I like how Orijen obtains its ingredients locally too, which is why I'm looking at it as one of the options for feeding my cat when we move back to Canada.

I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Wellness, on the other hand, uses Menu to produce some of their canned foods.  I don't want to support a company that does any business with Menu, so I won't be buying Wellness.

Excellent idea!  If people could put their credentials in their signatures, that might be a good idea.  I'll go edit my signature now.  (B.Sc.Eng. in biological engineering, with (human) nutrition studies)

Of course, people can lie about their expertise.  No one knows if the person is telling the truth.   Sad, but true.

Cellulose is found in *all* plants, not just woods.  It is an essential component of plant cell walls.  It is very high in fibre.

Has anyone used this food?

I haven't tried it yet, but have an unopened bag that I hope to try before we move back to Canada.  My cat currently is fed a very high-quality EU food, but when we move back to Canada, I will no longer be able to purchase the foods he currently eats.

Mysiamese.com recommends Katz-N-Flocken.  http://www.mysiamese.com/catfood.html  Her cats seem to be thriving on it. Anyone else have any experiences?

Brans and Germs are very healthy, though.   There is a lot of nutritional value in them.  I wouldn't discount a food just because it contains brans or germs.

Thanks for the reminder about cats and vomiting, Davis.  Cats do vomit very easily (according to my vet) if something bothers their stomach in the slightest.

My Sphynx vomits on occasion, but it's always after eating dry food too quickly.  The way my vet explained it to me is that when they injest dry food quickly, they tend to eat too much of it, and it expands in the stomach when it absorbs liquid.  Often, when the cat has eaten too much or too quickly, the stomach gets upset at this fast expansion, and will vomit the food back up.  She said it is normal, and nothing to worry about.

My Sphynx has also vomited clear liquid in the past, but again, my vet said it was nothing to worry about if it didn't happen very often.  It normally occurs when he eats something like a bit of fluff, or gets some fluff caught in his throat.  It is easy to see - the vomit is a clear liquid, but there will be a tiny piece of fluff or something similar in it.

Mine is the Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken Dry as well. 

I checked the bag very carefully, and there's no mention of garlic anywhere on it.  Like I said, it may be something that they have removed from their formula.

Sorry to hear it made your cat sick.  I do know several people whose cats are thriving on it (which is why I'll be trying it as a potential food in North America.)

[doesn't]

Davis, I checked the ingredients list of the Sold Gold sample I have (I'm keeping it in case it needs to be analyzed). You're correct - it does have Garlic. I'm stunned, every cat owner over the age of 12 knows garlic is highly toxic to cats. My vet obviously wasn't aware that Garlic was an ingredient when she recommended SG. I guess we're all getting an education.

I can't believe anyone is making cat food with Garlic!!!!

I just checked my bag of Solid Gold, and it doesn't list garlic as an ingredient.  So the Solid Gold I bought for my cat contains no garlic - thank goodness!

I wonder if it was something that Solid Gold used to contain, but no longer contains?  My bag of Solid Gold certainly doesn't have garlic listed.

(I'm currently feeding my cat Almo Nature and Sanabelle, but bought a bag of Solid Gold to try in an effort to find a food that we can buy when we move back to Canada from Germany.)

I own a Sphynx, and with Sphynx, since they have no hair, you have to be very careful to get a clumping litter that doesn't produce much dust.

I don't know if they are available in North America (I'm in Germany) but the two litters that we have used that don't produce any dust, and that clump, are "Extreme Classic" and  Cat's Best Öko Plus.  The Cat's Best is one litters made of plant material, but it is produced from plant material from 100% organic farms, so there are no worries about GM or pesticides and herbicides.

The Extreme Classic comes from Canada, so it is most likely available in Canada, at the very least.

Thanks Sharon.  I hope it works out well for your cats.

I studied human nutrition in university, but until the past few weeks, I didn't know much about cat nutrition.  Growing up, we had two cats who lived to be 19, and they were fed Iams dry their entire lives.  Needless to say, after having access to very high quality foods here in Germany, and with this pet food recall, I won't be doing that with our current cat when we move back to Canada.

Almo Nature is a very high quality food.  A lot of breeders and veterinarians here in Germany recommend it.  The wet food (cans, not the jelly, pate or pouches) contain 74% meat, 24% cooking water and 1% rice for most of the flavours.  Some of the flavours have slightly different compositions.  The meat is 100% organic meat from hormone-free ranges, or 100% sea fish (not farmed fish) and the rice is organic.  My Sphynx loves the poultry and fish flavours, and the flavours with added shrimp as a treat after a bath.  (Sphynx have to be bathed about once a week, so as a treat after the bath, he gets one of the flavours that has shrimp in it.) 

My cat loves the Almo Nature.  I have to tell him to slow down when he eats it because he just gobbles it right up!  We've had no problems with it.  We've had no health problems and he's never brought the food back up.  (He has, however, brought up dry food when he eats it too quickly.)

When I take the Almo Nature out of the can, it looks just like canned chicken or tuna that I could buy for myself, with a few rice grains throughout the meat.  It's the only soft/wet/canned food my Sphynx receives, and I'm very happy with it.  His breeder uses it as well (which is why we started feeding it) and it is recommended by our veterinarian.  Sphynx have fast metabolisms, so they really need a high-quality food, and the Almo Nature is excellent.

Does anyone use Orijen?
http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/

It sounds like quality food, and is grain free, but I'm curious about all the vegetables and fruits in the cat food.  I understand that cats need some carbohydrates, and since this food contains no grains, the fruits and vegetables and providing the needed carbs.

Right now I'm in Germany, so I'm using a very high-quality EU food (Almo Nature), but when we move back to Canada I know I won't be able to find Almo Nature locally, so I'm seeking out some options in advance.

Thanks for any feedback!

This article from the CBC examines the pros and cons of a raw food diet.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/rawdogfood/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/rawdogfood/pros_cons.html

Nothing has been proved, although a suit has been filed in Canada, alleging that Royal Canin contained excessive amounts of vitamin D.

You can read an article about it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070321/b032102A.html