Cat Food Review - Cat Food Ratings Dry or Bagged

inafrenzi  says:
3 years ago

My 12 year old Simba has IBS. He would not eat his prescription diet so he was placed on Iams - finally no vomiting or diarrhea. Every time I place him on another food it is recalled or he refuses to eat. He is back to vomiting with diarrhea because of change in diets. The only thing that seems safe is Fancy Feast - which is what he always ate but became allergic to it. He is now on California Natural but will only eat a little. He is also on Metronidazole which was a last resort. I am so frustrated watching my buddy suffer but I don't know what to do. Any one else going through this? My heart goes out to all of those who have lost their precious friends.

Jackie Silva  says:
3 years ago

I don't see friskies on the list of safe cat foods.

AskSusanPeters  says:
3 years ago

There are ten points possible. A fair to good products should easly score 10. 1 point if there is not animal digest (manure) 2 points each for not having corn, wheat, soy, and gluten. The last point is for extra stuff like stuff that is good for your pets.

Click on the title of the food for a review of that product.

Cat's name, Peaches  says:
3 years ago

Peaches loves, Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets. Is this on the list?

Nan  says:
2 years ago

Now Fancy Feast and a few others are on the Class Action Law Suits being filed...so much for the point system. Didn't know road kill was in trusted brands. Yuk!!!! Now the search is on again for a cat food we can trust.

Hannah  says:
2 years ago

I don't see Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard on your list. It seems to be one of the better foods available. Thoughts?

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Hannah, I have completed the cat food review for Chicken Flavor Wellness Cat Food. I'll work on getting more reviews for you covering the Wellness Products.

Thanks,

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Linda,

The recall set me back on getting my reviews done. If you have something you would like reviewed just let me know and I'll get it out. I'm afraid to report I don't know much about the ash in a cat's diet. I'm not much help as far as ash content goes. I am trying to learn about the ash but I don't feel comfortable giving any thoughts about ash at this time.

Susan

Patrice  says:
2 years ago

Susan,

What is your review on Natures Recipe Adult Dry cat chow?

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Deborah,

Nutro is considered by the FDA to be poisonous. No, it is not safe.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Dave,

Tough question. I'm not sure what cat foods are available in your area. Look through the foods listed on this page. Pick out something with a 10/10 rating or as close to a 10 as you can get. Compair your choices with the foods listed at http://hubpages.com/hub/Cat_Food_Safe_To_Feed_Afte

Good luck,

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Jo Ellen,

Wow! Glad I could help.

Susan

April  says:
2 years ago

Oops I see Good Life on the list and it isn't good! How about Avoderm and the other 2 I previously listed? I have 7 cats, all indoor so I'd love a recommendation for a dry food that is economical yet has my babies health in mind (can always order online if not at local store.) They are all mature cats, most on the pudgy side, except one that is really obese. Out of the 7, 1 of them has food allergies so I feed him IVD green peas and venison or duck (he is actually the only skinny cat I have.) Is there a better brand of restricted ingredient food that I should be using?

Thanks

will  says:
2 years ago

I found a natural all duck formula - Evo 95% duck. Would love to see a review of it. For April, they also have all natural venison food too. Is it necessary for cats to have any vegetable protein?

http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1663

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Rob,

Eliminate Corn, Wheat, and Soy and your cat's weight should return to normal. To answer your question, if the caloric content is available I provide that information to you in the review.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Sue,

Purina Cat Chow scored 0 points out of ten http://hubpages.com/hub/Purina_Cat_Chow_Dry_Cat_Fo

because there is nothing good for a cat in this product. Purina Cat Chow has a Class Action filed against it for truth in advertising. Far too many cats have become ill or died using Cat Chow. http://hubpages.com/hub/Purina_Cat_Chow_Class_Acti

Your cat is very lucky you are wise and realized it was the food which caused his illness.

Blessings,

Susan

Sue  says:
2 years ago

Susan,

Thank you for your reply, your website, and your untolled research into the contents of pet food. I also salute your undeniable strength to do all this while immersed in a sea of pet-owner grief & concerns throughout 2007 - all while holding your own life together!

Your site is important, one of the best available, and very much appreciated. I've spent many hours here trying to figure out next best nutritional steps for my formerly Purina Cat Chow eating cat - who is now 100% better. Thankfully, he has also accepted canned chicken 48 hours after becoming hungry again - and was bouncing around like a kitten while playing his brand of tag (with me) this morning - something I haven't seen in two years!

Aside from feeling betrayed by Purina - it amazes me that so many pet food manufacturers continue to knowingly kill off their "customers" with disgusting and dangerous ingredients - and I'm amazed that finding decent food is so difficult. Thank you for providing the critical tools for my search.

Bless You!

Sue

Sue  says:
2 years ago

Susan,

I continue to thank you daily - and probably will continue for years to come! My cat continues to do extremely well on his new diet. He'd probably be dead if not for your work/website!

I've passed your web address to my friends with pets, and your work is very much appreciated by them as well.

Happy New Year! Bless You!!

Sue

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Sue,

Happy New Year to you, too. Your words of encouragement are just what is need to get this new year off to a great start.

Thank you,

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Karen,

I'm glad I've been of help to you! Remove the corn, wheat and soy from your cat's diet and the diareah will go away.

I don't really have any suggestions for another cat food for you since I don't know what is available in your area. Look through the reviews and choose something as close to a 10 as possible as points are deducted for the use of corn, wheat and soy.

I'll get to work on your Science Diet reviews. If you know of any other brands or styles of cat food you would like to see reviewed please let me know. I'll work on adding more dry foods.

Good Luck,

Susan

SanDC  says:
2 years ago

Hi.

I just noticed the poor review of Hill's Prescription Diet® l/d Dry.

I'm feeding my cat hill's R/d. What's the difference?

And should I be feeding her as much as the bag tells me because it seems alot to me.

SanDC  says:
2 years ago

Thanks a million

I checked the label and i knew it wouldnt score more than 3.

When i switch to something with a good score will my cat start losing weight?

Chelle  says:
2 years ago

Could you possibly separate dry from can or "moist" foods in your reviews? That would be SO helpful! Thank you!

suzanne in camarillo,california  says:
2 years ago

I cannot beleive how many people are feeding their pets foods with ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS which are basically the garbage remnants that the slaughter houses sweep off the floor...the offal, or mess of feet, heads, bones and guts and whatever. No control whatsoever...foods like IAMS, Sciene Diet, PURINA, Friskies, Pedigree, Alpo and Hills etc are THE WORST offenders !. Their plants and factories and their extruders used for the dry foods are not controlled by anyone so they can have rat dung, chemicals or any poisons in their products mixed in along with the deadly BY-Products. Just like with humans, one MUST read the labels on pet foods too. I use EVO and Innova for my six dogs and Wysong for my cat...WYSONG is not rated here but up in Ojai, CA at Noah's Apothecary , the woman who runs the place is like a health guru/scientist for pets and her store ONLY carries foods WITHOUT by-products. Stores like PETCO only carry commercial foods of very poor quality. I hope you can all find small pet food stores with healthy foods or you can buy human-grade pet food online. I often cook Costco chicken thighs ($1.99 lb) in the oven, debone them and feed them to my dogs with Innova kibble and a little olive or sesame oil. I also chop up tiny bits of raw curly kale and add that for health purposes. Roly is a Lab/shep mix and he is 17yrs old, Spudlee is a bull terrier /border collie mix and he is 15 yrs. The chihuahuas are each around 4 or 5 yrs and the Shiba Inou is 10 yrs. All but the Shiba are rescued dogs. They have been thriving on healthy foods. It took me a while to find out about all this and now it makes real sense. I hope Susan can rate more of these healthy foods like WYSONG soon!

SanDC  says:
2 years ago

How do cats fair with rice?

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

SanDC,

I'm not meaning to sound like a smarty pants but how many cats have you seen raiding the grain crops? Cats go for meat. Nature has provided cats with the teeth to tear into fish, chicken, etc. Cats are not grain eaters.

I'll get busy on your reivew for Felidae.

Susan

Sue  says:
2 years ago

Susan,

It's only been seven weeks since my cat's "food world" was turned upside-down - but he's a new cat! Professional Brand (dry) is working out well ... he eats half as much, purrs twice as hard, is dramatically more playful and alert, and I'm saving a bundle on cat litter now that the bulky fillers are gone! His hair also isn't falling out like crazy anymore, and he's so very much better on a multitude of fronts! It took about 3-4 weeks for him to completely acclimate to the new dry food, but it's all good now! (Still providing human-grade canned tuna, chicken, etc as treats - happy, happy kitty!)

Keep up the great work! Still thanking you!

Sue

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Sue,

Wonderful news!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. Isn't it amazing the effects of a pet's diet on so much more than what meets the eye? How about all those happy purrs. I've seen such a turn around in my pet's attitudes and they seem so happy. As for the clean up (litter box, etc.) the oder is reduced, the volume of deposits to the box are reduced. Great observation about the hair falling out. Just think how much longer your cat is going to live with just a simple diet change.

I'm so happy you gave us an update!!

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Amara,

Remove all corn, wheat, and soy - the allergies and sensitvie stomach will return to normal. I'll do a review on Eukanuba and have it published shortly.

Susan

Carlee  says:
2 years ago

hello again, i forgot to add that i gave miss kitty Nature's Variety Prairie Homestyle Canned Cat Food in the beef and liver flavor and she went nuts for it, she ate the whole portion before it got hard and gross. it has serious chunks of veggies and meat it looked good to me, but its a little pricey.

-Carlee

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Carlee and Miss Kitty,

I didn't forget you but I'm a tired lady this evening. I'll get those reviews for you this weekend (if I can find all the information I need).

Thanks,

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Terrie,

You just uncovered yet another pet food scam. The ingredients in kitten, adult cat, and senior cat food is the same. The difference is the feeding instructions. Kittens and aging cats need more food than the adult cat.

Select a cat food which does not include Corn, Wheat, or Soy. These three grains are toxic to cats and dogs and will kill them.

Remove the grains from your senior cat's diet and his weight should return to normal. After removing the grains from the yourger (heavy cat) the weight should return to normal. If the cats are on a healthy, grain free diet, the hairball problem should go away.

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Terrie,

If you come across a brand of type of pet food not listed here please feel free to ask for a review. I'm never sure what is available in your area.

Susan

nancy  says:
2 years ago

hello again, can you review california natural cat food? thanks

Lori  says:
2 years ago

Could do a review on Maximum Nutrition Cat and Kitten food. I have always used this and would interested in seeing how it results out. Thanks for time and efforts they are appreciated.

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Lori,

I'll have to wait for my next trip to Wal Mart to check on Maxximum cat food ingredients. Be patient with me!

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Does anyone have a copy of the label (photo) from Maxximum cat foods? I would like to write a review for Maxximum cat food but I do not have an ingredient list.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Sue,

I have bad news for you. A little over a month ago pets began having reactions to Professional. Diamond has began following the others and putting grains back into the pet foods they make and not listing the corn, wheat, or soy on the label.

Several deaths have been associated in recent weeks with Diamond non grain foods. Diamond (maker of Professional) has done bad things.

I don't know what to suggest as a cat food. Thank you for your wonderful comments but it is back to the drawing board.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
2 years ago

Kimberly65,

I have the TimberWolf and Taste of the Wild reviews completed for you.

Thank you for your patients! I'll get to your other reviews next.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
18 months ago

Michelle,

I sure will!

Susan

kimberly65  says:
18 months ago

Is your review for ORIJEN CAT Food Acana Pet Foods a new one? Thanks! Kim

gail  says:
18 months ago

Don't see prurina one sensitive stomach. I am having great success with this. No more mushy poop for my cat.

VinceSamios  says:
18 months ago

This is my cats favourite hub page.

michelle f from tulsa  says:
18 months ago

Susan, Could you take a look at the reviews you did for Wellness Dry Formula Chicken. I been all over their website and it looks like the picture you are using if from the complete chicken flavor that only got 8/10.

catfriend  says:
18 months ago

Hi Susan,

Can you review the dry adult cat food from Costco, Kirkland Super Premium Maintenance Chicken and Rice formula.

I have two Burmese adult cats. They were on the Royal Canin 33, but the female tends to throw up a LOT with this. I read your rating of the RC 33, now I know why she was throwing it up! So I decided to switch to the Kirkland brand. Now the female is getting fat and the male is maintaining well. I don't think Burmese should get this heavy in such a short amount of time (since December 07). The female isn't throwing up nearly as much with this, but I would still like to know how you would rate it.

If you need me to scan the ingredients list to you let me know.

Thanks for your help.

Polly

AskSusanPeters  says:
18 months ago

Polly,

Kirkland is one of those products I can not get an ingredient listing for. Could you please provide that information for me? I will be more than happy to write a review if you can help me with the ingredient list.

Thanks,

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
18 months ago

Polly,

AskSusanPeters@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Cat Woman,

I have been looking at Fancy Feast a little closer than I have in the past. I've looked at only two products and have found them to be better than the more expensive stuff. Take a look at them and see if they help you out. I don't care for Fancy Feast having a class action filed against the company but if the rest of the products stand up to my Pet Food Danger Gauge .... I don't know what to tell you for selecting cat foods. Cat foods are made so bad and are so harmful. Our cats do seem to know what is good for them. I had the same experience with Life's Abundance, my cats loved the dry. Hmmm - I don't know.

Susan

buy absinthe  says:
17 months ago

great info thank you

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Alice,

I don't like the history of pet food recalls and class actions filed agaist the company. Chicken fat is used to encourage a cat to eat ingredients they normally would not eat. Potatoes are just cheap fillers and offer no value in a cat's diet. Potassium Chloride - used in leathal injections (death row), alfalfa sprouts - doesn't do anything for a cat but is great fertilizer. Cottage Cheese - cats and dogs should not have milk products past weaning age.

Looks spooky to me! I'll get a full review out for you as soon as I can get caught up.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Gail,

Here is your review for Purina One cat food - whew, I've never scored anything so low. Are they paying you to feed this junk? http://hubpages.com/hub/Purina-Cat-Food-Healthy-Pe

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Kim,

Oatmeal is very dangerous for a cat as are all grains. I would remember that potatoes are just fillers and if the potatoes are soured or green they will cause health problems.

Susan

Ell  says:
17 months ago

Susan - Thank you again for all this invaluable information. My older kitty was on Royal Canin High Figer Rx for her diarrhea (it did not help), but after reading all the research, I have been gradually switching her to Wellness dry and canned food. After a week, her diarrhea has not improved, and has acually gotten worse. Is this usual with the switching of foods and how long before I see improvement? I really don't want to put her back on "bad" food! Thanks!

Ell  says:
17 months ago

I've been adding unflavored pedialtye to her canned food to try and prevent dehydration. If it's ok, I will email you with more details. Thanks so much!

Cheryl  says:
17 months ago

Hi Susan. I have just been reading over your reviews & wow, have I learned a lot! I thought I knew most of the bad foods, but a few suprised me. Anyhow, I've been feeding Natural Balance Allergy Duck & Pea dry formula since he's had so much trouble with diarreha in the past. He's been on it for about a month now, & nothing has changed. I eliminated the wheat, corn, & soy through using this product, but he still has not improved. I've tried Wellness Complete Indoor, Nutro Max, Nutro Natural, & Purina One for Urinary Tract (all dry & in Chicken flavors), but none of these have helped the diarreha either. Any suggestions on what to feed him? Any ideas on what might be causing the diarreha? Do you think he might have IBS/IBD? I'm thinking about just going back to Wellness & supplement it with canned pumpkin? What do you think? I liked that Wellness is formulated for good urinary tract health since he has had problems with that too in the past.

Thanks,

Cheryl

Jenny  says:
17 months ago

Hi Susan and readers...I found this article written in 2003 called "The Truth about Dry Cat Food." I found it very interesting as it addresses many of the health concerns I'm reading about on this blog. Susan, what are your thoughts on it?

thanks,

Jenny

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Jenny,

I agree with you I think the information at "The Truth about Dry Cat Food" www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing the information with us!

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
16 months ago

Kim,

Thank you for your thoughts on the Pedialite. I have not worked with Pedialite for years so your comments are much appreciated.

You may want to take a look at the prservatives in the food you are feeding. Each of these can cause chronic bowl problems. Ferrous sulfate, Sorbitol, Xylitol. There are probably more.

I am on vacation and will return on the 11th. We'll talk more then.

Thanks,

Susan

Kim  says:
16 months ago

Hi Susan,

I've been feeding my kitten KMR brand milk replacer. This is the ingredient list:

Ingredients: Whey protein concentrate, casein, skim milk, vegetable oil, butterfat, corn syrup solids, egg yolks, monocalcium phosphate, L-arginine, sodium silico aluminate, , dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, lecithin, magnesium carbonate, taurine, vitamin A supplement vitamin E supplement, copper sulfate,vitamin D3 supplement, potassium citrate, potassium iodide, monopotassium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin supplement, ascorbic acid, calcium pantothenate, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin.

Just as you mentioned - Ferrous sulfate is listed. Plus, a lot of other ingrdients didn't look too great to me.

Anyway, who'd of ever thought a kitten milk replacer would be so bad? I get several motherless kittens per year to take care of. What am I supposed to feed them?

I am currently mixing the KMR with Wellness grain free canned food. Hopefully, before too much longer I can get her to eat the Wellness canned without the KMR added to it.

Thanks, You do an excellent job here!

When you get back could you review kitten milk replacers for me? Have a great vacation!

Kim

John Montgomery  says:
16 months ago

Thanks!!!

AskSusanPeters  says:
16 months ago

Kim,

I have the KMR review ready for you at http://hubpages.com/hub/PetAg-KMR-Milk-Replacer-fo

I enjoyed my time with friends and family. The 4th of July was my b/day.

Thanks,

Susan

Michelle from Tulsa  says:
16 months ago

Elle, Mentioned her older cat has diarrheah. Have you had a doppler test or high blood pressure test run. My Dylan had the same thing and it turns out it was do to high blood pressure with his chrnoic renal failure. After he was put on Norvasc (compounded) we never had a an issue with diarreah up until the day he died he was regular. The vet who saw him in the emergency room told me he would likey always have diarrhea.

good luck michelle fro tulsa

AskSusanPeters  says:
16 months ago

Ell2,

Did the diet alone stop the messy poo or did you have to make other changes? I am so happy to have such a wonderful report! Thank you for keeping us updated.

Susan

AskSusanPeters  says:
16 months ago

Ell2

Thank you for the update. Amazing, isn't it that just one can and the trouble begins again?

Susan

Susan  says:
12 months ago

Hi,

Would you please review Petsmart Authority Cat food-canned, Ocean Fish flavor?

Kelly  says:
10 months ago

Hi Susan,

What are your thoughts on Go Natural Organic Chicken dry adult cat food. It states that there is no corm, no wheat, and no soy on the packaging and does not seem to contain many of the other bad ingredients I've seen mentioned.

Thanks!!

Sheila  says:
9 months ago

Here is the website for the Go! food someone mentioned. I have one kitty with allergies and he has such a sensitive tummy. We switched to this food, as a last resort and are in Watch and Wait mode.

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=194

I will try to scan and email you the product nutrition label.

Cricket  says:
8 months ago

Michelle (and everyone out there),

Please be aware that Susan Peters is not a professional. She is earning money by posting her "opinions" on "HubPages". Try googling: "who is Susan Peters on HubPages" and you will see what this site is all about. You will also read a comment from Susan Peters how happy she is to be earning money from this. As long as you have an opinion and generate people to HubPages and all its advertisements (if you haven't noticed, check out the numerous ads) you can earn money. Ask Susan Peters if she's certified in pet nutrition and she will completely ignore you. The only thing I came up with is that she is a pet groomer, if that's true it's like going to your hairdresser for advice on brain surgery!

Concerned  says:
8 months ago

Six days later and still researching... I just had to add that Susan Peters has also tried to earn money from suing a pet food company. Even her written statements to the court are indecisive, like her pet food ratings. You can look this case up on line by Googling: "Susan Peters groomer from Oklahoma". It is the fourth search result. Don't be fooled by the third result: "Breeder, Vet, & Groomer Reviews" when you see "Vet: Dr. Susan Peters"... this is NOT the same Susan Peters posting here on HubPages. Anyway... please read the fourth search result, listed as: "[PDF] ORDER denying 523 Motion for Summary Judgment...etc.". Click on "view as HTML" it'll highlight Susan Peters name in the case. Now, you may wonder why I seem to be attacking Susan Peters, it's simple... her motivation for money disgusts me. I'm very angry with her because I was trusting her for three days thinking she was a vet or pet food nutritionist until a red flag went up with all her inconsistencies. It only confirmed my "red flag" when reading other peoples remarks about her confusing ratings. It angered me even more when realizing people are hanging on to her every word! I researched her and only found that she is a pet groomer. I also researched what HubPages is all about. Any Joe Blow with an opinion can be a "Hubber" or "Hub Author" without any credentials on their topics. It's all about earning money with this site. Try googling: "hubpages and google" and you will also learn why, when you google anything, you'll come up with a lot of "hubpage" results. I personally stay away from using Google because of their partnership with China and their abuse with american's privacy... just search "google as big brother" and read the 9 points at the end of the article, very disturbing! I only tell people to "google this and google that" because I realize that is the search engine most people use.

Getting back to Susan Peters... her court case states, right before the conclusion, that "while some statements in Peters' declaration differ with those in her deposition and interrogatory answers, these conflicts present questions of credibility...". If the judge read her hubpages she would definitely confirm that Susan Peters is not a credible person. Her motive is money.

Susan Peters states that she forgot where she purchased her pet food since she buys a lot of it for her grooming business. Since when does a groomer feed their clients' pets their own pet food? I groom my own pets but, if I had to leave them at the groomers so long that they needed to be fed I would bring my own pet food so as not to cause stomach upset. I highly doubt a groomer carries every client's pet food choice unless the business is limited to very few clients. Even then, how often can a pet go to the groomer before their particular food expires. I could be wrong but, it just doesn't make sense.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to post my comments from this page to the other "hundreds" of pages Susan Peters so proudly created, to warn others but, if I helped one person be aware of her fraud then my purpose for posting has been satisfied. The definition of the word "fraud" suits her to a tee. Has anyone bothered to check out the titles of all her HubPages? It's ridiculous... examples: "Dog foods probably safe for pets", "Dog foods questionably safe for pets". She does the same with cat food... give me a break. It's no wonder with titles like these she has created hundreds of pages. It's easy to see that Susan Peters is overwhelmed by all her pages and can no longer keep up on her bogus ratings. There are sooo many people complaining about her 9/10 or 10/10 rating while giving the same product a "dangerous and toxic" rating percentage. I pray other people are waking up to this for the sake of their pets. For everyone who is reading this, for the fun of it, start reading through the posts on any of Susan Peters HubPages and take a mental note of all the ones voicing confusion over her ratings. Just don't click on any of the ads on her pages (which she specifically chooses for her pages) because that's how she's earning money! It's a shame that she's been a "Hubber" for two years, earning money and people's trust, and no one has bothered to looked into her credentials.

Sorry Susan but, you need to get a real job or deal with a topic that doesn't involve anything living and breathing. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sincerely,

A true-blue animal lover with the best of intentions for genuine pet owners seeking real advice on pet foods.

dualienoted  says:
7 months ago

Well, Concerned, she sure as hell turned out to be right about that Evo crap I was feeding my kitten. I read "95% meat" on the label and bought a ton of it, thinking "what could be better than that?" Well, he got horrible runny diarrhea and nothing the company suggested I do to cure it worked. Not reducing his serving sizes, or adding fiber--the runny, smelly, diarrhea came back within days, no matter what I did. Then I found one of this woman's pages and she said that they use indigestible things and drench them in fish oil so the cat will love the taste, and immediately smacked myself in the forehead. No wonder the food that was supposed to be 95% chicken smelled like a fish-based version of Spam!

Since switching to this site's 9/10 and 10/10 rated canned food, he's a million times healthier. No more diarrhea and tons of energy. I don't care what her credentials are, I'm just glad somebody made the considerable investment of time and effort necessary to read all those labels and rank the brands, so I didn't have to try to do it myself. Not to mention explaining the code words they use on the ingredient lists--who knew that pet food companies used the carcasses of euthanized animals, possibly even dogs and cats? That would never have occurred to me in a million years.

So: Thank you, Susan. Whoever you are.

dualienoted  says:
7 months ago

First of all, there is no "pet nutritionist" site rating the various foods on the market. So what would you suggest a person do? Search out, hire and break their budget paying a "pet nutritionist," supposing that actually even is a real profession? LMAO This woman's ratings might be a bit confusing, because she appears to still be experimenting with her rating system, but they're not incomprehensible. Apparently after finding that some pet foods which don't contain grain and appear healthy on the surface turn out to have potential toxins in them anyway, she is in the process of adding a separate rating to each food which will inform people of that. All this means is that it takes a bit more effort on the part of the reader to sort through it all, not that the ratings have no merit. And, I feel compelled to point out that without these ratings, a person would have NOTHING to go by. As for your contention that the woman is doing more harm than good, not only is there no evidence to support this, there is no logical reason to even suspect it. Regarding your "recalled pet food is still on the shelves" warning, I wouldn't even know that certain foods had ever BEEN recalled were it not for this site, so she is in fact warning people about these foods and certainly in no way trying to push people towards buying them.

I can see no way in which a 'professional pet nutritionist' could be doing a better or more thorough job of this, or any evidence anywhere on the web that there exists a site on which one is so much as trying. If you think YOU can do it better, by all means launch a competing site of your own.

I can't see that anything you've had to say is useful at all. If you think a specific rating is wrong, post exactly which rating that is and why you believe it to be inaccurate. Otherwise you are just wasting everybody's time with purposeless negativity.

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

To Dualienoted,

You're right, there are no websites created by pet food nutritionists listing ratings for specific pet foods, at least none that I have found, yet. There is such a profession in pet food nutrition. Only if you want a personal evaluation for your pet do you have to pay for that service, understandably. I have found quite a few websites written by DVM's and certified nutritionists in which you can gather (free) valuable information on ingredients and nutrition- what to look for and what to avoid. With this kind of info from qualified professionals it makes it easier to choose pet foods accordingly without becoming confused. Of course, like you, I would prefer that these sites list specific products that are highly recommended but at least you can feel confident in their evaluations of ingredients. One such website is: "The Dog Food Project" written by Sabine Contreras, Canine Care & Nutrition Consultant. On her main page, left hand column, under "Articles" if you click onto "Five Star Foods" you will read a very informative article called "Common Fallacies of Dog Food Reviews". I think this is a good article to read since we are both here on this site. Another good site is: "The Pet Center" created by veterinarians. On the main page under "Index of Articles" you'll find the "Nutrition Related" topics. Unlike "The Dog Food Project" this site covers both cats and dogs. Another site that a lot of people will find to be an eye-opener is: "Veterinarians and Pet Food". I find a lot of what is revealed here to be very disturbing but important for pet owners to know. Also, the FDA website will list pet food recalls. Their website is visually jam-packed with so many articles so I hope this address brings you right to the recalls page:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecal

I keep it on my desktop and check it frequently. The reason I'm not typing the actual URLs to some of these sites is because on another page they didn't show up completely after posting my comment. You should come up with them using a search engine. I used "Ask.com" to find them.

The reason I say Susan Peters may be causing more harm than good is evident in her Kumpi ratings. You can find these particular ratings at the top of this page. What if she's correct in calling this food toxic and dangerous but others are following her 10/10 "looks like a winner to me" rating? This is my logical reason for suspecting she may be causing more harm than good. Could I do a better job? I would never attempt to create a site like this for the public to view without being professionally knowledgeable. I think Susan Peters did a good job in the way she put this site together and it "seems" her intentions are good but her ratings aren't good enough if they're confusing people. She did say in an article for HubPages: "... most importantly, I'm earning real income from this effort", "... it's easy and financially rewarding". It's hard not to think her motive is money with comments like these but, that's my opinion... as all HubPages are purely based on opinions unless otherwise stated by the Hub Author. Here is an overview of HubPages:

HubPages Overview

Edit Overview

"HubPages is the leading online publishing ecosystem with easy-to-use publishing tools, a vibrant author community and underlying revenue-maximizing infrastructure. Hubbers (HubPages authors) earn money by publishing their Hubs (content-rich Internet pages) on topics they know and love, and earn recognition among fellow Hubbers through the community-wide HubScore ranking system. The HubPages ecosystem provides a search-friendly infrastructure which drives traffic to Hubs from search engines such as Google and Yahoo, and enables Hubbers to earn revenue from industry-standard advertising vehicles such as Google AdSense, Commission Junction and the Amazon Affiliates program. All of this is provided free to Hubbers in an open online community."(source : HubPages)

I've decided to get off my soapbox and stop warning people that Susan Peters isn't qualified in pet nutrition. I thought about what you said and if I'm only coming across as being "purposely" negative then I'm sorry...to everyone, that truly was not my intention. I guess you could say she struck a nerve in me because my pets have been on Kumpi for a few years now. I was so happy to know I made a good choice with Kumpi when reading her 10/10 rating only to be totally confused and let down immensely when reading her "toxic and dangerous" review.

I wish the best for everyone's pets and hope "someone" seriously cracks down on the pet food industry. That day can't come soon enough!

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

Another example ...

michelle from tulsa says:

6 weeks ago

Susan when I first ran across your hub pages 10 months ago you rated Kumpi Kat with a 10/10 on your original rating system. However since you divided the rating up more it now is I believe 20/30. Could you possible remove the older rated ones that dropped substantially. I had planned on ordering kumpi Kat but once you revised your rating it didn't look so good. HOnestly none of the brands look very good.

thanks,

Michelle

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

Another example of confused ratings from Susan Peters herself... in which I was unable to copy and paste as I have done with the examples above. I'm guessing- a feature disabled to benefit the Hub Author. Without being able to "copy and paste" I have typed everything verbatim except for the link to her cat food review page.

AskSusanPeters says:

11 months ago

Jeab,

You are looking for a 10/10 score for the pet foods to be good. Be sure to read the reviews to make sure the pet food company did not just slide through the review by not using corn, wheat, and soy. Look here for the reviews of many cat foods (here she lists the link to her cat food reviews but I'm thinking this link "might" be the reason I can't copy and paste so I'm leaving it out). Then she goes on to say: The answer to your question about Royal Canin is "true"!

Susan

In her comment she says:

"You are looking for a 10/10 score for the pet foods to be good."

Eagle Pack Senior Care and Kumpi Kat are two examples of this score... but, she considers them both "toxic and dangerous".

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

To Dualienoted,

You said to me:

"If you think a specific rating is wrong, post exactly which rating that is and why you believe it to be inaccurate."

I hope the few examples I have posted above (and I'm still looking for more) are clearly showing Peters' inaccuracies.

Also, I feel it's very important to touch on your comment:

"As for your contention that the woman is doing more harm than good, not only is there no evidence to support this, there is no logical reason to even suspect it."

This is where I truly wish you were correct (for the sake of people's pets) but there is evidence to support this (aside from her ratings). Susan Peters is telling people to put "nutmeg" in homemade recipes for their pets. She says:

"I like to add a Tablespoon of nutmeg and cinnamin and a dash of all spice to make the treats smell like Thanksgiving! Pets don't mind the spices and they smell so great!!!"

She has told this to a poster named Barbara and when Barbara (thankfully she knew) brought it to Susan's attention, that nutmeg is deadly, Susan completely ignored her nutmeg warning. Here is a post by someone named Steve which followed Susan's and Barbara's posts:

steve says:

3 months ago

I've read in several places nutmeg is toxic to canines leading to tremors, seizures, and death.

Steve is correct. You can search any website and come up with this fact. She also mentions throwing an adult, human-grade, vitamin in the pot:

"I get vitamins at the store (color and preservative free) and toss one in the pot. I usually get the stuff adults would use, nothing fancy just good ol' basic vitamin."

In a list of "25 Human Foods Toxic To Dogs" vitamins are listed:

15. Human Vitamins (Human vitamins, especially those containing iron, can cause damage to the lining of the digestive system as well as cause kidney and liver damage)

Also, here is an article from www.ilovedogs.com regarding human vitamins:

Can Dogs Take Human Vitamins and Supplements?

While it is true that your dog's body uses the same vitamins and minerals as you do--vitamin A, vitamin E, calcium, zinc, etc.--it doesn't mean that human vitamins and supplements are suitable for your dog. Why not?...Humans are generally much larger than dogs, so a human vitamin or supplement tablet will contain doses too high for your dog.Humans and dogs have different nutritional requirements. Take calcium for example. Children need lots of calcium for their growing bones, so isn't it the same for puppies? Well, while pups do need calcium, too much can in fact cause bone deformities, especially in a large breed pup.Furthermore, excessive calcium can inhibit other minerals from being absorbed, like zinc and copper. Extra calcium can also cause sore joints for older dogs. So from this example you can see that it would be a bad idea to just give your calcium tablets to your dog.Another example is vitamin C--dogs actually create their own vitamin C, unlike us mere humans! Too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea in dogs. And a further example is iron. Human supplements that contain iron can cause damage to the lining of your dog's digestive tract, and can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.To make sure your dog is receiving the right levels of vitamins and minerals, make sure you feed them a dog-specific vitamin or supplement, and not your own, and follow the advice of your vet.

These are a few examples I have found on only two or three of her 600+ Hub Pages. With that number of pages I'm a little apprehensive to explore further because I could be here for many months trying to prove my point.

Could Susan Peters be causing more harm than good? With her confusing ratings and dangerous ingredients for homemade recipes, I think most people would agree that she is. I certainly hope you don't still feel what I'm trying to share with everyone is useless.

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

In a review that scored a 10/10

michael says:

7 months ago

ON another page you state "potatos are a cheap filler" and fats and oils are a flavor enhancer to make dogs eat. Then you say salt is bad and this food (found here: ORIJEN PUPPY Acana Pet Foods Dog Food Review) has all of the above. What about natural flavor? You call that manure and this has that too.

Your reviews dont make sense.

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

More examples:

CashCow says:

6 months ago

This site is a complete joke for numerous reasons-many listed by previous posts. The fact that Orijen is rated twice with completely conflicting reviews should set off alarms in your head. I would put money on the fact that Susan is trying to build up this site to get free products from companies and get rewarded for bias reviews.I actually started laughing when I was reading the "toxic" levels of all the top rated foods like Orijen, Wellness, Evo, Taste of THe Wild, etc. Enjoy the AD revanue as I'm sure traffic from this site will slow to a crawl once people actually read a few of the "reviews" here, Just google dog food reviews in google and stick with the first site listed. :)

...Here is a perfect example of Peters leading people "away" from a quality food, hence, causing more harm than good:

ilovedogs says:

2 months ago

Thanks for all of the informative comments. We have an 8 week old bulldog/boxer puppy and we are thinking seriously about starting her on Orijens dog food. I was scared after reading this review, but I am glad that I was able to read all the comments from people with 'acutal' experience with this dog food. From other sources I have found this food to be very good for all dogs, and more like their natural diet would be without human interuption.

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

The link above didn't highlight so (for anyone having a hard time finding this page) here is a four-step way of getting to that particular page, it might help to open a new window to do this side by side:

1. Go to the very top of this page under "Ask Susan Peters Other Sites of Interest:" and click onto "Pet Food Ratings".

2. On this page, click onto "Dog Food Review"

3. On this page go to "Dog Food Review - Dog Food Comparison O Listing ('O' for Orijen).

4. On this page go to "Dog Food Reviews - Brands Beginning with "O" and click onto (for starters) "Orijen Adult Formula Dry Dog Food 24/30 (Pet Danger Guage 80% - Dangerous and Toxic To Pets).

Question  says:
7 months ago

Is Nutro really poisonous? I've read good reviews elsewhere, so which is it?

Question  says:
7 months ago

Why thank you Concerned for the advice. After reading a lot of your posts up there I decided the best thing to do was start educating myself some about what to look for, what to get and not to get. For my cat, I think I'm now leaning to either Blue Buffalo Spa Selects, By Nature, or Wellness and preferably the healthiest cat food I can get without going bankrupt. Any thoughts on those from what you have heard/know?

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

Phew! It finally posted! It was that "natural news dot com" website I had a hard time with. In the actual URL it has the letters "h t m l" after the numbers. I can't even use those letters without spacing them apart because it will stop a post from going through.

Concerned  says:
7 months ago

To anyone feeding their pets Nutro products, please go to this site:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/

There is an article on the front page, dated 4/22/09, about an on-going investigation into the company while many pets are still getting sick and dying from the pet food.

katja  says:
3 months ago

I miss Arden Grange on the scale.

Nanci  says:
3 months ago

I would love a review on, or any comments from folks currently feeding, Red Bandana's brand of their cat/kitten food. Thank you!

Bruce  says:
4 weeks ago

This site sucks and is positively useless