TBOBINA,
My cats eat Wellness canned also, and I did forget to mention that their stools are always a dark brown in color.  I believe that to be normal but it can be difficult to tell the difference between dark brown and black.  It is possible for cats on a wet food diet to become constipated.  Mine did.  I see it a lot with older cats. As kaffe mentioned, I also use canned pumpkin for my kitty who is constipated.  You would want to make sure to get the 100% pumpkin, not the stuff with sugar that is like a pre-made pie filling.  When my cat is really having trouble I also add about 1/8 teaspoon pure, unflavored psyllium husk powder.  Some cats can be allergic to psyllium, but mine does just fine.  If you do try psyllium you also need to add some water to the food to make it disolve.

kaffe--does the cider vinegar work well for you?  I have been switching between vitamin c and cranberry for my cat who gets the struvite crystals.

I used to feed my cats wet food only for a few years and they still get mostly wet food and just a bit of dry for their teeth.  During the period where I fed wet food only my cats never had black stools.  Even my old kitty who gets constipated does not have black stools, however I do know that one symptom of constipation in cats is black stools.  If your cats strain while trying to pass a stool, remain in a squatting position for a long time before and after stool is passed, cry out while passing a stool or if they fail to pass one every day they may be constipated.  If they are constipated, you may also notice blood in the stool but it is usually red.  I'm not sure if black stools in cats can indicated blood from other areas of the body or not.  I know that with people a black stool can be a sign of blood.  Also, it may depend on how long the stool is in the box before you take a look at it.  If it has been there for a while it can dry out and appear black.  When in doubt, you could take a stool sample to the vet and have them check it out.

~kittylyda

Offy, I am so very sorry for your loss.  I know your sweet kitty appreciated all the excellent care and all the love you provided for her.  You are in my thoughts.

My cats also ate a couple cans of beef & salmon with no problems.  I didn't look at the lot numbers though.  Salmon & beef together would be really rich, I can understand why that wouldn't agree with some kitties.  I think one of mine vomited after a can of either chicken or turkey, I don't remember which, but she has some other issues right now so I doubt it's related to the food.

I don't know if the 4 vomitors came from the same lot, but it looks like according to the other thread jenny had a vomitor and catbird had no vomit from the same lot.

see below:


catbird
Newbie

Posts: 18


    Re: Help from those feeding Wellness canned to their cats-
« Reply #40 on: August 07, 2007, 08:32:20 AM » Quote 

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I am currently feeding 3 oz. cans of Wellness from cases with the following numbers with no problems:

Beef and chicken
best by 13 Apr 10
7WBCC1 0239

Turkey and salmon
best by 07 Mar 10
7WTSC1  2237

Beef and salmon
best by 07 Mar 10
7WBSC1  2307
 
 Report to moderator    Logged 
 
 
 
jenny
Full Member

Posts: 183


     Re: Help from those feeding Wellness canned to their cats-
« Reply #41 on: August 07, 2007, 05:07:06 PM » Quote 

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Ah - the very beef & salmon my kitty got sick on.  I figured it was just a transtition thing.  Thanks for posting. 
 
 
 
 

This is probably a really smart marketing idea.  Lots of cats were hooked on "cuts & gravy" style foods and now people are afraid to go back to the brands that had recalls like Nutro.  If a reputable, high quality food pet food company that was not involved in any recalls comes out with a "gluten free" cuts & gravy food I bet it will sell like crazy.  Just my opinion.

Mostly wet, grain free
a bit of dry, also grain free

I currently have a Drinkwell fountain.  One of my cats likes a lot, but it is a bit loud.  I used the Petmate in the past and it is nice and quiet, but the cats didn't like it as much because the water slides down the back of the fountain rather than shooting out of a spout.

The one in the link above is a much better price than either of the 2 I have used!

My 2 cats eat this product once in a while as a treat.  I started feeding it more frequently during the recalls since it is grain free.  The cats absolutely love it and we have not had any problems at all but I was a little concerned since I know it is canned in Thailand.

Chicago, IL

lanie,
I don't have the actual can anymore, I threw it away.  That was stupid, I wasn't thinking.  I do have another unopened can that I bought at the same time:

California's Natural Chicken & Brown Rice 5.5 oz
best by: 10/24/08

I'm pretty sure that the 2 cans had the same expiration dates.  Again, my cats didn't have any problems with this food.  I just found a hard piece of black something, I still don't know if it is plastic or stone or what.  It was about the size of a sunflower seed.

I hope this helps.

~kittylyda

Thanks, it's good to know that they have done some random testing in the past at least.

Hi Everyone,
I am trying to find out if anyone knows the following:
1) who manufactures Natures Variety Instinct canned foods?
2) are they currently doing any batch/ingredient testing for melamine and cyanuric acid and if so is this done pre or post production or both?

I really want my cats to try this food, but I can't locate any info on the website and I have sent them 3 emails and called a couple of times and there has been no response.  Not a good sign, I know.

Thanks in advance,
~kittylyda

I'm confused here.  Are these Nutro products that were shipped overseas prior to the recall and then those countries refused them due to the recall and the they were shipped back or what?  Or is this what everyone is trying to figure out?

Codybear, I absolutely agree with everything you stated here.  My explanation above was just a quick reply to someone who asked why nothing had been done to give the FDA it's funding and authority back.

Well, IMO (sorry if we are getting a little off topic) no [edited] will want to return funds/power to a goverment agency like the FDA because they would rather protect big business and give them all the power.  As far as Clinton goes or anyone else for that matter, it's not that easy to reinstate that funding.  They would have to raise taxes significantly to do that and then we end up paying for it.  The general public thought that Reagan was a hero for lowing their taxes as much as he did.  There would be a public outcry if they tried to turn that around at this point.  I think it would take years, and years.