hello,i just read your post and i would suggest trying the natural balance.

Thanks for the suggestion!  It certainly is not a bad food, but I think many of us have already researched all the foods available, including the one you suggest, and have exhaused our options.  I (and I'm sure others) have decided on this California Natural for very specific reasons.  For me, the protein/carb ratio is more favorable, as well as the other factors I mentioned above.  Maybe later I will learn something new and change my mind.  There is a thread for the Natural Balance, and you might want to post your positive comments there so that no one will miss them, which would be really helpful to those that are interested in that particular food.  I hope your kitty lives a long and happy life!

There are several online mail order companies that sell pet food.  Examples are Amazon, Pet Food Direct, ordering from the pet food companies themselves, several online natural pet food retailers, etc.  For any of you that have ordered pet food, which ones have you had good experiences with and found them to be trustworthy and reputable.  And which ones should be avoided due to bad experiences?  This includes all sorts of problems, such as delayed delivery, incorrect charges, food expiration dates not being fresh enough, etc.  (This thread is for real experiences, and NOT for spam advertisements from retailers.)

I'm sure they're as weary of this as the rest of us and are getting tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

That's their job.  It's inexcusable for them to have an impatient, condescending, or defensive attitude when answering questions from concerned pet owners.  If they can't do that with empathy, understanding, and compassion, then they have no business working in the pet industry.  I never understand why people on the other end of the phone line at any company stop being human and cannot seem to relate to the person they are talking to, as it they never have to deal with companies and problems themselves, as a consumer or whatever.  What planet did they all come from?

It seems like some of them don't realize the way they handle the questions may very well be the deciding factor for a lot of people as to whether or not to continue to buy their products or not. Even if their products aren't involved, the sensitivity and understanding you mentioned in answering the questions will go a long way.

That's for sure.  Even if I loved a certain pet food, I would discontinue use if I was not treated with respect from the company.  Like any other consumer problem, there is nothing worse than being treated with this kind of indignation when you have a legitimate, serious concern regarding a product, yet it is quite common.  Even worse, in this instance, we are talking about the health and potential death of something that we love dearly, and not just a malfunctioning piece of electronic equipment or something, so there is that much more reason for them to have the right attitude.  How sad that they cannot understand.  This is a crisis for many of us.  A crisis should bring out the best in the human spirit, not the worst. 

For those companies who are kind with the people who call and email, I'd like to say thank you!

Yes, thank you very much!  And maybe to show our appreciation, we should have a thread dedicated to thanking the companies who have responded with compassion and concern.     And maybe one for those who have not.

Edit: Regarding starting a "Kudos" forum, as stated below, thanks Therese!  I'll be posting there in the future.

Has anyone considered this food?  You must check this out.  This is a dry food that contains NO rendered meat or "meal".  Fabulous!  They also have a grain-free food.  Their foods contain raw freeze-dried meats layered over dry.  Very interesting and unique type of food.  On the expensive side, but still affordable.  I'm seriously considering this food as an addition to my cats diet, but I'm a bit apprehensive about some of the human and herbal ingredients.  However, this is an unusual, intriguing alternative food for those who feel uncomfortable with most commercial pet foods.  This food seems to have many of the qualities we've been looking for.  Is it finally "the one"?
Main website:  http://www.greatlife4pets.com/store/#

More variety here: http://www.1doctorschoice.com/GreatLifeCatFood.html

And here is the grain-free food.  Also contains good info on the potato trend:
http://www.1doctorschoice.com/GrainFree-CatFood.html

Thanks Gary.  Unfortunately I had tried that already.  The problem is that I ended up feeling even more confused looking at all those commercial supplements.  And then I wonder which ones are formulated with safe ingredients, and from what source, where.  Ugh!  Then thinking about trying to figure out how much is needed of each nutrient and specifically which nutrients are needed based on the cat's diet, etc.  I don't want to over-supplement in any area either.  That could be just as bad.  What a nightmare. 

Well, after much struggle and research, I have decided that this is the dry food I'm going to supplement my cat's diet with until I find something better, although I do plan to do some rotating with at least one other dry food (not sure what yet).  For now, this food is the most simple, without all the veggie ingredients (wish they would do the same with Evo), and has a decent balance compared to other dry foods.  Input from Gary, please?   I want to switch to a mostly wet diet soon, but I still have not figured out the best thing to do in that area.  To make matters worse, my cat only likes dry food and will starve himself if he doesn't get it. 

The ONLY reason I'm willing to buy from Natura (who uses Menu for their canned products) is because they have promised to severe their relationship with Menu as soon as possible (and in the mean time have one of their own employees on site in that plant).  If this does not happen within a reasonable period of time, then I will no longer purchase their products.  But at least they are making an effort to take a stand, reassure the public, and make the change. 

Mary, I'm having the same dilemma.  I want to start feeding a certain percentage of my cat's diet as homemade meals, but I don't know how to properly supplement this and I want to carefully make sure I do it correctly, and with only the highest quality supplements.  I left some great links about feline nutritional needs that you might find helpful on another thread.  Hopefully we will figure this out together. 

I want to share these links with all of you on cat physiology and dietary/nutritional needs.  I have found them to be extremely helpful.  Well worth the read.  They will give you a much better understanding of what a cat truly needs to be healthy and why:

http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
http://www.bright.net/~zimm1/whysupp/
http://www.healthycatscare.com/cat-diet.html