deb  says:
17 months ago

THANK YOU for all your reviews and the addition of the safety index. I am so grateful to you for all your hard work and sharing it with others.

Of everything I've read so far (about 8 hrs today), Merrick was the ONLY commercially canned cat food I've found that is actually "healthy", as opposed to just "safe after the recall" or "xx% not dangerous". I have 2 questions:

Have you reviewed any other foods that actually ended up being "healthy" and not dangerous? Do you have a list posted somewhere? Even if it is a short list, it would be VERY helpful to be able to quickly see the few "good" ones, without having to read through tens or hundreds of pages of reviews.

Is there a way to find out what the phosphorus levels are in any of the "healthy" foods? My beloved cat, Evie, was just diagnosed with CRF and is on IV fluids for the next 3 days. A low phosphorus diet is supposed to increase the chance of "stabilizing" the disease and preventing further kidney damage.

Since CRF/ARF seems to be the main cause of sickness and death from these recalled foods, and a low protein/low phosphorus diet may be key to treating the condition, they should be making that info available to consumers. I have not been able to find phosphorus content on any of the labels I've read.

I also wanted to share a website that my vet recommended. It is primarily for CRF but also has excellent info and updates on the recalls.

http://www.felinecrf.org/food_recall.htm#affected_

Thanks again for all you do for our feline friends.

deb  says:
17 months ago

Susan,

Again, THANK YOU for all your hard work. You are performing a HUGE public service for the welfare of the innocent animals who depend on us as their advocates. I am glad you took a little time off! I'll check back periodically for updates.

Fortunately, we have a local, family-owned pet food store that is strongly committed to screening and monitoring all their food suppliers. (Mud Bay, Olympia, WA - http://www.mudbay.us/ ) They personally visit every company annually, monitor the FDA via RSS feed, etc. I spoke with them yesterday and apparently Wysong does provide its phosphorus levels (their "au jus" canned foods are all less than 0.7) If I find any more info on phosphorus levels, I'll post that here, too.

Thanks again,

Deb

deb  says:
17 months ago

Thanks Susan. In thinking about it, the recall plus the ongoing prevalence of dry foods being fed to cats, has no doubt increased the need for CRF support foods. I have seached for almost 6 days with no luck in finding (1) specific info on the critical nutrient levels needed for CRF support, and (2) ANY alternatives to the 5-6 makers of renal support canned foods, all of which had recalls and/or continue to use Menu Foods, Diamond or American Nutrition for their manufacturing, who also use Wilbur-Ellis and Chem-Nutra suppliers, who import their grain-based products from Asia, Turkey and elsewhere.

I know you do this huge website in your "spare time"... would you consider doing a CRF page? Rating just the "better" natural foods, specifically for the nutrient levels needed for renal support? Just the "small list" of the ones who use all domestic ingredients, human grade, as much organic as possible, little or no grains, minimal vegetables, NO cranberries or blueberries, etc? Merricks, Evangers, Wysong, etc? Wellness would be excluded because it is very acidic (berries).

From what I've learned so far, it would include: low phosphorus low sodium low acid (higher pH) low calcium (I think) high potassium high fat (digestible) poultry meat better than fish or beef no vegetables, fruit, potatoes, etc wheat grass, barley grass OK soy and grain-free

I don't know where else to turn... maybe this is a priority for others, too, since there is already alot of good info now, for the "regular" foods. Thanks again for all you have done. I have referred your site to our Feline Friends list and a few others. We are lucky to have you! Deb

Maria  says:
3 months ago

Hello Susan. Every flavor of Merrick canned cat food contains lecithin, sodium selenite, etc, which gave Merrick BC Grain its low rating. So how come Merrick BC grain is potentially dangerous and Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie is a healthy pet food?