Nature's Recipe

[Mike]

I'm just curious if anyone else is feeding Nature's Recipe canned cat food.  I switched both of my cats to it (one was on Science Diet, and one was eating Fancy Feast.)  I tried Natural Balance, but My older cat wouldn't touch it (My younger cat will eat anything).  They both LOVE Nature's Recipe, and I'm pretty happy with it but still a little nervous about the fact that it's made by Del Monte.  They both get half a can in the morning, and half a can at night with a little bit of Chicken Soup for the cat lovers soul dry food as a snack before bed.

They seem to be doing really well on it but this whole thing makes me so nervous I just wanted to see if anyone had any horror stories that they've connected to Nature's Recipe.

This has been a invaluable website during this recall.  Thanks so much!

[MissLori]

I'm not sure about some of these ingredients (looks like a lot of chemicals), but I'd bet someone here can shed more light on the list.  I guess I'd be a bit nervous about the gluten, even though it's corn.

Ingredients:
Chicken, corn, chicken meal, corn gluten meal, rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), beet pulp, animal digest, dried egg product, herring meal, yeast culture, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin 6), riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), beta carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), potassium chloride, salt, phosphoric acid, choline chloride, minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, yucca schidigera extract, rosemary extract.

[Mike]

Those are the ingredients for the the dry food.  I am feeding them the chicken and the lamb canned food.

Chicken:

Chicken stock, chicken, liver, soy protein concentrate, rye flour, corn starch, dicalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, inositol, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), choline chloride, taurine, minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), magnesium oxide.

Lamb:

Lamb stock, lamb, liver, soy protein concentrate, rye flour, corn starch, salt, pork by-products, dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, barley malt flour, calcium carbonate, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, inositol, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), choline chloride, taurine, minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), magnesium oxide.

Thoughts?

[garypen]

It looks a little high in grains and soy. (Rye flour, corn starch, soy protein). Also, pork by-products? That's new. Haven't seen that one in "natural" style brands before.

Also, Nature's Recipe is a brand of one of the humungous pet food conglomerates, Del Monte, who also makes Meow Mix and 9-Lives, and currently has foods on the recall list! . This brand was involved in a recall a few years ago, as well.

You might want to see if your local pet food store carries Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, Blue Buffalo, or Merrick's. I've had good luck with those brands' of canned cat foods. No corn, wheat, or soy. No by-products. And my cats love them.

[Davis]

Mike, I agree with Gary.  I don't like that ingredient list too much.  For one thing, soy is not good for cats, but they are using it because it's a cheaper source of protein...one which cats don't utilize well.  And I would be very concerned with that pork junk they are putting in there.  I'm sorry to rain on your hopes.  I know how difficult it is to find a food that the cats will eat, but you should probably be concerned about some of the things that Gary mentioned.

[Mike]

Hi All,

Thanks very much for your opinions.  We bought about a month and a half's worth on Monday (we found a fantastic sale) before I even posted the question.  They are doing well enough on it that I don't feel bad feeding them the food that we've already bought (It's gotta be better than the Fancy Feast and Science Diet that we had them on and at the very least it appears safe) and in the meantime, there is a place close by that sells Merrick's.  I'll pick up a few cans of that and see what their opinion is.

Thanks again for your suggestions.  It's nice to have a place to share  what we find with everyone.

[garypen]

Please check the lot numbers and dates on the cans against the recall list. There may be a reason why it was on sale so cheap. Also, keep a close eye on your cats for any vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetitie, etc.

As for trusting Nature's Recipe more than Fancy Feast or Science Diet, I certainly wouldn't. There is no reason to based on the ingredients, or their history.. Remember, DEL MONTE HAS SOME FOODS ON THE RECALL LIST.

I'm sure you won't kill your cat's with it, though, unless it's tainted, which is unlikely if it's not on the list at this stage. But, you should probably switch to a better food when this stuff runs out.

[Mike]

Thanks Gary.  I will definitely check the lot number ect. 

I feel pretty confident that it is safe (untainted) as it doesn't contain any wheat products, and the only corn product is corn starch (which I'm assuming is used for thickening the gravy).