what the hell can I feed my cats?

[rm]

Apparently corn gluten isn't safe now either, eliminating their Purina.

Does anyone know what I can feed them that isn't part of the melamine risks _and_ doesn't contain wheat at all (for my own safety)?

Comments

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

A lot of the "safer" natural pet foods are now being recalled too, thanks to tainted rice and corn gluten, so the unfortunate answer would be I have no idea. I've been wondering the same thing myself.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Let me ask my roommate...she brought some stuff home that had no grain in it at all.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

This is what we're using now

[sola.livejournal.com]

I'm also at a loss. We've been feeding on dry food that i bought about four months ago, thanks to bulk purchases, but that'll only hold out about another month, at least for the UT food. For their regular food, however, Dr Fosters and Smith house brand contains no wheat and aren't recalled.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

The lite food was recalled as a precaution, but the regular is fine. That's what I linked to above also. :)

[sola.livejournal.com]

THe lite food was also recently reformulated, so it's available again. Ours hate their wet foods, though, so we give Wellness.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

I feed my cat Eukanuba dry ant Wellness canned.

http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/wellness/cat_index.html

[dipping_sauce]

I feed Pookie Innova dried cat food. Their Evo line is grain free. It's more expensive than regular cat food, but since it has less filler, I've been feeding him less of it, so it all works out in the end.

One Word: BARF

[keith418.livejournal.com]

Bones And Raw Food.

More here. No one I know who has gone over to this has ever gone back. The way the animals change for the better is enough to convince anyone. We do ground Rabbit, quail, and organ meats (live, kidney, hearts).

Re: One Word: BARF

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

Yep. When we switched Princess to raw we saw a HUGE improvement in everything. We are going to transition the new cat to raw as soon as she is settled in.

We buy a pre-made raw die, and add vitamins and sometimes some extra organ meats.

Re: One Word: BARF

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

But, just FYI, BARF is now a brand name for a certain prepared diet. And it's actually not a great diet. So skip that and just use the raw food method.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I talk about two options I know if in this post, which includes links. Innova's Evo grain-free cat food made by Natura contains no grain at all, and Bil-Jac cat food contains only corn (and does not contain separate corn protein). Those are the two best options I know off, and our cats at least loved both.

[michrdl.livejournal.com]

I feed Solid Gold http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=4&code=130 to my dog. They do have a cat formula, but I've never fed it.

This is their response to the pet food recalls http://solidgoldhealth.com/news/

[melebeth]

This is the cat version of what I use for CC, but I haven't seen the new recalls. Looking now.
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/catformulas/NB_CatCanned.html

[melebeth]

According to their website, they've recalled several of their products because of rice gluten issues, BUT rice gluten was never supposed to be in the cans in the first place. Which, honestly, I find just as disturbing

[random-girl.livejournal.com]

I am feeding the cats (both kitten and adult) Iam's Kitten Food. It doesn't contain gluten of any kind, per the ingredients list. We'll be switching to Iam's Weight Control Adult Cat Food when the kitten turns a year old in October. It's safe for dieting and non-dieting cats.

Iam's wet food was compromised by the wheat gluten scare, and some people are refusing to purchase any of their products. So far I feel relatively safe, and Iams comes highly recommended by my vet.

I use Friskies Special Diet

[haya.livejournal.com]

I switched to it after Sofistikat got on the lit, even though the Special Diet (for urinary issues) didn't have any problem. I don't any bad ingredients on the can.
Good Luck!

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

If you aren't willing to go raw, go with a high-quality canned food like Innova. Read the ingredients carefully. It is my understanding that Innova is grain-free. Canned food is better than dry food in any case.

Raw feeding is the absolute best for them. We saw a big change in Princess once we fed her raw. You can get prepared raw diets, like Bravo or Nature's Variety (there are a lot of other brands too) and supplement with a cat vitamin and/or extra organ meats.

SOLID GOLD/ Katznflocken is what Tidbit and Little eat

[beemerbike.livejournal.com]

Re: Natural Balance Product Removal / Menu Foods

We at Solid Gold Health Products for Pets, Inc. ("Solid Gold') realize that consumers are very concerned with the recent product food recalls. We would like to assure our customers that there are no safety concerns with Solid Gold products. The product recalls and removals have centered around ingredients sourced in China, in particular wheat gluten and now rice protein concentrate. These products are thought to be contaminated with melamine. Neither of these ingredients are used in any Solid Gold food products, nor do we source any ingredients from China, either directly or indirectly. We do not use gluten meal of any kind in any of our foods.

All the ingredients in Solid Gold products are sourced domestically with three exceptions. The lamb meal used in our dry foods is sourced from New Zealand, which produces some of the cleanest meat in the world. The potato protein used in Barking at the Moon is sourced in Europe. Our Blended Tuna canned cat food (grain free) is produced offshore due to the lack of tuna processing plants in the United States.

Sincerely,

Steven J. Wirick
Chief Operating Officer
Solid Gold Health Products for Pets, Inc.

Tel. # 800-364-4863
Fax # 619-258-3907




MENU FOODS DOES NOT PRODUCE ANY SOLID GOLD PRODUCT

We at Solid Gold realize that customers are very concerned with the recent recall of canned products made by Menu foods. We would like to assure our customers that there are no safety concerns with Solid Gold products. Menu Foods does not make Solid Gold foods in any of their manufacturing facilities. Solid Gold is not subject to the current recall. Furthermore, Solid Gold does not use wheat gluten in any of our dry foods, canned foods, treats, or supplements. Wheat gluten is the suspected cause of the problems involving the recalled food. Gluten is the protein found in grain. Gluten meals such as wheat gluten and corn gluten are included in pet food as a protein source in lieu of meat, which is a more expensive form of protein. Solid Gold believes dogs and cats should receive most of their protein in the form of meat, not grain.


Dry Food Changes

We have recently implemented changes in our dry foods based upon new exciting research, supply issues, and regulatory changes.

All our dry foods now contain tomato pomace, taurine, and salmon oil.

Tomato pomace is an excellent source of the super-antioxidant Lycopene. Research shows that people with diets rich in tomato products, which contain lycopene, appear to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Tomato pomace is also a superb source of soluble fiber.

Taurine is an amino acid essential for heart health. Historically, taurine supplementation in diet was not thought necessary for dogs, however, research is now showing certain breeds of dogs can have problems with heart disease caused by taurine deficiency. The FDA has now approved Taurine as a feed additive for dogs foods, so we are happy to include it in all our dry dog food formulas.

Salmon oil is an excellent source of DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), an Omega 3 fatty acid important for brain and central nervous system development in growing puppies. DHA is also thought to be important for retinal health, so we have added it to all our adult foods as well. The addition of salmon oil may cause the food to smell a bit fishier, which should be a bonus for most dogs and cats!

Additionally, both of our cats have lost weight and look much healthier. The carbs in this food are not just from fillers found in Iams and other food that have preservatives.

[iterum.livejournal.com]

We use Natural Value.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Man, that really sucks. Did you get sick?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Nope, not me. Not the cats either, thank god. but most food seems to be unsafe for them right now because of the chemical additive from China scare. So I have to find something unaffected by that that won't bother me to be in a lot of proximity to.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. Well, it's good that no one's actually been yet affected, and I hope you find something that works!

[deslea.livejournal.com]

What about Natura's Innova? It does have barley - not sure if that's too close to wheat for you. But it's great stuff. I haven't tried their Evo, but that doesn't have barley either.

[graene.livejournal.com]

In the very short term, you can always do jarred baby food (beef, turkey, chicken), but not tuna canned for humans (taurine is processed out of it). Very worst case for long term, ask your vet about one of the hypoallergenic/elimination diets (eg duck and potato or kangaroo and rice). It'll be expensive, but because they are elimination diets, you'll know exactly what's in the cans.

[lawnrrd]

Mousies.

[laurel]

I really like the food from Drs. Foster & Smith and the service from them is top notch. Good prices on most pet stuff there. And the cheapest shipping option (or whatever is standard) has tended to get things here far quicker than I would expect (2-4 days IIRC).

Someone was telling me about this food and saying that a cat breeder recommended it. Also looks promising (though probably more expensive).

[izzerwurst.livejournal.com]

you can always feed them regular meat from your grocer's freezer.. personally, i have found that petco has a lot of different varieties of cat food. i've been avoid meat by-products because of all the nastiness that they entail. I'm not sure about the wheat status.. I guess you're stuck reading labels :( My cats seem to like Natural Balance