We've been struggling with our cats and finding something high quality that meets their standards but also doesn't have fish. The best we found that didn't cause too many food strikes was science diet. I looked at most of the more expensive brands, but so many had turkey, duck, or fish. I've just learned that there are some foods they refuse to eat. Between the food strikes and the fish allergy, we're really limited on cat foods.
Earthborn has chicken. If that helps.
I'll have to look into it when we get close to the end of what I just bought. Is that something I could buy at the regular pet store or would I have to order it from somewhere?
One of our other issues is that the kibble has to be big or Muon will just swallow it whole. If he doesn't actually chew his food, I have to brush his teeth for him more regularly. We have giant cats.
This is from the dog food review site about beneful.
"The fifth ingredient is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of rendering, the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals. Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this item could come from almost anywhere: roadkill, spoiled supermarket meat, dead, diseased or dying cattle — even euthanized pets."
When all the kidney failure Happened a few years back, it was linked to wal mart brand as the biggest culprit. The ingredient used in euthanasia was found in many of the dogs kidneys. People were slowly euthenizing their pets!
When you choose not to have your dog privately cremated or take your pet home to be buried (the latter depends on if you're city or county) the vet may say that the pets get sent to a mass cremation. But they do NOT legally have to do that. If you let the vet keep your pet, they have the legal right to do as they please. Some vets use your pets as test subjects for training their techs. I know this because I was trained on euthanized animals. They can also SELL your pets to pet food companies. I know it sounds grouome, but it's a sad sad fact that I've been a witness of.
Wow! I am so glad we opted for private cremation when we had to put our dog down a couple weeks ago. It would hurt my heart to think any of these things happened to him.
This is from the dog food review site about beneful.
"The fifth ingredient is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of rendering, the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals. Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this item could come from almost anywhere: roadkill, spoiled supermarket meat, dead, diseased or dying cattle — even euthanized pets."
When all the kidney failure Happened a few years back, it was linked to wal mart brand as the biggest culprit. The ingredient used in euthanasia was found in many of the dogs kidneys. People were slowly euthenizing their pets!
When you choose not to have your dog privately cremated or take your pet home to be buried (the latter depends on if you're city or county) the vet may say that the pets get sent to a mass cremation. But they do NOT legally have to do that. If you let the vet keep your pet, they have the legal right to do as they please. Some vets use your pets as test subjects for training their techs. I know this because I was trained on euthanized animals. They can also SELL your pets to pet food companies. I know it sounds grouome, but it's a sad sad fact that I've been a witness of.
Wow! I am so glad we opted for private cremation when we had to put our dog down a couple weeks ago. It would hurt my heart to think any of these things happened to him.
Thankfully we live in the county, so when the day comes that my two seniors pass, I'll be able to do a private burial. Otherwise I'd spend the money on cremation and spread their ashes somewhere. I should clarify that not all vets do this. Some actually do send them for a group cremation with other Pets who passed away around the same time. But I've worked for a few shady vets who did experiment on the pets or sell them to be used in food. It's just not a risk I want to take.
Last Edit: Feb 25, 2015 12:45:30 GMT -5 by heatherj9603
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I'll have to look into it when we get close to the end of what I just bought. Is that something I could buy at the regular pet store or would I have to order it from somewhere?
One of our other issues is that the kibble has to be big or Muon will just swallow it whole. If he doesn't actually chew his food, I have to brush his teeth for him more regularly. We have giant cats.
So i was looking at the dry food ingredients for Fromm and Earthborn. i think they both might have either Salmon meal or salmon oil. Is it an allergy or total dislike of the food? It's not a main ingredient in either brand.
I'll have to look into it when we get close to the end of what I just bought. Is that something I could buy at the regular pet store or would I have to order it from somewhere?
One of our other issues is that the kibble has to be big or Muon will just swallow it whole. If he doesn't actually chew his food, I have to brush his teeth for him more regularly. We have giant cats.
So i was looking at the dry food ingredients for Fromm and Earthborn. i think they both might have Salmon meal. Is it an allergy or total dislike of the food?
Salmon is a straight up allergy. When he was a baby, I switched from science diet (the vet gave the human mom a bag for each kitten) to something less expensive. He lost the hair on his face where he shoved the food around the bowl and had these awful welts. The litterbox also stunk, so I know he was having digestive issues, too. We've taken him off all fish and the boxes don't smell unless we don't scoop often enough, and then it's a pee issue.
I'll have to look into it when we get close to the end of what I just bought. Is that something I could buy at the regular pet store or would I have to order it from somewhere?
One of our other issues is that the kibble has to be big or Muon will just swallow it whole. If he doesn't actually chew his food, I have to brush his teeth for him more regularly. We have giant cats.
Petco usually has a really good selection, and Petsmart has some good options as well. Both carry Blue Buffalo, Wellness, etc.
I wished they carried the food brands we use. No luck just yet. They are the cheapest for litter but it took a while for them to start regularly carrying the brand we use. MH switched my cat to Swheat Scoop when she was a kitten and now she won't go if she has to use anything else.
So i was looking at the dry food ingredients for Fromm and Earthborn. i think they both might have Salmon meal. Is it an allergy or total dislike of the food?
Salmon is a straight up allergy. When he was a baby, I switched from science diet (the vet gave the human mom a bag for each kitten) to something less expensive. He lost the hair on his face where he shoved the food around the bowl and had these awful welts. The litterbox also stunk, so I know he was having digestive issues, too. We've taken him off all fish and the boxes don't smell unless we don't scoop often enough, and then it's a pee issue.
Oh my goodness, your poor kitty. Check out Canidae Grain - Free with Chicken. It doesn't appear to have salmon in it.
I'll have to look into it when we get close to the end of what I just bought. Is that something I could buy at the regular pet store or would I have to order it from somewhere?
One of our other issues is that the kibble has to be big or Muon will just swallow it whole. If he doesn't actually chew his food, I have to brush his teeth for him more regularly. We have giant cats.
Petco usually has a really good selection, and Petsmart has some good options as well. Both carry Blue Buffalo, Wellness, etc.
I want to say I looked at blue buffalo and wellness. None carried a version (in store) without fish (an allergy) or duck or turkey (they won't eat it). We're a special snowflake household. It is insanely hard to find cat foods without fish something in them. I think I'll have to spend some time in the pet store again, but the people working at the pet store are really no help with special diets.
Salmon is a straight up allergy. When he was a baby, I switched from science diet (the vet gave the human mom a bag for each kitten) to something less expensive. He lost the hair on his face where he shoved the food around the bowl and had these awful welts. The litterbox also stunk, so I know he was having digestive issues, too. We've taken him off all fish and the boxes don't smell unless we don't scoop often enough, and then it's a pee issue.
Oh my goodness, your poor kitty. Check out Canidae Grain - Free with Chicken. It doesn't appear to have salmon in it.
Yeah. I took pictures and when my vet questioned the "allergy" I pulled out the pictures. She marked it in his chart. They also have a pretty bad pollen allergy and I think there are a few other things our other cat is allergic to. Luckily, the only food allergy is fish.
When Muon was a baby, I switched from one of the scented litters to the unscented petco carries. He threw a fit and raked all of the litter out of his boxes. He eventually allowed me to use it, but we've only tried swheat scoop as an alternative. We both hated it and they both refused to use it. I think we're stuck with clay forever. Unless he decides to potty train himself again.
Post by motleycrew90 on Feb 25, 2015 13:18:59 GMT -5
I feed my dog Iams grain free naturals dog food. We used to feed our dogs pedigree but come to find out it's just as bad as Beniful. We believe it's what caused my other dog to get fatty tumors.
Post by Shellsncheese on Feb 25, 2015 13:24:32 GMT -5
We feed out dog Simply Nourish. It's a PetSmart brand, but most varieties are rated 4 or 5, plus it's cheaper than most of the other high rated dog food.
My dog has a chicken allergy, so we get the Salmon and Sweet Potato kind and he loves it.
I'm obsessed with the dogfoodadvisor.com website that others have mentioned. It's a great source of information and provides a detailed analysis for pretty much every brand and flavor of dog food ever made.
My dogs usually eat Earthborn, though we've also fed them Taste of the Wild, LiveFree, and Merrick in the past.
I've heard the comparison that feeding your dogs things like Beneful and Purina every day is similar to humans eating McDonalds every day. There is minimal (if any) nutritional value and there are many better, healthier options. As others have mentioned, while the higher quality foods cost a bit more, you end up feeding less each day due to the higher nutrient and protein content.
We have a cat but have alternated between Evo and Fromm. H's husky hated Blue. She's on a prescription diet now for urinary issues. My parents feed my beagle Merrick. I'm not sure if it's the best for him but I don't live at home anymore.
ETA: Evo and Fromm are both grain free. We also feed her Earthborn brand wet food. It has very few ingredients and she loves it.
We feed our dog (2 yr old black lab) Fromm too! It was hard to find at first but I did finally come across a local store that offers it at a decent price!
heatherj9603 that makes me so sick and sad! Ugh, I am glad that you shared though so that we all know!
My cocker spaniel eats purina proplan. The lab used to eat proplan but was getting ear infections. He loves the blue buffalo but is still getting ear infections
We have a cat but have alternated between Evo and Fromm. H's husky hated Blue. She's on a prescription diet now for urinary issues. My parents feed my beagle Merrick. I'm not sure if it's the best for him but I don't live at home anymore.
ETA: Evo and Fromm are both grain free. We also feed her Earthborn brand wet food. It has very few ingredients and she loves it.
We feed our dog (2 yr old black lab) Fromm too! It was hard to find at first but I did finally come across a local store that offers it at a decent price!
heatherj9603 that makes me so sick and sad! Ugh, I am glad that you shared though so that we all know!
We used Evo for a while until they were temporarily pulled off the market. We tried Earthborn dry before eventually switching to Fromm. She's got little teeth and seems to do well with it. She still loves Earthborn wet and refuses other brand. I tried fancy feast; I've never seen her so upset.
Oh my goodness, your poor kitty. Check out Canidae Grain - Free with Chicken. It doesn't appear to have salmon in it.
Yeah. I took pictures and when my vet questioned the "allergy" I pulled out the pictures. She marked it in his chart. They also have a pretty bad pollen allergy and I think there are a few other things our other cat is allergic to. Luckily, the only food allergy is fish.
When Muon was a baby, I switched from one of the scented litters to the unscented petco carries. He threw a fit and raked all of the litter out of his boxes. He eventually allowed me to use it, but we've only tried swheat scoop as an alternative. We both hated it and they both refused to use it. I think we're stuck with clay forever. Unless he decides to potty train himself again.
We had to buy Feline Pine in an emergency once. She kept pacing the box but couldn't go to the bathroom. I felt so bad.
Post by imnotfancy on Feb 25, 2015 22:03:47 GMT -5
I love Merrick! I was feeding whole earth farms and my dogs loved it and it was a great prince on petco.com. They were sold out for a while (they changed packaging) so I switched to Rotations and my dogs love it as well.
I have 60-65 lbs english pointers. I also use and loved dogfoodadvisor.com
I'm currently trying some Hills Science diet because they have a large kibble. One of my dogs has an awesomely cute underbite (see siggy) that gives him problems with eating. No reviews from me yet on that one.
I want to say I looked at blue buffalo and wellness. None carried a version (in store) without fish (an allergy) or duck or turkey (they won't eat it). We're a special snowflake household. It is insanely hard to find cat foods without fish something in them. I think I'll have to spend some time in the pet store again, but the people working at the pet store are really no help with special diets.
What about the Blue Buffalo chicken flavor dry food? I've been feeding that to Pippa and Howie for years and they love it. I would think that the chicken flavor wouldn't have any fish in it...but then again you never know!
piccyami - I would check out the Blue Buffalo Chicken again. We feed our pup Life Protection Formula Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe For Large Breed Adult Dogs. I looked at the ingredients on Blue Buffalo's website and don't see any mention of fish in the chicken one.
One of my friends just lost their english bulldog last week after a bout of seizures. I don't know what they fed him, but they're going to be super upset and feel awful if the food might have been to blame.
We feed my english bulldog what I know is crappy food. I've tried switching him over the years to high quality stuff of various brands and ingredients and he doesn't tolerate anything else very well. He gets stomach upset, skin and ear infections. I've tried Blue Buffalo, Innova, and Dog lovers something something of different forumlas. It was costing me too much in vet bills, aggrivation, and a very unhappy, sick bulldog.
Apparently it's buffalo meat and garbanzo beans. The southwest canyon formula isn't rated on the dog food website, but their other variants are and they're 4 or 5 stars.
We feed our two Nutro Natural Choice. Apparently it's only a 3.5 star on that dog food website, but they like it and the few things it got dinged for aren't a big deal in my book. I might switch to Costco's brand though, since apparently it's higher rated. I wish it had the cross hatch shape, though, the vet says that's better for cleaning their teeth.
One of my friends just lost their english bulldog last week after a bout of seizures. I don't know what they fed him, but they're going to be super upset and feel awful if the food might have been to blame.
We feed my english bulldog what I know is crappy food. I've tried switching him over the years to high quality stuff of various brands and ingredients and he doesn't tolerate anything else very well. He gets stomach upset, skin and ear infections. I've tried Blue Buffalo, Innova, and Dog lovers something something of different forumlas. It was costing me too much in vet bills, aggrivation, and a very unhappy, sick bulldog.
We've had this same problem with our elderly Cocker Spaniel. He had been eating a crappy food at the shelter and it's the only thing he's been able to tolerate. We tried different foods and making the switch as slow as possible, but he still always got sick. We gave up and have just kept him on the crappy food.
We loved the brand Halo for our cats, but can only find it at Petco. We moved and now only have a Petsmart that doesn't carry it.
We feed our dog (2 yr old black lab) Fromm too! It was hard to find at first but I did finally come across a local store that offers it at a decent price!
heatherj9603 that makes me so sick and sad! Ugh, I am glad that you shared though so that we all know!
We used Evo for a while until they were temporarily pulled off the market. We tried Earthborn dry before eventually switching to Fromm. She's got little teeth and seems to do well with it. She still loves Earthborn wet and refuses other brand. I tried fancy feast; I've never seen her so upset.
Roxie has never been a fan of the wet food, and she will eat almost anything! Oh well!
Post by inwinethereistruth on Feb 26, 2015 12:25:34 GMT -5
Sooo, just a veterinarian chiming in here, Beneful IS crap food, but propylene glycol is not the name as antifreeze (ethylene glycol). This is a lot of media hype and panic, and while I am not saying the food isnt to blame, I am withholding any sort of judgement until further testing is done on both foods and the cadavers.
Also all those dog food websites are like when TTC/pregnant women go to babycenter for info- you are gonna get a LOT of garbage and they often have ulterior (read: money) motives. The #5 nutritionist in the country whom I studied under feeds his cats Purina ProPlan. The veterinary nutritionist at UPenn feeds hers Blue Buffalo. The other nutritionist at my school fed her dogs, one of them Iams, the other was on a hypoallergenic diet- Kangaroo and Oat, a veterinary grade prescription formula for food allergic dermatitis.
If anyone wants to check their dog's food or see if there is a better option to replace what you are currently feeding this website is great! www.dogfoodadvisor.com All of the rescues I work with recommend that site to check dog food ratings. And there are normally pretty recent comments so you can check if they changed anything recently
This site is great. All 4 of my pets (2 cats, 2 dogs) get wellness core. If I had to switch for any reason Fromms would be my next choice.
My rescue boy eats wellness core, a lot of rescues around here feed there dogs that. My other boy needs the Royal Canine GI Low Fat, it is not super high quality as far as the ingredients, but its the only food that keeps him healthy so he's stuck with it!
July 2013 started TTC 7/20/2014=BFP; CP confirmed 8/1/2014 Dec 2014: Diagnosis = Unexplained IF 12/24/2014 Medicated TI (clomid)=BFN 1/22/2015: IUI #1 cancelled due to cyst 02/17/2015: IUI #2 cancelled due to another cyst 3/31/2015: IUI with Femera, 1 good follie, great sperm count = CP, my December Rainbow became an Angel
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