Natura Canned

[lacy]

Okay, Im sure this has been asked before, but is there anyone here who feels comfortable feeding Natura canned even though Menu makes it? I really love how they are handling this recall situation and they are testing all foods for melamine. Just like you, I dont want to give Menu any money, but I would like to support Natura. More than that I really need to find a good canned food. Tried Felidae, but have heard all those inconsistancy stories. Same with Evangers, even though my cats LOVE the mackerel ( which I am now scared because of the fish feed contamination. When I called they arent testing their foods right now) Tried Merrick for a while, my cats did wierd lip licking mouth things afterwards. I guess I just really like the fact that Natura is testing. Anyone feel comfortable feeding canned???

[Cindy Nevarez]

Yes, I am feeding the Cal. Nat. canned chicken and brown rice.

[lacy]

Thanks Cindy! How long have you been feeding it? Are they doing good?

[gyngham2]

Hi,

I went to Calif. Natural Sweet Potato /Herring Dry for dogs but I am really off the canned food for the time being. I have some Merrick canned as back up but am really not sure about it. 

Still confused as many pet owners are:( 

[lacy]

Most of us are definitely confused. I really want to find a canned food and it will probably be natura. Im still worried though. One of my cats HAS to have a wet snack when I wake up in the morning and when I get home from work (or anythime I walk in the door) I have been feeding him a spoonful of meat baby food, usually gerber or beechnut with no onion or garlic of course.  Just the turkey and chicken. I cant keep doing that forever...its already been a month and a half!

[reddancer]

Fed my cats a can of the Salmon & sweet potato last week and they absolutely loved it. Have a can of venison and brown rice to try next. I will definitely be continuing to buy Natura cans. The fact that they are testing all finished products is all I need to hear. Also, you can look at it this way: instead of thinking that you're giving Menu foods money, think that you're giving the Natura company money in order to build their own canning facility which in the end will take away a ton of money from Menu.

[mgt818]

I also started feeding Natura today..  I got my dogs a bag of Innova...  I decided on them because of the fact that they state that they tested all of their products and all came back negative.  Still, I am not certain that they are 100% safe, but that is what they claim on thier website... 
I just fed them their first meal today.  I was very nervous!!  So far everything is going well.  I had been homecooking for them.  I have been doing that for 3 weeks now.  I am just not sure I am supplementing all of their needs with a home cooked meal.  I thought about all of the other foods, just decided that I would go with this one.  I didn't buy any canned food though, I think I would have a hard time giving them the canned as it was made by Menu, but at the same time they claim they tested it...  Although the president of the co. has put up a lot of info and released statements to try to ease the minds of consumers... more then some other companies anyway.

[Geff]

It's probably been a month since I s/w my vet so i don't know how she currently feels, but at that time while she used to be a strong supporter of wet food, she was recommending no wet food of any kind for any cat ot dog until these issues were resolved.

[Cindy Nevarez]

They have been eating it about 3 or 4 weeks now.....

I ordered the big cans, so I divide that between 2 meals (I have 3 cats). The only problem is when I go to give them the second half....they don't like it as much as the first half...not as fresh I guess. If they don't have a lot of dry food available to them at the time though, then they usually finish it.

I have been steadily cutting back on their dry...I only put it out now once or twice a week.

[garypen]

I decided to try the CalNat canned Chicken n Rice just as a little trial run. My younger cat is getting plump eating mostly Merrick canned and some CalNat dry.

Imagine my surprise when I was checking the label and saw MADE IN CANADA!!! This is very interesting considering the video and statement from the Natura president says that "Natura’s canned foods are made exclusively in a Menu Foods South Dakota plant, rather than in the affected Kansas and New Jersey plants."

And, if I'm not mistaken, Menu had expanded their recall to include contaminated food made at their Canadian plant.

Is it so f**king hard for these pet food companies to be honest?

[garypen]

After thinking about this for a little while, I'm wondering why I'm the first to notice this. A number of folks here are feeding CalNat canned, according to posts. Why am I the only person to read the label? You'd think everybody here would be examing their pet food labels with magnifying glasses, and possibly dusting for prints.

[lacy]

Garypen
My California Natural Chicken and Rice canned says Made in the USA. Does yours really say that? What is the date on your cans? Mine is Feb 20 08 I would call them and ask. Im sure we would ALL like an answer.  I actually havent even fed them the cans yet. Still deciding.

[garypen]

The expiry date is 11/22/08. So, it is newer than yours.

[garypen]

OK. I called them, and Veronica (?) said that the 3oz cans were made at the Canadian plant in the past, but are no longer made there.

I guess I'll go ahead and trust them. So far, I've had great luck with their CalNat dry.

I do feel bad about buying a Menu-made product. But, I think I will use it as a backup, for when I can't get to the store that sells Merrick. (Unfortunately, only one store near me sells both Natura and Merrick products, and it is more expensive than either of the two chains that carry each seperately.  )

[Sharron]

Hi Garypen
    So if the expiry date is 11/22/08, when was it actually canned?   Do we know when Natura started canning exclusively at the plant in S. Dakota?   (I'm not implying anything sinister; I'm just wondering.)   I