white specks (salt?) in Felidae

sasha4848

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I was feeding my cat Science Diet dry, but given Hill's involvement with Menu and its recall of m/d, I decided to try Felidae and see if my cat likes it. I noticed that the food (the regular dry formula for cats and kittens) has little white specks in the food that look like salt. I assume it must be one of the ingredients, but since I've never seen that before in dry food I wanted to check with those of you who have fed Felidae before. Is that normal?
 

catsallover

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I have the Felidae Chicken and Rice, and (though I never noticed before!
) yes, it has the whitish specks that look a bit like salt.
 

sharky

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With everything that is going on PLEASE call and ask the company
 
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sasha4848

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Thanks, it makes me feel a bit better that it is not just in the food I got (I thought maybe that particular bag had spoiled or something). But, I emailed the company to ask about it just in case, and they assured me that their products are safe, but said they aren't exactly sure what I'm referring to, which isn't very comforting. So, I've still been giving my cat Science Diet dry... even though I decided to switch her off of it when I find a different brand. Not sure if I should try the Felidae now or look for something else...
 

catsallover

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I don't think the actual specks are white- I think they just reflect that way, if that makes sense? As far as I can remember, nothing looks any different with this bag than the others, and I'm kinda picky, especially with having 3 senior cats and a dog with a heart condition (who is on Canidae). I'd just do whatever you feel comfortable doing, but I like the condition of my cats' coats a lot better especially after switching from SD to Felidae
. You could always buy another bag (maybe a really small one?
) and compare, and if you still don't like what you see, take it back (these days, I don't think the petstores are going to put up much of a fuss with concerned pet owners!) but first I will see if I can get a good pic of my cats food for you, if you like
.

Okay, had a minute, so here they are (the color is off a bit in the upclose shots, but the one where you can see the scoop is the right color
:










Hope this helps!
 

strange_wings

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Maybe it's something else in the powder coating?

Just asked and salt is added to the raw mix on pet foods. DH says the most he's seen in a mix is 60lbs to a batch, a batch being 3 tons.

Email the company the close up picture asking what it is. They may tell you, unless they think it'll give away the formula or something.
 

vanillasugar

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Yep, every time I've seen Felidae (I used to use it for treats) it's had that stuff on it. Don't know what it is... and I've never wondered before now!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by vanillasugar

Yep, every time I've seen Felidae (I used to use it for treats) it's had that stuff on it. Don't know what it is... and I've never wondered before now!
Ditto that
 

xocats

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You are not to picky.
You need to find out what those white things are.
They sure don't look like any other dry food that I have seen.

The company needs to be more responsive.

Be careful until you are sure about what they are.
You kitties are depending on you.

Who owns Felidae?
I went to their site but could not find an "about us" link.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by xocats

You are not to picky.
You need to find out what those white things are.
They sure don't look like any other dry food that I have seen.

The company needs to be more responsive.

Be careful until you are sure about what they are.
You kitties are depending on you.

Who owns Felidae?
I went to their site but could not find an "about us" link.
Canidea is all I could find and they arent involved with menu
 

catsallover

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Canidae and Felidae are the same company, I found this:

Canidae (verified by company 3/28/07)

Brands include Canidae and Felidae
No products made by Menu Foods
All ingredients are grown in the US and are also processed here.
No wheat gluten is used in their products.
All products are free of corn, wheat, soy and all grain fractions
from: http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by xocats

You are not to picky.
You need to find out what those white things are.
They sure don't look like any other dry food that I have seen.
They're on my Caster & Pollux too, it's just something in the powder coating, added for flavor. That stuff comes prepackaged from the company so I don't know exactly what it could be. Only they would know. Email them a closeup picture with one of the white specks circled asking "what the heck is that?"


The Felidae looks a bit greasier and looks to have more coating on it than the Caster & Pollux I use, maybe it has more tallow/fat.
 

xocats

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Email them a closeup picture with one of the white specks circled asking "what the heck is that?"
That is a great idea...
let us know what you find out.
 

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

The Felidae looks a bit greasier and looks to have more coating on it than the Caster & Pollux I use, maybe it has more tallow/fat.
I'm sure it does. I get imported Felidae, and have to be really careful to only buy small bags, store it in an airtight container, and use it up within just a few weeks, because it can go rancid very quickly.

I've always assumed the white specks were congealed fat, actually. They've been there as long as I've been using the food, which has been about 5 years.
 
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sasha4848

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Thanks so much for the pics and all your replies! That was very helpful. The specks must be normal... but it is a little strange that their customer service didn't know what I was talking about, you'd think they would know what their product looks like. I'll email them the pictures and let you know what they say!
 

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Originally Posted by catsallover

I don't think the actual specks are white- I think they just reflect that way, if that makes sense? As far as I can remember, nothing looks any different with this bag than the others, and I'm kinda picky, especially with having 3 senior cats and a dog with a heart condition (who is on Canidae). I'd just do whatever you feel comfortable doing, but I like the condition of my cats' coats a lot better especially after switching from SD to Felidae
. You could always buy another bag (maybe a really small one?
) and compare, and if you still don't like what you see, take it back (these days, I don't think the petstores are going to put up much of a fuss with concerned pet owners!) but first I will see if I can get a good pic of my cats food for you, if you like
.

Okay, had a minute, so here they are (the color is off a bit in the upclose shots, but the one where you can see the scoop is the right color
:










Hope this helps!
Yes mine looks just like that. I just bought it today.
 
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