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Old September 10th, 2010, 10:26 AM
sammy's dad sammy's dad is offline
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Can't find Iams Cat food

I'm new to this forum so hoping someone can help. I've noticed a couple of my local stores have run out of a lot of Iams cat food bags this week. Store people didn't know why. Is anyone else seeing this?
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Old September 10th, 2010, 10:41 AM
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http://www.catinfo.org/#The_Safety_of_Dry_Food
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Old September 10th, 2010, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by sammy's dad View Post
I've noticed a couple of my local stores have run out of a lot of Iams cat food bags this week.
sorry but that's good news

as L4H said , first of all , dry food is not the best for cats. And I wouldn't buy any Iams products ... they were accused of animal cruelty when doing research. They also used to put dead animals in their food (was listed as ashes)
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Old September 10th, 2010, 01:43 PM
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It's probably because Proctor & Gamble has had another recall of the Iams brand .....

http://vetnutrition.blogspot.com/201...-slightly.html

Check out the Food Forum here for much better brands to choose from.
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Old September 10th, 2010, 01:55 PM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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A blessing in disguise. If you need help picking a better food there are lots of really food smart cat people here and I am sure they could help you find a much better substitute. Just ask you will get great suggestions I personally cannot help I am a dog person. But my rule of thumb is if your vet or a grocery store sells it forget about it, it will not be high quality and what you pay for Iams you can get something better for the same money. BTW welcome to pets.ca
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:11 AM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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I've noticed a lot of supply issues with Iams as well, and once they were completely out of what I needed, but I had enough at home so I never really asked about it.
According to their webpage, the recall includes Iams Veterinary dry food and the Eukanuba dry foods.

Did you ask at the customer service counter? It sounds like a distribution issue more than a problem with the food itself.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:18 AM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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Originally Posted by Frenchy View Post
sorry but that's good news

as L4H said , first of all , dry food is not the best for cats. And I wouldn't buy any Iams products ... they were accused of animal cruelty when doing research. They also used to put dead animals in their food (was listed as ashes)
That's incorrect. Yes, they had animal cruelty going on and when called on it they cleaned up their act. Vicki Burns who was director of the Winnipeg Humane Society toured their facilities and said she was very pleased with how their facilities are run and saw no evidence of remaining cruelty. WHS uses IAMS food in the shelter now, and I spent many hours doing internet searches when someone questioned me about that. To my knowledge, the only so-called organization saying that about Iams nowadays is PETA, and I did a very extensive search on this about a year ago. PETA said some things but the only proof they provided was quite a few years old, and I could not find any evidence of it in the last five years. PETA is not an organization whose credibility I trust, I'd need to see more than just their word on it.

I think if you are going to tell people on here that they are feeding their pets from food that involves cruelty, provide proof. Recent proof.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:25 AM
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LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
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That's incorrect. Yes, they had animal cruelty going on and when called on it they cleaned up their act. Vicki Burns who was director of the Winnipeg Humane Society toured their facilities and said she was very pleased with how their facilities are run and saw no evidence of remaining cruelty. WHS uses IAMS food in the shelter now, and I spent many hours doing internet searches when someone questioned me about that. To my knowledge, the only so-called organization saying that about Iams nowadays is PETA, and I did a very extensive search on this about a year ago. PETA said some things but the only proof they provided was quite a few years old, and I could not find any evidence of it in the last five years. PETA is not an organization whose credibility I trust, I'd need to see more than just their word on it.

I think if you are going to tell people on here that they are feeding their pets from food that involves cruelty, provide proof. Recent proof.
I looked at their website and the ingredients of their "top of the line" premium foods - both canned and dry. Neither would make it in my front door.

The dry is full of corn in various forms and some lovely chicken by products (you know, the parts of the chicken that they can't use for anything else so they dump it in petfoods.).

The canned is worse! Meat by products (which can include euthanized animals and/or roadkill) and chicken by products are both listed in the top 4 ingredients.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:32 AM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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Originally Posted by LavenderRott View Post
I looked at their website and the ingredients of their "top of the line" premium foods - both canned and dry. Neither would make it in my front door.

The dry is full of corn in various forms and some lovely chicken by products (you know, the parts of the chicken that they can't use for anything else so they dump it in petfoods.).

The canned is worse! Meat by products (which can include euthanized animals and/or roadkill) and chicken by products are both listed in the top 4 ingredients.

"Can include"??? Give me a break.
Proof please that IAMS food contains "roadkill" or currently uses inhumane methods in testing and preparation.

There is a lot of judgment in this site about "what I would feed my animal", etc and people have a right to their opinions on that. The reality is that many pet owners use these products and if you are going to level accusations of cruelty and improper food practices, you should provide proof. \


What you like or don't like and what is nutritionally optimal, etc - does not equal cruelty or using "roadkill" in food.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:32 AM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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Driver8....of course the WHS use Iams, Iams sponsers them as they do the OSPCA. They are Humane Socities and have limited funds. It doesn't mean that it is good food though.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 11:36 AM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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Driver8....of course the WHS use Iams, Iams sponsers them as they do the OSPCA. They are Humane Socities and have limited funds. It doesn't mean that it is good food though.

Good food is one thing.
Not everyone can afford the brands pushed by the members of this site, and most pet owners just buy their pet food at the same place they buy their people food. It's not something to be snobby about, but it is just reality.
Many people do use this food. Like it or not.

If people are going to say things like "animal cruelty" and suggest that roadkill is used in the food, that is not about "good food versus crap food".

I eat KD sometimes, which is crap food for people. No one suggests that I am contributing to cruelty by buying it.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 03:07 PM
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http://www.iamscruelty.com/videos.asp
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm and in this one they say it is not the first time they have been caught
http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/dogs/iams...inally-proved/ 2008
These are just a few of the videos and articles there are worse but the last one is 2008 and if the ones you found are over 5 year old sort of says this is not stopping.
Yes Iams donates tons of food does not mean they are a good company it is a huge write off and the reason vets sell it is because of a little word called kickback and they also give vets to be scholarships.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 03:47 PM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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Originally Posted by mastifflover View Post
http://www.iamscruelty.com/videos.asp
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm and in this one they say it is not the first time they have been caught
http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/dogs/iams...inally-proved/ 2008
These are just a few of the videos and articles there are worse but the last one is 2008 and if the ones you found are over 5 year old sort of says this is not stopping.
Yes Iams donates tons of food does not mean they are a good company it is a huge write off and the reason vets sell it is because of a little word called kickback and they also give vets to be scholarships.
Those are awful sites.
However, they contain only the old rehashed info about the exposures from 2002. I agree that what went on was appalling. But I'm convinced that there is not the same things going on now. If there was evidence of right now, I'd be on the phone now to the shelter in a heartbeat.

I don't think it's fair to tell people they are feeding their beloved pets something that contributes to cruelty unless you know for sure.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 03:55 PM
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Those are awful sites.
However, they contain only the old rehashed info about the exposures from 2002. I agree that what went on was appalling. But I'm convinced that there is not the same things going on now. If there was evidence of right now, I'd be on the phone now to the shelter in a heartbeat.

I don't think it's fair to tell people they are feeding their beloved pets something that contributes to cruelty unless you know for sure.
What makes you think it has changed!?! Do you think that suddenly lawmakers are concerned about anything that has to do with our pets? Or maybe you think that corporate America has suddenly grown a conscience?

Drive through Amish country. Take a look at the "kennels" there and then tell me that the government or big business gives a rat's *ass about what our pets are fed. They sure don't care about how animals are housed and bred - why should the quality of food be any different!
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Old September 13th, 2010, 04:35 PM
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I don't know but if a company does this for at least 5 years is someone who you choose to support I guess that is up to you but I would prefer to feed my dog food from a responsible company that is not charging me the same price for a bag of corn that I pay for food that has real chicken and no corn in it.Corn is just filler no nutritional value.

I don't think it's fair to tell people they are feeding their beloved pets something that contributes to cruelty unless you know for sure.
Okay, so then is it okay to tell them they are feeding there pets an overpriced bag of filler leave out the part that everyone else seems to realize but you. You can feed your pets a lot better for a lot cheaper.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 04:51 PM
driver8 driver8 is offline
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Okay, so then is it okay to tell them they are feeding there pets an overpriced bag of filler leave out the part that everyone else seems to realize but you. You can feed your pets a lot better for a lot cheaper.
I doubt most shelters have that much option though, which is part of my point.

a) That I don't think it's fair to slam on people for what they feed their cat if there is no cruelty involved - it just turns them OFF to everything this site might have to say, honestly. The first few replies to a post wondering why IAMS was not on the shelves were basically "good, that stuff is crap anyway". Do you think most people read further after that? The OP might have just wanted a reply to his question and if he'd gotten it might have read more onto the site.

I really don't think the allegations of abuse were put fairly. If someone had wanted to say "In the past they were found to have done this and so I don't support them any more and choose to buy other products" that would be different. But that's not what was said.

b) The shelter I volunteer at has investigated IAMS and feeds IAMS, and they have decided to acknowledge the past transgressions and accept evidence of change as acceptable. If there was evidence of something new going on, I know they would love to hear it. But I doubt they have the resources to spend on other foods right now based on old info that isn't currently going on.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 06:34 PM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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I doubt most shelters have that much option though, which is part of my point.

a) That I don't think it's fair to slam on people for what they feed their cat if there is no cruelty involved - it just turns them OFF to everything this site might have to say, honestly. The first few replies to a post wondering why IAMS was not on the shelves were basically "good, that stuff is crap anyway". Do you think most people read further after that? The OP might have just wanted a reply to his question and if he'd gotten it might have read more onto the site.

Then they should ask the store why they don't have it in stock ,not us. I only think it's a good thing because in my opinion, it is a poor quality food for cats.


b) The shelter I volunteer at has investigated IAMS and feeds IAMS, and they have decided to acknowledge the past transgressions and accept evidence of change as acceptable. If there was evidence of something new going on, I know they would love to hear it. But I doubt they have the resources to spend on other foods right now based on old info that isn't currently going on.
Ummmmmm, sounds like a conflict of interest. They are getting low cost or free food and reporting on how the company operates.

I just can't think of any company as being ethical when the are producing food that is not in the best interests of the animals it is intended for. It really makes me angry that the companies are making this poor quality food for people who have put their trust in them. That is cruel!!!!!!!!! to both humans and the pets.
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Old September 14th, 2010, 12:05 AM
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cassiek cassiek is offline
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I doubt most shelters have that much option though, which is part of my point.

a) That I don't think it's fair to slam on people for what they feed their cat if there is no cruelty involved - it just turns them OFF to everything this site might have to say, honestly. The first few replies to a post wondering why IAMS was not on the shelves were basically "good, that stuff is crap anyway". Do you think most people read further after that? The OP might have just wanted a reply to his question and if he'd gotten it might have read more onto the site.

I really don't think the allegations of abuse were put fairly. If someone had wanted to say "In the past they were found to have done this and so I don't support them any more and choose to buy other products" that would be different. But that's not what was said.

b) The shelter I volunteer at has investigated IAMS and feeds IAMS, and they have decided to acknowledge the past transgressions and accept evidence of change as acceptable. If there was evidence of something new going on, I know they would love to hear it. But I doubt they have the resources to spend on other foods right now based on old info that isn't currently going on.
Eep... this thread has the makings of becoming closed.

driver8, I am not trying to be rude, but since you seem very concerned with recent, legitimate, valid proof, what actual proof do you have that IAMS is not currently using any of their old practices? I would be interested to see any links, documents, etc. you have that proves that they have improved and changed their ways. What evidence of change have they provided, that is actual valid recent proof?

My .. I would not be comfortable feeding a product to my pets from a company that has ever used anything than less than ethical practices, regardless of what their current practices are now. Can I guarantee that the company I purchase the products I feed my pets now has never used unethical practices? No. But I make the decision to the best of my knowledge, and would not hesitate to look for an alternative at the drop of a hat should anything come to light that suggested otherwise.

That being said, shelters are usually supported through generous donations and do not have much say in what products are donated to them. They need to use whatever is donated to them, and sometimes this can mean using products that may not be the best quality, but they have to work with what they get. They make do with the best they have to provide the best they can for the animals in their care.

I hear it all the time "I can't afford to feed my cat/dog any better than ___". You can make a lot of arguments about this statement and debate it, but at the end of the day we should try to feed our fur friends the best we can afford. That being said, I think it's so important to do your research on canine/feline nutrition, as quite often it is not that much more expensive (it may even be cheaper) to feed our pets a high-quality diet. I have worked out the difference down to the penny of feeding my dogs a high-quality raw food diet, a high-quality kibble diet, a mixture of the two, and a cheaper end kibble diet. What I found out was this: besides the $$ I will save on vet trips, extra poop bags etc. the difference was a mere dollars a month. So for an extra few bucks a month, I opt to feed my dogs the very best diet I can and I believe it pays me back ten-fold.

Many of us are very passionate on here, driver8. Perhaps that comes across as rude sometimes. But I like to think that most members on Pets do a wonderful job of educating individuals who come here seeking information. I think our emotions and the words we use over the internet are sometimes miscommunicated. I don't find Pets to be high pressure... but I do think that sometimes individuals come on here looking for an easy fix or a certain answer, and when we don't give them the answer they want to hear, they become angry and leave. I also find that individuals join the forum with the sole intent of lighting a fire, and it brings out the worst in all of us. Just to clarify, I am not directing this at you, these are just my general observations.

I agree that the best tactic is to provide information to people and let them do their own research and make up their own minds. But certainly there is nothing wrong with healthy and polite debate. In the process hopefully we can educate each other and do the best for our furry friends. IMO (and maybe this would be considered leacturing and preachy), we all need to be a little less reactive and think twice about the words we write. I find that a lot of feelings become unnecessarily hurt.

Cheers.

Cassie
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Last edited by cassiek; September 14th, 2010 at 12:22 AM.
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Old September 14th, 2010, 01:41 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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driver8,,,i'm intrigued with why you are soooo pro IAM's,,,you talk about them as a company which they are not,,IAM's is a product,just as purina puppy chow,pedigree,Alpo,Beneful,Mighty dog,Fancy feast,,etc etc are...all of these products and many more you would know by name are all PRODUCTS. Does it not concern you "why" they have food recalls. Better yet should i remind you of the tainted food a few years ago that killed several animals and made others extremely ill, one of which was a member of this forums lovely little kitty. No she didn't die right away instead she with the help of her loving mommy lived several years..Mind you she had several health issues for the rest of her life.

I could understand if you were supporting a truly GOOD pet food product (and no i don't feed mine Orijen,,etc). Why support a product that has recalls and legal issues up the ying yang. Seriously if something you were feeding your family was being recalled several times,,would you keep feeding it to your family?
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Old September 14th, 2010, 01:49 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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oh and this is from a recent legal document from a recent law suit...

Because of persistent rumors that rendered by-products contain dead dogs and cats, the FDA
conducted a study looking for pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug, in pet foods.
They found it. Ingredients that were most commonly associated with the presence of pentobarbital
were meat-and-bone-meal and animal fat. However, they also used very sensitive tests to look
for canine and feline DNA, which were not found. Industry insiders admit that rendered pets and roadkill were used in pet food some years ago. Although there are still no laws or regulations
against it However, so-called “4D” animals (dead, dying, diseased,
disabled) were only recently banned for human consumption and are still legitimate ingredients
for pet food
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Old September 14th, 2010, 01:53 PM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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Seriously if something you were feeding your family was being recalled several times,,would you keep feeding it to your family?

Well said Aslan.

PS Clark sends Grace his love and kisses
You do realize other than me that Grace is the only person he does that too
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Old September 14th, 2010, 01:55 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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Seriously if something you were feeding your family was being recalled several times,,would you keep feeding it to your family?

Well said Aslan.

PS Clark sends Grace his love and kisses
You do realize other than me that Grace is the only person he does that too
Grace says,,,,aaaaaw....send cuddles back to the handsome boy. Not telling her the she's the only other person part it will go to her head.
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