Bev told us that Eukanuba was changing the look of all of the bags, and reformulating their kibbles to add a special prebiotic ingredient which they refer to as FOS. We were intrigued because the only “FOS” that we’ve ever heard of were the members of the Catster group Friends of Skeezix (the Cat).
But apparently the “FOS” in the Eukanuba food is actually somethin’ called Fructooligosaccharides. Hmmm ... never heard of ‘em. Thankfully, Bev knows all about those FOS an’ she provided some information to educate us ‘bout what they do:
“Fructooligosaccharides, a prebiotic fiber, provides a food source to the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, which helps reduce the bad bacteria. This helps maintain a healthy balance in the digestive system and supports healthy defenses. This prebiotic is now in all Eukanuba cat formulas.”
If you wanna get some additional information about FOS an’ what it does, you can visit Bev’s personal blog.
A few days after we accepted Eukanuba's offer to be taste-testers, our Man-in-the-Brown-Shorts arrived with a ginormous box of FREE Eukanuba bags! Bev sent food especially chosen for our unique needs: Charmee an’ Sparky Fuzzypants received bags of Eukanuba Indoor Hairball formula; Pumpkin got a bag of Eukanuba Kitten formula because he needs the additional nutrition after having a debilitating stroke; Cocoa Puff’s bag was Eukanuba Weight Control; and bein’ a “geezer-ette,” I got Eukanuba Senior formula.
When Mom put the box onto the dining room table, we all wanted to see what we’d gotten. It was better than CHRISTMAS! Charmee literally got into the box with the five bags of food an’ tried to open them with his teeth. Have I mentioned that we really love Eukanuba? When there’s a new bag of food in the house, Mom knows that she’s gotta open it up an’ let us have some right away. But not this time ... Mom had a job to do first an’ it didn’t have anything to do with “weaning” us onto the new formulation (Of course, efurryone knows that kitties with sensative tummies should eat a mix of their ”old food with their new food for a couple of days” just to be safe).
Why was Mom takin’ her sweet time before openin’ those bags an’ lettin’ us taste ‘em? Well ... She wanted to get the bags photographed first an’ they don’t look quite as pretty when one of us has his/her head stuffed into the bag an’ is gobblin’ away ...
Needless to say, we couldn’t detect any difference in the flavor, color, texture, size or shape of our Eukanuba kibbles. We plowed through bowls of it each and efurryday just like we always do. Personally, I don’t think that you’ll notice any difference either ... Other than the labels on the bags (which feature larger kitties on each bag and clearer item descriptions). I suppose the intention was to keep cats’ intestinal tracts healthier by reducing the bad bacteria and enhancing the beneficial ones. Mom has noted that our litter boxes don’t tend to smell as odoriferous (Mom actually says, “Rank nasty!”) than prior to the beginning of our taste-testing. The odor change happened within seven days. Even Grandma has noticed a marked decrease in fecal odor in addition to fewer loose bowel movements from those of us with more sensative tummies. We owe this improvement to Eukanuba with FOS. The bags of food have also lasted a bit longer than normal, too. Mom’s attributing that partly to the warm weather reducing our appetites, but we think that the new formula is more satisfying than what we’ve eaten in the past. Hmm ...
In addition to the five bags of newly formulated Eukanuba kibbles for kitties, Bev an’ her colleague, Emily, also sent us FIVE vouchers each good for a FREE 4-pound bag of Eukanuba Cat food. Five lucky commenters on this post will each receive a voucher (courtesy of Eukanuba) with a little prize-pack from me. If you wanna Eukanuba ... an’ your fambly lives in the United States (sorry international readers) ... leave me a comment on this post. If there is more than one kitty livin’ at your house, you can leave a separate comment from each kitty (up to five kitties total) ... to give efurryone a chance at a coupon. Only one coupon will be awarded to a household, so if Zoey, Cha-Ching, Chewie, Smoke, an’ Tigger each leave me a comment, an’ Chewie is selected to receive a coupon an’ prize-pack, then no other kitty at their house can get one. Unnerstand? Good.
In the interest of full transparency: DaisyMae Maus an’ the Feline Americans received the five FREE bags of new Eukanuba Cat food an’ the five FREE 4-pound Eukanuba Cat food vouchers to give away to readers courtesy of the Eukanuba Company and at no cost. Additionally, FOS was already in Eukanuba Cat Sensitive Stomach formula, so no change there. FOS has been added into all of the other formulas. The biggest change is in how the packages look.
If you are one of the five lucky kitties to receive a voucher for a FREE 4-pound bag of Eukanuba kibbles, please send Bev some feedback via her bloggie: Pet Care Bev. We think that you’ll enjoy Eukanuba Cat kibbles with FOS as much as we have. The five voucher recipients will be selected at 12:01 AM on Thursday, October 1, 2009 (Grandad's birthday!).