Jan08/Anyone feeding CN??

[hissandtell]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone using CN has noticed an improvement in the grit or anything else.  I have tried my cats on several new foods and none seem to agree with them. 
CN has the least ingredients, and I am thinking about going back to that.  I need some feedback first, though.

Thanks!

Hissandtell

[Geff]

Hissandtell, I posted the following on Itchmo the other day. As you'll see, I have some concerns. Some of them MAY be related to my kitty's allergies. The grit is about the same, or slightly less. The salty taste on skin contact has moderated some. I THINK they lowered the amount of potassium chloride, which I have believed was the culprit for the salty taste issue.

Posted on Itchmo 1/8:
I'm wondering if anyone is having any issues with the new Cal Nat Chicken & Brown Rice formula? It's likely a good sign that there are no recent posts!

I'm seeing a couple things with my guy on the new bag/formula that may or may not be important:

1. He's eating more then he used to. He's also often looking for fuzzys or his own hair to eat in the carpeting. That's new behavior for him. I'm wondering if he's feeling hungry due to empty calories in the new formula?

2. He's drinking more water. His drinking went up with the first 2007 formula change & went up again with the change to the new formula.

3. He's having some congestion issues when sleeping. This seems to bother me more then him, & it may be due to some new mildew issues in our home. He's also scratching more then usual. They did add Rosemary to the new formula; it's possible he may be allergic to it. Not sure WHY Natura felt the new to add a useless (to cats) herb.

The vet wanted to see him next month anyway, so I'm planning on waiting if nothing gets worse, but curious if others are seeing anything similar?

His energy level is ok: When we first switched from Royal Canin to the old 2006 formula of Cal Nat Chicken & Rice his energy went WAY up. it went back down to Royal Canin level with the first bag of 2007 new formula Natura we bought & has stayed about the same.

One thing i found ironic: They've renamed the food from "Chicken & Rice" to "Chicken & Brown Rise" AFTER they added white rice.......

[hissandtell]

Thanks for your input, Geoff.  I have a cat rescue, so I buy food in bulk.  Since the food scare started, I have had them on CN, NB, by Nature, Wellness and Evo.  It seems even though it was a slow transition, some of them always had diarrhea.  I had fed them Nutro for years and against my own better judgement (I was boycotting them too), I went back to that.  But they are pooping a lot more.  I have one bag left, that is mixed with NB and then I am putting them on something else, but I don't know what.  I have moral issues with CN (who doesn't?) but I have to feed them something. 

I don't like any food that has the tiny kibble like Natural Balance.  Two months ago, one of the cats choked on a piece of it and at midnight on a weekend I had to rush her to the emergency vet an hour away.  I didn't think she would live til we got there, if then.  They had to do an emergency tracheotomy on her.  She's fine now, but no more small kibble for them!  I call her my $700 kitty :-)

I'm spending a lot of time trying to decided what to feed them now. 

Thanks again for your reply.  I hope CN works out for yours.  I may be mistaken, but doesn't your cat have a sensitive stomach or something to where you have to be very careful of what you feed??

[Geff]

He appears to be allergic to about 1/2 the planet! Cal Nat is the only high end food that had no seafood, herbs, fruits or vegetables (until the new formula added Rosemary).

The only wet foods I've found that theoretically contain nothing he's allergic to are Wellness Chicken & Evangers Chicken. Both have other issues (Wellness wet is made by Menu & Evanger's has confirmed that their label is inaccurate), but the biggest neg is he doesn't like either. For him it appears to be Cal Nat; or if that doesn't work I'm going to need to look at  Raw/Freeze Dried or home cooked.

If i could find a vitamin premix that is 100% not from China, I would consider combining it with Gerber's stage 2, which he loves.

[Geff]

My kitty went to the vet today. I brought along the new bag of Cal Nat Chicken & "Brown Rice" so my vet could look at the ingredients. She had 2 comments & 1 question that I'd like to pass along:

Question:
Does anyone still have any of the older bags of Cal Nat Chicken & Rice (either 2006 or 2007 style)? If so, is Flaxseed Oil one of the ingredients? She had some concern about Flaxseed being a potential allergen, but I honestly don't remember if it was present before the last formula change; & also if it was present in the first of the 3 Cal Nat formulas I've fed. My vet felt having that info would help to figure out what's going on with my kitty.

Comments:
1. She stated that Rosemary can definitely be an allergen for cats. She believes that my guy is likely reacting to it.

2. She also stated that Natura's claim on their website for this formula being "hypoallergenic" is not accurate. In addition to the 2 ingredients I just mentioned, she stated that some cats (not mine) have allergies to Chicken.

[himimom1254]

Geff,

I still have two bags of the "old" CN.  I checked the ingredients and don't find "flaxseed oil", but flaxseed is present in the ingredients.

Hope that helps.

[Geff]

Himimom, is your old bags Pre or post May 2007 manufacture? (i.e. pre or post May 2008 exp date)? They did 2 publicly acknowledged formula changes in 2007.

[himimom1254]

The expiration is 09/10/08.

[Geff]

hissandtell, kitty's blood test came back today. No apparent harm from 9 months on Cal Nat. Kidneys are good. There's some concern with his liver reading, but it's actually improved since the last blood test which was right before he started the Cal Nat.

Due to his allergies & gas/diarrhea, his vet wants me to try to transition him to raw after he goes through a course of antibiotics.

[hissandtell]

Geff,  glad your kitty's blood work came back okay.  That's comforting.  I had the local store order 6 bags of CN.  Then after I posted about it, I got cold feet.  I have had them on Authority the last 2 weeks and either it takes really, really good or it's not fulfilling them because they are mowing through it like no other food.

They ate much less on by Nature and Natural Balance/Wellness but some stools had blood in them (can't tell how many cats since I have a rescue with 32 total).

I missed a show on CBS this morning at 7am about the pet food industry.  Evidently there was a woman on there who used to work for a pet food manufacturer and said companies do not use the ingredients they say and the *premium* food is not as they would have us to believe.  Well, I suppose the ones that list corn, corn meal, by products as the first 3 ingredients are probably being honest...yuck.

So, I think I may get the 6 bags of CN and see how they do the next week.  It's that or go back to by Nature.

I can't do a raw diet or cooked because I just don't think it would work (for me) with so many cats. 

Good luck and keep us posted.

Brenda

[Geff]

My vet wants me to try to transition him to raw. She believes he's is allergic to the Rosemary in the current CN formula.

[hissandtell]

My vet wants me to try to transition him to raw. She believes he's is allergic to the Rosemary in the current CN formula.

I may have read it and forgot, but what are the symptoms (allergic to Rosemary)

[Geff]

This is likely my last post on this subject. I have chosen to stop feeding CN. On Friday, my cat's recent allergic reactions became pretty severe with CN "Formula 3". Since the switch to the newest formula, I've seen the following:

1. Breathing problems
2. Diarrhea
3. Lots of scratching
4. Some compulsive Licking
5. Low Energy
6. Spinal Sensitivity Returned
7. Sore On His Face

Out of desperation, starting early Saturday morning, I switched him temporarily to baby food only (Gerbers Stage 2 & Beech Nut Stage 1). All symptoms are either moderated or gone, & even with no vitamin supplements his energy has gone way up, he's the most active I've seen him since October 2007 when we had to move from CN "Formula 1" to the replacement CN "Formula 2".

I am looking into raw as our next solution. Unfortunately, most commercial raw foods appear to also have ingredients he's allergic to. With the Cal nat Chicken & Rice, I believe that he's highly allergic to the rosemary, & I suspect the white rice & possibly other unknown ingredients didn't sit well with him either.

It's a shame they ruined a previously wonderful product.

[Geff]

I lied about that being my last post....... Does anyone still have a bag of California Natural Chicken & Rice Dry 2006 manufacture (exp date of 2007)? If I remember right, the bag is chartreuse Green & clear with Yellow daisies. There is no white rice, only brown.

Reason I'm asking is I know my cat tolerated all the ingredients in that formula. It would be really helpful to have a complete ingredients list. If anyone still has one of the pre-white rice bags made in 2006 with a 2007 exp date I'd be really grateful if you would post the complete ingredients list, or email me a scan. Kitty is just going through a nightmare at the moment & I'd rather not expose him to anything else he can't tolerate in our experiments to find a food for him.

I have also written Natura, hopefully they'll be willing to provide the info.

Thanks!

[Therese]

Geff, I'm sorry to hear your cat had so many problems on the CN. 

I'm not feeding raw to my cat but I know a lot of folks do. Mine gets a home made diet (no commercial food) and she's been doing great on it. Her coat is shinier, her breath is better, she's lost weight, and become more active. All in all, she is a much happier cat than she was for quite a while.  Whatever you decide to do with your cat, I hope you can find something that will be agreeable to her!