I give up...

[kimmylavin]

If I'm posting this in the wrong forum, I apologize. While I've read DU for years now, I'm relatively new to posting here...

My post is about pet food.
I've got four cats and a dog, all beloved.
If I lost any of them to this nonsense, both my husband and I would be devastated.

We've discussed it, and we're thinking of dropping our Iams/Nutro brands.
Does anyone have suggestions for different brands?
Or - if we decide to go all the way with this - suggestions for a "people food" diet? (I've read a bit about meats, lamb, rice, etc, but I don't know what the balance should be).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[livvy]

1. Canidae or Solid Gold are my favorite brands for my dogs.

Welcome to DU!

[rucky]

7. Those are my top 2

add Azmira & Wysong to the list.

[hippiechick]

2. Do a search ...

... over the last 2 or 3 days, DU GD has been full of threads discussing this and alternative diets.

Also, hop over to the Pets Forum and see what's going on there. :hi:


I've switched my 2 dogs to an entirely 'human food' diet since the scare started. :scared:

[youngdem]

3. Check out California Natural

Five ingredients. No sugar, wheat, corn, byproducts, chemicals, shit you can't pronounce. Just two types of rice, lamb, vitamins and minerals. Dry food. Reasonable price. And their entire product line is unaffected by all of this.

We also give our dog fresh fruits and vegetables (carrots, greens, apple, bananas).

Not dead yet.

[annabanana]

4. no one has listed Pedigree yet...

(and even among the "bad" brands.. It's the cans "in gravy" that are contaminated, AFAIK)

[bluerum]

13. My dog vomitted twice while being fed pedigree so I stopped feeding

it to him.

I know it was not listed but I am listening to him, not the corporations. He will never get canned food again.

[ellie]

5. It's incredibly upsetting

I have a dog and four cats and had to dump the Nutro I was giving them after my dog started throwing up yellow bile. I have them on Blue Buffalo dry food. It has no wheat, corn, or soy. They seem to like it. Other people have their animals on California Natural. I looked it up in the Toledo area and it is available at a local health food store. My sister has her cats on Wellness but I believe that Menu Foods make their canned food. Innova has been mentioned as an alternative as well.

[Longhorn]

11. We are also switching to Blue Buffalo for our five dogs.

It was recommended by a few posters here at DU and I checked out their website. I like that it's made from human-grade ingredients. It's also available at Petsmart so buying it won't be difficult. The dogs seem to like it so far -- we're still mixing it with their Iams as we transition.

[Nite Owl]

6. Here's a thread on it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x547187

There is more in the Pet Forum.
The common thread seems to be the wheat so that's why I chose Blue, no wheat, corn or soy, free range lamb. I thought of making my own but the dry food is better for their teeth and neither one of mine seem to like chewing bones or toys much.

[subterranean]

8. Trader Joe's?

I don't have a pet, but I know they sell pet food. You could try that if there's a store near you.

http://www.traderjoes.com/
(see note at bottom regarding pet food)

[DCKit]

9. Is this scandal going to take them down?

I sure hope so. The FDA needs housecleaning as well.

Congress needs to pass a bill prohibiting the FDA appointment or hiring of industry insiders NOW.

Put some academics in those positions and see what they can do to protect our food and drug supply.

[sellitman]

10. We use Purina "Pro-Plan" dry

For both our Dog (Black Lab) and our 2 Cats. No re-call on them and our pets seem very happy and healthy. Another plus is this food is available in many places and you can often find it on sale.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. I'm just reading the labels a little more closely.

I was feeding Nutro Max and it looks like upgrading to Nutro Natural Choice avoids all the wheat and corn issues that seem to be the common thread of complaints.

[philosophie_en_rose]

14. Natural Balance

It has Dick Van Patten's guarantee. :)


However, it is natural and . . . balanced. It comes in dry and in a dry sausage-like loaf. The dogs love it either way and think it's a big treat to have the loaf food.

[Orsino]

15. Switching to Royal Canin here. n/t

[RedCappedBandit]

16. Drop them

We feed our Dog California Natural. My cat is being fed Nutro, but as I live with my parents it frusteratingly isn't up to me to switch the food. After all this going on in the news, though, i've been tring to convince them to try something else.. but i really don't know what is trustworthy

As for Iams.. switch without a second thought.

[lazer47]

17. I now use and always will use Science Diet