Nutro ingredient change - soybean oil added to Natural Choice Complete Care Senior

I noticed the ingredient change after my cat who can't tolerate soy started vomiting again

Apparently Nutro doesn't always mark their bags to call attention to ingredients changes, so if you have a cat (or dog) with food sensitivities I'd advise carefully checking the ingredients label on the bag you intend to buy before purchasing. Their web site still shows the old soy-free ingredients for the Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Senior dry formula.

I'll be sending them a complaint about the formula change (soy products IMO don't belong in cat food), and suggesting they mark their bags to call attention to any ingredients changes in the future, for the benefit of customers who have pets with sensitivities.

I don't know if this is common practice for other brands too, but now I'll be sure to check the ingredients list carefully EVERY time I buy a new bag or can of food.

The search for a good senior cat food with NO soy ingredients is on again...sigh.

Here's the old ingredients list (from the web site):

Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Oat Fiber, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Menhaden Fish Oil, Choline Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Bacillus Licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Inositol, Chicory Extract, Cranberry Powder, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.

Here's the current Ingredients list typed from my most recently purchased bag:

Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Poultry Fat (preserved w/Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Oil (w/mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavors, Dried Vegetable Fiber (Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Water Cress, Spinach), Oat Fiber, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Menhaden Fish Oil (w/mixed tocopherols), Choline Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentaion Extract, Ascorbic Acid (source of vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Inositol, Dried Chicory Root, Cranberry Powder, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.

the soybean oil ( shoudnt be an allegen as there shouldnt be any protein) ... it is added for omega 6 and 3 balencing.. I too wasnt happy about it but the explaination was fair and 99% of cat s should nt have trouble( My Zoey was doing fine and is highly allergic to soy protein)

Ingrediant changes used to be in just the low end foods but now yes Nutro and Innova as well as others have changed formulas and not told the consumers

I'm glad it still works for Zoey. That is so frustrating that even high-end food manufacturers would change ingredients without telling consumers.

I don't understand exactly what it is about soybean oil that bothers Felixia, but I'm sure it's the problem because the exact same thing happened when I used to feed her Royal Canin - when I fed her the new formula she suddenly started vomiting, and the only ingredient change was added soya oil. And if she eats anything that contains soy protein or fiber, it immediately comes right back up.

I didn't know that one couldn't be allergic to an oil - that's interesting. Perhaps it's a gut reaction of some sort, rather than an allergic response?

I won't regularly feed a cat food that has soy anything in it. There was a study done that showed that diets containing soy cause normal cats to have increased T4 levels. Since our senior kitties are already at risk for hyperthyroidism, I don't think it's a good idea to aggravate that by feeding something that increases the T4 levels.
http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...Links/100.html

What foods do you have available to you, and is there a reason why you are looking at only senior foods? There are some good all-life stages food out there too.

I appreciate the fact that pet food companies attempt to keep their food ingredients aligned with current scientific knowledge but,
it would be useful to consumers if there was a law or regulation that required companies to clearly list, for a certain amount of time, an ingredient change in pet food.

What are the odds of that happening?

Interesting article about soy in cat's diets cloud_shade.
Thanks for sharing .

An ingrediant can be present for 6 months before the company has to state it on the label....

Zoey is no longer on Nutro due to a corn allergy

My dog is no longer able to eat her Nutro due to the soybean oil ... I talked with my vet about it and she explained though the oil doesnt have protein it still has traces since proteins are so small ....


I highly recommend
California natural ... % s are great and the ingrediants are close to Nutro ( Zoey wont eat it )

I tried Calif. Natural recently....
My kitties ignored it.
Maybe I will give it another try.

Some of the smaller pet stores have samples from the different companies. Perhaps you can get some samples to see which food they'll eat? Willow likes Natural Balance a little better than the California natural dry food.