I had emailed WYSONG  a verbal assault concerning their nasty, condescending, sarcastic REBUTTAL.   Allison , from WYSONG, emailed me back with the rebuttal to the rebuttal---it gets increasingly more difficult to keep track of it all
 She ended with;
        "I wish the best of health to you and yours."

That was the best laugh I have had all week--do you suppose that wish includes my cats?
                                       Kathleen

Thanks for your support. I am still in shock. I took the dog in for his HEARTWORM and of course they did blood work. The dog looks great. I never for an instant thought there was anything wrong with him.  I came home with EUKANUBA Early Stage Kidney Diet.It is Chronic ----I asked the VET if he thought it was food related, he said NO, but still I wonder. Does anyone know if there is a site for cooking your own food for dogs with this problem?
                         
                    Kathleen

 I am sitting here in stunned disbelief. I took my dog to the VET yesterday for his HEARTWORM meds. The Vet just called me to tell me that my 11 year old Whippet is in RENAL FAILURE.   He gives him at the most 6 months to live.   I have been so concerned about my cat's diet that I have not given any thought to my dog.  Now I have to start that investigation from scratch. Can someone direct me to a good website. Right now I have not got the wherewithall to search myself.  The Vet wants him on Medi-cal--with what I know about cats and Medi- cal I am unsure.

                      Kathleen

You know, I really feel discouraged. I have the feeling that the people on this list are the only ones  in the general public who are  really on top of this.  I just returned from my VET--had to take in the dog for his heartworm. When I brought up my concerns about animal food he said that it has" all been sorted out".     OH REALLY!---- I have a cat who has had bladder stones and I refused once again to put him on MEDI-CAL, despite the Vet's suggestion. That company has been sold so many times that it is like peeling an onion--there are so many layers to the ownership.

As if that was not bad enough I see in to-day's newspaper that  PET VALU -a huge company here in Canada  "widened its first quarter earnings despite an industry recall of dozens of brands of dog and cat food"  Do people not question where their animal's food is coming from???
 I find that particularly ironic given that when I inquired  at PET VALU  about who made their PERFORMATRIN brand cat food they lied and told me that they had their own company.
      NOT TRUE--it was made by Menu Foods here in Toronto. I do not trust anything made by Menu Foods. The Vet told me I was biased.   
 I GUESS SO- and with reason.
                                                  Kathleen

 Until I figure out  how I will make my own cat  food , here is my plan.
 
    I was feeding WYSONG  URETIC  kibble but got turned off when I was horrified to discover that one of their  canned foods was made by MENU.The cats would NOT eat WYSONG canned food anyway! I choose the URETIC since I have a cat who had struvite crystals and URETIC can be fed to all cats.It cost me $1,000.00 to sort out that bladder stone  problem so I do not want a reoccurrence,. I had to take the cat  back 3 times for X-RAYS, as there were problems getting the stones to dissolve.[ probably caused by the food I was feeding at that time, plus a genetic pre- disposition on the part of the cat ]
Yesterday I spoke to a holistic animal nutritionist who convinced me not to throw out the baby with the bath water--so I am back on WYSONG kibble. They are not crazy about it, but tough  going cats--if you put it down and leave it for an hour they will eat it. I am not giving in to the little 4 legged  tyrants! They already own me!

The nutritionist suggested sprinkling the top of the kibble or canned food with:
         WYSONG'S ARCHETYPE---this is freeze dried raw meat and comes in a bag

Here is some of what Dr. Wysong says on the back of the bag:
     Wysong diets seek to emulate the food that animals eat in the wild--the diet they are genetically programmed for

     Archtype , first and foremost is not heated.  Heat is the enemy of nutrients and creats toxins

    Archtype is complete with meat, organs, bones, plant nutrients and micronutrients

    Archtype is rich in proteins-50% and amino acids commenly degraded or lost in heat- processed foods

    Archtype contains no grains which unnaturally dilute the diet with high levels of carbohydrates
                          etc. etc. etc.

The cats are mad about this freeze dried meat--but I only add a small bit to the top of the dish of canned food, They follow me around begging for more. I do not give in. It is expensive--$28.00 [Cdn.]  but it lasts a LONG time and as we all know VETS are more expensive if you run into problems feeding your animals that crap that passes for animal food these days. However, you can buy a lot of red muscle meat for the same amount of money---but this is convenient for now.   
I am using Merrick  canned food with an occassional can of WHOLE MACKERAL by  EVANGERS.  I can hardly stand the smell of this mackeral it smells up the whole house, but the cats LOVE it.

              Kathleen, whose life is  ruled by 4 spoiled cats and a couple of dogs
       

Tommyboy,

      That is a fabulous article. I just printed off all 43 pages. I want to sit and read it all, highlite and pass it on to everyone I know. I have had my VET tell me NOT to make my own food. Sorry, I intend to do the research and make my own. Could my animals possibly do worse with my home cooking?  I do NOT think so!!!! At least what comes out of my kitchen is not full of crap.
                          Kathleen

  Sure is Not picking up any media coverage here in TORONTO. I am speaking to EVERYONE I come across and their response is always the same----------" they have not recalled my food"---or" it is OK , I buy my food from the VET." These people must be brain dead!!

                         kathleen

I also race to the computer the minute my feet touch the floor every morning. It is the only place that I can get up to the moment news.  Here in TORONTO the pet food recall has dropped totally out of  the the news channels and out of the newspapers. If one more person says to me  " I don't worry, I get my food from the VET!"--I will scream. Are these people brain dead?  What about cross -contamination in these vats that animal food is prepared in? How do I know that they have been properly cleaned? I am going with making my own food.  I find myself approaching total strangers in the pet food aisle of the supermarket and quizzing them about what they feed their animals. The stock answer is--"my food has not been recalled"   Oh, REALLY?
                                     Kathleen

Here is another toy I forgot---PING PONG BALLS. The cats love them. Just throw them done on the floor -the cats will have a ball!. You accomplish 2 things--the cats get needed exercise and so do you ! You spend a lot of time on your hands and knees crawling under the beds, stove chesterfield etc. retrieving ping pong balls. The cats are also very interested in why their human person is crawling about on the floor. They gather to watch the show and will often sit on your back as you try to get that pesky ball that is hidden away up in the corner under the bed. It also gives you a chance to clean the dust bunnies from out under the bed.

                        Kathleen

My threat to start notifying computer sites if this company did not reply to my query worked wonders!. Here is their response:
       Kathleen,
  I apologize for not responding to your emails.Our staff is limited and at times and we do not get all emails done as promptly as we would like. Our Worlds  Best Cat Litter is made from whole kernel corn, grown in the midwest of the United States. No we do not use China products. We screen for certain varieties of corn and accept the same varieties of corn that the FDA/USDA/EPA and European Union accept.While these varieties meet the requirements for food use, we realize that our customers are using this product for litter and not for food use. But, any litter the cat ingests through normal grooming will pass through their system naturally and not cause a blockage. Our product has been produced through a multi-step propietory process and that process involves washing and high heat drying of the corn.

Best regards,
Nadine Vance
GPC Pet Products Makers of The Worlds Best Cat Litter
Toll-Free  877-367-9225  EXT 4214

 You notice they addressed the comment about China, but never responded to the pesticide usage----Interesting. I am still digesting this,.  They were concerned enough to follow up with yet another email:
         Thank you for your inquiry on the Worlds Best Cat Litter. Our proprietary process analyzes and approves every incoming corn delivery before it enters our production facility.  This corn is processed and used to produce many other fine ingredients, including corn sweeteners, food starches, corn oil which in turn is used in the production of numerous high quality food and pharmaceutical products. Feel free to contact us if youy have any other questions We appreciate your business

Best regards
 Nadine Vance
  etc.

  As  of midnight on Tuesday, April 24,  THE WORLD"S BEST CAT LITTER made by GPC Pet Products have NOT responded to my email sent last Sunday evening. It was a polite email requesting information about their litter in light of the pet food recall. NO RESPONSE makes me feel very uneasy. Do they have something to hide? I am about to contact them again with a more forceful message.
                             
                        Kathleen

It is easy--make your own;
          Run up a little pocket. stitched on the machine, stuffed with cat nip
         Dump a handful of straws on the floor
          Get some of those little plastic springs-the cats love them
          Throw down some small branches-- the cats will spend ages carrying them around the house.

 Cats are so innocent, the slightest novelty will amuse them for hours. Mine keep running off with my earrings.
                          Kathleen

I can tell you that here in Toronto, Ontario  we are reading very little about the whole pet food recall in our newspapers or on TV. It was HOT news for a few days , then nothing.  Except for this web site I would be in the dark about what is happening.
                                        Kathleen

I have emailed the company and asked for some kind of assurance that their product will not have a negative impact on the cats. I said that they had to offer me something besides  a simple , 'Don't worry, everything is OK" We accepted that with cat food---look at the problems we are having. As soon as I get a response, I will post it here.
                     
                 Kathleen

Hi Mary,
        The cats love it!!. I put bird feeders out in the backyard so they spend a lot of time watching them. I also have a tunnel that they can access up stairs inside the enclosure  and runs along under the eves trough. They really like that and spend a lot of time hanging out up there.. The cat flap is located in the screen so I lift up the window to let them use the cat door flap. On nice days I leave the window open day and night. Sometimes they spend most of the night out there. Even if I leave the window open and I leave the house, I never worry about a break- in because the enclosure  is a heavy duty steel mesh---no way could anyone get into the house.  I was concerned about fleas from the squirrels-- but the vet assured me that was unlikely as the squirrel carries a different  kind of flea. There is only one problem. I now spend a lot of time out on the deck watching the cats enjoy themselves. It warms my heart--but not much house work is getting done.
 However,  no one ever lay on their death bed wishing they did more housework!
                          Kathleen