Here’s a great question about whether Weruva makes private label food for a big supermarket chain – so I learned something in the process.

I am writing in hopes you can help me feed my 13 cats as healthy as possible on a small budget.

My cat adventure began almost three years ago. A feral cat started coming on the property, and she was so small and skinny that we felt sorry for her. We began to feed her. Well, she started having kittens. Litter after litter. We now have thirteen cats, thanks to “Mama Kitty”.

After much effort, I am happy and somewhat proud to report that we have gotten 12 of our cats spayed/neutered and intend to get the last one done very soon! As you might imagine, this has been a very expensive process. We got the Humane Society rate at our local vet, but it is still close to $250 for each cat, with shots/tests included.

We love each of our cats very much and want to give them good healthy food. Unfortunately, the name brand premium foods that are recommended are very expensive. I noticed in your blog you mentioned that Petco’s Soulistic food is made by Weruva. We don’t have a Petco very close by, but we do have PetSmart. Do you have any idea who makes their Authority brand food? The ingredients look OK, but I have no idea if the meat is human grade or if the food is very high quality. I also have gotten Giant brand Naturals, and my cats love it. When I look at it and smell it, it appears to be very much like Weruva’s Best Feline Friend food. The ingredients are almost identical. Could it be that Weruva supplies Giant with their Naturals brand, too?

If you have any information on these or other “cheaper” store brands, I would really appreciate it. I am desperate to do right by my kitties, but I can only afford so much.

Thank you for all you do for pet owners and our furry friends!

-Lori in Virginia

Hey Lori,

Thanks for asking because you taught me something I did not know! Weruva DOES make “Companion Naturals” for Giant brand markets – they make the 3.0oz tuna based cat foods. There may be more Companion products from other producers — but Weruva makes the tuna ones. Remember that Weruva uses the smaller bodied Skip Jack tuna — that does not have the same health risks as the large tuna – but still fish should only be part of your cats’ meals about three days a week.

In reply to your other question, you can get Soulistic from Petco.com and on my website there should be a discount code you can use which the offered because I have been a spokesperson for their Natural section of the stores.

–Tracie Hotchner

Hi Tracie:

I have been a listener of your Cat Chat® show for many years, & I also have your book The Cat Bible. I received an email the other day from you & it mentioned your new food.

I drove about 12 miles to buy it & I bought many of the different flavors, but when I read the can at the very bottom, it says, “product of Thailand”.

I was very surprised because I thought it also says it is produced in a human facility. I thought it was made here in the USA.

Thank You,
Patty C.

So glad you got in touch so I can help clear up this frequent misunderstanding we Americans have about whether what is produced in other countries is good — or inferior to our own products. I think we all need to keep in mind that China is a country whose products have proven over and over to be either suspicious or dangerous — but that does not hold true for the rest of Asia by any means. Thailand, in fact, holds itself to the much HIGHER European standards. Plus it’s important to note that Weruva is made in a human food facility (which makes many of the foods eaten in restaurants across America). Once you know that, you can feel a whole lot better about letting your kitties enjoy Weruva. And rather than driving 12 miles, you can order Weruva from PetFoodDirect.com and get a special discount as a Cat Chat listener. Use discount code CATCHAT20.

I used my site’s Google search box to find a previous Blog I did about Weruva and the Thailand connection, so please take a moment to read this, too.

Best,
Tracie
P.S. if you’d like an autographed bookplate inscribed to your kitty to put into your THE CAT BIBLE please send your cat’s name & your mailing address and I’ll pop it right in the mail.

The Cat Bible

I have Daily Tips that pop up on Catster.com and every so often the comments get startling in their nastiness — both to me and others who comment. It was really discouraging since all we’re all trying to do is support happy living with kitties, right?! So I commented back to the commenters and got a lovely note from one who calls herself “Little Doll” when she posts.

Little Doll you are doing a great service to be taking care of so many kitties and I salute you. Here are some thoughts on how to make it easier and more affordable. Feed each cat on a small paper plate then no wash up, more sanitary actually. For the best food bargains you can go to PetFoodDirect.com and my website has the code — CATCHAT20 — to put in at the end for a 20% discount. You can get any brand on the planet, no dragging home heavy bags (UPS man does it all!) and often they have many choices on sale, which is how I do it for my dogs. If you have to use dry (for a variety of reasons) you’ve picked a quality brand so the higher the protein and a named protein source as the #1 ingredient, the less worrisome it is to feed dry food. But it must be without corn, wheat, soy,powdered cellulose (which is SAWDUST!!) etc. I like HALO because they use actual real meat, muscle meat, in their kibble which no other company does. Still, any kibble is bad for cats’ health because at the end of the day it is highly processed and carbohydrate heavy. As for listening to my shows, any chance you can download them from the online library onto an iPod or other device? I am a dope and don’t know how, but loads of people are doing it. I really appreciate your very kind words and hope you’ll have a chance to get THE CAT BIBLE at some point because I know it will give you even more insights and advice you can use. If you do get it, remember to send me your mailing address and a list of ALL your kitties names so I can send you an autographed bookplate to put in it — and a coupon for $20 worth of Cat Attract litter and a CD of my show about nutrition.

Thank you so much, Tracie.  There’s a place here in Chico (CA) called Northern Star Mills that has some good prices on dry pet food and I will have to check out Halo.  I did forward PetFoodDirect (I’m on their mailing list) to a good online friend of mine who has MS and it is very difficult for her to wrestle big bags of dry food home.  My neighbor has a three-year-old daughter who has been fascinated by my cats for the last year and a half and it inspired my neighbor to adopt three kittens.  She then realized how much commitment they can take and stopped there.  I am, somewhat slowly, trying to educate her without preaching, which is difficult for me.  The quality of pet food bought is one topic I’m working toward.

I do forward some tips on to a few of my friends who have cats and recommend Catster to cat people I chat with.  The Cats room in Pogo Addiction Solitaire seems to be a special gathering place for cat people, more than any other room or game I’ve been in.  Whenever I come across someone who is grieving over a lost feline friend, I recommend putting a memorial page on Catster.  Also, there are many cat people at Care2.com and cat groups.

Thank you very much for your kind offer.  I may surprise you someday by taking you up on it!

I am very sorry about the people who attacked you in comments on your Daily Tips.  It was certainly out of the blue.  I think these people feel threatened.  Most people want to be patted on the back without doing the work.  We often do things like putting in five inches of kitty litter in the box or filling the dry food bowl without even realizing why.  Often, it is because the product itself recommended that amount.  The more used, the better for them.  Or maybe their parents did it that way, never stopping to consider that their parents might not have really known or understood about cats and then they have an emotional attachment to doing that way.  The point is to get beyond that emotional reaction and reexamine the best way to do things for the animals we say we love, not for our own emotional fulfillment.  Just because we did it that way it and it seemed to work doesn’t mean we can’t, in the light of new information, rethink our methods and try something different.

Actually, I think one drama queen had a knee jerk reaction which influenced a few other people, but I don’t think the majority of your readers feel this way at all.

I noticed that Comments are closed on the last couple of Tips.  I hope this was your decision and wasn’t forced on you.  Please don’t be discouraged, the presence of crazies actually means that you are being effective and getting somewhere. Certainly, you are being noticed.

Thanks for your kind words & encouragement — it means a lot. I did tell the folks at Catster about the out-of-control responses so they probably turned off the tap. Great to know you are out there!

Best wishes,
–Tracie Hotchner

The Cat Bible

I got a good question from Nicole about whether I had decided to stick with Pets Best insurance. Her comment about the new audience’s response to all the nutrition advice I’ve been telling folks on my other two shows is really true — it’s refreshing to see people’s reaction when they hear for the first time that kibble isn’t all they’ve been telling us!

I love you on your new show WOR. It’s cute how the information that you give is so new to the group that is listening to that show.

Anyway, as you may guess I listen by podcast, sometimes many weeks later, and often out of order. So you were talking about possibly switching your pet insurance recommendation away from Pet’s Best to another company. But, then you said you switched back.

However, because I listened out of order, I’m not too sure about what came first the chicken or the egg, kinda thing. Can you talk about that again on the show?

Thanks for all that you do. Harley, is a healthy happy 10 year old kitten thanks to you and your awesome advice about nutrition.

On the January 30th DOG TALK® I explained why I stayed with Pets Best — reliability, transparency and customer service. And I do continue to recommend that everyone get insured — and use my discount code AP5252 for Pets Best when you CALL to get a quote — much better than the internet to be sure of what you are getting.

Tracie