New Pet Food Alert! Gluten Free Dog And Cat Food

[yokomindy]

Some of you may be feeding Natural Balance Venison and Rice dry dog food, or Venison and Green Pea dry cat food, because they are gluten free. Natural Balance pet foods are now recalling these two foods because of possible melamine contamination. The suspect ingredient in these two dry foods is concentrated rice protein. There have been reports of kidney failure, just like with the gluten in the Menu Foods. You can go to the Natural Ballance website for more info.

[Juliebove]

Some of you may be feeding Natural Balance Venison and Rice dry dog food, or Venison and Green Pea dry cat food, because they are gluten free. Natural Balance pet foods are now recalling these two foods because of possible melamine contamination. The suspect ingredient in these two dry foods is concentrated rice protein. There have been reports of kidney failure, just like with the gluten in the Menu Foods. You can go to the Natural Ballance website for more info.

Aargh! When will it end. My friend lost her dog due to one of the gluten kinds. I don't know what to feed my cat any more. She went on a fast for a while, refusing to eat anything I gave her. She doesn't like having her food changed and what she had been eating was the recalled stuff (although not those dates, but I don't trust it now). I tried making her some food but she wouldn't eat it.

[lonewolf]

You might try giving your cat some canned "cat" tuna, raw eggs and meat. We feed our dog mostly raw meat and I've never worried about him being sick. I know lots of people do this for their cats too. It's "species appropriate" - they wouldn't cook their food if they lived in the wild.

Trader Joe's has the cat tuna and it's only 29 cents a can here. It's fortified with vitamins and doesn't have anything else in it. My dog loves it! (He gets it for a treat once in a while.)

[2kids4me]

I want to add that "cat" tuna is likely supplemented with taurine and vitamin E ( dont have a lable to read so dont know). Please do not confuse this with "people tuna". I have included some info about why that is important. Other meats should be included in the diet - including organ meats.

[below, the info is about "people tuna"]

Most cats love tuna, and an occasional tuna treat is fine for them, but too much tuna can cause some serious medical problems. We're speaking here of tuna that is marketed for human consumption: most tuna-flavored cat foods are not 100% tuna, and contain nutrients such as added vitamins and taurine which are necessary for a cat's health

Fish is a good source of protein and other nutrients, but too much fish in a cat's diet can be harmful. Tuna is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and requires substantial amounts of vitamin E to preserve the fat. Cats fed a diet containing excessive amounts of tuna can develop steatitis, also known as yellow fat disease."

Tuna and certain other fish possess very little vitamin E. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant. When a cat

[Felidae]

One of my cats has been hospitalized at the vet since the weekend. He's on an IV and was extremely jaundiced and dehydrated. The recall was announced yesterday, so now my vet has an answer as to why his liver was failing. Yes, both my cats were on Natural Balance Green Pea & Venison dry food. Nothing to do with having no gluten, he has a chicken allergy.

I feel terrible for feeding him this food and almost killing him. I have about 20 cans of the wet Green Pea & Venison, but even though it wasn't recalled, I'm paranoid about making him sick when he eventually comes back home.

[Felidae]

Aargh! When will it end. My friend lost her dog due to one of the gluten kinds. I don't know what to feed my cat any more. She went on a fast for a while, refusing to eat anything I gave her. She doesn't like having her food changed and what she had been eating was the recalled stuff (although not those dates, but I don't trust it now). I tried making her some food but she wouldn't eat it.

I know what you mean. My cat has a chicken allergy, so he's very limited. In addition, he's extremely picky. He'll like a food for a few weeks and then decide nope, I don't like it anymore.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't get it. Cats are carnivores--their bodies were made to eat meat and fish. Why would they "need" supplements to what would be natural for them to eat in the wild?

(I'm a bit nervous because I just started giving my diabetic cat canned tuna and salmon in addition to dry food. Eek! Maybe I should stop?? But he seems to be doing a lot better on tuna and salmon. ??!! )

[Felidae]

I don't get it. Cats are carnivores--their bodies were made to eat meat and fish. Why would they "need" supplements to what would be natural for them to eat in the wild?

(I'm a bit nervous because I just started giving my diabetic cat canned tuna and salmon in addition to dry food. Eek! Maybe I should stop?? But he seems to be doing a lot better on tuna and salmon. ??!! )

This is my theory. Because we don't feed them live rodents, birds, etc. they need something else to help with their digestion. For instance my cat seems to need the green peas and rice bran for fiber. Dry food is not much like a warm fresh mouse.

I know, I'm a kook, we'll just leave it at that.

[Nancym]

I don't get it. Cats are carnivores--their bodies were made to eat meat and fish. Why would they "need" supplements to what would be natural for them to eat in the wild?

(I'm a bit nervous because I just started giving my diabetic cat canned tuna and salmon in addition to dry food. Eek! Maybe I should stop?? But he seems to be doing a lot better on tuna and salmon. ??!! )

Cooking destroys the taurine in food and it is an essential amino acid for cats, so they usually add it back in after cooking. I just buy taurine capsules and sprinkle them on his food. But generally I feed my puddy tat lamb/salmon from Whole Foods (cat food), sardines in water, the occassional can of tuna and raw chicken. He's doing MUCH better since I got him off dry food (and canned food).

The sardines have a lot of vitamins. I feed him one can of them a week.

[ronahc]

I started giving my cats Wellness canned food a few months ago. Out of 6 flavors, 5 of them have no grain at all and 1 of them has only rice added. They seem happier with the better food and have lost some of the extra weight they are carrying by eating more than they had before. It's more expensive but better for them.

[2kids4me]

Yes, cats are carnivores. I havent seen too many cats hunt a tuna fish, or eat a lot of fish in the wild. Their natural prey is mice, gophers and birds. They eat the entire thing excpet the head of birds and the feathers, they usually leave the gopher head..- they are crushing up bones, eating whatever was in the animals stomach, in addition to the muscle, they eat the internal organs. All of which give them what they need. A cat who eats 10 mice a day is providing everything he needs, including taurine. They also get tapeworms along the way which isnt so good.

A cat who might be lucky enough to catch a fish also eats the internal organs - a source of additional nutrients.

Beef heart, chicken hearts (heart is very high in taurine), liver, chicken giblets and gizzards, kidney, are all things you can add to a cats diet if you are making a "homemade diet". Sardines are good because they are getting the whole fish.

Raw poultry neck is easily eaten as it is soft and crushes easily when chewed (esp by carnvore teeth).

Do not feed cooked bones, they splinter and are brittle.

sandy

[Fiddle-Faddle]

. I just buy taurine capsules and sprinkle them on his food.

Where do you buy the taurine capsules???

[Nancym]

Where do you buy the taurine capsules???

Any health food store with a decent selection of supplements should have it.

[Nancym]

I thought of sardines recently because they have soft bones that you won't choke on AND they're small fish so they won't have absorbed a lot of mecury, they have lots of omega-3 fatty acids too. Unfortunately tuna and salmon often live a long time and accumulate a lot of mecury.

Weird thing is... with tuna or any other meat my cat gulps it down quickly. But the same amount of sardines takes him hours to eat. I can't figure out why!

[Felidae]

Do you buy human-grade sardines? When my cat recovers from his poisoning maybe I'll try and introduce sardines into his diet. I'm sure he would love them.

[BRUMI1968]

You can buy frozen raw food to give to your cats that is close to the way they would eat in the wild, minus of course the killing and the fur and the whatnot. I feed my dog raw dog food, though I've started searing it on the outside to make him like it better. (He used to love it, but he demands changes in his diet...just like me!)

Raw advantage has one - though I'm not sure if it has grain in it. Others do as well. Primal Pet makes some all meat/innards/bones varieites that cats would love.

Anyway, I sure am glad I home-make my dog's food at this point. When he was a puppy, his seven siblings all got mange, and he did not. Difference? At least one was that Emmett got homemade food every day, no store-bought dog food.

Good luck.

[lindalee]

Cooking destroys the taurine in food and it is an essential amino acid for cats, so they usually add it back in after cooking. I just buy taurine capsules and sprinkle them on his food. But generally I feed my puddy tat lamb/salmon from Whole Foods (cat food), sardines in water, the occassional can of tuna and raw chicken. He's doing MUCH better since I got him off dry food (and canned food).

The sardines have a lot of vitamins. I feed him one can of them a week.

Nancy, I tried the raw chicken on my cat and he would not eat it. Any suggestions? I do not have a whole foods near here. I think I will try the sardines.

[ravenwoodglass]

Nancy, I tried the raw chicken on my cat and he would not eat it. Any suggestions? I do not have a whole foods near here. I think I will try the sardines.

If you can find the Innova Evo food near you you might want to try it. The company that makes it is called Natura Pet. They have a web a site that is just www.naturapet.com where i found lists of locations that sell it near me. I buy it at Country Max. The Evo is a dry food that is totally grain free with just meat and veggies. My animals do very well on it. Before I switched my cats they would steal my little dogs food. They never did that with his usual kibble.

[lindalee]

If you can find the Innova Evo food near you you might want to try it. The company that makes it is called Natura Pet. They have a web a site that is just www.naturapet.com where i found lists of locations that sell it near me. I buy it at Country Max. The Evo is a dry food that is totally grain free with just meat and veggies. My animals do very well on it. Before I switched my cats they would steal my little dogs food. They never did that with his usual kibble.

My Cat has lost quite a few teeth so the dry food won't work for him. I do think that that is the brand I had used on him before thought. The vet said he was just old. I have to take him back in now for a high thyroid.

[lindalee]

Hi Everyone,

My cat is doing much better since I started making my own cat food. There are 2 items I don't include which are wheat germ and a form of calcium ( which I am going to get at the health food store). Does anyone know of a substitute for wheat germ as I don't want to give him gluten. Thanks

[Felidae]

Hi Everyone,

My cat is doing much better since I started making my own cat food. There are 2 items I don't include which are wheat germ and a form of calcium ( which I am going to get at the health food store). Does anyone know of a substitute for wheat germ as I don't want to give him gluten. Thanks

You could replace wheat germ with rice bran.

[lindalee]

You could replace wheat germ with rice bran.

Thanks, This is a recipe a friend gave me and the wheat germ supplies a particular nutrient. The first batch I made was with ground turkey. The last 2 have been with ground hamburger which he likes better. In fact, he loves it. I have read a lot of cats can't eat chicken. I haven't tried the ground lamb yet.

Thanks to all that posted. I thought I would also pick up some of the tumeric and sprinkle that in after fixing this stew. Do you think freezing it would hurt it? I started out making patties and freezing them in muffin tins and then just dropping them in zip locks after frozen but now I just freeze the stew in regular containers as it is much easier. I take a container out of the freezer it thaws quickly in the refrigerator and give him a spoon in a small dish and he gobbles it right up. I also give him bottled water.

[Felidae]

Thanks, This is a recipe a friend gave me and the wheat germ supplies a particular nutrient. The first batch I made was with ground turkey. The last 2 have been with ground hamburger which he likes better. In fact, he loves it. I have read a lot of cats can't eat chicken. I haven't tried the ground lamb yet.

Actually, my cat is allergic to chicken. It is very difficult to find food for him. He's tried every chicken-free food I can find. They put venison in a lot of the non-chicken foods.

[lindalee]

Actually, my cat is allergic to chicken. It is very difficult to find food for him. He's tried every chicken-free food I can find. They put venison in a lot of the non-chicken foods.

Does anyone feed their cat venison? I would imagine that would be hard to find.