Nutro Pet Food! Good Or Bad?

miaheatlvr

miaheatlvr

Active Member
I was just in PETSMART yesterday and there was a salesman there from NUTRO who talked me out of my usual SCIENCE DIET and got me to purchase a 20lb bag by showing me the ingredients and how SCIENCE DIET and all of the other brands use CHICKEN BY PRODUCTS as their main ingredients which consists of beaks and bones, which is what my CAT will leave behind in eating a bird and is not "natural" AS appose to their product which they claim to only use chicken meat. Now I know he was a salesman from NUTRO and will tell you anything to sell and move their product. BUT after doing some research here at home by myself I am reading ALOT of negative, disparaging testimonial from disgruntled mostly DOG owners who think it is a BAD product and the root of all their dog woes. DOES anybody use the CAT food and can offer me any reassuring personal testimonial. My Kitty is like 13 years old and I dont think she could handle any kind of traumatic stress in her "golden years" Regards
Here are some links to the products!
http://www.nutroproducts.com/
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
Science Diet and Nutro are both pretty low quality foods, nutro is slightly better but not that fantastic. I feed my cat Felidae, it's the only food she doesn't puke right back up, she was on SD sensitive stomach for years until I started doing some food research, then nutro for a year because I won a raffle for a year's free food from them. If your cat is doing fine on what you usually feed I would probably stick to that.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
unless you animal will eat holistic foods, they are all garbage. Like stated, SD and Nutro max are garbage but are on top the garbage pile. They are not considered grocery strore brands yet, but as SD and nutro become more recognized you will see them on the self next to alpo at you local food store.
Its been a while but I remember some of the names our vet recommended for the cats.
Eagle pack
Natural balance
Royal
Blue buffalo
Avoderm
Natures recipe
Solid gold (***** brand holistic) as much as I hate *****, this is other brand my wife’s cats will eat with no unwelcome results.
These are some of the brands that are holistic and all natural. They contain no corn or white rice. Instead they have barley, brown rice real meat not fillers or cereal.
My wife’s cats eat blue buffalo and they have nice shinny coats and not cat puke on my carpets.
Nutro is just a crappy brand that needs to keep salesman in a store to move their crap food.
JMHO
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
http:///forum/post/2597106
I was just in PETSMART yesterday and there was a salesman there from NUTRO who talked me out of my usual SCIENCE DIET and got me to purchase a 20lb bag by showing me the ingredients and how SCIENCE DIET and all of the other brands use CHICKEN BY PRODUCTS as their main ingredients which consists of beaks and bones, which is what my CAT will leave behind in eating a bird and is not "natural" AS appose to their product which they claim to only use chicken meat. Now I know he was a salesman from NUTRO and will tell you anything to sell and move their product. BUT after doing some research here at home by myself I am reading ALOT of negative, disparaging testimonial from disgruntled mostly DOG owners who think it is a BAD product and the root of all their dog woes. DOES anybody use the CAT food and can offer me any reassuring personal testimonial. My Kitty is like 13 years old and I dont think she could handle any kind of traumatic stress in her "golden years" Regards
Here are some links to the products!
http://www.nutroproducts.com/
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html
Looks like this might be a topic that will elicit as many responses/opinions as
ones about politics, religion and the use of QT tanks.
My opinion......If your vet feels that your pet is healthy and happy I personally feel that sticking with the diet you have been using for 13 years
may seem the most logical and one that will cause her the least stress.
My biggest criteria to satisfy with a geriatric (sorry) cat is that she is eating a diet formulated for a geriatic patient. Geriatric diets will usually get more of their calories from carbohydrates and less from protein (supposedly better for kidney/liver function as those organs age), contain glucosamine and chondroiotin sulfate to protect/heal cartilage sufaces to reduce athritis and contain antioxidants (may help prevent inflammation...the source of most disease...and maybe even cancers)
B.A.R.F. (Bone And Raw Food) type diets are very good in theory. Problem..if people get lazy preparing them you run the risk of salmonella and other bacterial/parasitic disease.
Many of my clients ask me what diet I feed. I use Nutro's Max diet for my dogs. I have the luxury of running serial blood tests and other diagnostics whenever I feel the need and see no harm. I can not prove a negative so I do not know if they would do better on another brand of food or the BARF diets but my oldest dog is 16 and in my mind is very healthy.
 
bronco300

bronco300

Active Member
we us Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Kitten Formula for our kitten right now...according to the bag no By-Products, Fillers, Wheat, Corn, Growth Hormones, Artificial Preservatives, Colors or Flavors...corn is the one thing i was always told to stay away from since it doesnt get digested and is basically a filler....natural chicken is the #1 ingredient and has dried fruit and veggies....and i swear my kitten rummages through the food to pick out the dried food...she eats the rest like crazy too, but she loves the dried up fruits/veggies....so I hope this is on a top scale list for foods and not just $14 per bag garbag
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/2597321
Looks like this might be a topic that will elicit as many responses/opinions as
ones about politics, religion and the use of QT tanks.
My opinion......If your vet feels that your pet is healthy and happy I personally feel that sticking with the diet you have been using for 13 years
may seem the most logical and one that will cause her the least stress.
My biggest criteria to satisfy with a geriatric (sorry) cat is that she is eating a diet formulated for a geriatic patient. Geriatric diets will usually get more of their calories from carbohydrates and less from protein (supposedly better for kidney/liver function as those organs age), contain glucosamine and chondroiotin sulfate to protect/heal cartilage sufaces to reduce athritis and contain antioxidants (may help prevent inflammation...the source of most disease...and maybe even cancers)
B.A.R.F. (Bone And Raw Food) type diets are very good in theory. Problem..if people get lazy preparing them you run the risk of salmonella and other bacterial/parasitic disease.
Many of my clients ask me what diet I feed. I use Nutro's Max diet for my dogs. I have the luxury of running serial blood tests and other diagnostics whenever I feel the need and see no harm. I can not prove a negative so I do not know if they would do better on another brand of food or the BARF diets but my oldest dog is 16 and in my mind is very healthy.
Are you a vet?
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
I have been feeding Evo and it is great. All natural ingrediants and rated very high in product comparisons. Little poo compared to most other foods. Always firm making pickup a breeze.
American bulldog and can stink up a storm but since Evo he has not smelled near as bad. Is very trim and fit and last blood work rated him perfect condition.
Used to feed Natural Balance but IMO Evo puts it to shame. Have read the ingredients of Nutro and wouldn't feed it to my dog.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bronco300
http:///forum/post/2597338
we us Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Kitten Formula for our kitten right now...according to the bag no By-Products, Fillers, Wheat, Corn, Growth Hormones, Artificial Preservatives, Colors or Flavors...corn is the one thing i was always told to stay away from since it doesnt get digested and is basically a filler....natural chicken is the #1 ingredient and has dried fruit and veggies....and i swear my kitten rummages through the food to pick out the dried food...she eats the rest like crazy too, but she loves the dried up fruits/veggies....so I hope this is on a top scale list for foods and not just $14 per bag garbag
They are recently new to the mainstream market. They were a private label food . More direct sales at vets to push.
I forget the name but one food was fantastic.
Made with different meats, one was duck and potato, one was venison and brown rice. Really great food that my vet recommended (but did not sell it) for my pug (bad skin allergies) But my rottis and bulldog/pit mix all started eating it. Then store owner retired and sold the buisness now I can not seem to find that food again.
The vet we go to now has mentioned C&P food.
Before my vet retired he use to tell my wife (fiancé at the time) about SD (before becoming a huge food manufacturing company) that it was not the best food for animals and they would try and get vets to carry and push it with kick backs. The big thing was corn to watch out for but that was not the only ingredient to look for, but if corn was first it was garbage food. Iams and eukanuba (sp) were another brand that was vet recommended and push out of the office and turned out to be a grocery store brand.
My vet used to say if a vet sells it or push the brand, they are most likely getting something in return.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/2598224
Yes..Graduated in 1980 and been practicing small animal medicine for 28 years.
Your a fan of nutro, what your take on the ingredients of nutro that makes you fan?
I only assume from what I have been told, and some the reactions of other users that the ingredients are pretty basic, with the potential to bother animals with allergies.
I understand all foods have the “potential
 
alohami

alohami

Member
Sharkbait, Natural Balance has a Duck & Potato formula, and I have seen it at the vet. I fed it to my Doxie who has a corn allergy, and she did really well on it. However, after the NB recall, I switched her to Natural Planet Organics, and she is amazing on that! She is a senior and has so much spunk that I almost don't know what to do with her! She is also a picky eater and she really likes it. They are making cat food also now according to their website.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by AlohaMI
http:///forum/post/2598465
Sharkbait, Natural Balance has a Duck & Potato formula, and I have seen it at the vet. I fed it to my Doxie who has a corn allergy, and she did really well on it. However, after the NB recall, I switched her to Natural Planet Organics, and she is amazing on that! She is a senior and has so much spunk that I almost don't know what to do with her! She is also a picky eater and she really likes it. They are making cat food also now according to their website.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to look and see if I can find that. My pugs a senior as well and its just easier to list what he is not allergic to......
I think air pretty much sums it up of what he’s not allergic to.
You name it… he’s allergic to it. wheat, gluten, corn, brewers yeast, egg, the list goes on and on and on.
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
Sharkbait.....'Novel protein/ novel carbohydrate' foods are certainly the way to go with food allergic pets. While from your postings I gleen that you are not a fan of Science Diet, but..they make a product known as 'Z/D'. Theoretically this is the most advanced hypoallergenic food out there.
The concept: Allergens are proteins that the body reacts to aggresively. These proteins have to be a certain size for the body to even 'see' them.
Z/D is food that has had the protein hydrolized. This technique 'chops' the protein into such small bits that the body 'ignores' it so there is no allergic reaction. It still is absorbed and nourishes the body though. This theory has been in existence for ages but other attempts to break the proteins down in size has also rendered the food inpalatible. My personal experience is that this food works reasonably well.
The problem with allergic animals is that they are usually allergic to several things. For example sake..Let's say your dog is allergic to 15 things. These could include inhaled, food and contact allergens. He/she may not have any evidence of an 'allergy' if exposed to only 4-5 things at one time. When you add the 6th or 7th item all he.....ll breaks lose.
Has your dog been allergy tested so you have some idea of what he/she is allergic to? Al
PS..Original poster......I advise you not to use any homemade diet unless you add Taurine to it. It is an amino acid that is essential to a cat's health (eyesight) that people and dogs can manufacture themselves but cats can not. So, if they do not get it in their diet they will eventually go blind.
 
miaheatlvr

miaheatlvr

Active Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/2598788
Sharkbait.....'Novel protein/ novel carbohydrate' foods are certainly the way to go with food allergic pets. While from your postings I gleen that you are not a fan of Science Diet, but..they make a product known as 'Z/D'. Theoretically this is the most advanced hypoallergenic food out there.
The concept: Allergens are proteins that the body reacts to aggresively. These proteins have to be a certain size for the body to even 'see' them.
Z/D is food that has had the protein hydrolized. This technique 'chops' the protein into such small bits that the body 'ignores' it so there is no allergic reaction. It still is absorbed and nourishes the body though. This theory has been in existence for ages but other attempts to break the proteins down in size has also rendered the food inpalatible. My personal experience is that this food works reasonably well.
The problem with allergic animals is that they are usually allergic to several things. For example sake..Let's say your dog is allergic to 15 things. These could include inhaled, food and contact allergens. He/she may not have any evidence of an 'allergy' if exposed to only 4-5 things at one time. When you add the 6th or 7th item all he.....ll breaks lose.
Has your dog been allergy tested so you have some idea of what he/she is allergic to? Al
PS..Original poster......I advise you not to use any homemade diet unless you add Taurine to it. It is an amino acid that is essential to a cat's health (eyesight) that people and dogs can manufacture themselves but cats can not. So, if they do not get it in their diet they will eventually go blind.
Al you use NUTRO for your cats for some time now with now ill affects.. That is good enough for me.. thanks for time and input..
 
alohami

alohami

Member
Originally Posted by sharkbait9
http:///forum/post/2598710
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to look and see if I can find that. My pugs a senior as well and its just easier to list what he is not allergic to......
I think air pretty much sums it up of what he’s not allergic to.
You name it… he’s allergic to it. wheat, gluten, corn, brewers yeast, egg, the list goes on and on and on.

Aww, poor guy! When I bought the Natural Balance, it was at a local pet store. I checked the website, and it looks like Pet Valu is near you and carries it. Good luck!
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/2598788
Sharkbait.....'Novel protein/ novel carbohydrate' foods are certainly the way to go with food allergic pets. While from your postings I gleen that you are not a fan of Science Diet, but..they make a product known as 'Z/D'. Theoretically this is the most advanced hypoallergenic food out there.
The concept: Allergens are proteins that the body reacts to aggresively. These proteins have to be a certain size for the body to even 'see' them.
Z/D is food that has had the protein hydrolized. This technique 'chops' the protein into such small bits that the body 'ignores' it so there is no allergic reaction. It still is absorbed and nourishes the body though. This theory has been in existence for ages but other attempts to break the proteins down in size has also rendered the food inpalatible. My personal experience is that this food works reasonably well.
The problem with allergic animals is that they are usually allergic to several things. For example sake..Let's say your dog is allergic to 15 things. These could include inhaled, food and contact allergens. He/she may not have any evidence of an 'allergy' if exposed to only 4-5 things at one time. When you add the 6th or 7th item all he.....ll breaks lose.
Has your dog been allergy tested so you have some idea of what he/she is allergic to? Al
PS..Original poster......I advise you not to use any homemade diet unless you add Taurine to it. It is an amino acid that is essential to a cat's health (eyesight) that people and dogs can manufacture themselves but cats can not. So, if they do not get it in their diet they will eventually go blind.
Hey Almc
I have had my pug test twice for all diffrent things. Test showed alot of alergies to foods and proteins. I do remeber that the vet told us not one speicific alergie is whats making the hair on this chest fall out and his chest get all red and weepy.
The pugs been on eagle pack dog food holistic select and buddy bones.
I have had the best results on this food and treats. The pugs fur is nice thick and full. His "remains" when he goes out are not as much. He still rubs like a pug but not scratching and whineing Like he use to.
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
There is a saying in vet medicine for the location of the allergic reaction from food allergens...'ears and rears'. Usually food allergies cause inflammation with secondary infection in the ear and around the rear (including anal glands). While I do not doubt that your pug may have food allergies, if the lesions appear mostly on his chest i would also be suspicious that he has a 'contact' allergy (grasses/weeds, etc.).
Glad to here he is doing well now.
 
tangwhispr

tangwhispr

Member
Originally Posted by sharkbait9
http:///forum/post/2597207
unless you animal will eat holistic foods, they are all garbage. Like stated, SD and Nutro max are garbage but are on top the garbage pile. They are not considered grocery strore brands yet, but as SD and nutro become more recognized you will see them on the self next to alpo at you local food store.
Its been a while but I remember some of the names our vet recommended for the cats.
Eagle pack
Natural balance
Royal
Blue buffalo
Avoderm
Natures recipe
Solid gold (***** brand holistic) as much as I hate *****, this is other brand my wife’s cats will eat with no unwelcome results.
These are some of the brands that are holistic and all natural. They contain no corn or white rice. Instead they have barley, brown rice real meat not fillers or cereal.
My wife’s cats eat blue buffalo and they have nice shinny coats and not cat puke on my carpets.
Nutro is just a crappy brand that needs to keep salesman in a store to move their crap food.
JMHO
Solid gold is not a ***** brand...its privately owned by Sissy Harrington-McGill
 
tangwhispr

tangwhispr

Member
Originally Posted by Flricordia
http:///forum/post/2597546
I have been feeding Evo and it is great. All natural ingrediants and rated very high in product comparisons. Little poo compared to most other foods. Always firm making pickup a breeze.
American bulldog and can stink up a storm but since Evo he has not smelled near as bad. Is very trim and fit and last blood work rated him perfect condition.
Used to feed Natural Balance but IMO Evo puts it to shame. Have read the ingredients of Nutro and wouldn't feed it to my dog.
Evo is by far the best...we feed raw using the Raw Dog Ranch method and supplement with Evo
http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdietbasics.htm
 
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