I agree with you both! Since my post last spring, I have been ordering LA for my 3 cats. They all love it and are doing very well on it and the company reps I have spoken to on phone calls have been great to deal with. I've been very happy with the switch!

At our small pet store, I've also seen a unique litter box that stands roughly 18 inches tall and a top lid that snaps on with a hole about 8 inches in diameter on the top that the kitty jumps through to get into the litter pan. Of course, if kitty really likes to just perch on the edge and not actually step into the litter, this may not be the answer, but it may be worth a try...I doubt Symba could get his head down low enough to eat any of it.  The store owner said they've had very few returned...

Judy, I had sent an email to Fromm's last month questioning specifics about their minerals. This, too, had to be deferred to the nutritionist, of course. It did take a week to get back to me on it but I guess I can understand the delay as I'm sure the customer reps don't have daily contact with the nutritionists, who I'm sure have a lot on their plate right now. Hopefully you, too, will get a response back on your question within a reasonable period of time and then you can post it here for us who are using Fromms.

I'm also curious to know what the concern is about Vitamin K...I know it's for blood clotting and an article on peteducation.com states, "Vitamin K toxicity due to oversupplementation has not been reported in animals."

Lacy, a number of years ago a cat we had was suffering from a UTI and, providing there's something IN the bladder, the vet just knew where to press and forced him to urinate and ran the test from that sample, finding crystals. Now my daughter's vet last week sent her home with some special kitty litter to use in the litter pan and then you take in the litter to be tested...now I've NEVER heard of that; must be a new thing. (She's a holistic vet.)  For their annual visits, my guys almost never have anything in the bladder so I have to leave them for half a day or so in order to provide a urine sample.

That would be an alarming thought, but we have to remember that Gary has been feeding his cats samples he received and then going out of his way to purchase bags specifically dated as far back as 11/22. I also have been feeding my three cats Cal. Nat. for over two years and my two newest bags dated March have appeared to be fine--so regardless, I don't think it should be too concerning. I think THEY are just intending to take every precaution they possibly can--much like we are doing. I hope that sets your mind at ease some.

Lacy, if you go to naturapet.com and watch the video by Peter Atkins, the CEO, he leaves little doubt (in my mind anyway) that the ingredients are safe. About 3 minutes in he says, they "utilize ingredients only from domestic suppliers and to specifically exclude ingredients that might be sourced from China." You have to trust somebody or you can't trust anybody. I'm hoping I can trust him...

The canned (Instinctive Choice) is made a Menu (not sure which plant at Menu, though)

Ahhhh, that must be the one item that the petfoodlist says is "manufactured by Menu Foods but not in the suspect facility." Good to know; I'll probably just wait another week or two since last night started a whole new round of Menu Food recalls; just can't be too cautious it seems!

Bixlo, I'm a little confused about their "Amway" approach    Do you just mean having to get it directly shipped from them or is there something I missed on the website.  I do prefer to be able to run and pick it up when I need it and not be at the mercy of deliveries.

My daughter's cat is on dry Royal Canin prescription for weight management, but she's really nervous about it now. Anyone have experience with safe food they're finding helpful in continuing weight loss for their "fluffy" kitties? 

Amy, I was once again impressed with the lengthy, well-explained response you received. What I also find very interesting is that in researching the internet about this same concern, I've bumped into other people's posted emails from him...although every one has the same explanation and philosophy, the email itself is always quite unique. By that, I mean he actually takes the time to address your concern rather than sending out a "canned response."  In sum, his explanation sounds logical to me and I am reassured a little more everytime.

Cupid has a dental cleaning which will require the routine blood work in several weeks. By that time he will have been eating Fromm's wet food for about 8 weeks, so I'll actually be getting a report back on what his creatinine and BUN levels are at that time. That will be the ultimate reassurance. As if the fact that he's the most energetic little mischief-maker in the house isn't proof enough.

Mgt818,

This concern really struck home with me, too, but I read something today in a CNN article that made sense and offered a little more reassurance. 
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/02/pet.food.poultry/

The spokesman for the Natl. Chicken Council said the chicken feed may have been contaminated as a result of a practice common among pet food manufacturers -- they sometimes sell their leftover material to manufacturers of chicken and pig feed.

"It's like cooking cupcakes -- you get some of the dough on the pan, you scrape it off and throw it away. What they're saying is that somebody bought that material and it got mixed in corn and soybean that gets manufactured in poultry feed," he said.

"The dilution factor is enormous. You have a relatively small amount of pet food byproducts used," Lobb said. "It's a safe and wholesome product to use."

That being the case, it sounds like the melamine exposure to a chicken was more diluted than what was in those cans of poisened pet food, so let's pray that's a realistic picture.

Garypen, I have a question for you...  My three guys love a variety, which has been REALLY hard to come up with this last 7 weeks.  I have the CN herring and sweet potato as just something I throw in the mix every once in a while when they get bored with Chicken and Rice or their Fromm's.  Is the higher carbs really a problem if you've got young, healthy cats?

My only concern is....those 3 million chickens that were fed the tainted food - could they be ending up in pet food as well?  They say it's low risk to humans (BS if you ask me.. they just don't know!) but we DO KNOW the effect it has on cats and dogs.  So that would be my only concern at this point.

This concern really struck home with me, too, but I read something today in a CNN article that made sense and offered a little more reassurance. 
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/02/pet.food.poultry/

The spokesman for the Natl. Chicken Council said the chicken feed may have been contaminated as a result of a practice common among pet food manufacturers -- they sometimes sell their leftover material to manufacturers of chicken and pig feed.

"It's like cooking cupcakes -- you get some of the dough on the pan, you scrape it off and throw it away. What they're saying is that somebody bought that material and it got mixed in corn and soybean that gets manufactured in poultry feed," he said.

"The dilution factor is enormous. You have a relatively small amount of pet food byproducts used," Lobb said. "It's a safe and wholesome product to use."

That being the case, it sounds like the melamine exposure to a chicken was more diluted than what was in those cans of poisened pet food, so let's pray that's a realistic picture.

I haven't tried the caviar. I've heard they put fish eggs in it.

Well, that is what caviar is, I guess, so I should be prepared. But it may not be as big a hit-- Cupid isn't a fan of pate'.  As were the organic turkey with butternut squash and the pheasant varieties, which he sniffed and walked away from.  So as it were, ghastly looking and smelling, mackeral's on the menu.

Calico, I second the kudo!  I began shopping there over a month ago and couldn't be more impressed with the knowledge and food selection. And contrary to another Madison store (who will go unnamed), Madcat has NOT taken advantage of the situation and had exorbitant price hikes for the foods that are suddenly now very in demand. 

P.S. Thanks for the website address-- I had no idea. 
Very nice to "meet" another Madisonian on here!!! 

I was SO impressed yesterday at our small-town grocer's when out of curiosity I strolled thru their pet food section and actually saw a new section of food between the Friskies and Fancy Feast-- Evanger's.  I've never tried it but thought how convenient it would be to have something safe actually in town, so I bought both the Mackeral and the something with Cavier.  When I opened that can of mackeral and saw those black fishy things floating, I thought "there goes another can in the disposal." But I put it in a bowl and broke it up into small bite-size pieces and, I must say, I had to back off in a hurry because I've never seen Cupid act so much like a "real cat!" Talk about tearing into it...  But seriously--I had to rinse out that empty can before even throwing it in the garbage, it was so strong. It nostalgically brought back olfactory memories of watching my grandad skin and fillet his daily catch.    Does anyone have experience with what I'm going to find in the cavier variety? I'd like to be a little better prepared this next time.