anybody here feed their pets Evo or California Natural?

[Brandi]

I always thought I was feeding them good stuff. I guess I wasn't. I was giving then Nutro. I looked at the ing and the first is chicken but the 2nd is corn. And from what I keep reading it sounds like the first 3 ing. should be meat. And no corn at all.
I am still leaning twords the "california natural". They seem to have really good policies. And strick testing of thier products as well as humane policies. And I believe non of thier products got recalled at all! Unless someone knows something I don't (which is very likely).

[TsPoet]

I've recently taken up agility with my dog, which means I'm hanging out with dog crazies or spend $$$ (vs normal people who spend $$$ on their bikes) on their pooches and investigate all this stuff. They all either feed Evo (if they feed kibble) or raw meat if they don't.
I recently switched to a ~50:50 of the two and my 7 year old went from being an old man who couldn't jump into the car to an annoying teenager who runs off on walks. Both of my dogs also regained soft puppy fur. The difference is night and day.
The Evo/raw food is a keeper to me!

[Eden]

I always thought I was feeding them good stuff. I guess I wasn't. I was giving then Nutro....

when all the recalls went out I was pretty shocked at how many "premium" brands were on the list - basically it seems like a lot of them are the same stuff repackaged into premium and cheap brands alike
Nutro, Royal Canin, Science Diet, Natural Balance, Iams, Eukanuba, Hills were all on the recall list - and some of these brands are the very same that many vets push....

[VeloVT]

my parents have a mostly golden-retriever rescue dog. they used to feed her something reasonably respectable -- Science Diet maybe??? -- and she was getting allergic rashes on her tummy. They started feeding her California Natural and her skin is much happier. She likes the Salmon and sweet potato flavor .

[Kalidurga]

when all the recalls went out I was pretty shocked at how many "premium" brands were on the list - basically it seems like a lot of them are the same stuff repackaged into premium and cheap brands alike
Nutro, Royal Canin, Science Diet, Natural Balance, Iams, Eukanuba, Hills were all on the recall list - and some of these brands are the very same that many vets push....

The Animal Welfare League woman who got me into better foods for my kittens told me (but I've not verified it) that many vets push Hill's/Science Diet because of all the money they've donated to veterinary colleges.

[KnottedYet]

The Animal Welfare League woman who got me into better foods for my kittens told me (but I've not verified it) that many vets push Hill's/Science Diet because of all the money they've donated to veterinary colleges.

That's what a vet student friend of mine said. Plus when they graduated, they got a large amount of product free to sell through their practices.

[mimitabby]

unfortunately, canned food is not a cure all. It is really bad for their teeth.
That's why my cats are ALSO getting the Nutro for their daily tooth cleaning (in theory)

[sundial]

I've heard nothing but good things about Evo. It's not available in our area but I could get it online.

[Eden]

unfortunately, canned food is not a cure all. It is really bad for their teeth.
That's why my cats are ALSO getting the Nutro for their daily tooth cleaning (in theory)

I'm not sure what to believe these days - but I've now heard that the idea that dry food has teeth cleaning properties is a myth.... but I do continue to give mine a bit of kibble - each can is only about 2/3 of the amount of food they should get in a day and I'd go nuts trying to figure out how to split the cans....

and I'd suggest switching from Nutro - that is one of the brands manufactrued by Menu foods - a huge pet food conglomerate that was using the bad gluten from China. I for one will never, ever give them any trust again....

[mimitabby]

After 6 years on Nutro (before i switched to a combination with raw meat) I took my 11 year old cat to the vet for a tooth cleaning. My vet looked long and hard at her mouth and said "if she was my cat, i wouldn't clean her teeth!" so i didn't. I have noticed a marked improvement in dental health of all of my cats (note to self, check teeth tonight) - i have to blame it on what they're eating. THey get nutro, friskies dental diet (Treats only) and the chicken..

[KnottedYet]

I've heard nothing but good things about Evo. It's not available in our area but I could get it online.

The higher protein content of Evo got my dog off anti-anxiety meds. I switched him to a lower protein salmon and sweet potato food, but he started having behaviour issues again. Put him back on Innova Evo and they went away. I'm not switching him again.

(BTW, he also gets a sardine or egg or chicken and some table scraps every day)

[Dianyla]

We feed our kitty mostly raw frozen food - usually Primal or Radcat. When we're out of town for the weekend, we have to use dry kibble in the automatic feeder so we use Evo at that time. We're very keen on making sure that her food is high in protein and doesn't contain grains.

Our local pet store just started carrying some Ziwi peak, we're going to try some of that once we clear out some of our current food inventory - the ingredients look pretty good.

[smilingcat]

This month issue of Cat Fancy magazine had an article about raw meat for your cat and salmonella. FDA warned against it not because cats will get sick but rather people could get the salmonella indirectly from the cat.

According to the article, cat's saliva has the ability to kill most of the salmonella on contact and what survivies don't make it out alive. Cat seems to be very tolerant of salmonella and people are less tolerant, especially the young and the old. And since cats like to lick you and lick themsleves, it is possible for the surviving salmonella to end up on your cloth, on your skin and maybe even in your food. Hence the FDA warning.

Our cats get wellness. Dogs gets the California Natural (low calorie). One thing to watch out with California Natural and other high protein food is that it can go rancid in hot weather. It can also grow a toxic mold, which looks like a white flecks on the dry food. If you see it, take it back to the store and have them look at it or have a vet look at it. We've returned one bag of California Natural to the store. But this is one bag out of ???

smilingcat

[Brandi]

This month issue of Cat Fancy magazine had an article about raw meat for your cat and salmonella. FDA warned against it not because cats will get sick but rather people could get the salmonella indirectly from the cat.

According to the article, cat's saliva has the ability to kill most of the salmonella on contact and what survivies don't make it out alive. Cat seems to be very tolerant of salmonella and people are less tolerant, especially the young and the old. And since cats like to lick you and lick themsleves, it is possible for the surviving salmonella to end up on your cloth, on your skin and maybe even in your food. Hence the FDA warning.

Our cats get wellness. Dogs gets the California Natural (low calorie). One thing to watch out with California Natural and other high protein food is that it can go rancid in hot weather. It can also grow a toxic mold, which looks like a white flecks on the dry food. If you see it, take it back to the store and have them look at it or have a vet look at it. We've returned one bag of California Natural to the store. But this is one bag out of ???

smilingcat

Good advice on all this. I will be careful with the rancid part. It's funny it says to store it in the bag it comes in. Maybe there is something in the bag that helps keep it fresh. I am thinking I am going to have to buy smaller amounts. But it does not get very hot where I live so I am not to worried about that. I am going to start switching them over next week. You know start mixing with there old food. I got samples from the pet store and mixed a bit in with their food. They picked all the california natural pieces out of thier food!

[Nansel]

I feed my cat Evo canned, along with Felidae kibble. We started him on the Felidae because he kept stealing the dog's Canidae out of its bin. Canidae/Felidae another good holistic brand, and a bit cheaper than some others, although I've found it can be harder to get sometimes.

My cat loves his Evo canned. We might switch him to the EVO kibble, too. But he can be fussy and likes his Felidae all right.