New Natural Balance Recall (not Menu related)

jean44

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What next?! My cats have been living on Natural Balance. Of the premium foods available here it is the one they like the best, is low in grains (only rice) and not affiliated with Menu Foods. I just bought 10 cans of the Venison and Pea plus some Turkey and Giblets on Friday. All the cans look OK so I hope there will be no problem.

Thanks for posting this.
 

renovia

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luxor eats nb........but maybe i'm wrong but there just doesn't seem to be enough information to warrant me stopping his food.
 

beandip

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Well, it says the dogs had stomach upset...nothing else known at this point...and it mentions they aren't sure if it could just be from a fast change in diet. That seems very, very likely to me. There are countless numbers of people worried about pet food now, worried about Menu in particular. I can imagine that a lot of people have recently switched to NB, since they are one of the very few that are both non-menu, AND so readily available at Petco. So I can see that a lot of very worried people have switched their foods suddenly...and also would be worried (more than usual) about symptoms like stomach upset. I hope it makes sense.

Basically, to sum it up ...I don't see this as much of a concern YET.
 
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wmarcello

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Originally Posted by beandip

Well, it says the dogs had stomach upset...nothing else known at this point...and it mentions they aren't sure if it could just be from a fast change in diet. That seems very, very likely to me. There are countless numbers of people worried about pet food now, worried about Menu in particular. I can imagine that a lot of people have recently switched to NB, since they are one of the very few that are both non-menu, AND so readily available at Petco. So I can see that a lot of very worried people have switched their foods suddenly...and also would be worried (more than usual) about symptoms like stomach upset. I hope it makes sense.

Basically, to sum it up ...I don't see this as much of a concern YET.
Those were my thoughts exactly. Everybody is on edge right now, so even the slightest signs of illness may cause some owners to panic. I just wanted to post it so people can at least be cautious about it.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by wmarcello

Those were my thoughts exactly. Everybody is on edge right now, so even the slightest signs of illness may cause some owners to panic. I just wanted to post it so people can at least be cautious about it.
And it's a good idea to post it. I'm glad you did.
I forgot to say thanks.
 

jpawz

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Just chiming in, as a fan of Natural Balance foods, and what I am experiencing currently:

We just switched recently and I am echoing Beandip here but this is an important point to keep in mind-

Sudden dietary changes in dry foods tend to cause tummy rumbles, though I always thought cats were more affected. And I speak from immediate experience because of our recent change to NB.

Even though I *thought* I did a gradual changeover, 2 of my 5 cats have been 'off' the last 24 hours. The other 3 cats are thrilled at their new food and won't accept their Purina One now. So I am thinking 'sensitivity' but this will pass.

The recall has led to the largest and fastest changeover in diets (for our pets) across the globe, no doubt. I am sure anything out of the ordinary gets us worried, and a change in diet can mimic sickness, albeit temporary. Many people are going to panic and it will lead to even more vet appts and confusion. It is very scary and frustrating because we lose our ability to trust our own judgments.

Even with what I know I am worried about my 2 who are kind of 'meh' today. I will watch them but everything points to a little stomach upset.

I just cannot wait till all this passes. Just not sure there will ever be resolution, nor can we ever feel 100% again
 

xocats

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I am very concerned about this....
A pet food company will not recall a food just because a few people say their animals tummies were upset.

I hope that it is nothing serious.
 

sharky

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STAY calm... I am now very suspcious cause I worked Petco for last two days and venison and br rice dog was mysteriously out... I didnt have to show anyone the cat so I dont know
 

gizzie

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That's interesting I bought few cans to try and my kittens ate all of it but they all had loose stool and Marbles started throwing up everywhere. I stopped feeding it thinking it probably didn't agree with my guys. I only gave them two cans in the span of two days. I like to rotate their canned food and was looking for something other than Felidae to rotate their canned food. I won't be buying it again only because of my experience with that but it's interesting to find out that other animals had the same reaction to this food. I guess my guys will have to eat mostly Felidae and I am still waiting for Merrick to delivery canned food I ordered from their website. I hope Merrick works out as I really need something to rotate my guys with Felidae.
 

heidinyny

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hi... if you read some of my posts from a few months ago you will see that i switched my cat to venison and green pea natural balance dry... she then developed serious problems including severe itichiness, rolling skin, chasing her tail, and blood in stool. i took her to three different vets, all of whom said it was allergy related. i took her off the natural balance after about a month and then she was fine again. i can't beleive this... i wonder now if her problems were all due to contaminated food.
 

jean44

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My primary concern is the second link in the original post. It mentions cans of Venison and Pea exploding when opened and the food having an off odor. This is indicative of problems in the canning process. I have not noticed this problem but I will be extremely careful about examining cans and noting anything odd about the food.

I am trying not to over react to this but my trust in the entire pet food industry decreases daily.
 

jugen

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Are you joking me!? I just bought a bag of NB and some NB wet food to start my cats on because of the wheat gluten scare and now this!? I just opened the bad(it wasn't the venison one thank goodness) and gave them each a handful to see if they'd eat it. Now I'm not sure I want to feed it to them anymore.
What cat food is safe? I feel so let down by all the cat food makers. If anything happens to my cats in the next couple of days, I'll be LIVID!

When are they going to fix this? When thousands of animals die? I am so mad right now I want to scream! And the sad thing is there is no one I can call or email about this. I want to know, what are they doing to rectify the situation RIGHT NOW so that animals can eat without us wondering if we are killing our beloved pets?
 

starryeyedtiger

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For those of you deciding looking for something to switch your kitty onto if you're not sure about the natural balance- i recently switched all mine onto Chicken Soup for the Cat / Kitten Lover's Soul- they are all doing aweome with it- it's gluetin free, uses only grains/things made in the US and Candada...and the first listed ingredients are REAL food like chicken, duck,salmon,etc...it's all holistic too. For a great food like that you can't beat the price eithor!
 

heidinyny

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i just know that during the month i was feeding ashley green pea + venison dry, i took her to three different vets... all in all, a total of four vet visits. this was during december to january. i am going to call natural balance tomorrow.
 

kittiesx2

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Uggh....I JUST bought some cans of NB yesterday thinking that it would be a good choice to rotate with the Merrick that my cats are presently eating
I Should've known not to try any new foods right now.
It's not venison/pea does that mean that it's safe? Should I return it??
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by kittiesx2

Uggh....I JUST bought some cans of NB yesterday thinking that it would be a good choice to rotate with the Merrick that my cats are presently eating
I Should've known not to try any new foods right now.
It's not venison/pea does that mean that it's safe? Should I return it??
honestly, i wouldn't chance it even if it's not the specific forumula on the recall. it seems like more are added every day. if the brand is questionable- avoid it to be safe. i would take it back and ask for a refund
 

kittiesx2

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

honestly, i wouldn't chance it even if it's not the specific forumula on the recall. it seems like more are added every day. if the brand is questionable- avoid it to be safe. i would take it back and ask for a refund
That's what I thought, thanks
 
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