expanded dates on recall, I am so frustrated

zissou'smom

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I don't really know where this post belongs, so I'm starting a new thread. Feel free to stick it anywhere.

I'm so frustrated right now, I was crying at work because I was so sure it was expanded to include the stuff she had been eating for a month but now I don't know and that's even harder


I keep hearing reports that the dates have finally been officially expanded... and the Menu Foods website says next to Iams (what she had been eating) that it was updated today... but the codes are the same.

(the code on the bottom of hers was 6115 4197, so I know it's the plant but can't find anything about the date before it)

Why is there so much misleading information and contrdictory information and why is it so hard to find out any real facts???

Don't worry, it's not like I'm still feeding her any of it, it's just frustrating to never be sure if she ate any of it or not. Same plant, different date, or is it now? ARGH!

It seems from the AVMA press release not to have affected it...

So close, I just maybe lucked out because nobody in the neighborhood feeds the same cat food as me so it was older.

Finally found a food with no wheat gluten in it at least, Newman's Own organics turkey.
 

sharky

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Newmans is made BY MENU thou///... Wellness comes out of the ??able plant

SCARY ...

Nutro expanded the recall to all the recall items regardless of date a week or so ago
 
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zissou'smom

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Oh, I knew that the recall included pretty much every date it could, I was just waiting so they'd announce the codes since Iams' doesn't have dates, just codes that don't look like dates.

I just can't win with cat food these days. For a while Zissou was just eating dry but she was extremely unhappy about it. Newman's Own is the only food I can find without wheat gluten in it... after all the recent additions by companies that bought ingredients from Menu I won't feed her anything with wheat in it and I basically have one option that she'll eat. I had no idea it was made by Menu but I just don't know what to do.

This whole thing is in the top five list of scariest things that have happened to me. I feel stressed out about cat food all day, like I didn't have enough to worry about.
 

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There are thread(s) that list the foods that are "safe"...not made in menu plants & do not contain wheat gluten. I hope that if you do switch Zissou again you can find something she'll eat!!
 

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I don't know how you feel about ordering food online, but petfooddirect appears to be having a sale on almost all kinds of by nature organics cat foods.

If you buy from pfd through amazon.com, it's uaually a few bucks cheaper than going directly through pfd's site, even with the discounts most of the time.

I wish you luck in finding a food to feed her.
 
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zissou'smom

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It is very hard because she only likes the darn cuts and gravy style of food. Which is all what was on the recall list even originally. So, I am in normal times limited to Nutro and Iams but now because of how Iams has handled this I personally won't be feeding her it anymore. And yet to be seen about nutro.

Basically, I have no idea what I am going to do and no idea what she will eat that I won't have nightmares about feeding her. I want to boycott all these companies (ie ones that use menu foods) but Zissou's health as always comes first and I just don't know. Obviously it's not just Menu that was contaminated so I'm more concerned about a lack of wheat gluten than a lack of Menu-made though I'd like to find both
I don't think any pet food is safe now.
 

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Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Oh, I knew that the recall included pretty much every date it could, I was just waiting so they'd announce the codes since Iams' doesn't have dates, just codes that don't look like dates.

I just can't win with cat food these days. For a while Zissou was just eating dry but she was extremely unhappy about it. Newman's Own is the only food I can find without wheat gluten in it... after all the recent additions by companies that bought ingredients from Menu I won't feed her anything with wheat in it and I basically have one option that she'll eat. I had no idea it was made by Menu but I just don't know what to do.

This whole thing is in the top five list of scariest things that have happened to me. I feel stressed out about cat food all day, like I didn't have enough to worry about.
The only thing I can really offer is that the cats seem to get sick immediately, so I don't think you should worry too much if she had some a month or so ago...but that's just me trying to be positive.
Hugs
 
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zissou'smom

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I would love to buy food online if I knew one she would like. I can't afford to buy it if she won't eat it like she did with Merrick (ended up feeding strays all 30$ of it in various rescue missions).

She was hard to feed already, now it's half impossible.

And I always thought I was doing better by not feeding her 9lives like the rest of my family does and thinks I'm crazy to spend more than 29 cents a can. Turns out maybe I was poisoning her for a month and a half.

Kluchetta, thank you for being reassuring. I just... I felt like she was sick before, but chalked it up to a kitty cold because I had the flu and put it on the wait-and-see list. She did puke once (totally uncharacteristic) and she was obsessed with eating the charcoal out of the water filter which she isn't anymore (kept ripping out the filters in her water fountain) and all these things I thought were separate, unrelated, and not very serious maybe were signs of eating potentially deadly food. I know maybe I'm just being overly emotional right now but this is how I feel.
 

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OK, Twitch is a cuts-n-gravy girl. I've been having a hard time with this. See if you can get by Nature pouches locally. Some of the chunks are bigger & yes...they are fish flavors...but man....Twitch goes nuts(like snorts when she eats) over those pouches!


You can get them from Pat.
 
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zissou'smom

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They sell them at Kroger and Zissou hated the wet food. She is nuts.

Liked the dry though. Thank you for the suggestion!
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

They sell them at Kroger and Zissou hated the wet food. She is nuts.

Liked the dry though. Thank you for the suggestion!
Seriously!?!? My guys all went nuts over it...
Ummmm....what all have you tried?
 
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zissou'smom

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Iams, Friskies, Meowmix, Nutro, 9lives involuntarily, Merrick, By Nature, Newman's Own, Whiskas, Petguard, ummm... a couple more. She always liked them when I first started mixing them in and then wouldn't eat them except nutro, iams, Meow mix, and now this one. The fact that she'll eat this one at all is amazing because it's not cuts and gravy.
 

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Natural Balance...Evangers....Tiki Cat...I'm actually awaiting an order of Tiki Cat as it is supposedly a different texture.

You can look at this thread for foods that are "safe"....not made in Menu plants & wheat gluten free.
 

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have you given Fancy feast elegant medleys a try?
i know some people seem to think they are not the best,
but its the only wet food that heyu will eat. and if i remember right it does not have any wheat gluten(oops i was wrong depends on which type you get if it has that in it or not). i did give her some better food, but she just walked away and would not eat it.

Maybe if are you that worried about Zissou and how she is acting, get her checked? for no other reason then to make you feel better.
.

lol as for the charcoal water filter that seems to be something my cats have done well before the recall thing, my friends cat also seem to like to take it out
 
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zissou'smom

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Oh and she hates fish, another thing that we've learned along the way. Will tolerate it to some extent but food that is supposed to taste like fish she won't eat. She won't even eat actual crab meat or fish.

Oh Zissou, Zissou, Zissou, whatever will we do with you!

Sorry I should have mentioned that earlier didn't realize I hadn't. The Tiki Cat looks really cool and if Zissou were a normal cat who liked seafood I would order some. Those toys are very cute though
 
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zissou'smom

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I'm calling the OSU animal hospital vet clinic tommorow to see what they think about having her checked.

Fancy Feast has wheat gluten in it, I read the labels yesterday at the store


I'm glad she's not the only charcoal cat.
 

white cat lover

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Oh Zissou! You are one in a million my dear! I don't know what else to suggest in terms of feeding her other than a raw diet. If that's something you're willing to do...talk to your vet about it.
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by theimp98

have you given Fancy feast elegant medleys a try?
i know some people seem to think they are not the best,
but its the only wet food that heyu will eat. and if i remember right it does not have any wheat gluten(oops i was wrong depends on which type you get if it has that in it or not). i did give her some better food, but she just walked away and would not eat it.
At least some of the Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys do have wheat gluten, as you pointed out. At least the ones that Cindy loves does. I regret having ever fed her the sample I got in the mail, and all the other "treats" I fed her since then.

Zissou'sMom, I completely understand how you feel. I have been making myself sick with worry every since this thing started. I've had both mine to the vet for blood tests, and they aren't showing any symptoms, but I can't stop worrying. I watch every little thing they do and think, is this normal, is that normal? I wish someone would pay (and I don't mean monitarily) for the stress and horror this is putting us all through.

I can't help you with the cuts and gravy, because mine won't eat that except to lick the gravy, but my fussy eater Cindy has been snarfing up the Evangers Seafood, and she also seems to like the Natural Balance, several flavors. Both are loaf style, contain no wheat gluten, and according to the manufacturers aren't made by Menu.

If you're looking to get a few cans by mail to try instead of a whole case (I've donated $100s of dollars worth of food, so I know what you mean), you might try http://phydeauxpets.com/mm5/merchant.mvc as they sell individual cans. At least that way, you could get a variety and see what Zissou likes. Phydeaux claims they sell no foods that contain wheat gluten, but I would still check the ingredients list to make sure there is nothing you personally won't feed (like garlic for me). I've ordered from them twice, and the delivery was really fast. (Of course, they're here in North Carolina where I live, so it was maybe a little faster). They also offer expidited shipping, if you're in a hurry and willing to pay. It's not cheap.

Good luck
 
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zissou'smom

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Thank you for all the suggestions. The search for the perfect food continues.

Phydeaux is a cool name/spelling. I can't tell what style of food anything is though. I've thought about trying Spot's Stew.

So during stats lab today I was looking through some sites and Iams claims still that the dates on their products haven't changed, though acknowledging the recall expansion finally... so maybe we still slipped in under the wire. Fingers crossed it will stay that way when the dust settles.

OSU said it didn't sound like she needed to be seen right away so I am looking for a vet and going to make an appt but not on an emergency rush.
If anyone knows of a food that is slices-in-gravy or shredded, not fish, doesn't contain wheat gluten, isn't made by Menu, and that I don't have to buy a case of... please... I'm making puppy dog eyes at you.
 
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