stella & chewy's on backorder everywhere

Thank you, LTS3! The cats hated NV frozen but, with the coupon, this may be worth trying out. I think our most local store actually sells these. They're going to see if there's any Stella & Chewy's to be had... S&C is like magic dust for the cats! They'll eat nearly anything I sprinkle it on!

LTS3- my local store always has S&C's but they can't get the cat food. Every week they get the delivery and no cat food. The manager says he calls them a lot.I like buying from them because I get the buy 3 get one free deal and it saves me over $25. I don't feed it more than twice aweek so those 4 bags last a long time.

 Last night I checked the duck, duck goose on Amazon. They had 2 bags in stock but it was 30 and I won't spend that. They had chicken and that was over $40. Nope not me. I just think it isn't very good business on S&C's part as many cats are finicky and many owners feed them just 1 food ( a mistake) and so I have to wonder how many owners are dealing with cats who won't eat anything other than their S&C's.

My store was told that they may get an order in this coming weekend.It isn't an emergency for me but my Desmond sure loves that duck, duck goose.

Yes, it's Duck, Duck, Goose for these two, too. At lease it's not exactly an emergency for us, either.

I'm glad you mentioned the high prices... I sent a note to my store saying I will only pay usual prices! I suspect it's probably just online retailers who are raising prices but who knows, maybe it's the distributors, too.

I went onto Chewy.com last night to see if they had any in stock and guess what?  They have NOTHING.  No cat food, no dog food, no Stella, period.  I sent them an email and their response was "unfortunately, Stella & Chewy’s decided to stop selling to Chewy.com".  I don't know what's going on here but I'm beyond angry and frustrated, and done with Stella. Thankfully I bought up a bunch last time so I can transition more easily.  What really irks me is first you can't find the food, now it's gone altogether from what's probably the most popular online pet retailer.  But if you go to Stella's website there's absolutely nothing - no explanation, no "we're sorry", no nothing.  Just business as usual and who cares about the customers.  

If I may pop in with another recommendation - may have missed it but I don't see where anyone else has mentioned Fresh is Best - usda inspected, sourced and processed, raw freeze dried treats.  Great little US company (as is Stella and Chewys).

Actually, other than NV's FD rabbit for cats, their FD meal mixer for dogs -- lamb, chicken and beef, are the same exact ingredients (in the same order); those bags are 14 oz each, more cost effective than the smaller 3 oz bags for cats so you could just buy the FD meal mixer for dogs and give it to the cats. 

I would buy other FD but , I can't find a brand other than Stella and Chewy's that does not have fruit and or veggies. I know Stella and Chewy's has those things in their freeze dried dog food but not their cat food.Primal does have it in their food.I compromise by buying the frozen Primal Pheasant but that is as far as I will go.

Pat- I have never heard of Fresh is Best. I will check it out. Thank you!

Maureen:

I agree, my preference is for less fruits / veggies vs. more. I would prefer the cats eat S&C, however, they just don't like it much so I've been using Primal instead. Primal is such a good food, I don't see why they have to add all those fruits and veggies.

i'm going to send another email to stella & chewy's; their last email still said that it was just supply and demand.  both of the local independent stores i usually buy stella & chewy's from have NO cat food in stock and some limited freeze dried dog.  one local pet store has put 'item on manufacturer's backorder' signs up for s&c freeze dried dog food.  

i've been cooking on and off for my cats and giving them some canned in between but would much rather cook and give s&c.  of course, now i'm not so sure i'd 'rather give s&c' because they seem to have their heads up their asses and aren't saying anything about what's going on.  which leads me to believe something is going on.

My local holistic pet food store has been able to get S & C in for about the last 7-10 days. I've also been able to order it off OnlyNaturalPet.com and Amazon has had it in stock (though limited quantity.) I see there is 1 bag of Duck Duck Goose to be had on Amazon Prime.

Stephgas,

Isn't that annoying? I never liked the fact that S&C's gave Lisa Pierson DVM a hard time when she was doing all that work to compile her cat food nutrient charts, e.g.:

The following three companies refuse to provide ‘typical nutrient

analysis’ data, stating that it is “proprietary” information. By taking

this stance, they are stating that consumers do not have the right

to know the nutrient composition of the diets they are purchasing

for their pets.  It is up to the consumer to decide whether to

support these companies with their purchasing dollars or to

choose another company’s product. Note that the information

requested for inclusion on this list is not excessive and is freely

stated on many pet food company websites.

It is basic nutritional information that all pet food manufacturers should make

readily available.

Stella & Chewys:

"This company required that I sign a confdentiality agreement

before they would provide ‘typical nutrient analysis’ data for their

macronutrients (moisture, protein, fat, fiber, ash). This would

obviously defeat the purpose of gathering data for this chart and

exhibits a lack of transparency"

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Our local store can't get S&C, either... and I agree with you, @LisaMarie12, about the company's lack of disclosure on nutrients, and you, @stephgas, about their lack of disclosure about the supply problem.

At least we can get Primal, though the store could only get the small bags of the chicken flavor... I have to wonder if the Stella & Chewy's problem caused that!

And at least the cats aren't so picky that there's nothing to feed them.

LisaHE:

At least Primal signed "the pledge" - I trust them, just wish they'd remove some of those veggies.

http://associationfortruthinpetfood.com/the-pledge/

Primal freeze dried is probably your best bet as an S&C replacement.  I think it's 10% veggies though, and I haven't tried it yet.  Also haven't tried the new Bravo freeze dried which is only for dogs.

This is all crazy frustrating!  I also wanted a freeze-dried backup food.  I have bought the NV freeze dried as treats, but as a food source it's ridiculously expensive.  I ended up with Honest Kitchen, which is 20% veggie/potato.  That's tolerable since it's an add-on to my cat's diet and not a staple, and the price is also quite tolerable.  And no supply issues.  I have to say, all these supply disruptions and price end up taking more time than you'd spend just making homemade food.

I haven't heard of Steve's real food...has anyone tried that, and what did you think of it?  I tried to quickly find it online and they make you create an account before telling you any details except ingredients.  But it doesn't look like it's formulated for cats.

sophie1 said:

 
I haven't heard of Steve's real food...has anyone tried that, and what did you think of it?  I tried to quickly find it online and they make you create an account before telling you any details except ingredients.  But it doesn't look like it's formulated for cats.

Click to expand...

Here's the Steve's real Food info on the cat/dog chicken frozen raw food (the freeze dried is supposedly the same): http://stevesrealfood.com/frozen-raw-dog-food/chicken-raw-meat-dog-food/ No sign in needed.

And the one for the pork raw food: http://stevesrealfood.com/frozen-raw-dog-food/pork-dog-food/

I've seen the frozen Steve's raw but never the freeze dried. The freeze dried may be a new product that isn't in a lot of stores yet.

Stella and Chewy's nuggets can be found online but often at jacked up price.

LisaMarie12 said:

 
At least Primal signed "the pledge" - I trust them, just wish they'd remove some of those veggies.

http://associationfortruthinpetfood.com/the-pledge/

Click to expand...

I finally checked this out: not many companies signed it. Good for Primal. I'm not thrilled about the fruits and vegetables, either, but at least they're nonstarchy and keep the lists of chemical ingredients short!

sophie1 said:

 
Primal freeze dried is probably your best bet as an S&C replacement.  I think it's 10% veggies though, and I haven't tried it yet.  Also haven't tried the new Bravo freeze dried which is only for dogs.

Click to expand...

Even eating it twice a day, our cats like Primal a lot, sophie1... the turkey has less vegetable content than the chicken or beef foods. I think someone said they'll send samples, so you might try writing to them.

Steve's Real Food is sold at Whole Foods but it is full of fruits and veggies. I won't feed that. I don't want to feed Primal Freeze dried because the fruits and veggies and it is $5 a bag more expensive than Stella and Chewy's

 I am going to wait for S&C's to come back to my local store. I know Amazon has a bag of Duck, duck Goose but it is $30 . That is ridiculous. The only reason I will buy it all is  my stores buy 3 get one free policy.

I have about 30 lbs of various meals made for the cats so they are not starving .

I had forgotten that Dr. Pierson said S&C's did not disclose info she asked for. I had read her site long before I went to feeding Raw.

I guess my spoiled Desmond is out of luck.

Just saw S&C's freeze dried turkey on Amazon for a decent price.

Thanks for the heads up about Steve's.  I think I'll just stick with my homemade raw + Honest Kitchen combo.  I do use Primal grinds in my homemade, though, so I'm glad to hear about their truth pledge.

Hey I have about $50 worth of S and C freeze dried sitting in my refrigerator that I bought on impulse when I was at my wits end with a very sick IBD kitty.   I can't see myself ever using it since he's doing OK on the limited ingredient diet.  If anyone wants it PM me.  I purchased it from Chewy.com.

update... i think emily thompson is getting sick of me at this point...

"Good afternoon Stephanie,

Thank you for your email.  It is true that overwhelming popularity for our freeze-dried products has led to some spotty shortages but we assure you there is no truth to the other rumors you may be hearing. We certainly aren’t discontinuing any of your favorite items. Rather, we are in the process of making some very important investments in the company including the addition of new manufacturing equipment, which has allowed us to boost our production by 20% in recent weeks. You should start seeing all of your favorite products again shortly.  In fact, many of our freeze dried dinners for cats can currently be found online; it’s suggested that you check back with your preferred retailer on a regular basis to ensure you’re one of the first in line when inventory becomes available. 

Thank you,

Emily Thompson

Customer Service & Sales Support Coordinator"

so, 'spotty shortages'.... all of long island, new york for one 'spot'.  i mean, this has to be one of the largest markets in the country.  

still feel like it's barely lip service.  still planning on cooking for my cats this weekend.