Wellness batch variations LONG

After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. It was a new batch. The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. The cans with
the "7WCCS4" code they didn't like. This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

On Jan 15, 6:35*am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. *Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. *It was a new batch. *The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. *The cans with
the "7WCCS4" *code they didn't like. *This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. *With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. *I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. *The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. *I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. *Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. *Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

My opinion is....the cats know something's different about their food.
Maybe that
particular batch of cans was stored somewhere at the wrong temp. Or
maybe
it *is* a quality control issue. I don't think it's coincidental that
they refused that
particular batch. Something's weird with the food.

Sherry

Sherry wrote:

I don't think it's coincidental that they
refused that
particular batch. Something's weird with
the food.

They didn't refuse it but they were not very eager to eat it. The good
batch was consumed with gusto. I was able to get six cans of the MW10
batch but they were the 12 ounce cans. I have located a case of 6 ounce
MW10s at a town 40 miles away which I plan to pick up next week.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 07:35:56 -0500, (---MIKE---)
wrote:

After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. It was a new batch. The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. The cans with
the "7WCCS4" code they didn't like. This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

That's what they are TOLD to say: they can't ADMIT that a lot number is
'bad': they might have to recall it, which would cost them money.

But, you have obvious, reliable, empirical evidence that SOMETHING is
wrong with the food in the cans from lot #7WCCS4.

Your cats KNOW there is something 'off' with lot #7WCCS4.

I just hope it hasn't done any harm. There has been so much contaminated
cat food in the past 2 or 3 years

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^

"Life without cats would be only marginally worth living."
-TC, in loving memory of the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico
kitty, Kenzie.

Every day was a treasure with Kenzie; I tried to treat them that way.
There would only be so many, and now, there will never, ever, be any
more

How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven.
- Robert Heinlein

Sherry wrote:

(---MIKE---) wrote:

After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. *Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. *It was a new batch. *The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. *The cans with
the "7WCCS4" *code they didn't like. *This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. *With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. *I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. *The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. *I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. *Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. *Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

My opinion is....the cats know something's different about their food.
Maybe that
particular batch of cans was stored somewhere at the wrong temp. Or
maybe
it *is* a quality control issue. I don't think it's coincidental that
they refused that
particular batch. Something's weird with the food.

I myself have noticed that the consistency of the food is different.
Sometimes it's soft and mushy, other times it's more solid. It used to
be that the consistency was different depending on the flavor, but
within the same flavor, the consistency was... well, consistent. But
now it doesn't seem to matter - the same flavor can be mushy in one
batch and solid in the next.

And my cats' interest in it varies, too. I hadn't thought to look at
the codes, so I don't have any correlations. I just thought it was
random cat fussiness.

So Sherry, I think there might be an issue with quality control. That
doesn't mean one batch is *bad*, as in unhealthy or dangerous for them,
though. It might be made with some different ingredients, depending on
what's available to them at the time, and the cats like some better
than others. I still think quality control is an issue even if there's
nothing harmful in the food, because food should be predictable!

I started feeding the cats Wellness brand in 2007 *because* of the
poisonings and recalls. Wellness had not been affected by any of it,
so I've trusted that brand. sigh

Will I have to make their food after all? I do *not* want to handle
raw meat all the time. But my attempts to find out how to make cooked
cat food that has all the right nutrients was extremely frustrating.
Everyone who knew and cared about feline nutrition was dogmatic about
raw food. (I don't mean on RPCA - I was searching on the web, and on
cat-health email lists.) Whereas those who thought cooked food was
fine would post recipes that even I could see was lacking in proper
nutrition, as well as having ingredients that I wasn't sure were good
for or mattered to cats. (Some of those recipes sounded pretty good to
*me*, and I think they were more for the benefit of humans to be honest.)
Yet canned cat food is cooked, so I know it's possible!!

Joyce


--
I'm in favor of animal liberation. Why? Because I'm an animal.
-- Edward Abbey

On Jan 15, 4:35*am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. *Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. *It was a new batch. *The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. *The cans with
the "7WCCS4" *code they didn't like. *This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. *With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. *I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. *The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. *I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. *Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. *Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

I've been annoyed with the 12-can box I recently bought (12.5-oz cans
of Chicken Formula). I use a scale to measure out my cat's food, and
these cans have lately been short. This is inconvenient for me
because I used to be able to get 4 meals out of the can. With these
cans I have to break into another one. I will probably contact
Wellness if this continues when I buy the next box. I will make sure
I get a different lot. The previous box was a bit short in about half
the cans. This box, so far, has been short in ALL the cans.

Also, I have noticed differences in consistency. I am not getting
complaints from the feline though.

FirstHit

FirstHit wrote:
On Jan 15, 4:35 am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. It was a new batch. The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. The cans with
the "7WCCS4" code they didn't like. This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

I've been annoyed with the 12-can box I recently bought (12.5-oz cans
of Chicken Formula). I use a scale to measure out my cat's food, and
these cans have lately been short. This is inconvenient for me
because I used to be able to get 4 meals out of the can. With these
cans I have to break into another one. I will probably contact
Wellness if this continues when I buy the next box. I will make sure
I get a different lot. The previous box was a bit short in about half
the cans. This box, so far, has been short in ALL the cans.

Also, I have noticed differences in consistency. I am not getting
complaints from the feline though.

FirstHit



I have noticed this in about everything I buy. Tuna used to come in 6
oz cans and now it is 5 with more "juice". The coffee cans also are
scaled down considerably. Can you buy anything that gives a full pound
any mo? MLB

On Jan 15, 5:28*pm, MLB wrote:
FirstHit wrote:
On Jan 15, 4:35 am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. *Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. *It was a new batch. *The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. *The cans with
the "7WCCS4" *code they didn't like. *This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. *With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. *I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. *The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. *I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. *Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. *Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

I've been annoyed with the 12-can box I recently bought (12.5-oz cans
of Chicken Formula). *I use a scale to measure out my cat's food, and
these cans have lately been short. *This is inconvenient for me
because I used to be able to get 4 meals out of the can. *With these
cans I have to break into another one. *I will probably contact
Wellness if this continues when I buy the next box. *I will make sure
I get a different lot. *The previous box was a bit short in about half
the cans. *This box, so far, has been short in ALL the cans.

Also, I have noticed differences in consistency. *I am not getting
complaints from the feline though.

FirstHit

I have noticed this in about everything I buy. *Tuna used to come in 6
oz cans and now it is 5 with more "juice". *The coffee cans also are
scaled down considerably. *Can you buy anything that gives a full pound
any mo? *MLB

You're right that manufacturers seem to be scaling things down (and
hope you don't notice it), but in the Wellness case, they are still
labeling the can the same, even though the net weight has decreased.
(I am not accusing Wellness of doing this deliberately. I think it is
a quality-control issue.)

FirstHit

On Jan 15, 7:28*pm, MLB wrote:
FirstHit wrote:
On Jan 15, 4:35 am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
After Thanksgiving I noticed that both Amber and Tiger seemed less
interested in their Wellness chicken (canned) food. *Suddenly, on
Christmas morning they ate with gusto. *It was a new batch. *The cans
with the code "MW10" on the bottom were the good ones. *The cans with
the "7WCCS4" *code they didn't like. *This was NOT a subtle difference.
Their meal with the good cans was finished in an hour. *With the "bad"
cans almost half had to be thrown away after two or three hours.
Unfortunately the store didn't have any more of the "good" cans. *I
called Wellness and they claimed there should be no difference. *The MW
cans came from a California plant while the 7WCC cans came from a New
Jersey plant. *I have been a Wellness customer for about 7 years and use
over 730 cans a year. *Their customer service people did not seem
concerned when I told them I would try Innova and other brands if they
could not provide me with the MW cans. *Wellness says there is no
difference but the cats say otherwise.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

I've been annoyed with the 12-can box I recently bought (12.5-oz cans
of Chicken Formula). *I use a scale to measure out my cat's food, and
these cans have lately been short. *This is inconvenient for me
because I used to be able to get 4 meals out of the can. *With these
cans I have to break into another one. *I will probably contact
Wellness if this continues when I buy the next box. *I will make sure
I get a different lot. *The previous box was a bit short in about half
the cans. *This box, so far, has been short in ALL the cans.

Also, I have noticed differences in consistency. *I am not getting
complaints from the feline though.

FirstHit

I have noticed this in about everything I buy. *Tuna used to come in 6
oz cans and now it is 5 with more "juice". *The coffee cans also are
scaled down considerably. *Can you buy anything that gives a full pound
any mo? *MLB

Craziest one yet is peanut butter. The jar is the same circumference,
same height, but look on the bottom. It is concave now, so that the
actual weight of product you actually get is less.

On 16/01/2011 01:19, wrote:
snip

Will I have to make their food after all? I do *not* want to handle
raw meat all the time. But my attempts to find out how to make cooked
cat food that has all the right nutrients was extremely frustrating.
Everyone who knew and cared about feline nutrition was dogmatic about
raw food. (I don't mean on RPCA - I was searching on the web, and on
cat-health email lists.) Whereas those who thought cooked food was
fine would post recipes that even I could see was lacking in proper
nutrition, as well as having ingredients that I wasn't sure were good
for or mattered to cats. (Some of those recipes sounded pretty good to
*me*, and I think they were more for the benefit of humans to be honest.)
Yet canned cat food is cooked, so I know it's possible!!

I think they add stuff like taurine after the catfood has been cooked.
The taurine is, I think, the big issue. Even raw muscle meat does not
apparently contain enough of it. I wish you had this vitamin pill for
cats that we have here. A few years ago, they changed their name from a
very Finnish-sounding name (Pirskatti) to the more international
Multicat, and I thought they were probably going to start exporting it,
but I don't know if it's found its way across the pond yet. I believe
it's popular in Germany, at least.

Miranda has been living on raw food since she was weaned, and she's
basically very healthy, though she's had her instances of weird health
issues. But there's not much I can do about it, since she flat-out
refuses to even recognize anything else as food. She's been underweight
most of her life, but she's a pretty healthy weight now. Healthy but skinny.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.