« « Oh how I wish I had a camera for this one…| I’m thinking I should add this to my Christmas list: » »
Here’s a copy of the complaint
August 30, 2005 |
That I sent in to Nutro:
First let me say that I am a faithful customer, and heartily endorse Nutro Products to other pet-owning friends. I myself own four cats, and feed them an all-canned diet. The benefits of such a diet can be read about here: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
I was in the pet store Sunday morning (name of store, location), and there was a Nutro representative there. In addition to standing behind the table and offering information and free samples, he was also walking up and down the pet food aisles and engaging pet owners in conversations regarding their pet’s diet. That is not what I have a problem with. What I have a problem with, is the erroneous information that he freely gave to unsuspecting pet owners. As any pet owner would, they desire the best for their pet, and hearing information from a representative of the company holds a lot of weight.So it concerned me greatly when this representative began to tell these people how bad canned food was. He said, and I quote, “Most canned food is 70% water.” I was a little suprised that he would say that. Not only is it not true*, he’s also saying this with the backing of a company that sells canned food! Which, by the way, I buy for my cats.
He also went on to say that it should be fed very rarely, if at all, as it is more of a “treat” than anything. Obviously, he’s never read the part of the label that says canned food is AAFCO certified! And being a customer, I know that your canned food is nutritionally balanced and is most certainly NOT a treat to be fed only on “rare occasions”.
To be honest, this spreading of patently false information infuriates me. And considering that you are a company that makes and sells canned cat food, I was shocked that your representative would dissuade people from buying it.
* actually, it is true that canned food is mostly water. What I was taking issue with, is that it was made to sound like is a bad thing. As moggiegirl on the Cat Forum pointed out, “It is true that canned food contains more than 70% water but on a dry matter basis canned food contains more protein than dry food. The meat we buy in a grocery store is about 70% water too and so are mice and birds and all the prey animals cats eat in the wild. That’s why the correct way to calculate nutritional adequacy is on a dry matter basis. If canned food is 78% water and 22% dry matter and the label on the can of food reads 10% protein you divide the 10% protein into the 22% dry matter to get 45% protein. Too many people are reading it wrong. They see 10% protein on the label of the can and think all they’re feeding their cat is a canned drink of water. WRONG!!! It’s actually a nutritionally complete meal that is high in water, good for nourishing the body.”
That is all.
