Howl again!!!!!!!!!!  Mary, that was hilarious.  Maybe you should be a comic writer.  I love the "had your shots, excrement doesn't smell, no fleas, etc. That is hysterical.  I'll try to dig up a few cat funnies, but I found these by accident, so I don't know how easy it will be to find good ones.

Many vitamins, protein, and herbal supplements DO come from China. But, not all. And, the better companies will test these raw materials for purity and consistency before adding them to their products.

For some reason I find no comfort in the testing (tests for limited # of toxins, who's doing it?, what PPMs are being tested, etc) , especially if they are leaving the testing to their suppliers.

This is true for not only pet foods, but the many human foods you eat that are "vitamin-fortified", such as cereals, breads, drinks, etc. It obviously includes daily vitamin supplements. And, also, protein powders, health bars, etc.

Yes, I realize that, and I have no doubt taken a lot of toxins into my body, but it's not something I want for my cat.  His system is far more delicate than mine, and I worry about him considering his age, so the more I can limit the toxins he ingests, the better.  My tolerance tends to go right out the window when my cat's health is at stake, and that's just the way it is.  I have also stopped using the above mentioned things, or at least greatly minimized them.  And I had stopped taking supplements years ago, but my diet is very nutrient dense, so I don't worry about it much. I actually feel better now then when I was using those things.  Hmmm.

I subscribe to reports from a company called ConsumerLab.com. They test many vitamin supplements for purity and adherence to advertised ingredient amounts. (Every NatureMaid product that they tested passed with flying colors. That makes me feel good, as that is the brand of supplements I normally use.) That has nothing to do with pet food, of course. But, they do present some interesting info about the importation of the raw ingredients. For instance, many products containing chondroitin fail. And, according to them, Chondroitin is almost exclusively imported from where? You guessed it....CHINA!!!

This is all very good information Gary.  Thank you.

I have seen many people write that Taurine, like Chondroitin, also almost always comes from China, as eternaljester points out. But, we must hope that Wellness has these imported vitamin and mineral ingredients tested for purity and contamination. There have been no reports, and I have seen no anecdotal stories, of animals sickened or dying due to Wellness foods. So, it seems that they are testing. Either that, or they and their consumers have been very very lucky.

Yes, I understand.  I'm just in a heavy scrutinization mode, because I'm fed up with this mess.  I sure do appreciate your input Gary.

The dry is pricey. But, it's about the same as Royal Canin, which I was gladly paying when I used that. (My cats thrived on RC, btw. And, I would not lump it in with Hill's, Iam's, Nutro, et al.) It's not that much more costly than the Natura brands, and, quite frankly, it is quite noticeably of a higher quality.

It is quite a bit more expensive than Cal Nat.  But what I'm trying to say is that all foods in this category are too expensive, especially for what they are.  On average, I seem to be paying more pound for pound for my cats food than I do my own.  There is something wrong with that, and I think we need to question it instead of just accepting it. These premium pet foods are like a conglomerate or something. But we all bite the bullet.  That is where they have us over a barrel.  I do not mind paying more for higher quality if a food is already reasonably priced but the company needs to raise their standards.  Then I'd say, yes, please raise the quality and pass the costs on.  But there is a point where the price becomes unreasonable in relation to what the product is.  The problem is that they have their profit margins set too high.  The real issue is more and more greed, which is exactly how we got into this tainted mess in the first place. I'm just feeling really sour and negative about all of this these days. I guess I'll go order some Wellness now. 

Poisonous Chinese industrial additives. It's not just for pet food anymore!

Was it ever?  This has been going on for a long time.  They are just now paying more attention.  I have never ever understood the insanity of banning things in this country and then importing them back in in the form of goods from other countries that are known to use them or have certain contamination problems (whether it's pesticides, chemicals, or environmental problems that are the culprit).  I understand the eoonmics of it, but it's still pure insanity.  It's a point of no return in a world gone wrong.

I notice that their raw cashews are now "product of Vietnam". The last bag I bought was "product of China".

Did you eat the ones from China?  How long ago was it?  In the past, I have eaten lots of cashews from Trader Joe's, and from Costco.  The last ones were from Vietnam.  I hesitated to eat them.  I have since found that nuts are a common import, and lots are from China.  Other examples are peanuts, sunflower seeds , and even pine nuts.  Yes, expensive pine nuts, from China!  And watch those Asian snack mixes that are so popular.  Those are one of the worst.  They contain Chinese ingredients.  Flavored peanuts is another offender.   The safest seem to be almonds and pistachios, which are usually from California.

Thanks for the input everyone.  I can't help thinking that if vitamins are from China, and all the companies are using them, then how are we really avoiding the very thing that is the problem by switching?  Whether they are in a premix or added individually, China is still the source.  That is the real problem. If Wellness says they source "everything they can" from within the US, then that leaves it wide open, and they are basically saying that they use ingredients from China (they are not saying that it is just the vitamins).  That does not make me at all comfortable.  It's good that they're being honest about it, but not good that China is involved.     

If they use ANI for anything, then I want nothing to do with them, because that company cannot be trusted.  They are leaving us to do a lot of speculating, which is not fair.  I also think their prices are totally unreasonable, and that includes the dry.  Almost $20 for a tiny 5 lb. bag?  "&%$#@&"  I am certainly willing to pay more for safe, quality food, but there is a point where it gets ridiculous and they are using the premium food distinction to literally rip us off.  I think we are all getting much too conditioned when we start to think that is a fair price!  It's like the price of gas, and once you get really use to it, it doesn't seem so bad.  Well guess what?  I have never gotten use to it.  I will probably try this food, but I'm sorry to say that it will be with a lot of reservations (although that is true of all of them anyway, so what's the difference?).  Disgusting. 

Carol, take a sample out of the bag first.  And if you can, take some pictures of it and post them here.  That would really be appreciated.  Thanks!

Which pictures were you wanting to see Geff?  Here is a link to the photos of the dog food that had the chunks in it.  You should be able to see this without any problems.

http://www.petfoodrecallfacts.com/food.jpg

I believe that stands for "metabolizable energy", meaning that it is the amount of calories available to the animal after digestion is complete.  That is why it gives the kcal (calorie) count with it.

I'm seriously considering trying this food now.  I just have a few concerns.  Does anyone know where their dry is made?  As I recall, they refused to give out that information.  Gary, for all we know, it could be made by Diamond.  I just do not like not knowing.  Also, I was not that comfortable with their assurance page:
http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/aboutus_philosophy.html
Unless I missed something, they say nothing about not using ingredients from China, etc...only that the "suppliers" must prove that it's safe. Yikes!  Didn't the "suppliers" for ChemNutra have an analysis proving their bags of "melamine" were safe too?  I do not like trusting the "suppliers" for this at all.  Also, how do we know what type of ingredients they are using?  For example, how do we know their salmon is not farmed?  I guess i just feel like I know too little about this company.  Their food looks good and I'd really like to try it, so any information would be appreciated.

Gary, please keep reporting back, and let us know how things are going with this food.. 

Although I have my cat mostly on canned now, and am investigating homemade recipes, he is still eating some Cal Nat.  My cat has done really well on this food.  My current bag has the same expiration date as Lacy's, and I have no black chunks in mine.  It looks completely normal.  But I suppose it would not be unusual for only a portion of a run of food to be affected by some inconsistency. 

Geff, I would not be too quick to pull your cat off of the food until we know more.  I remember the struggles you went through to find a food that worked for him.  I think we just have to take this one day at a time.  I'm disgusted at Natura right now, but there are not a lot of alternatives out there.  I've now returned to reading ingredient lists of other foods in search of a good replacement, but every cat is different.  My cat does not have the tolerance issues with food that yours does Geff, so that makes it easier. 

I'm sorry if I posted something that people already knew, but I hadn't read anything about the black chunks in cat food, only dog food.  The stuff I found is identical to the pictures that Donna has posted from her Innova dog food.

No, I meant telling us that you knew about the dog food so that we didn't tell you something "you" already knew..  No need to apologize.  It's just that I had realized that the info I had given you was something you were already aware of.  Also, I assume that you knew someone else had posted on this forum about finding chunks in cat food, since you were interacting in the thread and posted after this post.

Well I was on the California Natural Chicken and Rice Dry untill this whole Natura thing happened. I just bought a new bag, expiration date May 08, and I examined it and found it had big black chunks embedded in it.

http://thepetfoodlist.com/forums/index.php?topic=561.0

The thing that bothers me the most is Natura's response when you called them.  Did they say anything about other customers having this problem, or that they had tested food due to other complaints? I'm glad you're keeping some food for potential testing, but I would make sure you specifically keep pieces with chunks in them.

You're so right Carol, our choices do seem to be more limited all the time.  I have the same dilemma.  But my cat has done well on this food, so I don't want to be too hasty.  I think the more information we have and the more independent tests customers do, the more we will be able to make the right choices.  But it is very sad that it has come to this.

Just spent a bit more time on the Itchmo forum. Here is a link to excerpts from a book that claims that dead cats & dogs are used in pet foods.
http://204.50.24.183/render.htm

This is hard to read without getting really sick to my stomach, but............................

I have read lots of articles on this type of thing.  It's just horrifying.  The whole rendering process turns my stomach, even if it's just chickens.  I feel uneasy about the process in general, and the questionable methods and standards that are being used.  I think what we want to watch out for the most is foods that list "meat-by-products" in the ingredients.  Those are most likely to contain a rendered soup of who knows what.  Can you point us to the thread that you found that link on Geff? 

Himimom (Carol), you are active on the Itchmo forums, so you are aware of the controversy with black chunks in Natura's food already.  Not sure why you didn't say so.  It would have been helpful, so that our responses would not repeat what you already know or give you links that lead to things you have already seen.
Your Itchmo Post
http://www.itchmoforums.com/profiles/kittymom1254-u812.html;sa,showPosts

Since the woman named Donna has posted her story, lots of people are now finding chunks and other things in their Natura food.  It seems a bit odd and almost cult-like, but if there was a bad run with clumped premix in it, then I think we at least want that confirmed and want to know if it's tainted   I have not experineced anything like this with my Cal Nat, and it doesn't seem that others here on this forum have, but I guess we just got lucky.  I think you should have it independently tested.   Please keep us updated and let us know what happens, since some of us do not have time to read Itchmo or keep up with what is going on over there.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

I was just noticing that you posted on the Wellness forum.  I'll have to go check that out.  Since you mentioned it, now I'm kind of curious what other brands Eagle manufactures dry food for.

Does Eagle have their own dry food factory?  I did not know that.  One thing of note is that Eagle gets their vitamin formula from BASF, and have admitted that it comes from China, but then don't they all? 
Chinese BASF

I'm really sick of this China thing and if all these companies are going to persist in using products from there (which they are, since they are obviously not including the vitamin formulas when they say they use nothing from China), then they can all stick their food you know where.  That said, it looks to me like Eagle's holistic formula is better than Bench & Field's, so if you were going to go in that direction, it might be a better choice.  For one thing, I'm not impressed with corn gluten, which is in Bench & Field's formula.  It's a cheap by-product of corn manufacturing and not something I want to feed my cat.  I don't know Gary, what do you think?  Most of these formulas are pretty similar and I'm tired of it.  They all seem to use the exact same ingredients.  None of them are that different or unique.  Chicken, duck, fish, rice, corn, various meals, tomato pomace, apples, potatoes, alfalfa, cranberries, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...same old, same old.  Nothing available that stands out in the crowd.