I am new here, came to this site looking for Menu Foods recall info. I don't feed any of the recalled foods (thank goodness!), but I WAS feeding Wellness and Nature's Variety, which are made by Menu Foods. I do not trust them anymore! FDA hasn't figured out yet what the contamination is.
I found this article on USA Today a short while ago (it was posted this evening): http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...tm?POE=NEWISVA
FDA has NEVER been inside Menu Foods plant, and Pet Food plants are NOT routintely inspected. They are very low priority to the FDA.
I do feed raw to one of our kitties, Puddin (10 yr old girlie siamese) - she is a recent adoptee, and we figured out that she was fed raw by her former person (who died in August 2006). Our boy cat can't tolerate raw (he had severe IBD when we adopted him 7+ yrs ago - doing great for a number of yrs now, but still sensitive). Anyhow... I am also a member of holisicat.com forums, and there is a cooked food recipe available - the website owner has a book out that has the recipe info in detail, but the recipe info is also on the website.
If you are intimidated about trying cooked and uncomfortable trying raw, please know that COOKED is NOT hard! I picked up 1 pound of hormone/antibiotic free grain feed chicken this evening, put it in a saucepan w/a bit of olive oil, added some canned pumpkin, and some chopped chicken liver and cooked. I don't have calcium carbonate, so I added one egg to the meat mix to cook and cooked the washed eggshell in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes (in a small cake pan). The recipe recommends grinding the eggshell (calcium source) in a coffee grinder. I don't have one, so used a mortar/pestle. The cooked eggshell is soft, not dry and brittle. Added that (about 2/3 tspn of it) and taurine powder to the mix. Recipe called for heart (turkey or chix), but didn't have any thawed. Recipe also calls for additional vitamins, but I didn't have them. I do have a kitty multi-vitamin (Thorne), that I will add before serving. This made about 6 4oz servings (I have glass canning/freezing jars on hand that I use for the homemade raw.) Whole thing took about 15 minutes tops. It may not be a perfect version of homemade cooked, but it is much better than the alternative - either cheap canned like fancy feast or meow mix, or possibly poisoned "health food" canned.
Tumper sniffed but didn't eat (I am not surprised - he is not a foodie, and he is very picky. I will try in the morning when he is starving). Puddin, our raw fed kitty LOVED it. She was getting Nature's Variety/Wellness as a snack during the day, but the cooked homemade will now be her snack. If Tumper will absolutely NOT eat the cooked, I was able to purchase some Merrick and By Nature's Organics, which are NOT made by Menu foods.
Also, FYI - Trader Joe's and Whole Foods canned is made in CHINA (at least when I looked at their stuff last year). I believe Fromms is either made there, or is moving their canned mfg to CHINA in the near future. If we can't trust US Mfg, I certainly wouldn't trust made in China pet food!
As for vets that say homemade and/or raw is not healthy...these are the same vets that push prescription foods that are nothing by by-products, grain, artificial ingredients and toxic preservatives. I put as much stock in what they say about diet/nutrition as I put in the quality of the foods they push.
Best regards,
cejhome, Tumper & Nana Puddin
I found this article on USA Today a short while ago (it was posted this evening): http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...tm?POE=NEWISVA
FDA has NEVER been inside Menu Foods plant, and Pet Food plants are NOT routintely inspected. They are very low priority to the FDA.
I do feed raw to one of our kitties, Puddin (10 yr old girlie siamese) - she is a recent adoptee, and we figured out that she was fed raw by her former person (who died in August 2006). Our boy cat can't tolerate raw (he had severe IBD when we adopted him 7+ yrs ago - doing great for a number of yrs now, but still sensitive). Anyhow... I am also a member of holisicat.com forums, and there is a cooked food recipe available - the website owner has a book out that has the recipe info in detail, but the recipe info is also on the website.
If you are intimidated about trying cooked and uncomfortable trying raw, please know that COOKED is NOT hard! I picked up 1 pound of hormone/antibiotic free grain feed chicken this evening, put it in a saucepan w/a bit of olive oil, added some canned pumpkin, and some chopped chicken liver and cooked. I don't have calcium carbonate, so I added one egg to the meat mix to cook and cooked the washed eggshell in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes (in a small cake pan). The recipe recommends grinding the eggshell (calcium source) in a coffee grinder. I don't have one, so used a mortar/pestle. The cooked eggshell is soft, not dry and brittle. Added that (about 2/3 tspn of it) and taurine powder to the mix. Recipe called for heart (turkey or chix), but didn't have any thawed. Recipe also calls for additional vitamins, but I didn't have them. I do have a kitty multi-vitamin (Thorne), that I will add before serving. This made about 6 4oz servings (I have glass canning/freezing jars on hand that I use for the homemade raw.) Whole thing took about 15 minutes tops. It may not be a perfect version of homemade cooked, but it is much better than the alternative - either cheap canned like fancy feast or meow mix, or possibly poisoned "health food" canned.
Tumper sniffed but didn't eat (I am not surprised - he is not a foodie, and he is very picky. I will try in the morning when he is starving). Puddin, our raw fed kitty LOVED it. She was getting Nature's Variety/Wellness as a snack during the day, but the cooked homemade will now be her snack. If Tumper will absolutely NOT eat the cooked, I was able to purchase some Merrick and By Nature's Organics, which are NOT made by Menu foods.
Also, FYI - Trader Joe's and Whole Foods canned is made in CHINA (at least when I looked at their stuff last year). I believe Fromms is either made there, or is moving their canned mfg to CHINA in the near future. If we can't trust US Mfg, I certainly wouldn't trust made in China pet food!
As for vets that say homemade and/or raw is not healthy...these are the same vets that push prescription foods that are nothing by by-products, grain, artificial ingredients and toxic preservatives. I put as much stock in what they say about diet/nutrition as I put in the quality of the foods they push.
Best regards,
cejhome, Tumper & Nana Puddin