Oh, much controversy about food quality.  It's like all the arguments in
comp.os.linux.advocacy, or alt.fan.furry, just not as...scary. =^^=

I'll bet it's a combination of both, actually.  Your generic brands
(President's Choice, Sam's Choice, etc.) are pretty much...well, cruddy,
but there's worse out there (Purina's Indoor Blend uses cellulose as a
primary ingredient, for instance).

This is of course keeping in mind that, at least here, pet food has to
follow certain nutritional guidelines.  Canada is probably the same.

But, what your vet sells isn't always the sine qua non of foods.  I've got
people who tell me that Hills' stuff is next to Meow Mix in quality and
will sell me things like Natural Life, yet vets will shrug at that (not to
mention that "liver" is one of the first ingredients in their Prescription
a/d) and sell it; I know breeders who swear by varying foods - usually the
higher quality brands, and nothing less than Iam's or Eukanuba, or hell,
even Fancy Feast.  (I kinda see why there, since they seem to actually put
fish in their stuff).  The universally accepted rule is that, unless
you're blending foods, you avoid the generic stuff.

(And the NL I'll buy anyway - my kids like it., and I can get it for
relatively cheap from this nice lady down the road. =^^= )

That all being said, you won't kill your cat on generic stuff, but you can
do better at any rate, and you don't necessarily need to put them on
Medical unless your vet has reason for a prescription diet.

From what I know of Loblaws (the parent company), at least
part of what your vet said was true.  They do demand the cheapest *possible*
prices from the companies that manufacture their PC products--human or
otherwise.  Companies that do not comply (i.e. try to raise their prices)
get dropped and other companies will be brought in to make those products.
I've noticed a decline in quality in many of their human foods (even their
chocolate chip cookies, which used to be very good) over the last 10 years
or so, and a lot of their newer products are mediocre at best (in my
opinion).  That being said, I think your vet may be confusing their No-Name
brand with PC brand.  The No-Name brand is definitely of very low quality
while PC is at least a little higher--how much higher, I don't know.

(If you're wondering, the info I gave on Loblaw's demanding the cheapest
prices from their suppliers was gained from a CBC show--either Ventures or
Marketplace--segment on the topic.)

Also keep in mind that Westfair Foods (the Western subsidiary of Loblaws)
was charged and found guilty of changing "packed on" dates on meats for
humans
(http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/projud/2003/20031031e.shtml ).
If they do things like that to human food, do you really think they'll make
sure manufacturers maintain high standards for their pet food?

I don't know that Medi-Cal pet food is better or worse.  I tend to be wary
of vets that push foods they sell.  One of the problems that I have with PC
cat food, and this is the primary reason I don't feed it to my cat, is the
lack of information provided.  There is much less nutritional information
available for PC cat food--even their website is of little help.  I tend to
distrust companies that force you to ask for information that should be
readily accessible.  It makes me think they're hiding something.

rona