Natura Cal Nat: Has YOUR Cat Actually Gotten Sick?

[Geff]

I also posted this on Itchmo.

I am at a loss for my very allergenic cat. He is allergic to Seafood, & (unless he was reacting to unknown poisons back in April in Felidae, Solid Gold & others) we believe he is also allergic to one or more of the fruits/vegetables/herbs in most of the premium cat foods.

We've been on 2006 Cal Nat Chicken & Rice Dry since a month or so after the recall started & he's thriving on it. My intention has been to switch due to the issues surrounding Natura. After reviewing many foods, the only one left that that I am aware of that might work that I haven't tried is Evanger's wet. We're also evaluating Wellness wet. It's made by menu which really bothers me, & kitty's opinion seems only so so. Both mine & my cat's preference are for dry; though his vet would prefer wet. Fact is, I'm running out of options, & will soon be running out of the 2006 Cal Nat food.

At this point, I'm very hesitantly considering staying with the Cal Nat. I have reviewed as much of the posting here & on itchmo as I can (reading 100+ pages is a bit much), I have reviewed Offy's summary & I have pm'd Offy (who was kind to reply). My question is, has YOUR  (or your friend's) cat become sick or died from Natura? I need to make a decision soon. As someone in another Natura thread recently posted, I feel somewhat like I'm walking through a field of landmines......

Thanks!

[himimom1254]

Geff,

I responded to your post on Itchmo, but I will respond here as well.  I'm kind of in the same quandry.  I found the "black chunks" in the CN about 2 months ago and found them to be plant matter of some sort from the best I can tell.  When I found them I tried to switch Andy to Wellness Indoor Health, but loose, runny stools persisted despite switching him over very slowly.  I've since gone back to CN Chicken and Brown Rice.  It seems to be the only food that does not cause GI upset for him.  I've tried other foods foods in the past too before settling on CN.

The choice I have is have him be sick with constant runny stools and risk dehydration or let him eat what agrees with him.  I have noticed no adverse affects in Andy's behavior while eating the CN.  He's been eating CN dry and 1/4 can of Wellness wet grain free food for 16 months now.  His labs in April were normal.

[Geff]

himimom, did you feed the bag with the black chunks or find a bag without? Thanks for this info!

                                        Geff

[himimom1254]

I sent the "black chunk" bag (most of it anyway) back to Natura for testing which is still pending.

I purchased a different bag and have been feeding from that one.  It has some small black specks, but very few and very small compared to the other bag.  I still check all the kibble as I'm pouring it out and take out any pieces that appear to have any black specks.

[garypen]

When I found them I tried to switch Andy to Wellness Indoor Health, but loose, runny stools persisted despite switching him over very slowly. 

Have you ever tried any other Wellness dry formulas, other than Indoor? That one has the most fiber, and might have accounted for your cats' stools.

[himimom1254]

I've only tried that one so far.  I have a sample of Core, but haven't tried that yet.