Hi C4C,
I figured I’d start with the origins to determine quality. At least with their vitamin packs. So my reasoning was that Susan Thixton had written several times to Stella and Chewy’s asking where their ingredients are sourced. Shouldn’t be anything to hide. They claimed their recipes are USA manufactured. Deceptive if yes MADE here but ingredients source should be listed on their website. So it turns out that eventually they admitted to some vitamins/minerals are from China. They emailed me back stating that this was back in 2011 and they no longer source from China and then gave me all their ingredient sources. I was looking on their website for kibble with grain. So looking at their ingredient list and clicked on Taurine which was highlighted on their sight . So they wrote that they add Taurine since dogs’ cannot synthasize their own. So a company that doesn’t even know that generally dogs DO synthesize their own taurine if given the proper diet. Only cats’ need added Taurine. (Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid. Cats deficient in taurine will develop DCM. Nutritional research indicates that taurine is an essential amino acid for cats, but it is generally not considered an essential amino acid for dogs, because dogs are able to synthesize taurine from dietary cysteine and methionine. I say generally not required for dogs because Golden retrievers and American cocker spaniels can develop DCM secondary to taurine deficiency. However, taurine deficiency does not to appear to be the primary cause of the diet-related cardiomyopathy the FDA is investigating)
I mean at least explain that out of precaution we add Taurine . So cannot trust a company that doesn’t even know why they are adding taurine to their recipe. I mean am I wrong, or is what they wrote ignorant? Thank’s for responding and Happy New Year to you also.
