Natural Balance Food Recall

[Plexi]

I just read this one another dog site.

NOTICE:From Natural Balance web site:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.

We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.

NO OTHER NATURAL BALANCE PRODUCTS ARE AFFECTED.

[Arrooh]

OMG

That is one place that I would have felt very safe getting their food. This is just awful.

[Chicken]

I don't feed those venison varieties, but I do feed Natural Balance. This is insane - there is nothing safe to feed anymore (as far as commercial kibbles).

They are produced by Diamond. I wonder if anything else Diamond makes has been affected.

[Shei77]

I did not see this new thread before I posted a new thread.

But I feed the Ultra Premium version to my dogs and cats. Well I used to I am switching the Dog to a raw diet. Taking the Puppy to the Vet today to get blood work and taking the Boys in on Friday when I get paid. ($100 a dog is more than I can do at once) and hubby can take the cats in. Just as precaution.

I am getting tired of all these recalls.

KKND
Sheilah

[diamienono]

This is almost a terriorist act. Like someone did all this on purpose. I feed Eagle Pack to my older lab and Nutro Puppy to the pup. I have renamed him. Whizzer. Cause he is always taking a whiz.

[goldiphlox]

I did not see this new thread before I posted a new thread.

But I feed the Ultra Premium version to my dogs and cats. Well I used to I am switching the Dog to a raw diet. Taking the Puppy to the Vet today to get blood work and taking the Boys in on Friday when I get paid. ($100 a dog is more than I can do at once) and hubby can take the cats in. Just as precaution.

I am getting tired of all these recalls.

KKND
Sheilah

I spoke to a very well known veteranarian about this, since I too now feed my cat Natural Balance Premium. He said that although he doesn't know what the problem is with the venison variety he doesn't think I have to worry about the Natural Balance Premium. He said alot of pet's are developing problems just because of the immediate switch of their pet food. Also Natural Balance Premium contains no wheat or wheat Gluten. So the Naural Balance food would not be affected by the current wheat gluten problem (although I donot feed my cat the venison variety so I have not read the label) I am specifically talking about the premium variety.

[Shei77]

I don't feed those venison varieties, but I do feed Natural Balance. This is insane - there is nothing safe to feed anymore (as far as commercial kibbles).

They are produced by Diamond. I wonder if anything else Diamond makes has been affected.

I thought Van Pattens was an independent company. Grrrrr Everything might as well be pedigree as the food ingredients seem to be so much the same. (I know there are quality differences but I just getting a bit weary of all the negativity and recalls I just don't feel any commercial food is safe any more regardless of cost quality so fort and so on)

[HoundLover]

i know its nuts! this is why my (fiances and my own) cats are fed innova evo...and my cat is getting CANNED merrick cat food...(i dont believe theres any wheat or wheat gluten in it..ill have to double check though) and my dog is fed raw. has been for 2 yrs...the BEST part of the raw diet is his teeth are wonderfully clean (he is 6 yrs old...NEVER had a dental in the 4 yrs ive had him) and OH MY GOD! THE POOP!!! ITS WONDERFUL!!! he can take a dump RIGHT in front of you...and you wil NOT smell anything! at all! thats the best part! and my dad cleans the yard once a week...before with 2 dogs he was getting about 2 to 3 or even 4 jewel grocery bags full of poop...now with 1 dog fed raw...its BARELY even 1! you can go out in the yard now and not have to worry about stepping in poo! after 1 week...i can go out in the yard and see...maybe 1 or 2 turds. thats it. before it was like a minefield LOL!!
going to check merrick canned food now....
Hound
ps. i WOULD love to do raw for the cats...but its just difficult sometimes to switch cats over to raw...and my fiance isnt the best at thawing the food...his one cat will eat it sometimes....but he dosnt think to feed it LOL!
and my cat...well...that aint gonna happen. i tried mixing with canned food...he ate around it LOL!

[Shei77]

Sorry long

"I spoke to a very well known veteranarian about this, since I too now feed my cat Natural Balance Premium. He said that although he doesn't know what the problem is with the venison variety he doesn't think I have to worry about the Natural Balance Premium. He said alot of pet's are developing problems just because of the immediate switch of their pet food. Also Natural Balance Premium contains no wheat or wheat Gluten. So the Naural Balance food would not be affected by the current wheat gluten problem (although I donot feed my cat the venison variety so I have not read the label) I am specifically talking about the premium variety."


I know but I am getting soooooooo Darn tired of bad commercial pet food recalls. I want to know what was/is wrong with the food and I have very little patience for all this. Van Pattens allergy formulas use a single protein single carbohydrate recipes So unless this has changed there would not be any wheat gluten in it. When I worked at pet something I would strongly advocate feeding this brand above all others that we sold. I believed in this product so much. I saw a great improvement in Dozer when I switch him from Eukanuba to Van Patton's. His teeth were cleaner his coat shines he dandruff is no were near as bad as it was. It was a good food for all ages and sizes because they used no fillers or lousy ingredients or dinked around with additives. I switch my cats to it as well and lo and behold no more hair ball random puking or cat box issues. There coats were shiny and beautiful. I had all kinds of problems with lams.

My worry is it might be a supplement that is used for all the verities or a processing contaminate. Since it is unknown at this time what was wrong with the foods I am choosing to err on the of caution.
I truly hope the other verities are not going to be affected. I really like the cat and dog foods they produce. I hope it was just bad Deer meat.

I know I will probably get some diarrhea from Dozer by switching to Raw at the beginning. (he is most sensitive to change but I will at least know what he and the others will be eating. I just want to do what is best for my Boys and Shade. I think switching them to Raw is for the best. I will be taking to my Vet today about and what will be needed to make certain they are getting the best nutrition possible.

It's gotten to the point for me that I just can't trust pet food companies. Any of them. Yes it can be argued that I am becoming paranoid. But I ok with that. Just because your Paranoid do not mean you are wrong.

[goldiphlox]

"I spoke to a very well known veteranarian about this, since I too now feed my cat Natural Balance Premium. He said that although he doesn't know what the problem is with the venison variety he doesn't think I have to worry about the Natural Balance Premium. He said alot of pet's are developing problems just because of the immediate switch of their pet food. Also Natural Balance Premium contains no wheat or wheat Gluten. So the Naural Balance food would not be affected by the current wheat gluten problem (although I donot feed my cat the venison variety so I have not read the label) I am specifically talking about the premium variety."


I know but I am getting soooooooo Darn tired of bad commercial pet food recalls. I want to know what was/is wrong with the food and I have very little patience for all this. Van Pattens allergy formulas use a single protein single carbohydrate recipes So unless this has changed there would not be any wheat gluten in it. When I worked at pet something I would strongly advocate feeding this brand above all others that we sold. I believed in this product so much. I saw a great improvement in Dozer when I switch him from Eukanuba to Van Patton's. His teeth were cleaner his coat shines he dandruff is no were near as bad as it was. It was a good food for all ages and sizes because they used no fillers or lousy ingredients or dinked around with additives. I switch my cats to it as well and lo and behold no more hair ball random puking or cat box issues. There coats were shiny and beautiful. I had all kinds of problems with lams.

My worry is it might be a supplement that is used for all the verities or a processing contaminate. Since it is unknown at this time what was wrong with the foods I am choosing to err on the of caution.
I truly hope the other verities are not going to be affected. I really like the cat and dog foods they produce. I hope it was just bad Deer meat.

I know I will probably get some diarrhea from Dozer by switching to Raw at the beginning. (he is most sensitive to change but I will at least know what he and the others will be eating. I just want to do what is best for my Boys and Shade. I think switching them to Raw is for the best. I will be taking to my Vet today about and what will be needed to make certain they are getting the best nutrition possible.

It's gotten to the point for me that I just can't trust pet food companies. Any of them. Yes it can be argued that I am becoming paranoid. But I ok with that. Just because your Paranoid do not mean you are wrong.

please let us know the results of your pets lab tests

[Chicken]

I thought Van Pattens was an independent company. Grrrrr Everything might as well be pedigree as the food ingredients seem to be so much the same. (I know there are quality differences but I just getting a bit weary of all the negativity and recalls I just don't feel any commercial food is safe any more regardless of cost quality so fort and so on)

They are definitely produced at Diamond. I have been told that they use all their own ingredients, & all their own employees - but just use Diamond's facilities. Solid Gold is the same way.

The only 2 companies I know of who have their very own facilities and use all their own materials are Merrick and Wysong. (There may be more, but these 2 I know.) I'm giving serious thought to changing to one of them.

My other 3 dogs are on raw - but 1 was on Natural Balance, the Ulta Premium blue bag. I wish I could switch her over too. This is getting ridiculous.

[Scoop]

I stopped feeding any kibble on the first recall. Even though none of my animals were eating any of the brands. I was looking into "raw" a few months back, I just can't seem to feed "raw" meat. I do however cook all my own meals for them. At least this way I know what they are eating. They don't get any "store" bought treats either. I make all my own. Just not going to chance anything with any of them.

Scoop

[HoundLover]

beware though that unless your vet is raw friendly or dosnt really mind raw diets...they WILL talk you away from feeding this food...also you will want to start with ONE protien source FIRST...then SLOWLY add a new variety of meat. ie...start with chicken as your main source...(chicken legs, wings, liver, etc)...THEN after a few weeks...move onto beef or lamb or turkey or whatever...now how i switched MY dog was like this...half kibble half raw. meaning...he gets fed twice a day. morning was kibble...he ate at around 7 in the morning. then around 530 he gets fed his second meal which was raw. this was done until we ran out of the dry food. then he went to all raw. now how i make my meals is like this...one RMB meal (RAW MEATY BONES IE,,,CHICKEN LEGS, QUARTERS, ANY MEATY BONE)...then a offal,muscle meat meal...(ie...boneless meat, liver,heart,etc...) i have compiled a list of which foods you can buy and feed...AND what catagory they fall under. if you would like a copy of this list please LMK. also i can provide a link to the raw diet calculator so you can figure out how much your dog is supposed to be eating...though this is just a BASE figure...some people add supplements to the raw diet, others dont...i personally do not...others do...its all up to you.
i do highly suggest finding a raw diet group to join..they can provide ALOT of support and information...also if your dog has diarrhea canned pumpkin (regular pumpkin not the kind for filling pies) can firm it right up. also if you find your dog is constipated or his stools are too loose...your either giving too much bone (constipated or painful poops) or your not giving ENOUGH bone...(ie. diarrhea). some dogs are able to tolerate a switch right away...(ie cold turkey switch) others need to be switched gradually. now my dog cannot tolerate a boney meal EVERY day...so he gets an RMB meal once every TWO days and a boneless meal 3 times in those two days. so basically its like this....
day 1 RMB meal,Gizzard meal (this is the offal,muscle meat meal which i do add gizzards too)
day 2 Gizzard meal,Gizzard meal
day 3 Rmb Meal,Gizzard meal
day 4 Gizzard meal,Gizzard meal
now its all based on your dogs individual needs...you may find one dog can handle a rmb and gizzard meal every day and the other can only handle an rmb meal every other day...now i COULD have added more meat to the rmb meals and continued feeding every day...but i figured id just give the rmb meal every other day thus making it less complicated for myself.
HTH
Hound

[Shei77]

I will find out about her blood work tomorrow. Otherwise she is healthy.

[goldiphlox]

I will find out about her blood work tomorrow. Otherwise she is healthy.

Good thank goodness. I just read the other post/ melamine in the rice....Y ou have got to be F$$%@$#%ing kidding me!!!!! read the update post from Plexi