patch said,
I will
never buy commercial dog food again. I have been using Honest Kitchen, but
it is expensive. Essex Cottage farm has a lot of great mixers. They are
so mild you can change your dog to them without any tummy problems. When
I use the Essex Cottage farm mixes I bake the food, and my 5 dogs stand
by the stove waiting. They also have a grain free food called Urban wolf.
They have cat mixers as well. Also, Sojo’s mixers are good, but the
dogs must be changed over a two week period. Sojo’s have free shipping
on their website and discounts .Any of these foods can be made in batches
and then frozen.
Julia said,
That’s
great but keep in mind that Nestle Purina still conducts animal testing.
JC said,
Quote:
Mary
Kelley said: ” used Science Diet feline lite wet and dry until the
recall and have switched to Innova, but my cats don’t like the canned and
spit out the chunks.” End Quote
Innova
uses Menut foods to make its canned food. I urge you not to support Menu
foods in anyway,shape, or form!
Jo said,
Interesting
report on Blue Buffalo. (”They do not manufacture food in their own
facility.”) Last Sun., I talked to a Blue Buffalo employee who works
in OK City and is responsible for BB inventory at a nearby PetsMart. Asked
her specifically who manufactures their canned & dry cat food. She checked
with her regional mgr. & responded that BB makes their own food in a
BB-owned facility in Connecticutt. So, now I’m wondering what is the
real truth!!! Also frustrated over the Wellness report. Had just switched
my 10 cats to Wellness canned, only to find out that some if not all of
their canned food is manufactured by Menu Foods! ARGH!
Crystal said,
Lacy:
“What was the other brand on this page that uses low heat?”
Blackwood. They say on their page: ” “one of a kind” low temperature,
slow, crock pot style of cooking.”
“I
heard corn isn’t good for pets. Is that true?”
As with
anything people have to come to their own conclusions.
As Evy
said there is a big difference between raw and cooked. Like Diatomaceous
Earth. It becomes toxic when heated. Un heated it can be a great internal
de-wormer.
Before
I get ahead of myself let me state YES, I realize there is a huge difference
between dogs and cows. Now with that said, a while back I watched this presentation
on PBS about the amazing cow. It was astounding on what they can survive
on. Oddly enough the cows in India eating trash are healthier than the cows
in America being fed corn. The thought in my head is that if even cows die
from cancer or other organ failure after only a couple years from eating
corn, WHY would I want to feed it to my omnivoric dog or carnivorous cat?
I’ve even almost entirely cut corn out of my diet.
As to
the people that are boycotting EVERY company that has ANY association with
Menu Foods, do you really think the other mass canning facilities are completely
innocent. I’ll stand by my opinion that the only ones we can truly
trust are our selves if we grew our own supplies. I’m not saying to
excuse what has happened, rather that we should have been demanding excellence
to begin with. This has been going on before there was any “incidence.”
I think before casting stones you should think about the integrity of the
other companies. I don’t think Menu Foods would be the only ones you’d
be turning your nose up at.
As for
those that are disgusted with dog food companies using road kill…
I’d be happy to take it off your hands for you. That road kill is
a lot healthier for your dogs and cats than most kibble. (Depending on the
condition of the rk. How long ago it was hit, and where it was hit.)
AL Martin said,
My cats
are very lethargic, and not normal at all. All I have ever fed them is Iams
Original Dry food. I bought a new bag last Saturday at my local PetCo. I
started noticing a problem Tuesday morning. I called Iams and gave them
the symptoms and the product codes from the bag, but as I expected, they
said the food was perfectly safe. I don’t believe it. Something is
wrong.
Evy said,
Dear
Al ~
I am
so sorry to hear about your cats. Please contact the link above with your
information. It seems you are not alone with dry food problems.
My sympathy
to all who have lost your FurAngels or are worried about them being sick.
And continued
thanks to Therese for establishing this page.
Lacy said,
Jo, I
have called Blue Buffalo countless times and they have always said their
dry food was made in Kansas. Before they had to keep secret about where
the food was manufactured they said C.J. Foods. I have called C.J. foods
and mentioned Blue Buffalo. I also heard that theri canned food is made
at american nutrition in Utah. Who knows the truth anymore..urg.
Cindi said,
Re PetSmart,
I have great respect for the fact that their stores let local no-kill shelters
use a sizable amount of space to adopt out homeless cats and dogs instead
of selling animals that have been bred. I don’t think you can blame
the stores for carrying a wide variety of brands — that’s not
the same thing as recommending them.
On the
other hand, I will never again patronize pet stores that left recalled food
on the shelves, like a pet food “outlet” store I stopped at
last week looking for alternatives to Menu-made foods. Inexcusable!
Vicki B said,
Has anyone
here ever read Eric Schlosser’s book “Fast Food Nation”?
Not totally related to this horrid pet food situation… but when you
read about these massive corporations( with major political ties) that ultimately
supply the meat to the fast food companies… and how disgusting the
plants are, how the workers are treated. And what eventually ends up in
a fast food burger that your kids eat.
In the
end, these same huge corporations…. trickle down to the pet food industry….
with the by-products, wheat, corn and all the crap that they can’t
sell for human consumption. Cows were also fed rendered dogs and cats that
were killed at shelters.. these same cows destined for the human plate!
It’s
one hell of an eye opening book…. if our own food is made this way,
its pretty obvious these big companies don’t give a you know what
about what our pets eat. They never did, they never will!!!!!!!!!!
Kim R. said,
My everlasting
gratutude to petsitusa for compiling this page and updating as info comes
in. Added to my faves and fwd’d to my mailing list.
Gary said,
Eversince
the GOV told the meat industry a few years ago to just “cut out the
tumors”, otherwise the meat can be used for HUMAN consumption, I haven’t
eaten any red meat whatsoever, zero. Cancer cells are in the blood stream
and is a virus.
Another
great coverup ongoing is the madcow disease. Notice the silence recently?
everyone is taking a check under the table to shut up.
Is there
any question why there are so many cancers and lots of other diseases increasing
in man and animals?
Gary
Cheryl in CA said,
Lacy,
I’m still confused. Now both of my dogs are having digestive problems,
probably from switching foods. Or they just don’t agree with some
of the contents in the Natural Balance organic formula. The cats are doing
fine on Natural Balance so far. I wish I could trust Blue Baffalo, my cats
devoured that stuff.
Jaycee said,
Jaycee
said - “I just personally don’t wish to line the pockets of companies like
PetCo and WalMart and PetSmart as long as they are also lining the pockets
of Menu Foods. That is my decision, and I realize not many people here will
agree with it, but I feel good about it. ”
Gary
Said “I understand. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart because of their direct
actions against humans. But, ALL pet food stores sell brands that do business
with Menu, Iam’s, etc. That’s just the way it is. It can’t be avoided. If
you are going to boycott Petsmart, Petco, and Wal-Mart for selling brands
that do business with Menu, you will need to boycott virtually every pet
food retailer. You will have to find a pet food company that sells directly
to consumers. ”
The good
news is that my pets have been on Raw/Innova up to this point anyhow. I
don’t shop PetCo or PetSmart because they still sell live rare birds,
sometimes they are kept solitary, and that is not how birds are in the wild.
It is cruel.
I am
switching my kibble (Innova) to Evangers, as they have their own plants-
they don’t outsource ANYTHING, and they sell direct. Fingers crossed
it woks well with my dogs until I switch them over to raw entirely. There
IS a way to not support these companies. It really just depends on how much
an individual person is willing to sacrifice. I realize that even with homecooking
there could be some risks, but, if I can eat the food then I feel better
my dogs will be ok on it, too. My local butcher and local farmers markets
will surely benefit from my business, as well as others, that are choosing
to do raw.
Anybody
read the article in this week’s Time Magazine about buffalo meat?
Very interesting, and I think I will try to feed my family and my dogs more
of the free-range buffalo as opposed to cow beef. At least in Colorado,
it’s pretty easy to source free-range cow beef, but it’s not
available everywhere. This whole corn-fed thing is scary business. If we
don’t kill off our species through war, we’ll do it slowly through
the food sources….
Lacy said,
Cheryl,
Im still confused too. I have three cats and two of them are fine with the
switch to natural balance, but one who has a sensitive tummy isn’t
adjusting to it very well. It takes him a while to get used to a new food.
Maybe thats the same for your dogs. I wish I could trust Blue Buffalo too.
I think my cats devoured it too!! 
I actually ordered a small size of the Honest Kitchens Prowl. You should
look it up. Its the closest thing I have found to a homecooked meal! We
will see how it works for us. You can email me if you want! Lacyg2121@gmail.com
Keep me posted!
I actually ordered a small size of the Honest Kitchens Prowl. You should
look it up. Its the closest thing I have found to a homecooked meal! We
will see how it works for us. You can email me if you want! Lacyg2121@gmail.com
Keep me posted! Mary Kelley said,
Hi, everyone.
You have done a tremendous job and have a great amount of research and information
listed. But there is so much here! Have we been able to narrow this down
to a temporary safe brand of wheat gluten-free cat and dog food, wet and
dry, not manufactured or associated with Menu Foods, that is backed by an
honest company with no animal testing? I had started a list but according
to my notes (and I may be wrong, here) I now have only Evangers, Fromm,
and Honest Kitchen left on my list. Someone has found something negative
about the others, ultimately. I still haven’t decided what to feed
my cats and stopped the canned Innova yesterday thanks to helpful notes
here. Still feeding Innova dry for lack of available choice. The local pet-stores
are not on top of this at all, as far as new information. My 3 cats miss
getting any wet food. Thank you.
Tracy said,
I can’t
believe Natural Balance would lie like they did about the manufacturing
of their food. How ridiculous they would have us believe that they bought
the machinery and put it in Diamond’s and American Nutrition’s
plants and then that the only people that use that machinery and process
their food are Natural Balance employees!
If you can’t trust what’s coming out of their mouths, how can you trust what is going into their cans and bags. I will never give my business to a company that would lie to us like that.
If you can’t trust what’s coming out of their mouths, how can you trust what is going into their cans and bags. I will never give my business to a company that would lie to us like that.
catlover said,
Lacy,
I phoned Blue Buffalo this morning because I give it to my dogs. I was told they manufacture their food here in the U.S. with ingredients that only come from the U.S. The only exception is their veal which comes from New Zealand. (that’s probably a good thing).
My cats are getting switched to Blue Buffalo. Bye-bye Purina.
I phoned Blue Buffalo this morning because I give it to my dogs. I was told they manufacture their food here in the U.S. with ingredients that only come from the U.S. The only exception is their veal which comes from New Zealand. (that’s probably a good thing).
My cats are getting switched to Blue Buffalo. Bye-bye Purina.
terri said,
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Newsletter/June05GMCornHealthDangerExposed/index.cfm
I came accross this information about GM corn. There is corn in a lot of pet food and most of it is Genetically modified. What if that is the real problem and there is a coverup. That could explain why dry foods might also be involved. Also, that this has been going on longer than they admit to.
Food for thought, no pun intended.
I came accross this information about GM corn. There is corn in a lot of pet food and most of it is Genetically modified. What if that is the real problem and there is a coverup. That could explain why dry foods might also be involved. Also, that this has been going on longer than they admit to.
Food for thought, no pun intended.
Back to Basics said,
Hello
everyone,
My name
is Michael and I’m a long time member of the Back to Basics pet food
team. Because I obviously am coming from a biased standpoint, I will not
expect any questions about anything outside of our brand, but I would like
to take the opportunity to answer any questions anyone has about Back to
Basics, it’s ingredients, manufacturer, sources, etc. We have never
been involved in a recall of any kind and produce Human-Grade food for Dogs
and Cats. We can be reached at 1-800-219-2558, or you can email me directly
at mikew@beowulfs.com. I will also
try to keep an eye on this board.
Though
I’ve mentioned I’m obviously biased, if you DO have any questions
about the pet food industry, I have been intricately involved with it for
over 6 years and am more than willing to share both my professional and
personal views on any related subjects.
If you
are interested in a new food for your pets, or would like to (in most cases
anyway) take a step up… check out www.backtobasicspetfood.com
Thank
you.
-Michael
-Michael
Lacy said,
Cat Lover,
I know that Blue Buffalo isnt giving out the info that the dry food is manufactured
at C.J. Foods anymore, but that was the info they originally gave out. I
called C.j. Foods, and while the suppliers are all U.S., C.J. Foods couldnt
not guarantee that those U.S. suppliers dont outsource to other countries.
It really makes you think. I really liked Blue I am just getting really
tired of all this conflicting comments from the companies. I am now feeding
Natural Balance, and now I hear these other conflicting reports. I am so
lost. I hate to keep switching my cats food. Its making them depressed!!
I think I may email That Back to Basics guy and also try out The Honest
Kitchen. The Honest Kitchen is the only petfood that is manufactured at
a Human Bakery type place. Must be the safest…I hope..