Three Organic Canned Food Options for Cats and Dogs

If, like me, you had been feeding you cat or dog one of the canned food brands that was affected in the recent Menu Foods recall of pet food that was found to contain rat poison you may be searching for another brand that doesn't use Menu Foods. Not an easy task, since most of the major high-end and low-end pet food brands were affected. In the Menu Foods incident more than 14 pet deaths have been reported so far, and nine cats died during the "taste test" trial phase before the food was even packaged and sold. If, like me, you'd rather switch brands than take a chance on an incident like this occurring again you do have some viable canned cat food options that cover a range of prices. Keep in mind though that with any food, you should check with your vet about what is the right food for your pet. Also you should always switch your pet's food slowly to avoid any stomach upset. With canned food, you should mix a little of the canned food into their normal food and gradually add more of the new and less of the old so that eventually they are eating only the new food. I've provided an average cost per can of each food, but most retailers offer discounts if you buy in bulk or buy by the case.

Wellness Foods - Started in 1997 Wellness pet foods are made from "primarily human grade" ingredients. Wellness offers a few varieties of canned cat foods that are "grain-free". If you feed your cat dry food as well as canned, you might want to consider giving your cat the "grain-free" canned food since chances are that your cat is already getting enough grain in his/her diet through the dry food. Wellness offers unique flavors as well, so if you have a finicky pet you might want to try Wellness. Be sure to discuss with your vet any diet-related questions you have to find the right kind for your pet. Wellness foods are only sold at independent specialty pet shops, so it might be difficult for you to find although there are online retailers that sell it. Wellness is relatively one of the priciest organic pet foods. Wellness offers a large 12.5 oz cat food can which not many companies offer. The 12.5 oz canned cat food costs on average $2 per can. The 5.5 oz canned cat food costs an average of $1.18 per can, and the 3 oz canned cat food costs an average of 85 cents per can. The Wellness 12.5 oz canned dog food costs an average of $2.45 per can.

Newman's Own Organic Pet Food - Newman's Own has been around since 1982, although they only relatively recently launched their pet food line. Newman's Own Organic Pet Food is the premium organic pet food for people who want an organic food and want to support progressive causes. A portion of the proceeds of all Newman's Own pet products are given to animal shelters and hospitals around the country. At the launch of the pet food line 10 animal shelters and related charities were selected from around the country and each was given $10,000 by the Newman's Own company. The ingredients in Newman's Own pet food include food that is healthy enough for humans to eat. They also only use a particular brand of free-range, hormone and antibiotic free chicken for their chicken products. Newman's Own is a bit pricy, and can be purchased only at specialty pet stores and other usually small animal related businesses. You can purchase it online through Amazon.com. Some Whole Foods markets carry it, so if you're interested you might want to check your local Whole Foods and see if they stock it. The 5.5 oz can of cat food costs an average of $1.33 per can, and the 12.7 oz can of dog food costs an average of $2.

Natural Balance - I give my cat Natural Balance foods. Natural Balance Pet Food has been in business since 1989. They began making food for zoo animals and then branched out in making all-natural, quality pet food. They do not conduct any laboratory tests on animals of any kind. They make a variety of flavors of canned pet food and while there is never any guaranty that your pet will like the taste, my extremely fussy cat dove right into it which was quite unusual for her. For cats, they offer a Venison and Green Pea canned food that is equivalent to but less expensive than a prescription diet with the same ingredients usually prescribed for animals with food allergies or skin sensitivity. They also offer a line of both dry and canned foods for cats and dogs with allergies. Several major retailers carry Natural Balance including Petco. The 3 oz can of cat food costs an average of 80 cents per can, and a 13.2 oz can of dog food costs an average of $1.35 per can.

While these organic foods may seem a bit pricey to some people, if you're already feeding your pet a canned diet chances are that you are used to paying around these prices for less quality foods. As the Menu Foods recall has shown us, we need to be more aware of what we are feeding our pets so that we can keep them healthy and happy for a long time to come. Organic foods are well-worth the investment, for ourselves and for our pets.