[BoscosMum]

What is up with the pet store employees???
I go in to purchase my cat food (various types of wet food)

So 2 of them gang up on me and tell me never to feed my cat wet food!
Since this is new to me....I dont have the right words to challenge them.
I 100% believe I am doing the correct thing....but I am not good with
up-front personal debates. Arrrrggghhhh!!!

I just wish I had the perfect thing to say to them in order to correct them!
Can you believe this was the store that sells the high-end food?
I got Wellness, Felidae, Precise, Chicken Soup and Solid Gold
wet food varieties.......(Bosco is PICKY)

I just could not believe I was buying this stuff and they are telling
me it is a 'big mistake'! :x

 

[queen of the nile]

Bah... what are *their* credentials :wink: . Next time tell them to bugger off or you'll take your business elsewhere :twisted: . Pray-tell, why do they sell the food if it's so horrible in their minds? Maybe you should speak to their boss instead?

 

[Ianthe]

I hate that :x A few weeks ago, I was at Petco shopping for cat food (I was buying Pet Gold Elite wet) and I was pounced on by the Science Diet representative. She would not leave me alone!! I was like, look,lady, I'm not going to buy that food or feed it to my cats even if you GIVE it to me!! She went on and on and on :roll: Argh. She was doing it to everyone there.

 

[Padunk]

I used to work in a petstore about seven years ago. I was taught to pitch certain foods and generally believed that I was doing the right thing. I would assume that these employees are hired with little to no knowledge of feline (and canine) nutrition. It's the training staff and/or management team that's responsible.

 

[opokki]

I can't believe they sell if thats the way they feel. Check out Dr. Jeans links that way you'll be prepared to comment if you are ever in a situation like this again.

 

[BoscosMum]

I can't believe they sell if thats the way they feel. Check out Dr. Jeans links that way you'll be prepared to comment if you are ever in a situation like this again.

1 of them went as far to say....she wishes their store did not even sell it!
She also stated that the pet food companies should not even make the
stuff! 8O I was just shocked! 8O
She was insistent that it is terrible for cats and the worst thing I could feed my cat...when I asked her why she felt so strongly?
She stated because of the teeth...I did come back with the fact that is a myth and cats do not really even chew the food...I told her I watched my cat up close and it is a *1 crunch & swallow*....she thinks I am full of it!
I did tell her that I am off to WalMart to buy a digital scale, I am going to begin charting his weight loss...and I will bring it into her in a couple of months to show her! She suggest I buy my cat the lite versions of food...
NO WAY! I did tell her that has more carbohydrates and cats get fatter from it. I just dont think I was going to sway her feelings what-so-ever!

 

[Zalensia]

Wow
I work in a pet superstore at the moment, but even we know more than that!
I cant believe they pounced on you like that, id have demanded to see the manager and complained about the staff intimidating you, he the manager did nothing demand the head office address- he would soon start panacing then, and he cant refuse to give it to you!

I have to agree on particular brand reps. When I see them they drive me mad too. One day I will be in there as a customer when they see me, then I will show them :twisted:

 

[kitkat]

Sometimes the best thing for you to do is brush them off and consider them an idiot. I mean you may have some good arguments but in those situations those idiots are not going to sit down and think rationally on it, they will stick to their own opinion even more. It's too bad you had to go through that though :roll:

 

[Gabreilla Moushigo]

I am going to begin charting his weight loss...and I will bring it into her in a couple of months to show her! She suggest I buy my cat the lite versions of food...
NO WAY! I did tell her that has more carbohydrates and cats get fatter from it. I just dont think I was going to sway her feelings what-so-ever!

Don't bother - it's not even worth it. I'm thinking they don't know what they are talking about - either that or someone told them something to make them feel VERY strongly about what they are saying to you.

They just walked up to you and started talking? Or did you ask them questions about the food?

They also might not know that there are certain canned foods that are meant to be meals and not fillers (like the low priced bs they try to sell all the time).

My sugestion would be - don't go back. Cat food is such a stupid thing for these employees to get pissed at you about - and if they are so bored they can't find something else to do than argue with their customers - then it's just not worth it.

Find another store to buy from unless that is the only store that carries what you need. In which case - tell the manager that the employees are harassing you if they approach you again. Either that... or ignore the suckers... pick up the food - and buy it - and if they refuse to sell it to you - then they will get into even more trouble!

 

[Ianthe]

They just walked up to you and started talking? Or did you ask them questions about the food?

In my case, I was minding my own business, filling my basket with Pet Gold Elite wet, and I was "pounced" on by the employees! :evil:

 

[Maleke]

Lucky for everyone, I'm a pet store employee!!!! Haha. It's good to know that I know I'm not giving people bad advice, or wrong advice about food since I have learned SOOOOOO much from this forum!

 

[BoscosMum]

I had asked if 'Felidae' just has 1 formula..(first time I bought it)
Right away....they asked me why I was buying wet food.

Yes this is the only place in town that carries some of the high quality
stuff.....but Bosco at this point will only eat Fancy Feast
He will also eat Nutro Pouches I can buy those at Petco!

So I will not need to go back for a while....(until I need dog food)

 

[Superkitties]

Dawn, that is just a bizarre experience! What were they thinking, and what kind of training have they been given to even think that wet food is bad??!

They're lucky they talked to a civil person like you. They will soon accost the wrong person, someone like me.

I can spew reams of data on cat food and teeth to make them spin, if I'm in the mood. If they're fortunate, they'll just get my "Get the F*$# out of my way" with a few more choice words. I don't need to get harassed while I'm shopping.

Fancy Feast, eh?

Bosco loves his junk food, what a discriminating boy! I will feed FF as a "McD's" treat every so often to mine. They love it too. They also love their Nutro pouches and Optimum, but dislike most other types. But they love all dry kibble (YAY), so lots of the uber-premium stuff for them!

 

[BoscosMum]

Yes...Bosco loves Fancy Feast...
I am worried that it is bad for him, my hope is that once he gets into
a regular feeding schedule....I will wait to introduce new foods.
I have just this past few days noticed a good eating pattern!
I mean where he is actually eating his meals.

He gets the Nutro pouches in the mornings....and he is getting better about them. He has yet to finish 1 pouch....but he has worked up to about 85% of 1 pouch.
Boy does he come running when the Fancy Feast can gets opened!
Doesnt matter what flavor either! I wonder just how much artificial flavoring is in that junk??? Am I doing him an injustice by feeding it to him? The others he just walks away from...so I dont know what to do.

 

[oscar]

We recently tried Avoderm canned (chicken variety) and our boys absolutely loved it! They prefer it over Felidae, Innova, California Natural, etc. Avoderm dry has corn, but their canned is quite good!

Our boys also swallow their food whole most of the time. I've been told canned sticks to their teeth because it's not rough like the dry, but have also read that the carbs in dry are bad for their teeth. We brush 2/3 boys teeth with kitty brushes and paste. Our 10+ kitty has only been with us 6 months, so he won't let us brush.

 

[BoscosMum]

I am planning on starting teeth brushing, for my dogs too.
I am really good at giving cats pills, I have a way I hold them.
I have had to go to friends houses before to give their cats medicine.
LOL! So I think....if I hold my cat the same way I can get the teeth done.
How often do you brush them...is the paste expensive? Can you use a regular childs toothbrush?

 

[Sol]

Yeah, I know, they can be a pain in the ***. I've only met ONE pet shop employee (actuarally the owner) who's really nice. She knows that I make the cat food myself and she does everything she can to help med find the stuff I need. She's lovely. Most of the people in pet shops aren't, I've noticed. In Sweden people are even more unaware of the potential problems with dry food so it's extra hard to explain why I buy wet food (when I'm lazy) or why I cook my own cat food. I've learned to ignore them and go to antoher pet shop. I simply know that I know more about feline nutrition than they do :wink:

 

[queen of the nile]

BoscosMum - I brush my cats' teeth everyday. The paste is quite expensive ($10 Can), but you don't need to use a lot. I use a pea-sized glob for each cat and so the tube lasts a long time. You could use a child's toothbrush, but I prefer the cat ones. My vet gives out the packages of cat tooth-brush and small pack of paste for free. You should see if your vet does something similar. I don't like the finger brushes, however, because I feel they don't do as good of a job.