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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, April 05, 2007 - 9:22 pm
QUESTION: I'm almost out of cat food. I feed the boys a mixture of Iams Less Active and Multicat. I'm at my wits ends to know what to feed them. Cooking food for them is out of the question because it would be like wet food and Zippy doesn't tolerate wet food. Even a teaspoon and he throws it up. Vet wasn't worried as long as he ate his dry food ok. So I guess my question is what is "safe" out there, or is it just hit and miss?
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 2:39 am
Serate, right now they are saying the problem is with melamine in wheat gluten. So, anything without Wheat Gluten in it should be okay. For my own cat, I just picked up Brandon Farms Organic and Purina One Advanced Hairball Formula. Neither has Wheat Gluten (although if you do go with Purina One, be sure to check the labels as some varieties do contain wheat gluten.). I found a list of "Safe" brands online. Click the link to pull up page 1 of the list: The Pet Food List. On the list there are links to the brand home pages, so you can see what they make. The list also contains info like where there food is made, whether it contains wheat gluten, what they test for, etc. I hope this helps. I know that not all foods containing Wheat Gluten are tainted and some may turn out to be completely safe, but with new brands popping up on the recall every few days, it is hard to say something is safe just because it hasn't been recalled yet. That is why I decided to just avoid anything with Wheat gluten for the time being.
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Moondance
Member
07-30-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 5:13 am
Serate I am feeding mine (off of Iams) Natural Balance Can and dry and they seem to like it. I am also feeding them Royal Canin for older cats but it also says sensitive so it is easier on there stomach.
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Moondance
Member
07-30-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 5:14 am
Oh Turkey and Giblets & Ultra seem to be the favorite.
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Bonzacat
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 7:11 am
I can't say enough good things about Merrick canned varieties and Wellness dry. Both are made with human grade ingredients, no wheat gluten. Merrick Pet Care Wellness For Cats (which is also Old Mother Hubbard for dogs)
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 7:12 am
Well, I just found out about the Walmart dog biscuits, and I'd been feeding them to my two older dogs, but stopped about two months ago. Now I'm wondering if I need to have them checked?
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Crzndeb
Member
07-26-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 8:41 am
Moondance, I'm so glad your kitties are liking the Natural Balance...Whew!! Most of the foods you buy in grocery stores are not premium foods. Major pet stores carry a couple of good dog/cat foods (Natural Balance, Royal Canin), but feed stores carry the best of the best (Innova, Eagle Pack, Chicken Soup for Dog/Cat Lover's Soul,Canidae/Felidae and A few more. Do some research and read the ingredients labels..it may cost a few dollars more, but it so worth it in the long run.
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Chewpito
Member
01-04-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 9:00 am
Karuuna, I also give my two dogs the Walmart biscuits..maybe one a day each..the oleroy multi colored ones... I feed them Nutro Natural Choice Senior on a daily food plan..DRY. So far no problems with that... but the treats are just that... a once in while treat. I looked at the codes above and on my dog biscuit bag I have here the codes are good...but Now I still dont want to give them those any more....
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 9:38 am
Hey, Chew, thanks for responding. I alternate between those and the milk bones, but the milk bones are so much pricer! I only feed in the morning, but at night I always gave one to the beagle and two to the golden retriever. I'm most worried about the golden because he is showing signs of aging - at least I thought it was that! I guess I'll take him in just to be sure.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 10:17 am
We feed our cat Royal Canin. Fortunately, they haven't been involved in this. Hope everything is okay Karuuna. This whole mess is making everyone second guess things. It's terribly sad and frustrating.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 10:41 am
My cat has been hacking, as if trying to cough up a hairball. I don't know what to think about this development. She was always fed Iams canned and dry food. I changed her to Fancy Feast canned food and Iams Indoor dry food. Mixed the Indoor with regular Iams. She used to eat Iams regular and Iams Hairball dry food. Changing to the Indoor dry food probably should not have been introduced at the same time as changing her canned food? Think I should change her to Moon or Bonza's food.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:06 pm
Found an interesting article on the Time website. Sorry I can't link directly to it because they use commas in their web address. But if you go to www.time.com it is on the Top Stories list (or just do a search for "Unraveling the Pet-Food Mystery" and it will pull up the link). Karuuna, I hope your babies are okay. I've been trying to find a page I KNOW I saw previously with the symptoms to look out for, but am not having much luck. I did find this: Experts advise owners to call their veterinarian if a pet has eaten recalled food and shows symptoms of possible kidney failure. An animal could be in trouble if it: • Stops eating • Appears tired and lifeless • Seems excessively thirsty • Urinates much more than usual • Vomits • Has diarrhea • Seems to have abdominal pain Source: The FDA; veterinarian Laurie Miller of the Hope Center for Advanced Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Va. Also interesting, the FDA is investigating whether the melamine might have been INTENTIONALLY added. See the details here: One possibility: Pet food adulterated on purpose
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:10 pm
Thanks Cdbga. Problem is, he's old - so he does seem tired more often than usual. He does skip eating some days, and has for some time. And he vomits occasionally. So it's really hard to say if he's just old, or has some kidney illness. I will say that he seems to have aged a lot just in the last six months. Best to take him in for that reason alone, I think. The beagle seems just fine, just as stubborn and noisy as always. 
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:14 pm
*Unraveling the Pet-Food Mystery* Thanks for all the excellent information, Cdbga!
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:15 pm
Thanks for linking it Vee! I have a very limited range of posting talents 
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:40 pm
The problem with an older cat, such as Kar's or my Costa, is that it's really hard to tell if it's the food or what. Costa has been throwing up more often recently. He usually wants to eat as soon as he throws up, so he doesn't exhibit any signs of lethargy. He also hates "cuts and gravy" type food, so I try not to buy that kind of food. But on occasion I've forgotten to pay attention, and I know I bought a can or two of some brand in December. He gets only a 1/4 can a day and his sister is fine. But he's also a sick kitty to start with, so it's hard to tell if this is a coincidence or not. I do know that it's not good to cook your cat's meals at home (there are a lot of nutrients they need), but I'm thinking their canned food is just really a treat (and a bribe, for me to get Costa to take his pills). So I'm thinking I may break down, and this vegetarian may buy some chicken and fish to cook up for the little monsters. Just for the time being, until the food recall settles down. I'm pretty sure nothing I've given them has been affected (they eat mostly Friskies) but I think I bought a can of Authority that could've been on the recall list. Unfortunately, when you finish up the can and throw the thing away, you can't check!
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Friday, April 06, 2007 - 12:48 pm
Thank you for keeping us apprised of the recall news - it is so darn confusing.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 2:32 am
Yet another addition to the recall list - click the link for all the details: DEL MONTE PRODUCTS EXPANDS RECALL LIST - MORE DATES Isn't it interesting how these updates keep coming right before the weekend? Is it just coincidence? Also note that in the Del Monte release they say "all contaminated product sourced with ingredients from the specific plant in China has been identified and is being removed from store shelves". Is use of the word "ingredients" rather than, specifically "wheat gluten" significant at all? Lets hope it is just semantics and that there aren't problems with any other ingredients. Anyway, at this point, I would definitely suggest not feeding your pets anything from the recall list regardless of dates. So far that is all I'm seeing this morning. If I find anything else new I will come back and post.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 3:19 am
I found a database where you can search to see if your pet food is on the list: Pet Food Recall 2007 database Also, I don't remember whether it was previously mentioned, but this recall thing has gone international now with products being recalled in the US, Canada and Europe. Scary to think that contaminated gluten from a SINGLE supplier could have such widespread consequences. And, lastly, I have to give Del Monte props for the info on their website. Nearly every pet-food related page has a notice about and link to the recall info, even the pages for their foods that weren't affected. Okay, that is all from me for a while. I am at work at should probably actually start working. I'll check back in this afternoon to see if there are any more recall updates.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 11:52 am
Thanks for all this information, Cdbga. I hope everyone's animals are okay. Thinking of your pets, Rosie and Karuuna. I didn't feed my cats any of the recalled brands but I made an appointment with the vet as a precaution because I'm worried about how they're not eating as well as usual. Their routine was Friskies canned food in the morning and then dry food for supper and a bedtime snack - either Diamond or Purina. (I tried Natural Balance once quite a while ago but it's pretty expensive for me.) However after this recall started, I bought an organic brand and my mom gave me some Wellness brand. My cats don't like them much though. The cats are acting fine, look okay and everything, I just worry. I am mad about how there seems to be a cover-up with this story though. I posted in the In Memoriam thread on March 26 about how my mom was obsessed with the story and she's the one who told me about the concerns with dry food well before it ever made the national media. My mom believes that her cat Calamity was killed because she ate some of the food that was later recalled. Calamity died on Nov. 20, she was 16 (almost 17) but in good health and then suddenly went in severe renal failure and died within a matter of days. My mom says the production dates for recalled items goes back to Nov. 8 so I suppose it's possible. That upsets me even more.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 3:03 pm
You are welcome Calamity. All of you are. I know I end up spending a lot of time looking at a LOT of sites to get the info for myself, so it just makes sense to share that with everyone here and, also to see what info other people have. This place is such a great resource for pretty much everything. I am so sorry to hear about your mom's cat. What you've said about it really sounds like other accounts I've read. Also, from what I've read, Menu Foods had reports of pet illness/death as early as November 20th, but the recall/report to the FDA didn't happen until nearly a month later (I wanted to link to a source for that, but I've read so much that I now have a hard time finding certain things!). Oh, and also of note is that the initial recall was announced on a Friday. Friday's are kind of the bury-the-story days. If your mom really feels sure it was the tainted food, she should go to Pet Connection and report it so that Calamity is counted. Here's an article I just found about how some stores are handling the recall. I thought it was pretty interesting: Pet owners on quest for safe food. Apparently, Wal-Mart has a scan-blocker at their registers, so that anything on the recall list won't scan. Of course, anything on the list SHOULDN'T be on the shelves, but a Wal-Mart manager is quoted as saying they'd pulled everything from the shelves one day and they'd be re-stocked by the overnight shift. So, this would be extra protection if anything is re-stocked or just overlooked.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Monday, April 09, 2007 - 7:12 am
No new recalls today, but wanted to post some interesting links: FDA Update and Synopsis on the Pet Food Outbreak Pet food in short supply at some animal shelters Also, while our recall has been going on, South Africa has been researching their own pet food recall due to ethylene glycol (happened in February). Looks like pets aren't safe ANYWHERE these days.
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Retired
Member
07-11-2001
| Monday, April 09, 2007 - 10:40 am
Cdbga, thank you very much for posting all these links. It is appreciated.
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Cdbga
Member
10-04-2004
| Monday, April 09, 2007 - 12:47 pm
You are welcome, retired. I'm just glad I can do it. I get a lot of my info from Pet Food Tracker, Pet Connection, Howl 911 and Itchmo. They are all doing a great job of following this story and making info available. Of course, I also do a ton of Google searches and end up visiting so many sites just to make sure no new info has slipped by. In the latest Google search, I found a very informative FAQ page. It really covers just about everything...the recalled foods, melamine, what the FDA does, pet food regulations. Follow the link for all the info: Pet Food Recall - Frequently Asked Questions What I found most comforting, was that you would most likely see symptoms within 2 days of consuming any bad food. As I had posted previously, I had some of the recalled food that I know I'd fed Whitney. But the last time she had it was December, so now I feel much better.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, April 09, 2007 - 12:48 pm
Thank you, Cdbga. I'll tell my mom about the Pet Connection site.
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