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anna_2007
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« on: April 20, 2007, 04:32:53 PM » |
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Natural Balance says the people who canned their foods outsourced it out of the country - against their contract - and the FDA is investigating criminal fraud. That's not enough.
I wrote this email to them, and I am never ever going back to canned foods until there is a PetFood Cam which shows every stakeholder in the pet food chain eating it for breakfast everyday.
Dear Natural Balance,
My cat was poisoned by the Science Diet Savory tainted foods in February. We paid attention to his behavior - so his condition did not degrade too far. After almost two months, he was almost back to normal, so based on the vets advice, we took him off home cooking, and based on our own examination of cat food labels, put him on Natural Balance - the whole variety. At first he scarfed it all down but after a few days, he's back to exhibiting the same behavior. Thirsty, over-grooming, in pain, "something is wrong with me", not eating, tinkling a lot... and refusing to eat the canned food, actually running from it.
He is very intelligent creature (Tonkinese are up there on kitty IQ) and you ignore him at your own risk: he has always been right about issues to do with him.
So please take a really close look at your chicken, turkey, ocean food and tuna formulations - who knows what else these bastards have slipped in there. End to end stakeholder transparency does not exist on this planet, caveat emptor.
We're in this with you, and whoever you end up suing and hopefully terminating, please make sure you involve the consumers. For me a lawsuit and financial settlement is not worth it, I want the perps incarcerated and hopefully made to eat every can of tainted pet food like the hogs they are. No it's an insult to call them hogs, hogs have better ethics. This is a preview of the apocalypse with our own food supply and our pets are taking the first hits for us. The current ghoul-fest passing for an American Presidency has long been involved with China, poisoning people with opium is nothing to them - so we know you have your uphill battles.
Anna
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Ziggy
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« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2007, 12:02:41 PM » |
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Do I understand you to say that NB is now passing the blame on Diamond as per your conversation?
They can blame whom every they want. I'm still going to hold NB accountable for labeling fraud and am currently building my file on this. If you happen to see anything else on the Internet, please come back here to cop and post. The more I gather, the better.
I called NB Monday of last week, left voice detailed voice mail about my dog not being well from "Ultra". Do you think they would have called me back by now! Nope. They don't want to hear about 'Ultra" problems.
Thanks for your copy email to NB.
Annie
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carolo
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« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2007, 12:32:56 PM » |
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Do I understand you to say that NB is now passing the blame on Diamond as per your conversation?
They can blame whom every they want. I'm still going to hold NB accountable for labeling fraud and am currently building my file on this. If you happen to see anything else on the Internet, please come back here to cop and post. The more I gather, the better.
I called NB Monday of last week, left voice detailed voice mail about my dog not being well from "Ultra". Do you think they would have called me back by now! Nope. They don't want to hear about 'Ultra" problems.
Thanks for your copy email to NB.
Annie
What problems is your dog having from NB "Ultra?" I wrote to NB, finally heard back. They said "no problems w/ their Ultra." Have you emailed them in addition to your call? It would be most interesting to hear what they have to say now. Pls do report back as this goes along. TIA, Carol |
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gingerpark
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« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2007, 05:17:52 AM » |
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NB can say whatever they want but I don't believe them at all.
When the recall began in early March, I researched and researched and researched some more to switch my 10 year old kitty to a more "healthy, better quality product". I settled on NB Utra Premium Dry cat food. I gradually switched her over as directed and within 3 days of her eating the NB, she was hypersalivating, her fur was coarse and funky and she was sick. We rushed her to our local animal hospital (because her regular vet of 10 years was too busy to see her, guess who isn't her vet now).
She underwent 12 hours of testing and although her blood work came back ok, I am convinced she was made sick by the NB food. The vet took an xray of her esophogus and colon and asked if she was in the habit of eating cat litter. Nope, never has. They saw funny looking grainy things in her colon. I am convinced it has something to do w/ the food. She is an indoor cat living in an adult household. Nothing had changed except the food.
It has been a week and after feeding her rice and chicken and switching back to the IAMS dry that I still had leftover, she is much better. Her eyes are clear, fur is great and her personality is normal again.
I tried to call NB constantly over a period of 3 days. Finally emailed them 3 times and got a curt response to my question that the Ultra Premium is safe and not involved in the recall.
Well, I'm here to tell you it should be.
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jules_jewel
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« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2007, 07:20:41 AM » |
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Oh gingerpark!!!! I just had to respond to your post! First of all, I completely agree with you that there's problems with Natural Balance's foods . . . all of them! But the part about finding " funny grainy things in her colon" just floored me!!! Since I put my 6 month old kitten on NB Venison and Green Pea the beginning of March, she's been having a small coating of blood at the end piece of her stool. I took her to the Vet on 3 separate occasions to see what's wrong. Each time they found nothing ... until the last visit where the Vet decided to give my Kitty a more physical checkup in the anal area. She said that she felt small, hard little grains inside her anal area that may have been tearing up her colon everytime she passed her stool. She felt that there had to be something in the food that could not be digested completely. WHAT?  And it can't be that she's eating the litter ... no way. Plus I use Swheat Scoop which is 100% wheat. That would be digested. Anyways, just thought I'd share my story too. Thanks for sharing ... now I'm much more sure the food is bad! By the way, my Bichon mix died suddenly too of kidney failure in the middle of March. I had fed her NB Duck & Potato, dry & wet for only 2 weeks. |
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zanzie
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« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2007, 09:29:13 AM » |
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This is so disheartening. We try to do right by our pets, and when accurate information is withheld, we end up hurting them instead. I can't imagine when I'll ever trust these pet food companies again - probably never.
I also switched my two kitties to NB a few weeks ago, thinking it would be healthier for them. I didn't give them a lot of the kibble, however. I was planning to move them off kibble entirely, and they were only getting a small amount of the NB Ultra kibble each evening. The canned food was also being alternated with 9-Lives and Petguard, as I was trying to ease them into a new routine.
Fortunately, they both seem healthy. If there's been a problem with these NB products, the short time they ate them, and the relatively small quantities, may have made a difference. The only thing we've seen is that one of our girls had licked most of the fur off of her belly while we were on vacation over spring break. I have attributed it to boredom or loneliness in our absence. Since she's otherwise looking and acting fine, I've taken a wait and see attitude to it.
As soon as I heard about problems in rice and with any NB products, I quarantined all the commercial pet food in the house. For the past 6 days or so I've been cooking for them and working them toward a raw homemade diet (using the recipe on catnutrition.org). I will admit to having two very hungry cats. They are not happy about the change, but my tortie is starting to come around. She is licking the food, and eating a tiny bit. Her calico sister has consumed less, but she has also licked it a little bit. They'll get with the program - they simply have no choice.
I just wish I could explain it to them. They are being very sweet about it, all things considered. When they ate some home cooked turkey with chicken gravy and fish oil, they were very content and slept like the dead. Clearly a meatier diet agrees with them. It will be a worthwhile change - just a little difficult to implement.
Fortunately, my girls appear to have dodged the bullet, so we'll never show up on any statistical list of those harmed by the adulterated pet food. However, we have certainly been affected by it. I already avoided Chinese goods whenever possible. I'll redouble those efforts now. I'm also bugging the produce and fish department managers in my local stores about country of origin information on their foods. I want to know where my food is coming from, and will not knowingly buy anything from China.
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gingerpark
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« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2007, 10:35:24 AM » |
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Oh gingerpark!!!! I just had to respond to your post! First of all, I completely agree with you that there's problems with Natural Balance's foods . . . all of them! But the part about finding " funny grainy things in her colon" just floored me!!! Since I put my 6 month old kitten on NB Venison and Green Pea the beginning of March, she's been having a small coating of blood at the end piece of her stool. I took her to the Vet on 3 separate occasions to see what's wrong. Each time they found nothing ... until the last visit where the Vet decided to give my Kitty a more physical checkup in the anal area. She said that she felt small, hard little grains inside her anal area that may have been tearing up her colon everytime she passed her stool. She felt that there had to be something in the food that could not be digested completely. WHAT? And it can't be that she's eating the litter ... no way. Plus I use Swheat Scoop which is 100% wheat. That would be digested. Anyways, just thought I'd share my story too. Thanks for sharing ... now I'm much more sure the food is bad! By the way, my Bichon mix died suddenly too of kidney failure in the middle of March. I had fed her NB Duck & Potato, dry & wet for only 2 weeks. Jules, Can you imagine the damage that is being done to the animals that are still being fed the NB Ultra? It breaks my heart thinking that I could have killed my kitty by being so "informed" about nutrition. I hope that our babies haven't had any long term damage done to them. My baby seems much better and I am hopeful that whatever was causing the problem didn't do permanent damage. Thanks for responding. Now I know that it really was the food. NB is definitely hiding something along with all the other companies. |
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gingerpark
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« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2007, 10:43:26 AM » |
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Jules,
How is your kitten now? Is there any improvement since you switched foods? I hope she is ok.
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Sahara
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« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2007, 11:50:18 AM » |
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My cats are on NB Ultra Dry, I switched from Iams (who I will never, ever do business with again)
My cats are doing very well thusfar, better than they ever did on Iams.
If NB is filing criminal charges, GOOD.
My feeling is that the importers/wholesalers (Wilber-Ellis, etc) of these "ingredients" have NOT been honest about the origin of the products they've been selling to manufacturers such as Diamond/NB. I do think Menu Foods knew the origin of their ingredients, (and look at how badly they have handled all of this.)
At least NB started pulling food off of the shelves as soon as they started receiving calls about sick pets...not yet knowing what contaminant might be involved. I think they did a much better job than Menu Foods did. In a perfect world none of this would have happened...but it has, and I think it is FAR from over.
We can blame Diamond, NB, Royal Canin, etc...but that is not the origin of this problem.
I blame COMMUNIST RED China for sending us crapy ingredients that are POISONOUS to our pets, most probably spiked with melamine (or whatever else!) to make a quick buck, the FDA for not doing its job in the first place (contaminated animal feed IS a risk to human health...DOH!) and importers who have not only not been honest, but who IMHO have been downright deceptive in their marketing practices in selling Chinese products without stating the origin of those products.
Menu Foods tried to ignore this...hoping it would go away so that they could keep customers. NB didn't from what I can see, at least it appears that they stepped up to the plate in a much more professional manner. I DO know (I am an animal health professional) that NB immediately had reps/wholesalers running ragged to get anything and everything off of the shelves IMMEDIATELY that could have a possible contamination issue. No dead taste test animals, etc. We do need to look at the differences in how companies have responded to this emergency...because it says a lot about their values.
Too bad the same cannot be said for the other companies (!!!!STILL NOT NAMED!!!!) who IMHO may be trying to squeeze out every penny they can from people before they are FORCED to do a "voluntary" recall...just as Menu Foods did.
The only way anything will change is if we flat out refuse to do business with any company using ANY Chinese ingredients in ANY product. China still won't let the FDA in to do inspections...my guess is because they're probably cleaning up any and all traces of evidence. They cannot (and should not) be trusted, and imports of any food ingredient from communist China needs to stop RIGHT NOW!! (What if it had been arsenic or something worse in "human" food ingredients...baby food, etc?!) This should be a lesson to ALL! It is an issue of national security.
I'm basing decisons I make regarding my own animals, on how individual companies involved are treating this issue NOW, and I am watching to see how they will change practices to ensure future ingredient safety. (Stating no more Chinese ingredients is a good start...)
Menu Foods, and anyone who continues to use their services will NEVER find their products on the shelves in my home again. Ever.
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« Last Edit: April 23, 2007, 11:55:38 AM by Sahara »
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jules_jewel
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« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2007, 12:35:02 PM » |
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Gingerpark, Oh, yes my kitten is fine now. The blood from the stool is gone since I stopped NB. We also did the kidney blood work just to be sure and that's good too. I'm not sure why my kitty came out of this fine, but I have a few ideas. I did something similar to what you did . . . a variety of foods. First of all, along with the NB kibbles, I fed her 1 tablespoon of raw organic venison every morning. Then, a couple of times a week I feed her 1 tablespoon of raw organic chicken liver. In between that, I feed her 1 tablespoon canned kitten food every so often ... from a variety of companies, all not on the recall list (thank God!). I wanted to feed her a variety of things so that if one was tainted, it wouldn't affect her as much (I hoped). Now she's on homemade food, forever! I'm following the raw diet from www.FelineFuture.com I supply the meat; add their (human grade) vitamin supplement, and I'm done! Awesome, healthy food, and I know what's in it. I hope your kitty is OK too. Keep me posted. |
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« Last Edit: April 23, 2007, 12:37:09 PM by jules_jewel »
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auntie
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« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2007, 08:23:32 PM » |
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Thank you ALL for posting your experience with NB Ultra Cat food. I switched to this "healthy" food the day I heard about the recall (from IAMS dry and Science Diet Savory Cuts). I never buy those (among others) again. My cat loved the Ultra, and did great on it, thank GOD. He actually has more energy and his coat is very soft and silky...But, I stopped feeding this as soon as I heard about the NB recall, and he's now on KumpiKat dry...I am also trying to get over to the raw diet either from feline's pride or the one mentioned where I supply the meat and use their supplements. I'm worried, however, about yet another food change for my very patient kitty.
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Sahara
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« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2007, 09:24:12 PM » |
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I don't think anyone is feeding anything from IAMS anymore...at least no one I know... My cats are doing wonderfully on NB Ultra Dry. They've been on it since the recall first started. There is no wheat, corn or rice gluten in this product...thank goodness. I do think if there was even a HINT of a problem, these products too would have been recalled as quickly as was the Venison diets that did contain the rice gluten (protein) I do still have some faith in this company, and time will tell....but if you read the FAQ and upsdates to the web site, they are one of the FEW companies that is handling this quickly and responsibly when compared to some of the "others" ... STILL UNNAMED!! I can't belive that this information is STILL being withheld, it just makes me sick. Here is their timeline of what happened... http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/faq.html This is what I mean about stepping up to the plate, regardless of financial concerns. It does not appear to me that they "hid" anything. They tried a new ingredient (with disastrous results) in the venison products thanks to the Chinese and thier dirty, cheating practices... And from the main page: Update - 4/20/07: We are currently waiting on test results for our Canned Venison & Brown Rice Formula Canned Dog Food and our Venison & Brown Rice Formula Dog Treats. We have voluntarily recalled these products as a precautionary measure, as they contain Rice Protein Concentrate. When we receive the test results on these products, we will update you further. We continue to work closely with the FDA. We will update the website again as soon as more information is available. NOTICE: There are NO Corn Gluten or Corn ingredients in ANY Natural Balance products. It sure would have been nice to see Menu Foods react the way NB did....No BS about best by dates, lot numbers, etc. I hope Menu Foods ends up folding. They MORE than deserve it!!! Waiting nearly a MONTH to initiate a recall has cost many animals their lives and left people heartbroken (including me, I might add, I lost a kitty) Still, it remains to be seen how far this whole thing goes, but I am closely watching to see how companies actually react to potential problems. |
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gingerpark
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« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2007, 05:23:21 AM » |
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Here is my question. I have read so much about so many foods that my head is spinning and I can't keep things straight. I was feeding my kitty IAMS dry active maturity formula before this fiasco began. She was doing fine. Switched to NB Ultra Premium dry and she became ill. I had some of the open bag of IAMS left over which I have been feeding her for the past week. So far, so good. I had to open a new bag of IAMS that I had at home. All the product codes seem to match the empty bag that I had no problem with.
My question is......has there been any reports of problems with IAMS dry food?
TIA
Ginger
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Steve
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« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2007, 04:28:36 PM » |
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Ironic isn't it.  |
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Just The Facts Please
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Amy Jo
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« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2007, 08:23:23 PM » |
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Natural Balance returned my phone call less than 10 hours after i left them a message inquiring on the product code dates of their, at that time, recalled food. I think this company is one that I would buy from in the future. Yes I am aware of the un-forgivable website ingredients change. But who made the change I wonder and were they instructed to do so? If not are they still with the company? All I know is that the woman who called me back was genuine and prompt and asked that I keep them informed on any issues my pets may come across and that we would go through it together. I'm not completely writing them off. And their sueing Diamond makes it even more apparent that they may have been misinformed as well. MAYBE!!??
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