “Who Makes What” website and find out for yourself. It was very kind of them to not continue to post THEIR LIES like they did at first. But, if you were around during the beginning of this, Natural Balance first said that they had their food made at one place and then shipped the dry food to Diamond for packaging and the wet food to American Nutrition for canning their wet food. That was lie number ONE. It went on from there. So no, I am not afraid of slander at all. Their lies were online and could be easily retrieved and “Who Makes What” cares more about pets than anyone else. Write to the site and ask for yourself and you will find out I am telling the truth here.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Thanks, 5catmom and others who have replied with their sympathy. We will contact the FDA during business hours tomorrow and are working with our vets to test food, tissues, etc. I maintain that the link between the food and Bella’s death is unconfirmed but we are seeking answers.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
A lady on another board I use…Works in a pet food store, and was told to remove both products that itchmo stated from the shelves untill further notice..Once again Thank you itchmo for staying on top of things This site is Awesome!!
ITCHMO ADMIN: Without sounding totally corny, we can’t do this without the tips or help from dedicated readers. Thank YOU.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I hate to sound like a broken record on this site…but my dogs and cats have done great on Kumpi. I moved them over from Purina Pro Plan and I’m never going back.
In prior posts I had written that I was able to reduce Lobo’s Rymadyl from 200 mg to 100 mg a day after a couple of weeks on Kumpi. After a month he was down to 50 mg every other day and now for 5 days he is completey off the Rymadyl. He is 12 years 4 months now and I’m so glad I switched. I feel like an Apple commercial!
Kumpi is fed by the United Nations Security Detail, the New York MTA and many other Police forces. So you know if they are willing to spend 10K or more on a trained police officer (dog) then you know they will feed the best and what they can trust.
Contact Evy at Kumpi and she will be happy to talk with you about Kumpi and Pet nutrition. She is the first president of any pet food company I’ve been able to speak to.
With access to Evy, her knowledge of pet nutrition, the trust so many police forces put in her food and the IMPROVED HEALTH I see in my cats and dogs - it is a no brainer for me.
If you are worred about what to feed - take it from a Kumpi customer who has NOT had to worry during this recall time.
http://www.kumpi.com or http://www.kumpikat.com
Best Regards,
Robert
April 15th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Katie ~
Regardless of why you lost your beautiful Dobie, my heart really reaches out to yours. I lost a dog when he was five years old and he was my ‘once in a lifetime’ dog. Once during a holiday I gave him a chunk of prime rib I was cooking and (as God is my witness) he took it over to a doggy friend who was visiting with his two legged parents and actually gave him the chunk of meat. He had a rare heart indeed and I still miss him.
Dobermans have a winsome way about them and it is so sad some people are still afraid of them. I’m sure Bella was a sweet one and it’s a breed I’ve enjoyed getting to know. I am so very sad. Any loss of a pet is a tragedy, doesn’t make any difference why. I just don’t want the withdrawal of food story to eclipse you knowing that I and many others will read your post and wish they could give you a warm hug. Thank you for posting and sharing.
April 15th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
To Debbie who posted earlier,
We’ve been happy with Natural Balance for nearly three years. We have a 4 year old Portuguese Water Dog who tears into the stuff. However, we have to feed a special Science Diet product to our male and cat and it never went over well with our female kitty. In the last year of experimenting, we have found that our female cat cannot handle eating any canned or dry fish foods to the point of vomiting. (the cat, not me). Strangest thing for a cat to avoid fish, but she is going nuts over beef even to the point of begging for steak scraps. Pork chops interest her as well. Omiiting all fish from her diet has made her coat softer with less shedding. Who would have thought to keep fish away from a cat? (the male is a fish hound, however).
April 15th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
TRACY, since you are accusing “Natural Balance” of lying, with all sincerity in this serious matter, would you please explain to us:
1. Why people on this board said they have been using it for years, and they have had no problems, in contrast to people like myself who purchased other brands and have gone through the horrible experiences of my pets having kidney conditions, and eventually dying from renal failure?…and the fact that those very same foods are on the recall list?…yet no pets have had those same verified effects from “NB”?
2. How would you debunk the commonly known advice to gradually change pets’ foods in order not to cause gastric upset?
3. How would you explain to us that “NB” has mostly natural foods and does not include poisonous preservatives such as “ethoxyquin” for the purpose of shelf life…while other brands still do include it?
4. Did it ever occur to you that the alledged complaints that “NB” received could have been allergic reactions that some pets have to one or more of the natural ingredients?
5. Can you also verify that the reasons some poor pets died is because they came from puppy mills and sold in pet stores, or other unscrupulous breeders, and would die no matter what they are fed?
6. Finally, what do you recommend?
I wholeheartedly agree with you that no one should buy from PetSmart or Petco because they are only out for the almighty dollar. My local PetSmart has not removed recalled foods. Petco has a history of leaving dead animals in their enclosures and will not remove them even when it is pointed out to them!
April 15th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
[…] recall today: Itchmo is reporting that Natural Balance has pulled two of its dry varieties –Â Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog […]
April 15th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Thanks for adding the information about how you verified this - it’s MUCH appreciated.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
EvyCO- (also comment from your other post on another thread )
They *should* be looking at the big picture. Not kidney’s alone. Blood testing labs, not just the vets. They’ve had plenty of time to look at numbers in all areas by now. Aside from foreign substance contamination some companies may have altered their formulas far in advance of the price increase and kicked it up a notch lately. Anyone care to reassure us there hasn’t been a surge in other lab results and illness in the past year? Thyroid, cholesterol, diabetes, pancreatitis…..
April 15th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Debbie-Write to “Who Makes What” and ask to see the log of answers. To me, no company is going to withdraw a food because of diet change issues. If that was the case, why suddenly now? No, they are pulling it for QC issues. Call a Petco and ask them to read the email to you. Lots of brands don’t use BHA, BHT and ethoxyq. No, this wouldn’t be allergic reactions on broad spectrum withdrawal like this. I agree with you that there is too much death in the pet community, dogs and cats, since people haven’t realized they have souls too. And I will make no recommendation personally. I just think people need to say WAKEUP loud and clear to the ’supermarket’ pet food stores and stop shopping there. Anyone who trust the face of corporate pet food like Petsmart and Petco after the recall should just take a look in their pets eyes and think really really hard.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Wait, WHY can’t I find this info ANYWHERE else on the Internet? I’d like to post this information to the breed-specific dog community I belong to online. I can refer them here, but I’d also like to refer people to another source for verification.
This is very problematic, if the recall information is not publicly available anywhere else other than a reference to an e-mail, no matter how respectable and trusted a blog Itchmo is.
The Natural Balance website is still stating, in big red letters:
“NOTICE:
Natural Balance® products are
NOT involved in the Pet Food Recall.
NO Natural Balance® products are associated with
Menu Foods, or any other company involved.”
So they are denying, publicly, what Itchmo is stating. How am I supposed to effectively warn people I KNOW for a fact are feeding Natural Balance dry venison formulas?
This is very, very troubling.
ITCHMO ADMIN: JM, this is not associated with the wheat gluten problem. Lack of admission is NOT a denial. But you can call them and verify it yourself tomorrow if you’d like to be cautious.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Thanks so much for letting us know about yet another food. Don’t know where we’d be without You! Trudy
April 15th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
I fed my poms cooked chicken breasts and cooked rice tonight for dinner I could not get to the pet store before they closed and all I have her is Natural Balance Vension and rice
I will try and call them again in the morning my dogs have had some upsets stomachs since last week I just figured we had picked up something at a dog show. Now I fear other wise.
I will be once again looking for the perfect food I have been feeding Natural balance for about a year now and figured it was pretty safe
April 15th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Tracy,
Do you have a link to “Who makes what” website? Is it .com, .org, .net, or something else? For some reason I am unable to find it..
April 15th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Sorry, the above comment was supposed to be posted under my name, not “anonymous”.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Just call any PETCO and they will tell you the info is true.
Anonymous, I agree wholeheartedly and I think the *whole* picture needs to include copies of the formulation.
Iodine and potassium chloride induce Acute Renal Failure if too much is added. And yes, I am incredibly suspect of this industry. All the way to ending up having to leave behind a three decade career of dog behavior to keep my own small pet food company going. (thanks Robert lol)
In my lean pre teen years a large breed dog was never considered ’senior’ at eight or even ten or even twelve years of age. I have a lot of respect for Dr. E. Hodgkins and her lambasting of the industry. Especially about her calling attention to how having ‘meat’ as the first ingredient merely veils the companys ability to load the product full of grain.
I’ve lived through plenty of suspicion from the public about my ‘politically incorrect’ dog food label, but my dog at almost ten (and he’s a German Shepherd) is in beautiful shape. I am an anomaly in the industry. I hired a premiere multi-species nutritionist (with a heart of gold to boot) and then scoured for a manufacturer to trust with the gold of a formula I had. I refuse to join The Petfood Industry’s membership (just found out I am one of only 3% in the industry, so feeling pretty good about that) and I know my product is not only safe, it kicks enough butt that some premiere law enforcement agencies buy it from me.
So, I remain demonized for corn (non-GMO btw) being my first ingredient. One hurdle at a time. At least I’ve got ONE good and respected source that is exposing this whole ‘meat as the first ingredient’ parody. In time, people will learn the difference between ‘raw corn’ and ‘corn meal’ and look at the study posted on my site about digestibility ratios in grains. PLEASE take my word for it, if corn wasn’t the most superior grain out there to use I wouldn’t be feeding it to my dog.
Also glad to see Dr. Hodgkins calling the industry down on the amount of grain in cat food too. Some wonder why my cat food is so expensive and if you look at how much deboned chicken meal is in there (to keep down the ash) that is part of the answer. Over 80% of the protein in my cat food is meat.
This industry has been too arrogant for too long in not differentiating between a profit margin and putting a dollar sign on the lives of our pets.
Personally, I have turned down brokers from Petsmart, Petco and Costco. Too close to corporate mentality for me. I’d rather anyone that retails my food have a personal relationship with me and my product. There is just too much at stake not to. I’ve also turned down a legit offer of five million for the company. Now really, what price can you put on your pet?? There is none! I believe too much in what I’m doing to have to start all over again lol. Have invested too many hours and too much heart to turn back now.
Warm hugs to all the FurAngels :)
April 15th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Tracy you are right about NUTRO TELLING LIES!
April 15th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Who Makes What is on the home page of howl911.com.
The direct web link is:
thepetfoodlist.com
Therese did a lot of work calling companies to find out where their food was manufactured at. And Natural Balance kept on changing their story. She finally took off the ‘whole series’ I guess because it took up too much room? I don’t know, but I just posted on her forum and asked her to consider re-posting everything that once was on her site about them. Especially with them doing nothing about their website tonight. That is just wrong and people should be able to go right to a website and get the most current info there and not here. My hat is off to Itchmo for a stellar job and helping to save and protect and help more pets out. I have been glued to my computer for a month now watching this and think it was the first sane Friday last week with no new recall information or stuff.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
FYI - unless Natural Balance just put out a new formula in the past week, the venison & green pea is the dry food for CATS. Dog food is only venison & rice.
I bought a large bag of NB venison/rice dog food a few months ago & only fed half of it to my 3 allergy-prone dogs. They started getting their symptoms again–itching, smelly coat plus loose stool & some vomiting. I thought it might be the rice so was saving the bag to give to a friend with a bunch of rescue dogs. Now I’ll toss it, or maybe save it for testing if something comes of this.
I put the dogs on Farmore & Nature’s Variety raw after that, but who knows what I’ll run into with that! I was going to buy the NB venison/pea for my cats this week, but guess I’ll stick with Evo or Wellness until something comes up about them.
ITCHMO ADMIN: We have corrected the title. Thanks.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
ALISON AND HER PWD, thank you for your response and extra support about “NB,” which I immediately changed to after the recall for my dog and cats. I am very happy with it as I reveiwed the ingredients. As for the ROYAL FURS of the house - my 9 cats - they put their snoots up to pet food meats when I tried to give to them when they were babies. A 100% paws-down consensus! : ) From what you told me, I’m sure you know as well as I do, CATS RULE! : )
TRACY, I am certainly not going to check out anything Petco has to say bec I wouldn’t waste my time with them…PetSmart was more than enough for me being there in person, tangling with the irate manager. As for researching anything else right now, no excuse, just the reason:
I have been going bonkers doing research on this site and other areas, typing emails, letters, composing flyers, making phone calls, on and on and on for hours and hours, day after day for weeks to the point of not eating or sleeping well, or getting routine things done.
So I will just say at this point that I agree with you that pets DEFINITELY have souls…and I believe that “NB” is being super, super cautious about the gastric issue. The other day I spoke with the manager of our local small chain that sells “NB.” We had an in-depth conversation about that product and similar ones to it. Trust me, I am a VERY skeptical person who does not hardly believe a thing that anyone says…but I feel very confident with “NB” right now. But who knows what the future holds with any pet food product????
April 15th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
All of you who have questions about Itchmo regarding this latest recall , how can you believe ANY pet food company over Itchmo? How can you believe any pet food company period? I switched to Natural Balance for my 1 cat , Dude , who normally eats Friskies. My other cat eats Hills science diet k/d (kidney disease) but I was afraid since I had a new case of cans and Hills had recalled so much else, but she really can’t eat anything else. Anyways, I let the kidney disease kitty try some Natural Balance canned cat food (Ultra Formula) For what it’s worth, she immediately ate it, then went to her box to pee, and make some diarreha and then threw up pretty violently twice. I figured the food was too protein rich for her and she is now back on Hills and seems fine , for the most part. (with kidney disease they sometimes have other issues like diarrhea) I have been feeding the other kitty (switched from friskies cans) Natural Balance cans so I am pretty frustrated (not to mention a little concerned). We will be going back to Friskies because luckily (I think…….) I bought several cases and Dude has been doing fine on them since Feb when he began eating cans from those cases, I just got scared with all the Alpo and mighty dog recalls. (Purina) Meanwhile, my dogs (who used to eat mostly IAMS) are now eating Bil Jac dry. We think it’s ok but anything these days is like Russian roulette. When does everyone think this will end? Itchmo , keep up the great work, we’d all be lost without you!
April 15th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
I switched the cats and dogs from Nutro to NB in late January (before the recall - I switched because I had heard that Nutro was involved with suppliers who test on animals) and I thought that I was providing all of my pets such a better product than Nutro (which I must honestly say I never had any problems with and only switched because news of them having to do anything with animal testing - even indirectly - disturbed me)
The pets seem to be happy and doing well on Natural Balance although I know they loved their Nutro a lot more. Still, they are healthy and all bloodwork came back excellent after 3 months on NB. I also felt happy about buying them NB, thinking that I was being a better parent, especially during the recall that started in March and feeling glad I got them off of Nutro before the recall was even announced.
Even if this secret NB recall has nothing to do with the other recall it still is very upsetting because I feel there is nothing out there left to try or trust. The cats are not happy with Canidae (they like almost all wet food and absolutely refused Canidae wet food) and I thought I heard negative comments about Evo and Innova so I’m not sure where to turn. I ordered samples of Life’s Abundance and Instinctive Choice for the cats and the dog versions of the food for the dogs and they all liked everything - perhaps I should place an order immediately. This news makes me feel awful about all of the Natural Balance I have at home right now (dry and wet for all cats and dogs, treats for dogs and meat rolls also for dogs - everything is Natural Balance!)
Does anyone know anything about Life’s Abundance?
April 15th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
I phoned Natural Balance 3 times last week after purchasing Venison & Pea dry dog and cat food. One package showed Menadione as an ingred and another showed Vit K Suppl. I questioned this after learning the Menadione should not be in the food. Their website did not list this ingredient. They told me that Menadione was no longer in their food and to trust the website. They also said that I must have older packaging. The dates on the packages were MAY &JUNE 2008! We did not feed and returned to PetSmart. Perhaps , at some time this was a good food. When companies start to sell thru retailers such as PetSmart , they are pressured to meet price points. As a result, the companies must prostitute their products
April 15th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Thank you Tracy,
I don’t buy NB, never have, and now after this, probably never will. It’s not right that they didn’t post anything wrt the recent recall on their website. If they are as concerned about dogs and cats gastric problems as they claim they are, they definitely should have placed some kind of a recall note for their costumers. I agree with you, it’s not about diet change issues, most likely there’s more to it.
NB is affiliated with American Nutrition. This post made by someone a while ago (sorry, don’t remember the name) was the main reason why I chose not to buy NB food:
“Outside Seattle is a rendering plant disguised as Baker Commodities. Their raw material is collected from vet hospitals and humane societies. Baker Commodities sells their meat by the ton - the majority goes to American Nutrition of Ogden, Utah, which manufactures over 175 different private labels of pet food.”
Ps. Thanks to Therese for all the leg work :-)
April 15th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I have a question. If food is produced this week at a food plant, does it appear on my store’s shelf within a week? I’m trying to figure out why NB knows that only people who bought food in the last week are effected versus using lot numbers.
April 15th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I used one bag of Life’s Abundance dry food and my cats loved it.
HOWEVER I found out that their canned food, Instinctive Choice is mfg. at one of the MENU PLANTS….and my cats either would not touch it or ate it and promptly threw up the whole can so I am sending the rest back!
Plus it took them 3 days to verify the above information after I already received their foods. I don’t trust them either.
April 15th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Just called a Petco in San Francisco (the one on at 1685 Bryant). They have been notified to pull Venison and Brown Rice. Any other comments are unfit for posting here.
April 15th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
continued… (accidentally hit enter)
RE: NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE LAMB & RICE DRY FOOD
My 2 Maltese had been sick and I had been feeding Natural Choice Lamb & Rice small bites. Their site claims that no dry food is affected by the recall. HOWEVER, there are too many other pets who are ill after eating ONLY dry food.
On Apr 5th, I sent a complaint via a form on the Nutro Website and I urged them to consider that there may be contaminants other than rat poison or melamine–I have read that excess Vitamin D will show the same symptoms as kidney failure and also pancreatic distress. The product could be contaminated with something else that has not even been considered yet. With so many reports of problems involving dry food, it can’t be just a coincidence and for them to ignore these testimonies would show irresponsibility and a callous disregard for the lives of the pets we love so much.
Below, I have pasted their response to my complaint received Apr 10th.
and also will include more details about the illness, symptoms and lab results from my vet.
******************
NUTRO’S REPLY:
“Dear Consumer:
Thank You for Taking the Time To Contact Nutro Products Via Email With
Your Questions and Comments. The Situation With the Menu Foods Recall
and All Consumers With Affected Pets Have Been Devastating. We Consider Our Pets To Be Members of Our Families, As DO Our Many Loyal Customers.
No. None of Our Dry Products Are Involved in Any Type of Recall. None
of Our ‘soft Treats’ Are Involved in Any Type of Recall. None of Our
Biscuits Are Involved in Any Type of Recall. Products, Inc. Services
1-800-833-5330″
***************
More details:
I should add that prior to using Nutro, I had been feeding Eukanuba Small Breed lamb & rice for a few years. (Pets ages are 3 and 4 years old) They had been fine on Eukanuba until late last year when they began occasional vomiting & bouts of diarrhea. I temporarily switched to Kibbles & Bits (and they were fine on that) but I worried because it wasn’t a “premium brand.” So I switched to Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice small bites because I read it was easier to digest & didn’t contain “byproducts.” They had only been on Nutro for a few weeks and grew very ill.
Lab work reveals elevated BUN, Creatine, and also Platelet count. I’m not happy with my vet’s casual attitude about the results since I was given antibiotics and told I would have to put them on a special diet (Hills Prescription K/D) which I DID NOT get. I am looking for a new vet. Meanwhile, after feeding them only home-cooked meals for the last 2 weeks, they are much better. I used rice, boiled potatoes with skins on and alternated chicken, cottage cheese or eggs for protein. I am going to order a book with recipes for dogs. I found a site with some SHOCKING information about commercial DRY FOOD and I will never feed dry food again.
I was shocked to read that a lot of commercial dry food contains chemicals and preservatives that have been banned from human foods as well as bodies of euthanized cats & dogs. QUOTE: “This [using euthanized animals in dog food] can be problematic because sodium pentobarbital can withstand the heat from rendering.” (Meaning it is still active in the food)
Whether all of it is true or not, all I know is that my babies are so much better now that I cook for them. Not only has the vomiting & diarrhea stopped, they are both more energetic and no longer have rashes from allergies that were so bad this time last year.
The site where I found the info is: http://www.thedogfoodconspirac.....sii-np.php
I am furious at the pet food companies who seem more concerned with making money than ensuring the health of our pets and at the FDA who knew there was a problem but waited so long to say anything. Who can we trust? Our innocent pets trust us to care for them–and personally, I would rather cook for them myself than trust the LOAD OF LIES being fed to us by pet food companies. My babies deserve better than that.
April 15th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I am depending on Itchmo to keep my fur babies safe - this is a great site ! I trust any and all the info. Itchmo provides .I have been feeding “Fancy Feast” wet and dry to my 15 year old Emily -along with “Purina SR.” dry and my 4 yr. old and 10 month old dogs eat “Purina ” dry turkey,salmon or lamb–as well as “Pedigree” wet foods my dogs also get cottage cheese –apples and carrots daily along with vitamins and fish oils- I feed several feral cats I feed them “9 Lives ” wet and dry –so far we have had no problems –my heart goes out to all the pet parents who have sick babies or lost them due to this pet food recall horror
April 15th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I lost one dog, Scout, to Iams Active Maturity beef in gravy. She started eating it at the end of January. She was dead by February 25, almost 3 weeks before the recall. I didn’t have any of the food left. She was only 9 years old. A very vocal, loving, blue heeler mix. After the recall, and the realization that I killed my Scoutie with food, I switched my other dog, BooBoo, and my kitties, Lucy and Ethel, to Natural Balance. Just like others, I bought the whole line, Crunch-e-Bones, Roll-a-rounds, dry reduced calorie dog food, eatables, and dry cat food. I got home and had somehow missed the wheat gluten in the crunch-e-bones. I emailed NB and got a reply assuring me that the gluten was ok. I quit giving them to my dog.
Now BooBoo has been on NB for about 3 weeks. I came home from work Thursday and she had thrown up twice. Ok, dogs throw up and she had been under stress of losing her sister and having her diet changed and having stressed, depressed, worried mommies. Fed her that night and she threw up again two hours later. Fed her Friday morning and delayed going to work for two hours. She seemed ok. Came home and found two piles of vomit. Withheld food. Took her to vet Saturday morning. Said stomach irritation. Got reglan and carafate. Withheld food until this morning. She has had two meals of boiled chicken and rice and so far has held it down.
I am terrified to go to work. I don’t know what I will come home to. These two dogs have been healthy all their lives. We got them at a shelter. They were litter mates.
I need answers from NB now. I called and will call back in the am. I emailed and have not got a reply.
I thought that if you loved them and fed them, everything would be fine. Apparently not. I did not do enough research on food. That will not be the case again.
I understand the grieving in this country. I hope that those that are nursing sick babies have good results. I hope that we all get the answers that we need.
Allison
April 15th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
hi.. i just wanted to write that i switched my cat to natural balance green pea and venison dry a few months ago. she then developed serious problems including blood in stool, severe itchiness, rolling skin, chasing her tail. i took her to three different vets.. all of whom said it was a food allergy. i took her off the natural balance after one month and then she was fine again. i can’t believe this… maybe it was a food allergy, or maybe it was contaminated food. all i know is that i will NEVER feed her natural balance green pea and venison ever again.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I don’t think a food whose main ingredient is “peas” is a good food.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
As I was tempted at the beginning of this whole disgusting fiasco, but ignored my teeny, tiny voice, we are on TOTAL lockdown now. DEFCON 10. NO commercial foods. Only homemade human grade food.
Any implied nutritional imbalance that could come from our homemade food could not POSSIBLY offset the possibility of poison from what they STILL have not identified as the true culprit in this fiasco. Kiss my sweet butt and the even sweeter butts of my beloved felines. I have spent my last dollar ever on canned or bagged toxins, fed intermittently with homemade blends.
This was the first day, since this nightmare broke, that I have not checked all the BLOGS morning, noon, and night to see what fresh hell had emerged. BITE ME!
April 15th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I have an IBD cat who is currently eating both versions of the Venison & Green Pea (dry & canned). She started to display stomach upset this past week by vomiting multiple times. She has never vomited before in her life, (she is 4 years old). She has been eating the dry for 5 months and the canned for close to 6 weeks. In our case it is NOT related to switching foods. Something is WRONG with the foods and I think it dates back longer than the past week. Her current bag of dry food is weeks old and I buy the cans by the case. I’m heading to the pet store tomorrow….or the grocery store so I can make my own food!!
April 15th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I want to repeat something I posted weeks ago.
ANY food that you buy for your pet, hang onto receipts and proof of purchases. Keep the label from the can if you need to, but store this information and continue to do so for another year or so. I don’t think this last bit will be the last of it all.
Save receipts.
Save proof of purchases.
Be able to substantiate anything.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
first time blogger here observation. let’s go back to the top. natural balance says no serious illness or deaths have been reported.
suddenly all these bloggers have serious illnesses to tell of by natural balance. none ever reported. why not?
could this be part of the guilty pet foods damage control act to ruin this brands reputation on the famous itchmo?
noticed bloggers are knocking natural balance and recalled brand companys are suddenly good again. one tracy and loads of followers like never before on any topic as long as i followed this website. very suspicious.
nice try but i’m not falling for it.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Dom-that is the point. Why haven’t they been reported? Simple, they are all isolated away from each other. Until now. I don’t see anyone heading in the direction of recalled brands at all. Until you read everything it won’t make sense. There is nothing for you to fall for. Just keep tuned because a lot of us have been following this for a month now. There is no ’suddenly’ happening at all and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about other dry foods being withdrawn either. We love our pets and there aren’t many places talking about the dry food issue. Some of us have had our own suspicions about this for a long time. I say hooray to Itchmo for giving this a voice!
April 15th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I reported my problem to NUTRO and they pretty much dismissed it and said that “NO DRY FOODS ARE ON THE RECALL.” I replied back to the email received asking them if they even bothered to look into the matter and test it. I haven’t received any reply from them.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Thank you Itchmo for the update. I used to feed Natural Balance venison and peas in the past with no problem. I prefer to rotate sources of protein and used Solid Gold for lamb, Natural Balance for venison, and Timberwolf serengeti or Felidae for chicken. I guess I’ll stick to Serengeti until this mess is over.
I just heard on another board about cats developing problems (bloody diarrhea) from Solid Gold. Both Solid Gold and Natural Balance dry are co-packed by Diamond, could there be a connection?
However, Solid Gold wet (tuna) is made in Thailand, I used to feed that occasionally since it is supposed to be good food and I noticed that my cats had softer stools afetr eating it. I haven’t noticed major problem since I rotate foods to try to get them better nutrition. I wish they would eat home cooked. Out of three, only one is interested.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:10 am
well, i have saved all of my vet bills (i took my cat to three different vets)… all in all, i took her to the vet four times during the month she was on the green pea + venison dry. this happened in december. i will be calling natural balance first thing tomorrow morning…
April 16th, 2007 at 12:16 am
I am just reporting on NB because my dog took sick on Thursday, April 12. I thought things were going well with the food until then and then to read that some NB food had been recalled. It may not be the NB, but I will be cooking until I find out more. I wouldn’t trust any form of any food or brand that has been recalled. I lost one dog to Iams.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:22 am
Lois - excellent post. And I’m with you. In fact I just posted something similar on my blog a few hours ago. I’ve bought my last can and bag of commercial pet food. (After buying Natural Balance dry food yesterday!) I need 100% control over what they eat in order to be able to sleep at night.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:28 am
I’d like to make a suggestion.
If you see any posting on another website, do all you can to contact that person and encourage them to contact Itchmo.
I vote Itchmo ‘in charge’ of dry food problems.
There are just TOO many out there with no place to go. Too many people calling pet food companies and being told not to worry about symptoms that are all too similar.
Itchmo - is that ok??
Let’s mobilize and get these people together!
April 16th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Well, Christ. This might explain why my little cat has been vomiting and had excessive thirst for the past 10 days or so. I finally gave up and fed him Gerber veal baby food tonight. My big cat hasn’t shown any symptoms, but he doesn’t like the dry as much as the little one does. I feed my cats many different premium brands because I like to give them variety, so I buy canned from Merrick, Natural Balance, Nature’s Variety, Eaglepak, and Avoderm. For dry I buy Royal Canin, Nature’s Variety or Natural Balance. Just opened a new bag of NB Venison and Green Pea about two weeks ago.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:51 am
I am trying to find the “Who Feeds What” and “Who Makes What” that Tracy is talking about. Can anyone point toward that? I REALLY want to read what she is talking about.
I did find this link by a veterinarian and am reading it. Blech Blech Blech
http://www.belfield.com/article3.html
I am surprised my pets do as well as they do on what I have been feeding them.
I picked up a sample package of the Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea Formula (along with samples of other brands) at a Healthy Pet Pantry store near my home JUST THIS WEEK!. Thank goodness, it was only 2 oz. The best by date was Apr/30/08.
The cats ate most of the samples with gusto, but were less excited by the Natural Balance. But they did eat it. They also had Natural Balance ” _____ Breeds and Lifestages” (top is torn off) best by Aug/06/08.
They had absolutely no “gastric upset” from these changes to their diet. I gave it to them “cold turkey” since I would not get Pro Plan anymore. They are both indoor “alley” cats; one is two and a half and the other is 7 months old.
They did eat the Natural Balance, so I increased their Dolisos Gemmotherapy drops of Common Juniper — A detoxifier. If I hear of a better product to detox the kidneys, I will post it.
Phyllis
April 16th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Who Makes What = web site is = http://www.thepetfoodlist.com
Therese is the woman who manages the site and you can link through to her forum from there.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:13 am
To the baby food comment above: Gerber has corn starch (potentially GMO). Beechnut, although in San Francisco is much harder to find, does not. FIND BEECHNUT if you can.
There is something going on here that is off the f —— scale.
Natural Balance had NO glutens, and IS NOT produced at Menu Foods, yet is STILL making our sweeties sick.
Guess that blows the wheat gluten theory out of the water.
Any theories? I am at a loss.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:14 am
Hi I am ..well I should not be given all that has come down this last month but I am freaked out. Sat we finsihed replacing all my dogs foods to CA Natural and 3 bags of treats by NB because of all the dogs allergies we had to REALLY read the bags and so on. I mentioned to my husband today that the dog should not be panting it wasn’t hot here and he seems kinda quiet…FOR HIM he is a wild dog. I do not think I will be feeding him the NB treats …Venison and Brown Rice…Duck and potato and fish and potato…until I hear more on this. Till then Its Wellness and CA Natural…..and if one more food goes down ..I am moving all my pets to cooked human foods..This is BS …and I am so mad.
I am also so sorry for Kathy and all the other people who have lost loved furkids….
Never blame yourselves we are all doing the best we can.
And bless Itchmo for all the work done for the furkids of this world….Thank you….Color me a worried cat and dog mom
April 16th, 2007 at 1:16 am
I sent this info in to The Dog Food Project website & got a reply saying NB had this happen in the past with Duck & Potato & denied it for a long time.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:22 am
This is horrible. I have an IBD cat and just switched him to NB venison and green pea formula for cats from a Hills prescription diet. He, needless to say, will be going back to Hills after what I have heard on this site. Sad day when Hills is the one to trust.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Thanks for the Beechnut tip. I will keep an eye out for it. I guess I figured that if anything would be safe it would be baby food. And I know vets recommend baby food when cats can’t keep regular foods down. Could you imagine if something like this happened to the baby food industry?
April 16th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Right now, they are eating the Wellness Super 5 Mix Kitten Food. They have been eating that for over a week. I put it in one bowl and the adult food in the other. I gave it to them without mixing with the old Pro Plan, and they did fine.
I must add that I prayed over both of them too. God loves them and us.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Phyllis, Dear Heart,
God loves all of us but He/She NEVER made a mess like this.
We are all in pretty deep here and must hang together.
And living in the city of Saint Francis, the Patron Saint of All Animals, may I take the liberty of quoting the following:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
May new, never-before-imagined blessings come from this most horrible experience.
Knowing all our dearly beloved, departed, four-legged companions sleep in unimaginable bliss on their Celestial Pillows tonight in the eternal company of the Divine.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Didn’t Nestle just buy out Gerber foods last Friday??
April 16th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Yes.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:03 am
Baby food is low in taurine, essential for a cat’s health, it should not be used as the main ongoing diet. Also, do not feed baby food containing onion, it will cause heinz body anemia, more so in cats than dogs although both should avoid the onion family.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:15 am
Taurine is readily available in any healthfood store and can be easily added to a cat’s food although I agree baby food is not an ideal lifetime regimen.
But neither is a food that could potentially kill them because of a still as yet unidentified poison. (And, in my opinion, cat mom of 30+ years, no onion or garlic, although some renowned feline authorities would disagree.)
Commercial cat food was not the norm until the 1960’s. Until then, cats lived well off table scraps. Marketing.
Do the work for yourself.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:22 am
There is dispute about garlic supplements (if they have enough of the chemical that causes Heinz body anemia in the amount used in supplements to cause that anemia) and garlic flavoring but onion is a closed case (unless it’s a very minute ingredient and it’s a dog eating it) skip it in the kitty bowl. :)
April 16th, 2007 at 2:29 am
My cats had a diet based on Nutro MaxCat dry, with some canned Natural Balance venison amd IAMS. I dropped the NB venison last year because the cats refused to eat it anymore. They had also started to reject the Maxcat dry so they were getting more IAMS unfortunately the recalled IAMS as well as canned tuna and table scraps.
This year they were going downhill, losing weight and nibbling until just before the recall when the vomiting got terrible.
Cats have much better sense of smell than us. Maybe they can smell chemicals that shouldnt be in the food. I wouldnt be surprised if GMO food could be a problem, since some of those foods are approved for animal, not human consumption, and contain genetically created poisons.
To Alison and her PWD. If your babies love beef, try lamb. I have been cookig lamb rare and mincing it in a mini food processor. The cats seem to like the rare lamb better than rare beef. One wasn’t happy but has now come over and it really seems to fill them up.
I am glad I didn’t open up the bag of dry NB now.
I have a question about the Kumbi pet food. The big brands contracted Menu to build their pet food. How does Kumbi know their suppliers and canners are being honest about the ingredients.
I would be happy to find a dry food I could trust.
What is the world coming to?
April 16th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Another site mentioned something about American Nutrition in Ogden Utah doing meat rendering which included euthanized pets.
Well, the founder Jack Behnken died in Feb 2007 of cancer. The article is at:
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/210914/
I found “paragraph” 8, a quote from his son, particularly telling. Maybe Evy or Tracy has seen this.
My comment is this, if the pet foods are contaminated, and they are grinding up euthanized, cancerous and other wise sick animals, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE HEALTH OF THE HUMAN WORKERS at these plants? Surely they are exposed to a lot of bad stuff — breathing it in, and absorbing it through their skin.
Phyllis
April 16th, 2007 at 3:22 am
couple of comments:
Taurine: folks, please remember who exports and imports taurine. check the ChemNutra site and the site of the Chinese exporter. You will also see many other supplements common in pet food and at our local health food store. I personally would look for US certified organic or a US company that will reveal country of origin on raw ingredients for their supplements for your home prepared pet food and yourself.
NB’s website: There is probably a very simple reason why it’s not updated. The web person starts tomorrow at 8-9AM. They can get the info out to stores and such via email, but I doubt anyone involved in this decision knows jack about updating a site. at least they started getting it out to the stores and confirmed here. It’s better than 3 weeks. And there is also the possibility that they are being over cautious in light of all the other recall issues. And I think that was my last ounce of optimisim for awhile . . .
Be cautious, buy US grown and whole foods and know what your pets are eating, and don’t forget yourselves in the process.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:27 am
Good Morning All–especially you fur babies out there! I “SEE” you pacing the floor, meowing and / or barking to wake up your sleepy parents to get you outdoors for a “quick business trip” and then it’s back indoors for a TREAT!!!
To Everyone of you whom have suffered unspeakable heartache and mounting stress– I am so very sorry for you and your familiies–I often say a prayer for all the sickened babies in the world (human and furballs, etc!)
I thank all of you wholeheartedly for giving me this URGENT pet food concern update!!! I recently purchased D.V.Patten’s salmon and sweet potatoe dry food for my FUSSY baby bichon frise. We adopted the “little monkee” when he was 7 yrs. and now he is 10 yrs. Your input has me deciding to feed him a boiled mixture of samon and rice and apple. I will also feed him raw baby carrots with a dash of low fat cottage cheese as “dessert”. I must be SUPER careful with his diet since his breed can develop kidney stones which could lead to other serious complications, as well!!! MY last precious baby, Madmoiselle Sara Jean was a pet rescue from a VISCOUS family named Wilkens of White Bear, MN. whom were having her KILLED at the local vet since they DID NOT LIKE HER!!! They wanted a lasa apso, instead!!! MERcifully, the good Lord intervened and save her for me and my hubby who were not able to have human babies.
Lastly, Miss Sara Jean died from kidney failure due to ADVANCED AGE. She suffered violently from the killer disease but lived to 13 puppy years
April 16th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Jacqueline,
Just a note before i retire :) Not sure which stones Bichons get, but there are many home prepared diets that are stone specific. I have a Dalmatian, which are prone to Urate stones, and I have been feeding her raw and home prepared for 5 yrs. Once you have the diet and such down, it’s pretty easy and worry free. You can also buy PH test strips and test the urine PH to make sure you are staying in a normal range. If your Bichon is in the Urate stone forming family, try googling Dalmatian stone diets. There is also a Dalmatian raw feeding yahoo group. And of course, run any diet by your vet, or check with a vet nutritionist :)
April 16th, 2007 at 3:47 am
Jacqueline
This vet tells about the junk in pet food :(, but — click on the health product and article links to the right. He talks about the kidney stones in cats. Maybe he has something about kidney stone prevention in dogs too. He says their urine needs to be acid enough so the stones do not develop.
I Think he calls it mega-c.
http://www.belfield.com/article3.html
April 16th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Thanks for the ALERT, Itchmo! This pet food business is fast becomeing a nightmare for me. I had my two cats of IAMS (weight management) and Eukanuba - both wet. The Eukanuba variety was on the recall list but fortunately for my kitties, the cans I bought were not part of the recalled batch for that variety. Nevertheless, I threw both the IAMS and the Eukanuba and switched them to Natural Balance Solid Gold and Castor and Pollux. They have been eating NB since the BIG recall. No problems. I was so pleased that I bought other varieties of NB including Venison and Grean Peas canned. The younger cat loves it. So far, I have encountered no problems: no vomiting, no refusal of food, no frequent visits to the litter box, no frequent drinking of water… cats seem normal. BUT, I have decided to hold off on the Venison and Green Peas until these reports are resolved.
Since the Pet Food Recall of March 17 (16?), I have gone by a siple mantra:
No WET cat food manufactured by Menu Foods; No DRY cat food manufactured (or even co-packed) by Diamond; No Wheat Gluten
—- Natural Balance in cans met this top criteria of mine besides reputedly being a high-end quality pet food. What a bummer!
April 16th, 2007 at 4:28 am
“And of course, run any diet by your vet, or check with a vet nutritionist :)”
Excellent advice. :)
April 16th, 2007 at 5:56 am
There is a new entry on the Petsit.com blog where “JC” states that 2 of his dogs have gotten Renal failure from Natural Balance & 1 has died.
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=251
April 16th, 2007 at 6:02 am
I just switched my girls to NB, and their poop hasn’t looked this healthy in months! How did you verify this on a Sunday? Can we see original email? I have emailed NB, and am returning the Venison and brown rice for Duck, I will also call them today. I honestly think it’s everybody switching so fast but ya never know, and can’t be too careful! Thanx for the report.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:20 am
I just remembered why the Diamond connection seemed so important to me. My cat got very sick 2 weeks ago on Solid Gold, to where we had his kidneys tested. Symptoms were diarrhea, urinating in the living room & obviously very sick. Fortunately I caught it within hours & stopped feeding the Solid God.
Solid Gold is made by Diamond. Rumor has it that NB dry is also at least co-packed by Diamond. I suspect Diamond is in the same danger category as Menu.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:00 am
I have to admit that I am not surprised, if this recall is true. I feed NB Potato and Duck to my dogs. I have two Border Collies who were raised on it. Neither one has EVER had a firm stool. As a matter of fact, they both have produced alot of feces, something that surprises me from a food that is supposed to be a premium. Anyway, I switched the first BC over to Eagle Pak because he stopped eating the NB good. The second BC came to us on NB Pot & Duck and she has always eaten it really good, some mushy stool though. Recently, the 1st BC started eating the NB Pot. & Duck again, I’m assuing because the 2nd BC was eating it. So, they are both on it. Well, I bought a bag of Pot. & Duck about a week and a half ago. The food was very DARK, much darker then just a variation in color, dark like venison and brown rice dark. It even smelled different. Within a day or two, the stools were just like slop. The 1st BC started being picky about it again. The other BC will eat anything put in front of her. I had to start washing butts off because the poop was getting runnier and runnier. We called the company and they assured me the color of the food was because of the different color of ingrediants and they were gonna send me some coupons and investigate it further. Well, it was to the point that I couldn’t even get the frist BC to eat at all. So, went out and bought a bag of Eagle Pak, gave that to him and he inhaled it. You can’t tell me that there is nothing wrong with the Pot. & Duck either…or maybe my bag is really Venison and Rice since it looks just like it. AND, the breeder of my BC’s is having dogs wiht loose stool and syptoms like an allergic reactions. She was feeding Pot. & Duck from the same batch as mine…..I will be calling the company today……
April 16th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I am so sick about all of this. It is just completely out of control. I fed NB to my dog but thankfully not recently. I can’t continue waking up every morning and waiting to see if my dog food is on the list. I already lost my cat. I have decided to take back control and go 100% home prepared.
I was doing some research yesterday and came upon this book Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative by Donald R. Strombeck. It has 200 recipes with computer generated ingredient profiles to make sure it is balanced. It also has recipes for different medical conditions, diabetes, stones, allergies, renal problems etc.
I also read the reviews which are mostly positive. The negative reviews say that it is dry, a bit technical and more dog friendly. The cat recipes were intermingled with the dog recipes and don’t have their own chapter. I am going to buy it today and give it a try. I think also that if I do periodic blood tests for different minerals etc I can find the perfect balance and make sure that I am not overdoing or under doing something. It certainly has to be better than feeding poison and diseased ingredients. I have had enough!!
April 16th, 2007 at 9:20 am
ITCHMO, as pet parent, I definitely appreciate this great website. As an animal activist, there is no other type of person who wants to know the truth about all pet foods, the pet food industry, expose them, and then ACT on it. However, after this last grouping of negative comments about “NB,” with an unprecendented amount of negative comments than all of the truly poisonous pet foods combined that have ever been mentioned or notification of recalls on this site, I find this “NB” trashing to be very ironic and highly irregular. Unfortunately, in some statements, THE POISON PET FOODS ARE BECOMING GLORIFIED AGAIN…the very same ones who were the major culprits!
It is my hope that the pet food industry will be revolutioned from the hype and lies that we have been accustomed to, and that consumers will change to truly healtly/safe brands.
“NB” has been mentioned MANY favorable times when this w/s started, and there were no complaints from people who used it for years. Now all of a sudden it is being trashed like it is the worst offender of all the garbage that is out there. Therefore, those massive negative comments -truths or untruths- has turned me off to this site…and I believe now that they represent the point of hysterical panic!
I believe that since each animal is an individual, then each one has individual food concerns. Since some pet parents had some problems with “NB,” that doesn’t mean it’s the worst offender out there…and neither does it mean that “NB” lying. I’m sure some kind of fault can be found with any food according to each pets’ physical make-up.
ps: I don’t think that too many companies can tell of their high standards as does “NB.” But “NB” seems to be under a major attack above all the other companies with their low standards as we discovered throughout.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Therese at petsitusa.com petlist.com has reposted all correspondence with NB on the Diamond issue. Very intersting read…..
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=223
April 16th, 2007 at 9:29 am
pss: this major attack on “NB” or any natural, better pet food is exactly what the lying, poisonous pet food industry want to hear!
Some of you people are playing right into their hands!
April 16th, 2007 at 9:35 am
My problem is I didn’t expect a cover up from a respected name like NB. I fed this to my cat 2 weeks ago because a truseted local pet food chain recomended it & because NB stated that their food was safe. Today I’ve found out that I fed him poison. I also ended a long customer relationship with Royal Canin over their un-open communication style when the recall started. As I posted above, I strongly suspect we’re going to find that Diamond is no better then Menu.
And how is NB better then the grocery store brands? Both are currently killing our pets.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:03 am
[…] Itchmo reported last night that Natural Balance had recalled its […]
April 16th, 2007 at 10:05 am
It seems that SOMETHING is going on with the foods that appears to be a SYSTEMIC problem.
Have been doing tons of research to identify root causes. I know (from being in the business) that grain products and other raw ingredients DO become “degraded” as they move through the supply chain. Some of it gets destroyed, and some of it (how much?) get’s recycled and sold to the pet food industry. My previous posts refer to specific ingredients, like GM corn.
I wonder if companies worldwide have learned that they can sell their contaminated/toxic/unsaleable food stuffs to US pet food companies?
The fact that our import inspection processes are poor and not much gets inspected, that some pet food manufacturing companies (MENU FOODS) have poor QC, that pet food manufacturing is very centralized in a handful of contract manufacturing companies, that companies may seek new formulas when prices increase, that we advertise to the world in the Federal Register that we no longer test for certain things like Melamine . . . . . . . . . Well, at some point the combined lack of rigor reaches critical mass and the system goes “blooey”.
Management also plays a HUGE role. If I were a Purina, IAMS, or P&G who wanted to do business with a contract company, believe I’d find one who’s top guy had some more QC experience and less experience disposing of toxic materials. Not accusing, just wondering. (ITCHMO posted these details on MENU)
If wheat gluten can be laced with melamine, then other raw ingredients can be adulterated as well. You don’t know if you don’t test.
I hope food samples are being taken and some testing done.
In my reading, a few bad actors are mentioned frequently: aminopterin, cypromine, melamine.
Especially aminopterin, which causes kidney damage. See below:
“Menu Foods samples were tested for aminopterin with a difference in findings - “Earlier, the New York State Food Laboratory reported finding the rodent-killing compound aminopterin in samples of pet food made by Menu Foods (C&EN, April 2, page 11). Neither FDA nor Cornell has been able to detect aminopterin in samples they analyzed”
“Aminopterin is known to cause kidney damage in animals. Bruce L. Akey, executive director of Cornell’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center, tells C&EN that neither the scientific literature nor expert opinion indicts melamine as a renal toxicant. “In fact,” he says, “the literature supports the thesis that melamine has relatively low toxicity.”
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i15/8515news7.html
One thing’s for sure. We need to get answers from FDA. I don’t know WHAT those guys are doing, but it’s time to start talking.
What have they tested for, what have they eliminated. We don’t know.
Maybe the FDA chairman will provide some answers to NPR today, I don’t want to hear “I don’t know” or “the food supply is safe.”
(FYI - One sad FDA person I spoke with stated that FDA told their employees to feed “natural”)
I hope everyone contacts their Senators and Representatives and just raises H _ _ L. about this terrible debacle.
The FDA has completely dropped the ball.
It is time for some answers.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:25 am
I have just changed to Natural Balance, Sweet Potatoe and Fish diet because of dietary problems with my previous diet as it was recalled.
I do appreciate the updates from Natural Balance because my canines are very important to me as well as their health.They will be gradually changed to the new diet to avoid any intestial upsets with a homemade diet to ease the transition to a new food.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Debbie Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 9:20 am
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Nutro was seen as a demon and Natural Balance was good. Now Natural Balance is a demon. There are plenty of people who fed Nutro who had no problems with their animals. There are probably plenty of people who feed Natural Balance and have no problems.
The issue to me is to get all pet food companies to just be honest about what is going on. There may be nothing at all wrong with Natural Balance. But because of the extraordinary current events, they decided to pull their product out of caution. This is a good thing.
However, a silent yank off the shelves in the middle of the night is not the way to go.
It may be that they recently changed formulations and the bag doesn’t reflect that. Of all things, this is one practice that must stop. What’s in the bag must be reflected on the label - no more lags in bag changes.
So 2 things ALL pet food companies need to respond to: honest communication and truth in labeling. Get busy pet food people. You don’t have to wait for regulators or conferences to take these steps. The first out of the gate will win the prize. Not overnight unfortunately. No matter what spin the PFI is putting on this issue, faith and trust in pet food companies have been shaken to the core. It will be an uphill struggle. Show us what you got.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I wish all of you would step down from your little soap boxes. Look at the facts rather than relying on your emotions and jumping to irrational conclusions.
1. This is not a recall. “…and no recall warning has been issued.”
2. “No deaths or serious illnesses have been reported…”
And it does seem mighty coincidental that all of you suddenly remember issues with Natural Balance in the past that never seemed to matter before. I have been feeding Natural Balance for the past two years and I have never had any problems, ever. My cats are happy, healthy and I get comments from friends all the time about how great their coats look. And I WILL CONTINUE to feed Natural Balance because it is a food that I know is good and trust.
It just really annoys me that all of you jump to conclusions. I realize that for most people (like myself) that our pets are our children, but please, look at the facts and make an educated decision rather than trusting what people post on a non-regulated bulletin. These people posting here are only expressing opinion — very little fact.
Again I trust Natural Balance and will continue to feed it to my beautiful cats with confidence, knowing it is a good food. Now I am done you all can have your precious soap box back.
Oh and one last thing: Tracy, what brand is it that you feed? Do you even have pets? You are mighty good and slinging mud, but I don’t see many facts…
April 16th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Subject: WHAT’S GOING (OR MAYBE GOING) INTO PET FOOD?
If you’re interested in the GM/GMO subject here’re some good links. I used to believe this was “Star Wars” stuff, but no more. We don’t hear much about where this stuff goes. I just wonder, where DOES it go?
US Rice Supply Contaminated:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01043.html
GM Corn Found:
http://www.saveourseeds.org/do....._bt10.html
Video Re: The Future of Food:
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/pub.....-6715.aspx
April 16th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Natural Balance has this posted on their site now. What’s interesting is that their message states that they’ve received reports of “kidney problems” associated with the food, not just gastric upset.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Tracy,
Is “Who Makes What” a website?
April 16th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Here’s what NB posted on their website,
“We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Cat Food.
We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.”
April 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Sonia, “Who Makes What” is an acronym for http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/
To the best of my knowledge, it’s been the best source for brand info since the recall started.
It’s run by Therese of petsitusa.com
April 16th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Note to Natural Balance:
Please test your food for AMINOPTERIN!
April 16th, 2007 at 11:34 am
This is my last comment on this subject. I don’t see “demonising” going on; I’m certainly not doing it. My main concern is my cat’s health.
I.E., better safe then sorry.
And the fact is that there was at minimum some miscommunication by NB regarding their relationship with Diamond. Again, please read here:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=223
My cat got very sick while eating Solid Gold about 2 weeks ago. It is made by Diamond. Thank God he only ate a small amount & his kidneys tested fine.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Is this ever going to stop! I see that Natural Balance has just posted the following on their website.
NOTICE:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Cat Food.
We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.
The list just gets longer and longer. The first thing I do every morning is check to see what else has made the list. Natural Balance dry is made by Diamond who had a recall about a year ago.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Kaffe — I like your mantra. I am writing it down and putting it on the bathroom mirror. I am adding the warning on potassium chloride.
Evy, I do not see iodine in the NB Dry Cat Venison and Green Pea I have (Best by 4-30-08), but I do see the potassium chloride.
Over use of many Vitamins can cause numerous problems. This formula has Vit D3 that was implicated on another site. If I can re-find it, I will post the link.
I am reminded of the story (years ago in Reader’s Digest) of a woman who went to the doctor because her hair was falling out, her nails were crmbling and she had neuro problems throughout the body. She was taking mega doses of Vit. D and A for quite awhile. They are both fat based vitamins so can be built up and held in the body.
Traci — most doctors, and I do include veterinarians here, do not know beans about nutrition or nutrional supplements such as vitamins and trace minerals (potassium, iodine, selenium, manganese etc. etc.).
We each need to learn more here through individual research and blogs like this. ANYONE KNOW ANY GOOD SITES DEALING WITH PET NUTRITION THAT ARE NOT RUN BY A COMPANY?
Geff — could it be that some pets are really sensitive to the culprit item and even trace amounts left over on equipment can both some animals and not others? My Kitsa seems fine, but she and spice only ate a couple of ounces of the stuff.
Dori — good luck in your calls. Runny stools are NEVER a good sign but neither are too many stools of ANY consistency — the last is a sign of a food with way too much fiber.
Debbi — I think people are very frustrated because a deeper trust seems to have been violated. NB often sells to people who take the time to ask detailed questions about the food they buy. I bought the NB at a local Healthy Pet Pantry, not Petco, PetSmart or any other big entity. And You ARE RIGHT ABOUT irresponsible attacks on the company — but we each need to read, listen and THINK for ourselves.
5catmom — Degraded grain is right. While I was looking at the American Nutrition stuff last night (see above), I saw a lawsuit listed on the American Grain Assosciations (name right??) where American Nutrition refused a shipment of corn, then got sued for not paying for it. It must have been really bad if they refused it. They ended up having to pay for it after the shipper sold it to another company. WHERE DID IT GET INTO THE FOOD SUPPLY? Yep Yep and Yep “the combined lack of rigor reaches critical mass ” (my previous experience is amateur research into human nutrition).
April 16th, 2007 at 11:57 am
I just spoke to a spokesman from Natural Balance and they are advising that this situation just came up over the weekend and, while they aren’t aware of any problems with this food, are immediately taking a proactive approach and voluntarily pulling this food until they can verify if it is causing a problem. Apparently they received a number of calls over the weekend of dogs and cats vomiting after eating this food. While they feel that the problem could be caused by switching animals to the new food too quickly, they do not want to take a chance of any possibility that there could be a problem with this food, so they are quickly taking action. While we do not feed this variety of their food, we will continue to use the other varieties, and am happy to see them reacting so quickly to a possible problem. They told me they will quickly and continually update their website with information as soon as it is received. Be sure to use the “refresh” button on your web browser to insure up to date information. I am not employed by, or have any affiliation with this company, other than using their food.
Larry Abramson
Micla Kennels Bearded Collies and
American Cocker Spaniels
Olive Branch, MS
April 16th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Phyllis, I suspect you’re correct. My guy reacts very quickly to food issues; it may have saved his life in this case.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Another thought…..similar to something I recently posted:
When MF first did the recall, it struck me as odd that they zoned in on the wheat gluten as the contaminated source. I would think it would take a while to make that determination.
Perhaps they have been adding something toxic for years now to boost production & profit, which isn’t noted on the label (gee, what a surprise)…..because there weren’t a ton of calls made to them about sick or dying animals, last fall, when prices skyrocketed, they decided to add much more of whatever it is to again boost production & not lose their big fact profit margin.
The CFO of MF, knowing EXACTLY what the problem was, knew this was going to be huge as they had been doing it to all the pet foods & dumped his stocks before going public with the half truths that they’ve been telling us. I also think perhaps the same was done with the dry food.
I don’t know where to turn or what to do so I guess I’ll start looking up home cooking & try that.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
CathyA — getting anyone to be honest is not possible. Honesty is a deep value the individual acquires (or does not) very early. I think 5catmom and others are onto something with looking at the past of the CEOs of companies. The ideas, philosophy, and VALUES of the head honcho filter down throughout an organization. AND the little guy who really is honest cannot do too much without having to be disciplined either overtly or covertly by his boss(es) and co-workers who may not be as honest and would rather keep the status quo and their jobs :((
April 16th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Anyone know of a good home made cat food recipe?
April 16th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Phyllis, thanks.
What do YOU think the foods should be tested for?
Here’s my list of BAD ACTORS:
Aminopterin - Causes kidney damage
Cyropmazine - FDA allows increased levels; maybe level are too high
Melamine - Corn Products may also have been laced
Agents which have caused past problems:
Vitamin D level/toxins
Aflatoxins
Hope NB doesn’t throw this over to FDA. If those guys had a clue, we wouldn’t have this problem in the first place.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I just spoke with Natural Balance. The voluntary recall is for both Dog and Cat venison and pea dry food. The expiration on the bag would be Sept. 28 or 29, 2008.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Regarding the person who said they only feed their cats fish flavors and not “meat”, you should know that fish flavored foods are linked to kidney problems and crystal formation in cats, particularly male cats, when fed for long periods of time. Google it. I never feed my cats fish flavored anything.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I have fed NB Venison and Brown Rice dry formula to my dog exclusively for a year now because of severe allergies. Just this past week
I noticed vomiting of clear fluid every day. I just thought he may have been eating grasses outside and felt secure that it wasn’t the food.
Now, I hear this about a company I trusted and am wondering if indeed that is the problem. Will be contacting my Vet today, but who else do
I report this to?
April 16th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Bonnie,
I would call Natural Balance to let them know your dog is having an issue with the food.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I’m thinking, maybe we should be looking for our pet food from companies that only use USA procucts.
Is there a list for pet food companies that only use USA products?
All good wishes,
- Joan
April 16th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I co-own a natural pet food store. I have had a lot of new customers since the pet food recall started. In our store we sell only all natural human grade ingrediants with no corn, wheat, soy, BHA or BHT and no by-products. I received a call early this morning to pull the Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog and Venison & Green Pea Cat Dry. I do think it may be due to so many new customers switching to the food too quickly. If you are on a cheap food and you switch your cat or dog without mixing it will almost always cause runny stool and upset tummy. However, a customer just called me and said that her dog has experienced some of the symptoms that has caused the company to recall the foods.
Our Store is In Good Health, All Natural Pet Foods in Northfield Center Ohio. our website is www.ingoodhealth4pets.com. If we can help you at all, please contact us.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Oh doG! This is incredible. I was skeptical until a few minutes ago when NB updated their web site. Just urgently contacted my dad as he feeds Venison and Rice. Mine get Eagle Pack, and I have been happy with that until recently when I found out that Menu makes thier canned food. Any suggestions on where to go for simple, complete, homecooked meals for dogs? I barely have the time and energy to feed myself anything that doesn’t go in the microwave, but my dogs are worth it. By the way, my dad and I both train and show in agility, obedience, rally, tracking. . . I always thought we were pretty savvy about nutrition, conditioning and general dog care! This recall with NB feels like the final straw, I’m going to buy a big pot and get cooking! Advice Please!!
April 16th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
PLEASE CALL YOUR LOCAL SUPPLIER AND NOTIFY THEM. I just called mine, and she had not heard ANYTHING about this recall. I suggested that she go to their website to verify.
Bonnie — Anytime the pets eat grass, they have an uneasy stomach at least. It is a their way of treating the problem. Last night I posted about using Gemmotherapy to detoxify (see above). You can find more information on this at
www.thepetwhisperer.com/gemmotherapy.
I have been taking these products since Sept 2003 after seeing a Naturopath who specializes in this. I was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer — a very long story from then until now and not for this website. But I know they clean, heal, and build the body. I am not affiliated with any companies that make, sell or distribute these products.
5catmom — I do not know yet, because I am just learning as I go. But we should be looking on the web for information about Diamond Foods and others like American Nutrition (as above).
April 16th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
I spoke with a person in South Africa this morning.
Royal Canine was being pulled off the shelves there.
This is a global problem now. Not just a North American problem.
Lots of good recipes available online so I will continue to
cook for my 2 dogs…but they miss having dry food to crunch on.
I do not trust any of them.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I found out about the recall Saturday night when I went to Petco to buy the NB Venison formula for my dogs. The employee told me that NB felt there was either too much/too little venison in the formula and it was upsetting tummies. That sounded weird to me. She thought the formula was off, but made it sound like no big deal. (At least they knew not to sell it).
My last bag was a large one purchased at least a month ago, and we’ve had no problems (thatynks to the person abouve who posted exp dates). Unfotunately, I cannot say the same from my cat, who passed away about 6 weeks agof rom kidney failure. He was finicky and I’d been rotating him on all kinds of canned food just to get him to eat.
Can someone please recommend either a good, small dog food company or a good dog food recipe book/site? At this point, I don’t care how much I spend for dog food.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Regina,
A lot of people recommend Canidae.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
5 days ago I just bought a case of Nature’s Balance canned Venison & Pea formula for my felines. Just saw this Nature’s Balance recall and immediately called Petco where I purchased it. They said indeed it was true and that although it had nothing to due with the wheat gluton recall it was a quality control issue….. Have not noticed any stomach upset with my 2 cats that are on it but plan to return it anyway. ~Renee
April 16th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Ok… I feed my kitty girl the canned Venison and Green Pea. For the first time ever, she threw up the food this weekend. However, I attributed it to the fact that I had bought a 5.5 oz can, fed her part of it, put the other part in the fridge, and then warmed up the remainder before I fed it to her.
But it’s only the dry food right now?
Do they say why they are pulling it?
April 16th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
After my eldest (11 year old lab) dog ate other recalled foods, I switched her to Natural Balance. After just 7 days of Natural Balance, she has shown more mobility and energy than she has had for the last three years. She was switched without any gradual change. She did not have any gastric upset problems.
Last Saturday, I began gradually switching my other three dogs (all labs) to Natural Balance. None have had gastric upsets.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Update: This notice was posted on the Natural Balance website on Monday, April 16, 2007:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food. We are working closely with the FDA. We will update this website today, as more information comes available.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I don’t trust NB. Yesterday they announced that their food was being pulled due to animals experiencing gastric upsets. Today the story has changed; animals are vomiting and having kidney problems. I wonder what they’ll say tomorrow.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Bonnie Cresse -
My cats were eating the recalled IAMS wet and they vomited huge amounts of clear liquid. I am used to hairballs but this was terrible. The water-vomit was a typical complaint of the recall food.
I knew my cats had not ingested that much water - their 2 water bowls are tiny.
It made me think of a recent intestinal virus going aroung humans out here where huge amounts of water passed out the gut. This water was from the cell walls bursting releasing the fluid content of the cells. Again, the victims knew how much liquid they had consumed and the outflow exceeded normal outflow.
Watery bomit is a bad symptom
Take care
April 16th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I thought the voluntary recall by NB involves dry food only. I spoke with a NB rep this morning and she told me the recall was for the dry food only. I have been feeding my cats both the canned and dry venison and peas for about a year now. They have not experienced any problems with either. My one cat has food allergies and has to eat a novel protein food like the venison and peas.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
cardima Says: What to feed?
April 16th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
If you want to home prepare food join a group, get a book. For dog groups I suggest K9Nutrition at Yahoo Groups - all kinds of feeding, a list owned by Lew Olson, her website is www.bnaturals.com I think they also have one called Totally Home Cooking that I checked out once. For cats Holisticat, though they tended toward raw. Any group you join, please do some reading at the site first as most initial questions you have might have already been answered.
Dog & Cat food book: Natural Health of Dogs and Cats, Richard Pitcairn, DVM. Can use raw or cooked. There is also one by Donald Strombeck, DVM with recipes. These aren’t the only books out there. There is more than one viewpoint on how to feed your pet. Just because they differ, doesn’t mean only one is right. What’s most important is to look at your animal and see how they’re doing. What’s more the talking PFI buffoon at the Senate Hearings actually said - they (pet food companies) all have their own theories of nutrition. oh really?
Information site on nutrition, dog food company lists, etc.: www.dogaware.com, by Mary Straus.
The book, the groups and websites I mentioned are ones I’m familiar with and trust. Probably the most important thing on a long term basis is to not forget the calcium.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
I just called NB and told them that Paikea threw up on Saturday after eating the wet Venison and Pea Formula. I told them that I was just letting them know, and when I got home tonight I would give them the code number to the other cans I still have. Not sure if I still have the can from where she threw up.
AGAIN, I want to reiterate that it may also be that I fed her reheated food, which she isn’t use to, too. I have been feeding her NB for over a year now, particularly the wet Venison and Green Pea formula.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Elderta, I hope your kitty had a problem because you fed her reheated food and not because there is a problem with the wet venison and pea food. I just bought a whole case of the canned venison and pea and I’m at the tail end of a bag of dry venison and pea. So far, neither one of my cats seem to be having any problems. They have been eating the NB for about a year now. I’d be interested in knowing the code numbers from the canned food that you have.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
CAUTION TO ALL REGARDING SO-CALLED SAFE, ORGANIC PRODUCTS. I THOUGHT I WAS GETTING WHOLESOME, SAFE KIBBLE TO GO WITH MY HOMEMADE FOOD. THANK GOD, THE BAG STUNK TO HIGH HEAVEN OR I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY POISONED MY PETS WITH KARMA DOG FOOD FROM NATURAPET…
Karma Pet Food by NaturaPet has been found to be extremely rancid - I just bought it Saturday - Customers beware.
I have no idea if it is poisoned because the rancidity alerted me not to feed it to my dogs. I intend to get it tested. The company did not help resolve the issue and they hung up on me. I’m sickeneded by this…
April 16th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
If a notice was put up on NB’s website, it’s not there now. At least I can’t find it. Could someone please post a direct link? Perhaps my cache just needs to be cleared again.
I started feeding NB a few weeks ago, after the recall started. But first, before I purchased a single bag, I phoned and emailed the company, asking several questions about their food, how it’s made, where it’s made, etc… My email address and phone number should be in their system. However, they failed to notify me that they were pulling their food. I’m not sure how they selected whom to notify, but apparently, I wasn’t one of the customers they deemed worthy of notification. ANOTHER COMPANY HAS JUST LOST MY TRUST.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Rollo,
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
April 16th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
It’s right there on the home page in big red letters. If you’re not seeing it, it may be because you need to refresh your cache (hold down the “shift” key while hitting your browser’s “refresh” button.)
April 16th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I’m not seeing anything listed on their website either…. When I called Petco awhile ago the manager said it was indeed true and said that it was an issue due to quality control and nothing to do w/wheat gluton issues. He also said he could get a call at anytime and be told to put it back on the shelves…
April 16th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I have noticed a few comments here about watery lquid vomit & that it’s tended to be a sign of the recall issues. My cat has tried several foods since the recall started. I hate to open a new can of worms, but the one time my cat experienced the liquid watery throw up was during our Felidae Chicken & Rice experiment. I’ve never seen him throw up colorless liquid before or since.
I took him off of the Felidae because of compulsive 24/7 non stop licking that was definately caused by a reacton to the Felidae. He also previously experienced a less severe version of the licking behavior on Solid Gold. My vet thought it was an allergy to something in the food, but now i’m wondering….
He’s been on Natura California Natural Chicken & Rice for several days & everything (finally) seems ok.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Nanoogo……I know what you mean by dogs missing something to crunch on as I have 2 Shelties who I am now home-cooking for.
But…..I also started to make their “treats” too!…..they are “super” crunchy and the dogs love them!
Today, I posted the recipe for these particular cookies on the petsitusa.com blog……..it is on the comments for “pet foods NOT on recall…page 5″……hope it helps bring crunchiness back into your dog’s life!!!!!!…..:)
April 16th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Deanna,
I cant located your recipe. Can you post it here also?
April 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
To Bonnie Cresse,
Please contact the FDA Complaint Coordinator for your area. The info is available on FDA’s website:
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/back.....plain.html
When you call, if the screener gives you a bad time, ask for the supervisor.
The food supply is in BIG trouble, but they may not have figured THAT out.
Also, any problems, post again on ITCHMO.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Thanks CathyA!
April 16th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Just to clarify….
Not that I totally trust Petco but I did call back and talked to the manager again and he went and got the list of the Nature’s Balance food to be taken off of the shelf and said it was ‘only’ the dry food (Venison & green pea) and NOT the wet canned. Getting a busy signal at Nature’s Balance phone #.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Nanoogo……here’s the recipe here! I’m not that computer savvy….but my husband who is, got the recipe from there to here…..this should make it a lot easier than trying to navigate the other web-site for the recipe….good luck
Btw…..made my first batch of Dog Cookies last night! It was actually fun! And my dogs just love them!!! Here’s the recipe:
…..PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups Rice flour
1/2 lb. Liver (I used chicken)
2 eggs (whole egg/with shell….extra protein)
1 jar Squash (babyfood)
1/4 cup dry milk powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flaxseed
Instructions:
1.) Mix both flours together in large bowl and put to the side. 2.) Put ALL remaining ingredients together and puree
3.) Pour pureed ingredients into flour mixture and slowly mix together
till all is incorporated into a dough (if sticky just add a little more
flour.
4.) Divide dough ball into 4 equal sections…roll out 1 at a time on a
floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
5.) Using any cookie cutter you like, preferably smaller sized……place
the cut-outs on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for approx.
20-25 minutes.
It cost me approx. $6.00 for the ingredients…..and it yields approx. 12-14
dozen silver-dollar shaped cookies. After the first 6 doz. I wrapped up the other 1/2 of the dough and put it in the freezer for the next batch!
What you come out with…..is a super-crunchy cookie that dogs love (or at least mine do!) and it’s also nutritious and not full of crap….and it’s more economical!!! All it calls for is an hour or two of your time…but you’ll be glad you did….it was actually kind of fun!
Make sure that they are stored in an air-tight container!
April 16th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Thanks Deanna,…I’ll give it a try.
They sound good. May even try one myself ;-)
April 16th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I had done weeks of research and had finally settled on NB venison and green pea formula. I was so happy with it and trusted it. I cried all night long!! There is no food I trust. Does anyone use Wellness Indoor formula or Wellness at all? Maybe I should try that. The indoor formula has 30% protein, and the other ones are 36% Is it better to have lower or higher protein levels for indoor cats???? Help!! Please suggestions!!??
April 16th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Pet Supplies Plus, and PETCO in Ann Arbor, MI has pulled the NB Venison, and Brown Rice dry food off of the shelves.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Some of Wellness canned foods are made by Menu.
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/
April 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
OMG! I just hit upon this from cat channel’s forum where I was trying to get feedback on cat food issues! My sister (from Berkeley) has a 10 yr. old tuxedo diagnosed with fatty liver. She started having constipation/stool issues. The vet had her diet switched. The cat is getting Natural Balance venison/peas kibble for cats and her canned options include wellness and natural balance varieties! I’m with the St. Francis attitude — breathe deep, seek peace - but I’m also for the Mother Jones attitude — pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the livin’!!! Let’s keep each other informed and taking action by reporting all food issues!! This is a very useful forum!
April 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
When this whole scare came out I had switched to the Wellness brand as well. Cost wise it was up there for 12 cats and I then learned too that some of the canned was made by Menu. I now have switched to Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul (canine & feline) The dog and the cat’s love it and I ‘feel’ safe. And cost wise I think it’s quite reasonable.
http://chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
April 16th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I’m new to this site, and upon reading some of your comments, I’d like to make some of my own. I have worked in pet foods for the last 5 years at a small mom and pop shop in a small town in Pennsylvania. I’ve been an animal lover my whole life, and have had several different dogs, cats, and reptiles. I’ve loved each one of my pets like a child. That being said, I can certainly understand people being upset over the recent events and now over this Natural Balance recall.
However, people need to calm down, and stop blowing things out of proportion. It is not impossible for lethal contaminants to make their way into any batch of any brand of dog food. Even if you go above and beyond, and buy people foods to mix a properly balanced raw diet for your pets, you could still be feeding them poison. In fact, I’ve read a number of reports over the years finding that pet foods are put through more stringent quality standards than human foods are.
The fact of the matter is, these companies (grocery store brand AND super premium brands) are in the business of making pet foods for your animals so that they can make a profit. And this sounds cold, but it is not profitable for them to poison your animals. That being the case, these companies are doing everything they can to ensure they are making a safe and nutritous food for your pet at a reasonable price. If you want a food that is tested for every bacteria, virus, fungus, and toxin known to man, you’ll either have to learn your chemistry and test each and every piece of kibble before feeding, find someone to manufacture it for you and pay $300 per bag.
When animal feeds come to the point of mass production that they have, things are bound to pass through and be missed. The best you can do for your animal is make an educated decision on his food based on the ingredients and wether or not it matches the optimum protein/fat ratio for your breed, pay attention to the news, and take him to the vet at the first sign of something wrong. Personally, I feel this recall is being handled well. As far as them changing their story between yesterday and today, maybe yesterday they had more calls reporting gastric problems, and today they are receiving calls about vomiting and kidney failure. It’s not fair to call them a bunch of liars right away.
As far as brands go, I do not feed Natural Balance. I feed Timberwolf, which is actually manufactured and bagged at Diamond. Am I concerned that Diamond had a recall a year and a half ago because of Aflatoxin? No, I am not. It was a terrible thing to happen, however I feel that to keep ahead of that bad publicity, that company is going to be the safest pet food company in the world now. I believe that all of Diamond’s lines, even their standard Maintenance or Professional lines, are quality, and contain better nutrition than the junk found in Eukanuba, Hills, or just about ANY Purina line. I also believe that Natural Balance is a quality food. As I stated, I feel that they are going about this recall well, and I will continue to recommend them to my customers.
I’m not here trying to advertise for one company or another, I’m just trying to bring a little bit of sanity to all of the hype.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Pet store here just called me to advise that they spoke with a NB rep who said they started testing the food at midnight last night. Results were expected within 24 hours. They think the formulation contains too much fat. They also said they had received 4, count ‘em 4, calls regarding sick pets. Whatcha gonna do?!
April 16th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
So, are the Natural Balance Venison recipes still being sold on the internet?
I found these sites that have Availability “in Stock†for both Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula and Venison and Green Pea Dry Dog Cat Formula.
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com
http://www.petfooddirect.com
http://www.thehungrypuppy.com
http://www.jefferspet.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.nextag.com
http://www.arcatapet.com
http://www.smartpakequine.com
The only retail site I checked that doesn’t have it seems to be PETCO. Their site advertises the foods but when you go to buy it gives you the message “Sorry, that product is no longer available“.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Renee, Diamond makes Chicken Soup also. This is just an FYI so that you are informed. I tried this food a few years ago and my dog broke out in a million giant snow flake type flakes on his body after about ten days. They went away as soon as I stopped the food. Of course it could just have been his reaction but I don’t think that a food should cause a dog with no food issues to have snow flakes all over his body. That is just not right.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Thanks, Sue. I, too, am hoping it’s only because of the reheating problem. I really don’t want to change her from this food unless I have too… and I don’t want anyone to panic, too.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Da Wolf ~
This is not hype, sadly enough. I have owned my own pet food company for nine years now and know this industry inside and out. One thing you are really right on about is that these companies do need to make money and no one would argue that point at all.
I think what is at stake is these companies not differentiating between a profit margin and putting a price tag on an animal’s life. You and I are in different arenas, and if you would have talked first hand with people who have lost their pet and/or loves one who is permanently damaged, it might all seem a bit different to you.
My background is 30+ years of dog behavior and I saw this coming nine years ago and got proactive and started my own product line. Never ever thought it would become a ‘pet food company’ and I’m glad to be able to offer haven to these pet parents. I will spare the graphics, but I have talked with SO many and it’s all sad.
This will not be the last dry food recall. If you didn’t have a life, like me lol, you would find far too many reports of folks calling various pet food companies with ARF issues and just being placated and told “it’s not part of the recall” and that was that. The voice of the people needs to be heard.
I think it is worth repeating, that the cost of ingredients went sky high in Oct/Nov last year. Many products, both dry and canned, have been reformulated. I’ve shared that information to help people not be alarmed if their pet refuses a food they have always enjoyed. However, it is wisest to ‘listen’ to the animal and follow their lead too.
Also, I am dismayed at the lack of integrity that Natural Balance displayed when dealing with Therese over at thepetfoodlist.com. They kept changing their story about who manufactured the food and I was so disappointed to watch that unfold. Just check out this link:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=223
and you will see the series of untruths. Right now, I wouldn’t trust whatever they said and will wait for the FDA to make the final call on what happened, much like what occurred with Diamond Foods.
While I agree with you that it is not profitable for them to poison animals, I have to wonder how close of an edge some companies are running to cutting costs and QC that could have avoided this and what is yet to come.
If anything, if you read through the posts here and on other blogs online, there are far too many people who did initially chalk up the vomit, diarrhea, etc. to other things at first.
Natural Balance has aggressively approached growth, something I am loathe to do. I will only sell to retailers that I’ve developed a relationship with and/or can substantiate their reputation through someone who knows us both first hand. I have had several people inquire about becoming a distributor or retailer and my ‘always answer’ is, buy your first bag, get to know the product, get to know me.
I am leery to say the least of distributing through such large channels as Petco or Petsmart and have turned down brokers from both. Life is sacred and what goes into their mouth is as well. To each their own, but I’d rather keep my company pure all the way from the formulation to the retailer and all of the steps inbetween.
Dang I type too fast lol. Just please don’t trivialize a consumer who for the first time in pet food history is not just considering what to buy for value or excellence - they are rightly afraid of damaging their pet’s health or killing them. This is a time to err on the side of caution. I appreciated the comments from the person who discussed the integrity of the ‘top brass’ and watching their motivation and integrity as well as ingredient labels, etc.
Many pet have suffered from the industry failing them far before this. This is just one of the first times manufacturers are ‘outting’ themselves since it has become such an issue.
Consumers - please take the time to call the smaller retailers in your area. Over fifty percent of the stores I called today were not aware of this food being withdrawn.
Warm hugs to all FurAngels :)
April 16th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I called NB this morning after I returned the Venison! The Pet Store hadn’t evene heard it yet, but it’s true! They told me it was on their website but I looked and sure didn’t see it on there. Thanx so much for the heads up!
April 16th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I’m staying away from any of the companies that use Menu or Diamond. I hope that no other companies get added to the list.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Evy,
What’s your company? :)
Da Wolf,
Timberwolf has claimed no asscociation with Diamond. From their site:
Is Timberwolf Organics, Inc. owned by Diamond Pet Foods, Inc.?
No. We are a private, independently owned company. At one time, Diamond Pet Foods manufactured our food; however, we have moved production to another facility owned by another company (we cannot give this information out, as it is proprietary). They specialize in manufacturing specialty formulas of pet foods and meet our high standards for exceptional quality production.
We are certain that Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. is a fine company, but to answer the above question, we have no business affiliation with them.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Evy’s company is www.kumpi.com
April 16th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
teric - for good (time-proven, meet minimum nutrient requirements, etc) cat food recipes, please visit:
www.catnutrition.org
www.catinfo.org
Because they are obligate (strict) carnivores, cats have very specific nutritional needs that differ from those of dogs. (For example, the need for taurine, an amino acid that without they can go blind or suffer heart failure.)
I’ve used the above sites for making my cats’ food for over two years now, and they are doing fantastic.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Lynette,
Thank you for the info. Looks as if I’ll be shopping and cooking tonight.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I know that Wellness uses menu for their wet foods. I wont feed them the wet. Does anyone know where their dry is manufactured? All they told me was there was one plant in Kansas and one in Ohio. Besides the wet being from Menu, are there any downsides to the dry?? I am running out of options!! Is there a good company for dry that doesnt use menu for wet besides NB and blue buffalo?? And doesnt use diamond??…..
April 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Kumpi for dry and Canadie for wet & dry are the only ones I’m aware of. There was a post above above about Canadie that concerns me now. I emailed Canadie about it but have not received a response. I will post if I hear from them.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Yes, Natural Balance has it in BIG RED letters on the main page, but on the cat food page there is no warning, and it is recommending it for cats with allergies to food.
I called my neighborhood healthy pet food store this morning at 10:10 AM Pacific time. I was the first to let them know! After my class, I went in and gave them the itchmo.com URL.
Lacy– right now we are using the WELLNESS SUPER5MIX KITTEN FOOD (dry). I got it at the Healthy Pet Pantry. They really like it, and no problems so far, but I saw Tracy B’s note above. Now I am worried again.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Renee — you are using Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, which i have also used in the past. But I saw something last week about some of it too. Maybe on itchmo? Do a Google search and see what you find.
Da Wolf — very sensible comments. This brings some balance to the blog, but note my comments above. My store is listed on their website, but they did not e-mail her!! They should have a list of merchants to e-mail their recalls to. That is just being organized. I called the store, she looked at their site and pulled it off the shelves.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Joy — did you contact any of the companies? If not let us know.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
elliott Says: They also said they had received 4, count ‘em 4, calls regarding sick pets.
April 16th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Really, I applaud Natural Balance for jumping on this immediately at such a low complaint level. It does show their commitment to safety. And I would have been more impressed if they had put all of what you said on their website as soon as they notified retailers to pull food, not hours later. How can anyone miss that people are hyperalert, hyperaware and hyperanxious at this point?
Recalls are not a bad thing. It’s good they’re really paying attention. I expect there will be more recalls than normal over the next year. No one wants to be wearing MenuFoods shoes in the future. They want to respond to a perceived problem and make sure their food is safe.
And to all the posts about Diamond. I honestly don’t know what the beef with Diamond is. There will always be aflatoxin present at some level in grain. Before their recall Diamond’s procedures were to test every load. Where, exactly, that broke down and let grain with high levels into the plant I don’t know. It could have been the mistake of one individual employee. But you can bet, as one poster said, that they probably now have better safety procedures in place than many other companies. Because one thing is for sure, they don’t want to be faced with the situation of causing so many pet deaths again. Ever.
There are two differences in the Diamond recall and the MenuFoods recall. One is that aflatoxin is easy to find so the problem was isolated early. We still don’t know what’s going on with this situation, which just ups the anxiety level. The other is that Diamond didn’t mess around getting it done, which in part is because they knew what was wrong with their food. Oh and I don’t think they blathered on about putting it behind them either.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
So.. Wellness and a lot of other food have Tomato Pomace. What is that? And is it harmful? I know tomatos are harmul..whats the difference in Tomato Pomace?? Do these companies really do their research?
April 16th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
I called Canidae and asked them who makes their food. All they would tell me was that it is a plant in West Texas. They said that the plant also makes other pet foods. The lady said it was not Menu or Diamond, but said she couldn’t tell me any more than that. Does anyone know what plant/plants are in West Texas or where exactly Canidae is made?
April 16th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I do agree with CathyA that Diamond did get on it quickly and solved the problem when they had a recall last year. It has been a very slow process with Menu. Now we have Natural Balance who does not use Menu but uses Diamond. I would assume we will find out quickly what he problem is. I hope so.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I finally went over and read about the “issue” some people have with NB packaging/canning at:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=223
I don’t see this as lies at all. I see a communication problem. Let’s face it, people are lousy at it. Graduates of Universities can’t string two sentences together without grammatical errors. What they said and what they meant to say can be two different things, but not necessarily mean people are lying or spinning. Now that people are scrutinizing every word, everything looks like a lie. Looking at the term “co-produced” tells me, a consumer, not much. I don’t know what it means. The person writing the letter probably thinks saying that makes things clear.
All along, at all levels, this long ongoing recall event has had communication problems. Right now, I’d like to point out, again, to the pet food companies, that the worst thing you can do is delay any kind of communication that needs to get out to your customers. You’re doing a recall? Put it on your website immediately. If you’ve had time to notify suppliers, you’ve got time to update your website. Address your customers. Please.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
It always makes me uncomfortable when they wont tell you who or where it is made. Makes you wonder if they are hiding something. I was told the exact same thing. A plant in Texas. Where in Texas and what’s it called? Why is that such a difficult question?
April 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
[…] venison brown rice” and got nothing. Then I tried it with Google’s blogsearch and discovered a bevy of posts from the last 24 hours about problems with Natural Balance’s venison and […]
April 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I’m still sweating Friskies,I don’t know how they escaped the recalls? They are a purina brand. What makes them so lucky? I feel caught between a rock and a hard spot… I cant rest easy until this mess is over. I am so sorry for all you Pet owners who have lost your beloved friends…
April 16th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
WOW I called NB today and they had the SUNDAY message on at 2 P.M EDT ..seems they didn’t want to answer the phones for a while…sigh…so ever persistent I dialed up Accounting :) Got the info that yes this was all true and he would let the customer service dept know to turn their phones on…Later I come in call and got a lady..I didn’t like her blah and not so helpful attitude..That alone may keep me from ever buying NB again..I have 3 bags of NB TREATS one is Venision and brown rice….Um why would THAT he safe and not the kibble that is made with the same stuff….don’t make sense to me…..SIGH
April 16th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Tomato pomace is used by some companies as a fiber source. I know my nutritionist didn’t want to use it and preferred dried beet pulp (and by the way, there is NO difference between ‘dried beet pulp’ and ‘dried beet pulp’ (sugar removed) ….. since he likes it better for it’s ability to wick moisture from the stool in the intestine.
FYI Protein Fat Fiber Ash
Dried Beet Pulp 6.67 .8 19.5 5.3
Tomato Pomace 19 12.7 7.9 3
That is how they compare.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
teric,
I know. This is rediculous! WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW what is in pet food & our food, and WHERE it is made!!!
April 16th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
teric Says: “where food made proprietary”
April 16th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I don’t know why a company wouldn’t tell you where their food was made. I don’t know what makes that information proprietary. The pet food business is highly competitive. Has anyone ever asked them? There could be some legitimate reason for it I suppose. Especially now that some companies are bailing out on the MenuFoods plants. I would imagine that the availability of processing plants is low. Perhaps they don’t have a contract with the plant. Some other company could come along, offer more money to process and the first company would have to go on the road again looking for a plant.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Evy, Is Tomato Pomace toxic to cats?
April 16th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Thanks to everyone for sharing the info on the Natural Balance food. A week ago I began switching my cat from Hill’s d/d venison canned to NB venison canned. We put her on the Hill’s on the vet’s suggestion due to what seems to be allergic reactions when she was on chicken based foods (dry, canned, raw). I wasn’t thrilled at using Hill’s, but her symptoms did subside. Well she hasn’t had any problems on the NB canned venison thus far, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any other venison based canned cat foods not made by Menu? I wanted to try either Nature’s Variety or California Natural canned venison foods, but decided not to since they’re made by Menu. I’ve never used NB for any of my other cats, I only chose it to avoid supporting Menu. I don’t want to make any harsh judgements on this brand, especially since my cat hasn’t had any problems- but any info you all can share would be very appreciated!
Thanks
Lanie
April 16th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Evy, you may recall from petsitusa I had a concern about avocado fruit being used in pet foods. I did recieve a reply back from the ASPCC on my question on that also and it still seems up in the air. Tomatoes are supposed to be toxic to pets as well (including the fruit). So what is the deal with including into pet foods substances found on pet toxin lists? I also see holistic pet foods containing herbs (I swear I found one in my searches that contained gingko and maybe ginseng as well and it didn’t seem like a good idea). Is it the amount used? I know grapes are toxic now with my second cats but my first lived to 19 and occasionally liked a raisin or fresh skinned grape throughout her life. ;) She also ate pieces of avocado a few times, another thing I didn’t know about. But my new cats don’t get any of that “bad” stuff.
All this may be perfectly safe in pet foods but…?
April 16th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I have 3 cats all on the Ven. & Green Pea dry food and they are all now at the vet in sever renal failure! We also feed our dog the Ven. & Brown Rice and we are taking them to the vet for blood work.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Thanks so much to Evy and all the others who have been so kind on this site.
I just wanted to update that since losing Bella to kidney failure on Sunday we have been in touch with Natural Balance and with all the vets who worked on Bella’s case. They are coordinating the food and tissue samples for testing. We are also in touch with the FDA and one of the other families that lost a dog (and may still another) to this food.
I have also confirmed that at least two of the other young dogs at the animal hospital this weekend who were in renal failure were eating the venison and brown rice food. It does NOT cause only gastric upset and kidney “problems”! It has killed otherwise healthy dogs from at least three different households in Austin, Texas this weekend.
Please be sure your friends and family know to immediately discontinue feeding these varieties.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
ANONYMOUS, your post of April 4 @11:04, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I agree with every word you said from top to the very, very bottom! (—except for the fact that not all of us went into an uneducated panic, like myself.) I advise that people scroll up and read your post and some of the other similarly REASONABLE posts….posts that are using reasoning ability over hyped hysteria!
And I will add this: a long-trusted, highly vigilant, well-liked company, “NB” who has always been very cautious - according to long-time users - announces one thing DUE TO THEIR VIGILANCE, and all of a sudden a mass hysteria unfolds on this board, and “NB” is considered to be the worst thing that hit the shelves! Their short period of announcement timing was even attacked!
I, like you, also want people on this board to be aware that some people, very few people, will drop comments on this board that are not verified, documented facts…and will disrupt our learning flow about pet foods…and disrupt our progress.
All of this has taken the focus off the REAL issue: the REAL poison food companies, who have been DECEIVING us for YEARS…causing our babies to have illnesses, and deaths! Personally, I don’t care about what the poison companies have to say bec I don’t need to waste my time listening to proven liars! But I am finding out through this board that they are still deceiving us by being involved with some brands. Therefore, they are still making money on unsuspecting consumers.
AND this “NB” panic is all playing right into the hands of the poison companies!
April 16th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Hi, I have been feeding my pregnant cat the “NB” food that was recalled. I gradually accustomed her to the food for a week, but she is now having diarrhea. Is there any suggestions as to what I should start feeding her now. She will probably have her kittens in a week or two so I need something high in protein.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I just called NB to tell them that Paikea threw up after eating the wet food but emphasized it may have been due to heating leftover portions of the food, and not to the recalled. (She ate NB wet venison and green pea.) They have the numbers for the lot. I am going to change food, but I am going to stay away from the venison wet food for a while. Paikea *seems* to be ok. I just fed her a can of the Chicken and Liver Pate. I still trust this company.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
PS… she doesn’t eat reheated food very often (I usually buy the 3 oz cans, but this time I bought 6 oz cans because the store was out of the 3 oz.) So again, I just wanted to make this all clear so as to not cause panic.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
KATIE, I am so sorry about your very precious loss. I know that pain all too, too well. I empathize with you bec I also lost my “little girl” (cat) to renal failure in ‘05, and my Cody (dog) to the same in ‘98. I have never gotten over either’s loss, but I strive on as an animal activist in their memory for the sake of all animals, dometic and wild.
The one thing I learned as an animal activist is that a lot of times venison has a bacteria known as (sp?)Crutzfeld’s-Jacob disease. When venison is eaten by humans, this bacteria immediately goes to the brain, has terrible effects, and then death occurs. Generally, as far as I know, C-J disease can only be determined by pathological testing. Therefore, I believe it should never be an ingredient in pet foods either…and have never purchased any brands with venison.
I really believe with a firm conviction that we will see our precious babies again some day. They are always innocent…but it’s us who has to do our part to be good…Take care & remember that a lot of us share your pain.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
STEFANIE, please call a trusted vet about your situation immediately.
ELDERTA, please read my post to Katie about venison.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Does it make a difference whether the venison is from North America or New Zealand?
April 16th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
FMtz and teric (and everyone),
This excerpt is from an email that I received from Canidae:
“Our cannery is a small facility located in IL and able to produce the
highest quality products. This small family operated facility only produces
products that are of the highest quality human grade ingredients. Our
formulations were created by an outside nutritionist that has been
developing canned foods for over 35 years. You can feel assured by our
quality and product performance that our cannery holds the highest standards
in production, and is regulated by AAFCO by (NRC), USDA, FDA, IDA, EU
Approved and is Organically Certified.
Our dry foods are produced in TX. Our plant has been involved in animal
nutrition for over 75 years. The original pet food extrusion mill was built
in 1978. CANIDAE’s involvement with the plant sparked the introduction of
our own extruder in 1999. Our dry goods facility also regulated by AAFCO by
(NRC), USDA, FDA, TDA and EU Approved. We are currently under production
with a brand new plant at the same facility to keep up with the growth and
demand of our product line.”
The second person from Canidae that I corresponded with only had this to say:
“Our food is manufactured in West Texas. We have our own
equipment and our own building and so there is no possibility of cross
contamination with other foods.”
April 16th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
They recommended that food b/c the stuff they sell is the science diet that went on recall. I don’t trust any vet. The last time I took one of my baby animals to the vet, they gave it the wrong meds and it died. Any ideas?
April 16th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Sorry, I miswrote… I am NOT going to change companies from Natural Balance. I still trust the company. Thanks, Debbie, I will read your post on venison.
I think the probably with ‘panic’ is that many people have been burned by the Menu Foods recall, and then the miscommunication from Natural Balance when PetSit first asked them about their foods. I have trusted this company for a long time, and I’m not going to stop trusting them until I have further reason to. Anyway, good luck to everyone.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
FMtz Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
teric,
I know. This is rediculous! WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW what is in pet food & our food, and WHERE it is made!!!
I emailed them but have not heard a word back from them. We do have a right to know!!!!!!
April 16th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Lacy ~
Tomato pomace in and of itself isn’t toxic to cats or dogs at all. I have read some things where people have tried to draw suspicion into that, but there is no problem using it. I just talked with my nutritionist to verify that and his only real comment that I’d share is that he asked me to indicate that some companies use tomato pomace in their foods as a source of fiber. He prefers to work with dried beet pulp himself, since it is less acidic and prefers the ‘properties’ of the drired beet pulp vs. the tomato pomace.
But please do not worry about seeing tomato pomace in cat food or dog food.
p.s. my other website is http://www.kumpikat.com since someone did ask and only the dog food site was mentioned
Warm hugs to all your FurAngels :)
April 16th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Julia,
Thanks for the info.
It sounds as if Canadie is a good product and I hope it is as I have fed some of the wet cat food to my kitten.
I just received my order of Kumpi and the pups and kitties really like it. I am very impressed that the owner of Kumpi has taken the time to post on this board and she has given some really good information. I thank her for being concerned and taking the time.
One problem I have is one of my kitties must have a bit of wet food mixed with her dry and the pups want TREATS!!!!!
Evy, Do you plan to make any wet foods or Kumpi treats in the future?
April 16th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
CathyA,
“I don’t know why a company wouldn’t tell you where their food was made”
The answer (that someone else makes their food) doesn’t fit in with the product image they’ve created, namely, that Granny cooks it up on her stove.
Also, if you know they use a contract manufacturing company, you’ll ask tough questions about their QC processes. Who tests what & when, etc.
Purina & P&G have plants in China. They SURE don’t want you to know that!
I called Purina and asked what food products come from their China plant, and they said it was “proprietary information”. I said, “In that case, I’m changing brands.”
Companies that won’t answer your questions, don’t deserve your business because “those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing”.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
5CatMom
I agree with you totally.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
From the China Daily hust 2 months ago……
http://www.chinadaily.net/bizc.....800413.htm
Nestle bites into pet food market
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-03 08:55
Nestle, one of the world’s largest food companies, opened its first pet food processing plant in China on Friday in a bid to cash in on the nation’s growing pet-related market.
Nestle said it invested an initial 80 million yuan in the Purina Petcare factory located in Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area.
Nestle chose Tianjin, a port city close to Beijing, to meet demand from the country’s two largest markets - Beijing and Shanghai, said Sim Joohua, business unit head of Nestle Purina Petcare China.
It is Nestle’s fifth plant in Tianjin and part of its network of 21 factories in China.
Experts predict that annual sales of pet food in China might top 6 billion yuan in 2008, while the country’s “pet-related economy” could reach 15 billion yuan in the next five to seven years.
Sim declined to disclose Nestle’s market share in China’s pet food market but expects that “the growth rate will keep pace with growth of the pet market in China.”
The Tianjin factory is expected to produce some 20,000 tons of pet food a year.
Before building its domestic plant, Nestle’s cat and dog food sold in the Chinese market was imported from the United States.
The Tianjin factory increases Nestle’s competitiveness with rival Mars, which set up a pet food factory in the Beijing about 10 years ago and owned international cat and dog food brands that tapped the Chinese market in the 1990s.
(China Daily 02/03/2007 page10)
April 16th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
From the China Daily in February 2007
http://www.chinadaily.net/bizc.....800413.htm
Nestle bites into pet food market
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-03 08:55
Nestle, one of the world’s largest food companies, opened its first pet food processing plant in China on Friday in a bid to cash in on the nation’s growing pet-related market.
Nestle said it invested an initial 80 million yuan in the Purina Petcare factory located in Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area.
Nestle chose Tianjin, a port city close to Beijing, to meet demand from the country’s two largest markets - Beijing and Shanghai, said Sim Joohua, business unit head of Nestle Purina Petcare China.
It is Nestle’s fifth plant in Tianjin and part of its network of 21 factories in China.
Experts predict that annual sales of pet food in China might top 6 billion yuan in 2008, while the country’s “pet-related economy” could reach 15 billion yuan in the next five to seven years.
Sim declined to disclose Nestle’s market share in China’s pet food market but expects that “the growth rate will keep pace with growth of the pet market in China.”
The Tianjin factory is expected to produce some 20,000 tons of pet food a year.
Before building its domestic plant, Nestle’s cat and dog food sold in the Chinese market was imported from the United States.
The Tianjin factory increases Nestle’s competitiveness with rival Mars, which set up a pet food factory in the Beijing about 10 years ago and owned international cat and dog food brands that tapped the Chinese market in the 1990s.
(China Daily 02/03/2007 page10)
April 16th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
From the Gold Ribbon Rescue group here in Austin:
One of our beloved GRR dogs has been poisoned by the Natural Balance pet foods, and will not live. We have not seen this food mentioned in the news yet and wanted to get this alert out to everyone on our list, immediately. See the notice on their website: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
That makes for a total of 8 dogs in renal failure from eating this food that I’ve heard of here in Austin.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
NESTLE PURINA’S NEW $10M PET FOOD PLANT … IN CHINA
Here is a link:
http://www.howl911.com/
excert:
Considering how poorly regulated foodstuffs from China are, it is shocking to imagine Nestle Purina pumping out 20,000 tons of potentially poisonous or otherwise adulterated pet food. How many dogs and cats — beyond the thousands reported in the Menu Foods scandal — will suffer or die as a result of Nestle Purina’s China production plant and use of “local-purchased raw materials”?
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl.....688630.htm
article:
TIANJIN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Swiss-based Nestle S.A’s pet food plant in Tianjin Municipality in north China began operating on Friday.
Nestle invested 80 million yuan (10.26 million U.S. dollars) in the plant and it has an annual production ability of 20,000 tons. It is the company’s first pet food plant in China.
The plant will use local-purchased raw materials including bean, corn and wheat. Its products will be sold in supermarkets, pet clinics and pet shops.
According to statistics with the China Food Association, the value of pet-food sale in China is expected to reach six billion yuan (769 million U.S. dollars) in 2008 and the figure will top 15billion yuan (1.92 billion U.S. dollars) in five years
April 16th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Are all the stricken pets from NB in Texas/Surrounding? Any chance that a shipment got contaminated/spoiled from transport or storage?
April 16th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
5catmom I also agree. In fact I have now gone insane and have been calling human food companies to see where they source their ingredients. It took me three seconds to be told that Uncle Ben’s Rice is grown in the US (Not sure anymore that that is a good thing) and I was on the phone for an eternity with Campbell’s soup and despite asking point blank four times if they source their wheat and wheat gluten from the US or a foreign country, I was told only that their suppliers were safe, that their wheat was safe and that the answer was proprietary. Form your own conclusion. I also left a message at OMH regarding Neura (also makers of Wellness) and they never called me back. According to the petsit site, they say only that “some of our products are made at menu.” Why be coy. If they are proud of it yell it out. Yeah right.
As to Diamond, let them tell me that they don’t use imported or rendered ingredients and I would reconsider my opinion about them.
And as an aside. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was buying Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative by Donald R. Strombeck. I bought it and will say save yourself the $42. It was not helpful unless you know nothing about the pet food industry and commercial food. The recipes are not easily calculable unless you have a 30lb dog.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Hiya Teric ~
My nutritionist has been “anti’ two things since the beginning of my company. One was wheat in any form in pet food and the second was canned food, as in NOT. I will tred lightly here, since I know there are huge advocates for canned food, especially for cats, but he is concerned about the contamination with wet products and additionally does not like the way the minerals are introduced to a cat’s body in particular - he feels they can become out of balance and that a dry formula makes them much easier to control.
My cat is coming up on 17 and she’s been a KumpiKat now for four years. One of my vendors has a cat that she inherited at 18 and he will be 21 this summer - old enough to drink she says lol. He gets a “kumpi gruel” where she grinds the food down and makes a soup of it, since she had to have all of his teeth pulled when she got him. That is Junior on the kumpikat.com site. The picture on there was taken when he was six months on KumpiKat at 18.5 years of age. No wet food and honestly, until you’ve tried a solid good cat food, I’ve got to say, “Please don’t bash not using canned” until you have tried KumpiKat. Over 80% of the protein comes from meat - it’s a long story, but the product has amazed me - they all have.
Treats. No, I don’t want to get into ‘branding’ the Kumpi name. You can buy good treats out there and I don’t want to pursue growth for the sake of growth. Just because I can make money doing something doesn’t warrant doing it to me. There are no products that consistently perform as well as mine on the market and I intend to keep my focus on dry dog food and cat food. I have the most politically incorrect dog food label on the market, but when you read about the results and/or try one bag - you’d see why I need to keep my eye on what’s most important - and that is guarding the lives of our pets.
Warm hugs to FurAngels :)
April 16th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Evy, do you have retailers in Seattle for your food?
April 16th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Is Natural Balance Ultra Premium dry dog food OK to use… I switched from Royal Canin and my dog liked… Then, today, she threw up… We have been giving her Red BArn Bully Sticks so not sure if that what caused it…
April 16th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Evy,
You’ve been great and I for one very much appreciate your comments.
Let me just state that your stance on dry food is a bit controversial. Many people seem to think that cats on an exclusively dry diet will eventually develop kidney problems. What would you say to that?
April 16th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Ah, sugar - I posted as anon again. It’s Julia
April 16th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Thanks for all your answers Evy! You are great. So now that I am hearing reports of cat deaths to the Venison and Green Pea food should I get all three of my cats tested? They seem to be fine right now. I stopped giving it to them last night. I had one of my cats tested twice from the menu foods recall. Thank God he is fine. Now I may have to have him tested again. Does anyone think I should have all of them tested if they arent showing symptoms?
April 16th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Katie,
Very sorry to hear about your dogs. Please call the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for your area:
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/back.....plain.html
If the screener gives you a bad time, ask for a supervisor. Any problems, post on ITCHMO.
teric,
Thanks for posting the China plant info. Hope they get some GMP’s in place.
Garyn,
And you can’t pick up a box of human food, either, and tell where it’s made. Here’s a rice link you might be interested in:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01043.html
April 16th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Dear Traci ~
I don’t have any retailers in WA. My website has the various places out of state that do and this week I’ll be adding Las Vegas NV and Idaho Falls ID. I’m pretty skinchy about who I will let retail my food. But I will mention that a 35# bag of Adult retails for $40 plus tax and it ships for $48, shipping included. I’ve worked hard to make FedEx affordable for people who aren’t in the Denver Metro Area. To me, Seattle is just a matter of time :)
Anonymous ~
I know it’s controversial about the canned cat food and I’ll even take it up a notch from what I posted. Additionally, my nutritionist believes that if people would stop canned food for cats altogether, that over 50% of the urinary tract issues in cats would be resolved. Refer to previous post. I also have to offer the fact that his cats live into their 20’s, mine at almost 17 is like a kitten and there have been a surprising number of cats who have gone on strike against canned food when eating KumpiKat.
Without my response going into another novella, simply stated - when given the proper nutrition in dry food (which I do not believe has been consistently done by any company, cuz they put in just way too much grain, corn gluten meal especially) the dynamic of the body shifts. Before KumpiKat, my nutritionist did formulate a product with the supplementation we offer, but the company wanted by-products to keep costs down. With KumpiKat, the kitty is getting pre/probiotics, kelp specific to Nova Scotia (that’s it’s own interesting story), patented chelated minerals, digestive enzymes and yucca schidigera. All in at ‘therapeutic levels’ (enough to make a difference) and also the most expensive of each respectively. Given the proper supplementation via dry food and the dry food truly carrying more meat than grain protein - canned is not needed and can be detrimental.
I know many experts that do not agree, but a product like KumpiKat has never been offered on the market either.
Warmly hugs to all your FurAngels :)
April 16th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Lacy ~
Honestly, I would call your veterinarian and go into the details with them. How long your cats were on the product, what their overall health profile has been factor into the answer. I appreciate when people don’t opine about the subject of nutrition and I opine only from a source that has 35 years of multi-species experience. I am careful not to opine about veterinarian care, although I have steered folks in the direction of T4 panels for dogs I’ve gotten customers call about who seemed to be hypothyroid due to their breed, age and the ‘rat-tail’ and weight gains. There are some patterns I can help pick up on sometimes.
I used to teach dog behavior and one thing I tried to instill into my students was to find a veterinarian and stay put. It’s valuable for a vet to get to know you and your pets, that rapport can’t be beat. Also, some are willing to do ‘terms’ or take post-dated checks more from someone they’ve established a relationship with - and times like these, that can count for some people. Dollar shopping in veterinary medicine isn’t wise, since a good vet that knows which tests to administer vs. shooting in the dark like I’ve heard so many do, you save money in the long run. Doesn’t mean that the post expensive vet is the best either. And the vet who might be perfect for me, wouldn’t be for you!
Some prefer cats to dogs and vice versa. A lot of factors come into play, but a great relationship with a solid veterinarian can’t be beat! (ha, I love when my dog behavior lady gets to come out ‘n play)
April 16th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Evy,
That made a whole lot of since! I prefer NOT to use wet foods,…but my newest addition needs a med mixed with wet food at the moment. I like the idea of the gruel. I’ll give it a try here in a few minutes.
The pups love the food. My oldest cat seems to be accepting it quite well now. She was a little hesitant at first and wasnt eating as much as I thought she should. The vet told me to mix some of her old food in with it and guess what? She threw up. It was not uncommon for her to throw up a couple times a week. I can say that since she has been on Kumpicat alone, she hasnt thrown up (not once). I am very pleased.
Should you ever decide to change your mind about treats,…..let me know :-)
PS,..can you share your thoughts about some good treats?
April 16th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I’m reading through trying to figure out what is going on, hard without more information. I just want to point out that large numbers of people have switched their pets’ diets in the past couple of weeks to a small number of high quality brands. Venison and peas would give me indigestion, and I’m trying to imagine feeding it to a cat - let alone one with IBS. I don’t know why they’re saying kidney problems, but I don’t think tummy aches, barfing, and gas is much of a surprise.
Is there any chance people are taking animals whose diet they just switched to the vet with the resulting tummy aches, and lab work is finding subclinical kidney damage from what the animals were eating previously?
April 16th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I have been feeding my dogs the NB Venison and Brown Rice for over a year. I took my dogs to the vet this morning and thank goodness they all had normal results.
But I am scared to trust any of their foods right now. I bought the Science Prescription Diet d/d Venison formula from my vet today. I can’t say I even feel safe feeding this, but I don’t feel safe with anything right now.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
The last I read about (sp?)Crutzfeld-Jacob disease in venison, is that it was found mostly in the southwestern states of this country. However, that is not to say that it can’t be found elsewhere…and I wouldn’t take any chances on it coming from anywhere.
IMPORTANT: I see that we have several private owners of pet food companies on this site…and people are interested in purchasing their products. Not to say those owners don’t have integrity, but we have no proof of their standards or qualtiy, or any of the rest of the problems that we have learned about from the Senate hearings. Proceed with caution.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Lacy,
My vet suggested to have them tested if they had been eating any of the foods on the recalled list. She also mentioned that testing the creatine levels in the urine will show how the kidney’s were functioning. You need to get the urine to the vet within 30 minutes if possible or 1 hour if it’s refrigerated. (I have yet to figure that one out unless you have a cooler in the car)?
April 16th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Rocky thought you’d enjoy a peak at today’s stock market activity:
MENU FOODS closed at $4.20 (can), DOWN .94%
The chart is interesting:
http://www.tsx.com/HttpControl.....5&y=13
April 16th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Rocky,
Very glad it went down but wasnt it $3.?? last week?
April 16th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
The FDA has finally issued an alert/news blurp on its site about the Natural Balance problem.
==
FDA Statement
Statement
April 16, 2007
Media Inquiries:
301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
Information on Natural Balance
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was informed today, April 16, 2007, that Natural Balance Pet Foods has received consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. The company does not know the cause of the problems, but has received reports of animals vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the company is stating that the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, the company is pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.
The company is advising consumers to discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.
The FDA is working closely with Natural Balance and is actively investigating this problem. There is no indication at this time whether this is related to the ongoing pet food recalls. For more information, please see: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
==
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/.....01610.html
April 16th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Thank you Evy and teric for your replies!! Hmm.. The vet I trust is 30-40 minutes away! Im not sure that pee thing would work. Or how in the world I could get all three cats to pee around the same time! Haha. Bloodwork alone shows kidney levels too right??
April 16th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I just want to note: After reading about the Natural Balance miscommunication about where their food is made on http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=223, I have to ask “Is that what all the fuss is about?”.
The first response got the manufacturing location confused, and the second and third responses settled the matter. Sounds like the first employee who was contacted didn’t have quite the right picture in their head. That wouldn’t surprise me terribly given that they probably work at the corporate office, and not in the plants. Not only that, the second and third responses were verified by the two manufacturing companies. A far cry from “NB was evasive and changed their story many times”.
So… what’s the big deal? Why is Natural Balance being skewered for such an innocent and incredibly small mistake? From Tracy’s lunatic ranting and raving, I thought that Natural Balance had made some huge elaborate story and coverup. Instead, I find there’s almost nothing worth writing home about.
It seems that Menu Foods have not only caused pets to become ill and die, but have also managed to cause perfectly sane pet owners to lose their brains and become paranoid and panic stricken…
April 16th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
PAULA, Hill’s Science Diet is one of the major culprits on the recall list. And as we have learned, vets only push those foods bascially bec they get a kickback from those companies.
Once again, this is another example of people returning to the poison companies out of confusion and desperation…and having faith in their vets.
Personally, I am not aware of why people feel they need to feed their pets venison at all.
Paula, please, if you would like my honest, concerned advice, return that Science Diet to your vet, and purchase the organic foods, or buy another flavor of “Natural Balance,” or “Canidae,” or any of the other SAFE foods that people have been mentioning on this board.
And if it is of any interest to you as it is of great importance to me, Science Diet is notoriously known for doing gruesome, tortuous experiments on animals in labs…yes, cat and dogs. Therefore, I boycott all pet foods who are known to do this.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
New Zealand claims to have have never had a case of BSG/mad cow which is what causes C-J in humans. See the Country Pet website under New Zealand Bio-security:
http://www.countrypet.com/mad_cow_disease_free.htm
April 16th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Evy,
Thanks for the info you post. It’s been an education. Do you have anything that would help a poor old soul who suffers with hairballs?
I’ve tried the meds, but they make him vomit. He’s been throughly checked out by his doctor several times, and all his lab work is within normal limits.
He’s just not interested in most of the foods (wet or dry) that I offer him.
If you have something that would help, please post your contact info.
Thanks.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
teric, I didn’t know you fed Kumpi :)
lacy - check with your veterinarian about protocol on your cats; I probably would, but that is me; my dog and my cat are my kids
Ben - I think that Natural Balance telling Therese that they manufactured their own food and then had it shipped to a totally different company many states away is a huge lie. They were trying to dodge the bullet of being associated with Diamond Pet Foods. They also didn’t realize the impact of how their story changing would appear. I’m sorry, but the way I was raised, if you tell one lie, then you have to tell another lie to cover that lie. And when you tell lies, you are messing with someone else’s reality. It was mentioned earlier that integrity of a product needs to start at the top with the CEO, Pres or whoever and I couldn’t agree more. Also, point of manufacture would actually be well known by an employee, plus employees with integrity don’t answer questions during a recall without absolutely knowing their statement. Therese identified herself clearly and her intentions. Sorry, but if they only changed their story once that would have been bad enough. If you read the final statement, it clearly says that Diamond makes their food - period.
Debbie - Although I am the owner of a pet food company, please understand that I do appreciate your ‘proceed with caution’ more than I can tell you. My company is nine years old now and I’ve learned a lot about this industry from a very unique angle. I am happier as the years tick by and it grows. As per standards and quality this is a post that Itchmo solicited from me:
http://www.itchmo.com/read/a-p.....p_20070329
Being the vendor for the New York State K9 Handling Unit, The MTA/NYC and The United Nations Amb. Security K9 Detail for over five years now I think substantiates to a certain degree the standards I have held my manufacturer and my own company to. One doesn’t gain that kind of client longterm without delivering the quality of product that protects the investment they have in their canine police officers.
Warm hugs always to your FurAngels :)
April 16th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
BEN, 4-16-07 @ 4:26 I AGREE, AGREE, AGREE!!! It took only one person to start a major fiasco on this board that ended up frazzling more people who are at their confused wits end already! I hope people scroll up to your comments and read them…bec that is exactly the case!
Now perhaps any company with integrity will hesitate to make any little statement for fear of a lynch mob awaiting them as this has proven!
Amazing how the pet food companies have deceived us for YEARS, and all of a sudden they have become non-existent on this board bec one company with proven integrity has offered above-board statements out of real concern.
Ben, it’s good to see that this board is coming back to some sanity again thanks to observant and rational people like you!
April 16th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
5CatMom -
KumpiKat is known for freeing kitties from hairball issues. With all of my products, I offer a buy back guarantee and that is part of how the company has grown. I have worked very very hard to make this happen and appreciate the opportunity to share about the products with people. I’ve taken an obscure route and avoided all contact with anything ‘corporate’ and I would venture to say that I am the only pet food company president who was out in the garage prepping FedEx for pickup tomorrow after printing out the labels and doing all of the clerical work involved.
Pet food to me is very sacred - our pets to me are very sacred. Their hearts knit with ours in ways that words can’t capture sometimes. My nutritionist had mercy on my soul on how much he charged me for the formulas lol and I have worked my buttsky off for nine years - the first six of which I held down working full time in dog behavior. My love and interest is not centered on ’selling pet food’ because if it was, I’d have sold out a long time ago. I’ve opted to stay grass roots, since this industry made me crazy far before I started this company!!!
Anyways, cats stop puking when they eat KumpiKat or you get your money back :)
Ah, and my favorite thought - warmly warm hugs to your FurAngels :))
April 16th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
forgot to add:
kumpi.com and kumpikat.com (the only cat food I know named after a dog - but he loved my kitty)
April 16th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Evy,
Just received the Kumpi last week. Also just tried the KumpiCat gruel. She ate it just fine along with the Clavamox :-).
Laci,
Yes, they can do blood work to check the kidney levels along with everything else. They can also extract urine from their bladder with a needle. This always gives me the shivers. I dont know why, it’s the same as taking blood out and doesnt appear to hurt them or bother them as much. It’s just the thought I suppose. I like Evy, would have them tested to be on the safe side. Check with your vet and see what he/she says.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Debbie, Ben, et al,
I have not once suggested that Natural Balance knowingly did anything wrong. My intention is only to communicate the gravity of the situation so that people will get the word out to avoid this variety of Natural Balance until there is some resolution.
I know that my emotion around losing Bella makes me a suspect source of info, but I can tell you that this is a fact: Whatever the cause, several animals in my town are dead or sick with acute renal failure and they all happened to be eating this food just before they became ill.
None of us know exactly what the connection is, what’s really wrong, or who/what will be implicated in the end. But if you are feeding this kibble, stop now and wait to see what’s discovered.
This is not histrionics, it’s public service.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
teric - hooray for Clavamox Stew!!
April 16th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
EVY, you want people to believe you and give you a chance according to what you say about your company and what you claim to be substantiated, but you aren’t willing to give “Natural Balance” a chance over one error that was corrected. Suppose you made an error about something - perhaps you have for all we know, maybe many - the only difference is your error wasn’t nationalized. And you call “NB’s” error a lie covering a lie.
I’ve been in business, and I believe that one company who claims to have integrity should not bash another company of integrity…bec that is very telling about the company who bashes.
I’m not saying that you do not have integrity, but basically the lesser part of the nation has no knowledge about your company versus the much larger and established “Natural Balance” with proven quality standards.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
teric,
You may be right.
Last week, several posts from ITCHMO researchers sent Rocky on a search for duct tape and plastic. Rocky also began Chinese language lessons because, as noted, Rocky wants to be prepared.
Nevertheless, Rocky did observe MENU’s close on a couple of days.
At the close:
4/11/07 $4.12 (CAN)
4/12/07 $4.20 (CAN)
This chart shows MENU
April 16th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
5CatMom,
I have used Laxatone Tuna in the past for hair balls. It seems to have worked pretty well but you will have a cat that’s hissed off at you for awhile after. They dont like it. I had to put it on my boy’s paw in order for him to lick it off. He would lick off what he didnt flip off on the wall, furniture & carpet. It can be a real mess. Get enough in them and it works fine,..too much will give them diarrhea.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Debbie, Ben, et al,
I know that my emotion around losing Bella makes me a suspect source of info, but I can tell you that this is a fact: Whatever the cause, several animals in my town are dead or sick with acute renal failure and they all happened to be eating this food just before they became ill.
None of us know exactly what the connection is, what’s really wrong, or who/what will be implicated in the end. But if you are feeding this kibble, stop now and wait to see what’s discovered.
I have not once suggested that Natural Balance knowingly did anything wrong. My intention is only to communicate the gravity of the situation so that people will get the word out to avoid this variety of Natural Balance until there is some resolution.
This is not histrionics, it’s public service.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Rocky, you crack me up!! I have been following your posts and keep thinking, “Duct tape is the handymans secret weapon” lol.
Debbie, please slow down. Talk with Therese over at petsitusa.com and you might have a different perspective. I’m not bashing Natural Balance, I’m just disappointed k? We are not talking about ‘one error’ - please get all of the facts. And email Itchmo and see if I wasn’t the one who came to NB’s defense when he first started listing sicknesses reported to him about dry food. I am the one who suggested that he split out the ARF cases from ’sickness’ issues. Two different perceptions for the consumer. You strike me as a fair and good woman :) I think if you had the chance to dialogue personally with Therese and have the ‘facts’ about the NB situation firsthand from her like I did, you might reconsider. Then again, maybe not lol. Debbie, if bashing was my style, please know I have passed up some stellar opportunities to expose some pretty ugly stuff. Not my style k?
Feel free to check out my website about any substantiation issues - I’m either a very dedicated woman or a lunatic to say my food is AS FED BY the agencies listed. And you’re right, the lesser part of the nation will probably never know about my product and that’s cool with me. I opted out from a five million dollar offer from two advertising exec’s to take the ‘one pet a time’ way of building my company. I’ve got a structure that I’ve designed and keeping it personal with my customers comes first :)
And Rocky, keep me posted on how those Chinese language lessons are going lol. We likem you Rocky!!
April 16th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Rocky,
It did go up from the last time I looked last week. I think it was in the $3.40 area. “?” I cant beleive it’s not a penny stock by now. Of course you have to have buyers and sellers. I wouldnt give .0001 per share for Menu stock. Not much a volume at 25 trades.
Last updated: 15:43 (EST)
LastTrade 4.200 Previous Close 4.240
Last Buyer TD Securities Inc. Last Seller TD Securities Inc.
Open 4.340 Net -0.040
High 4.350 Low 4.200
Volume 27,200 #Trades 25
Last bid 4.170 Bid size 4
Last ask 4.240 Ask size 3
52 wk high 7.470 52 wk low 3.020
Dividends/share 0.000 Dividend date 1/1/1
EPS 0.350 P/E 12.100
April 16th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
omg, I can’t resist - teric …… thanks for the visual LOL
April 16th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
We all needed a good laugh :-) It is quite amusing.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Well, Evy… you sold me! I’m practically glued to my computer because of all of this mess. My father who is in his 90’s lost his cat about two weeks after the first recall news came out. He was feeding it Special Kitty.
My two cats were on Nutro (dry). I know it wasn’t recalled but, I was worried anyway because of their wet recall so, I researched and settled on Natural Balance. I bought the Venison & Green Pea Dry and Ultra-Premium Dry Cat Food. I mixed both those bags together. They ended up consuming about 2/3 of the Venison & Green Pea and this recall came out. They also ate some of the Natural Balance wet food but, not the Venison & Green Pea in that. I hope they are unaffected by all this but, I may take them for tests anyway.
Today has been awful. I have done nothing but cook! I have made chicken, beef and tuna meals for my cats. One will eat anything I put in front of her but, my male just looks at me so disappointed. He’s making me feel so worthless! On a good note, I also cooked for my daughter’s dog and she loves me now! I read all of your messages here and other places and placed an order for my cats and my “granddoggy”. Thanks for all the info!
April 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
To Evy and teric, my kitties are my kids too, so I will have them all tested. I hope there is nothing wrong with getting one of my cats blood taken three times in 4 weeks!! :)
April 17th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Thanks,
I tried Laxatone, and you’re right, he didn’t like it. Also, it made him vomit. I’d like to find a food he likes that will keep things moving in the right direction, if you know what I mean.
When I rescued him, he’d been hit by a car and could barely move. It took several months before he could stand on his feet. Now he gets around fine but doesn’t see well.
It’s hard to find a food that interests him, so his sense of smell may be affected. He’s just a goofy ‘ol guy, but very sweet.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:08 am
I’ve been feeding Natural balance to a kennel full of Lhasa Apso’s (and this breed tends to have issues with renal disease and failure) and have had absolutely no issues with it.
Dog nutrition is of great interest to me.
I just have two points I really wanted to post:
1. Do your own research on your dogs diet. I know many vets who have no clue about proper diet for dogs - and most vets were the ones pushing Science Diet, Iams/Eukanuba, etc.
2. Corn and rice (if it doesn’t say “brown rice” it’s safe to assume it’s white rice) are nothing but fillers. Cheap food. And adding salt to a dog food is questionable, at least to me.
My heart goes out to all the people who have lost pets due to all of this. It’s terrible to lose a best friend in this way.
The one good thing that’s coming out of this? People will be a little more informed and careful about what they feed their pets.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Marsha ~
While I’m glad you were ’sold’ my intentions go beyond any sales I make here. There is much education and perspective needed. I know the consumer has a short memory, but now it’s not just about recalls and tragic deaths. Sen. Durbin’s hearings had a great impact on me and I’m hoping steps are taken to fixing an industry that has gone unchecked for too long.
I’m sure that your cats and LACY your’s too, are fine - at least I’m really praying they are. And Marsha, that home cooking can really warm a dog’s heart up bigtime!! Cats, not so much it seems :) Mine likes the occasional nibble of white chicken meat I let her have. Don’t sweat your kitties disapproval - isn’t that part of the Cat Code to keep us humble?? lol Man, I think the best stories I’ve heard are about cats - egads, I love ‘em.
And lacy, check with your vet for opinions. They’ve got the whole picture better than we do - with all of the bloodwork you’ve already had done and the timeframes, more might not even be necessary. But please do shoot me an email at kumpi@earthlink.com and let me know k?
Warm hugs to FurAngels (mostly cuz it’s cold in CO!)
April 17th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Some of the comments on this site have reached the point of absurdity! There is miscommunication, misinterpretation, and false accusations have abounded. The explanation for this is that there are a lot of emotions involved, lots of confusion, and a dash of ego here and there.
How about we get back to the REAL issue, which is all of us sticking together against the poison pet food companies…who need to be held responsible?
They seem to have become practically non-existent because certain people on this board have chosen to stray from the issue for their own purposes rather than for the affected animals and their parents.
What happened to all the comments against those companies and all the efforts we should have in putting them out of business?
Why is the heading about “Organic foods going up, up, up” being ignored and not noteworthy to comment on? I find it odd that very few people are happy about that!
Why are we hearing on this particular heading that people are going back to buying the poison brands…and no one other than myself has been discouraging that? (please excuse me if I missed anyone else)
KATIE, there was absolutely no intentional indication to you in my comments about histrionics. My comments to you and to everyone at any given time are well-intentioned concerns, or at times, educated observations from personal experiences. And I respect and know your pain very well. I could still cry at the loss of my Tiki (cat) who passed away in ‘05. I’m sorry that you had construed my comments otherwise.
EVY, contrary to what you say, I am very well informed on this subject, but I do not claim to be an authority…I can never claim to be great authority about any subject bec I don’t have a big ego. So please do not tell me that I am not informed since I have been involved in animal issues for almost 10 years…and have more than a half a century behind me in dealing with people.
And please don’t tell me to slow down, while animals are getting sick and dying out there everyday…every day that those poison companys are in existence, the recalled foods are still on the shelves, and not enough people are informed on this issue…or still confused what to buy!
We need active, enthusiastic people who will not slow down and just let things ride….or read every single thing and do nothing but talk a good game on this board!
As I said once before, every animal is an individual who has individual food and health needs. No particular food will be the perfect food for all.
Ben had simply articulated this whole “NB” matter very well…at a time when us pet parents are experiencing our most vulnerable emotions…and the untrue rantings did in fact prevail out of sheer and unnecessary panic.
And I say again, everyone should read Ben’s comments 4-16-07 @ 4:26 so that is “NB” panic can finally be put to rest…and people are reassured of “NBs” integrity!
April 17th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Katie-what part of Austin are you in? Is there a concentration of incidents in a particular area? Do you have lot numbers for the suspect dog food?
April 17th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Evy,
When I say “sold” I don’t mean monetarily in any way. You sold me on your idea of what should go into a good food. I liked how you explained about not being obsessed by the first ingredient listed on a label. It doesn’t always tell the whole story. I was one that always believed if chicken or beef (or any meat for that matter)was listed first it was better than some other foods I was considering. Your article “LABEL DECEPTIONS 101″ was very helpful.
I too hope that something is done concerning our pet food industry. I never realized some of the things that really go on it it until this awful thing happened. Some of the things I read, I still have a hard time believing. I have read of all the recalls through the years and I worry. If none of those made a difference…will they do anything this time. They still aren’t owning up to how many animals really were sickened or passed away. The numbers they report barely cover the test animals at Menu. It’s so sad. This really didn’t have to happen. Somebody just need to care about our pets a little more than they did.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:12 am
I own a small independent pet supply store in CO - and have bred and shown dogs for some years. I’ve done a lot of research on the dog food industry, ingredients, and nutrition. I won’t sell anything in my store that I wouldn’t feed to my own kids (fur kids, that is). That said, I’m worried and disappointed with the NB recall (as it has been on my good list for years), yet pleased they have reacted so quickly. Our NB rep called us first thing this morning, we pulled the venison varieties, and are using the frequent buyer cards to call those that have venison at home.
My honest opinion on feeding your dog (and not always in my best *business* interest): Feed an organic, raw diet - balanced with the help of a genuine nutritionist. Second best? Home cooked, also with the help of a nutritionist. BTW, anyone can claim to be a nutritionist if they have an email, website, or business card! For those who can’t manage a home diet due to time or money - there are prepared raw diets, dehydrated raw diets, and then cans/kibbles. Feeding a commercial kibble/can does not equate to murdering your dog, as much as some extreme BARFers may tell you. It is all managed risk - if only we looked this closely at what WE are eating.
My six rules for dog food - and this has held up pretty well over the years:
NO CORN
NO WHEAT
NO SOY
NO BY-PRODUCTS (including fractions and derivatives)
NO PRESERVATIVES (chemical)
NO MYSTERY MEAT (or fats)
There are various reasons to use these rules - aflatoxins for corn, other toxic molds for wheat, high incidence of allergies, etc. Glutens, flours, starches, and mill/brewers/hulls leftovers are by-products in my book. I want to see whole grains. All grains are not created equal, and vary in terms of digestibility and sugar content. Beware of “splitting” - lets companies list “chicken” first (including all the moisture), and split the corn into gluten, ground, bran, starch fractions…often the corn actually far outweighs the meat protein! Cats are obligate carnivores, and dogs lean that way (but are wonderfully adaptable creatures). The higher percentage of protein from meat, the better. Sadly that ratio is not one of those items listed on the bag, but good companies will tell you as much as they can without compromising formulas.
If you are one of the many concerned owners that just can’t quite get over to raw or home cooked (they do have some down side in cost and time) - do learn to read the food labels and make an informed decision. I feed kibble to my own dogs, with some raw and meaty bones thrown in. I’m on my 4th generation of very healthy and fairly sucessful show dogs.
Dogs are living beings - and every one is different. Some dogs will thrive on duck and potato, others will get gas and loose stools. No different from us. I tell folks to try what seems best, and if it does not work, try something else until you find what is right for *your* dog - we offer 100% guarantee on all the foods, even if they just don’t like it. We can do this because all of the companies will replace our returned product…which is another reason we sell them.
I hate to see people lose faith in the entire industry - I do feel there are still good companies out there, and even the marginal ones can’t make a profit if they are casually killing their customers. It’s really scary when you don’t know where to turn…and if you feed a home diet for a few months until all this is figured out, it won’t harm your pet unless it is seriously imbalanced.
Remember - learn about ingredients and what the labels mean. Ask about sources, hidden preservatives, and % meat protein. All dogs and cats are not the same, and what works for some will not agree with others. Beware fancy packages with pictures of healthy fresh ingredients - read the back of the bag to see what’s *really* inside. The WDJ is a good source of info and ed about food - I could write a book on what I’ve learned in the last 10 years :)
Food is truly the cornerstone of your pet’s health, and it pays to shop smart and understand what you are feeding them. At this point I am giving NB the benefit of waiting until they resolve this issue, and hoping they did not have a terrible QC error (even the best can make mistakes) or even product tampering. Concerned that the problems are so localized…
My sincere wishes of recovery and resolution to those affected…
April 17th, 2007 at 1:14 am
Debbie, I merely meant to slow down on the NB issue until you had the chance to get more of the facts. I do not voice many strong opinions, but in this case, I did talk personally with Therese as she dialogued with the company. The reason it seems germaine to me to discuss the matter in the first place is the title of this blog.
I have dedicated nine full years of my life to offer pet parents an alternative to corporate America, I understand the urgency and immediacy of things. I’m right there with you, balancing the clerical/blue collar part of my job with staying in touch with pet owners who are needing really bad for someone to listen to their heartache. I’ve been there for them - it’s been that way for nine years (plus a dog behavior career) and will never change. It’s in my crazy DNA.
I have been ‘at my post’ today, calling many stores that were not even aware of the food withdrawal. I am doing what I can, all I can to help. Maybe my own urgency comes from having talked with so many pet parents who lost their kid. It’s been a lot of grief to absorb and there by the grace of God go I.
My mom is 87 years old and pretty spunky for her age. She lives by herself, maintains her home and makes me proud to be her daughter. If the tables were turned, and there was a food substance or safety issue that would remotely threaten her life (and I do agree with Itchmo’s WP post, this must not go away) my life would be turned inside out. It is ironic that she suffered from food poisoning in Feb. this year and I almost lost her. It’s hard for me to picture my world without her and it was a close call.
Was it related to the pet food recall? There are so many questions. What was the exact food that poisoned her system? I know she keeps an eye on expired food. What if I would have lost her? as I almost did. Watching this strong Estonian woman barely crawl and needing to sop up her carpets and floors when she couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time. All her weakness and frailty.
I think that defines something for me well. And that is innocence betrayed. That is what bothers me about things. This is about hearts being lost, eyes that will never gaze lovingly again. I so wish there could be an icon/place where we could light our candles and rest flowers for the pets who were lost.
My closing tag is not a whimsical thought. It is a true and heartfelt sense of wishing I could hug the FurAngels since they bring so much to an insane world. Today, far too many parents are facing innocence betrayed by the college shooting spree. For me, my pets are my kids and every night when I tell them g’night, I always ask them, “One more day, ok? I’ll see you in the morning.” And we clumber into bed, all of us touching in the comfort of love.
Tonight, warm hugs to FurAngels and even warmer ones to those who are missing one.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:26 am
I have tried the shift refresh thing and do not see on Natural Balances site the red letters about this recall …BUT I know it is true…
I am sad to see people trying to make money with their own pet food companies…..posting on this site. I would use MUCH caution with so called companies.
What a sad day when people come to where many have lost a beloved pet or fear losing on in the massive recall …to make a buck on the fears of others..I am not saying this ABOUT or TO anyone in particular but….beware…Make your own food before you ask other home based company to make yours..CHECK them out with the BBB …and state attorney Generals office….How long have they had a lisc to do this? who inspects them??? ..It could be trading one poison for another
April 17th, 2007 at 1:41 am
I stumbled upon another blog with a guy from Austin whose two dogs were also sick with kidney failure and he fed them Venison NB. They were getting IV treatment and were expected to recover.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:48 am
Regina I am sad to hear that they are ill but glad they will round the corner…I wonder what the problem is being it is a grain free food? Sad just sad.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:54 am
There is no excuse to say the site where food is manufactured is ‘proprietary’. Except deceit.
Competitors the industry can always locate the factory where stuff comes from - they just follow the trucks. The location is being kept secret from consumers because of fears of liability. If a factory makes products for more than one brand, and any brand on the list kills pets, then everything known to come out of that factory takes a dive.
If you know a poison product comes out of there you will shun it - rightly so.
This is not a hysterical panic. Dogs and cats are dropping dead everywhere, mostly from renal failure. I personally know of two dogs, and one cat dead, and my own cats sick. That is 6 households that I know in Taylor Michigan.
This is a horrific problem. The deceit of the resellers is prolonging the problem.
You can know where items come from. The label ‘Product of USA’ on food means it is USA ingredients. Otherwise they have to label it ‘Made in USA’. You may have noticed that in the last year almost all big brands have switched to the ‘Made in USA’ moniker for foods. A shame.
Save-a-lot canned goods just switched. However, Save-a-lot dry rice is ‘Product of USA’ That means grown here. ‘Made in USA’ may be US grown but it may not.
The big companies and resellers are also hiding behind the ‘Distributed By’ label. They pay someone else to make it. Then they are simply distributors even of their own brand name. They have shifted the liability to the manufacturer and hidden the source of ingredients and even the country it was from under this devious label. This is basically what is happening in pet foods.
Pet foods. Made in USA. By someone secret. Containing ‘meat by products’ which is who knows what from who knows where. Doesn’t have to contain any american ingredients. Suddenly the stuff from China no one would ever buy for their pets is being slipped into the most expensive and promoted brands.
That is what proprietary really means. it means - ‘we are not going to tell you anything sucker, or you wouldn’t buy this junk’. Oh, and if your pet gets sick that is just a tummy upset. If it dies stop acting so hysterical. You can trust us. Because our stuff is distributed by us.
I do not want one molecule of stinking Chinese food product in my pet’s stomach. Not anymore.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Ok I give up-my small inside dogs always eat dry food-but after the 1st recall-just the name Nutro scared the hell out of me-so after careful consideration in the pet food aisle of our local pet store I choice Natural Balance-chicken/rice/lamb formula-$39.99 for 35 lbs-didn’t matter cause my dogs are everything to me-what a waste of money-I’m throwing it out-
My outside dogs have eaten dry Pedigree small bites for years-can anyone tell me who REALLY makes it and is it safe??
Also does anyone have a good homemade dog food recipe???
My heart goes out to all who have lost a pet or are dealing with one that is sick–
April 17th, 2007 at 2:02 am
e wem - I don’t think this particular ‘recall’ has anything to do with ingredients from China. Though some brands are def going that way, NB seems to be pretty good. Agree with the sentiment though - and thanks for the lesson on Product vs Made in USA - didnt know that!
April 17th, 2007 at 2:04 am
Sandy - glad to see someone else is sickened by the profiteering ;)
April 17th, 2007 at 2:10 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/imp.....x9rA0DW7oF
April 17th, 2007 at 2:16 am
Glad too I am not alone Coloradocatguy. I do not like to see that kind of thing. BTW..I am a cat mom and dog mom and watching this thing unfold is a nightmare.
I lost a dog to Rimadyl ages ago and was in a class action suit against them and know the kind of things that hit boards when people are afraid..Makes me sad to see people making a buck of others fears. A few weeks ago a friend told me she heard of a guy that makes food at his home out of state from her….I told her make HER own don’t know what you are gonna get. Nice to meet someone on here..I didn’t think anyone saw me
April 17th, 2007 at 2:28 am
We took my older cat in to the vet last night and were told he has renal failure (his kidneys were already a little chronic, but he suddenly went off the charts). He has a heart condition that means that treating the kidney problem could very well kill him outright. And, yes, he had Natural Balance for the past two weeks. We took our younger cat in this morning to get his levels checked.
I am SO ANGRY right now I can hardly even type this.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Marisa, I am so sorry :(
If it helps any *I am sure a very small help* I know they have a CRF site on yahoo and the people there all have BEEN there and know how to do the subq fluids even with the heart issues..they can help you sometimes they seem to know the ropes and take more time than ones vet can. I do not know if we are allowed to add links here but google crf…Also the site imom.org can help you find that site…..and help you help your kitty….I would be mad too.
I am just so sorry for you ..your kitty and all the dog and cat moms and dads who are in fear and ain right now….I fear any time I could join you all
April 17th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Marisa,
I’m so sorry to hear about your older cat. You have every right to be angry. This is just so awful. I hope your younger one checks out fine. Were you using the Venison & Green Pea wet or dry food?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:00 am
I have been using Venison with Sweet Pea dry and wet for my cat for about 6 months or longer and switching will make him vomit. I’m also on my second 30 lb bag of Venison and Brown Rice for my dog. I did notice both them vomiting but I didn’t think it was the food. I hope no harm has happened to them. I am going to take it back tomorrow morning.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:15 am
Tracy, you are obviously very upset and you keep stating that Natural Balance LIED. However, you NEVER said what it is that you think they lied about.
Natural Balance is a very very good product. And with any dog food you have to transition your change of their diets. If you do it drastic they will throw up or have diarrhea. And I do think that people are scared and changing their pets food drastically.
Natural Balance is and will continue to be the pet food of choice as far as I am concern. My Maggie has been on it since I got her and never had a problem.
By Natural Balance doing this as a precaution and offering to give you another flavor or reimburse you your money I think that tells you how concern they truly are.
Has any other company done that? NO
April 17th, 2007 at 3:17 am
My cat started throwing up Saturday and continued through this (Monday)morning. After hearing about the recall today, I called NB’s 800 number to report the problem. They asked if I had been feeding the dry venison food, I said no, and the NB rep said, “Oh, then it’s not related to our recall.” I explained that I knew that but assumed that the company was keeping track of all customer complaints re: pet sickness, regardless of which flavor was involved. Basically, I had to ASK the NB rep to take my information. I wasn’t talking about the venison flavor, thus, she wasn’t interested. Eventually she did take my information, at least she told me she did. But still…. Something is terribly wrong here.
Also, I’ve gotten several emails from NB over the past few weeks. But I have not received any notice of this recall. I don’t know who Joan is, but I’d like to know her tips for getting emal alerts about recalls from the pet food manufacturers themselves. I don’t want to have to rely on blogs or scan the internet for press releases every day for the rest of my life to see if my pet food has been recalled. NB didn’t have their act together enough to notify all the customers in its data base. Nutro hasn’t replied to customer emails in a month. These smaller recalls don’t always make the news. How are we to stay informed without making internet food safety searches a part of our daily lives?
April 17th, 2007 at 4:03 am
2 unrelated comments:
1. It does seem that Austin Texas is getting more then their share of NB related deaths (also see http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/forums/ ) I wonder why?
2. I strongly believe that Evy is one of the “good guys”. I’ve seen her bashed on 2 seperate forums (mostly by one specific person on each forum) & don’t quite get it. I don’t see a prifiteer here (nope, that’s menu, Iams, Diamond, etc), I see someone who deeply cares. Isn’t that the sort of person we WANT to see in this industry??
April 17th, 2007 at 4:09 am
e wen,
Excellent post.
Evy,
I noticed your first ingredient is corn meal. From what I’ve been learning, corn meal is not something I want to be feeding my pets. So, can you please explain to me why this is your first ingredient?
April 17th, 2007 at 4:52 am
If it was found that an expensive grain free product with its own facility was causing death because of formulation or contamination- would the pets be any less dead?
No matter what the brand or how good the reputation it means someone isn’t doing their job. It’s one thing to have a nasty looking fray on a blouse because an inspector missed it. The technology exists for these companies to check and recheck their products, ingredients and formulas BEFORE their food hits the shelves.
Remember, not all pets that eat recalled food get sick. Because yours didn’t doesn’t mean they were any more than lucky.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:12 am
People experiencing problems with NB food could you please indicate where you live? They say it MAY be contained to a particular lot but not any more info. I know that you are very busy helping your family but please help us other users of the brands users to maybe pinpoint an area of sales of the product. I am truly heartbroken and enraged at all of this and wish everyone all the luck and hope for safety I can with all my heart. This is complete bullshit!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:48 am
FDA.GOV Posted this On the 16th:
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was informed today, April 16, 2007, that Natural Balance Pet Foods has received consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. The company does not know the cause of the problems, but has received reports of animals vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the company is stating that the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, the company is pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.
The company is advising consumers to discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.
The FDA is working closely with Natural Balance and is actively investigating this problem. There is no indication at this time whether this is related to the ongoing pet food recalls. For more information, please see: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
April 17th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Oh and my cat has been throwing up every now and again since I put her on this food a good 2 months ago, atleast.
So NOW who do you use??
April 17th, 2007 at 6:53 am
All I know is I have had my dogs on this brand for years. I trust this company to do what’s right. I switched to their ultimate dry food, and I will keep using this brand. My dogs are healthy and quite happy with this food. I am happy with it as well, because it does have better ingredients than most other brands. They are not the bad guys in my books, just overly cautious.
[I am just a consumer, giving my 2 cents.]
April 17th, 2007 at 7:13 am
please do not formulate your own homemade diets. You will do more harm than good.
There’s an excellent website, www.petdiets.com where they will SELL you (yes, SELL) a nutritionally complete diet. These people are certified veterinary nutritionists and professors in small animal nutrition.
For a higher price, they will design a custom diet for pets with special needs.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:10 am
It’s fine to believe a company is reputable but is that reputation based on luck, or quality control and state of the art testing?
They need to assure us they’re doing their best. I don’t care if it means opening up phone lines at 2AM or issuing an update on progress after hours. The anxiety of waiting for news is difficult enough without feeling like it’s at some else’s convenience.
Each company should be able to log in to a secured central site via code and issue updates (even if it’s just “we’re working on it”) and recall notices at any time of the day or night. No more searching for information or waiting for a tech person. If someone can type they can do it. The same goes for some type of access to send an Instant Message for anyone that suspects a problem with food.
Between all these companies they could afford to spend the bucks for a 24hr information center.
It’s not fair to place the burden of getting it right and getting it now on the people that have volunteered so much of their life checking and double checking all of this. Bless them for everything but they shouldn’t have to do it.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:13 am
I keep seeing / hearing references to the a specific lot of NB being suspect, but as a precautionary measure they are pulling the products. Why is there no information on WHAT lot numbers are suspect? I called NB this morning and ironically their phone system is not working. HMMMM…
April 17th, 2007 at 9:49 am
I switched to Natural Balance chicken & brown rice for cats two weeks ago. The first bag was great and all my cats loved it. The second bag bought shortly after was much darker and smelled almost sour. I thought that since I was so new to NB that it might be like this as a normal thing. Anyway, I fed it to my cats and they all got loose stool that smelled just like the sour smell of the food. I immediately stopped feeding it to them and returned it to Petco. I wrote down the exp. date and lot number and planned to call NB with the info; unfortuneatly the hours they are open are not the hours I can get to a phone. Anyway, I going to report this today finally because it was the chicken formula not the venison. Here is the link to my post on the 8th to verify
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=246
When I saw NB on the news this morning I freaked out since I went back to NB a few days ago (after sniffing it numerous times to make sure it didn’t smell sour) because two of my cats didn’t like Spa Select. Anyway, these new bags smell fine and no loose stool or vomiting but obviously I’m too scared to keep giving any NB to my cats… guess it’s back to Spa Select for now and hope the two cats will eat it…
Just a heads-up that everyone should check the chicken and it was interesting that a post above listed a bag of pot. & duck as being oddly dark, too!
April 17th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Oh, I’m in Illinois.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:15 am
The NB website is hard to access today, too (someone in the upthread sad the phone system was not working). It could be there are lots of people trying to access them.
Geff, you made my point exactly, Austin, TX seems to be getting a lot of cases. I’d be interested to know where other cases are, too. The cases I heard about are not upset tummies, but full-on kidney troubles. I sent a “heads-up” to all my friends there with pets. (I used to live there)
April 17th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I’ve heard unconfirmed reports from local vendors that the Natural Balance recall is due to some food being left out on a loading dock in the heat. A food w/o lots of preservatives needs to be handled accordingly.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:00 am
WHat other pet food companies does Natural Choice sell their product to for pactaging under other brand names? Does anyone know? Remember they Make their most from sales to smaller/cheaper companies.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’m not disputing that may have been what happened but it hasnt been that hot. I read someplace the concern were bags distributed over the last few weeks were of concern. Austin seems to have reported quite a few problems. It’s been quite cold in Texas. I’m not sure about Austin but it snowed Dallas last Easter Sunday. Austin isnt that far from Dallas.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:20 am
There is a report on the petsitusa.com blog that NB has confirmed melamine is in their food. Go here http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=251
search for “holy effing” to find the post.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:25 am
For what it’s worth, I called NB yesterday after I heard about the recall and was told by a NB representative that the cat food in question had an expiration date of Sept. 28 or 29, 2008 and would have been in stores for sale in the last 2 weeks.
Fortunately, the bag of dry venison and peas that I am feeding my cats was purchased over 3 weeks ago and had an expiration date of June 2008.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Here’s a better link for the post I referenced above egarding NB & melamine
http://thepetfoodlist.com/foru.....opic=70.15
April 17th, 2007 at 11:34 am
It’s amaziing how a company does the responsible thing and recalls the food because there were some complaints and they are the devil. If they shut up and did nothing about it, they’d also be the devil.
There is NO way to be 100% positive that anything you feed yourself, your pets or your family is 100% safe…even the simplest of foods i.e. spinach and salads have come up contaminated.
I’m just praying that those of you who decide to feed your dogs primarily homecooked foods do your research. I’m guessing all the hormones, anitbiotics and feeds they feed farm animals that your putting into yoru pets is any better?
April 17th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Our dog has food allergies and suffers from atypical Addisons disease (which requires her to be on Prednisone daily). Her diet is very important and particular. She had been doing very well on Nature’s Recipe Venison and Brown Rice, but one day my Mom decided to switch her to Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice because a sales clerk at PetCo told her it was the best. I should have insisted it be returned, but the bag had been opened, so we started to mix it with her previous food which we had some left of.
She had some vomiting during the first few days transition, which my Mom chalked up to the change of diet. As we continued the transition, the vomiting went away, but she became noticably more flactuant and we also noticed little signs that she wasn’t feeling quite well. At this point, we had no reason to believe there was anything seriously wrong with the food, but we decided to switch her back to Nature’s Recipe gradually.
We just finished phasing out Natural Balance Venison and Rice about a week and a half ago and our dog was noticably feeling better and her flactuance problem was completely gone.
During the time she was on Natural Balance, she also was asking to go out more to urinate. We were concerned enough to bring her to the vets once and she was put on an anti-biotic and had her Prednisone slightly increased (improper management of Atypical Addisons Disease can lead to kidney problems), both as a precaution. She seemed to get a little better, but after two weeks, the symptoms were seeming to return. Then she seemed to get noticably better on her own. I hadn’t made the connection until now, but it was after she had been phased completely off of Natural Balance that she got better.
I’m now hoping that no permanent damage was done, she’s a very large dog (130 lbs. Anatolian Shepherd Dog) and she was never transitioned completely to Natural Balance, but over the course of two or three months, she was fed the entire 40 lbs. bag.
*I want to stress that even when she was on just a small portion of Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice, her flactuance problem was pronounced (not only in frequency but in odor) and she was experiencing some urinary problems. It was only once she was completely off of it that she showed dramatic improvement in both areas. That gives me concern over the potency of the agent or contamination that resulted in this recall.
**Also, for those saying that it reportedly is a problem with a recent batch, the recall is for ALL date codes of the two Natural Balance products, so I’d be very concerned that any word that it’s a recent problem only are misinformed or the result of spin by the company.
(Finally, I hate to give any product recommendations, because in this current environment we are all just holding our breaths waiting for the next shoe to drop, but for those who need a Venison and Brown rice alternative due to a pet with food alergies or other concerns and aren’t able to go with a fresh raw or cooked diet, the Nature’s Recipe Venison and Brown Rice has been very good for our dog and might be a possible alternative for some effected by this recall).
April 17th, 2007 at 11:50 am
After researching different pet foods I finally settled on NB Venison and Green Pea for my cat. So many people reported that their cat’s skin and food allergies went away on this diet so I thought I finally found something for my cat. We began switching his food about 4 weeks ago and had no problems. His skin allergies cleared up and he had the most energy I have seen in over a year. On April 9, I noticed he was urinating several times an hour. I looked closely and saw blood we took him to the vet and confirmed that he had a urinary tract infection. The vet suspected the food as being too basic but told us to keep him on it since it had helped so much with his skin and energy. He began vomiting 4/11/07 and the vet said it was possibly the antibiotics and not to change his food. He is still urinating frequently and drinking a lot of water. He would not touch his food on Friday or Saturday so I gave him freshly cooked turkey breast. He ate it and did not vomit at all. Vomiting is obviously not due to his antibiotics (he has been on them before). Monday he ate some of his food and vomited all of it up. Today 4/17, I saw the recall and immediately called the vet and told them. They have my cat now and are running tests on him. I tried to call NB to find out the lot number of the dry food but the line has been busy all day.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Paul,
I think we are all holding our breath and just hoping the food we are now feeding wont be recalled. Fortunately we dont have to worry about the recalled olives in our pet foods.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
You mention the “who makes what” article several times throughout this blog. Can you please direct me where to read it? I have been feeding NB since my boys were pups (2 years) and have never had anything but great success. I was under the impression that NB manufactured its own food. Now I am very concerned.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
On thepetfoodlist.com I have found someone who lost a dog from eating NB and said they just heard from NB and that the company confirmed melamine.
!!!!!
not sure if this is true but here’s the post and forum:
http://thepetfoodlist.com/foru.....316#msg316
April 17th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I just want to let people know that I fed my dog Natural Balance Reduced Calorie Formula that does not contain venison which they are stating is the issue with their recalled food and he threw up immediately. I cannot get through to them nor the FDA so I am trying to get the word out to others to beware.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
[…] Natural Balance ABC7 Itchmo « Previous Post | Main […]
April 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I just called NB and spoke with someone about the melamine issue and all I was told was that they are working very closely with the FDA on finding the cause of whatever is wrong with the food. She would not confirm the melamine or anything else. Maybe they are hiding something or they really just don’t know yet, but for now it is just the two flavors and the cause of the problem is as yet unknown. She was very nice and listened to what I had to say but I couldn’t tell if she was hoding anything back or not.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
FMtz ~
Thanks for asking!
I’ll start with a quote: “Corn is nutritionally superior grain compared with others used in pet foods because it contains a balance of nutrients not found in other grains.†- Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th edition
Then some facts:
Ground Corn is 89% digestible.
Corn is one of the best sources known for linoleic acid.
Corn oil is one of the best sources of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids including linoleic acid which is great for skin and coat and has been listed as one of the most essential nutrients for cats and dogs next to protein and fat.
Corn provides essential amino acids and fiber.
Fnally, some myths:
Corn is indigestible! Not true, the outer shell of corn is impervious to stomach acids, but ground corn suffers no such shortcoming.
Corn is an allergen! The only proven way to find a food allergy is to remove your animal from all medication, feed whole, natural foods not usually eaten by that animal, then introduce foods back into the diet one by one. Even with this method, food allergies are extremely rare. Of 200 confirmed cases, corn caused only 3. Think about this… to even confirm an allergy is rare. Of the few cases confirmed only 1.5% resulted from corn. In a survey of veterinary dermatologists, corn was not listed among the ingredients most often suspected to cause food allergies.
The fact of the matter is we continue to use corn because there’s nothing better. I WISH THERE WAS! LOL, then we would take it out and replace it… but we’re not cowards and we won’t remove an ingredient we know to be highly valuable just beacuse misinformation has given it a bad rap. We would sell twice as much food tomorrow if we replaced it, but your animals would not be as healthy… we’ll wait back and fight the stigma until the tide swings back the way of truth.
FYI, the corn we use is non-GMO grade one. Help set some minds at ease.
http://www.itchmo.com/read/a-p.....p_20070329
That is a link to some info that Itchmo solicited from me.
I have always said that I have the most politically incorrect dog food label on the market. If you read Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins rebutal to the Pet Food Industry man from the senatorial hearings, you will find her comments on how the industry ’splits out ingredients’ implicating that meat as a first ingredient makes it a superior food and she called it “smoke and mirrors”……that is the first professional I’ve seen call it like it is. She said that doing so has allowed the industry to sell too much cereal in their foods. AMEN!!!!
My nutritionist told me years ago that I could LOOK like the best dog food or BE the best dog food. But that in the court of public opinion I couldn’t do both. Obviously, I want to BE the best and all of anyone’s *opinions* won’t sway me. He not only knows the science of nutrition, he knows the chemistry behind each of the ingredients used.
It has made really sad to see “I am so and so and I believe thus and such” about nutrition. Much of what I see parrotted online are myths and false science. If you check out my website, there are faq’s at kumpi.com to read as well. That and the Itchmo blog covers a lot of bases.
IF after reading Dr. Hodgkins statement and seeing how one ‘fact’ really is smoke and mirrors after all (i.e. this wanting to see a meat as the first ingredient) doesn’t cause you to wonder about the other ‘facts’ you are reading about, then I can’t help you, except to give you facts.
Nutrition is a science. My nutritionist has been at this for over 35 years as a multi-species expert. He is not moved by trends, or opinions - he works from science. I am not going to ‘appear’ to be a good food since it will compromise my product.
Kumpi Dog Food is AS FED BY:
The New York State K9 Handling Unit
Metro Transit Authority/New York City
The United Nations Ambassador Security K9 Detail
numerous other law enforcement entities
These are not new customers for me. We’re benchmarking over five years that they have seen the results they need to protect their investment in their canine partners. They too don’t care about opinions and trends. They want results, they want a ‘fixed formula’ that doesn’t change with market commodities and they all want someone they can trust.
These are not small entities and I work from a spare bedroom in my home to keep my ‘entity’ small and personal. I’m not into political correctness and I’ve been at this for nine years, so having to ‘defend’ my label is not a big deal to me. I challenge anyone to try one bag and then get back to me about your cornphobia or whatever other phobias my label would raise.
I’ve been plugging away for nine years in a rather obscure fashion. I am no different than any of you who care about our FurAngels and want the best. I’ve just got crazy DNA, since I saw this coming that many years ago and took matters into my own hands and started a dog food company that now has expanded into cat food too. Posting on these blogs isn’t get me rich, believe me. But if just one person takes the time to look at some facts and not believe something because you’ve seen it online so often, it’s all worth it to me.
The dust will eventually settle and while you’re all going to be doing whatever it is you do, i’ll still be sitting here talking with folks, working hard and valuing making a difference vs. making a dollar. It’s all about the FurAngels - always has been, always will be!!
And, I’ve got to be calling all of my retailers today, so I made this long and hoped to answer some things that might have come up. I’ll be checking back though.
Warmly warm hugs to all of your FurAngels :)
kumpi.com
kumpikat.com
April 17th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Evy,
I’d also like to know why your first ingredient is corn meal as well. Additionally, it’s also a concern to me that you list meat and bone meal as your 2nd and 3rd ingredients. It’s my understanding that “meat meal” can include ANYTHING from euthanized animals to roadkill, in fact I just spent some time today speaking to a shop owner about this very thing. I think if you’re going to self promote your products here, you need to be a little more honest about the ingredients.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
have been using NB for the last year due to allergy problem with one of my cats. When the recall started I emailed NB to confirm if any of their cats foods were effected and the reply was NONE of them were! My major concern is now my 1 yr old had been throwing up recently with no other symptoms? ( takingto vet today) had been eating the venison & green pea dry cat food. I threw ALL of it out and not even using the cans, who knows if tomorrow they add cat food canned to the list!
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! ALL THESE COMPANIES NEED TO HELD ACCOUNTABLE…
I’m furious at these companies including NB! if this was baby food, people woud be in jail today!!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
I’ve been feeding my five dogs NB Venison and Brown Rice for about six weeks. Someone posted earlier that melamine was found. Is this confirmed and who is the source?
April 17th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Perhaps not baby food, but…
It happens with spinach - people don’t go to jail.
It happens with grocery store meat - people don’t go to jail.
It is terrible and it is right to be outraged, but it does happen in our food too. The food I feed isn’t on the list (yet) but all seem to run the risk.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Whole Dog Journal has an article in their May issue regarding the pet food recalls. They make a very valuable point in that any one company can make a mistake once. They shouldn’t be crucified for it. But a company that continues to have problems should. Has anyone ever had a problem with NB before? And once they had sufficient complaints, did they NOT post about it and recall? Do you want these companies to start a panic because one person calls with a complaint?
I’m not defending NB - I’m just saying that I think we need to take a step back. As Anon says, human food is often times contaminated as well. No one goes to jail.
Mistakes happen. No one is perfect.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I have just sent an e-mail to NB asking them to update their website at least twice a day even if they have no news. At least we know they are working on it? They are working on it I hope?!? The only way to squash rumors and provide information is to keep the lines of communication open. If anyone does talk to anyone at NB please suggest better communication at this time when we are all concerened. I have been a solid customer for 2.5 years and always thought they were good…but this lack of communication is unacceptable.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Evy,
As nice as your food sounds in principle, I could never use it as it contains ingredients that are known allergens for my baby.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Hello everyone Hope every ones furbabies are getting better and my heart go out to the ones who have lost their best friends. I was wondering if they found melamine in the food where did it come from? They say they don’t use wheat glutten. But makes one wonder do they use wheat glutten and just don’t list it or is there something else that has this melamine in it. I have four dogs who are my babies and now I have them on a dry that claims they use whole grains and I feed them every night what we have for dinner and they seem to be doing fine but at this rate who knows. Just wanted to put my 2 cents in. good luck to all..
April 17th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Debbie Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
ANONYMOUS, your post of April 4 @11:04, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I agree with every word you said from top to the very, very bottom! (—except for the fact that not all of us went into an uneducated panic, like myself.) I advise that people scroll up and read your post and some of the other similarly REASONABLE posts….posts that are using reasoning ability over hyped hysteria!
This post made me see red. How insensitive do you have to be to insinuate that people are succumbing to overhyped hysteria when the TWO POSTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR are first person reports of animals that are dead or dying from this food. Not hearsay. Not rumours. Not hype. FIRST PERSON REPORTS FROM PEOPLE WHO OWN ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN SICKENED. God, I’m so angry right now.
I’m waiting for test results right now. My cat has been vomiting clear fluid and had excessive thirst for the past ten days or so. I opened a brand new bag of Venison and Green Pea two weeks ago.
So, Debbie, you can shove your hype straight up your fundament.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Sue ~
Please read my posts well. I am not here to self promote. If you read back, I was trying to answer industry questions and things like ‘is tomato pomace’ toxic - which it’s not!!
If you read all of my posts on this blog and the link to Itchmo’s old blog as well AND read my website, you will find a curious phenomenon.
I am an anomaly in this industry. My background is 35 plus years in dog behavior. Nine years ago my German Shepherd died when he was five years old from cancer. That and a series of other events led me to start my own dog food line. My nutritionist is a multi-species expert and also 35 plus years in his field.
I started with incredibl formulas and then searched for a manufacturer. They are APHIS, AIB, USDA etc etc and use meats that are EU approved.
NO PET FOOD COMPANY - NONE is using roadkill or euthanized pets in their food. Not only are suppliers under contract BUT IT’S NOT COST EFFECTIVE.
Geez, of all the fearmongering, this ‘fact’ is the worst.
Read, read, read what I’ve written. The industry has put enough out there for pseudo experts to spin. The first ingredient being meat has already been debunked by Dr. Hodgkins and take a look at the meat/grain ratio at kumpi.com as well to get a visual.
If the industry fooled enough ‘experts’ about that, don’t you realize that the deceptions have run even deeper??
I’ve been at this for nine years, so I ain’t no get rich quick woman. If that were my mentality, I’d be in Petco, Petsmart and Costco, touting the AS FED BY with premiere law enforcement. I’ve turned down plenty of brokers cuz they want that bad. But I want to be as far away from corporate as possible.
If you read what I wrote about corn both here and on my site, look at the testimonials, just think. The people who have taken the time to read with an open mind and not an argumentative stance ‘get it’……
My relationship with the New York State K9 Handling Unit goes back to Ground Zero where I was the only food that the Sgt. in charge approved for use. He saw and continues to see the difference - it’s been well over five years and he ain’t about to switch. He doesn’t care about labels and all this buzz - he cares about results and he’s getting them.
And it means the world to me to know that these first responders trust me with the life of their canine partners. I’ll gladly take the hit and not ‘look like’ what a dog food label ’should’ look like any day to be able to offer them and my dog the best. I’m over the trends, the buzz and what I read online. I have a premiere nutritionist who knows more about the science of his field and the chemistry of it than many will ever forget. I adore him :)
Anyways, I need to keep up with my calls ‘n sharing with the people who have ’stepped outside the box’ and are learning some cool stuff about pet food :))
Warmly warm hugs to your Furangels (still cold in CO!) :)
April 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
erishkigal - amen to your post; you said what I feel too, but couldn’t find the words - the WP post that Itchmo has on is really compelling too
April 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
The difference, people can defend and protect themselves against bad spinach, meat etc… If told not to eat it, you don’t! Babies and pets cannot…They cant tell you when food doesn’t taste right until it makes them sick, in many of these cases its causing “DEATH” to beloved family members! We have to wait until they throw it up to be concerned, which means what ever the contaminate is has already made them sick.
MISTAKES HAPPEN? No one is perfect???? Its obvious your pet is not sick and thank God for that!
April 17th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
WHat other pet food companies does Natural Choice sell their product to for pactaging under other brand names? Does anyone know? Remember they Make their most from sales to smaller/cheaper companies.
Natural Choice (Nutro) doesn’t manufacture for anyone else as far as I know.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Boyd - You’re right. My dogs aren’t sick, thank God, however, one of them was in the ER two weeks ago for vomiting and swelling, which makes me wonder if it wasn’t the dog food. Might have been. I’ll never know now. I never would have suspected the food before.
Still, how many humans do get sick before it is in the media that it was something in the food chain? That’s all I’m saying. It takes a lot of bad stuff to happen before the general public is notified. How many humans get sick before an outbreak of e-coli is found? No one notices when they eat bad spinach that it tastes bad. Mistakes happen. To humans & animals.
I am so sorry for everyone that has gone through the pain of a sick pet. I truly believe that these companies need to be held accountable. I don’t believe that these companies go out of their way to injure these animals. And I think every one of us has a responsibility to know where our food is coming from and how it is manufactured - for us and our pets.
Please don’t doubt my compassion. I feed NB to my dogs. And I am just as worried as everyone else.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
erishkigal & Boyd Says
Ditto! amen to both your posts!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
ereshkigal,
I am in the same boat as you, waiting for answers from the vet. Please post the results as soon as you can. I thought my cat would be safe on this food and I am extremely upset and disappointed.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I don’t know what to do. I feed my 2 cats the NB venison and pea both canned and dry. My one cat has food allergies and needs to eat a food with limited ingredients like the venison and peas. Neither cat is experiencing any problems….but, should I have their blood tested? I don’t want to panic.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
This is not a case of changing dog food. Our 5 yr. lab stopped eating her food when we changed to the latest bag of NB Venison and Rice. Same stuff she has been eating for years. She will sniff at it but not touch it. We of course were not smart enough to relealize the conncetion. Bella sure new. Hopefully we stopped feeding her early enough. Other than not eating she has been very lethargic and slumps down after a short walk. Called the vet this morning with no repsonse yet.
So yes take this seriously.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
This is just wrong.
What will be next on the list and how long will this go on?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Hi Mass Hysteria here…I heard rat poison..no wait melamine..my brother’s dog threw up yesterday..omg so did mine, and my neighbors, and my other neighbors, and my neice’s aunt’s brother’s dog’s owner’s sister’s babysitter. Oh wow..I know 20 people in this town who had a problem with such and such a food. WE DONT EVEN KNOW WTF IS WRONG IF ANYTHING WITH THE FOOD YET. Just stop feeding that version, and if it makes you that uncomfortable SWITCH to a different brand. Jeesh people.
They are damned if they do, damned if they dont. Because they are erring on the side of caution, they are being lynched. But if they kept this hush-hush..they’d be lynched too. I can’t imagine being a pet food biz in this day and age.
I’m sorry for anyone’s pets who got sick, but before you go and point the finger at the food, please take your pet to the VET and find out WHAT IS WRONG with them…
By the way, even baby food isn’t safe..anyone remember a few years back when baby food was recalled because there was GLASS found in it? How quickly we forget.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Sue,
I would definitely stop using this food. I think the key here is how long you have had the food, it sounds like there is a problem with the food that has been purchased recently. Have you talked to your vet? You are right to be concerned a freaked out when I saw the recall this morning.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Sue, my three cats have been eating the Venison & Pea as well, and I haven’t noticed any sickness with them. I know they say when a cat is sick, they tend to hide it. Well, mine like to show it off and so far, so good. I’m not rushing them to the vet yet. I suggest looking online or in the phone book for natural pet food stores in your area. Find one, go in or call and ask them about the kinds of food they have for a cat with food allergies. Or even call your vet with that question!
Personally, I am not worried. At least, not yet… not until I have some more info on all of this.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Please look into feeding dogs and cats Paul Newman’s Organic food…they have dry and wet food…no problems since it’s all organic.
Have been feeding my two dogs Merrick dog food without any problems.
These pet foods aren’t inexpensive…but when you think of the health problems or worse, they don’t seem expensive at all.
Mix the wet Merrick or Paul Newman’s with Paul Newman’s dry, your animals will love it and you’ll breathe easier…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Thank you, Tanya and Sarah. My cats have been eating NB for about a year now. The last bag of dry I bought was about 3 weeks ago. I’m more than half way through that bag. I did call NB yesterday and was told that it was food sold the last week or so that was in question. Like I said, neither cat is showing any problems. And I was just at the vet yesterday with my allergic guy….didn’t think of asking them to run any blood tests. They hadn’t even heard about the NB recall. As far as asking my vet for a different food…they sell the IVD (Royal Canin) limited ingredient foods. I did buy a bag of the venison and peas in that brand.
I think I’ll just keep an eye on the boys for right now and keep my fingers crossed that they are okay.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Does anyone know of alternative brands that have allergy formulas similar to the Venison and Green Pea for cats? I would like to find a dry food. My cat is allergic to most food with fish meal, any wheat or soy, and beef.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Ereshkigal………thanks for saying something that I SO wanted to say!!!! It seems that some people should have the compassion that is sorely needed instead of making people who have just lost their beloved pet even worse than they allready feel with such insulting comments!
Come on people! Just because NB is the the most recent focus…doesn’t mean everybody is going to feel inclined to go back and feed the crap from the “big” companies!!
As pet owners, we have the right to know what the “latest offender” is on the market! Haven’t many a pet been saved this way? That should be the main concern…..Give us some credit here!!! Do you really think that we’re going to be running out to get any Menufoods (or others that have been recalled for that matter!) products soon?……Do you really think we’re that careless?……Sheesh!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
The FDA is not exactly the most trustworthy source these days but you can learn about recalls as soon as they happen by subscribing to the FDA recall feed: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmr.....ecalls.xml
It’s pretty scary how many things are recalled on a regular basis. Every day there’s something new, not all pet food related.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
It’s melamine, from the rice which is bought from an American company
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....lled_N.htm
April 17th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
[…] Itchmo pointed out, the Natural Balance pull of two dry foods has raised eyebrows because neither product contained […]
April 17th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I have tried calling NB all morning. BUSY.. I have been feeding my schnauzer the VEN& RICE dry food but he seems fine. Vets says get a $150 blood test done … What is enybody safely feeding now besides home cooked meals? any suggestions? I feel like we have not heard the whole picture going on with this issue. :(
April 17th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I have two sick dogs in the hospital with kidney issues after consuming Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice formula on 4-13-07. The bag was purchased on 4-12-07 in California. The Production Code on the bag is NRV0401A3NL 06:42 Best before 10/Oct/08. One dog was admitted 4-16-07 and the other 4-17-07.
I would not take a chance with this food at this time.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Elaine ….I totally agree! I read about the “Olive recall…reason being Botulism” at that web-site “2″ days before I heard about it from any Media source! I check on it regularly…..it’s really shocking…..things that you’d never think of are on there!………I hope others are checking it regularly too as it is a good habit to get into!….
April 17th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
annn Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Hi Mass Hysteria here
I would gather that ereshkigal would comment to your post the exact way he did to Debbie.
It could be that some people on this board are in a PANIC! If that’s the case, so be it. Who are you to judge on how people should handle this crisis. They don’t need some numb-nut blasting or insinuating they are foolish. You don’t see others calling you a cold hearted, uncaring, inconsiderate ???. Do you? So let those discuss it with one another without your inconsiderate comments.
There is a book called “Only The Paranoid Survive”. Those paranoid people may have a better chance of their pet not ingesting toxic food.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I heard this morning about the NB recall for venison and brown rice. Some things in your emails have been reassuring…..if indeed the “bad food” was recently released…..fewer pets may be affected. Ours was not a recent purchase. My Lab is seeing our Vet tonight to have her urine and blood checked. She is fortunately in glowing health but I can’t take chances and need some re-assurance. She will be put on home made diets from meals to treats. I no longer trust anything in the pet food industry and wish the FDA had more control and power. Wishing all of you and your pets good luck and health.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Hmmmmm…….Melamine in the rice (rice from the good ole US of A I might add!)…..well thanks to the testimonials and reports from some “hysterical” pet owners, a lot of pets will be spared a painful and untimely death!….Thank you so much!!!!
Debbie…I would like to hear your thoughts on this “latest” development in regards to NB?
Btw…as far as panic goes, I’d be absolutely baffled if there WASN’T anyone in a panic!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Deanna,
I agree with you. It’s those so called (by some) hysterical, panicked pet owners here sharing information that may have saved another life.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Thanks, BowInDuo, for the link to USA Today.
Since the latest says the melamine was found in their rice, how is it then that NB’s Chicken & Brown Rice formula is safe?? That’s what I’ve been feeding for 2 weeks and I did experience problems with dark bisquits and foul smell one week ago.
The thing I don’t get is that NB claims that they test their products before, during, and after porduction; how could this slip past them?!
I’m beside myself because I really thought I’d found the company I needed.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Should these two Natural Balance products be on the recall list or is this not an official “recall”? Or is that list for wheat gluten products only?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Does this all mean i shouldn’t be feeding Purina? I feed this to all My dogs and cats. I have a lot of animals and i just keep hearing little things about purina. Thanks, Trudy
April 17th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
my friend says she is doing ok with having fed Pedigree to cats and dogs
April 17th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Our litttle Bichon ate NB venison and rice on a regular basis for her treats and to supplement her wet food. She began vomiting everything she ate on 4-13 and is now in the hospital, having had her gall bladder removed. She was one very sick puppy.
The vets don’t think there’s a connection but I’ve asked them to check all her kidney values while she’s there.
Anyone who has seen their dog get so sick wouldn’t want to take a chance. Certainly the venison “treats” couldn’t have done her system any good.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
You know, this is completely ridiculous! I came to this website to get some information about the recent recall from NB. NB themselves, and the FDA have still not confirmed that this recall is in conjunction with the “big” recall of march. After spending nearly 2 hours reading each post from 4/15, I am unsure of everything I have ever done for my beloved chocolate lab. He has terrible allergies, and has vomited 3-5 times per week (sometimes with diarrhea) since he was about 1 year old. We finally found NB Venison and Brown rice! (I had tried to do a “bland” diet with the help of our vet, but we soon found that the WHITE rice was the culprit! Funny, but it took 8-10 different foods and brand varieties (we’ve tried everything from lamb to fish, duck to venison, potato to rice to brown rice and every brand out there) I completely understand people’s frustration with pet food companies, and now that it’s hit home, I feel it even more. However, this mass hysteria, and slandering of a perfectly good company is irresponsible and uncalled for.
I have gained nothing from reading these posts except a screaming headache and mass confusion. If every company is spawn of the devil as everyone is claiming, then where will we turn?
I am disappointed that you are all so quick to turn your backs on a company most of you claim you have used without problem for years, and have trusted for years, and have recommended for years!
For all of you who are claiming NB is POISONING our pets…..THEY HAVE NOT LINKED THE MELAMINE TO THIS RECALL!!!! RESEARCH BEFORE YOU SLANDER!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Regarding the USA Today article(Bowlnduo upthread), “no pets have died yet” I wonder what Katie has to say to that?
Well, now we know what it is…
April 17th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Anon, you obviously are out of the loop. NB just said that they DID find MELAMINE in the rice! Read the USA Today article that BowlinDuo posted.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Yes, Regina. I’m livid.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Hi, came across this site after I googled the latest recall involving the food I feed my animals. I just spoke with someone at NB. My dog is on the Ultra Prem formula. It took me a few times to get to someone but I finally did. The gal I talked to informed me that there was a rice protein concentrate that was just added to their Venison formulas that was contaminated with melamine. It would have hit the market 1-2 weeks ago. I was told that this certain ingredient was not in any other formula. They told me wheat gluten was not something they used. I am in total shock that this has happened but continue to use the current formula since my dog has no symptoms and I trust that they have it figured out to a few Venison formulas. They do test their products according to the FDA regulations. How does this slip by everyone or is it something that is not tested for and maybe should be changed before more animals have to die?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I had written Natural Balance in the past about their system of things. They told me that Diamond Foods does not make their food. That article in USA Today has the president saying that Diamond does make their food. Why the lies?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Supposedly Natural Balance checks their food before production, during production, and after production. Why wasn’t this caught then?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Anonymous (just above, 5:33pm)
They HAVE linked melamine to the NB recall. See the USA Today link:
It’s melamine, from the rice which is bought from an American company
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....lled_N.htm
We’re not “hysterical” or “paranoid” We’re just trying to save some pets lives. The more info we get, the more pets we can save from ingesting this stuff.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Katie,
I’m SO sorry for your loss. I just wanted to let you know your info and sharing where you’re from helped me to warn some Austin friends, and probably saved the lives of two cats who were eating the venison formula and had just started showing symptoms - the owner knew nothing about the recall. So, thank you.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Bridget, I agree!!!
Anon….before you go calling people “slanderers”…..you really should keep up to date with the “latest” FDA reports.
I actually find YOUR comments to be categorized as irresponsible and uncalled for!!!
I certainly would not expect to find the latest info in reading your comments from here on after what I’ve just read in your last comment….I think I’ll just skip by yours from now on!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Lee, that’s what I’m wondering, too. Sure, the Chicken & Brown Rice supposedly (as of now) doesn’t have the certain rice protein that the Venison formulas do, BUT the fact that MELAMINE slipped past their supposedly frequent inspections is what is making me NEVER trust NB again!
I really loved NB, too. I bought four bags just the other night because they smelled great and my babies love it, even my picky eater :(
April 17th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
My dog has severe GI issues/IBD. I don’t trust vets b/c all of the foods they have put him on in the past have made him sick! NB’s Venison and Brown Rice was a life-saver for me! Now I have to switch his food and I don’t know what to give him. Can’t do Wellness we’ve tried that before. Vet is recommending Prescription Diet D/D. Anyone know anything about this? I don’t like prescription diet. I would try making my own food - and probably will - but I have to stay away from common protein sources - hence the venison…
April 17th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I too found this website through a friend that had posted to me about Natural Balance on another website. I thought it would be helpful, but I have never seen so many people tearing each other apart on a forum ever. It’s sad. Everyone comes here because they love their animals and you all treat each other horribly.
I have been feeding the NB Ultra Premium formula for several years. If NB says that rice protein is not is this formula, I have to believe them. Why would they lie? What do they gain by lying to us when a problem has been found? Do you really think they want to see animals dying or sick from the use of their food???
I doubt that these companies routinely test for a chemical that is not allowed in the production of food here in the US. I’m sure they test for the obvious things.
I think everyone here should take a deep breath and stop tearing each other apart. You are certainly not helping your pets behaving like beasts.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I am using nothing but ‘FirstMate’ dog food from now on.
I checked out their site and like what I see.
www.firstmate.com
April 17th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I apologize for being out of the loop. The I just read the USA today post. Thanks for the link.
At least we know what it is. Let’s get it cleaned up NB and get back to normal
April 17th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
How do we find the lot number of DickVan Patton Vension being pulled I have two pages and afraid to feed?
horner317@earthlink.net
April 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
“I think everyone here should take a deep breath and stop tearing each other apart.”
Actually, Itchmo has forums where we can do that (they request we do it there and not here.) They even have a “ring” forum for those who really want to duke it out. I see it’s not been posted in. ;)
April 17th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Faith,
I think it’s the Aug/Sept exp dates that are not safe. If you bought your food within the last two weeks, do not use it. Return it. Call NB to be sure of the dates.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
“My dog has severe GI issues/IBD. I don’t trust vets b/c all of the foods they have put him on in the past have made him sick! NB’s Venison and Brown Rice was a life-saver for me! Now I have to switch his food and I don’t know what to give him. Can’t do Wellness we’ve tried that before. Vet is recommending Prescription Diet D/D.”
We have a cat at the rescue I help at (he is the pet store mascot, in fact) who has to eat the NB venison/pea for cats, I will find out today what our vet switched him to and if it’s different than Hill’s I will let you know. Maybe someone else knows or knows of some holistic pet/pet food forums where you could get some advice. There has to be something besides the Hill’s…from what I have learned about pet food, I don’t consider most of Hill’s formulas to be quality food.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I want to apologize to anyone that I have offended with my “slander” comments. I don’t want to be in a “ring” forum, it’s not my nature. I also don’t want to be the “activist” type coming down on Petco and Petsmart, as if they have anything to do directly with NB recalls.
Here’ s my problem. I love my dog. We all do. I was in complete denial that my trusted food source could be faulty. I am terrified now, given his past health problems, and I don’t know what to feed him. Is it safe to feed him ANY NB food?
The venison and brown rice we’d purchased was from several weeks ago, which is good, and he’s not showing any symptoms of anything which is good.
for all of you who are realizing something may be wrong with your babies, I am terribly sorry
April 17th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I have been glued to Itchmo and The Pet Food List for 3 days now….I am a fairly rational person….and when I first heard about the recall I was skeptical and thought these were rumors run amuck…it finally made it to NB’s website and the FDA…win 1 for the blogs….than I see the first talk of melamine….again thinking someone is starting rumors and has gone too far….Then the article on USA Today….Nothing on NB page or the FDA…we will call this win 2 for the blogs. I must say I am done waiting for “official notification” Good Bye NB, The fact that I am learning everything through leaks in the Blogs and The USA today and not on your website or even by telephone recordings leave me untrusting. So Long Natural Balance….Like any relationship your lack of communication have killed the relationship.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Evy, I ‘m not sure that you’ve really answered Sue’s question. What’s that “meat and bone meal” in your food?
If the “meat & bone meal” doesn’t mean euthanized animals and roadkill, what exactly does it mean? What kind of meat is it? What’s the difference between “meat meal” and, say, “chicken meal”. I was told to avoid products that just say “meal”, without naming what type of meal it was.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I too am very frustrated that NB has not updated its site. This is very disapointing. Why don’t they put the info up?!
I’ve been telling all my friends via email about the recall, b/c so many people still don’t know. I had friends still buying bags of the venison yesterday.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Remembered this company for venison:
http://www.ziwipeak.com/Produc.....ne-Family/
Hate to recommend anything but it isn’t a U.S. and it’s higher-end holistic food.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Evy,
Rice flour is in your foods. Is there even the slightest chance that any of the rice in question was purchased for your foods?
April 17th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Here is an easy link for showing the listed label ingredients on ZiwiPeak for cats, note no taurine. Called the nearby MudBay Granary petstore and they say it is because Ziwi’s processing method removes the need to re-add it. Interesting.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Thanks Julia. I didn’t think she answered it either. And like you, I was told to avoid anything that said meal as well, so I’d like to know the difference as well. Evy?
April 17th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
http://www.naturalpetmarket.co.....D=ZPcancat
April 17th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
This has made me sick to my stomach with worry!
I am switching my dogs back to Wellness.
Not sure why they (Natural Balance) have not updated their website but here’s the latest info from USA TODAY:
******************************
By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in two of its pet food products, which the company has recalled.
Melamine is the chemical suspected of causing pet deaths and illnesses related to the Menu Foods recall, covering more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food from dozens of brands the past four weeks.
But Natural Balance doesn’t use wheat gluten, the ingredient contaminated with melamine in the Menu recall. Instead, it suspects that melamine was in a rice protein concentrate, a new ingredient used in the dry foods, said Natural Balance president Joey Herrick. “That was the only change in the product,” he says.
The concentrate is now being tested, he added. Melamine was detected in samples of the food. The recalled foods are: Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods.
Whether other pet food makers got the same rice protein concentrate is unclear at this time. Herrick says the food was made for Natural Balance by Diamond Pet Foods.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Menu | Menu Foods
Diamond Pet Food makes no other food that includes rice protein concentrate, spokesman Jim Fallon says.
Herrick also said Diamond got the rice protein concentrate from an American company, which he wouldn’t name. The melamine in the Menu Foods recall was in wheat gluten imported from China.
The company has recalled all dates of the two products, although Herrick says it has only received complaints for food made March 28.
Herrick says Natural Balance, a premium pet food maker based in California, started getting calls Thursday from consumers reporting that dogs were vomiting. By Friday, the company had received calls from seven households regarding 11 dogs, Herrick said. The company also says it has received reports of animals suffering kidney problems, which has also occurred in the Menu recall.
The consumer calls set off alarms because “we don’t get that,” Herrick said.
The company has also received reports involving three or four cats, he said.
Natural sent out the food Friday to be tested for the usual things that would cause animals to vomit, such as pesticides and heavy metals, Herrick says.
No animals had yet died but that the company had reports that some were hospitalized, he said.
Melamine is not allowed in human or pet food. It is an industrial chemical used in plastics making in the USA and as a fertilizer in Asia, the Food and Drug Administration says. While melamine is not highly toxic, the FDA is investigating whether it, or something related to it, is responsible for pet deaths in the Menu recall.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....htm?csp=34
April 17th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
The website has been updated.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
I switched to NB a month ago when this all happened. My cats did not eat the recalled foods previously but the recall made me take notice of the ingredients in the IAMS dry formula and I didn’t care for it afterward.
Anyway, my two cats have been eating the NB Ultra Dry for free feeding at night and a rotation of the various NB canned flavors in the am and pm, including the venison & green pea.
Until this week, they seemed to be doing fine altho they now have dandruff and one seems to be shedding quite a bit.
Over the last several days one cat has vomited up the food three times. Because this happened at night, I suspect it was the dry food as she likes to eat it at night. Today she also vomited up some clear liquid. (The other cat is eating mostly the wet food and seems ok.)
This cat may just not be taking to the food very well but she has rarely vomited ever in the past and seemingly did well the first three weeks on the food but I am worried that it may be something with the food.
Hopefully they test all the ingredients in all their foods for various contaminates and not just for melamine.
Until this is resolved, I’ll switch to something else although the choices seem limited if you want to avoid Menu foods, wheat gluten, by-products, etc.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
NB just updated their website with the official press release:
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.c.....lease.html
April 17th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Now I am in grrrrr mode.
So right after I sent an extra mail off to Ziwi asking them about inclusion of taurine I notice the “Vets Q and A” page and this:
http://www.ziwipeak.com/Vets-Q.....-ZiwiPeak/
So of course I will just wait for the email but wonder why taurine is not listed–called back Mudbay and the woman looked at an actual can and said she sees vitamins and minerals as an ingredient but not specific “taurine”–they say on that webpage they add extra to what is naturally in the food. Anyway just thought I would post a venison option to NB.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Traci - I have a 13 year old Shih Tzu who has severe IBD. He is eating IVD Potato and Rabbit formula. He has been stable for the last two months AND he likes the taste of the food. Innovative Veterinary Diet (IVD) is made by Royal Canin. I know they have their own issues in South Africa but I don’t know how it impacts our market or their IVD division. Changing food for a pet with IBD is like playing Russian Roulette…scary, you don’t know what you’ll get. Good luck!
April 17th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
i changed my cats to wellness. no wheat,no filler,no bi products.no artifical ingredents. expensive. but my 8 cats are worth it. i was feeding them science for years, got disgusted when the were in the recall.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
This really ticks me off.
From President of NB.
Herrick also said Diamond got the rice protein concentrate from an American company, which he wouldn’t name.
WHY WONT HE NAME THE COMPANY THAT DIAMOND PURCHASED IT FROM?
It could be that other companies purchased the product from the same company. Do we have to wait until other pets become ill? Wouldn’t it be the right thing to do to inform the public WHO THEY BOUGHT THIS FROM?
Further more, NB has indicated that Diamond does produce their food BUT with their product and their suppliers. Mr. Herricck is now saying that DIAMOND purchased the food.
This is a bunch of CRAP!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Thanks Traci for the input. Thanks Joyce also - I’ll look into the IVD. Right now I’m trying to locate a butcher in my area where I can buy venison.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
First let me say I’m so sorry for anyone who’s had sick or injured pets due to these stupid unnecessary recalls.
This is pretty wild. Check this out about the Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea Formula cat food.
Ingredients on bag and in brochure:
Venison, whole dried green peas, venison meal, canola oil, venison liver, natural flavor, phosphoric acid, choline chloride, potassium cloride, sodium chloride, kelp, DL Mothionine, Salmon oil, flaxseed oil, lysine, rosemary extract, dried parsley, taurine, zinc sulfate, vitamine e supplement, niacin, vit b12, lots more vitamins etc.
(all ingredients researched by me by the way, ’cause they all sound like chemicals and the research only goes so far. Except “natural flavors”, couldn’t find that.)
On website now:
INGREDIENT LISTING
Peas, Venison, Venison Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate, Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Methionine, Choline Chloride, Inulin, Taurine, Natural Tocopherols, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B).
Key ingredient change: Rice Protein Concentrate. Also in the dog food and not listed in the wet version of the cat food. (Dog food wet version just says Rice Protein).
Interesting, huh? I switched my kitties to this food after the menu foods recall so I’m hoping the formula change was very very recent and the stuff I’m feeding them now is good. They have been very bouncy and energetic since the switch and look great, so I’m maddened by this recall, and very sad for anyone affected
Just read this article courtesy of an earlier poster:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....lled_N.htm
April 17th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
PS from earlier post: oh and I AM switching them just in case.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Natural Balance Press Release -
Natural Balance Pet Foods,® Inc. Issues A Voluntary Nationwide Recall on Specific Venison Dog & Cat Food Products
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Pacoima, CA — April 17, 2007– Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate. Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine.
The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product.
Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian. We recommend our customers immediately stop feeding our recalled venison products regardless of date code and return unused product to their retailer for a full refund.
The products are packaged in bags, cans and zip lock treat bags and sold in pet specialty stores and PetCo nationally.
No other Natural Balance products are involved in this voluntary recall as none of our other formulas include the rice protein concentrate.
Although the problems seem to be focused on a particular production period of the venison products, 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. Venison canned cat food is not involved.
The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination.
None of Natural Balance’s other dry formulas, none of our other canned or roll products and none of our other treats are involved with this voluntary recall.
We continue to work closely with the FDA in their ongoing investigation.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-829-449 or email info@naturalblanceinc.com
April 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Natural Balance Press Release
Natural Balance Pet Foods,® Inc. Issues A Voluntary Nationwide Recall on Specific Venison Dog & Cat Food Products
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Pacoima, CA — April 17, 2007– Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison dog products and the dry Venison cat food only, regardless of date codes. The recalled products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, Venison and Brown Rice dog treats, and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food. Recent laboratory results show that the products contain melamine. We believe the source of the melamine is a rice protein concentrate. Natural Balance has confirmed this morning that some production batches of these products may contain melamine.
The recall was prompted by consumer complaints received by Natural Balance involving a small number of cats and dogs that developed kidney failure after eating the affected product.
Dogs or cats who have consumed the suspect food and show signs of kidney failure (such as loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting) should be seen by a veterinarian. We recommend our customers immediately stop feeding our recalled venison products regardless of date code and return unused product to their retailer for a full refund.
The products are packaged in bags, cans and zip lock treat bags and sold in pet specialty stores and PetCo nationally.
No other Natural Balance products are involved in this voluntary recall as none of our other formulas include the rice protein concentrate.
Although the problems seem to be focused on a particular production period of the venison products, 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. Venison canned cat food is not involved.
The source of the melamine appears to be a rice protein concentrate, which was recently added to the dry venison formulas. Natural Balance does not use wheat gluten, which was associated with the previous melamine contamination.
None of Natural Balance’s other dry formulas, none of our other canned or roll products and none of our other treats are involved with this voluntary recall.
We continue to work closely with the FDA in their ongoing investigation.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-829-449 or email info@naturalblanceinc.com
April 17th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Where’s Evy?
April 17th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Ok, I guess it’s that time again :)
No one worry about seeing rice, rice flour in any foods. This protein concentrate is a different animal than those dries. Gluten meals - the jury is still out.
MEAT AND BONE MEAL is my second ingredient PURPOSEFULLY.
First of all, very few animals have food allergies (less than 10% of allergen issues are dietary), so I’m not going to list what meat just to make sure they are covered, sorry. Read on, and I hope you can understand this, especially from being such a small company point of view.
There are different grades of all ingredients and the same is true of beef, chicken, lamb, fish, corn, rice, etc. etc.
IF I list a specific meat then I HAVE TO BY LAW (and yes, my records can be pulled by the FDA any day) use that SPECIFIC meat regardless of what grade it is. I don’t know how you perceive making pet food, but it’s not like grocery shopping. There is often a limited supply of meat that is FRESH and ready for use. Supply and demand plays it’s own games on pet food manufacturers too.
The meat will be either beef or pork, depending on which has the highest grade FULLY available for that run. Lately, it’s usually pork. “Clean” beef has not been easy to come by, i.e. the grade that I want. Human grade statements made by companies are skating on very thin ice if/when the FDA ever has the time to ‘police’ ingredient labels. argh Don’t even get me started there at how those have gone insane crazy illegal.
ALSO, please be remember that I don’t go shopping for the bags that my product is put into. I have to order them and through the years, I’ve been able to increase my volume to help offset price. I AM READY for BSE to hit the food chain and legally head over to all pork if I need too. I won’t have to have bags reprinted and/or throw out that much capital.
I had a run of food that needed to be rescheduled since the meat that came in was tested and rejected. It came at a time during this recall where I knew I’d be cutting things really close on my lead seller, the 35# Adult dog food. I brought some levity to the situation and called the plant and asked them how many dogs, possums, deer, elk, raccoons, cats, moose, ducks, pigeons, etc. I would need to gather up for the meat. THE CONCEPT THAT ANY OF THAT IS USED IS LUDICROUS. Seriously, it isn’t even cost effective. My food is tested by my Dept. of Ag. and I have to stay within protein, fat, fiber and moisture ratios. It COULD NOT BE DONE using roadkill, euthanized animals, etc.
I wish I knew where that notion came from, except for seeing it accepted as ‘fact’ since it’s been parrotted so many times online by ‘pseudo experts’ - (who Dr. Hodgkins finally outted on their issue of wanting to see meat as a first ingredient and how it has just allowed pet food companies to throw in a butt load of grain) along with many other things that they have no idea what they are talking about.
All of the fearmongering that has been caused by who I am hoping are well intentioned people need to find a nutritionist. They need to call Crosswinds and ask for a public tour of their manufacturing facility - yes, they do that, since they have nothing to fear and actually are pretty proud of how it looks and what they do!!
Oh, and ‘meal.’ Call a plant that provides dried - maybe Merrick is someone you’d trust.
Beef = 65 - 75% moisture
Beef Meal = 5% or less moisture
All meats follow the same parameters. The ‘meal’ source of a meat is just the moisture removed, nothing more, nothing less. There isn’t a witches cauldron of ‘rendered meat’ with crap floating around in it for pet food meals like this.
Meal is your friend. It means that when that recipe goes to ‘cook’ it’s actual presence on the label is stable. If you are falling for ‘fresh chicken’ as the first ingredient, or any meat source without the word meal behind it, you are paying for a lot of moisture and not much meat.
Ahhhh you say, the heating process ruins the meat. Nope. And whatever degradation there is, and I speak for my food only, is offset by a LOT of expensive supplementation - pre/probiotics, kelp from Nova Scotia, patented chelated minerals, digestive enzymes and yucca shidigera that is sprayed onto the food after it is cooked and cooled.
Did you know there are over thirty companies to buy yucca schidigera from for pet food?? My nutritionist has reviewed the new ones that come along, but still sticks with an expensive source, since it produces results and offers the chemistry he wants to see. This man has a microscope in his office, for crying out loud.
I really enjoy answering these issues and have even gotten a bit accustomed to the accusatory nature of it all. But if you take some time (and you know your pet is worth it) many of the pseudo experts are so so so wrong in what they advocate. And God bless Dr. Hodgkins for her rebuttal to the pet food industry and calling that first ingredient stuff ’smoke and mirrors’ cuz that’s all it is!! She had many many valid points and I’m hoping to take some time in the next week to drop it onto my website and point by point add my AMEN to her comments. Things that I have been doing right all along and yet getting ridiculed for.
My dog and my cat mean the world to me. I didn’t need another career. I didn’t need the money (and I make less now than I did in dog behavior!) I started this company with a premiere multi-species nutritionist and scoured around for a manufacturer. When it’s all said and done, the MOST important thing to me is them. I’m honored by the law enforcement and people who trust me. But my dog and cat trust me and I am dedicated to making sure they live not only long years, but healthy years as well.
I didn’t just think - Gee, starting a pet food company would be fun! For the better part of the company, it has been only me and one employee. The whole kit and kaboodle and I know this company from the ground up. I can offload tons of food from the truck and forklift it across the room. I can pallet jack, delivery, the whole nine yards. I don’t allow the food to go through a ‘middle man’ - all deliveries are always direct from my company. I’ve turned down several people who have contacted me about becoming a distributor yesterday. My protocol will remain the same - you have to have a personal relationship with the food for six months and allow me to develop a relationship with you as well. My only exceptions are things like my Camp Bow Wow franchise members, since I know Heidi has a very high standard for who she will allow membership to.
Does that limit my growth? You bet. Does it insure that my growth is stable and I can ALWAYS trust the people who sell my product - you betcha!! Ten years from now, I don’t want nervous or frightened customers. I have a business plan that is somewhat unorthodox, but in almost ten years, it’s working really well. Tomorrow, I’ll be able to add Kumpi of Southern Nevada (God bless Andrea for logging in her six months) and Kumpi Pet Food of Idaho (Todd and Tanya are two of my ex-students that I’ve known for over eight years)……retailer and distributor, one by one, I can share about my relationship with them and how I personally know I can trust their integrity.
Takes more than $$$ to be able to sell Kumpi. And yes, I’ve even fired some retailers lol.
Pet food is WAY too important for any kind of casual or laissez faire attitude. I take every step of this very personally, cuz there’s this dog and this cat…….
**grin**…….and they share :)
April 17th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I just went and bought a small bag of Natures Variety to tide me over until Natural Balance ponies up where the rice protien came from and they are sure it is not in the other flavors….why take the chance. How does the same strange chemical get into dog food in supposedly such different ways??? Something isn’t adding up. I am trying to run through all the scenarios and somebody isn’t telling the whole truth. Either the protein came from China (which goes agains everything NB says) or nobody has a clue where the chemical is coming from (which is worse??) What are the chances of the same strange chemical ending up in pet food on two different continents on opposite sides of the world, around the same time period, being unrelated?? C’mon.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
All it would take is one TH in both places. Dont ask what that stands for. I wont be able to post it on the board. Some of you can probably figure it out.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Thanks for the info Evy.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
This is heartbreaking. How many have to get sick or die to get these companies to take responsibility for what they’re doing or not doing?
>Forwarded with permission. Please forward to anyone you think may be
>feeding this food. Please keep in mind any puppy/dog owners as you pass on this
>word.
>Jill
>
>Dear Cavalier Friends, Breeders, Family and Acquaintances,
>
>Last week our dogs began getting sick. We first thought that they had
>somehow contracted a stomach virus from our family, because we had
>been sick with a stomach virus earlier in the week. I took two of my
>dogs to my local vet and she said to withhold food for 12-24 hours
>until their vomiting stopped. We did this and then slowly started
>adding in cooked chicken breast and white rice to their diet. At
>first it appeared as though they were all improving. Then by late
>Friday night my oldest girl, Katy, Roweland Tequilla Sunrise began to
>go down hill quickly. I took her back to my vet early Saturday
>morning and my vet said that she appeared to be in Acute Renal
>Failure.by 6:00 p.m. Saturday, we very sadly lost our precious Katy
>girl.
>
>By late Saturday night, Abby our 10 month old little girl from
>Germany, Rosebury Royal Queen began showing signs of decline. Sunday
>morning, we loaded up 3 of our dogs and started on our way to Texas
>A& M University’s Small Animal Emergency Clinic. We took Abby and our
>Champion Proudfox Timothy Tinsel (Timmy), and Rivermead Lady Letitia
>(Tia). All but Abby, still had a good appetite at this point, the
>only signs we were seeing was large amounts of urine output. We made
>the 3-hour trip and once arriving, we quickly learned that all three
>dogs were in Acute Renal Failure.
>
>The doctors at A&M were almost certain that it was from some sort of
>Toxic Exposure and being that we recently moved to a new house about
>7 weeks ago, we were exploring all possibilities, such as our water,
>our soil, etc. We came back home very late Sunday night. Monday
>morning, we quickly began calling Environmental Specialists.both
>municipal and private agencies.
>
>Monday morning, we learned that Abby had taken a rapid decline at the
>hospital overnight and that her chances were very slim at best. The
>doctors requested that we let her go and have them perform an autopsy
>in order to perhaps figure this out and save the other dogs. By
>Monday afternoon, we loaded up again with our remaining dogs and took
>them to A&M University Hospital.
>
>Regalcourt Peach Bellini, Peaches, is in severe acute renal failure
>with her numbers being off the chart.
>
>We will see this morning if she has made any improvement overnight.
>Regalcourt Joyous Holly our 6 month old girl, has one number off the
>chart, but another number close to normal range. There is good hope
>for her. And Regalcourt Zoe Girl, is fairing the best, mostly because
>she has always been a very particular eater, never eating real dog
>food unless she had to, more often she was fed cottage cheese and
>turkey breast from the refrigerator.
>
>With several college professors and doctors, fortunately for us,
>verifiably some of the best in the nation, working on our case,
>around 9:00 p.m. last night (4-16-07), the doctors met with us and
>confirmed that it was the Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice Dog
>food that is the cause. The autopsy on Abby confirmed the crystal
>formation that is seen in all the renal failure cases concerning the
>recent dog food recalls. The college staff shared with us that notice
>had just been provided by the FDA that Dick Van Patten’s Natural
>Balance Venison and Brown Rice was added to the list late yesterday
>evening.
>
>At this point we are prayerful and hopeful that some of our Cavaliers
>will recover with the intensive 24 hr. top notch care that A&M
>University is giving. We are however, completely devastated to say
>the least. It feels as though our world has been turned upside down.
>Please keep us in your prayers. We have phoned a few people that we
>know that are also feeding Natural Balance.if you know anyone please
>feel free to forward this email and cross post. When we asked, with
>the list of “bad” foods so long, what is safe to feed? The doctors
>response was paused .you might say reluctant.to say anything that
>might later be discovered to be misleading…or wrong. The doctors
>said their best answer is “We just don’t know for sure what food is
>safe.what food will be added to the list next.”
>
>For those of you that do not know us, we are active within our clubs.
>The Kennel Club of Greater Victoria, where I serve as Treasurer, and
>also The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Greater Houston, I
>publish the newsletter.
>
>We pray you and your beloved companions are all well and safe,
>
>Dave and Jennifer Snell
April 17th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Evy,
Can you answer this question? It was posted on another board.
Linda F Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Even though the canned cat foods aren’t included in this “melamine-rice-protein†discovery in NB foods, I’m reading the labels on all my cats NB food now and notice “rice flourâ€. Is this a case where “rice is rice is riceâ€?
Could anyone explain to me why the rice flour wouldn’t be affected as is the rice protein? Unless it has to do w/the processing. ???? Thanks.
I would like to ask this same question. Evy from Kumpi may be able to explain it. She is on another board. I’ll see if she will comment on this on the other board.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I have been using Natural Balance for a long time. Now I will never use again. I had 9 dogs; 2 are dead, 2 were hospitalized for 2 days each, I had to nurse the rest at home because I could no longer afford the vet bills. The vet taught me how to give an IV at home to help keep the dogs hydrated. They are NOT on venison, they are on REDUCED CALORIE. I and my vet notified the company last week. They immediately overnighted a label so I could FedEx remaining food back to them overnight. My bills are up to $1700, and all the carpeting in my home is ruined because of the explosive bloody poo that has been going on for 10 days now.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
This is horrible.
I am so sorry Phyllis.
I do hope you kept some of the food so you could have it tested as well.
I do believe these companies should be responsible for the vet bills. This recall came out over a month ago. They should have tested the food at then not wait for many to get sick.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Evy Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
teric ~
Just saw your post about that. Rice flour is not a ‘derivative’ from something else. The protein concentrate is much like ‘gluten’ is. Corn gluten meal is used in a lot of cat foods to raise the protein and keep down the ash content - however, it’s sadly lacking in the essential amino acids they need.
Gluten is the protein substance of it’s respective component.
Wheat gluten meal is the “protein†of the wheat processed out. Corn gluten meal is the “protein†of the corn processed out.
When my nutritionist formulated my products he was careful to stay with “whole†sources vs. anything that is derived from a source.
Gotta go do FedEx !!
April 17th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Is there a possibility we should avoid ALL their foods now?
April 17th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
“# jay Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
All it would take is one TH in both places. Dont ask what that stands for. I wont be able to post it on the board. Some of you can probably figure it out.”
Jay, I found your comment very intriguing.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
th?
April 17th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
[…] news that two foods made by Natural Balance were being recalled due to melamine contamination, and today’s news that two others by the same company were also being recalled for the same reason - and that none […]
April 17th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Just to add my 2 cents, that is now actually a vet bill in excess of $6000 to treat my 3 cats for melamine poisoning!!!! 2 of them are still at the emergency center on IV’s. I am hopeful that they will becoming home soon, but no guarantees. I am so furious! I fed NB specifically because it didn’t have any grains in it. How can NB put “NO RICE” on the label and then put rice in the product. Isn’t that false advertising? I plan on doing what ever it takes to recoup the vet costs. The thing I am the most upset about is the terrible suffering my poor cats have had to endure because of this company. Please send postive thoughts my way that all my furry babies will be home soon.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I am so terribly sorry for your suffering right now (and for your kitties). If you look at some of the previous posts, specifically from Evy, she explains some things about rice vs. rice proteins vs. rice flour.
I believe she implied that they are not the same thing, that rice is not the same as the rice protein that they added…this rice protein is a form of “gluten” similar in form, but not product to the wheat gluten found in other products. Check it out in the posts earlier tonight.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Well everyone, if you take three days lol and read back through alllll of these posts, I have weathered a fair amount of questioning/ridicule/need to substantiate. No worries, cause I’m into this since it’s been my passion for nine years now.
WHY did I need to answer all of these questions? IMHO the industry has done a beautiful job of feeding you information to get you to buy less than stellar products. Heck, I could’ve done a lot of things in the last nine years if I didn’t already see this coming eventually. But I did and I started a small pet food company. You are so accustomed to what the industry has planted for the ‘pseudo experts’ to share and lies have been propagated and Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins who was part of a panel at the senatorial hearings did a GREAT job on shooting holes into ‘the first ingredient should be meat’ garbage. Even SHE said that it’s been ’smoke and mirrors’ and a way to sell cereal (grain) laden products.
I have a graph on my website. I have answered sooooo many emails and talked with people one on one for years to help them understand why the heck such a politically incorrect label can produce such amazing results.
I have taken hit after hit as I stood my ground and even though it has taken nine years for people to start questioning things (and God, I broke down in tears again today for the tragedy of losing FurAngels all for the sake of saving $$$) I am really hoping that some start to realize that this is an industry!!!
They have to show profits to stock holders. They raise their prices and hire CEO’s who can spin marketing. I have been shocked at some of the prices I’ve seen for some premiums - egads! Not that I’m against ‘em, but when people switch over to Kumpi and get better results when spending less - there’s a message there. And it’s not something that happens randomly, it happens a lot.
I am not saying I am ‘the’ answer, but thanks to the people here who have tried Kumpi and KumpiKat. If you could read my email inbox, it’s about the only thing that has helped me keep sane through this all. Much like Ground Zero, if I didn’t have my food approved to go in there and feel connected about making a difference, I’d have been loony tunz.
My first time I’ll say this. Please consider trying Kumpi if you want to feel safe. I love our pets so much and I promise a full refund if you are not happy with what happens. And I PROMISE it will not kill your pet!!!
Warmly warm hugs to your FurAngels :)
kumpi.com
kumpikat.com
April 17th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
juli28428 Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
By Julie Schmit and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The industrial chemical melamine has been found in more pet food, and suspicion is falling on a second pet-food ingredient imported from China as the source of the contamination.
Natural Balance Pet Foods said Tuesday it found melamine in samples of some of its food, which led to a recall. The company suspects melamine was in a rice protein concentrate used as an ingredient, said President Joey Herrick in an interview.
Melamine is the chief suspect related to the Menu Foods recall, first announced four weeks ago for more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food. The melamine in Menu’s products was in wheat gluten imported from China and sold to Menu and several other pet-food makers, which also did recalls.
The rice protein concentrate was imported from China by San Francisco-based Wilbur-Ellis. Herrick says the concentrate, which is being tested, is suspected to have melamine, as it was the only new ingredient. Recalled Natural Balance products include Venison and Brown Rice canned and dry dog foods, dog treats and Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.
Wilbur-Ellis CEO John Thacher said his company sold the concentrate to five pet-food makers, but that most of it went to two firms. One of the primary companies was Diamond Pet Foods, which packs some of the Natural Balance product but doesn’t use the concentrate in any Diamond-made foods, says Diamond spokesman Jim Fallon. The other major customer, which Thacher would not name, tested the rice protein and found no melamine, Thacher says. Natural Balance’s rice protein concentrate is mixed with venison meal, Thacher says.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Monika,
Thanks for your post. I called NB and checked out the “rumor”.
Once again asked for the test department. I don’t think NB has a test department. Was told that their food contained no melamine. The person on the phone said she was “certain”.
I guess she hadn’t gotten the news just yet.
Monika Says:
April 17th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
On thepetfoodlist.com I have found someone who lost a dog from eating NB and said they just heard from NB and that the company confirmed melamine.
!!!!!
not sure if this is true but here’s the post and forum:
http://thepetfoodlist.com/foru.....316#msg316
April 18th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Tootsmom,
Hope your kitties get well soon. Please call your area FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator and blast them.
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/back.....plain.html
The FDA should have checked the grain products weeks ago, but they kept saying “all is well”.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:24 am
I have fed NB venison/brown rice for two years to my German Shepherds because one is allergic to wheat. They have thrived on it. I went to buy my usual two 30-pound bags at Petco last Saturday and there was none on the shelf. Since it’s popular, that’s not uncommon, so I asked the cashier if she happened to have any in the back. She came out with one 30-pound bag. As I was checking out, a manager just happened by and told the cashier, “You can’t sell her that bag of NB.” I asked if it had been recalled like the others and why since it contains no wheat. He said it was a “quality control issue” due to the VENISON and said it could be back on shelves soon.
Over the weekend I emailed NB and asked about it and got a return email today (before they posted their news release) telling me it was melamine found in the rice protein and that not only the dry venison/brown rice but the canned and the treats needed to be returned to the store.
My 3-year-old Shepherd had experienced bleeding from his penis a week ago, just some drops and the vet said to just keep an eye on him. NOW I find out that this melamine found in the food he has eaten since he was a puppy is causing kidney failure. I will be calling the vet tomorrow to get appointments.
If my dogs have kidney ailments, SOMEONE (translation: NB) is going to be paying the bills.
I can’t believe, either, that a manager at PETCO would know about a recall and then not inform the cashiers. If he hadn’t walked by as I was buying that bag, I would have taken it home and began feeding it to my three dogs! But, it’s probably too late anyway, since they obviously would have eaten some from the batch being recalled. I just bought a new bag about two weeks earlier.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Holy moley…
Now I’m wondering. Maybe I’m just paraniod…
We briefly had our pups on Royal Canin’s Chihuahua formula. I say briefly because they all got diarrhea (occasionally bloody). At the time we thought it was just travel stress but switched them back to their old food (Kirkland Lamb and Rice) just in case. A few weeks ago, one of my babies (the smallest and the one that I believe ate most of the Royal Canin) was diagnosed with a bladder infection.
They’re not on the recall list and the food doesn’t have wheat gluten but it does have rice and rice products…
At the same time we switched them all to NB Duck and Potato due to one of them being diagnosed with food allergies.
*sigh*
April 18th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Now that the truth is out regarding the Natural Balance - supposed to be all natural??? RIGHT! Last month I lost my beautiful Golden Retriever due to the recall - he ate nutro max canned food - the recalled flavour. He was a certified therapy dog and I know not only do I miss him terribly - every day, but those in the nursing homes and hospitals will too. How did this happen??? Why aren’t there stricter guidlines? In regards to the Natural Balance recall — I had several samples of their food - both for cats and dogs, as I was planning to switch to their feeds. My cats loved the venison and pea formula - so my next trip I picked up a bag. I also purchased a large bag of their original formula - lamb, duck, oatmeal, potatoes, carrots and brown RICE. My concern is — if this recall is due to melamine in their rice concentrate — what’s to say or guarantee it isn’t in ALL of their products that contain RICE?? I don’t know what to do now…. they are finicky about eating it. Will the company take it back if it isn’t on their list of recalls? Is anyone familiar with Beowulf = Back to Basics? I’ve been feeding that for about a month now and they are doing great on that - the pork formula. This is just all so unbelievable, but maybe this will alert them all to be more careful and do more rigid checking…. I’ve tried contacting Natural Balance and it’s like when you tried to get a hold of Menu Foods — could never get through - line constantly busy. If anyone has any more info - please post… A concerned mum.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I’ve just been reading some of the comments and have to say that I’m a bit takenback by the nasty comments. No one is TRASHING Natural Balance. I can speak for myself - IF you lose a pet to this - you become terrified. Someone posted that this group is trashing the reputable companies - well sobeit if you lose a loved one to a ‘good and reputable company’ — like Nutro canned! We, as pet lovers, are SCARED. We need more information. Oh well, nuf said….. I’m glad I’ve found you all and that most of you understand and agree…. Keep on posting, keep on inquiring. You can’t be too safe - you all know the saying, “Better safe than sorry.” Ziggy
April 18th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Re: Regina Says: April 17th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Regina,
Thanks so much for sharing this with me. I really hope the cats are well and happy. Your comment has made me feel so much better about all the time I’ve spending obsessively trying to get the word out . . . All this muck-raking might actually make a difference and save a few pets!
Thanks again!
April 18th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
And Ziggy, thanks for explaining the reactions many of us have had to this unfortunate event. This forum has quieted down A LOT now that there’s no longer a question about whether this fod was actually toxic or not. But for those of you still seeking to understand why this recall in particular upset so many folks, here are two excerpts that might help (pay attention to the dates):
Pet owners pay for food upgrade
By Gregory Lopes
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 7, 2007
The largest pet-food recall in U.S. history is forcing consumers to use a more discerning eye when buying their pets’ food.
For Natural Balance, a healthy pet-food company in California, sales have dramatically increased since last month when the recall began.
“We’ve seen a 40 percent bump in sales,” said Joey Herrick, president of Natural Balance. “The ultra premium stuff is taking off.”
Pet owners wary in wake of recall
Experts suggest research; some turn to homemade food
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
BY CIGI ROSS
THE REGISTER-MAIL
A recall of more than 90 brands of pet food has left many dog and cat owners confused and frustrated about feeding their pets . . .
Since the recall was announced, Emily Thorn, co-owner of Thorn’s Pets and Supplies, 44 N. Seminary St., said customers buying pet food commonly ask if the brand they are choosing is safe.
“We’ve gotten into the habit that we come in every morning, get online and look at the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Web site to make sure there is nothing else we have to take off the shelves,” Thorn said. “We have had all kinds of people coming in panicked, and I can’t blame them. People have been coming in since the recall asking, ‘What’s safe to feed my dog?’ ”
Thorn said it’s important pet owners are aware of what is in the food they choose for their animals.
“If you’re not comfortable feeding it to your pet don’t buy the food,” Thorn said.
She said many pet owners are switching brands of food as a precaution. Thorn’s, she said, carries at least four brands of pet food that have not been affected by the recall at all, including Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack and Evanger’s, which is made in Wheeling.
Thorn said these brands have human-grade ingredients, meaning fit for human consumption, and do not contain soy, corn or wheat - the ingredients from the recalled food that caused the contamination.
Perhaps this helps explain why we’re so friggin’ scared and angry.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
So sorry if this posts twice. . . It’s not showing up:
And Ziggy, thanks for explaining the reactions many of us have had to this unfortunate event. This forum has quieted down A LOT now that there’s no longer a question about whether this fod was actually toxic or not. But for those of you still seeking to understand why this recall in particular upset so many folks, here are two excerpts that might help (pay attention to the dates):
Pet owners pay for food upgrade
By Gregory Lopes
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 7, 2007
The largest pet-food recall in U.S. history is forcing consumers to use a more discerning eye when buying their pets’ food.
For Natural Balance, a healthy pet-food company in California, sales have dramatically increased since last month when the recall began.
“We’ve seen a 40 percent bump in sales,” said Joey Herrick, president of Natural Balance. “The ultra premium stuff is taking off.”
Pet owners wary in wake of recall
Experts suggest research; some turn to homemade food
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
BY CIGI ROSS
THE REGISTER-MAIL
A recall of more than 90 brands of pet food has left many dog and cat owners confused and frustrated about feeding their pets . . .
Since the recall was announced, Emily Thorn, co-owner of Thorn’s Pets and Supplies, 44 N. Seminary St., said customers buying pet food commonly ask if the brand they are choosing is safe.
“We’ve gotten into the habit that we come in every morning, get online and look at the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Web site to make sure there is nothing else we have to take off the shelves,” Thorn said. “We have had all kinds of people coming in panicked, and I can’t blame them. People have been coming in since the recall asking, ‘What’s safe to feed my dog?’ ”
Thorn said it’s important pet owners are aware of what is in the food they choose for their animals.
“If you’re not comfortable feeding it to your pet don’t buy the food,” Thorn said.
She said many pet owners are switching brands of food as a precaution. Thorn’s, she said, carries at least four brands of pet food that have not been affected by the recall at all, including Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack and Evanger’s, which is made in Wheeling.
Thorn said these brands have human-grade ingredients, meaning fit for human consumption, and do not contain soy, corn or wheat - the ingredients from the recalled food that caused the contamination.
Perhaps this helps explain why we’re so friggin’ scared and angry.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
newsman..please have your dog tested for prostate problems if he’s intact!! Blood droplets in urine (or coming from penis) is an early indicator.
If your vet STILL feels there’s no problem, get another opinion.
If he is neutered and he’s having bleeding please RUN to your vet immediately!!
April 18th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
sorry…newshound..not newsman..
its been a loooooooongggggggg mornign researching dog food..
April 18th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Well I feel I need to get this off my chest and my husband is tired of hearing it, so now you all can hehe. When the whole Menu Foods recall came out, I shook my head. My husband said, our food isn’t on there right? I said no, I trust Natural Balance all their stuff is human grade, it’s all made in the USA and inspected, this would NEVER happen with them.
Imagine my shock and horror when I saw “inklings” of NB recalling food early Monday morning, but nothing was on their site, so I thought they must be talking about a different food. Then I clicked here and I felt all the blood run from my face.
Ok, not a huge deal, just gastric upset in one flavor. Maybe there was something wrong with the venison, after all it DOES come from New Zealand, maybe a batch of food went rancid due to packaging problems…could be soooo many little things. Ok not hanging them out to dry yet. I have 3 bags of Ultra in the closet, Ill just pull my one dog off the Venison they will fix this within a few days and all will be right with the world. I was the first one on my dog board to say I trust NB will do the right thing, they are doing the right thing. THey recalled the food quickly and they are quickly testing it so no other dogs get sick.
Here I sit, not 24 hours later feeling completely let down by my dog food company. Maybe it’s not their fault entirely, I dont know. But NB TOLD me that they use only products from the USA. This tainted rice stuff ISNT FROM THE USA. Ok, so they bought it from a company in the USA.. (where’s the eye roll smiley?). How after the whole Menu Foods fiasco can you NOT test you food for melamine or other toxins..even if it’s just to make ME the consumer FEEL SAFE feeding your food. When I’m paying $40+ a bag for dog food I EXPECT it to be SAFE. Call me crazy.
What really and totally has me bothered is that other companies who purchased this same rice ingredient is claiming there’s no melamine in their products. Maybe they are right, maybe something happend at the manufacturing plant itself? Maybe their machinery is contaminated..if that’s the case then my otehr NB food can be contaminated as well..can’t it?
I no longer feel comfortable with NB. I am currently loading up my truck and driving to petco and returning ALL my bags, cans and treats. I’ve decided to feed a non-store, home delivery brand. I hope I can trust them, the rep swore to me that they test their grains and meats the SECOND the shipment hits the plant. Neither wheat gluten or rice gluten are in this food. The rep also told me that in 15 years they never had a recall. I hope she’s not lying to me. I’m at wits end with the dog food industry.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Our cats were just diagnosed with renal distress and are in treatment. We’ll see how they fare. We have been feeding them Natural Balance for over a year, the last bag we purchased was over 2 months ago… So the “infected” product is not just of late.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Looks like NB has recently updated their website. They now have a FAQ page.
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/faq.html
(Looks like it’s getting hit hard.)
April 18th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
[…] Itchmo pointed out, the Natural Balance pull of two dry foods has raised eyebrows because neither product contained […]
April 18th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I called NB yesterday regarding the Venison and fresh Green Pea Allergy Formula for Cats - they told me that the production dates of expiration that have the melamine are expiration 9/28 and 9/29/08. What I find most disturbing is the venison and green pea allergy formula for cats was suppose to have NO RICE. I don’t know how a company can advertise and sell products and do not list all of the ingredients on the products. I have written letters to the FDA, the governor of Connecticut the attorney general of connecticut as well as PETCo (where I purchased the product) and Natural Balance requesting a response to my letter. If my cats had been allergic to rice, even the smallest amount of that ingredient would have killed them - with or without the melamine. I recommend that everyone write letters to the government to state our cause - just posting on blogs will not help the situation.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Hi there all,
Have been reading with interest all the postings. As far as the comment about the advertisement of NO RICE in the product. As I understand it, there is no rice in the product only the rice protein. I think those two items are different. So if a product says not rice but has rice protein, I think that the advertisement is correct.
As an addition……..have ordered a small bag of Kumpi to use as a treat product, etc. & if my Shiba Inu does well, may convert from the Canidae. Will see………do have one comment, though. It concerns me a bit that the ordering form on the site is not secure. No lock appeared on my task bar…….hope my credit card number is not floating around.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I sent this message to the Natural Balance email address today.
“We have been feeding our 18 month-old terrier your venison and brown rice dry dog food over the last five months. He is on his fourth bag five-pound bag. This bag has a used by date of June 7, 2008.
Please announce the specific product lots that you know contains the contaminated rice protien. This will help us determine to what degree our dog may be affected or, hopefully, not affected.
Your FAQ web page states that you made the decision to add the rice protein to improve your formula. I would like you to explain how adding a white rice protein concentrate was going to improve your brown rice and venison formulation. One of the reasons I liked this formulation was that it used brown rice and did not have any white rice. I cannot see how adding a white rice protein product could improve anything except you company’s bottom line - cheaper ingredients, less meat protein, more grain protein, same overall protein percentage, better profit margin. Say it ain’t so. I would like to trust your company again.”
April 18th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I am worried about the other companies that have this rice protein..WHO ARE THEY??? I looked at my bag of Wellness allergy for dogs…and will NOT open it for a while..because it has……RICE PROTEIN..I am NOT saying it has the crap thats killing all our pets but I will wait and see…when the OTHER companies come forward.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Could someone please tell me how I could reply to someone’s message. I see questions I know answers to, and I can’t help because my replies are not published.
For example I know about LIfe’s Abundance foods. I would like to ask a question about the Innova EVO since this person says she has heard negative things about it and that is what I am relying on for my cats now, even my diabetic cat.
I feel my messages go out into the ether and there is no point in sending a reply. Thank you if someone out there is reading this.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
[…] can say that as you can see if your read the (very long and often depressing) comments section on this post at Itchmo. There is also another post at Itchmo regarding more suspect foods that are not yet under […]
April 18th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
“Could someone please tell me how I could reply to someone’s message. I see questions I know answers to, and I can’t help because my replies are not published.”
Is this the “you have submitted and look to see your post in the list and it won’t show up”?
If it’s what has happened to me, it usually resolves itself and the post finally shows, but sometimes not until a few hours later.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
B Weidman….type in the box at the end of the list of comments and then hit sunmit comment…your name and addy should show…one by one I cannot say I have to go to the bottom…I will say EVO was a good food for us ..though it IS high in protein..but one could cook rice and add it..
April 18th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Traci-
Thank you for posting the info on the Ziwipeak venison food! I’ve been searching for a canned alternative for my cat. She’s had no problems thus far on the canned NB venison, but I don’t want to continue to use it. The only alternatives I could find in a venison formula were California Natural and Nature’s Variety- but I’d like to avoid them also since they’re both made by Menu. Do you have any animals eating the Ziwipeak, or are you looking to switch? Please keep us posted about the taurine question you had for them!
Thanks,
Lanie
April 18th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Evy how do you know for certain that dogs and cats, roadkill, etc. are not used in commercial pet food? Is the pseudo expert 20-20 TV show a good enough source? They had a story on it. And a newspaper reporter went undercover for this story. Is the city of St. Louis pseudo enough? I believe it was them. The people were outraged that dogs and cats were being made into meat meal. So the rendering company said ok, no more. Well the animals bodies piled up so much that they had no choice but to continue sending them off to be made into meal again.
Tons of dogs and cats are made into meat meal every week. If this didn’t go into pet food, into chicken feed (which we then eat), just what do they do with all of this meat meal?
Jane
It COULD NOT BE DONE using roadkill, euthanized animals, etc.
I wish I knew where that notion came from, except for seeing it accepted as ‘fact’ since it’s been parrotted so many times online by ‘pseudo experts’
April 18th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Lanie,
I haven’t experience with it but I am planning of getting some moist to try out since they are near my cats’ vet and cats get their annual May 1st, of course what do you believe but I am not liking how I see the pet food issue being handled by the US and this is made in NZ and seems from the website to be holistic. Mudbay Granary pet store cllose to my home in Seattle sells it and they sell the healthier brands from some smaller companies. Being venison I thought it would might be a helpful alternative to those who have been using the NB venisons because of allergies. I like that they include organ meats, including hearts, in their food (very unusual).
Here is the reply I got back from them on my question:
Hi Traci
Taurine is indeed an essential nutrient, especially for cats. It is naturally present in all our products, but because it is essential, we have is especially added to our cat cuisine, (both dry and canned products) above the minimum maintenance levels required for cats. The pet nutrition experts advise that the minimum maintenance level is 0.18% ME, we have it at 0.28% ME.
We do not show the taurine on the packaging, which is something we will be rectifying on the next pouch printing. I hope this answers your questions.
Thanks
Geoff
–
Geoff Williamson
General Manager
Wilderness Foods Ltd
14 Boeing Place, PO Box 4342
Mt Maunganui, New Zealand.
Phone: (0064) (7) 575 2426
Fax: (0064) (7) 5752425
Mobile: (0064) 021 767 693
geoff@wildernessfoods.co.nz
www.wildernessfoods.co.nz
www.ziwipeak.com
April 18th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
I’ve read on here and elsewhere about other symptoms. Anyone else having an experience with non-stop licking 24/7 and/or stomatitis, dental problems relating to lesions on the gums?
April 19th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Five more names may be coming.
This was posted on The Sacramental Bee site today. Here’s the link to the whole story. You have to register (free) to get to the page. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/156967.html
Local veterinarians who’ve tracked kidney ailments nationwide have tentatively identified five more foods, not at this point under any recall, that they plan to have tested as soon as possible.
The Veterinary Information Network, used by about 16,000 of the estimated 35,000 U.S. veterinarians, noticed the five foods kept recurring in vet-described disease reports, said Paul Pion, the Davis vet who co-founded the service. Pion said it would be premature to name the foods.
He hopes to get suspect food samples to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at UC Davis to start testing as early as today. As the recall expands, “my sense is it’s time for every manufacturer to go testing for melamine,” Pion said.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Correction. I didn’t realize it’s past midnight. That article was posted Wednesday, April 18th.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Well, I personally called up Natural Balance a couple days ago, after seeing that they had rice protein in their food which was advertised on the same webpage as being GRAIN FREE. The yound man said the venison pea catfood HAD NO RICE IN IT. I said it did according to my website. He again disagreed and then he said that RICE WAS NOT A GRAIN ANYWAY!!! I insisted that of course it was and I asked for a supervisor. She came on and said it was old information and I should refresh my page because the venison pea dry cat food HAD ABSOLUTELY NO RICE PROTEIN IN IT. I refreshed my page and sure nuff, there were the ingredients listed with RICE PROTEIN. She then went on herself, SAW IT LISTED, and said it must be a new ingredient list, and evidently the food DID INDEED have rice protein in it. I told her THEY SHOULD NOT advertise as GRAIN FREE, and she said yes, she would look into that!! WERE THEY BOTH BEING UNTRUTHFUL OR JUST IGNORANT. You decide.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Sara how did you happen to hear of Mother Jones! She was a fighter, and faced the wall of flames in the Chicago fire. She was very tiny barely 5 feet tall. During the coal mine lockout in my area, she liked to publicly,debate with a powerful Catholic priest. “I whupped him” she would always say. Her phrase is so true today “— pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the livin’!!”
Jane
April 19th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I am thinking that it depends on whom you speak with at NB. when I talked to a woman at NB on Monday, she openly told me that the rice protein compound was contaminated with the melamine,and that although they considered the extent to be limited to the lots with expiration dates of sept 28-29 2008. These were (according to her) received in the warehouse on March 28, and shipped to distribution after that. I asked her about food that was purchased before march 28, and she said although it should not have had any new product added to it (which was the problem altogether) better to be safe and discontinue use of venison and brown rice canned and dry dog food.
To BW. I know that it is confusing about grains and proteins etc, but if you look back in many of the posts since 4/15, several knowledgeable people have explained about the differences between rice, rice flour, and rice protein. I think a major issue with understanding the extent to which NB is “untruthful or ignorant” depends on many people using many different terms to describe what the “problem” with the food is. It is NOT the rice, or rice flour in the food, it is the rice protein. these are quite different.
NB says “Natural Balance® Venison & Brown Rice Formula is a proven formula for dogs with allergies based on our unique blend of a premium protein source not commonly found in dog foods, and just brown rice. Read some Testimonials! No soy • No eggs • No dairy products • No sunflower oil • No grains such as wheat, barley, corn and oats.” This does not say NO GRAINS at all…which is confusing, but not untruthful.
April 19th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Sorry BW, I realized on the Venison and Green Pea, they specifically say no rice. I apologize…The above pertains only to the dog formula…
Thanks
April 19th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Sharon Says:
April 18th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
I’ve read on here and elsewhere about other symptoms. Anyone else having an experience with non-stop licking 24/7 and/or stomatitis, dental problems relating to lesions on the gums?
Sharon:
funny that your talkinga bout lesions on the gums..I just had a non-cancerous small growth removed from my dog’s mouth at the gumline (it was growing from the gum line up over the side of the tooth) 2 weeks ago. He WAS on the Natural Balance ULTRA however, but did eat some of the canned products which within the past year I varied the varieties…
My dog who was primarily on the Venison however hasn’t had ANY signs of anything.
Non-stop licking however could be related to allergies, it is spring and I do know that my lab mix (and I) turn into messes at the first sign of pollen. Try wiping your dog’s feed when they come in from outside. If that doesn’t help I suggest a visit to your vet to discuss allergies.
April 21st, 2007 at 8:00 am
RE: POST BY ‘ME’ regarding non-stop licking. My 12 year old cat began non-stop licking April 2006. Over the course of months, he removed all the hair from his belly, legs and back. He also meowed a lot and ate ravenously. Every few months I took him to vets but none diagnosed the problem. In Dec. I took him again to the vets - luckily a retired vet was pinch-hitting for a vet who was away.
He did blood tests…the diagnosis was HYPERTHYROIDISM. What I didnt know was that the food he was on had been recalled in March 2006, one month before he started eating his hair. The food had an excessive amount of Vitamin D in it which caused all sorts of medical problems in pets.
Had I not persisted and taken him to the vet YET AGAIN, he would have died. Hyperthyroidism causes the heart to pound faster and faster…without medication he would have died of a heart attack.
My cat has recovered all his hair and is doing fine, but he must take medication twice a day for the rest of his life.
My advice to anyone whose cat is eating his hair, and/or meowing excessively when he/she didn’t before, and eating ravenously…HAVE HIM/HER TESTED FOR HYPERTHYROIDISM!
Nan
June 12th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I fed my young PUG, for the first time, Nunn-Better dry dog food, only because he was out of his normal brand. After about 1 1/2 weeks my Pug was dead with very little signs. My baby was completly healy before this transition occured.
I’m almost sure the Dog food had something to do with it. I’m the process trying to find how how and who do I got to, to have his food tested.
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