if you’re still here - here is the answer I got from Canidae re: the white specks, which are also in the Felidae Cat and Kitten Formula that we use.
“They are simply part of the ingredients in the food and are called fines, caused by friction and settling of the product.”

I am really sorry your cat is very sick:( This is so much a nightmare. Wondering if our animals or us are getting sick from the food supply. I will think positive thoughts for your cat’s recovery.

My dogs’ litter had a history of seizures (learned that years later from the breeder). From age 5, our boy has had 1-2 mild ones per year - it is just slightly more than if he was “chasing rabbits” in his sleep, for about a 1-2 minutes. His sister had never had any at all.

This was her 1st at age 12, and was about as bad as they can be, before they just burn the dog up. I can’t even think about that night much, or the week + it took for her to quit running into walls & even recognize her toys. Or me.

So I reserve judgment on that aspect - could be that she had her first for no apparent reason at age 12 - my research on it says that can happen. Or could be that something in that batch of food acted upon her central nervous system, and caused a seizure as would happen with a dog with no history. And we mistakenly attribute it to her family history of such things. When in truth, she might just have been poisoned by some contaminant in the food. Something over and above the other usual “crud” in the kibble that was causing the vomiting, and other symptoms. I may never know for sure.

Took my magnifying glass and some of the specks are in the kibble and some are on the outside, like the kibble was rolled in it. There are more in the kibble than hanging on the outside. If any of that makes sense!

I have seen mention of these specks before, nothing conclusive on what they are, but just that they were present and people were wondering.

This is only second sack of Felidae, so I don’t know what it is supposed to look like.

Regarding treats, try http://www.baltimoredogbakery.com/. It’s a small company and I trust them. Check it out for yourselves. They have mailorder or if you live in the Baltimore area they’re widely available. We also use plain rice cakes and Zuke’s.

I have a co-worker whose healthy husky started showing the same behavior with his dry Purina One dog food earlier this year, throwing pieces away and eating others. The other husky ate all his food and had seizures the vet could never explain. It is entirely possible the seizures were from the food as well as the other stuff.

Thanks for that understanding about the treats. I’ve thought about it more than once, but I just don’t want to be lured away from my roots. I developed an intense distrust of the pet food industry well over a decade ago, being so close to the roots via dog behavior. I saw many different breeds, ages and over time, there was no really good food that performed consistently. Students were coming back with new pups after the one they brought through class had died of cancer between 6 - 9 years of age.

Then it all hit home for me when in 12/1997 my dog died of cancer. I know I have been doing the right thing for the right reason. My concern about doing a line of treats is doing the wrong thing for the right reason. It’s like I am driving a car and I keep an eye on the rearview mirror, deal with obstacles, watch my speed, go safely and legally, know when to let up on the gas a bit - I’ve hit a ’sweet spot’ with what I’m doing. I guess I’m worried about taking my eyes off of the road for too long, which would be kin to my doing a line of treats. It just takes one little thing and BOOM - can’t risk that.

I have control and trust the people I do business with. This isn’t about the money for me - first and foremost it’s for my own dog and cat - that is where this started. Maybe someone else is ‘called’ to start a company that makes healthy treats for pets they can trust. Maybe it’s already out there and I don’t know enough about that field to refer anyone to. Before Deb, I just made them at home myself, baking them in the oven. (those were the days lol)

LovingMyPets,

Not everyone has the time or inclination to do raw and the general public needs a safe dry to feed. I never thought it would come to this :( I knew the industry was crooked and bent on $$$, but this has been so tragic and I’ve cried so many times. I’ve talked with so many owners whose trust was violated by other companies and it’s just wrong to have to fear for a pet’s life when buying a dry food. I feel like I’m in a parallel universe sometimes lately. Just when I thought New Orleans was as bad as it could get for America, this happens. Beyond my comprehension and all the tentacles off of it.

If someone can help out sk’s mom with the Felidae question that’d be really cool. I’m not familiar at all with Felidae and her cat’s been having some problems (could be related back to the NB though) and she is telling me about seeing white specks in the Felidae. Is that the normal presentation of that food? Does anyone know or know someone who would know?

Once again on a light note (dang, I am working really hard to not get swallowed up in the grief of all this):

While most of us will be sleeping, tomorrow early morning will be something!

The clock will read 02:03:04 on 05/06/07 and will never happen again.

Ok, so I’m easily amused :)

Warmly warm hugs to Fur Angels

Thanks for your post! It was very informative regarding supplements. I’ve become very leary about supplements since I’ve learned that most of them come from China . . . which also has led me to believe that the vitamin/mineral business is just as corrupt as the pet food business. So, I agree with you completely on that.

I’ve been trying to choose the best vitamins I can through holistic PEOPLE doctors, so I hope I’m doing the right thing. I’ve looked up Albion and Nature’s Sunshine, but they don’t offer the vitamins that I could use in my kitty’s raw diet I feed. But I guess they supply VERY good supplements for the commercial food companies such as yourself.

You’ve been awesome, and I (WE) appreciate all that you have contributed to Itchmo! I hope you can earn life-long trust for those that feel that they need to use a smaller company commercial pet food.

I just loved this post by Petra:

“I think @ this point anyone with a pet who loves them dearly understands that if u want to keep them healthy its going to take homework on your part to ensure the ingredients are clean and pure. It may also involve your time and further expense if u decide to home cook which is much healthier despite all the dire warnings. Anyone buying off the shelf pet food now or in the future is risking their pets lives down the road. In addition you will continue to promote companies that have compromised or killed our pets. There are many small, holistic, organic manufacturers of clean pet food out there. Find them, use them, promote them! Any changes to the pet food industry in the future will never ensure that u are feeding your pets healthy food. It’s up to each of us to do that.”

My eyes are blog heavy at this point..