Spot's Stew - liked it yesterday but not today!

My vet recommended Spot's Stew to me yesterday to feed to Boomer. (although she doesn't know the carbs! ) I checked the food charts and its not on either the old or new one. I looked at their website and they recommend it for diabetic cats but no carb % is listed. It's also gluten free which is good for cats with IBD like mine.
Does anyone have any info on the Spot's Stew varieties?
Thanks for your help!!!

 

Re: Spot's Stew....low carb?

Hi Traci,

is that Halo's Spot stew?

I was using for a while last year (before DX) I will tell you - my cats loved it, but, after learning about foods, I realized this food contains a lot of vegetables.
How much carb content? I dont know, you may have to contact them directly, by using the list of questions in Janet's food chart link.
Sometimes you have to be really specific to get answers from the companies. So if you reach them, make sure you ask the right question (see Janet's site)



EDIT TO ADD: check this thread, a short one, but it mentions Halo Spot Stew and how you can find a few more discussions in the old board. That's what I remember - lots of fruits and veggies.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3827&p=36767&hilit=halo+spot+stew#p36767
if you go to the old board, type in Halo, you'll get a lot of threads on the treats which are fine, so you gotta dig a bit.

oh yea one more thing, Halo is expensive! (at least up here in Canada it is)

 

Re: Spot's Stew....low carb?

I know guaranteed analysis doesn't mean a whole lot, but I have noticed that anything less than 98% total on these numbers usually means higher than 10% carb (this is 97.5%) and that is the lowest guaranteed protein I have ever seen on a can. The moisture seems right, I remember an earlier thread talking about how watery the product is. The extremely high moisture content could mean that it converts to lower carb, but with the 3rd thru 6th highest ingredients being veggies, I'd suspect a high carb %.

Wholesome Chicken Recipe (5 oz)

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein - 4.5% min.
Crude Fat - 1.5% min.
Crude Fiber - 1.5% max.
Moisture - 90.0% max.

Ingredients: Chicken, zucchini, yellow squash, celery, chicken broth, chicken liver, carrots, green beans, green peas, turkey, calcium citrate, dried kelp, sweet potato, pumpkin, soy sauce, garlic powder, choline chloride, zinc gluconate, taurine, ascorbic acid

edit - 'cause the first numbers were the dog's food ohmygod_smile

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

They were very nice. I asked for as fed values for Protein, fat, carbs and calories and this is what the gave me:

Chicken: protein: 4.5%, fat: 1.5%, carbs: 1%, calories: 64
Salmonrotein:5.5, fat: 1.8%, carbs: 1.7%, calories 86
Turkey: pro: 5.4%, fat: 2.3, carbs: 1.5, calories: 78
Lamb: pro: 4.2%, fat: 6.2, carbs: 2%, calories:118

Calories are per 3.5 ounce can.

It seems like a great choice for diabetics. Is it too good to be true? If the %'s are so small, what's in the rest of the food. I don't get it!

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

The values are so small since they are based on weight, J&B's table are based on percent of calories form protein, fat and carbs.

Also not that the Chicken has a lot less calories per can than FF and the the Lamb is very very high in fat.

Using the cat food calculator for Chicken I get as a % calories: Carbs 12.5%, protein 50% and fat about 40 %

For Lamb: carbs 9%, protein 19%, fat 73%

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

Larry-

THANK YOU! I was hoping you'd chime in since you always seem to know how to do these number things. How should I have stated it to them? They were willing to give me what I wanted and I thought I asked right.

Is there anyway you would calculate the other two foods for me? I feel desperate. Boomer has been throwing up every day for over 3 weeks and I need him to eat something he'll like. These foods seem to be very tasty to cats - maybe he'll eat them AND they have no grains! I need to find out what is making him vomit and it may be grains. BUT I need to find a food he'll eat. He doesn't love the FF gluten free food. I found a few others luckily that had been posted as a sticky caluclated as no grain foods by a vet friend of Rebecca's.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

Those as fed numbers are identical to the guaranteed analysis on the protein and fat. Doesn't that seem fishy?

Tracey - I'd say try them if you think it will help. You have more issues going on the FD and if it can help Boomer stop puking, then I'd think that would help the BG's more than getting a few less carb %s. These don't look REALLY bad carb-wise so why not try and watch the numbers. If he starts to go up, try something else. If he doesn't start going up and stops puking, then you've found a solution.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

Melanie-

I am very concerned about Boomer! He's now on 2 pills a day (budesonide) and he STILL threw up this morning. Like I said I NEED to figure out what he is allergic to right away AND I need him to eat. He lost one pound since November and he now only weighs 8.4 pounds. If he was fat I wouldn't be so concerned but he's not. He ate for me this morning a FF non-gluten but in order to get him to eat more I needed to add some food with gluten. It's insane. if he'll eat this stew then I'll give it to him, ya know????

 

Re: Spot's Stew- got numbers -Please take a look-Help

I called them again! Can you tell I'm desperate? I tried to explain to this (nice) person what I was looking for (I was clearly not saying it right) and she said it sounded like I wanted the numbers as fed for dry matter. Does this make sense? The dry matter is based on 4 variables: Carbs, Protein, Fat, and Fiber. Is fiber considered a carb????

This is the update:
Chicken: Carbs, 10%, Protein:45%, Fat: 15% Fiber: 15%
Salmon: Carbs, 14.2%, Protein: 45.8%, Fat:15%, Fiber: 12.5%
Turkey: Carbs, 10%, Protein: 36%, Fat: 13%, Fiber: 28.7%
Lamb: Carbs, 11%, Protein: 23.3%, Fat: 34.4, Fiber: 22.8

I AM SO CONFUSED! Can anyone help me figure this out????

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Fiber provides no nutritional value. It is neither a carb, fat or protein. I looked at the Chicken and it does not really make sense. Basically food has protein, fat, fiber, carbs, moisture, and ash/minerals. You said it dry matter basis that would make ash/minerals 15% which is an awful amount. If the number you gave me were true, the chicken has on % calorie basis:
Protein: 48%
Fat: 40%
Carbs: 11%

Those values are very similar to the first values I calculated. So maybe it is high fiber, especially with all the veggies.

Here is the calculator I used:
http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html
You fill in the yellow values and it calculate the rest. Note that you have to do additional calculations to get %'s as a calorie basis. You usually have to do iterations (guesses) to the % from label column to add up to 100%. For the chicken I used 0% moisture and added the values for protein, fat and fiber you gave and guessed the ash until 10% showed up in the % carb box.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

There is another calculator on Janet and Binky's page: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/foodfaq.html

Click on the excel spreadsheet link.

On the spreadsheet you can plug in your as fed values for protein, carbs, fat, and fiber (you are missing as fed values for fiber).

I believe (I'm not sure) that you can also use the calculator plugging in your dry weight values. The calculator will then give you the % calories from carbs.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

I'm ready to throw in the towel. I really give Janet and Binky a lot of credit for their hard work. This is hell.

FWIW - the Spot's Stew chicken is 90% moisture.

I've found other foods that are grain free and low carb other than FF. I'm gonna try them too. The thing with Spot's Stew which was appealing is that it's not a pate!!! Boomer doesn't love pate foods.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

IF I am using Janet's calculator correctly, it comes out to lamb 9.8%, chicken 11.3%, turkey 13.3%, salmon 15.1% calories from carbs. If Larry says this is wrong, I would go with his advice, as I am not confident with using it. I just started using it yesterday on some values I received from a Canadian manufacturer.

I'm trying to find a low carb, low phosphorus food that is available in Canada and that Bear will eat, and I am coming up with nothing. It is so frustrating.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Traci-

Not tons of time right now, but wanted to mention quickly,...

If he doesn't like pate's, have you tried the merrick low-glycemic varieties? http://www.gripetfoods.com/CertifiedCatFoods.htm
As we've transitioned, I've tried all kinds of things, and similarly have more than one health issue to work around. To find foods to meet all the above AND that they like and will eat is taxing.

Of the few I tried on Hank, he liked Cowboy Cookout, not so much the others. I imagine you might not do the CC for Boomer due to the beef, but .
some of the other's might be an option. the one's we cheked out were not so much pate, but more chunky. Can't speak to hem all since we avoid fish flavors and only tried a couple... but maybe there's something for him in this line. They are on J&B list.

betty

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Thanks for running them for me - you are very kind. I tried too but didn't get it. ????? :roll:
It seems that some are a bit high, (Salmon according to you and Halo's numbers), chicken and lamb seem close enough and turkey may be a little high. I'm going to try them to see if he'll eat them and I'll have to monitor his numbers. Why do you need food with low phosphorus; what condition does he have? What is a low phosphorus range? I'm looking for new foods so if I run accross anything I'll let you know.

Betty - you are a doll. I actually called Merrick today because I'm obsessed. All their cat foods are grain free except two and there are 7 low carb varieties! Yay! They are officially on my shopping list. I even found two Sophisticat varieties that are grain-free and have GRAVY that are lower carb 10-11%. I am starting to have some hope again. I was so depressed today that I was openly crying at work because DBF called and I started talking about it and the floodgates opened. Poor Dave. I just NEED to help my little guy. I can't let him get any thinner. This happened to my GA Biscuit and he got a feeding tube (two actually) and he didn't make it. It was AWFUL. I need to chill out.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Linda - I get the same numbers as you when using the "human-grade" food section. I think Janet normally uses the "animal-grade" food for canned cat food.

Using the "animal-grade" food section the pro/fat/carbs are:

chicken - 49.2/39.8/10.9
salmon - 47.5/37.8/14.7
turkey - 46.4/40.7/12.9
lamb - 19.8/70.9/9.3

The lamb is too low in protein and too high in fat. The other three look like nice, moderate carb foods. I think they are worth a try.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

He needs low phosphorus for renal disease. I aim for under 200-250 mg of phosphorus per 100 calories.

Don't be completely lulled by the grain free foods. They can still be pretty high in carbs from fruit, vegetables, and rice. I have one that has bananas in it. What the heck are bananas doing in cat food???

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Cats with CRF (kidney disease) need low phosphorus foods. Different people have different cut-offs, but I look for less than 250 in the phos. column.

Another good, low to moderate carb choice that is chunks in gravy are the Wellness pouches. They are listed on Janet & Binky's table as Healthy Indulgence. Edited to add - Most of them are also grain free.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

[quote="Linda and Bear ManDon't be completely lulled by the grain free foods. They can still be pretty high in carbs from fruit, vegetables, and rice. I have one that has bananas in it. What the heck are bananas doing in cat food???[/quote]

Oh, I know. I've read the labels. I just need to find out what the HECK is making Boomer sick and eliminate it. It could be a grain or wheat gluten, so I'm giving these foods a shot.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

PS: Check my post from last night in Supply Closet. Petco carries Halo/spots stew, and they are having a great 5 day (4 days left) sale now which can save you some money. I got freeze dried chicken treats for a steal when all was said and done.
Plus I think Halo was on buy 3 get 1 free as i recall on the reg. sale.

PSS: they also have a in-house brand called Soulisitic which looked interesting. I have not researched to know what the carb/protein makeup is, but a couple of them looked promising with limited ingredients. 2 types: one w/ a 'gravy' (tapioca based) and another in aspic. Those however were all fish flavors.
Maybe there is something there for Boomer also.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Our cats are very finicky about Spots Stew. Sometimes they will gobble it up, other times they turn up their noses and walk away. :roll:

I will tell you that the first time Sebastian had a preshot number too low to shoot (it was 117 and led to his first month of "remission"), he had just eaten Spots Stew about two hours earlier. Obviously that wasn't the only factor that led to his good numbers, but it certainly didn't seem to make him jump!

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Ok, I just heard back from the guy at Weruva. He was very nice and really helpful. I think I ran into the same problem that you did, Traci, in that maybe I didn't ask for the right thing, even though I read this thread 3 times before calling. Anyway, I have the numbers and I also plugged them into the calculator but it came out sounding too good to be true, so maybe I didn't do it right? I give Janet lots of credit, too. I had no idea what went into this.

As-fed values for Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken:
Protein: 14%
Fat: 1.7%
Carbs: 1%
Calories: 62 calories/3 oz can

According to the calculator, those values come out to:
Protein: 77.5%
Fat: 18.1%
Carbs: 4.4%

If you end up liking the Cowboy Cookout, please let me know. I have 21 cans of it that mine won't eat (gobbled up the test cans, then when I bought the case, they wouldn't touch it) and I would be glad to send them to you. I have called a few shelters in the area and they do not want canned food (?!), so they are currently sitting in my cabinet, taking up valuable space. ;-)

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

This link has Halo coupons:
http://www.halopets.com/coupons/

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Hi Traci,

So sorry to hear about Boomer's troubles. Just wanted to chime in here and let you know that the Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken could be another option like Sarah mentioned. Flame has been in remission over a year now, but when he was still on insulin, I did feed this to him and he liked it and it did not seem to affect his BG's. Flame had the other kind of IBD... constant, horrible diarrhea for nearly 2 years and it did clear up once I got him off all grains and glutens. It's a horrible feeling when you don't know what is causing it, I know.

Good luck with this and keep us posted. I hope Boomer starts feeling better really soon.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

The Weruva numbers aren't 100% accurate. The company claims that all their foods are low carb but some contain rice and other carb ingredients. Several members have asked for the "as fed" numbers in the past but were give other numbers instead.

Paw Lickin Chicken may be low carb for some cats but mid/high carb for others. It spiked my cat's bgs. Mack and Jack is definitely low/no carb since it's just fish in jelly. Of course, you don't want to feed that all the time. I think the only other non-rice containing varieties are Outback Grill and Nine Liver.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Another good, low carb chunks in gravy cat food is Avoderm. The numbers are on the old canned list. The chicken is also considered a good IBD food because of the limited ingredients.

I am going through the food search for Minou, my civie, right now. She has suspected IBD (thickened intestines on an ultrasound, waiting for fPLI and bile acid test results) and early CRF. Her vet doesn't want her to have any chicken, turkey, beef, wheat, soy, or corn. She sent two cans of Hills d/d duck home and Minou had only eaten about 3 oz. in the last 48 hours. I gave her a 1/2 can of Ziwipeak Venison tonight and she polished off the whole thing. It is definitely low carb, but unfortunately probably too high in phosphorus.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Sarah - I laughed out loud when I read the part about the Cowboy Cookout and that you can't even give it to shelters FOR FREE! That's completely INSANE and of course that your cats ate it when you first brought it home but not when you bought a case!! :lol: Terrible!

PetSmart doesn't have Merrick (and that's where I went tonight) so I haven't bought any yet to try - but thank you for your offer. I'll definitely let you know.

I've never heard of Weruva but thank you for telling me about it. Where do you buy it?

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Larry-thank you! That's a great coupon! (get $1 off 3 cans!)

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Donna- thank you. I spent A LOT of time at work today researching grain free/gluten free foods and was able to find a TON of them that are low carb and med carb. I am SO happy to hear that your cat's IBD cleared up after removing this stuff. That's my new crusade! I am determined to help my boy. He's only 3 and has had so many issues which are all cleared up now except the IBD and I will help him get through this too. What kind of food do you feed him now? What about beef? I've heard beef is a potential problem with some cats. I have never heard of Weruva but I will look for it.

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Weruva is sold at Petco here. I am afraid to feed too much of it because it is mostly all fish (I've read that is bad for cats with urinary blockage history, which Sebastian has dealt with).

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

Boomer has had an ultrasound and fPLI too, not a biopsy. Luckily there are several types of duck food out there as well as vennison and even lamb. Luckily we have options. There is a new sticky I believe on Health which lists grain-free foods. I looked them up and lots of them are low carb. You should check out this list!

 

Re: Spot's Stew- second call to Halo - please help

You guys are not gonna believe this! This food smells great!! And Boomer ate the whole can in one shot! Yay! We'll see if he does it again. He's known for trying something once, appearing to LOVE it, then when I buy more - he won't touch it. This already happened with Nature's Balance Duck and EVO Duck. Grrr.

I remember when this food came out Ellen DeGeneres ate it herself! I remember seeign that and wanting to puke! But I'm telling ya, if I were stuck on an idland somewhere I'd eat this stuff. At least the chicken flavor! :lol:

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

Glad he liked the Halo, Traci. I've been wondering about the Weruva also. The Paw Lickin chicken in particular. Just makes me wonder in that saucy/gravy and with potato starch how it could be low carb. It certainly is minimal ingredient. But sounds like the company has not offered information that can be reliably interpreted. We'd love to check this one out.

One of the specialty Natural pet stores here has it, but i also think pet supplies plus carries it. I've never been but know it's a chain so maybe one near you.
I like the looks of this. If someone can figure out the REAL numbers on it, please let us know.
i can make the calls & ask questions, just don't trust my conversions to be accurate.

BTW, Hank LOVES cowboy cookout. (mouse in a can) I can't believe yours didn't sarah. Why are you so far away? this shelter would take 'em!

I am going to try to get nutrient info. on the By Nature Organic that Ella & a few others have been using. Not sure if it is human grade or now.
OMG, Karen NO chicken turkey or beef?
You're lucky she likes venison. That has NOT been a hit at our house. I don't know WHAT we'd do. Already, trying to watch phosphorous, not eat fish, limit beef, hates venison, low carb, high protein, low fat. PLUS HE HAS TO LIKE IT! WHAT DO WE DO? Too much criteria!!

My hard core die hard dry addict civvie Elvis (Innova, but still) has FINALLY shown interest in 1 canned food. Of all things, it's organic beef liver. I'm just so grateful to see him try anything. I just beam when he eats it. He has access to bowls out all day of a buffet of canned, but he would go on hunger strike before touching any of them. I am at least transitioning him somewhat to Evo dry in the interim. This cat actually licked the tuna juice enhancer off the canned food i was using to entice him and walked away. No go.
he doesn't even like freeze dried treats, so dust on top won't work. His heels are dug in.
But anyway, now he likes this one food called SOrganic liver. BUT it's being discontinued. I was excited but also worried about him eating that much liver since it's an organ meat. And can you get too much iron? Anyway, I call the company & discovered they are phasing it out, no longer going to make it but have a 2 year inventory. It turns out not to be AAFCo approved, certain nuances I didn't fully get. Some issues with a former canner in Argentina. Also says since is meat only w/ no supplements or vitamins it is not a complete diet. He says any fed liver needs to be organic due it filtering the bodies toxins.
So the irony, after I find ONE single canned food my die hard civvie holdout will eat, not only does it have all these issues, but it's LIVER. Is this not ironic since his brother just went through liver training school? Hank hates this stuff BTW.
SO now what?
My guess is if i found really bad, cheap, meat by products filled, high carb w/ gravy grocery store canned cat food, he'd probably like it. OY!

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

Yep. She has been on low carb, gluten free for the last 3 1/2 years because of Angus's diabetes (mostly Fancy Feast and Wellness) and developed IBD or lymphoma anyway. Vet wants a protein source she has never eaten. She vetoed the duck and she had already had rabbit. The venison and lamb were the last two I could find that were nutritionally complete. I found pheasant, buffalo, and beaver all meat, but then all of the complete supplements had chicken and/or beef. EVO venison is low carb and low phosphorus but my local natural pet food store was out and said they were having a hard getting it in. So, I took a chance and ordered a case of the EVO from petfooddirect today. That just about guarantees she will hate it. My local SPCA loves me lately.

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

I have a newly opened can of Evo Venison in the fridge ....he is NOT having any part of it ..+ another in the cabinet. The large 12ozers at that. That's $2.50 I'll never get back. i tried mixing some with Wellness turkey which he eats regularly and he didn't fall for that either.

Too bad we don't live nearby...we could do some swapping. I think I also have a lamb instinct in there and thumbs down so far on it also.

Wonder why they can't get any Venison in?


I have managed so far to find about 4-5 brands, Wellness still his staple, and 3 varieties he likes in that one. He's also likes the Core canned, but the carbs are almost 8%. I'm still trying for more variety.
The Evo 95% ones are hit or miss...or he likes them once but not on round 2. Regualr evo is great low carb, but has really high phosph, and he runs really hot/cold on it anyway.
Our search continues. He's still craving dry, he hears anything resembling bag of food and comes running.

How did the rabbit go over? Was it instinct?

BTW, you could add supplements to the all-meat one's you mentioned.

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

Our cats are like this with EVO 95%, too. Sometimes they will gobble it up. Other times they go on a hunger strike until we put something else in a bowl.

They seem to like the beef more than the chicken. Except for the days when they like the chicken more than the beef. :roll:

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

It looks like you can still buy SOrganic directly from the company: https://sobrightllc.com/cat_organic_food.htm

I fed SOrganic as an occasional treat. I was concerned about the food not containing vitamins or mineals even though the company claims that the food are nutritionally balanced.

I think too much liver can cause health issues in cats. Dr. Lisa's web site might have some info about this.

 

Re: Spot's Stew - update! Success (so far)

We found this one trick when we switched from dry to wet food - both canned and raw.
If Bonnie turns her nose up on what's offered... we drop a small dehydrated liver treat in the middle of her wet food. By the time she eats that she is continuing to eat the rest of the wet food. We don't have to do it every time and don't want her to get used to it... but it still works once in a while :razz:

 

Hi Fellow Cat Nuts-

The grainless food switch saga continues.....
I'm definitely a nut. :lol:
So yesterday Spot's Stew was a huge hit! He ate the whole bowl...yummy!!! Then I put it out in his overnight feeder. NOTHING. In the morning - no go - now it's offensive. I opened a NEW flavor of Spot's Stew and he ate a tiny bit. Then I gave him more of the sliced food he LOVED yesterday (Sophisticat) and only a couple bites today. THEN (I'm getting crazier by the minute) I gave him a tiny taste of Liver and Chicken Pro-Plan - yum - ate it all. So I put it on TOP of the sliced food with his Budesonide sprinkled on it so if he starts eating he MAY get some of his medication sometime today.

My other option is to give him his pill in a pill pocket BUT that risks his BG's going up because I have to use about 3 pill pockets to get it all in there. UGH! I tested him this morning and he was 99. I don't know if he'd eaten or not, so I'll retest tonight just to see where he is.

DO YOU SEE WHY I ONLY HAVE ONE CAT????? @-)

 

if you are still interested in this - I got an email coupon save $10 on this.Oh it's dry and must buy treats too - there is a $1 off cans too.

 

Thanks Hillary - Larry already gave it to me!

 

Have you tried crushing the pill and mixing it into some baby food? I got this idea from someone here (can't remember who, probably multiple people) and tried it with Buzz's AB, and it worked like a charm. I got the Beef flavor because it had only 2 ingredients. Again, this obviously isn't a food solution, but it might allow you to get his medicine in him at least.

 

Yeah, that's an idea - if he'll eat the baby food! LOL. Lately I never know what he'll eat so I'm afraid to add the pill to it. Drives me a little bit NUTS! nailbite_smile

 

squeem3

I can still get it locally. They were actually GIVING it away at one store as samples since they are no longer going to carry and are pushing their stock. That's how we found it in the first place. Hank hated it, but lo and behold...ELVIS loves it. Though that so excited me, since speaking with the guy at Sobright, I've got more pause than I already had for all the aforementioned reasons. They are now going to make only treats selling off the canned inventory. Initially the guy there said the problems were with the dog food only, not cat. But pushing further, the cat had some issues also...not passed a couple of dept. of ag. approvals, etc.. The essence was that both the dog & to some degree cat foods have had problems either involving the supplier in Argentina, the canner, AAFCO, & or dept of ag in passing various tests. He made it sound like most were resolved, playing down the testing issues as being minor nuances, just one test, that sort of thing. But he did acknowledge them ultimately.
It's not good for him to eat all the time anyway & since it isn't complete..I have to find something else.
OF ALL THINGS..he finally likes one food, ONE..and it has issues.

I called around yesterday and didn't find a single other straight beef liver option, organic or otherwise. I may try chicken liver...but this guy knows what he does or rather DOESN't want. And so far, it's been everything BUT this.