This is the real value of places like Itchmo in this whole situation. As terrible as the death toll is this time around, can you imagine how bad it would have been with the technology of 20 years ago? Here, we can see who's having problems with what, share information quickly, help each other to protect our pets and work together to hold the industry accountable.

Of course, it's important that we know how to read forums critically. Since the recalls started, I've seen a lot of reports that read like "my pet was eating such-and-such and threw up twice, it must be poisonous, don't feed it!" That alone won't get me to drop a food - there are lots of reasons a food might disagree with a particular pet, and it's not a good idea to blame everything on the food as this might hide a more serious problem. But thanks to the sheer quantity of shared experiences available to us, I might see several reports of problems with the same food, or as in this case a report of a lab test showing contamination. That will definitely get my attention.

And to second what Donna said - watch your pets. Trust your instincts and theirs. And if you can establish a real link between the food and your pet's symptoms, follow up with the company and make it all official, and let the blogosphere know. We're in this thing together.

Tried it - well, something similar to that. They think I'm just being a "food snob," that whatever comes off the factory floor is "good enough" for a cat, and that what they're feeding must be fine because she's still alive. I still remember the multicoloured bags of kibble from the bulk barn. 

I'm thinking that next time I visit them, I'll bring a variety of cans of quality food, plus a printed map of where to buy them in their city (yes, I've already looked this up - there's a Global Pet Foods just down the road from them!).

kaffe: I guess we don't know yet, huh? Will we ever? 

Personally, I'm not going to buy any more Natura food until we know more about what happened to Donna's food and what tests and procedures are in place to ensure it is safe - if that ever happens. What attracted me to Natura in the first place was that they seemed to be dealing with this whole situation forthrightly and proactively. Evasiveness has caused me to drop many companies off the "safe" list even if their food wasn't recalled. Now I fear that Natura's initial appearance of responsibility was only possible because their food hadn't been contaminated (yet), and that they'll go down the same cover-up road as Natural Balance and others as soon as a problem is found. And that really sucks. Right now, transparency is the only "public relations strategy" worth anything to me.

Hard to believe we're four months into this thing and problems keep on surfacing. Makes you wonder, how long has this kind of thing been going on outside of the public eye? 

Yeah, a lot of people think we're just nuts. 

db: LOL! 

Laurie: Good suggestion. I do think that if he did the research he'd feel the same as I do, but I've got to condense it down into something he has time to look at.

shibadiva: I have the same situation with my parents. They have an 18 year old cat who has eaten crap all her life. They were barely even aware of the recalls until I started sending them information. The one time I was over there since the recalls, I took a mental inventory of every cat food in their cabinet, so I could check the recall lists for those. It was a pretty icky experience - I wouldn't let my cat within 100 feet of any of that garbage, recalls or no. Animal byproducts, BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin - you name it, it's in that crap. I've been trying for years to convince them to feed her better, and if I can afford to then they certainly can, but they still think Fancy Feast qualifies as expensive premium food. How she has survived this long on that diet is beyond me.

Um ... am I ranting again? 

I don't have a multiple pet household, just the one cat. But I miss her like crazy when I'm away and worry about her constantly. We can leave her alone for a weekend and have the superintendent (also a pet person) check in on her, but any longer than that and she comes with us. She's got a dog-sized travel carrier and tends to settle down in the car after a half hour or so. I can't board her; she gets too stressed.

And that's why I have a cat as opposed to a dog. I love (other people's) dogs, but they're so high maintenance. 

Well, I was a little cranky last night. I think he's coming around slowly.

JustMe: KD eats canned food too fast and pukes it up. I've tried everything. Still working on it, as soon as I can get ahold of some acceptable brands to try.

Yes Mr Atkins, it is appreciated that you have responded on our forum. And I'm sure all of us who are feeding Natura products hope that you are able to get to the bottom of this quickly. We look forward to learning what you find out, and are hopeful that Natura products will be found to be safe.

I'm sure you understand though, just how cautious we have to be these days. It will take more than your word, or the word of anyone in the pet food industry. Our trust has been betrayed so many times, and we can't take chances with the lives of our pets. In that light, the more detail you can give us, the better. Thanks.

OK, I just need to vent a bit here.

KD has been eating mostly dry food as long as we've had her, and prior to the recalls stayed on one brand for years. Canned food has been a challenge that I've addressed in another thread, but I'm still committed to introducing at least some canned food to her diet.

Since the recalls, I've done a lot more research and have been erring on the side of caution. So she's changed foods a few times to try and find something safe and appropriate. Plus, I'm learning a lot more about the healthiest way to feed her, and I'm even more convinced that we need to get started with the canned food. And now there's the latest revelation that Natura dry products may not be safe, which has me concerned as she's getting California Natural right now. I'm not jumping to any conclusions yet and I'm quite sure the bag she has is safe as she's had no ill effects, but I'm worried about the future.

My husband loves KD dearly and wants her to be healthy, but he's not into this whole pet food research thing. I'm generally the one who takes care of her health, decides what to feed her, buys the cat food, etc. He seems to think I'm overreacting, that what she's eating now is fine, that we shouldn't bother with introducing canned food because she'll just have problems with it again, and so on. It's not like we're fighting about it or anything, but I just wish he'd understand that I take this seriously. I'm not on some kind of crusade; I just don't want to risk killing my cat by feeding her.

I've tried to appeal to a practical sense that he'd understand: that KD is getting older and eventually she will be unable to chew dry food, and that we should get her used to canned food before that happens. I haven't gotten into the education bit about what's appropriate for her weight issues and kidney concerns - he's not the label reading type and would be inclined to take the vet's word for any of this.

If he did the research himself, I'm sure he'd come to agree with me. But he doesn't really have the time to devote to this. Any suggestions on how I can condense this down so that he understands why this is so important to me? And has anyone else had a similar situation with a significant other or co-caregiver to your pets?

KimS: Glad she is OK and that her constipation resolved on its own!

Nabiya, you're doing a great thing. I just wish there was a whole group of us in her area - we could go out there en masse and haul Jimmy's wandering butt home.

Very good numbers for grainless foods; thanks! Never thought I'd be able to feed KD anything without grains.   I'm not thrilled about the garlic and cranberries, but hopefully the amounts are too small to do any harm.

JustMe: where did you get the phosphorus numbers? I'd love to check out the rest of their formulas and see which ones will work for her.

petslave: Yeah, no kidding about the Evo. All of the Natura canned formulas are high in phosphorus. And now it looks like their dry food might be a concern as well - scary for me since I use California Natural and always thought it was safe. 

Silly Milanka! 

One of my childhood cats was like that at first. My mother found that it helped to leave the brush out on the floor all the time so the cat could play with it and get her scent all over it. She never loved to be brushed but learned to tolerate it better. Problem was, she always tried to "catch" the brush because she thought it was a toy! 

Thanks Nabiya. It is worrying not to see her. But I can imagine that it must be hard for her to come here and post while Jimmy is missing.

This is very upsetting. I always thought Natura was a safer and more trustworthy company than some of these others. I feed California Natural and I'm frightened now. 

Does anyone know if it is true that the Wellness Turkey and Chicken canned formulas are low in phosphorus? The various lists and charts online are out of date, but I had heard these formulas are OK. I've been staying away because of the Menu connection, but I'd like an alternative to Felidae canned for variety.