Natura ~ California Natura, EVO, Innova, etc... ** bad news **

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Friends it has been quite a while since I have been active here and have missed all of you.  Today I am sick to my stomach about just hearing of Natura Pet foods being purchased by Proctor & Gamble but absolutely must share that with you.  Natura initiated a special permit with the U.S. Coast guard to stabilize fish meal in their products that cost more but was safer for our pets and they have always been in my top 10 recommendations.  Today that changes.  As you are aware I am very cautious about using foods that have been purchased by conglomerates, most especially this one.  I have always said you should be prepared to have options, I emphasize that now just in case you need to make changes in the future.  I just cannot think of any more words to say, I am incredibly disappointed and well speechless. 

[Kim]

oh no! I just recently switched Allie to California Natural because of diarrhea issues. I hope they don't change the ingredients or how it is made. We have FINALLY stabilized her and she is FINALLY regular. This upsets me too!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Here is more information, sorry I should have included it ~ http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArt...

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

I'm not happy about this either. Whopper has been doing really well on California Natural but I think we'll be switching to Fromm. The place we buy from doesn't carry it but said they would order it for us if that's the direction we want to go. I think now we're going to ask them to start getting it for us.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is very disappointing. It seems everytime you think there is a good company, something like this happens.

[Mommy2Max]

I am so shocked over this. I had just read about it and came to post my findings. Thankfully, it was already up. I almost chose California Natural as Max's adult dog food. I'm so thrilled I chose Fromm instead.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh no! I am having a horrible day, and this is just the dog poop on my shoe to top it all off.
I'd advise those who are currently using the Natura formulas to stockpile while you can still get the current products. Hopefully, you have freezer space. :(

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh NO! : ( This just pukes.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am SICK about this. We switched from EVO to Solid Gold because EVO is so high in calories that my older dogs gained huge amounts of weight. But we switched back to EVO because you just can't top the poop scooping on EVO for all of them and they all love EVO.
Now, for grainless and great poop, what will we do? Whine, whine. I haven't tried Fromm or Orijen because they are not available locally. We are cleaning out the closet to store bags but we will never be able to stockpile much with what four dogs consume, even on reduced rations.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Have you asked your local store if they can order Fromm or Orijen for you? I know that a lot of specialty stores are willing to do this. :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What might help though, maybe, would be to write P & G and let them know that if they think they're getting Natura's customer base along with the company, they'd best keep everything exactly the way it is, including the source of the ingredients. Worth a try.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Words cannot express how upset I am of this move. I had a tremendous amount of respect in the past that Natura had risen above the easy way and gone to extra lengths to seek alternative means to stabilize the fish meal than the cheaper and more dangerous methods of the other companies. I have not always been a fan of the phosphorus and calcium levels but in many talks the overall integrity in place led me to alternate this food into our own regime on occasion. I have always appreciated the simplicity of the Cal. Nat. line even though our own doods could not eat because even the scant and benign grain that was in it caused us issues. I have seen lovely Cal. Nat. coats and the formula sat well with many pets with digestive issues and other sensitivites. I feel sold out and very much of the opinion I hesitate to recommend anyone anymore, while I realize all are prone to the almighty dollar I guess I hoped for more and this is number two that I once sang praises of that has let us down. I do not believe for one minute the statement "This move enables P&G to expand into the attractive "holistic and naturals" segment of the pet food category, complementing P&G's current Iams and Eukanuba brands and helping the Company advance its overall growth strategy of "reaching more consumers in more parts of the world more completely." It may interest them to expand their pockets with the revenue generated by holistic and naturals, but it is my opinion that is the only interest in this line. Compliment Iams and Eukanuba, seriously? Wow these guys really do still believe we are the uneducated consumer don't they?

So this is what you should know if you are not already aware. By law a pet food company can change a formula without being required to change the labeling for six months. It is important that you know this because if your pet has a reaction and everything appears the same you may not question the food and continue with it. I would stock up immediately if you are able and then promptly start experimenting with options and spread your stock pile out.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of offering different foods so that you build in options for yourself and your beloved furkiddo. We have 17 week old puppies who eat a different formula nearly every day (we go through way too much food =)), we do NOT have digestive or bowel issues because this is what they have always known and generally speaking when you have premium food consumption you do not have such swings unless you are jumping from grained food to grain free or raw (extremes). And home cooking is looking more and more appealing every day!

P.S. I have jumped to homecooked treats ~ we were going through 11 pounds of Ziwi Peak a week for treats so I bought a dehydrator and have come up with some awesome treats that seem to be quite the hit around here, ingredients like organic ground turkey/chicken, pumpkin, applesauce, greens,oatmeal, spinach, green beans, etc...

[Tammy & Gracie]

Share some treat recipes! I will consider a dehydrator for this purpose.