Another pet food recall

[LBTC]

I'm not sure that feeding raw food to cats is going to be that much more expensive than the fancy cat foods I've been feeding them. Canned cat food
is 50 cents for a little can, i bought a chicken last night for 1.19 lb. Sometimes
chicken sells for a lot less than that even; and that's the main ingredient to homemade cat food. Now with dogs, I believe it if you say it's expensive.
because Dogs can eat a much lower protein diet, but they are BIG!

True, Mimi, you're not far off with pricing, I found the cats to be similar to mid-high priced canned food. However, I only feed one of my cats canned food, the other gets kibble, and the dogs get kibble. That is how restricted the budget is right now.....and then, if I factor in time; I'm still making my own meals from scratch and finding that I rarely have an evening when I can manage to eat before 8:30 pm! so.....combine money and time and I'm sad to say it's not in the cards for my "kids" at this time. They've adjusted better than I'd expected, though, so I'm happy about that.

Knot, I'm not sure if they figured out how the plastic got in there, and yes, as far as I know they are still blaming the wheat gluten from China.

gotta get to work now,

hugs & butterflies to all of you and your four legged kids, too

~T~

[mimitabby]

the kibble i buy for my cats costs more than a dollar a pound! sure, since it's dry... you get more bang for the bucks but it is expensive!

[Eden]

I've been feeding my cat canned salmon mashed up with canned peas. She loves it. Is salmon bad the way tuna is?

I read something yesterday that said too much fish in a cat's diet can cause, I think it was, thiamine deficency. I don't think it was just tuna.

hate to be the bearer of bad news but, just read this...
"Fish, no matter if whole, dressed, raw, cooked, or canned will cause nutritional deficiency of some kind, which in turn will eventually lead to serious disease.
If fish is to be included in the meal plan of the domestic cat, one may only do so sparingly as treats, or to entice a sick cat to eat. Other than that, the story of fish and cats shall remain a fairytale."

[mimitabby]

An industrial chemical that led to a nationwide recall of more than 100 brands of cat and dog foods has been found to contaminate a second pet food ingredient, expanding the recall further.

The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Previously, the chemical was found to contaminate another ingredient, wheat gluten, used by at least six other pet food and treat manufacturers.

Natural Balance said it was recalling all its Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, its Venison and Brown Rice dog treats and its Venison and Green Pea dry cat food.

The Pacoima, Calif., company said recent laboratory tests showed the products contain melamine. It believes the source of the contaminant was rice protein concentrate, which the company recently added to the dry venison formulas.


link! http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...ck=1&cset=true

[oxysback]

Sheesh...when will this end??

We got Frankie, our Pugs, tests back this morning and everything's normal, thank goodness. Better to spend a few dollars for testing than the alternative!

[KayTee]

We got Frankie, our Pugs, tests back this morning and everything's normal, thank goodness. Better to spend a few dollars for testing than the alternative!

So glad to hear the good news on Frankie! And you're right on about the testing.

[sbctwin]

I am desperate to find something to feed my Kallie. I had fed her some of the recalled Iams wet food long before it was recalled, but of the same lot that was recalled. In the past weeks, she has suffered from terrible asthma/allergies. Something she never had before. I was feeding her chicken breast meat (she only liked the white meat) but was then told that was probably to high of a protein diet. I was mixing it with rice and my vet said she didn't need the carbs. Because she is overweight, I give her about 1/2 cup of Hills perscription dry food as a staple and she nibbles on it during the day, but never eats it completely. I feel so desperate trying to figure out what to feed her. She is now on prednisone and an antibiotic trying to control her breathing problems caused by the allergies/asthma. It is heartbreaking to hear her struggle in her breathing and I worry what is best for her. Last night was a bad night for her. Last week was a very expensive week at the vet. Please give us a report. Mimitabby as to your success with your receipe. I feel at a loss. I can't comfort Kallie enough and when I do, I think her purring aggrevates her breathing....

[LBTC]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{sbctwin & kallie}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I hope that kallie recovers quickly. Don't worry too much about cramming lots of food into her, she may need a bit less than you think (and she can tell that you're worried and that gets in the way of her healing)

Cats need about 75% raw protein - and that really means carcass - they should get the nerves, skin, arteries, even, believe it or not, some of the bone and definitely the cartilidge....actually a vertebra from a chicken neck is perfect for a little cat (if she's not too small to handle that large a chunk.) the rest of the food should come from vegetables. many vegetables are good for your cat, although I know some to be careful of are onions and I think spinach, but you should check that out online. I used to cook squash (easier to handle than raw), and chop kale, broccoli or mushrooms. turns out my Teddy cat likes asparagas too. Check with your vet to see if you can get or buy from them a vita-mineral mix that should top up the necessary nutrients the other ingredients may not supply.

Protein sources - I used to use ground beef for 1/3 to 1/2 so that I had something to mix the vegetables with, so the kids would not pick them out. I would chop chicken breast, or chicken parts to make up another 1/3 or 1/2. Once in awhile - maybe once a week or so, 1/3 of the protein would come from a can of salmon or from eggs.

The dogs would get about a 55% protein diet, with the same veggies and protein sources, though I never did find a vita-mineral mix designed for doggies.

Oh, and when kitty just doesn't want to eat, you can feed her baby food: buy foods that don't have grains - no rice or barley or whatnot, and feel free to add a raw egg yolk or even a little butter to increase the fat - babies don't need as much fat as kitty does. Unless you buy the meat and veggies separately, you may not get the right %ages, but that's not critical for every single meal, but important to work towards. If it's a decision between her eating or not eating, don't get completely worried about the %ages!!

For more information, look up the BARF diet and other raw food feline diets.

You can do this, and you'll find what she likes!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[makbike]

sbctwin - it is possible that the pred and/or antibiotics are upsetting kallie's stomach? Have you asked your vet about adding in some pepcid a/c to try and settle her tummy down some? Alsoo, you might want to ask your vet if you can discontinue the antibiotics for 24 hours to see if that helps settle things down some as well. You really should not stop the pred for this can cause major health issues but if you suspect this may be a contributing factor you might ask your vet to adjust her tapering dosage. Pred typically increases an animals appetite so I'm wondering if it is not the antibiotic at fault here. Is she licking her lips (a sign of upset GI tract)? It is important you keep her eating for cats can't go more than 24 hours without food or the run the chance of developing fatty liver disease so if the chicken is working for the time I would suggest you continue to feed it. Did your vet take x-rays of her lungs? Have you considered an inhaler for kallie (yes they make them for animals but if my memory is correct they can be expensive). Finally, if your vet suspects allergies you might also ask for prescription for an antihistamine for kallie which you can administer on a daily basis. I give my cat Figaroe a prescribed dose of chlorpheniramine 4 mg each day for his asthma/allergies and it does help. Note if you vet does go this route know that this is a human OTC drug so you can save yourself some money by going to the local drug store/grocery and purchasing the generic brands (the is also true for pepcid). I hope this helps and your buddy is feeling better quickly.

[KnottedYet]

I was talking to a vet today, and she said there are several good homemade pet food recipes (designed by a vet) at www.balanceit.com. This site also sells the vit/min supplements to add to your homemade food so it stays balanced for your critters' needs.

She also said that melamine is used as a component of fertilizer in China, which is why it's showing up in the imported ingredients.

(someone explain to me why US companies are importing wheat and rice products from China when we grow so much that we are a major exporter??)

[spazzdog]

Chinese rice is probably cheaper than American rice... labor cost, less regulation, etc.

i'm speculating... spazz

[Starfish]

I read something yesterday that said too much fish in a cat's diet can cause, I think it was, thiamine deficency. I don't think it was just tuna.

hate to be the bearer of bad news but, just read this...
"Fish, no matter if whole, dressed, raw, cooked, or canned will cause nutritional deficiency of some kind, which in turn will eventually lead to serious disease.
If fish is to be included in the meal plan of the domestic cat, one may only do so sparingly as treats, or to entice a sick cat to eat. Other than that, the story of fish and cats shall remain a fairytale."

Thank you! She loves canned peas and other canned vegetables, and I just thawed some chicken. Last night I tried a little mash of peas, ham and oatmeal, but she didn't like the oatmeal!

[sbctwin]

Thank you all for your suggestions....My Kallie slept better last night. I woke up several times when her wheezing got loud, but she didn't have the forced breathing episodes from the night before. My vet suggested I up her pred a little until he sees her on Friday. Yes, x-rays and an ultrasound were taken last week. The sudden onset of her breathing problems is what is so troubling. No liquids were found in her lungs. I know she is overweight and we are both working on this. Her treats consist of the pill pockets I got from the vet that I stuff her pills into. She is more enthused about eating those and I don't have to force her pills down her throat. I worry about what I feed Kallie these days because of all the food recalls. I am afraid that what isn't recalled today, will be tomorrow. Kallie is also diabetic. As I left for work this morning, she was purring and the sounds she made were not enhanced by wheezing or strained breathing. Something hopeful.

[mimitabby]

last night i went to the cat rescue lady's house and met all her cats and rescue cats and we made cat food.
I took 1 chicken, 1 1/2 lbs of chicken liver (at 5 supermarkets i couldn't find
chicken hearts) 5 eggs, some dulse, some salmon oil, some lysine and some taurine. we ground the chicken up in this huge heavy grinder she has
and mixed it with the other stuff and water and psyllium.

then i put it into little freezer bags and froze most of it. I took some and fed it to my dear little primadonnas.

well, two of them tasted it, but it was still in the dish this morning.

so I will cut back on dry catfood rations and try again tonight. hopefully hunger will do the trick.

[lisa_b]

My cat George's test results came back from the vet this morning and his kidneys are working fine! Am so relieved. Hope everbody's pets are feeling well. The vet gave me some suggestions on home cooking and I'm going to try it out, George is not at all picky about what he eats, so I don't think he will mind. I never thought I would have to cook for my cat!