What Should You Feed Your Cat?
In the wake of the Menu Foods Recall, cat parents have been very concerned about what to feed their cats. Considering that Menu Foods is the largest contract manufacturer of wet foods in the US, many cat parents have abandoned wet foods altogether. A tip from a well-respected blogger alerted us to this page written by a vet, who clearly outlines a case for the continued feeding of quality and safe wet food.
[This page] explains why cats have a better chance at optimal health if they are fed a quality canned food diet instead of dry kibble.
An increasing number of American Veterinary Medical Association members, including board-certified veterinary nutritionists, are now strongly recommending the feeding of canned food instead of dry kibble.
This is a very well thought out and thorough case for using wet food. Primarily for the addition of water through the cat’s diet (hence our picture) and its multiple life-saving benefits.
The outline is after the jump. (Thanks, SusanUnPC!)
The three key negative issues associated with dry food are:
- type of protein - too high in plant-based versus animal-based proteins
- carbohydrate load is too high
- water content is too low
Outline
- The importance of animal proteins, versus plant proteins
- Problems with carbohydrates in dry cat foods
- Cats need water with their food
- Reading a pet food ingredient label
- Common medical problems associated with dry food
- Tips for Transitioning - Getting dry food addicts to eat canned food
- Home prepared and commercial raw meat diets
- What I feed my cats
- Some final thoughts
A printed version is available here.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Cats are generally not big drinkers. They drink by rapidly dipping the tongue into a liquid and drawing it back into the mouth. The rough tongue holds some of the liquid. This is not a very efficient way to consume liquids. In the wild, cats get most of their water from their food and don’t need to drink much.
Giving them dry food to hydrate themselves is not very efficient. Their little kidneys now have to work overtime to process all that water before the body has a chance to absorb it.
Please read the following report on the dangers of dry food.
http://www.celestialpets.com/fus_article.shtml
April 20th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I curently feed my four cats Chicken Soup, also feed 6 dogs chicken soup senior, no problems yet. In the morning they get a little canned food, Friskies or 9 Lives.
But, now, since Natural Balance is made at the Diamond Plants, I am having some reservation.
Sandi
Mass
Dachshund Rescue
Shelter Volunteer
April 21st, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Sorry these celestial recipes include veggies like sweet potato which is a BIG NO NO for cats. Cats cannot tolerate ANY carbs. Period.
The recipe I and many others use is at www.catnutrition.org
Or you can order some from the fellow at Felines Pride www.felinespride.com
Dry food is poison. No cat should be eating ANY TYPE of dry food. Dry food causes IBD, Feline Diabetes and chronic renal failure. This has been a BIG SECRET of the pet food industry in collusion with the vets, who are the shareholders of these pet food companies (they prescribe and sell many of these prescription diets that are creating illnesses in cats, after all).
Vets trained by the pet food companies go on to prescribe and sell these prescription diets, which in turn create illnesses in cats, thus generating more business for themselves in the form of sick kitties. It’s causing intense suffering for the cats, and big vet bills for the owners. Vets have to take responsibility for their own lack of knowledge about nutrition and WAKE UP HERE!
Wet food has more meat in it but with all these recalls, it’s difficult to recommend any brand right now. Fancy Feast (non gluten) still seems to be okay but that’s it….no fish though…cats cannot tolerate that.
April 21st, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Thank you so much for the replies. Since I switched all my cats to Innova EVO, my 16 year old with kidney disfunction, Barkley Peeperton, has not been eating dry food at all. He doesn’t like the EVO, though I tried many times before I heard it had too much phosphorus.
Since all this scare, he has been living on canned Fancy Feast flavors without wheat gluten. Today I attempted again to feed my cats people meat, and this time I had some success. Barkley scarfed down 2 helpings of my sauteed Black Angus “round” stewing beef, cut in tiny pieces, with some of the the juice from the pan. He loved it! I was thrilled! My diabetic cat ate it and seemed to enjoy it. My FUS cat also wanted 2 helpings, my 7 year old cat Blackie, ate 2 helpings, and a newly rescued year old female ate some too. All my other cats refused, but I am immensely encouraged to keep cooking people meat. I am hoping that with the EVO always available to them, they will get their vitamins for the time being. No one wanted their Fancy Feast today, I don’t know why, and that is why I hurried to cook the black angus beef. Next I will try some all Natural chicken drumsticks. I will NOT use the canned EVO since Menu makes it.
My vet said I could give him his FF fish flavors, cod, sole, and shrimp without wheat gluten, because of the benefit of the omega 3 etc. She said to give him what he wants. I WILL visit the crf.org site, thanks.
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:00 am
Wysong makes prescription diets. I have not tried any of these but ran across it in my research. Ingredients are MUCH better than any other RX diet, so if you have a cat with health problems, it is one more thing you can investigate. They also have a phone number you can call with questions. They will help you locate a vet who will prescribe the food if you want to try it.
http://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/CTGY/RXDIET
P.S. I am having good luck getting my cat to eat Sheba, which smells like human food, but she also eats Innova dry. Sheba has no taurine or other supplements. It is chunky and a little saucy, which is what my cat loves. Zero luck getting her to eat any natural brand wet food. Nutro dry food made her sick, so I switched to Innova. She is fine now.
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I shall have to respectfully disagree with Carol. First of all, if you read our recipe, you will see that the veggies listed are under “Optional Ingredients.” Cats can do very well without them. However, we add them primarily to provide fiber. I’m not looking to argue with anyone. We are all entitled to our own opinions. However, I will stick with Dr. Yarnall’s tried and true protocols and continue to recommend them. The 10 generations we’ve raised speak glowingly for themselves. The animals of our families, friends, and clients, have also done beautifully on our regime. We stand behind everything that we do and recommend, and we provide support for anyone on our program who needs it. Feel free to contact me privately.
April 22nd, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I’m an intelligent person but there is so much conflicting information on here that it is overwhelming and not helping with my current problem which is what to feed my cat tomorrow morning before I go to work. Everyone seems to have their own agenda and I don’t like having a raw food diet or no carb diet or particular brand shoved down my throat. I’ve gone from anger at the pet food companies and our worthless government to needing real help before I jeopardize the health of my pet by jerking her feeding around.
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:38 am
After reading Sharon’s posting, I truly understand her frustration and hope the best for her and her Kitty.
I am so disappointed with the results from some of these postings. I only wanted to share my success story with the regime I chose to follow, so that others could look into it as an alternative, if interested. Although there is some great information here, it seems that this has turned into a battle for who is right. I feel I have to defend myself about how I care for my cats and the products I use. I firmly believe in the choices I have made for the care of my pets. Others don’t agree and I respect that.
I hope the best for all in need during this crisis with the pet food industry.
ITCHMO ADMIN: Kevin, you have hit the nail right on the head. It’s okay to agree to disagree here. One diet won’t fit all cats, just as one diet won’t fit all people. It’s okay to try a diet and see how your cat responds and make up your own mind. Certain circumstances, such as diabetes and level of activity, etc. will heavily influence what you should feed.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:12 am
Cool, because obviously pushing a diet one sells is hardly objective.
I didn’t realize I was feeding poison (it wasn’t recalled food, just poor choice for budget) to my cats. They range from 3 to 14. I immediately switched to Chicken Soup for the Soul, they didn’t need a full week to transition. For wet, I was in the Feed Store - and picked up Eagle Pack Hollistic (which they also enjoyed - but I initially started on a regiment of free feeding dry food, and wet every other day - since they hadn’t been getting any wet for a year or so).
But then I learned Hollistic made at Menu. And with the other recalls, I wanted a food made entirely in the USA. I picked Felidae Cat Canned food. They didn’t jump right in as before (and I learned that this type of food is not necessarily what kitties crave when have been fed cheap diet).
So after researching - discovered a way to slowly transition, mixing the 2 cans I had left of Eagle with the other. I started a regimen of dry food in morning, and wet in evening (so they now get 50/50). They are slowly converting - and will mix some peas in (they started craving them after the Hollistic blend) with the Felidae when its in full force.
My only concern now is - where are they really getting the food for Chicken Soup? I will be calling them to see what they say. I have a bag that’s not part of any contamination - and will last awhile, and I’m really pleased with the increased well being of all ages of pets. But if they are sourcing from China - I will have to look for another brand.
April 23rd, 2007 at 2:22 pm
When I heard about the first Royal Canin recall the week of Apr. 9, I decided to just get my kittens off of the Royal Canin HP dry food they were eating for sensitive tummies. They have also been eating Precise canned food with no problems. On Apr. 14, I went to a holistic pet food store to find a replacement for the Royal Canin dry food and they recommended Natural Balance. So I started merging it into their diets with the last of the bag of Royal Canin. I had a new bag that I planned to return to the vet.
Imagine how upset I was to find out last week that the Natural Balance I had just started feeding them was being recalled! And also on Friday, the Royal Canin HP food. The kittens went in for blood tests on Friday and appear to be ok (no symptoms, blood test results fine).
I decided after reading on this website not to bother replacing their dry food at all and just keep them on the canned Precise. There are no gluten, meal or “protein concentrate” ingredients on the cans at all. Of course, my vet was pushing me to put them on Hills d/d. I got into a bit of an argument with them as to why I didn’t want to do that (at the time I was considering California Natural). Although there is no wheat, rice or corn gluten in the Hills formula, there is a “pea protein concentrate” and at this point, I don’t want my girls near anything that is a gluten or protein concentrate! I don’t think we’re done with tainted ingredients yet. And I’m buying into the argument that they don’t need/shouldn’t have the dry food anyway.
Thanks for all the info, and my thoughts are with those of you that have sick pets…
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
How do you transition when your food was recalled? I called the vet because my cats are not taking too well to their new food. (They went from Royal Canin to Newman’s Own Organic. They are not eating the way they used to.) The vet’s office said to gradually change over from one to the other. How can I do that? The old stuff is recalled.
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I think the variety in my cat’s diet may have saved her life. She has always had dry available and gets canned food 2x per day (miraculously, no recalled wet food) and a share of any meat I happen to cook or some canned low salt tuna. She is not overweight and had no health problems before the dry food incident. So when she was partially rejecting and getting sick from her dry (Nutro), she had other food to fall back on. She would have eaten more of the bad dry food if that was her entire diet. She has the option of rejecting a food if she knows something is wrong with it, and I will never give her Nutro dry again. She is fussy fussy, so it is hard to tell, but I will now be more suspicious if she suddenly won’t eat something she has previously agreed to eat.
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:49 pm
To Susan
Your cats are much better off getting a tummy-ache from switching too fast than from eating recalled food! Try offering other treats with the new food? Some human food (chicken, etc.) on top is good incentive. If they really don’t like the new food, try another food instead? There are still good safe kinds around, and some cats will wolf down something another cat won’t touch. I had to try a whole lot of times to find a canned food I felt better about that my cat would eat.
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Merrick lists their phosphorus levels low if you are looking for low-phosphorus canned food for compromised kidneys. I got this from their website.
What is the sodium, phosphorus and calcium level in the can cat food?
The sodium level in the can cat food will range from 0.26% to 0.4% on a dry matter basis. Phosphorus will range from 0.18% to 0.25% as-fed. The calcium phosphorus ratio will be 1.2 – 1.5:1. Calcium will be 0.23% - 0.32% as-fed.
April 24th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I have also received information that Merrick has plenty to be desired in quality control and has had multiple incidents not related to the current recalls that ended up killing pets. I may just start giving human food instead of canned and stick with the Innova dry to balance.
April 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
If anyone wants to make catfood using a premade base which is added to raw meat, you may be interested in checking out InstinctsTC at
www.felinefutre.com Lots of interesting information on cat nutrition. The product can be ordered online. I just got some and will be making my first batch of catfood this week. This company also has a similar product for making dog food under the name Know Better Dog Food. There is a link on the cat food site. Making one’s own may be a hastle but given what has happened, I can’t in all good conscience feed my cats commercially prepared food or support a pet food industry for which profit is the bottom line.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:17 am
How do you get a cat, who is addicted to dry food and has never had wet food, to chnge diets? I listened to the vet and only fed dry. Now I know how much trouble we are in. He is ADDICTED to any food made by purina. I have been able to change over to a better dry, but he will not even consider wet.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Put some of the dry on top of the wet, and maybe once he gets going he will eat the wet with the dry. I know a couple of cats this worked with.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Linda Taylor,
Dr. Yarnall has great experience in this area. She can give you some tips and tricks to entice your pet to make the switch. Drop her a line at the email below.
Also, Vets are in the business to sell commercial pet food products. That is part of their income.
Email Dr. Yarnall:
celestialpet@sbcglobal.net
Web Site:
celestialpets.com
April 26th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Here is what works for me in getting a cat to switch to wet food. I have had the opportunity to do this on more than one occasion.
The last was with a 5 year old male that had only eaten dry food all his life.
Take the dry food away at night, and give a small feeding of the wet food.
If none is eaten by morning, give another small portion. Do this for up to 36 hours. At that point, if the cat hasn’t eaten, give maybe 2T of dry food and some wet food fed in a separate dish. Saucer works the best.
The cats are hungry by then, and will eat the dry food, and this puts the machinery in motion, so they are still hungry when it is gone, and go right on to the wet. After the cat starts eating the wet, schedule dry feeding separately from the wet feedings until he is welcoming the wet food and eats it without hesitation. If you just start free feeding the dry, he will just start eating it and leave the wet and you have to start all over.
April 27th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Helen Says:
April 24th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I have also received information that Merrick has plenty to be desired in quality control and has had multiple incidents not related to the current recalls that ended up killing pets. I may just start giving human food instead of canned and stick with the Innova dry to balance.
Not only their QC but they also operate a rendering plant on the same property that takes in all types of animals (farm animals, road kill, etc.). Just do a Google search and a lot of information comes up about it. I won’t feed their food because I just don’t trust it.
April 27th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
As far as cats not being able to tolerate any sorts of carbs . . .
If you’re basing a raw meat diet on a “wild” diet, think about what predators tend to go for first–the gut! They eat the stomach contents and all. Most prey animals are either omnivorous or herbivorous so the predators are also consuming what their prey previously consumed, mostly grains, fruits, vegetation, etc.
April 27th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
We now feed Gerber’s meat babyfood to our 4 cats, alternating with Primal ‘Beef & Salmon’ raw (frozen), which contains some added veggies & vitamins & taurine. The youngest (2yo) two have always been healthy on this regimen, and the oldest, Ellie, at 12yrs is doing better than she ever has, and has lost weight and the bloated look … and she has a tender, reactive tummy. We don’t give her the raw food, but alternate baby food with wet Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea, and California Natural wet. We feed the other three raw food every morning, and rotate the canned foods at night, including Solid Gold tuna twice a week to all. Any of the cats, when bored by the canned choices, can have baby food. Sometimes they mix and match.
We didn’t have any trouble transitioning the two oldest to high-quality wet food, from a largely dry diet, but our youngest female has a serious jones for dry crunchies, so she gets some Natural Balance dry venison (at least until the old sack is gone).
The one thing I’ve learned is that each cat is an individual, and needs to be fed as such … but they are not always the best judge of what is healthy (just palatable).
April 28th, 2007 at 8:35 am
I have 5 cats and I changed there foods since the recall - they get 3 cans split between them in the morning and dry food left out all day. I was feeding them Friskies and Whiskas but have since changed to Merrick Wet and I change there dry from Core Wellness which is grain free and Natures
Variety Raw Cat Food. I go online every morning before I feed my babies to check what new food is recalled.
Does anyone have any comments on Timberwolfe - Serengati Dry Food
Let me know
Thank You
April 28th, 2007 at 8:36 am
I have a few cats and I changed there foods since the recall - they get 3 cans split between them in the morning and dry food left out all day. I was feeding them Friskies and Whiskas but have since changed to Merrick Wet and I change there dry from Core Wellness which is grain free and Natures
Variety Raw Cat Food. I go online every morning before I feed my babies to check what new food is recalled.
Does anyone have any comments on Timberwolfe - Serengati Dry Food
Let me know
Thank You
April 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Valerie,
I very happy to see you have taken the time and energy to find a proper diet for your pets. I don’t have any comments on Timberwolfe - Serengati Dry except that dry food for you pets is not a good thing in general. I have provided an article for your continued research on the dangers of dry food. Keep up the good work and I hope the best for you and your cats.
http://www.celestialpets.com/fus_article.shtml
Kevin.
April 30th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Hello: Does anyone use PHD dry food products (both cat and dog)? I just purchased some, but am afraid to use it until I hear comments - also don’t know which NY plant manufacturers their food - they say it’s proprietary information … thank you!
May 1st, 2007 at 7:16 am
This situation is getting worse and there doesn’t seem to be an end in site.
I feel that the only way you can protect your pets and yourself is to buy 100% organic and make your own pet food.
Don’t allow yourself to be brainwashed by pet food manufactures, the media and veterinarians who sell pet food into believing that you can’t provide your pet with the nutrients it needs. I would be very careful in choosing a pet supplement. Check with the company to make sue they don’t source their ingredients from China.
If you have health problems that prevent you from making your own pet food, there is one brand that appears to be a safe choice, Check out Evangers pet food… http://www.evangersdogfood.com.....sion1.html
Evangers is a small company that has their own plant. They use human USDA grade food that you can actually eat! The suppliments they use is made in the US. Evangers told me that they do not source any of their ingredients from China.
May 1st, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Has anyone had any real experience using Balance-It supplements at balanceit.com? I live in Costa Rica and, except for some dubious local tuna products, the only canned cat foods available are 3 flavors of regular Friskies.
Since moving here over a year ago, I’ve fed my 2 cats Hill’s Prescription C/D; corn gluten is #3 on the ingredient list and I just noticed that the “version†we get here is distributed in Latin America and (ouch!) South Africa. One of the cats has endured 2 episodes of near-fatal, unexplained renal failure in the past year and for the past few weeks I’ve been home cooking for them.
But it seems clear that essential nutrients need to be added to any homemade cooked diet (I tried raw several years ago but the cats would not eat it.) Many of the recommended nutrients, including taurine, aren’t available here. My plan, therefore, is to have a friend in the US ship some Balance-It to me, since it seems to contain all the supplements recommended on various cat nutrition sites.
Any reactions or other suggestions?
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 am
Has anyone tried Wildkitty frozen raw out of Maine?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I had to euthanize my cat on Saturday and no longer trust any cat food makers. Fed Newman’s Own and they’re using Menu Foods plant, Wellness stopped answering questions I had via e-mail and told me to call them, so I suspect something’s up with them. Who can guarantee now that they’ve found pigs and chickens eating the melamine tainted foods what type of chicken or pork and what those were fed is now (or has been) going into our cats’ canned foods? As we’ve seen in the past information trickled in slowly and who would have thought Natural Balance would have decided to use Menu’s facilities. I was using Newman’s Own, Wellness canned, KD canned, KD dry, Wellness Dry and I no longer have a cat.
I need some input on what can safely be fed (dry and wet) now before I lose my other 2 cats.
Thank you.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm
PS TO MY FIRST E-MAIL
Remember that greed is driving a lot of companies these days so the more money they can make the better. And, when it comes to our pets, keep in mind that by law they’re only considered “property”. So, I don’t expect to see much done at all.
I’ve very frustrated and extremely upset with a lot of these companies.
If they’ve been found to have poison in one of their foods I would not put it past them to have not checked, not continued to check and or cover up what is in or how they make their other foods.
Take care all. Please give me some ideas if you have any and what foods can actually be trusted. Meri
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Meri,
I’ve been feeding my two cats EVO, Flint River Ranch and Kumpi dry and Artimis and Sheeba domes moist since around 3/16. Blood tests & urine both OK 2 wks ago. No negative symptoms. In fact my 8 yr old lady cat has been more playful and active.
I’ve been checking these foods on the different blogs almost daily and even called Artimis last Friday from a pet food store. Their canned food is made by Evangers in Il.
You may also want to consider a raw food like Primal (mail ord. or Whole Foods) or Wildkitty. Their website will tell you if it’s available in your area or you can order on line out of Maine. I know these alternatives sound extreme to many, but I’ve seen a huge difference in my 15 yr old Maltese since switching her to FargoFarmore (frozen) raw 6 days ago.
Meri, my heart goes out to you and all the other fur parents who have lost their special friends.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Supplement to my post of yesterday asking if anyone has tried Balance-It: does anyone have experience with a Wysong product called “Call of the Wildâ€? Apparently it’s intended as a supplement to a raw meat diet but I would use it with gently cooked meat. The fact that Wysong’s recall page is still “under construction” gives me considerable concern about the company.
Many thanks for any help.
And huge condolences to Meri and all others whose pet have lost this battle.
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Just wanted to share my experience with making food using the Feline Future pre-mix and raw chicken in case anyone is thinking of going this route. I am completely frustrated with this whole pet food scandal and like all pet parents want the best for my babies. I have four cats. The oldest is a dry food addict. The only wet he likes is Fancy Feast and I’m not buying that any more. He was raised on Nutro Natural dry and was eating the occasional pouch of Nutro wet food. Thankfully, I stopped buying it in December as I became more conscious about quality food. He now eats a mixture of several dry foods, Evo, Solid Gold, Serengeti and Orijen. They are all high in meat content. He likes plain raw chicken and gets that a couple of times a week. He will not touch the Feline Future raw mixture and I will try to use some of the techniques mentioned to wean him off the dry. The other three cats went for the home made food readily. To introduce it gradually, I tried mixing it with some canned but they ate around the canned so I am fortunate that they like it. It was not difficult to make. I cut up deboned skinless raw chicken into small chunks and mixed the Feline Future powder with some water and salmon oil capsules provided with the mix, then divided it into portions to go in the freezer. It’s a bit of a hastle but at least I know my guys are not being poisoned, although I do worry somewhat about the quality of the raw chicken. With four, I can’t really afford organic chicken. Before all this mess started, I had been feeding Wellness canned and Natural Balance canned and some Natural Balance Dry(until the NB nonsense started). Fortunately, none of my babies became sick. They were throwing up at times, particularly the oldest one when he was on Nutro (I thought he had a sensitive stomach and never connected it to the food) but none of them has thrown up since they have been eating the raw food. I did try Evangers canned (they only liked the pheasant) because it is so highly rated and not connected with Menu or Diamond or the others. I thought all was well until I fed my youngest out of one can and he vomited profusely three times immediately after. That was enough to rule out Evangers completely. Not sure yet about the relative cost of make your own but the convenience is not too bad, particularly if it saves on vet visits. I will reluctantly continue buying dry food until the oldest is weaned off (if ever) but will never buy canned.
It is so incredibly sad to hear about the losses of beloved pets. My heart goes out to everyone who is has had to go through this.
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:56 pm
When I adopted my cat in January, I researced via internet what a cat should eat and learned that a cat does not need grains or carbohydrates in their diet and should be fed wet food. Prophetically I had emailed Natural Balance and asked them why the put brown rice in their cat food since cats do not need grains in their diet. They responded that it was a good source of protein and helped to bind the wet food. I first tried the wet venison and pea, but my cat did not like it, so I switched to their chicken and liver pate variety (which does not contain grains or brown rice). Since there are no grains in this variety, I continue to feed it to my cat but I want to have a back up brand in case this tragedy causes them to cease production or go out of business. I searched the internet for a cat food brand that was not only grain free, but also privately manufactured with high quality US ingredients. Merrick seems to be one of the few pet food companies that does this. They are family owned and process their pet food in their own plants and according to their website they use US ingredients and never use grains in their wet foods. The food is a little “runny” compared to other brands, but so far my cat likes several varieties, especially the Turducken and Thanksgiving Dinner.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Help! I have made three two hour trips to our closest pet supply store and I have not been very successful with food tastings. For wet my cat Pippi has tried Felidae, Solid Gold (she liked those but threw them up), Life’s Abundance wet, Nature’s Logic wet and raw, and Natural Life. I started putting the FF back down and she didnt even want that at first. All that throwing up really scared her and me too. I have since added Proplan wet and she seems to like some of these. I know these are bad foods (fattening I mean) but what else can I do. Living in a rural area, I have no access to foods such as Evangers, Avoderm, Merrick, Wellness. I don’t mind ordering off the internet, but I dont want to spend one hundred dollars and then her not eat any of these brands. Any suggestions on a food that looks like FF or Proplan (meaty, juicy, good smelling). Has anybody had any problems with these foods?
For dry, we have tried Solid Gold, Felidae, Purina One, Blue Spa, Nature’s Logic, Life’s Abundance, Royal Canin and Flint River Ranch. She will only eat the last two mentioned. Has anybody had problems with these two foods? Any suggestions?
Last year, I lost my Boo to diabetes. The more I read these blogs the more I think I contributed to his death. Neither of my vets told me how bad dry was for him. I have had many nights crying myself to sleep lately with these guilty thoughts. I just don’t want the same thing to happen to my new cat.
May 4th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Thanks for the food information. I’ve been reading so much on so many different sites my eyes hurt…as does my heart. I thought I saw somewhere that Wysong is affected somehow in the recall, perhaps the cross contamination, same thing re. Solid Gold.
Anyone remember seeing that. I’ve gone to feeding only Pet Promise canned which they’re not jumping at and Serengeti dry along with the salmon dry from Fromm’s. Also saw something re. Fromm’s canned being made overseas so now concerned about feeding any Fromm’s.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this went to court (mind you I work for attorneys so know this is only a hopeful dream) and a judge would sentence all involved to eating their own recalled foods. Would be the only way they’d get the hint, like those judges who have in fact sentenced building owners to live in the crappy rentals they make money on.
This is horrible. And sadly I feel like not enough will come of all this…other than myself and so very many others losing those we love.
Please keep advising if anyone knows of absolutely safe canned foods.
Just gave a neighbor, soon to be ex-friend, a world of heck today. Called to have me cat sit and he’s pulled the recalled foods he was selling but was talked into the Blue Buffalo foods AFTER they were recalled by PetSmart. Wonderful. I CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE CAN “OWN” AN ANIMAL AND NOT CARE ENOUGH ABOUT HIM OR HER. WAKE UP FOLKS, YOU THEN DON’T DESERVE THEM IN YOUR HOME AND YOU’RE NOT DOING ANY OF THEM ANY “FAVORS” BY HAVING THEM THERE. He spends tons on his girlfriend’s collector dolls, his vacations, but has no time or attention (or money) to put toward his pets. Thanks for letting me vent but this so gets to me!!!
Take care all.
Thanks,
Meri
May 4th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Dawn:
As I mentioned, I’m doing way too much web reading lately and Blue Spa and Royal Canin are recalled foods. I also read (unhappily) that Merrick’s plant is right near a rendering/road kill plant and that in the past they’ve had their own issues re. healthiness of their foods.
I found Pet Promise (canned and dry) in a health food store. Canned there’s salmon, fish or chicken flavors and the Serengeti at a place that sells bird feeders and food, called “Wild Birds Unlimited”. I couldn’t get that bag open fast enough - snarfed it right down right away.
And, my sister used to feed high quality dry food only to her cats and they passed away of old age(s) at 22, 24, and 23. The main concern that I’ve harped to several I pet-sit for is not to just put out a bowl with 1/4″ of water in it and that’s it. One crabbed he didn’t want to clean up water when his cats played in it - IT’S WATER!!! FOR PETE’S SAKE, DOESN’T STAIN…
I have 4 large bowls out 10″ diameter each filled to the brim and changed daily - empty entire bowl and refill into clean one - and they’re approx. 4″ deep. If they want to play in one, fine, they then lick their paws and drink more water. If they have water in front of them as they’re running from room to room, place to place, or “hunting” for their toys and food, they’ll be more apt to stop and drink it.
Another thing I’ve done is to be sure to only use unscented, good for the planet, dishwashing liquid from a Health Food store. You wouldn’t drink much water either if it tasted like soap, why expect the fuzzballs to do so?
Take care and please everyone let’s keep each other informed. And, thank you all again for your help here.
Meri
May 4th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Thanks Meri. That’s a great idea about the water and the soap; I am putting more bowls out tonight. As for the health food stores, in this rural southern state, they are nonexistent. I’ll try those and the bird food stores in the capital city on my next visit. I just got some Honest kitchen Prowl in the mail and I bought some Sheba today. I think I’ll try mixing them together. She loved the Sheba chicken I opened today. Any thoughts on these foods? I know Sheba doesn’t have all the stuff in it she needs, so I will have to supplement it.
Did you know that Pet Promise is a Purina company–saw that on the Pet Food List–so I am sure you saw it too.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Thanks Dawn, after buying it and them not eating 2 cans I just found that Purina is their owner.
So, now I wonder what anyone might know about EVANGERS canned foods. Please advise as I’ve totally run out of canned food options now.
Dawn, I’ll check the brand name of the soap I’m using, perhaps (most likely) you can buy it online.
What Southern state are you in if I may ask and thanks again for the Purina info.
Take care all, Meri
May 7th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
For Dawn:
Here’s the site for the soap I use, perhaps you can find the closest retailer, or buy online. Their name is “Seventh Generation”
http://www.seventhgeneration.c.....iquid.html
Thank you again for your help.
Meri
May 7th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Meri:
Where did you see Solid Gold is not ok? I did not read any think on that, I just put my 2 bengal cats on Solid Gold……I send an e mail to them and they answer me very fast and they told me they made analysis on their food and they are ok……I have tried Evangers but my 2 cats dont want to eat ……I have tried 4 kind of them……they refuse also Merrick….and they run away from Felidae and Origen…..and Evo
…….please someone give me more info on solid Gold , that is the only one they want to eat….for now
Thanks
Monica S.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Wow, loads of info here!
I nearly lost my cat (Serenity) not due to the menu foods thing, but due to the fact she developed a tooth infection and refused her dry food. She wouldn’t even eat the wet after the extraction, and turned down water as well. Finally, after large vet bills later, and days of force-feeding chicken baby food (with something called Nutri-Gel feline supplements) and antibiotics, she’s back to eating Purina dry for sensitive systems (she would also eat Eukanuba dry in the past, but I’ve kinda sworn off Eukanuba anything after the recall).
She’s always been a picky eater, would never even try wet food, or human food for that matter. I’m still trying to get her weight back up, and she’s turned her nose up at kitten kitty kibble too. It’s very obvious she’d rather die than eat something she doesn’t want to eat.
I’m not happy about having to use the Purina, but once she gets back up to weight I’ll see if there is some healthier dry food I can switch her to.
May 15th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
What to feed your pet??? ok after reading all of this im so confused!! I try to do my best I feed my cats Innova reduced fat dry food, and a little friskies wet without gluten, in the morning. those of you who feed your pets human food, what about the problems with mad cow and all the antibiotics they feed cows and other animals these days? is this not going to affect our cats, and dogs?? Still confused on what to feed my baby’s.
May 16th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Tina, I worry about the quality of meat going into the raw food diet I make for my cats. The way I rationalize it, is that is couldn’t possibly be worse than what goes into commercial cat food. The use of antiobiotics in raising poultry and beef is so prevalent, it will be in any pet food either commercial or home made unless you buy strictly organic. At least with homemade, I can control the quality of what I’m using and rule out by-products and rendered meats. I try buying the best quality I can, although organic is prohibitively expensive when I’m feeding four large cats (two of which are maine coons.) I’m finding making my own a bit of a hastle but when I watch my babies gobble it up and thrive, I feel a real sense of satisfaction. The oldest is still holding out for the dry kibble (I mix Evo, Serengeti, Orijen and Wholistic Blend) but he eats some plain raw meat(I guess he doesn’t like the stuff when it is mixed with the supplemental powder). My guys haven’t been to the vet in almost two years now (they are indoor cats and were on what I considered premium food like Wellness and Natural Balance). I’m seeing the home made diet as a good investment in their health. I’d rather be paying more for good food than for vet visits. I looked at various alternatives to Menu Food and Diamond brands before deciding on the home made route but just couldn’t find anything that wasn’t associated with the problematic companies or that they would eat. (of course they’d always eat Fancy Feast but that’s not happening.) Making your own food is not for everyone and I’m hoping that companies like Natura who makes Evo and Innova will use their own manufacturing plants(Natura announced that it would either build or take over a canning plant after the recalls happened) for making wet food so that they have complete control over what goes into their products. Wish you all the best in finding the right food. Some suggestions: Country Pet is available at Whole Foods. It is from New Zealand and is lightly cooked. It comes in a frozen log and can be cut in serving sizes and defrosted. They make a dog and cat food. Ziwi Peak is a canned food from New Zealand. It comes in venison and lamb flavours and is all natural, all meat. Halo’s Spot Stew is supposed to be an excellent canned food. Unfortunately, I can’t get it in Canada, so you’re luck to be in the US for that. Evangers is supposed to be excellent but mine didn’t like the organic braised chicken and threw up on the pheasant. Hope this helps.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Thank you for your suggestions Auntienina, I went to a web site on how to make your own raw food and it seems very overwhelming to me and alot of work. Not sure what to do, I am also from Canada, so not sure what is out there for that, hopefully can find something similar that is already made and can thaw and serve, but also have to add other vitamins to their diet aswell I guess. Thanks.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Hi again Tina:
You really don’t have to fuss with making your own food from recipes and trying to find the necessary vitamins and supplements. Happy to hear from a fellow Canadian. (Our Health and Welfare Canada doesn’t have any information on their website about the pet food recall. Glad we can rely on the US to keep us informed.)You’ll be happy to hear that we have Canadian companies which produce quality raw food products. I use TC Instincts made by a company on Salt Spring Island in BC. It is a powder to which you only have to add raw meat, water and salmon oil capsules which are included. It used to be that you had to use fresh liver but if you buy the kitten formula, the liver is already in the powder mix and if you buy the adult formula, you can also purchase a bag of liver powder so you don’t have to use fresh liver (which can be difficult to obtain and rather messy.) I have started with the kitten formula because it can be used for adult cats too. I ordered the TC Instincts on-line and also ordered the most wonderful smelling dried catnip for treats. You can check out the company website at www.felinefuture.com There is lots of great information about cat diet and behaviour etc. I live in Ontario and the products were shipped to me within 10 days. Another alternative is pre-made frozen raw food. One suggestion is the company Home Made 4 Life. It is made in Canada and Global Pet Foods carries it. There are also other raw diets that Global carries. My cats weren’t too keen on the Home Made 4 Life when I tried it and I am thankful that they like the home made with Instincts TC. Before I started the InstinctsTC, I would give them bits of raw chicken, turkey and sometimes beef as I was cooking it for the family and they ate it, so I guess it wasn’t a huge transition to go to a raw diet. I am making another batch tonight. It will be batch #4. Now that I have the hang of it, I can do it quite quickly. It just takes a really sharp knife to cut the meat in small pieces. I’ve been buying boneless, skinless chicken which makes it much easier. I did try a small hand meat grinder but find that my guys are okay with chunks. This exercises their teeth and jaw muscles more. The mixture then goes into containers for the freezer and is defrosted as needed. The InstinctsTC has all the supplements cats need so you don’t have to worry about vitamins. Hope this helps and wish you all the best in trying out raw food if you decide to do this.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I have tried to give Felidae and Innova, Origin also to my 2 cats , but they refused to eat…They use to be on Hill’s DD veterinary for more than 4 years, but suddently they refused to eat it……I wrote to Hill’ but never answer, it was a automatic message that says to go on their web site for recall product,
This product was not recall but it was not normal they suddently refuse to eat it anymore……I tried many kind of food since the recall but they dont eat as before…..they eats Solid Gold dry ( I know it is made at one of the Menu foods, but I talk with Solid Gold and they seems to watch……..anyway that is the only one for now they want to eat…..
for the wet I bought Solid Gold and Eagle pack but they are not so crazy about it …..they dont want Evangers, Merrick …….so I dont know what to do…….I check every day at Ithcmo……I read all your suggestion
Please give me other suggestions….p.s I am from Quebec, Canada
May 31st, 2007 at 10:51 am
Hi Monica:
Before I started making my own cat food, one of the canned foods I used was Wellness which has a grain free formula. My cats really liked it. It is made by Old Mother Hubbard. Unfortunately, some of their canned food is manufactured by Menu Foods. There is very little available in Canada that is not associated with Menu Foods. Halo makes a food called Spot’s Stew which is supposed to be very good but I haven’t been able to find it in Ontario. Maybe you’ll have more luck finding it in Quebec. I know it’s very frustrating trying to find a good food which is not manufactured by Menu or Diamond.
Cheers, Nina