FDA Warns Staff On Major Melamine Health Risks
Itchmo has learned that the FDA has issued a surveillance order for Chinese vegetable proteins on May 1 — including corn gluten and wheat products — based on melamine contamination.
Despite repeated FDA statements saying that there is no risk to human health from contaminated pigs and chickens, the FDA surveillance order indicates otherwise. It states: Pregnant women should not perform this assignment. (Emphasis ours)
Melamine and additional related contaminants have been found in concentrations of up to 20% in analyzed samples. The MSDS for pure melamine is attached as Attachment B and includes warnings “to avoid breathing dust, avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing”. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage.
Clearly, the FDA is concerned with the safety of their own staff’s exposure to melamine-tainted foods. Despite this warning, the FDA told the press and us yesterday that animals that ate tainted foods were safe for human consumption.
This PDF document contains the basis for FDA’s warning to it’s staff.
In fact, the Chinese factory that produced melamine-tainted wheat products was long associated with toxic symptoms. (Reg. required)
May 9th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
“concentrations of up to 20% in analyzed samples” ????????????
Pregnant women should not perform this assignment. ?????????????
Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage.?????????
But risk assessments showed that there is no problem!!!! What a pack of lies and S**T!!!!!!!!!
May 9th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
“Despite repeated FDA statements saying that there is no risk to human health….FDA surveillance order indicates otherwise.
Man, is there no end to the deep chasm of a hole the FDA keeps digging itself into?
May 9th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Anyone else notice the plummeting chicken prices?
May 9th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
*has nothing post-able to say*
but i’m sure the neighbors heard me. hope i didn’t offend the priest in the next apt . . . .
May 9th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Gee, and it’s only Wednesday. If 20,000,000 detained chickens were last Friday’s show, I’m scared to even think about what may be coming for this week’s end revelation.
May 9th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Anyone ELSE notice that now at least two canned/pouched pet foods are being advertised with more beef and fish and less grain and fillers? So maybe they are learning something. We don’t want pet food full of grain. But guess what? The melanine is in the fish now. I’m betting it’ll also end up in the beef.
Melanine has entered our food chain. I doubt any food is really safe now. Even people who didn’t buy from China, probably ended up buying from someone here who knew it was bought first from China and didn’t tell them.
So now we are ALL suffering because of liars, crooks, cheaters, swindlers, the FDA, the Pet Food Companies, China, etc etc etc…
All this is giving me a headache…
May 9th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
I just want to know who the two companies that “issued recalls” because of Cereal Byproducts are. I call CB and they kept telling me to check the FDA website…… So, we don’t have a clue who the two are let alone the undisclosed third…
May 9th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Some interesting news posted by Pet Food Express (a bay area pet food store that has taken a hard-line approach in determining which pet foods to sell since the recalls began in March).
http://tinyurl.com/yqk6kr
(Full text of Pet Food Express’s 5/8/07 update pasted below)
Latest Update - Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 10:00 a.m.
There is good news and bad news on the recall front
The Bad News: Triumph has recalled some of its cans because the cans may have been cross contaminated with Melamine. The recalled cans are:
Beef Cuts for cats 3oz can
Beef Cuts for dogs 5.5oz can
Turkey for cats 3oz pouch
Mixed Grill for cats 3oz pouch
We of course have pulled the entire Triumph line of canned foods until we get testing confirming that the cans do not have any detectable levels of Melamine. For more information, please visit www.triumphpet.com.
The FDA has not recalled the Evolve or Hi Tor brands from Triumph, and they are still available for sale at our stores.
The Good News: We have received test results from Diamond showing that all the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand of dog and cat cans (except Kitten and Puppy) have no detectable levels of Melamine. The test results are available here.
All the Chicken Soup for the Soul cans except kitten and Puppy are now available for sale at our stores and we feel that they are safe to feed. The dry food is all available and has not been associated with this recall.
More Good News: We have received test results from Natural Balance showing that All the Natural Balance Dry food except the Venison Dog and Venison and Green Pea Cat have no detectable levels of Melamine. We also have test results on the following cans which show no detectable levels of Melamine:
Natural Balance Duck & Potato Canned Dog Formula
Natural Balance Liver Canned Dog Formula
Natural Balance Indoor Canned Cat Formula
Natural Balance Turkey & Giblets Canned Cat Formula
Natural Balance Ultra Premium Canned Cat Formula
All of the these items are available for sale.
We are still waiting on test results for the following items and they are not available for sale:
Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea Cat Can
Natural Balance Tuna with Shrimp Cat Can
Natural Balance Salmon Cat Can
Natural Balance Oceanfish Cat Can
Natural Balance Beef Dog Can
Natural Balance Chicken Dog Can
Natural Balance Lamb Dog Can
Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice Dog Can
For more information, please visit www.naturalbalanceinc.com
May 9th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Mandy: “All this is giving me a headache…”
I’d suggest having a vat of Exedrin on hand because this freak show has only just begun.
May 9th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I seriously doubt the cows are affected, because the better beef are fed corn and silage. I used to own a cow. She ate the same stuff as my horse, grain and hay. Chickens and pigs will eat almost anything. Besides, the “salvage pet food” is for non-ruminant animals only…
May 9th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Hope the grain fed to the horses and cattle isn’t from China…
May 9th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
CAN WE PAY ATTENTION WHEN GOVERNMENT DOES SOMETHING RIGHT?
It’s probably not your fault that you don’t know about this BREAKING NEWS since no one on the blogs or on TV — only newspapers — has featured this: Today the Senate passed, nearly unanimously, the FDA Revitalization Act, which included Sen. Dick Durbin’s emergency food safety amendment.
NEWS STORY:
http://thehill.com/leading-the.....05-09.html
This is critically important legislation that further empowers the FDA, and gives it more funding.
It’s one thing to constantly blame the FDA, but it’s another to recognize that the FDA can’t do its job without more funding and far more staffingL The huge rise in imports requires more inspectors, but Bush has cut the FDA’s budget every year. Today’s passage of this historic legislation will begin to make that possible, as long as Bush doesn’t veto the bill.
Durbin’s next step is to get his Food Safety Act passed. He added the Food Safety amendment to the newly passed Act as an emergency measure.
It’s a two-pronged problem: The FDA has been systematically starved of funding by Bush. And Bush has appointed leadership to the FDA that is too much in bed with big business … this latter problem won’t be cured until 2009 with a new administration that is more consumer-friendly. (You can scream at the FDA, but if they’re doing Bush’s bidding, they won’t listen.)
For background on the FDA’s funding woes, listen to this terrific program featuring a former FDA commissioner and Rep. Bart Stupak, who led the recent House hearing.
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/07/05/08.php#13174
May 9th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Mandy - Funny you should say that 20 years ago I fed Purina made in the good ole USA. Today Purina is made in China. Haven’t fed the stuff to my horse in years…..
May 9th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I happen to know that Pedigree doesn’t use ingredients from China. Problem is as far as I know they only make food for dogs, not cats, and I have cats! Does anyone know of any good cat food that isn’t made with China ingredients and isn’t full of grain? I was going to just feed them chicken and fish, but well, now that isn’t such a great solution either, and they don’t like beef.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
ann Says at 7:56 pm
“Besides, the “salvage pet food†is for non-ruminant animals only…”
You may want to read David Goldstein’s article: “You are what you eat: is “salvage†pet food feeding cows to cows?”
I think I’ve read his article at least 7 times and I still haven’t ever gotten over the following:
………………………….
“In the U.S., salvage and distress pet food may be repurposed for livestock feed, but must be labeled “Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other Ruminants†if it contains any mammalian protein at all. That is, any mammalian protein except:
* Milk products.
* Gelatin.
* Blood and blood products.
* Pure pork or horse protein.
* And inspected meat products of any type which have been cooked and offered for human food (such as “plate scrapingsâ€) and further heat processed for animal feed.
Yuck. Who knew that in the U.S. your unfinished burger could make its way into cattle feed via salvage dog feed, and then back onto your plate in the form of another burger? That type of dedication to recycling I can do without.”
………………………….
Yeah - that kind of recycling I can also do without.
Makes me queasy even thinking about it.
For those who missed it, the rest of his article is here:
http://www.horsesass.org/index.....e+pet+food
May 9th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
P.S. I used to feed them Purina till I found out they use China ingredients. I fed it to them all their lives. I feel like my trust has been violated!
May 9th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
This Reuters article will give you a good handle on why China’s business ethics are in such a shambles now. It was not always that way.
“Today, market-oriented reforms in China since the late 1970s have brought dazzling growth and greatly improved living conditions, but also a yawning wealth gap and social tensions.”
http://today.reuters.com/news/.....ticlePage3
Their ethical control system was deconstructed by the same force that is seeking to destroy OURS: the ‘greed is good’ philosophy of Globalism.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
“Due to the nature of this assignment, any positive samples that might be identified must be handled strictly according to protocol. Results or information may not be shared outside of the official channels.”
If they find melamine they are prohibited from telling the people who will eat it!!
“At this time, FDA has no evidence that melamine is in human food.”
What about the chickens, hogs and fish??
“The following personal protective equipment is recommended to prevent such exposures:
a minimum of the half-face, face-sealing respirator (P100) with HEPA filter cartridge (wipe or rinse the respirator facepiece w/o filter cartridge before reuse)
face sealing goggles (vented goggles will be protective) wipe or rinse before reuse
disposable suit (remove and bag prior to entering vehicle)
either disposable shoe covers or wipe/brush shoes prior to entering vehicle
disposable gloves”
And they say this stuff is safe to eat. These people are dressing to enter a nuclear plant.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
ITCHMO?
I think the spam filter is holding one of my posts captive again.
There were no explosives or expletives included. I promise.
Well maybe some melamine but if you’re not pregnant you should be safe?
ITCHMO ADMIN: That thing has a mind of its own. :) Arg. It’s free now.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Oh, the muthaf*#$%@s… Of all the hateable things in the world today, LIARS will almost always top of my list. Part of me feels like screaming to these people, “Say it to my face! Look me in the eyes and tell me you believe what you’re bleating is true.”
I’m resigned to the probability that our food has poisoned us to varying degrees and I know it’s going to take some time for our food to be safe(er) once again (if we’re actually be able to affect some changes, that is). But the ever-increasing evidence of governmental secrecy and deception — and that’s the USA that I’m talking about — infuriates me.
[BTW, thank you Itchmo/Ben for all you’re doing. Bad news can sometimes be good news all at the same time.]
May 9th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
susanUnPC,
Thanks for warning us to avoid scapegoating. It is always a misdirection. We need to keep looking toward the head of the beast.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
[…] The first is a FDA document revealing that pregnant FDA staff were not to be involved with the melamine investigation. […]
May 9th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
*Sings* Row, row, row, your boat, gently down the stream, throw FDA overboard and listen to them scream! AHHHHHHHHHH!
Sorry I couldn’t resist.
I think this whole thing is making me a bit insane. Seriously what do I feed my cats? Someone said Kumpicat was good, but when I went to their website it didn’t say where they got their ingredients from. It really didn’t have much information at all.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
How dare the USDA/FDA issue this order for surveillance of certain wheat, corn, rice, and soy products for melamine beginning on May 2, 2007 — while at the same time they are saying foods adulterated with melamine are safe.
The adjectives are inadequate that we’ve been using to characterize the FDA’s collective behavior since our pets began dying and this crisis has moved into the human food chain. This is criminal. The leaders who made these political appointments should be impeached for threatening the core safety of our people.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I need to lay down awhile. @.@ I’ll check back later to see if there’s anymore information.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Dick Durbin’s website www.durbin.senate.gov has much more detail on the pet food part of the new legislation. There’s still no mandatory recalls tho that I saw. 99-1 is pretty bi-partisan, I’d say!
May 9th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Mandy,
From the KumpiKat website:
No Kumpi products are made by Menu Foods
All Kumpi products are specially formulated by multi-species nutritionist
No soy, by-products or wheat sources
Manufactured by Crosswind Petfood Industries
USDA/APHIS inspected and meats utilized are EU approved
Voluntarily regulated by American Institute of Baking (i.e. held to human bakery standards)
All grains are American grown and regulated
Food is tested before, during and after production
Kumpi Pet Foods does not test on animals
May 9th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Mandy,
Good thing you lost your trust in Purina I have fed PURINA FF to my 2 cats for over 6 years 2 cans into a new pack of 24 cans I have 2 sick cats and 2000.00 in vet bills. So if PURINA is SAFE, I am a monkey’s uncle.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Mandy - I feed my cat Natural Balance Venison and Pea CANNED formula. I spoke with the regional manager of NB and he said that it WAS tested and safe. I have been feeding it for weeks with nothing but positive results. Wellness canned is also good.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Yes, thank you Sen. Durbin for doing what is sane and ethical and *right*. Thanks also to all of you for info/data and encouragement.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I’m seriously ready to move to Sweden. This country is a joke. Canada isn’t an option–they’re still clubbing baby seals.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
ITCHMO - please pass along my thanks to the spam releasing elves. ;-)
May 9th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
err……maybe I should’ve said “captive posts” elves….
May 9th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Lori - I stopped feeding Purina to my cat and dog back in Feb. Excessive sheddding - both dog and cat, and severe allergies - cat. Changed dog to Innova and Cat to NB Vennison canned and they have never looked better.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Ann,
Purina made one my cats shed execessively as well. I’m very happen to have gotten them off that junk.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
My cats have been off all Purina since poisoning on March 23, my tortie has no moe dandruff and sheds less. Geisha is a Persian is shedding like crazy for summer.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Took another peek before going to bed. Hee hee. Eric I can’t find that information on the site anywhere. What page is it on?
May 9th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
susanUnPC Says: May 9th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I sent them both thank you notes. They’ve worked a long time on this.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Ann H. — WONDERFUL idea - thanks! :)
May 9th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
ann wasn’t that product put on the recall list? I could’ve sworn it was…
May 9th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Re: susanUnPC Says:
May 9th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
“CAN WE PAY ATTENTION WHEN GOVERNMENT DOES SOMETHING RIGHT?”
“It’s probably not your fault that you don’t know about this BREAKING NEWS since no one on the blogs or on TV — only newspapers — has featured this: Today the Senate passed, nearly unanimously, the FDA Revitalization Act, which included Sen. Dick Durbin’s emergency food safety amendment.”
SusanUnPC, lighten up on the tone, please. These are stressful times for all of us. I read the NYT’s new article which went online less than an hour ago on the passage of this Act and it only mentioned how it would affect FDA and drugs, not food or pet food. We don’t all read the Hill each hour to see what’s new.
So thanks for the heads up on Durbin’s bill being incorporated in the legislation and be a little more informative as to what it will do rather than chastising us for not knowing that. And I believe that the majority of us who began following the FDA’s role because of our dogs and cats have gotten an education as to the Bush administration’s political appointees and how they’ve undone our regulatory structure in so many areas. Katrina and dying cats and dogs are indelible lessons to us all.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
I went to Durbin’s Web site and stumbled on more great news that nobody’s reporting — and i’m thrilled you’re writing thank you notes to Durbin. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) co-sponsored the food safety amendment. And Rosa DeLauro is our point person in the House, along with the terrific Bart Stupak (D-Mich). This is not a cure, but it’s a step forward:
“Durbin, DeLauro: Chinese Government Agrees to Toughen Food Safety Standards for Imports”
[QUOTE] U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach and Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong of the People’s Republic of China to discuss the recent food safety problems including several contaminated shipments of food products imported from China.
During the meeting, Durbin and DeLauro secured a commitment from the Chinese government and the FDA that they would work towards a mutual agreement to improve inspections and overall safety of food products and drugs traded between the U.S. and China. That agreement would likely take the form of a memorandum of understanding between the two governments (see letter below). … [/QUOTE]
ALL:
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=273861
May 9th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
So FDA agents investigating this will be exposed to higher amounts than needed to kill a 150 lb sheep & need to take precautions but it is safe for the rest of us. I guess non FDA pregnancies & babies don’t count !Lets not even consider the elderl;y or anyone w/compromised immune systems.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Mandy,
http://www.kumpikat.com/no_recall.html
scroll down about midway.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Nevermind I found the page. Your right Eric, it does say that! Now if I can just find it to buy it…
May 9th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Maureen, my “speech” wasn’t directed at you. It was an expression of growing frustration over the past few days that we’re too focused on shocking revelations, and we aren’t focusing enough on the good works being attempted by the people who are elected to do just that. And it was an expression of my frustration that Durbin’s great efforts will be hindered by an FDA commissioner interested only in doing his boss’s bidding, not that of the people who pay his salary.
You’re right about the NYT story. I had to hunt to find The Hill’s story which mentioned, barely, the food safety amendment. But Durbin has a great press release up:
“FDA Reauthorization Legislation Approved By Senate”
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=273834
May 9th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Mandy,
I totally agree…what the heck are we supposed to feed our pets? My cat has been diagnosed with CRF. Came on suddenly in Dec. Don’t know if it was caused by the wet food, the dry food or just old age.
Our food choices are very narrow, if you can find any at all. Trying to select the proper foods for her is very difficult. Must have low protein and phosphorus, must not be made be Menu foods, must not contain corn, wheat or rice gluten, must be low sodium, dry food must not contain chromium tripicolinate…and on and on.
I feel that our poor animals are doomed. Many became ill from eating their pet food and it appears there is still nothing safe to feed them, especially if they now have kidney related health problems.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Mandy,
You’ll probably have to order it.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Mandy - NB Venison and Green Pea CANNED was not recalled. I saw something on the post earlier about being on a Pet markets list as waiting for testing info from the manufacturer. I spoke with a regional manager from NB and he told me that all their non-recalled products were tested and found to be safe.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I don’t have a credit card to order it. Maybe they would take a check sent in the mail? Know of any other foods that would be easier to find? The problem is I have a limited income and I can’t buy things that are super expensive.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
The problem is the foods that ARE safe are hard to find, hard to get, and really expensive. How is this fair?
May 9th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
SusanUnPC,
Thanks for including the link to Sen. Durbin’s release that describes his fine addition to the Act just passed today.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I would spend a ton of money on my babies if I could afford it, but I just can’t. I feel like I am failing them. Back to the drawing board.
I guess I have to go to the store, make a list of ALL the kinds of pet foods they have, and research every single one of them.
I get the feeling they’ll be eating human food for awhile. Even that isn’t entirely safe, but it’s better than bad pet food.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Mandy - more fair than the cost of keeping a furkid alive or burying them if they eat contaminated foods…
May 9th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Up to 20% !!?? oh my god! Boy am I glad I’m a vegetarian.
By the way, I had some fun with the MSDS: http://www.elainevigneault.com.....e-msds.png THanks Itchmo for pointing to it :)
May 9th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Mandy,
I don’t want to offer advice on foods to buy, since it seems most anything that’s more readily available is being recalled at an alarming rate. However, it seems that many people have cats that are doing well on Felidae, and Teric’s bag checked out melamine free. Plus Pied Piper, who makes Felidae, says their plant is gluten and protein concentrate free. It’s about $30 for 20lb bag and it sold in many places. I’ve never used it, so please don’t take this as a “recommendation”. Here’s their website:
http://www.canidae.com/
May 9th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Mandy, on the more expensive brands you’ll find your animals do not eat as much. You don’t use 4lbs in 2 wks, it’s about a month for me with 3 cats. They are getting Timberwolfe Serengeti dry and some Feline Caviar for the very active one. Treats are FF wet (no Wheat) & Abady granular. Sticker shock maybe, but the respite from the deep fears are worth it. I took the money out of my own grocery allowance to get switched over.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Ann H. If you can’t afford it, it then you can’t afford it! Not everyone can afford expensive pet food. I don’t have a job because I have numerous health problems. I am on disability. I have no real friends because I can’t get out much. What do you expect me to do? I have limited options. I am doing the best I can! So please do not spout that at me. I will be talking to their vet as soon as possible. I don’t appreciate the criticism.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Mandy,
I know people at my work that have switch to Feliade and are not having any problems. I am using KumpiKat myself, but Feliade was my second safe choice after tons of research for some place not assc with Menu, Diamond or Purina. It was the only dry I could find, that was available in my area that I didn’t have to order off the internet. To be honest I used FF all those years because it just got stuck in the grocery cart with everything else it didn’t require an extra stop.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Aw, people…we all have good intentions here. Just let it rooolll off yer backs.
Anyway, I wanted to say I was shocked at the 20% melamine content mentioned in that FDA document, also. I don’t recall reading that before.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Did anyone read the directive? They started this testing on May 2nd and the test results were supposed to be obtained within two days. They should already have enough information to reveal who has the crap without saying they are still investigating.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I give up. It’s people meat with suppliments until this crisis is over, IF it ever is. Now I really AM going to go lay down.
I just hope their vet has good advice.
Laters.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Sorry Mandy, the situations are difficult.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Sharon Says:
May 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
but Sharon, yer fergettin’ da 3 week required delay in releasin’ da info to da publick! after all, we dun stupid n’ what we don’know won’t hurt us . . . . .
May 9th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Pit Bull Lover Says:
May 9th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Re: FDA’s 20% melamine number. A poster yesterday did a back of the envelope calculation of how much more melamine would have to be added to wheat flour — rather than the previously thought wheat gluten — to bring the protein (nitrogen) readings up. Suppose that’s what happened?
May 9th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
for Eric..AND OR ANYONE…
I posted earlier today in another area as I was inquiring if anyone knew if teric’s addl results were ever posted for the Canidae and Kumpi samples which were lab tested….I was aware of the “no melamine” results but there were other things being tested as well…
Are you or is anyone aware of these results as I am currently feeding Kumpi dog food and dogs love it and are flourishing but am always in search of reassurances..?
May 9th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
News story:
How 60 Tonnes of Wheat Gluten Tainted Fish Feed
MARK HUME
Globe and Mail
May 9, 2007 at 8:29 PM EDT
http://tinyurl.com/35v5qm
May 9th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
love gs dogs,
I have not seen Teric’s additional results, but I’ve sure been watching out for them.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Now I’m wondering about the foods I eat, the foods I feed my kids. Because God knows the Bush Dynasty and Darth Dick Cheney eat only grass-fed beef and never consume off the shelf food, like the rest of us mere peons…
May 9th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
thanks for your reply..I am not an experienced blogger and there are so many places on Itchmo, that half of the time I don’t even know where to begin..things come and go and I always have this feeling that the answer is somewhere and I have just missed it…
I am so grateful for this site…I just wish I was more accomplished…
May 9th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
“Health Canada says the tainted feed does not pose any health risk to consumers because melamine is not known to collect in fish tissue.”
has anyone tested this theory?
May 9th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
What about the Freedom of Information Act that’s on the FDa web site? what happened to that? We have a right to know NOW! Trudy
May 9th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Woops! Bad link. I’ll be right back with the correct one. Sorry!
May 9th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
[…] Cat Happy emailed a new alert from Itchmo.com: Fish Fed Melamine-Tainted Feed, Rice Protein Actually Wheat Gluten. An anufer alert from Itchmo: FDA warns staff of melamine cancer risk […]
May 9th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Catgirl - I knew I was in trouble when the popcorn for supper was ConAgra :( If they come out with a recall on Treat or Cheese I’m in deeper trouble
May 9th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
So it is a carnogen, and exposure will lead to cancer. levels of consumption are meaningless. it will cause cancer in the organ it is in..
and it seems that being fed non-sense is protecting americans.
it is time for these guys to go(fda). if it’s connected to bush it’s time for him to go..
we must find out? is it carnogenic.. if so it will cause cancer once inside
the body.. if so we must push for removal of the director (fda) and those
who are involved in a deliberate lie.. it should not end their?if apointed by
bush it is his mistake.. he cannot avoid the responsibilty of his oath
of office, and by lying , that is grounds for impeachment..
May 9th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
This whole thing makes me wonder about what any of us are eating…..nothing seems safe anymore….shouldn’t eat meat, shouldn’t eat dairy, shouldn’t eat bread, shouldn’t eat veggies and fruit due to pesticides, even bottled water can be contaminated! What are we doing to ourselves and our world? Yes, I believe there was no innocence involved in the fact that melamine got into our pet foods….and now the feeds fed to animals that are eaten by humans.
It made me wonder about the popular dishware a few years ago, Melmac, that was made from melamine, and I looked it up. It led me to Melamine Resin as follows:
Main Entry: melamine resin
Function: noun
: a thermosetting resin made from melamine and an aldehyde and used especially in molded or laminated products, adhesives, and coatings
Is there anyone out there who thinks its time we reconsider the use of plastics, or has our world changed so much, that it would stop spinning if there was no more plastics?
May 9th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
So let me see if I get this right. No pregnant women can be involved with this substance, and those that are must wear suits and masks? If a petfood manufacturing facility is so dangerous that FDA officials must don suits and masks before entering, why should we assume that the food coming out of that facility is safe? I especially loved the part about how they need to handle the results with discretion. If they are unable to force the companies to issue recalls, what is the point of testing to begin with? I can only hope that some of the FDA inspectors feel compelled to call 60 Minutes after they receive the results. The FDA is all about protecting business, not the average U.S. citizen, paying their salaries.
May 9th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Are there any breeders on this blog who “WERE” feeding Purina?
May 9th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
This was taken from;
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm
(all pet food can be checked here!)
Canidae (verified by company 3/28/07, updated 4/18/07)
Brands include Canidae and Felidae
No products made by Menu Foods
All ingredients are grown in the US and are also processed here.
No wheat gluten is used in their products.
All products are free of corn, wheat, soy and all grain fractions
Canidae does not use glutens in any form. (from website 4/18/07)
We do not import any ingredients from China or overseas. (from website 4/18/07)
I am on my second 20 lb bag of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul (for cats) but being a Diamond food product and the third party not being disclosed ‘yet’…. I plan to switch to Felidae based on the above information.
May 9th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I have been feeding the “kids” (4 feline and 1 canine) Pet Promise now for the last year. They took awhile to adjust (no artifical coloring, flavors or salt) but now they love it and so do I!
http://www.petpromiseinc.com/home2.htm
May 9th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
I wonder if someone can come up with a list of foods that have checked out OK, it would be a shorter list.
I wonder if the wheat gluteon listed in my HIGH PROTEIN cereal is OK.
I wonder……
Elizabeth
May 9th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Look What I Found Re: Pet Food Recall Fiasco That Keeps Growing Before Our Very Eyes:
Melamine-spiking “widespread†in China; human food broadly contaminated
by Goldy, 04/29/2007, 5:43 PM
The Shandong Mingshui Great Chemical factory in Zhangqiu, Shandong Province, which manufactures urea, melamine and melamine scrap. (Ariana Lindquist for The New York Times)
Who knows what kind of [EDITED] is adulterating our imported and domestic food supply? But whatever it is, it’s about to hit the fan.
Months after dogs and cats started dropping dead of renal failure from melamine-tainted pet food, American consumers are beginning to learn how long and how wide this contaminant has also poisoned the human food supply. Last week, as California officials revealed that at least 45 people are known to have eaten tainted pork, the USDA announced that it would pay farmers millions of dollars to destroy and dispose of thousands of hogs fed “salvaged†pet food.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Through the salvaging practice, melamine-tainted pet food has likely contaminated America’s livestock for as long as it has been killing and sickening America’s pets — as far back as August of 2006, or even earlier. And while it may seem alarmist to suggest without absolute proof that Americans have been eating melamine-tainted pork, chicken and farm-raised fish for the better part of a year, the FDA and USDA seem to be preparing to brace Americans for the worst. In an unusual, Saturday afternoon joint press release, the regulators tasked with protecting the safety of our nation’s food supply go to convoluted lengths to reassure the public that eating melamine-tainted pork is perfectly safe.
In a fit of reverse-homeopathy the press release steps us through the dilution process, tracing the path of melamine-tainted rice protein through the food system. The rice protein is a partial ingredient in pet food, we are told, which is itself only a partial ingredient in the feed given to hogs, who then “excrete†some of the melamine in their urine. And, “even if present in pork,†they reassure us, “pork is only a small part of the average American diet.â€
How comforting. But the press release reaches its Orwellian best in its insistence that there is no evidence of any “human illness†due to melamine exposure:
“While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention systems would have limited ability to detect subtle problems due to melamine and melamine-related compounds, no problems have been detected to date.â€
Translation: “We are unable to detect such problems, but don’t worry, no such problems have been detected.â€
It is hard to read this as anything but a preemptive press release, a calculated effort to reassure the public that it is safe to eat trace quantities of melamine… just days before they inevitably reveal that Americans have in fact been consuming it unawares for months. Menu Foods, the company at the center of the controversy, has recalled product dating back to November 8, 2006. Manufacturing forty to fifty percent of America’s wet pet food, the salvaged product from their massive operations must have surely contaminated livestock feed nationwide.
And it gets worse. Tomorrow the New York Times will report from China, detailing how nitrogen-rich melamine scrap, produced from coal, is routinely ground into powder and mixed into low-grade wheat, corn, soybean or other proteins to inflate the protein analysis of animal feed:
The melamine powder has been dubbed “fake protein†and is used to deceive those who raise animals into thinking they are buying feed that provides higher nutrition value.
“It just saves money,†says a manager at an animal feed factory here. “Melamine scrap is added to animal feed to boost the protein level.â€
The practice is widespread in China. For years animal feed sellers have been able to cheat buyers by blending the powder into feed with little regulatory supervision, according to interviews with melamine scrap traders and agricultural workers here.
[…] Many animal feed operators advertise on the Internet seeking to purchase melamine scrap. And melamine scrap producers and traders said in recent interviews that they often sell to animal feed makers.
“Many companies buy melamine scrap to make animal feed, such as fish feed,†says Ji Denghui, general manager of the Fujian Sanming Dinghui Chemical Company. “I don’t know if there’s a regulation on it. Probably not. No law or regulation says ‘don’t do it,’ so everyone’s doing it. The laws in China are like that, aren’t they? If there’s no accident, there won’t be any regulation.â€
“The practice is widespread in China,†the Times reports, and has been going on “for years.†And it is not just wheat, corn, rice and soybean proteins that should be suspect, but the animals who feed on it, including all imported Chinese pork, poultry, farm-raised fish, and their various by-products. Despite FDA and USDA efforts to allay concerns about consuming melamine-tainted meat, the health effects are unstudied, and the permissible level is zero. If China could impose a three-year (and counting) ban on the import of U.S. beef after a single incident of Mad Cow disease, then surely the U.S. would be justified in imposing a ban on Chinese vegetable protein and livestock products due to such a prevalent, industrywide contamination.
And if in the coming weeks this ban is finally imposed, the question we must ask government regulators is… why so late? Why did they wait until our children licked the last remaining drop of bacon fat off their fingers before alerting the public to the potential health risk, however low? It seems inconceivable that the regulators tasked with overseeing the safety and purity of our nation’s food supply did not at least imagine the potential scope of this crisis back in early March when they first learned that Chinese wheat gluten was poisoning dogs and cats. Indeed, the very fact that they were so quick to focus in on melamine as the adulterating agent suggests they at least suspected what they were facing.
It may make for entertaining TV, but popular shows like CSI get forensic toxicology exactly backwards. You don’t run a substance through a mass spectrometer and 30 seconds later get a complete readout of its chemical makeup. Rather, you painstakingly look for specific chemicals or groups of chemicals one at a time, until you find the offending toxin. Once you get beyond the basic “tox screen,†forensics is as much art as science — investigators use evidence and intuition to narrow the search to those compounds that are most likely to be the culprit.
And so it begs the question as to why — in the face of an apparent wheat gluten contamination that reportedly killed nine out of twenty dogs and cats in Menu Foods’ quarterly taste test — would FDA scientists test for melamine, a chemical widely believed to be nontoxic?
Why? Because they thought they might find it.
Lacking adequate cooperation from FDA officials one is constantly forced to speculate, but given the circumstances it is reasonable to assume that the search for melamine was prompted by the “nitrogen spiking†theory, rather than the other way around. Based on their knowledge of the evidence, Chinese agricultural practices, the globalizing food industry, and perhaps prior history, the FDA hypothesized that unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers may have intentionally adulterated low quality wheat gluten in an effort to pass it off as a high-protein, high-value product. And nothing would do the job better than melamine.
According to one synthetic organic chemist, melamine is by far the perfect candidate. It is high in nitrogen (66-percent by weight), nonvolatile (ie, it doesn’t explode,) and dirt cheap. It is also — at least according to both the scientific literature and chemical supply catalogs — widely considered to be nontoxic. For FDA officials, the mystery never seemed to be how melamine made its way into wheat, rice and corn protein, but rather, why it was suddenly killing dogs and cats.
The technical answer may center on the unexpected interaction between melamine, cyanuric acid, and other melamine by-products, but the practical answer may be much more pedestrian. Some samples of adulterated wheat gluten reportedly tested as high as 6.6-percent melamine by weight, an off the chart concentration that was likely the accidental result of some less than thorough mixing. Had this accident never occurred — had cats, with their sensitive renal systems, not been the canary in the coal mine of melamine toxicity — we might never have known that our children and our pets were being slowly poisoned by Chinese capitalism.
Well, despite the FDA’s best efforts, now we know.
NOTE:
The New York Times article referenced above originally appeared in the online edition of the the International Herald Tribune. It has since been pulled.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Mandy–I have checked with my fur kids DR. he tells me Science dry cat food is OK I am still feeding my 15 year old Emily(cat) “FancyFeast “wet and” FancyFeast “dry or “Purina Senior “dry as she will not eat “Science” I am feeding my feral cats the same” 9 Lives” wet and dry as always –so far everyone is doing fine –I can’t tell anyone what to feed their fur kids BUT I certainly would NOT feed mine any thing I beleived would hurt them–my two dogs are eating “Pedigree” wet and “Purina” dry types– the dogs also get assorted treats & Emily gets” Whiskas Temptations”treats I have called these companies several times and have received the companies reassurence that these foods are safe– I too have a fixed /limited income and can understand your problem with cost -my advice call your vet. and ask him if he/she believes there are safe brands such as the ones I have mentioned. Hope this helps GOOD LUCK!
May 9th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
The Agriculture hearing is on C-Span2 right now, discussing melamine and pet food.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Anyone remember “Planet of the Apes” and how it came about in the storyline for the apes to become so civilized?
May 9th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
FYI Pet Promise is a Purina product
they trick us at every turn
have you looked at the label and seen how much corn gluten meal they use for a protein source? ugh
May 9th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
DID EVERYONE READ THIS?
FDA Warns Staff on Melamine Health risks:
Routes of Entry: Inhalation. Ingestion.
Toxicity to Animals:
Acute oral toxicity (LD50): 3161 mg/kg [Rat].
Acute dermal toxicity (LD50): >1000 mg/kg [Rabbit].
Chronic Effects on Humans:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified 3 (Equivocal evidence.) by NTP. 3 (Not classifiable for human.) by IARC.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast.
Other Toxic Effects on Humans: Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation (lung irritant).
Special Remarks on Toxicity to Animals: Not available.
Special Remarks on Chronic Effects on Humans:
May cause adverse reproductive effects (fertility, fetotoxicity), and may affect genetic material based on animal
data. May also be tumorigenic (carcinogenic) based on animal data.
Special Remarks on other Toxic Effects on Humans:
Acute Potential Health Effects:
Skin: May cause skin irritation.
Eyes: May cause eye irritation.
Inhalation: May cause irritation of the respiratory tract and affect respiration. May affect behavior and sense
organs, liver and blood.
Ingestion: May cause irritation of the digestive tract with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. May affect the urinary
May 9th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Is anyone worried about feeding the tainted chicken to their pets if they are cooking for them? The FDA says it’s safe for human consumption (I don’t necessarily believe that) but have not commented on how safe it would be to feed chicken that may have been tainted to pets as their main source of protein. Any thoughts? I am trying to figure out what to do. Thank you.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
*Is back from her rest.* Judy Boone I will no longer feed my pets Purina products because they buy from China and Fancy Feast, though not on the recall list, is one of their products they have that people are saying made their cats sick. At this point I’m honestly not sure I can trust any pet foods at ALL. My cats used to eat nothing but Cat Chow or Purina one. Guess what? It made them fat. Even when I was careful not to overfeed. Whiskers also sheds a good deal.
So no Purina for them anymore. I will check out the Science Diet and Whiskas though. Thanks for the information.
Unless I am SURE in my heart that a pet food is safe, they’re eating human meat with suppliments.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Mandy,
I don’t know where you live or what your financial situation is, but perhaps, if you have an independent pet food store nearby, you can call and ask if they can get something in particular in for you. The store I frequent is trying to get me some samples of Prowl from the Honest Kitchen.
I am feeding my cats Orijen and Acana dry (www.championpetfoods.com). No glutens or grains of any kind, made with local ingredients, save for the vitamins (which probably all come from China). Orijen even uses real vitamin K, not menadione.
They have sample bags of Orijen they send the stores that cost the consumer 1.99 (CDN) and have quite a bit of food in them. Larger bags are around 14.00, but last a long time because you need about 1/4 the amount of food as the cheaper stuff.
Acana is comparable in price to Purina One, but also has no grains and uses local ingredients.
I also feed Felidae dry and wet and Evangers wet.
My cats have become super glossy in 4 weeks of feeding this stuff. Their dandruff is gone and they are very healthy.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I seriously was bummed in 2000 and mortified in 2004 over the results of both of those presidential elections. I just thought that perhaps Bushy boy would run the business of heading up America into the ground just like he did with other businesses he ran prior to being President. Most especially in the way he ran the Texas Rangers into the ground. It seems to be the way it is these days, what with health care, the war and now the FDA fiasco just to name a few. This is a horribly corrupt government at the moment. Much like the inmates running the asylum. It’s rather sad.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
KimS..take your seriously bummed and multiply it by about the amount of the increase in the deficit for me!!!! and along with the other messes, don’t we all have a better chance to relate to how the victims of Katrina felt?
betrayed and deceived by the “decider” in charge..and it does not just affect our country..the “r o w” rest of the world has been and will be greatly affected as well..heck, the entire planet will have to pay for the mess that has beenmade by the ‘decider’ and his henchmen…
May 9th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
I had been feeding my dogs Nutro Choice for Seniors and Nutro Max for large breed. They have been on this food for several years. In the past week plus, the older dog has been vomiting his dinner. The other two dogs starting sniffing their food a good bit before eating. One with reluctance. I have since changed o Lassie brand. The ingredients seem acceptable even though it is made by Sunshine. And the one dog that always seemed skeptical is finishing his food with enthusiasm. Anyone have any opinions?
May 10th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Claudia I will keep your information in mind. Thank you.
I checked out the Whiskas site and liked what I saw. As far as I can tell, NONE of their products seem to be on the recall list! And how many can say THAT now days?
They use real meat in their Pouch food. A plus.
They also have dry food. Another plus, because Whiskers refuses to eat anything but dry.
They ALSO sell treats and special cat milk, AND kitten food. A third plus.
They aren’t super expensive. A fourth plus.
Do they use any ingredients from China? I have no idea, but I did e-mail them to ask. Hopefully they’ll get back to me soon.
But the last most important plus? The store I do my grocery shopping at has it!
If they don’t buy ingredients from China, this could be the food I switch my cats to! Yay! If it doesn’t pan out, I’ll have to check out Claudia’s information.
Judy Boone thank you SO much for the information! *BIG hugs!*
May 10th, 2007 at 12:11 am
>
Do you think there is any way they were doing these quarterly taste tests to actually ’see’ (knowingly) how much of the melamine it WOULD take to kill pets?? ie., How much they could put in the food and get away with it???
Just a thought….
May 10th, 2007 at 12:26 am
For more discussion and freaky fraud facts about this subject go to:
http://www.care2.com/c2c/group.....y=1#780130
The FDA admitted today in Congressional hearings that at best it only inspects about .07% of all food imported into the US.
The FDA also admitted that certain foods are not inspected AT ALL, like fish for example. They did not even have a test or testing facility for fish when this melamine problem came up. Now they are scrambling to come up with one…
May 10th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Ironic thing is that I think cattle can process melimane due to the multi-stomachs they have. They weren’t fed the bad pet food thought because some had beef and we learned from mad cow disease that cattle should not eat cattle.
Speaking of cattle, wonder if the Chinese still have a BAN on American beef inports since the 1st case of mad cow several years ago?
May 10th, 2007 at 12:29 am
JollyCat…no offense but I would have to see proof that Pet Promise is owned by Purina. I have been to the Nestle site (Purina’s ultimate owner) and Pet Promise is not listed as one of there companie’s in any country world wide. I am pretty investigative as far as animal issues go so I am farly sure of where I speak.
Corn gluten is an effective protein in pet foods and PP uses American grain from an American supplier. They also only use free-range chicken and non-farm raised fish.
I am the same way, I pay extra to buy hormone-free meats, eggs and dairy from free-range farmers for my own diet. I would do no less for the fur kids.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Mandy,
I fed my house cats and ferals Whiskas dry food(meaty flavor) and they love it.. Made by Mars, though. I also mix dry Chicken Soup for cat lovers in it.(Diamond). All my cats seem to be fine(about 30 of them). The Chicken Soup is only $18.99 for a 20 lbs bag in the store. However, I would not buy the Whiskas pouches wet cat food. I thought that Menu Foods was the only manufacturer in the USA that makes those type of pouches. Even read in a Canadian article that Menu makes the Whiskas pouches.
Am just very suspicious of those Whiskas pouches, they look an awful lot like the very lethal(recalled) Special Kitty pouches.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Mandy,
Unfortunately, these days you get what you pay for. It sounds like your budget is limited and I can sympathize. Our food budget for 3 cats went from $45 dollars a month to $140 a month for canned food only. That does not include the dry food.
As for KumpkiKat? I am sold. I can pick up the phone at any time and call Evy, chief bottle washer, president, etc, and talk at length with her about food, nutrition and the safety of her manufacturer.
Yes, its expensive, but I believe its a wonderful food, the kitties LOVE it, and to top it all off (making me feel safer) Evy’s manufacturer (as of a week ago) had tested all of their ingredients for the last 18 months and found themselves to be clear of melamine. They (Crosswinds) apparently did this on their own in order to be certain that they are safe.
I’d like to say that our kids eat less, equating to less money spent, but I won’t lie. Our crowd LOVES Kumpikat and for 3 I get only 10 days from a 4 pound bag. The next time I order, I’m getting a 20 pound bag. My cats are unbelieveably finicky and I think they somehow have determined what’s best for them. The result is, I’m conserving in every way possible on other things in the budget (our groceries, water, power, entertainment, et al) because I want to feed something that is healthy (with access to Evy in moments of paranoia) and I want to feed something they LOVE to eat. No food is good unless your pet is willing to eat it!
May 10th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Hmmm… Mars… Doesn’t Mars also make Pedigree dog food?
May 10th, 2007 at 12:42 am
I read an article that many of our vitamin manufacturers have gone out of business and that almost all of our vitamin C comes from China. I went to the store today, we only have a dillons near us and looked up and down the dog food isle. My dog will only eat fresh. There were the same Alpo cans I had seen there for weeks and the same Pedegree, A few new items, Paul newmans line, and halo, and My dog will not eat any of them. Now I ask myself what next? I also wonder about all the vitamins we eat and also what is in the pet foods too. I continued on in Dillons and wanted some fish. I looked and looked. All the fish they had came from China. I thought well what happened to our fish? There was no Pacific Salmon just Alantic and Salmon from China too. What are we doing with our food Sources? Selling them to foreign soils and then in turn buying their crampy stuff that could contain anything?
I read not long ago that a shipment of frozen dinners from Tyson were being recalled. These were made over seas too.
It really is about money and greed any more. These companies want to go to foreign soil to get their products made because it is cheaper. Anyone even noticed that keebler cookies are made in Mexico? So are a lot of others. everything is being made somewhere else because of cheap labor. I also wonder when these products are made outside our country are they getting all of their ingredients from outside the country too? There is no way to know these things because most of the companies only say that the product comes from their company. We really have to start looking for the manufacturer and then we have to worry then too because it could be manufactured in the US but all the products in it may come from another country.
There is no way of knowing any of these things till our country starts changing the food and drug laws. and why would they? It would not be to their advantage. Only the publics.
I am scared now. Very scared. I worry about everyones health and what this will do to all of us later on. God help us all.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:48 am
We banned DDT in our country due to the danger it posed. (CANCER, etc.)
DDT is used around the world in many countries where they grow the food we eat.
DDT is now in all of our bodies at detectable levels, due to it being inside imported food.
Of course, the FDA is saying all imported food is safe…
The drug industry by comparison says that all imported drugs are UNSAFE, and we cannot trust them, even if they are from CANADA… HMMMMMM….
May 10th, 2007 at 12:48 am
Yes Rhoda, quite limited unfortunately. In fact a lot of the money my family makes goes towards doctor bills. Not only do I have health problems, so does my grandmother, AND my mother, and ALL of us take medications every day for various things. Insurances only pays so much. After this crisis, we’re also looking into getting pet insurance.
I have two cats, my grandmother has a dog. We love our pets dearly and are being very careful with what we feed them from now on. My grandmother only feeds her dog Pedigree because it isn’t on the recall list and they don’t buy from China. Unfortunately they don’t make cat food, which is why we have been desperately scrambling to try to find something safe.
If I have to, I can just feed them the dry Whiskas. I would LIKE to be able to feed them the wet too though, cause I read that cats like to get moisture when they eat. I don’t know though. So many tough choices to make. Sigh…
May 10th, 2007 at 12:52 am
Yes, Mandy. Pedigree is also made by Mars. I am like you on a very limited budget with many cats to feed. Kumpicat is $60.00 for a 20 lbs bag. Out of my range.
I also feed cans. Special Kitty(made by Del Monte) and really the same as 9lives. Verified(reluctantly) with Del Monte rep. over the phone. .
May 10th, 2007 at 12:58 am
BeRealistic—-I fed both my dogs Nutro Max Natural Large Breed Adult Lamb and Rice for several years, along with some Nutro Max when the store was out of the other. Last August my so much beloved Rottie Mix started refusing to eat—2 weeks of tests, head scratching, antibiotics, steroids, liver biopsy, dental work, anything we could think of to try to help him, could not save him. If only we had understood that the food was the reason he was not eating….
Listen to your dog! Mine was so obedient that when I encouraged him to eat it he did.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Even tho the use of DDT is banned in this country, it is manufactured in this country for sale to other countries.
It gets worse……I personally have known farmers who vacation in Mexico in order to buy DDT and bring back to use on their farms.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Mandy,
I can totally sympathize with you. I too have multiple health problems, am disabled, and have a limited income, with many $$$ going to medications, drs., etc. That being said, I have 2 cats who have been eating Felidae Dry and are fine. I switched to that after feeding Walmart Special Kitty for a long time, then Natural Balance, then Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soul (which they wouldn’t touch). And yes, although Felidae is a bit more expensive it LASTS! I bought a small bag almost two weeks ago and it’s not even 1/2 gone. When they were eating grocery store/Walmart cat food I had to buy it every week. I only give them a small bowl and it lasts them until the next day! And they are not begging for food all the time, which is what they did on the cheap stuff…like they were never satisfied. I am NOT happy that Canidae/Felidae would not tell me exactly what plant their food was made at, but at this point I don’t know what else is safe, and they seem to be doing so well on it, like less shedding and they seem happier. I am making homemade for my small dogs, but I’ve read other posts that said cats are hard to feed on homemade because, one they won’t eat what you cook, and two it’s hard to make it vitamin/mineral balanced for them. I know it’s SOOOO very hard when you have a limited income, but I have found that buying the Felidae is actually LESS expensive in the long run.
P.S. if you need a friend, I don’t have any either, so please feel free to e-mail me anytime. Just say so and I’ll post my e-mail address. ;)
May 10th, 2007 at 1:18 am
Mandy check out these sites for your cat foods……http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/…..http://shopping.netsuite.com/countrypet
May 10th, 2007 at 1:24 am
is purina cat showd dry food is it safe?and purnia dogchow dryfood is safe to?
please someone reply to my question.
thanks
May 10th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Folks,
I am as frustrated and disgusted as most of you. But this problem has been going on long before Bush took office. Don’t forget, it was Clinton who sold out to the Chinese! So whoever is at fault, it spans many administrations and both political parties. And let’s not forget…Congress could have addressed this problem and brought it to the forefront anytime they pleased. Of course, they wouldn’t want to mess up any political contributions for their re-election from these major companies. And I mean both Democrat and Republican! Thank God for Sen. Durbin who has stepped up to the plate on this!
May 10th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Mandy, I’m another one on a fixed, limited income. Here are some things I’ve done to get my babies some fresh, real meat:
Walmart has turkey drumsticks (and other parts, necks, wings, etc.), fresh in the poultry section. Very cheap, I got a package of three drumsticks for under $2.50. One drumstick, boiled and then pull the meat off the bone and shred it up for the cats, is a lot of meat. The other two were wrapped up and frozen for later.
Beef liver, frozen, in the odd corner of the meat case is less than $2.00 a package. Thaw just enough to cut it up, and put just a serving size in plastic freezer bags. One package will make a lot of servings. Every once in a while take one baggie out of the freezer and thaw it in a bowl of hot water, and give it to the cats. Not too often, though, as they can get too much Vitamin A if fed too much liver. Cats like their food warm, body temperature, it reminds them of prey. Chicken livers, too are favorites of my bunch.
Catch some meat counter markdowns on the “sell by” day. Mine like the extra lean (97/3) ground beef, and sometimes I can catch it with a yellow sticker worth $1.50 to $2.00 off. (Like me they won’t eat the regular ground beef, too much fat in it). Stew meat, too is a goodie. Cut it up into smaller chunks to fit their mouths. Like with the liver, freeze portions for later, and warm it up in a bowl of warm water. Won’t take but a few minutes, and they will think they’ve hit the jackpot.
Canned mackeral in water is good and is cheap. Dollar General has it, and salmon for $1.00. The canned turkey and chicken (like you make a little bowl of chicken salad with) is only $1.00, and they LOVE it, especially the juice in the can.
Those are just a few ideas, you can probably come up with some more.
A couple of years ago things got real bad and I didn’t have any money to buy them anything to eat for several days. It nearly killed me to have to listen to them, hungry, and I had NOTHING to give them. I swore then I’d never be in that position again.
Now, the manufacturers have done this terrible thing, and I can’t stockpile food for them any more….there’s nothing I can really trust. We’re going on a day by day basis. I live in a rural area, with no pet stores within reasonable driving distance and have a WM and a couple of grocery stores to buy from.
I can’t order over the internet, since I don’t have a credit card. Plus, every food I have thought about trying on them winds up being recalled.
Hoping you can work something out and keep those babies happy! 8^)
May 10th, 2007 at 1:39 am
BeRealistic….you might be interested in checking this out…
http://hubpages.com/hub/PET_FO.....Y_DOG_FOOD
May 10th, 2007 at 1:41 am
For Mandy:
I hate to tell you, but here’s direct from the Whiskas web-site: “sources its corn gluten from North America, not from China, and does not source wheat gluten from the foreign suppliers linked to the recall.” I read this as meaning they source wheat gluten from China, but not from the two companies implicated in the recall.
At this point, hearing how wide spread the use of melamine in China is, I’d have to agree with the ASPCA advice to avoid all grain proteins from China.
My local pet food dealers here are great animal people. I suspect that if you have such a store in your town, they might be willing to do you a favor (and other customers with similar concerns) and stock some food in a smaller quantity, saving you the shipping fees. Sometimes, companies will give intro deals to independent distributors, at below normal cost, if asked. Especially in the current situation with inventories changing daily, companies should realise it’s smart business to reach new loyal customers.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:42 am
Everyone I would like to thank you so very much for all the suggestions and support. Bambi’s Mom I would love your e-mail address so we can be e mail pals. If any of you is on dogster or catster my cats and my dearly departed dog have pages there too.
If you want to look them up this is the link to Whiskers.
http://www.catster.com/cats/527014
To see the others just scroll down the page to where it says My Family.
Speaking of dogs, my friend at Dogster has a little black and tan puppy who was stolen in Washington State while she was on vacation. If anyone in that area has found a little puppy please let me know. My friend is desperate to get her back!
ITCHMO ADMIN: If you don’t want the world to see your email addresses, go sign up in the Itchmo Forums and send each other a private message.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:51 am
John C.,
Better pray for Durbin! Going up against free-for-all-trade Globalism has brought down some big fish. I used to stew over Clinton’s support of NAFTA, etc., so much that I totally missed the timing here. I could not have cared less at time because I had totally written President Clinton off as a sell-out. But note here that just when he tries to break a tiny bit from the Globalist dogma, Linda Tripp was put right on the trail that led to his demise. Any time you see someone outed like this, look at what was going on right before the fall.
PRESIDENT WANTS F.D.A. TO REGULATE FOREIGN PRODUCE
By JAMES BENNET
Published: October 3, 1997
“Contaminated food, he noted, kills an estimated 9,000 Americans a year and sickens millions, perhaps tens of millions. It still does. The food-safety system was marked by ”enormous inefficiencies,” he warned. It still is, according to a Federal report published in May.”
http://tinyurl.com/ynln6z
“Since September 1997, Lewinsky’s older colleague and confidante Linda Tripp was secretly recording their telephone conversations regarding the affair with Clinton.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky
May 10th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Itchmo Admin,
If you are there, did you receive a e-mail from me today about a “Posting too fast” msg box that popped up yesterday when I tried to post?
ITCHMO ADMIN: I did. Never seen it before. Strange.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Oh yeah, by the way, the family dog Pickles, died nine years ago from causes unknown. The vet never could figure out what was wrong with her. Now I wonder if the food made her sick. She used to eat canned Mighty Dog, one of the foods which I think is on the recall list. She couldn’t eat dry food because she had problems with her teeth. We thought she was just old, but now I have to wonder. She was having accidents in the house, her bones were badly damaged, and in the end she was in terrible pain. We had to put her to sleep. Was it because of the food? I may never know…
This whole thing is just breaking my heart!
May 10th, 2007 at 2:06 am
John C.,
The firing of these U.S. Attorneys is really critical right now, too. When I first heard of this, I just thought, “Oh well, Republican infighting.” But some of them were here speaking in Seattle today and this issue is CRITICAL. There is a HUGE difference between a Republican and a Globalist Republican. We have to get those Attorney’s jobs back! This is like having the Mafia take over our country. It is not about Democrat or Republican anymore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.....ontroversy
May 10th, 2007 at 2:09 am
Mandy,
I’m so sorry! My Sheltie died 10 years ago of hemangiosarcoma, a rare blood vessel cancer that is linked to toxins. I thought about a lot of causes, but like you, never food until recently.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:17 am
I’m sorry too Sylvia, for your loss. I can’t believe these people are being allowed to get away with this! And all for profit!
May 10th, 2007 at 2:21 am
Thank you. I know what you mean about the frustration. That is why I am going to look into the U.S. Attorney situation. Prosecutor’s decide what cases to take on. A highly biased one can circumvent the law that way. That is why Rove wants his people in place while they have time. They are taking the velvet gloves off now that Bush is a lame duck.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Pet food probe: Who was watching suppliers?
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....usat_N.htm
May 10th, 2007 at 2:41 am
Don’t assume it’s not in horse or cattle feed. Horses are commonly fed a “feed through” fly control supplement which contains cryomazine that is metabolized inside the horse and breaks down to melamine which is expelled in the manure and interferes with the growth of fly larva. These are EPA approved “safe” products and are supposed to be non-toxic to the horses consuming them, however manufacturers state that horses fed these substances should not be slaughtered for consumption….I’m still researching cattle feed, interestingly cattle grower forums are not talking about this at all, other than to mention it is in the hog and chicken food. Does anyone else remember that tv movie that was supposed to be a true story about the dairy cows that ate feed contaminated with fire retardent and many cows had to be destroyed and people got sick from the milk? I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember if this really was a true story and if the fire retardent could have been melamine, this was years ago.Does this ring a bell with anyone?
Sadly I lost my pet bunny today, he was showing symptoms very much like what is seen in feline kidney failure. Now I need to start researching to see what might have been in his rabbit food or in his granola type treats? My gut level feeling is that melamine and related contamination is even more widespread than we know. Sue
May 10th, 2007 at 3:01 am
Sue,
Very sorry about your bunny! This is abominable. I think they do use a lot of toxic products in the equine world. One day I was walking my 12 lb terrier near an equine park and we walked into a corral area with a nice sandy surface he enjoyed running around on. As we entered, I noticed a pesticide-like odor, but I thought it was from some storage drums outside the corral. Apparently, the surface was drenched in it and the smell got overwhelming. I rushed out and my dog vomited. He got mast cell cancer a few months later. I wondered about that connection, too.
May 10th, 2007 at 3:03 am
I just watched Family Guy. It was an episode where Brian the talking dog in the show, stood up for himself and they wanted to put him down for being a dangerous dog simply because he didn’t act like a dog. Like a slave basically. Makes you wonder what our pets would really say about us if they could talk. Unfortunately, animals CAN’T talk. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings.
When I look into an animal’s eyes I see a creature asking for love and compassion. The pet food companies see us as wanting to provide the best for our pets, so they buy cheap ingredients, slap a fancy label on it, say it’s premium, and sell it at high prices.
Pet food companies have taken advantage of our pets, and our love for our pets. They claimed they were helping to keep our pets healthy, when instead they killed them or made them sick. We should ALL be outraged.
Unfortunately I can’t afford to hire a lawyer, but I can keep talking about it, reminding people about it. I can keep boycotting the bad products. I can applaud the people trying to make a difference.
Just because you are poor, doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to make yourself heard. Just because you are poor, doesn’t mean you should have to feed yourself or your pets bad food.
My cats are my only real friends. They are my best friends in the world. In life, people have hurt me, people have not been understanding. But my cats will play with me, do silly things to make me smile, let me hug them, and make soothing purrs for me. They love me.
Whiskers and Smokey can’t talk, so I will be their voice. It’s the least I can do for my best friends, for my furry children, and for the creatures I will love for life.
May 10th, 2007 at 3:14 am
Mandy,
I hope you did not lose anyone in the poisoning, too?
May 10th, 2007 at 3:17 am
Mandy,
Are you still here?
May 10th, 2007 at 3:23 am
Itchmo Admin,
I just saw your response. I’m about ready to call it a night. As for the strange msg, I’ll just hope that I imagined that.
May 10th, 2007 at 3:29 am
In reply to Mandy for good, safe cat food. go to www.greatlife4pets.com they have a grain and potato free kibble for cats. ingredients are all simple and safe.
cookiesweetie
May 10th, 2007 at 3:33 am
[…] melamine and scrap cyanuric acid, and that in addition to renal failure, chronic exposure may cause cancer and reproductive damage. You know, stuff like […]
May 10th, 2007 at 4:10 am
[…] warns their own staff about cancer risk when inspecting melamine-tainted foods. Pregnant staff are not allowed to inspect it. Meanwhile, […]
May 10th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Itchmo Admin: I’ve had the same message about posting too fast. It has happened more than once. I took it as a compliment since I lost my glasses and the caps lock sticks.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:38 am
I too am disabled and on a limited income–and I am a member of Costco–I have been feeding Costco dry foods –rice and lamb for dogs and adult formula cat food for my cats. Their dry food is said to be safe, but they did have some problem with the semi-moist packages of “premium” food.
A number of months ago I researched dog food on the net and found a site that rated the foods with points for including things dogs and cats need and substracted points for including things they dont need. Most pet foods rated somewhere around 25-30 on the scale inculding foods like IAMs–and Purina’s wonderful “new” garbage with the veggies rated 18, I think, the highest rated (at 175 as I recall) was a privately distributed food found only in the US northwest; the second rated food was the Kirkland brand (Costco’s brand) rice and lamb and rice and chicken, which rated about 128 and 125 respectfully. I started feeding it immediately and found that my cats have stopped screaming for food all the time and my dogs are healthy looking with shiny coats and they are so energetic that they are like puppies again.
I am pleased with the results and with this feed problem, was delighted to learn that they did not use any wheat or corn gluten products to increase protein content. I know that many of you dont have access to Kirkland products, but if you can arrange it in any way it may be a good thing for you to do, at least temporarily. The food costs about 12-17 dollars for a large bag–I think 40 pounds of dog food and 25 pounds of cat food. It lasts a long time–I have a GS dog, a Jindo bitch and a 6 mos old Rottweiler bitch puppy, and we have 3 grown cats that we feed, one is about 14 years old. They are doing great.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Sorry I went to watch a movie. It’s getting real late here. So late it’ll soon be early! I refuse to feed my cats Purina or Iams. Purina buys from Iams and I’m pretty sure Iams is made by Menu Foods. Not to mention I’ve heard terrible stories about how Iams treats their lab test animals. No way. No one else was lost in our family except MAYBE Pickles, and we will probably never know for sure if it WAS the food.
I’ve been trying to copy paste all the links you all have been giving me to check if Whiskas doesn’t check out. Thank you. Whoever wanted my e mail address, if you join Dogster or Catster you can pawmail me and ask for it privately. It’s free to join as long as you don’t ask for the plus. It’s like myspace for cats and dogs and it’s actually a lot of fun!
You can make pages for your pets, join a group which also have forums and they have public forums. You can even instant message each other.
I’ve been so busy the last few weeks when I’m online. I post here, post at Catster and Dogster, and every Monday Night I try to make the Monday Night Candle ceremony at rainbowbridges.com. It has chat rooms and you can talk about pet health as well as talk about pets who have passed on. The ceremony is people who pray for each other and their pets who have gone on. I also research to look for good cat food that I might could feed my furry kids. Whew that’s a lot of informartion go give all at once!
May 10th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Ahem I meant to say that Purina buys from CHINA, not Iams. I’m getting tired and the typos come out then.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:12 am
[…] Itchmo » Blog Archive » FDA Warns Staff On Major Melamine Health Risks […]
May 10th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Innova EVO for cats and kittens.. feeding 1 adult male and 1 yr old female 1 bag fed Both cats for more then 3 months. it takes LESS to satisfy them and cuts down on the poop also.
I feed my service dog a raw diet, but recent problems and then scares with chicken (her base protein) and her refusal to eat said chicken are making it hard. EVO has a Red Meat formula that she LOVES And it can also be fed at less then 25% of a RAW diet without confusing the dogs system. it contains, buffalo, venison, lamb, beef NO GRAINS of any kind. Pricey but it goes far IF you do the raw diet also. but in all the recalls that is getting pricey as well.
other good food is Blue Seal Pork and Barley, no corn, no soy, no wheat (barley and oatmeal)
May 10th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Okay if anyone really wants to contact me try using the e-mail address thea_harman_witch@hotmail.com It’s an address I don’t use very often but if you e-mail me I can e-mail you the address I DO use often. That way I can weed out the people who won’t harrass me. No offense, but I have been harrassed in the past. Okay I think that’s a good solution. Heh.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:46 am
Mealmine warning to pregnant women. I suspect now we are even closer to the epidemic of autistism and alzeheimer’s.
But, with the money that unfortuntely is made with these two diseases, I wonder, if there is a way of getting them investigated , to see if there is a link??
May 10th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Joesphine, Blue Seal does make good farm feeds and cat and dog foods. Pleased you mentioned it.
Sandi
May 10th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Mandy, Pedigree does make a cat food. It is sold at Walmart and many other stores, including Petsmart, Petco,
It is GOOD LIFE, it is also their newer line of dog foods
Sandi
May 10th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Mandy, I’m not sure if there is a class-action lawsuit in your state, but if so, you can sign up and it would be for free. The payout might not be much and it might take years, but at least you can get involved in that way. You are right about multinational conglomerates exploiting our love for our pets and having the audacity (and immoral heart) to purposely adulterate pet food to make a buck. I have no doubt after reading this stuff, that FDA probably already knew about food spiking and also the companies probably knew as well. The loss isn’t with them - the loss is with the consumer who is paying the ultimate price. I think this whole thing stinks to high heaven.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:56 am
what i find interesting about this order is not so much the protocols, or even the msds… lab sampling very often requires protective clothing because you don’t *really* know what you’re dealing with, and to some extent we already knew that melamine was a toxin… what disturbs me most about it is the fact that they’re telling their people they found samples containing up to 20% melamine, and then go into a press conference and say samples were up to 8% melamine. 8% is bad enough, but it’s a long way from being 20%. so, are they basing their “risk assessment” on the 8% number?
May 10th, 2007 at 7:01 am
I looked it up Sandi and it’s Goodlife run together. Just thought I’d clear up that little bit of confusion. Thanks so much for the tip!
May 10th, 2007 at 7:58 am
I was told by Petco Headquarters that they plan to come out with their own brand in the Fall. (They are phasing out their Pet Gold brand of which I have been unable to find out anything about the origin of ingredients.) It would be a good selling point for Petco if they would make a good quality, non-tainted food. Perhaps people could contact them to urge them to do this and tell them that we would be lining up at the door to buy it.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:17 am
In 1992, Congress mandated that the FDA collect a majority of their funding from the drug companies they are supposed to oversee. Corruption and fraud are a norm at the FDA. Investigations are ongoing; however, there is much foot dragging about all of this.
That being said, don’t EVER trust what the FDA says.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:34 am
mandy , you asked about pedigree for cats. pedigree is made by mars…so is Sheba & whiskas :)
& to the rest of us all: we knew this crap was killing our hairy kids, but youre all missing something bigger(despite todays announcement): The chinese admitted adding this to grains for up to 15 yrs. We’ve already been eating it for years. this week is nothing new. they just got caught.
I for one, want to know why now?? & not all along? What did they do different? Did they add more? Did they add an extra “special” ingredient?
Another question at the top of my list is if this human food is safe for US, is it safe for the hairy kids???? Im still eating ckn(although local) & giving it to them, but how long do we feed them & us, with baited breath wondering if any of us are gonna get sick from it.
I realllllly dont want to start dragging home road kill rabbit :)
May 10th, 2007 at 8:51 am
another inexpensive option is Dad’s. they make both cat & dog foods in various formulas, but the part that sold me was “all grains for dry cat & dog are grown in the USA”.
I dont beleive I will ever go back to store bought wet food. I saw the difference in my kids in 2 weeks when I took them off it. Now they get ckn with their dry & maybe this fall theyll get venison :0
May 10th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I truly believe that if the FDA told us what they really know about our food supply, that they could cause wide spread panic.
For this reason, the FDA is remaining vague about the potential danger from eating tainted food.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Toni, Pet Promise is made by PURINA, it is just there organic version
Also anyone who still uses FF with Gravy beware i have 2 sick cats 2000.00 in vet bills and no promises that they are not going to have long term problems from their poisoning. I have used Ff for 6 years and 2 cans inot a new box of 24 I got burned. SO please be careful with the ones with gravy for your pets sake.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Mandy and Sylvia,
Here is a recipe site for home cooking:
http://search.freefind.com/fin.....&bcd=%
F7&query=dog+food
Here is the Whiskas site - unfortunately, registration is necessary to view:
http://www.whiskas.com/default.aspx
Please be careful when choosing a pet food, as some have not been recalled, merely selectively “withdrawn” by the manufacturer(s). Remember, recalls are not mandated by the FDA, they are dictated by the manufacturer(s).
Check the Forum, too, as it is full of vital information. You might find a food you feel is safe and one that is not full of grains, as most commercial pet food is, to feed your baby or babies.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Hello and welcome to America, the World’s LARGEST rug (for our Government to sweep stuff under).
May 10th, 2007 at 10:00 am
This news from FDA about possible carcinogens makes me sick! So this just adds to the very real possibility that we will see many more deaths in the long term from this. Our poor pets.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:08 am
mgm Says:
May 9th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
mgm, can you tell me where you found that info on the carcinogens that you posted above. It sounds like it came from the FDA site but I cant find that particular page…..thank you!
May 10th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I’m fasting.
Does everything we buy in the way of food, and other products come from China? Almost nothing is made here anymore. I’m looking for a food co-op that has locally grown organic food. And the olympics are being held in China! Are you kidding me!
May 10th, 2007 at 10:21 am
To Mandy: Our house is seriously broke. The cheapest cat food, Dad’s is made in their own factory. It is corn and chicken digest, but all USA ingredients. Dad’s is no way premium but it is keeping my cats alive. They are also getting raw, semi cooked and table scraps and they are acting happy. Much better than when eating the recall poison.
I bought a min cuisonart food processor for $29. I get meat marked down for expiration date - steak or lamb. Wash meat in cold water since it is older it will have bacteria on outside. Sear meat quickly. Turn off heat and leave in pan until heat goes thru meat. Cut up with scissors. Mince in processor. Takes seconds to cook, seconds to mince. Red semi-raw gives my cats nutrients. Store ground beef is full of germs. Grind your own.
“Does anyone else remember that tv movie that was supposed to be a true story about the dairy cows that ate feed contaminated with fire retardent and many cows had to be destroyed and people got sick from the milk?”
This was my state of Michigan. Flame retardant was added at a feed mill mistaken for bags of supplements and cows all over state are it. The milk was full of PCB’s and most residents of state got a big dose. I missed exposure because at that time I lived by the border, had no car, and it was cheaper to take a bus to Canada to get food then to get to an American store.
About the US attorneys being fired. I am surprised the Bush administration did not fire any when he first took office. When Clinton took office the very first act on the very first day he took power was to fire all U.S. attorneys in the nation. This was unprecedented. U.S. attorneys serve at the discretion of the President just like the Cabinet it is not a civil service job. They are hired to carry out his agenda. But Bill Clinton was the only U.S. President in History to fire every single one. (They were all notified they had to submit their letters of resignation that day)
BTW - article mentioning the owner has just demolished the feed factory in China. The Chinese authorities stalled the US long enough to get the factory torn down. In China, they can move a thousand soldiers to quell a riot in seconds. The owner could have been arrested any time in that police state. The factory was torn down because the gov wanted it to happen
May 10th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Hi, I’ve been reading the blogs but not posted before. I had been feeding my very finicky furbaby Special Kitty in the pouch for about 18 months when she became very ill in Feb ‘07. Her illness was not immediately diagnosed until I told the vet what she had been eating. Yep, she was in renal failure. After daily trips to the vet for meds and fluids she finallly started to improve. However, I couldn’t find a wet or dry food that pleased her. Tried so many. Thought she liked Solid Gold until the 3rd day when she started vomiting after every time she ate. Quit that. My vet suggested Fancy Feast or Friskies. She rejected Friskies and would only eat the FF w/sauce &/or gravy. We had a few weeks of her being symptom free, her Bun & Creat levels were within normal limits. Guess what? I have noticed symptoms starting up again. No vomiting and she is still eating well but now she is very lethargic, scratching constantly and she is losing a lot of fur. She is a long haired cali and now her tail is beginning to look like she is a short haired. We will be on our way to the vet in about 20 minutes, again!!!!!
I have called Purina on several occasions and of course they state that FF is fine.(As they read from their company composed script!!) I sent an email to them yesterday begging to know exactly what is in their food , where it comes from, what testing they have done etc., etc. and told them I did not want to hear the answers from a script. This is my furbaby’s life we are talking about. No reply so far.
You all know what I mean and how I feel. I will buy food for her, if it is safe, and take it out of my own food budget. I can survive. But she depends on me to sustain her life and I don’t like poisoning her with all of this terrible food. She won’t eat home made stuff — I tried. I am so at a loss as to what to feed her.
As they say, money is the root of all evil. Just look at what greed has done to all of us and our pets.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Mandy, if Kumpicat is not safe to feed your cat, your cat had better stop eating. Seriously. :) Go to Kumpicat website, email Evy, ask her whatever you like, and she will respond promptly with any answers. She claims all US products and is testing for melamine. Tested production samples from I think the last ten months, all negative. She started Kumpi in the first place so she would have something safe to feed her own pets.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:53 am
e-wem I remember that story - Bitter Harvest. I remember bawling my eyes out when the kids got sick, and they had to destroy entire herds of cattle in a mass grave…..
May 10th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Interesting how we can import food from all over the planet, get people from a foreign country answering our calls when we call major companies on customer service issues, send all our resources to other countries so they are not available for help right here after disasters but there it is illegal and severely punishable to obtain prescriptions from another country which are often manufactured here but sold elsewhere at lower cost.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Judy Nemec’
Do not waste your breath calling PURINA I have 2000.00 in vet bills from FF w/ gravy and they are not changing their story. Their are several others on here with sick or dead cats from FF also. They are just hiding behind the FDA with their big powerful oh mighty dollar. What the lot number on te bottom of the can 1160 by any chance?
May 10th, 2007 at 11:08 am
DeAnne Rosen
66044
May 10th, 2007 at 11:15 am
FDA/FEMA/EPA are we getting the picture here? Do we need another national example before we start putting out the eye of the bully?
This is EXACTLY what the EPA did after 9/11 - watched people literally be carted off to hospitals in front of them in the EPA Senate hearing meetings…
… while they secretly cocooned their downtown offices with millions of (your 9/11 dollars that never got to victims) worth of protective gear, air filters for entire floors, special window treatments - years later Christy Todd Whitman apologized.
…Christy’s apology didn’t bring back tens of thousands of the uncounted secondary deaths and disabilties - their blood is on her hands. This is also exactly what happened at KATRINA under FEMA, and its happening now to our pet and human food supply under the FDA… the only way to deal with it is to consider and deal with the FDA as a POLITICAL BULLY FRONT protecting those intent on terrorizing our food supply - until shown otherwise.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Helen,
Mandy is not using KumpiKat because of the steep pricetag and a fixed income, not because she believes it to be unsafe. Just thought I’d point that out.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Judy Nemec’
I agree with Lorie VA about wasting your time contacting Purina. I’ve emailed numerous times with an array of questions. My latest drive was to find out what they’re making in their new China plant and if any of it will reach our neck of the woods, but there were numerous other emails with varied questions. Many weeks into badgering them I finally got a response. All it said was that they received my email and the have sent it to the appropriate person to be answered. That was weeks ago, and I’m not holding my breath.
About a week after I got that letter I called them and actually got through. I asked what they were making in the new plant in China. The woman I spoke with said there was no new plant in China. I told her I googled it and came up with numerous references to it. She put me on hold to “ask”, got back to me giggling like it was the silliest thing she’d ever heard and told me they only manufacture in the US.
They will not answer your emails or letters and if you do get to speak with someone they will lie.
Should you proceed, please let us know what they say. I’m sorry about your kitty and hope she makes a complete recovery from this.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I am feeding my cat Fancy Feast. I have tried to get him to eat Merrick, but he won’t. Can anyone tell me the latest on canned Fancy Feast, does it have harmful ingredients?
May 10th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Cougar,
Lorie has two sick cats and a large vet bill from feeding Fancy Feast. I would be very cautious and watchful.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Cougar,
Stay away from any of the ones containing wheat gluten. Thats waht got my 2 girls even though PURINA is saying it is safe. I have stopped using any of their food products since they won’t tell the truth and do a recall.
However I am still using Tidy Cat in clear container made by PURINA UGH it is the only kittly litter that doesn’t make my kitties sneeze their heads off. PETCO is the only place that carries that particular one.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Each bag or can of food is like a roll of the dice. I fed Purina and my little SharPei had her intestines go into each other. The symptoms were that of rat poisoning. That was the first question my Vet asked me. Me, who uses cornmeal for ant control. It was just a few days after buying the blue bag of Purina Puppy Chow she became very sick. Her brother is more of a couch potatoe and doesn’t eat as much wouldn’t eat it, went for the adult Purina. My Vet who I answer phones for worked for 11 days trying to save her. I finally asked if he would do exploratory surgery as she was going to die anyway. That is when the intestional problem was discovered. We are talking about an 8 month old pup raised by me and had never had any problems before. Out of 3 SharPei, she got sick and she is the only one to eat the food. She had the surgery, all fixed and of course still weak, but eating chicken strips and chicken livers at the Clinic. I went and bought some of the Alpo Prime Slices for her to get her built back up. After all, doesn’t the dogfood have the vitimins they need??? She went backwards so fast it made my head spin. Then the recalls were announced for Menu. I wondered at the time of the first recall if mine may be a problem. Lucky for me, I saved the rest of the canned Alpo which has the same numbers as the recalled cuts and gravy. Purina said it wasn’t a problem. Explain why the numbers match those of the recalled Alpo. I think they know, but won’t tell, especially since I told them my SharPei pup had died.
NOW, the big thing on my mind is, how many animals have been told by Vets who of course didn’t know what was going on…were diagnosed with cause of death as Parvo or Corona Virus. The symptoms are the same, the end results are the same and before the public or the Vets knew anything was going on with food were told their furkids had died of Corona or Parvo???
I think this was timed to happen during the season these Viral Diseases show up. It kept everyone, even the Vet community from ever suspecting anything otherwise. I would have had an autopsy done, but nothing had come out at the time of my pups death and she had 11 days of very good care, my job does have its benefits and my Boss/Vet put his heart and soul into helping her and never gave up. He took it as hard as our family did. I have seen some strange illness since I started my job in September and tho I only have to answer phones, i was cleaning the Clinic like a madwoman wondering why these animals that had been vaccinated, were not even nose to nose with a sick animal as many were house pets or lived where no strays could even get close to them to expose them to anything. Oh, and my male who had skin problems that started in November, started clearing up as soon as I got him off the Purina. Skin problems have never run in my lines and I had bred the same male to my 2 females since 1999. I still see the first pup from each of my girls and many of my past litters are Clinic patients and I always sold one pup from each litter to someone close by so I could track any problems if they came up. I was just a small time Hobby Breeder who put more into my pups than I ever expected to get back. I actually guaranteed my pups and was always available to those who bought my pups. My phone numbers and email have been the same since I started as well as living in the same house so I was very easy to find and if there was a problem, I wanted to know. Never have I had any of these weird problems come up and I have never fought skin problems like I did with the male I kept until he was 3 months old. I used Purina and felt safe as they said they make all their own food, wet and dry. Then what comes out????
Even stranger, I wondered at the time, why my dogs that were eating Purina were getting redness around their mouths and my little girl that died, had sores around her mouth. That all went away as soon as I put the Purina away. You know it makes me sick that we don’t even realise and I thought I had done my research on dogfood, that the foods are done in such a pyramid that finding who actually makes it is very hard to trace. Ah, I thought Diamond made Chicken Soup Foods, no it is made by American Nutrition. I switched when it was said that it was the Wheat Gluten to Diamond as it has Corn. But, I decided to go for Chicken Soup for my Pup and he started having loose stools. Took him off it, cleared up instantly. I was even mixing to make the transition. The Vet said maybe I should take him of the Chicken Soup Food and see what happened and the poop went solid again. I always weaned to the Chicken Soup Pup Food, but when they got older, had to switch as it constipated them. Each time I buy food, I feel sick to my stomach as it seems the healthiest animals I am seeing these days live off table scraps. I have been hearing Breeders stories of fighting to keep their dogs alive. This thing is bad, very bad and I felt it in my gut the first recall that came out. Now what worries me is, will we know if the food is making our dogs or cats sick and overlook another illness?? I am actually keeping a notebook on my dogs and have been since my little wrinkle girl got sick. But, I raised these pups and have their entire history of everything I have ever had done to them noted anyway from vaccines to wormer to food changes and their weights. These dogs have probably more written about their medical and health history than my kids do who are young adults. I can tell you what time they were born and how each one made progress or if they had anything going on. I have panic/anxiety disorder and my dogs are my therapy and many went on to be therapy dogs. My pups were raised to be best friends and went to people who needed a best friend. Now I fear I will get a call that someone lost their best friend and I chose to no longer breed now that my last child went off to college and wanted a little freedom and went to work answering phones at our Local Vet Clinic as the Vet I work for is a Salebarn Vet and his wife helps him and they needed a contact person for appointments and I do whatever else needs to be done. Now, I cannot even give people an answer of what to feed with this food crisis. I just direct them to websites as how can I say when I cannot be sure. Well, I can say one thing, our News Stations and Newspapers sure are not giving us any information and that is a terrible shame that we have to search to find anything about our animal food and pray that it isn’t next on the list.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
e wem,
I haven’t had time to research the fired US Attorney issue much more, but I will point out that Clinton was very much in thrall to the Globalist agenda when he first took office. Just like Rove is pulling the strings now, someone other than Clinton was pulling the strings then. That is why it was unprecedented. It hailed a paradigm shift. The attorneys fired now I am guessing are ones who show signs of breaking away from loyalty to Globalism. We don’t have much hope of ChemNutra or Menu or any other international trader or company being brought to justice if we have nothing but radical Globalists running our justice system. The dissident US attorneys that are fighting the firings are probably risking their careers, if not their lives, by speaking out. They are lawyers, and could just go back into private practice and make lots of money. That would be the easy way out for them. They really think a travesty has occurred here.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
LoriVA,
What flavor was the FF you had a problem with?
May 10th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Cougar,
Merrick isn’t any good either. There are no racalls bit on another forum I found disturbing onfo. about them. They DO have a rendering plant. Also, there is an ing. in it thats poison, which most co. used for years. This is just another name. It’s ETHYLENEDIAMINE DIHYDRIODE which is ETHYLENE GLYCOL & called PROPYLENE GLYCOL. Additive for anti-freeze. I threw mine out.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Barbara,
It was Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys Chicken Florentine. Two cans into a new case of 24. I have use FF for 6 years or more years and trusted them when they said their food was safe. Of course they say it stillis. I agree with Jo there are probably could and bad cans of FF I was just one of the unluckyones who bought a tainted batch. plant number 1160. This number is very common on this sight with people with sick or dead cats. So are we all crazy I think not. Someone is lying.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Judy Nemic, Hi, welcome aboard, glad you are posting.
I too have had a cat with symptoms from the {Nestle} *Purina* brands of foods {and Proctor&Gamble IMAS dry}.
In my case it was the Friskies canned.
It started with vomiting and then severe licking off her hair on any area she could reach. As well as scratching her head alot.
But without ANY outward signs of Any “irritants”. No reddness, no bumps, no rash, no flaky skin, no Nothing.
She would just lick and lick and remove the hair in the process. Her belly is like a baby’s butt now, The backs of each leg peach-fuzzed.
{it’s sort of ‘cute’ now :-P }
No runny stools, no blood.
The vomiting stopped but, the licking continued. She was not Playing or interested in usual things.
This Cat NEVER vomits! She is just now 10. Healthy-
{previously}.
This was This year and peaked around the end of Feb. 07. I began to try to ‘watch’ her and mentally eliminate things. Then began to eliminate Things. Her 3x’s a week bit of half and half in a bowl {her only Real ‘treat’}. Made sure the litter was “the same” as always. Washed her bedding {again}. Vaccuumed everywhere- Very Well.
Nothing worked to Stop this licking.
Her skin from the licking, has Never become “red or irritated lookin,} {which is amazing in itself!}.
No tramas or upsets in her life either.
Everything eliminated, I began to suspect FOODS.
I called the Vet. That was on March 7th or 8th. We talked on the phone a couple of days, he said go Organic with Foods. Give her a couple of days and call me. I got Pet Promise but it is Not Organic, it is “Natural”. There is a difference. But it was allI could find and short noticed.
She saw him on March 15th. Her gave her and exm and some injections and we are/were to watch “the symptoms disappear”. He said he thought is was some sor of “allergy”.
And that her skin has a reaction like tickling on it constantly. Like a breeze across your arm All the Time. She licks to Stop it. Said it is Neurological. {in the Nerves} Not “mental” {thank goodness}
SOME THING was causing this.
The shot helped only slightly. We’ve gone round and rond with new foods. I am now making Homemade for her Only.
It has slowed way down but several foods we Tried, caused an Increase of the symptoms, not a Decrease.
So the Homemade. That’s why I do Not Trust ‘canned’ foods right now.
In one of the Report on Toxicity of the Melamine is talks about the “Severe- toxic DERMAL response in RABBITS”
{dermal is SKIN}
{tho No specifics of What the Rabbits DID for a reaction: shed? scratch? chew? lick?
So this morning I said BINGO!
Confirms what *I* believed all along= FOOD. Something was In the Food.
Saw the Vet first time after phone calls- March 15th.
RECALLS begin on March 16th.
Foods made {at that recall time} Dec. 06 to/through Feb. 07. Same as My Foods here.
ALL Foods are Saved. Even some opened Frozen still.
I know this is all pretty much Boring reading in my post, but I am Amazed EACH Day HERE to LEARN More and More!!!
How many of You all had Pets with SKIN Reactions too?
I am Interested. Would you Mind Posting about it/Them?
One of the meds/shots the Vet gave was “huge” and long lasting; {should Stop All reactions to “allergins”}
It had Lttle affect on her “issue” till I went All homemade Food.
{and I won’t get into my Pure Breed OS ‘ShimiCat’, I had to put to sleep in late 05. I KNOW *NOW* it was the Foods! IMAS dry Hairball ‘care’/contol, in particular. But she also ate the Friskies Canned like This kitty, they did Together.}
Whose had Pets with Skin Reactions TOO?
May 10th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I also had issues with IAMS hairball formula, last spring one cat with bloody loose stool other with yellow foam vomit. Vet could only come up with one turning 7 developed sensitive stomach, other got into a bacteria. Both indoor ats. So ate the mention of sensitvie stomach i switched them both to Eukanuba for Sen Stomach and everything stopped.
I
May 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
YaYa,
What flavors of Friskies were you feeding. I’ve been feeding Friskies for years with no problems. I still am, as much as I don’t trust Purina, the mush foods, minus wheat glutens are still working and I’m terrified to change. I also feed 9 lives mush, and for dry Purina Naturals in the green bag and Temptations for treats (they gotta still be good or they’ll claw my eyes out). For the outside cats I give them Kit n Kaboodle.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
LorieVA,
Thank you so much! My cousins daughter uses FF. I’ll tell her now.
YaYa,
What you just wrote, it sound JUST LIKE WHAT I’VE BEEN GOING THROUGH. Mine ALL itch. My Muffin reacted EXACTLY like your. He had shots also, helped for a week, some, then started all over again. My vet said the same also. This is amazing! I had a feeling for years it was this CRAPPY food ( poison). Since this started, it just confirmed what I thought all along. Couldn’t figure out WAY my other babies got CANCER. I THOUGHT I was feeding them top of the line food. Only the beat for my babies. Yea, then cancer! I fed them Science Diet and Iams also.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
One of our cats is extra sensative to shedding and irritants had a heck of time while eating Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula. He would shed and scratch constantly. After two weeks on much better food, he’s starting to show a difference.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
My brother uses Purina Cat Chow Indoor also and has no problem with his cats itching, but as soon as they eat, they throw up.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Hi Debbie4747, well {luckily?} my cats were/are picky eaters {liked the “mushy ones :-P } and the Friskies were mainly: Mixed Grill {the favorite one}, Sea Captain’s Choice, Mariners Catch, some-times- Ocean Whitefish Dinner, and a Chicken/liver? one.
That’s it. They got 1 Tablespoon mixed with a little water in the Mornings Only. They both like to ‘lap-up’ their Wet foods. Don’t like chunky, sliced, cubes etc.
1 can would last a few days. The rest of the time they had self-feed IMAS dry hairball ‘care’ available.
The cats got a SMALL bit each day. Not a whole can, not even half.
So what “dosing” of a poison from Wet was, smaller maybe by others in conparison.
The word for this ‘activity” is “DOPING”.
Doping Ingredients. “Trying” to make some More than it Actually Is. Or Appears.
I just Do Not trust P&G {Proctor&Gamble} or Nestle-Purina. These are the Largest and have the “Longest Arms”.
I hear/read about a line of theirs being “quietly” removed from shelves in stores.
Folks have posted HERE about these unusual happenings around the country. They’ve SEEN it.
I think they’ve got problems and are replacing Foods this way, with more Currently Produced lines, of the same- “without contaminants”. Under the Radar. As if they’ve made agreements with “some-one” that they don’t want a PANIC or PR nightmare on their hands and “promised” to replace foods on their own.
I Also am Not purchasing ANY P&G or Nestle Products.
I am also TYPING Intentionally: P&G “Proctor & Gamble” and Nestle-Purina.
I want Those Company Name Out there Up Front In Print each time. So folks Identify WITH The REAL Company Names!
And when a Company say or prints that THEY are Not nor ingredients Involved in this Comtaminated Foods issue Be-Cause they do not get ther Ingredients from the “companies affiliated with the glutens or suppliers of such or the recalls”
WELL that’s just *2* Chinese Manufacturers NOW. What about the who’ve done it BEFORE This or Will to come???
They are Only dis-affilating themselves from *2*.
The*2* WE KNOW ABOUT SO FAR!
It’s ALL in the TIMING: Theirs and/or OURS.
End of Rant, Sorry Debbie! :-D
Just be Very care with the slightest of changes in your pets. All of you.
I know this Whole thing is Terribly difficult and hard and sad. Keep Pluggin’ away and find a way.
Ill hang here a Bit, but I’m gonna head up to the Barn/farm and Celebrate my Horses 12th B-DAY shortly! :-D Got to shred some carrots and apples and applesauce and hmmm, I’ll find some other goodies to toss in a B-Day “Mash special” for her! :-P
{yeah, and I DID check on her Horse Treats and Feed already weeks ago :-D USA Grown and Made!} Whew!
May 10th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Connie, check with your vet re venison. A few years ago my vet said that moose was compared to an organ meat ( you should only use it as 10% of the diet ). See if venison is the same. Apparently it’s too rich for a dog’s system in large amounts—cause pancreatitis or something. Venison in commercial dog food you know is a very minimal amount.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
YaYa,
YOUR POST ARE NOT BORING!
May 10th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
YaYa,
Thank you for your rant, LOL! I’ve gotten so used to reading such posts and posing my own, it didn’t even register as a rant!
But as I’ve said, I am continuing to feed what I am mainly because I afraid to change. The Friskies and 9 lives mush haven’t as yet bellied up on my.My cats coats continue to be shiney, they act normal, etc. My main concern is if any of Purina’s products will filter over here from that new plant in China using ahem…”local ingredients”.
But now that we know at some degree most cat foods have had melamine in it for years, maybe that’s why cats are such notorious pukers????? Those with cats would always give a knowing chuckle whenever the topic comes up, but hey, maybe that’s why! The typical failing kidneys in their senior years…ding ding ding! It all comes together now. I never felt the need to buy the expensive “good” stuff and apparently there is no such thing….just expensive. Just wish I could trush Purina more.
And Happy Birthday to your horse! If I’m not mistake, I think Purina even makes horse feed…geez they’re everywhere aren’t they?
May 10th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
YaYa,
As I re- read your post, I saw yours didn’t have outward irritations. mine did. He was itching ALL the time. He liked his fur off his belly, chewed his feet, chewed is leg raw,scratched his head sore also. His ears and around his eyes were dark pink like he had pollen irratation. Then he got the red bumps. Poor baby was miserable.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
LOL! Thanks Gang! For the encougements and B-Day wishes! I will tell her So as well from you! :-D
YES she does Understand “human”, Really! LMBO
Iv got to drive “over the river and through the ‘floods’” to see her. I think it’s a bit better to-day here tho. But More rain to-night- sigh, WANT SUN!
Yeah, Nestle-Purina makes TONS of AG FEEDS as well as Human and Pet. {none of my horse-friends nor I, use “Purina” horse/equine products tho ;-) }
I’d say IF you are and furbabes are doin’ Ok stick with it.
I am With You on the CHINA SYNDROME! Plants IN China??? Suuuuure they won’t ship HERE!
That’s why I’m Boycotting Nestle-Purina, like they are going to be satified with “Only Chinese” customers???
Uh-huh.
AND if, it’s COMMON Chinese mix “funny things” into their ingredients—I just Wonder? How many Cats and Dogs DO the Chinese Have left?????
Shoot, I’d better put a “disclaimer” on my last few Posts!
These are ONLY *MY* Opinions Folks! :-P
The Sun has been out just a bit here today, and I’m So Happy for it. It will be a Muddy but good Barn-Day :-D
May 10th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I just read that one of you lost your pet bunny. I had to have my pet rabbit put down in March, right around the time when the first recalls started. My Vet told me that she had seen a number of sick rabbits during the current and previous week. My rabbit stopped drinking water and stopped eating, had loose stools. My Vet gave him a shot of cortisone to make him hungry and thirsty. I gave him yogurt and lots of bananas. In the end he stopped eating all together even bananas which he dearly loved. His poor little eyes were milky and lifeless, we decided it was best for him to put him down.
Anyone else on here have or know of others who have had similar experiences with pet rabbits? I think it HAS to be in the pellet feed too.
I have 2 cats and a dog and it’s a crap shoot at best to figure out what is safe to feed them. I switched to Blue Buffalo at the time of the first recalls, thankfully they are all fine and continue to thrive.
We need another Boston Tea Party in this country, it’s time to clean house and kick some Washington @$$…….
May 10th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Oh brother–that’s right..Purina does make horse feed. I feed my 32 year old QH Equine Senior, made by Purina. :o( I feed my 3 year old Equine Jr.
Feed my GSD’s Canidae dry–mixed with human food. I tell ya…..this is pretty dang scary. No more NB, Nutro, wet for my dogs. NEVER. I just cook up some ground beef or turkey, bake some chicken (use to) and add that to their dry food. Add some vegie’s, or whatever I have for dinner. They love potatoes as well….done with the wet food.
May 10th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Hi Barbara, yeah she had/has No “outward” signs ON the skin. The hair is now, just missing from the licking. I’m glad she is not “ravenous” about it, tho she has Slowed Way Down with this Licking/itching thing
She was Miserable with ‘it’ tho.
We see the Vet in a couple of more weeks again.
She has had some scratches on her ears tho from the claws, I try to keep them Clipped shorter- {note to self: must clip kitty claws tonite!}
I FIRMLY Believe the “poisons” were/still are, coming *Out* through her skin.
Causing a neurological/nerve reaction. Itch and or “constant “tickle”. That’s how the Vet described what her skin “felt” like.
Your skin is a Big/Huge “reactor” to “junk”, for lack of better words.
Many Bad things “show” in the skin, first, during or last. Think about it. How many RASHES are involved in “reactions”? That’s a Defense of the body.
So you ask: what is going IN or ON my animal to cause this??? Elimination and deduction are ways to find out.
Whether you pets “blow their coats” or scratch, lick get a rash or shed alot more than normal- that’s Skin {essentially} reaction/defense.
{tho alot of animals “blow their coats” due to peaks and valleys of hormones and breeding situations.} Not a ‘bad’ thing. Or so I was told :-D
{at a Stables I will not mention in my area, the first place I boarded my Horse when I moved. After a couple of months I noticed my horses coat was getting thin and dull. I asked is she getting her THYROID replacement 2x a day?! Yeeeees, they said.
I watched, and popped in unannouced at “odd” times of the day, a few times. I did not SEE them put her T-supplement IN her evening feed with my own 2 eyes.
BAM! She was Moved to a Brand new facility of friends PRONTO in a Day. Took me nearly 4 months to get that coat turned around, and her “back to normal” The LIARS! Thank goodness she suffered no other ill effects from a “slight” negligence.
Thyroid-skin-coat.
And on to other parts of the body over long term, IF I had not been WATCHING and asking Questions and paying attention to my horse. SHE SHOWED me, there Was a Problem.
I PAID for GOOD care but got short changed.
{they’ve Lost many clients since I can add, for various similar issues, just Plainly Lazy!}
But her hair and skin SHOWED me First, there was an Issue going on there.
She Glows Now— :-D
And that’s the End of That story! LOL
May 10th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
DebbieG54,
So far our rabbits have been doing fine on their pellet food, but they also eat lots of hay and fresh veggies as part of their daily diet. I’m worried about this on so many fronts, as we have five cats, a dog, two rabbits, two parakeets, a rat and a mouse. The only ones that don’t any type of pelleted food whatsoever are the birds (they won’t touch the stuff). On top of all of them, I have my wife and myself to worry about. Jeez…
May 10th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
There have been only a handful of animal studies done on the effects of consuming melamine. In every case, the animals developed bladder and/or kidney problems, including bladder stones, enlarged bladders, and tumors.
But here’s the real problem — in a study from 1985, researchers called the melamine connection to the formation of bladder stones and related problems an example of the threshold effect, and added that “there is strong evidence linking bladder stones with the induction of tumors….” This same study also found that the youngest animals were the most susceptible to developing these problems. Here are the researchers’ conclusions:
“A decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerning the levels of MA [melamine] allowed to occur in the food chain indicates that data regarding thresholds, even in the case of urolithiasis [stone formation], are not being utilized in the risk assessment process.”
I could be wrong, but that seems to say that for the past twenty-plus years, the EPA has chosen to ignore evidence that melamine damages the bladder and kidneys, as well as the possibility that children could be particularly vulnerable. Very scary…
May 10th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
HolyMoly Barb! 32yr old OH! That’s Fan-dang-tastic!
{my old QH lived to be 27 and I thought that was Great :-) }
Barb, I’m using Kent Feeds. LUV em! I called and checked them out in March. It’s Safe. Grown in the mid-west, milled in Iowa- Muscatine or Keokuk? {and one other town I don’t remember}
I’d call my local Puina REP and put them on “the spot” so to speak. Ask them. Get them to Gurantee what they say IF you have Any questions or worries.
And now DebbieG54, I’d be interested in Others too with Bunny woes! Geeeeees.
And, I wonder how the San Diego ZOO did with Natural Balance being their Feed supplier for the Wild animals. Maybe that’s entirely different? sigh.
Far Reaching.
“Nope, nuthin’ wrong Here”
May 10th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Donna,
Sorry to be so disjoint. I just saw your post and appreciate you taking the time to point out the links. My little guy is on Go-Go Buffalo raw food. (Can afford it for a 12lb dog, bigger dog would be $$$$) Also he eats Cal Natural Health Bars. But I am thinking about making my own foods. It is a 50+ mile round trip to the store to get the Go-Go. (Olympic Peninsula boonies here) And there is always the chance of a shortage or big price increases. And gas will be 4.00/gal here this summer. So it may be worth researching a home-made recipie.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
YaYa,
Thanks for the responce. I wish everyone the best of luck finding the right food for your pets. I wish this nitemare was over already so we can all get back to “normal” lives again! This is ttoooooooo much stress!
May 10th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Got home from work and always take a bit to read and catch up on recent posts..
couple of things: Toni Re: Pet Promise
I called the number on the bag of Pet Promise and spoke to one of their people (after 30 tries and voice mails) and after really pressing the person, they did admit to being part of Purina but then tried to hedge in many different ways…”we are our own company within Purina” type stuff…
YaYa: I have over $6,000 in bills for care of nearly dead German Shep named Buddy..He lived and we are still in serious ongoing treatment…Iams blew me off “after a careful study of our claim”..Careful my &^%&^&^!!!! I just the other day reviewed the P & G home page and will do my best to never buy any of their products again..Bounty Paper Towels, Tide and on and on…Same with Nestle…just another corporate heartless giant…
Not going to argue about U S Attys but to date, most Presidents start fresh with their own guys..The guys Bush fired were already his own guys and just not passing the ultra loyalty test of not helping throw the midterm election to the Bush suporters…I would give my right %^&^%*^% to have the days of Clinton back again..no string of dead pets with an investigation moving at the speed of a dead snail…
Once upon a time, I would have apologized for the political rant..NOT ANYMORE….It will take us years to recover the the environmental, mental, financial,and physical damage that has been done to our people and our planet…including our beloved 4 leggers!!!
May 10th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
ditto mal: “concentrations of up to 20% in analyzed samples†????????????
question: if WG and RPC were really wheat flour…. some petfoods contain “ground whole rice” [let’s say] well how fine is it ground? As fine as flour? So what if they didnt’ happen to have whole rice that day to grind so they used ‘rice’ flour [”what’s the dif they’ll never know”] which wasn’t rice fl but contam wheat flour??? HUH? ground is ground - leaves a big opening for scumbag profiteers if you ask me… i’m suspicious.
I can’t think up a string of acceptable sw-word substitutes that is long enough or ugly enough, right now.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
DebbieG54 yer singin my tune! Boston Tea Party time. amen.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Well, we’re back from the vet and I’m not happy. Cali again has an elevated BUN and now also her protein level is high. And now her liver enzymes are also elevated. The vet said a few weeks ago that she thought the ARF was getting better but she then thought that Cali had developed pancreatitis. (Which in humans is very painful and I think could be painful for our kitties as well.) When she first got sick , PRIOR to the recalls we had to force feed her with a syringe and babyfood not only to give her some nutrition but to try to stimulate her to eat again. A few times I even pureed some of the Special Kitty we had been giving and put that in with the babyfood. Then the recalls came out and I wanted to just crawl under a rock. To think that I had been force feeding her the poison that originally got her ill!!!
As mentioned I started her on FF. She truly would not eat anything else.
She stuck up her nose at Friskies and Whiskas as well as all of the high priced wet foods and she is not a fan of kibble. Many folks said ” just leave her food out and when she gets hungry enough she’ll eat.” Well, not so with Cali. Very stubborn little girl or very smart. I think they know what is good or not.
So, LorieVA –The FF cans do have #1160 on them. Some w/gravy, some just plain ocean W.F&Tuna. I have one that is Salmon but it is a #1162.
Guess what’s going back to the store?
To YAYA, yes since she has been on FF she is constantly licking everywhere and she also has a scratch or 2 from scratching. No other
signs/sypmtoms - no redness, no irritated areas etc. Just prior to her initial illness,she was scratching so much I had cat fur carpeting. It was coming out in clumps after she scratched. I took her to the vet, she got a cortizone shot and the scratching ceased. Of course that was almost simultaneous with her developing the vomiting etc. Whether the cortizone actually helped or if it was because she stopped eating the SK I don’t know but I favor the fact that she had stopped eating the SK.
I am sure these have been the most horrible 4 months for her and me too.
She hates her carrier and on the way to the vet the most horrible sounds come out of her. I am always ready to cry by the time I get her there.
LOL.
Cougar: about FF. All of the FF w/ sauce &/or gravy has wheat gluten.
The plain loaf style does not. I do believe the Medley’s all have WG in them too.
Jo: I am so sorry about your Wrinkle Girl.
My heart goes out to all of you who have lost a cherished pet. This is just horrible. A nightmare that seems never ending.
( I wonder what Bush’s dogs get to eat? Probably prime rib from the chef!
May 10th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Judy N,
About the carrier and trips to vet: I spray Feliway in the carrier 5 minutes before I drop kitty in it. It really helps keep them calm. Sometimes they look sorta squinty-eyed and stoned but they are calm. Those gutteral cries that I never hear except in their carries are heartbreaking and creepy. It is formulated with pheramones. I have been using it for several years without any problems and have not heard any negatives about the product so if anyone has, please inform.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Oh, I did want to mention one more thing. In regards to the FDA. Why would we think that they would help us with pet food when they will approve drugs that the Pharmaceutical Cos. put out, without testing to the very utmost ? My healthy adult son was given CIPRO for an infection.
Within 2 days he could hardly walk. He is very resourceful in researching stuff. Went to his dr. to c/o the symptoms. Presented the doc with scads of information about this drug and the terrible side effects and I mean
TERRIBLE! Right down to dying. Doc wouldn’t listen. Didn’t know all of the side efffects himself. Well the short of the story is, my son is now in a wheel chair with severe neurological damage. He went everywhere to all kinds of drs. Tried many things. Nothing has helped, obviously. When he tried to get an attny. to take his case he was told he’d be fighting the FDA and to forget it.
So again, why hope for their help for our pets? By the way, the FDA about a yr. ago or so, gave permission to the Pharm. Co. to continue testing this drug to now be used on CHILDREN.!!!!!!!
FYI — If your dr. wants to prescribe CIPRO FOR YOU DON’T DO IT. TELL HIM YOU’RE ALLERGIC TO IT. BUT DON’T TAKE IT. AKA as Ciproxin, Ciproflaxin, and Fluoroquinolone.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Barbara Says:
May 10th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
“It’s ETHYLENEDIAMINE DIHYDRIODE which is ETHYLENE GLYCOL & called PROPYLENE GLYCOL. Additive for anti-freeze. I threw mine out.”
Barbara, can you please let me know your source for this information. While the substances are chemically related (”Eth” meaning that there are 2 carbon molecules) I don’t think that Dihydriodide is the same as glycol (but I could be wrong, I’m still in introductory chemistry) This substance is commonly used to supplement iodine from what I could find and is included in the “Balance IT” products I’ve seen mentioned here (Balance it also includes menadione sodium bisulfite complex)
May 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Thanks Genny. Where do you get Feliway?
May 10th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Judy N,
I’m sorry your son’s life was destroyed by Cipro. My mom faced severe life endangering infections following a cancer surgery (she was in ICU and Isolation for 4 months) and Cipro was the only thing that saved her life.
Baytril is the veterinary equivalent to Cipro.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
TO 4lgdfriend, maybe we should start another site just for that!!! I’m a Republican ( PLEASE PEOPLE DON’T POUNCE ON ME) LOL. I wrote Bushey a scathing letter today. I know he doesn’t give a rats rear, but I felt better for sending it. Speaking of rats, we had a pet rat who was healthy, fed lots of fresh veggies etc., and I started feeding him the hard pellets because the rat food had too many sunflower seeds which gave him skin sores, and I got lazy about picking the seeds out. Anyway, within 2 weeks of starting the new food, he had to be put down due to 2 large tumors. This was a healthy little guy until I switched foods. Could be coincidence but I feel bad anyway. So that’s a rat and rabbit in 2 months. I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS!!!!!
May 10th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Judy N,
I bought mine from PetSmart but they have a wesite also:
feliway.com
I first used it on my cat for behavioral problems. I rescued him at 11 days old when his mom abandoned him under my house. I think he’d been there for four days when I finally heard him screaming for his life. He was just barely, barely warm when I was able to retrieve him. As he got older, he gave my elderly cat hell. I think because he’d not been socialized by the mom and litter mates. I found out about Feliway in my search of what to do with my Bin Laden terrorist kitty. It really helped in having a more peaceful household.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
redmal,
I read it a forum. I’m no chemist. Just relayed info. Maybe it was wrong. Sorry.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
An excellent grain free dry dog food is Solid Gold Barking at the Moon (http://www.solidgoldnorthwest.com/products/pro_dry/pro_barking.html)
For canned I use Evangers 100% meat varieties. Ingredients are mean and juice only. They also have canned cat food and they process and manufacture their OWN food.(http://www.evangersdogfood.com/dog/)
For dry cat, Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct Grain Free Dry is an excellent choice. (http://www.waggintails.com/store/DisplayProduct.php?sku=NVCK-003)
May 10th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Redmal,
Thanks. I am so glad Cipro worked for your Mom. I hope she is healthy and well. Granted, it does work for some and I know it is a very powerful antibiotic. Patients need to know of the risks and side effects etc they may be faced with but drs. aren’t always as educated about some things as we’d like them to be. Just a FYI.
It’s sort of like the pet food, some animals are ok even tho they have eaten the tainted food. But it’s good to know what can happen if that is the way some owners desire to go.
Sorry All, didn’t mean to get on my soapbox. I guess my point was that I don’t feel the FDA gives a hoot about us or our animals. Underfunded, understaffed or not. So what if some die from this, others are ok. Guess that’s how I feel they are.
May 10th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
redmal,
When you put it like that, it sounds safe. Is this normal to do this?
May 10th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Judy N
Sorry to hear about your cat darn FF I hate those SOBs I swear. The 1160 is the same plant my poison came form how convienent. I know they are never going to come clean it makes me so mad. I wish I could take the 20 cans of the=is FF Elegant Medleys and make those f&*^%$RS eat ever can. SOrry Really geting mad now my cats were made sick March 23rd I reported 3 times to PURINA and have a case number also reported to FDA sent vet records and everything. What a waste of time who am I and my 2 little helpless cats agains a greed company. Now all these are cats are being made sick because they do not care.
May 10th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I am not feeding dog food any more , all my animals are eating raw food, hopefully the chickens they get are safe , I wonder
OTOH, this country is poisoning its people
May 10th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
ya ya everything people say here is important. Reading your story I was thinking my cats lost a lot of hair but no scratching when - Bingo. I forgot about the biting.
Last summer my Himi escaped. We found her that day but soon she got scabs and hair loss. It spread to the other two. Maybe scabies or fungus. I was at $350 for exam, antibiotics and antiinflammatories so I couldn’t afford cultures.
The vet reluctantly gave me shampoo without testing. ( I already owed a friend $1000 for prior vet bills). Many angry cat shampoo sessions and the scabs healed but the hair loss continued.
My Himi had had ratty hair for several years. No show cat but she was getting so pathetic I kept thinking the skin problem wasn’t cured and I cant afford the vet. Or is she just going from old age? She had a tail like a piece of lank rope
Meanwhile all cats were shedding chunks of hair. They looked terrible.
The big male would bite his back and dash around the house. No scabs but was the hair loss was huge. He was crabby and wanted to go outside. He sits by the porch. Guilt.
He bit his back when he had a urinary blockage a few years before. Was it that or fleas? Yet my cats had never had a big flea problem even though I took them outside on leash. And he was able to use the litter box.
Just before the recall my babies almost conked on IAMS. Horrible massive vomiting. Weight loss. Didn’t want to eat. (I went from FF to IAMS to Natural balance to others all bad)
Since I stopped the poison and went homemade, table scraps, and fast food my big guy has stopped biting his back.
He still sits outside so it wasn’t fleas. Recently I combed my cats and their fur is so different. Zero tangles in the Himi. Her tail is becoming fluffy. She is becoming quite pretty. My tortie is getting a furry ruff above her paws and her tail is fuller too.
I think they have been eating poison for at least several years.
Can anyone date when Chinese imports first started being added to pet food? That is a crucial piece of evidence. Not this one batch at Menu. When did Chinese grain first get allowed into the US?
May 10th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
e wem,
There you are! Earlier you suggest emu oil for uninary crystals, member? I ordered from that company and they arrived yesterday. Do you have a suggestion for administering this to cats? We just finished the round of liquid antibiotics and I hate to stress him any more trying to give the oil. Do you think it would work if I squirted over his food?
Sorry about OT, just trying to catch you while I see you here.
Thanks so much!
May 10th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
E WEM
Is emu oil good for cats with struvites crystals?
May 10th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Lorie,
Where did e wem go? Hopefully she’ll be back and enlighten us.
I’ll relay what she told me…..A week or so ago on one of these itchmo blogs she suggested it for crystals. Said she’d been giving to her cat for about 2 years, I think, and has not had a reoccurance since then. She used it for herself and decided to try it on her cats.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
I said “she’ll”….but could be “he’ll”.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
I was just reading in the excellent book Betrayal of Trust by Laurie Garrett that years ago the U.S. did not allow very much food to be imported but the tremendous increase in food from other countries is as the result of NAFTA–the free trade agreement. Everytime I read about this terrible pet food contamination I keep thinking of how we would all welcome companies who manufacture in the U.S. from ingredients from the U.S. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing in this country. I live in Michigan & it is especially bad here. I am sure we would all support these companies & they could use the fact that they are 100% American made would be a great advertising point!
May 10th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I’m not saying whether ETHYLENEDIAMINE DIHYDRIODE is a desirable element in a supplement or food, or not, just that it is included in some of the supplements and food items which seem to be considered OK. Just wanted to say that even though many of these substances have similar names or are similar components, that doesn’t mean they are all diabolical. Of course some are. Chemical names can be confusing, just changing one atom can change something innocuous into something deleterious, so…
For iodine, I feed a little bit of dried kelp, and fed home cooked for my dog for a few years now. It may be that kelp (or other sources of iodine) do not hold up well in the manufacturing process, so more refined components have to be added.(?) I don’t really know, I haven’t found much info on this particular substance other than it is included in many feed items and/or supplements.
(Judy - I agree, it is disgraceful when a doctor wouldn’t disclose potential problems, and downright terrible, to not acknowledge when something is causing terrible problems for a patient)
May 10th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Mandy — I am using Innova Evo. It has no grains and is coated with dried raw meat. It costs more than the old Pro-Plan, but the cats eat half as much!! They both like it a lot.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Hey Everybody,
If you think you have been exposed to this melamine and other coal derivatives, go see a homeopath about detoxification. Gemmotherapy products serve wide purposes.
I am using the Common Juniper along with other products for myself and my cats. By the time a conventional Doctor decides to test for specific toxins and treat them, it might be too late. Common Juniper does not interact with medications. :>D
May 10th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
e wem — please go to petwhisperer.com and read about Gemmotherapy. you can give the cats the common juniper 1-5 drops a day in their water. If you have a specific question for Dr. Blake he or staff will write you back. I really feel for you, because i, like you could not afford to take Purr-Purr to the vet.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Phylllis,
I haven’t been able to get into the site you put up.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:35 am
I have been thinking VERY hard about my kitties health problems as of late.
Whiskers: Had to get her teeth cleaned for the first time in her life after a life time on Purina One and Cat Chow dry. She sheds a lot, and I don’t think her coat is very shiny. She also seems to throw up a lot after she eats, but after checking it, it does NOT always have hair balls in it. Since she’s eleven years old, I blamed it on her age.
Smokey: Also eats Purina One and Cat Chow dry. Doesn’t shed much, but he has a different kind of cat. However he also is not very shiny, and his eyes water a great deal. The vet gave him eye drops. He is only two years old.
Can it be the food? I don’t know. But after hearing about Purina’s two recalls, all of the complaints of people that said their cats got sick after eating other Purina products that were NOT recalled, and finding out that they buy from China, AND finding out that they were not properly talking or giving info to people who made complaints, I don’t think I can ever trust them again. I feel like they completely ruined my trust in them.
Thank you all so much for your advice on different cat foods to try out. I am researching as many of them as I can. I don’t want anything to do with any products that buy from China EVER again!
Can
May 11th, 2007 at 4:11 am
[…] warns their own staff about cancer risk when inspecting melamine-tainted foods. Meanwhile, public is assured melamine-tainted foods are […]
May 11th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Not sure but “ethylenediamine dihydriode” may be ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). EDTA is a common chelator used as a food preservative.
The pregnancy warning is routine.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Ok, I have been hesitant to post about Purina here, but here goes.
This story is mostly about Makenzie, but includes Buster, Thai & Little Foot
She was beautiful. No, I mean beautiful - inside and out. She was almost, “human-esque”! Unfortunately, we had to put her to rest on March 7th of this year due to acute renal failure. Since the moment we brought her into our home until she left us, her staple was Purina®.
Beginning in the summer of 2006, Makenzie became very finicky with the usual Purina One® dry food I normally purchased, not touching the bowl at all, just sniffing it. Needless to say, I began to alternate the varieties, purchasing Purina One® chicken and rice, beef and rice, lamb and rice, or turkey and rice to get her to eat something. When this did not work, I bought a bag of Ol’Roy Dinner Rounds (yuk, I know) and added a handful into her bowl each morning. She readily ate these, but only until December 2006, and then, she began to sniff them and walk away from her bowl, again. So, I began saving the leftovers, and adding them to the Purina®, which she ate.
In January 2007, I bought a bag of Purina Beneful® from Wal-Mart® and fed that to our pets – this household had three, 2 dogs and one cat – and all were brought up on Purina® dog food, yes, even the cat! On Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Makenzie (all of a sudden) became lame in her hindquarter. I thought she had slipped on the ice, as we had a terrible ice storm on this day and the pen was in dastardly condition for the dogs. When I saw her limping, I iced her down and kept her away from our other dog, as he is kind of frisky with her. The next day she seemed a little better, but by Saturday, her hindquarter was noticeably swollen and my kids rushed her to the local animal hospital and she was diagnosed with a possible torn cruciate. They sent her home with an anti-inflammatory, Rimadyl, and sedentary and follow-up instructions.
We were informed that following Tuesday that the X-rays had been read, and that Makenzie had Cancer. We were mortified! How could this be, we thought, as there were no signs or symptoms, she had never been sick a day in her life. Oh sure, she had the usual puppy worms, and once she had a broken leg, but that was an accident on my daughter’s part, but Cancer, absolutely NOT, no signs, at all. Within four days of the doctor’s call, Makenzie was urinating blood, on antibiotics, not eating anymore and beginning to drink more and more water. At this time, unfortunately, I did not have any idea about the food contamination, and the hospital did not mention it to my kids and our vet did not mention it to me. Nor, did either entity bother to ask what food Makenzie normally ate, which one would think, given the circumstances, would be THE number ONE question asked at any hospital or vet. Not that it would have mattered anyway, because Purina is not recalling any of its food, it has only “withdrawn†suspect and selective foods.
By the end of the second week, Makenzie’s life as she knew, and as we knew it, was withering. She couldn’t run to the door anymore and greet any of us, or our friends - the people she loved. She couldn’t get up and walk around. Heck, she couldn’t even get up and go out to go to the bathroom without falling down in complete exhaustion every time she came in, and my heart broke when she put her head on my lap and looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes as if to ask me, “What is wrong with me, Mommy?â€
When she began to cough, I knew the time had come about, but try telling that to your kids, especially if they are in denial. I knew her system was shutting down and I knew what happened anatomically. Whether human or animal, it doesn’t matter, renal shutdown is renal shutdown. Makenzie knew, too, and she tried to run towards the wooded area, the stoic one that she was, but hobbling on three legs did not get her very far, and when she could no longer urinate, denial had to go (no pun intended).
It was my son, who had been in denial this whole time with respect to Makenzie’s condition. On March 6th he came home and tried to coax Makenzie into his room from the living room. Normally, she would follow, wagging her tail, beaming! However, this time, she just followed him with her eyes, happy to see him, but unable to follow him and he knew, as he walked to his room, crying his heart out, that it was time to let his companion go.
We had three weeks to spend time with, continue to love and to prepare ourselves for the death of a member of our family. However, if you ask me, it was one week too long. As I said, Makenzie knew long before we called our vet just how very bad off she was, but denial and love is painful and the heart is fragile, especially when one is loved so very much.
Surely, my heart goes out to each and every family and individual whose family member has fallen ill, or has passed due to this pet food fiasco. I know there is no consolation, monetary value, or substitution for any companion lost. There is only an emptiness that is felt.
In addition, I fed my cat, Buster, wet Beneful Beef Stew® which contained wheat gluten along with Pounce® Crunchy Catnip Flavor Treats, which contain corn gluten meal. Three days later, lo and behold, he began to exhibit these symptoms: bloody urine, initial lack of water consumption and straining to urinate, with low urine output. Wow, these seemed familiar! Needless to say, Buster was brought to the vet and his urine diagnosed, the bottom line - crystals.
I put a call into the FDA and they returned it! I informed them of Purina®, Beneful®, Pounce®, Ol’Roy® Makenzie, my cat’s diagnosis of crystals, that day’s event of my dog straining to urinate, my vet putting him on antibiotics and the $1,500 in accrued bills, not counting the subsequent ones, of course. But, I see to this date, there still is no recall by Purina®, only the initial “withdrawalsâ€.
I also put a call into Purina®, but have not received a return phone call and don’t really expect to. I absolutely refuse to buy ANY Purina® products, and immediately removed my pets from the Purina Healthy Weight Formula® I was feeding them. I am now feeding them Timberwolf Organics®. I have also decided I will not support any subsidiary Nestle’/Purina® companies either, therefore, I do not buy products manufactured under the labels: Nestle’®, DelMonte®, Contadina®, etc., etc., etc.
Reading your stories, my personal suspicion is Chinese contamination of protein products could very well date back to 1998 or 1999. We were using Purina ProPlan® at this time, and had a sweet ferret named, Thai. Thai use to run around the house when the cats and dogs were out, and on his little excursions he would sneak pieces of kibble back to his cage, despite the fact that he had his own food, veggies and supplements. He liked the ProPlan® so much, I started to feed it to him regularly. Within a year of feeding him Purina® food, Thai started to lose his footing, loose weight, shed his coat, become lethargic, bleed internally and through his nostrils and develop stomach tumors. Yes, we had to call our vet, as we could not allow Thai to suffer like this – it was wrenching to watch a healthy pet disintegrate before one’s eyes, just like today’s pets. Our other cat, Little Foot, a Siamese-mix, passed on December 25, 2005, from the same melamine-tainted food symptoms (loss of weight, lethargic, loss of appetite, etc.) - yes, he was brought up on the same food.
Unfortunately, as a caregiver, my pets trusted me. As a pet food manufacturer, Purina®, I trusted YOU and YOU let me down. But not only did you let me down, you let ALL of America and American PETS, down. Step up to the plate, talk to us openly and HONESTLY. Tell us the TRUTH and stop skirting the issue - that is all we want.
May 11th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Ok….I am officially LIVID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just received a phone call from Nutro Foods. I had sent them a link to a forum I have been participating in where there are hundreds of posts from people who have sick or dead pets associated with Nutro dry foods by e mail and my only comment to them was to ask them if they thought these were all coincidences. Their representative just called me to tell me that yes, indeed that is EXACTLY what they think these stories here are. Their food is safe and they test and they can tell me matter of factly that there food has NOT caused these problems.
I asked him if he was reading the same stories I am reading. He said those symptoms have been mostly described as diarrhea and could be caused by many things. I said “everyone’s animals get sick at the same time with the same symptoms eating the same food and you think that is a coincidence? And all of this happening at the same time other pet food companies are recalling their products due to the SAME symptoms in pets? His answer…..YES! I told him that I hoped that when it all comes out in the end that he is right….but I certainly don’t think so. In this time when no one knows who to believe I think it is irresponsible at best to make such statements. I also told him that if indeed his company is aware of problems and they are hiding them or covering them up that I believe that is simply UNCONSCIONABLE and if he is aware and is still standing in defense of them I don’t know how he sleeps at night.
My God I don’t know when the last time was that I have ever been so damn mad!!!!
I’m with you Donna…..for pete’s sake….we just want them to be honest.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Donna & Erin,
I am with you on all counts. I just want these companies to come forward, My 2 cats both were made ill by Purina within 24 hours of each other both would not eat, lots of liplicking, not drinking, hardly urinating, the littlest one was also gagging, drooling, troulbe using hind legs and projectile vomiting. Purina told me it was my cats age not their products my cats are 7 and 8 years young. and they both decided to show their age and the exact same issues in one weekend. What crap. The girl was like are you calling for vet reimbursement, and I said NO I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM SO THIS DOESN”T HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE. And I swear God as my witness I meant that I just want them to tell the truth so no one else 2 or 4 legged has to suffer because of their GREED.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:37 am
They just don’t seem to “get” it. The rep that I talked to said they would be glad to reiumburse me for my bag of dog food. How insulting is that???? To think that this is about the cost of a $30 dollar bag of food…..
Honestly, at this point I really hope that some of these companies don’t survive this mess. I was a loyal and faithful customer for years, but I can tell you that I wouldn’t feed their product again if it was given to me free. Not because they are a company that got caught up in this mess….but because they are a company that refuses to acknowledge that they ARE caught up in this mess.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Erin,
That is the part these comapnies are not getting I would have more respect for these companies if they would just be honest, and not hide behind there power like a bunch of cowards. I also was a faithful customer to the company that burned me for over 7 years and I will not ever trust or buy any of their products to feed my babies ever again. If they would of come forward and told the truth when this all started I might of given them another chance. I reported my issues way back in March. Even if they would come forward now it is too much too little too late for me to ever use them again.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Can we blame some breeders now with the pet food recall. I swear…no luck with my german shepherds. You would think they would live longer than 9 years. We feed canidae, have been for several years. Still–bloat, PF, allergies…………..ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I did add the wet food that was on the recall list. Bad goat mom. :o( Anyone have any GSD that live longer than 9 years old????????????????
thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Yes, my big, lovable 32 year old goofball horse is 32…still wants to chase a cow, run me over, play with goats, tease the minis….all on his Equine Senior, made by Purina. Can’t change now. My goats eat goat chow, made by Purina, my young gelding eats Equine Jr., made by Purina. My Sister’s dogs eat Purina One–all are fine. My friend’s cats eat FF–all are fine. My other friend feeds her dogs kibble & Bits mixed with Ole Roy wet–her dogs are 14 years old, going strong.
I friggin feed my GSD’s canidae, pay prime money for canned and what’s on the recall list, the wet. who has mega vet bills? Me. So much for trying to give your dog the best food possible. My one young shep’s kidneys were slightly elevated, urine tests came back fine. Just waiting now..she seems ok..very active…but drinks alot..but that is just her. Everytime she drinks I go in panic mode. (just had to vent)
Thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Erin and Lori,
How I share your sentiments, as I sit here shaking my head in disgust at your most recent episode, Erin. Unfortunately, to admit anything regarding their dog food (to you or others), is to admit GUILT. Unfortunately, like ChemNutra and any large corporation caught in the net of this debacle, Nutro may have hired a firm to handle their crisis management and teach them protocol for damage control. The Consumer Technician was probably “fed” that line by Nutro.
Let’s face the fact, the bottom line for the food manufacturers is money and they make MILLIONS, I have seen their financials, as I have done the research. Up and until any of them admit anything to the American consumers, ie, contamination of imported “PROTEINS” in the foods, the only recourse available is to BOYCOTT ALL MANUFACTURERS involved. Yes, I am absolutely convinced this is the only way they will understand that the American people mean business, and that the American pets are more than just pets, they are LOVED as FAMILY MEMBERS. These companies NEED to see it this way and if they don’t, tough noogies (for lack of a better word) for them. American’s simply won’t buy their food.
Oh, sure they can change their labels and pass the cost onto the consumer, but that is going to take time, and who is to say they will tell the truth? Or, they might come out with new “Natural” lines of food, telling you that these are “organic” or contain “no artificial ingredients”. Perhaps they will make statements such as, “we know how much you love your pet” and “these products are safe for your family member to eat”. Why? Because they have visited the various pet sites and forums and have seen what has been said about their products and what the American opinion is about them as a manufacturer.
However, until any of the silent manufacturers or those in denial buck up and tell us why they didn’t come forth in the first place and skirted the issue, I surely cannot trust the lot of them. And, until all of them come forth and tell us …
1. Where the products come from
2. Where they are manufactured and
3. What ingredients are really in the food
I cannot seeing any American trusting or purchasing their foods again.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
You know, what harm would there be in just saying that they don’t know? In just saying that they are as in the dark as we are but that they do care and they are working to get to the bottom of things? At least that is an answer that I could accept. But to state so matter of factly that they are in no way involved and there isn’t even a possibility that their food could be contaminated in some way is just ludicrous.
As pet parents we have a responsibility to make good, informed decisions regarding the animals in our care who can not make those decisions for themselves. How on earth can we do that if we can’t even get the information to be make an informed decision? I have made conscious efforts to go over all of the information available to me and make the best decisions…not just since this whole pet food fiasco….but from the moment I assumed the responsibility of being a pet owner. I take that responsibility very seriously and I feel like I failed them miserably.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
We all have been totally betrayed by these companies and I swear before I found ITCHMO I thought I was the only one, not one of my firiends with animals has been affect besides me. What are the chances of that.Well, one guy said his cat was acting a little off think it was the FF and just switched to another brand no vet visit or anything. Most of my friend s who have dogs though use dry *SIGH* no point to this post I guess just venting my frustrations
May 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
These are all heart breaking stories. Why has this been done to all of us? I really can’t take this. I’m afraid to feed my pets.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Hi Barb,
I am doing the pet manufacturing list in the forum and checked Canidae’s site: It still states it is not part of the recall. Could you direct me to the information you found, if any, please. I searched the FDA site and could not find Canidae, but I don’t want to mislead anyone with false information on the list.
Thanks so much,
Donna
P.S. I would like to thank everyone who mentioned pet food manufacturers who incorporated ONLY US products into their foods and who mentioned holistic and purely organic foods. The leads will be added to the Pet Manufacturers Brand/Recall/US Site Product List in the Forum
May 11th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Hi Donna,
Let me find the email Canidae sent me a few days ago.
Thanks.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I can’t find this now, but someone wrote about Innova having the first ing, as turkey and it should not be first. Isn’t it better to feed them this for now instead of food that we are not sure of? I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out. Any input?
May 11th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Am I reading this right is barb saying Canidae wet dog food is on the recall list????????????
Also great to know some people are having luck with PURINA i sure didn’t i am convinced it is luck of the draw there is abad batch of all brands you just have to buy on a day you are feeling lucky like playing the lottery
May 11th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Erin,
I felt guilty, too, and I still cry every time I look at Makenzie
http://www.itchmo.com/read/rec.....3_20070430
if you scroll down to the pictures, she is sitting on the chair and Little Foot is underneath.
However, I realized that as a caregiver, just as a mother, I did the best job I am capable of doing. I did not let Makenzie down, no more than you let your baby down. WE were let down and OUR babies were let down. Please try to remember that and take the blame off yourself and put it where it belongs, on the manufacturer of the pet food you fed your baby, Nutro.
The truth will come out in the long run, so try to be of good cheer. (Where is Fox Muldar, anyways - we need him!)
Did you see this post? http://itchmoforums.com/index.php?topic=448.0
May 11th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
barbara,
I read that post they said their was something in turkey that isn’t good to feed a dog on the regular basis so turky being listed as the main ingredient wasn’t a wise choice to feed your dog. Try googling why turkey is not good for main part of dogs diet
May 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Lori,
I just started a poll in the forum re Purina, you might want to take a look and maybe read the posts re people not having such good luck with Purina.
Donna
May 11th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Canidae wet is NOT on the recalled list. They better not be. :o)
May 11th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Thanks, Barb!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Just one Quick thing here before I forget it Again.
Regarding the FDA warning their Own Pregnant employees to, Not be involved in this ‘inspection’ etc. being= ROUTINE.
Yes that’s is Correct and Routine. BUT that is Also so the employees, if they come in contact with something ‘BAD’, can’t come back and SUE the FDA; if something is found wrong with the Baby.
Also a *Pro-active* regulation. For those they work with and in Close proxcimity[sp].
The: “Cover yer Butt Clause”.
Now don’t you think the FDA OWES the female PUBLIC the SAME Safety “opportunity”, to Protect themselves from such?
Being Re-active for: the Public.
The: “to hell with those we don’t Know, Clause”
I’ve got a Grand idea! Why not WE All take over and RUN the FDA! We’d be a Heck of a Force and HONESTY with QUALITY work!
Nah, we’d shut down toooooo many companies right?! :-P
Put ourselves right out of Business! LOL
HaHaHa!
May 11th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
LoriVA,
Thank you.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
wrong picture link
http://www.itchmo.com/read/itc.....7_20070430
May 11th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
ERIN: first thank you for that link. I did go and read it. I then call my FDA rep. He said that they have no info on problems with Nutro. BUT he asked me to call Nutro and tell them and to let him know what they said. He is also checking with ’supervising director’ about if it would be helpful for me to file a complaint. FDA apparentlly cannot contact Nutro and ask them willy nilly. I called Nutro they have had a couple calls but it was put down to sudden food change for those. With mine she took my name and phone number and info and recommended I stay with the Lassie since they seem to be doing better on it. Hmmm. She said they are still doing a lot of testing. Although I did not get a definitive answer I am very surprised I did not get the ‘canned’ one either.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Hi Mandy,
I was just going through the posts again and thought I would let you know that the pet store I frequent sells a 4lb bag of Timberwolf Serengeti, which is a good cat food, for $7.99 and the owner “jacks” the price! So, if you can get to a local pet store, perhaps the price will be one you can afford, or it might even be a little lower in your area. AND, Mike, the owner of the store, who I have known for 11 years, feeds his dog this brand. So, this actually says something, because out of all the brands he carries, he chose Timberwolf!
On the website http://timberwolforganics.com/ it is a little over $10 plus s&h, but thank the supply and demand theory for that!
Just so you know, I transitioned Buster from Purina to Timberwolf with no problem, and he absolutely loved this smaller kibble. Right now, though, he is on prescription food for crystals, but he keeps trying to pry the Serengeti open to sneak morsels of his favorite new food! Does that tell you anything?
Please email me, as I would very much like to speak with you … if you would go to my posts in the Forum, you will be able to retrieve my email address - one is the pet food manufacturer’s list, one is McLean’s Blue Book and the newest is a Purina Poll, which I wish people would not be afraid to participate in, as I would LOVE to send the results (anonymously, with only my name) to Purina!
May 11th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
BeRealistic,
Nutro is very aware. I sent them a link to the same site that I referred you to. I detailed their answer to me in a post I made on here this morning. I’ve also been in contact with the FDA several times…so yes, they too are aware of problems with Nutro, despite their denial of such. Sudden food change my behind!!
Sorry. I am just really frustrated and glad there are sites like these and people like you folks so at least I don’t feel like I am floating in this cesspool alone.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Donna, think I am going to look for the Serengiti too. I can’t find organic drys around here! And tho my kitty is picky and loves the Wet I home-cook for her, she misses her dry. I’ll see about ordering if I can’t find it here.
Thanks for the input and opinion of it, oh and Buster’s too :-D
May 11th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Donna,
I can’t find the blah blah email from canidae. I do believe they said they were not part of the recall. The email said a lot of the same stuff that is on their home page. I will use canidae for now, have no choice. I don’t see another food that I approve of. time to hit the road and not worry so much. It’s pretty hard to do………
Barb
May 11th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I feel guilty also everytime I look at my two cats. I really was very nieve when this whole thing started never in a million years did I think I had anything to worry about nothing I ever used was on the original list. Tha bam March 23rd my whole world turned upside down. Took Geisha to ER vet food and toe and vet said no that food is not on list must be hairball blockage Long hair cat or nasuea. So I come home and use the freakin food for 2 more days. My god am I an idiot. Then the lightbulb went on in my head but mostly in my heart that once I started to back track and realize this was 2 cans into new case of their normal food brand. First I blamed it on the new kitty litter I bought got rid of it scrubed the boxes and floors etc……………read somewhere about cat attract causeing blockage in ats from licking feet……………..was convinced of blockage food was not on list so I keep feeding pison to my poor babies. Guess what Geisha went thru Hell and had a scope rammed down her throat after being put under there was no blockage, so now I have put my poor poisoned baby under anistesha Sp? while she is all ready being poisoned . Talk about trying to kill your child. finally after all those test the vets sadi it was the food, that was a week after the procedure luckily I had all ready figured that out. Sorry must be purging my soul
May 11th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I have been feeding my adopted border mix Timberwolf for four months now although I am transitioning her over to raw if the darned supplements I ordered ever get here - right now I am giving her part Timberwolf dry and human grade cooked and she is doing well. I have seen no symptoms of anything on the Timberwolf - she gets Ocean Blue and Wilderness Elk. For the person who was asking about turkey - Dr. Pitcairn (I think it was, I’ve read so many books now I can’t remember, for sure) said it is the tryptophane.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Does anyone remember hearing anything bad about Holistic Select by Eagle Pack? I don’t remember if I did or not. I do know Menu pkg. the cans. The lady at the pet shop told me there won’t be any problems with this food. She uses it and so does her mother and their cats are fine.
May 11th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Oh, Lorie,
No, do not do that to yourself. Despite what the doctor’s put your Geisha through, it was her life that was at stake. If that is not love and concern, I don’t know what is.
I know exactly what you are saying about the litter. as I thought the same thing when I discovered that clump litter stays on the genitals. Oh, man, then the questions poured in … Why did I buy that kind of litter? Why did I give him the litter box this winter? Did I give him the UTI? Did the clump litter give Buster the UTI? Guess what? It didn’t! Buster’s nuetered, he really has no genitals to speak of!
It is really is so sad to say, but our minds can find all sorts of ways to delude us just to appease our frailty. I know it sounds silly, but it always seems to happen when we are especially feeling guilty. We think of all sorts of things to rationalize why we should or should not have done somthing. Well, Lorie, you did the right thing, remember that, okay. Otherwise, it just gets worse. Believe me, I was there right after Makenzie left our family. The good thing, Itchmo’s is here and here is where you will find the best support group around, not to mention wonderful advice and personal experiences within the Forum.
So, keep your head looking towards that sky, and pat that Geisha girl and your other little one, and be sure to give yourself a hug, because you did the best job you were able to do for your babies. You could not have done any better.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I see people have been wanting to e-mail me again. Try me at thea_harman_witch@hotmail.com
After a LOT of researching, thought, soul searching, and heart examining, I have decided to use Whiskas cat food for now. It uses real meat, a lot of people give it rave reviews, it has few complaints made about it, it has all the vitamins they need, the taurine, and just everything.
Smokey LOVES it!
Whiskers doesn’t, but the thing is Whiskers is getting old, and she doesn’t like ANYTHING new. Any little change upsets her, so I imagine this is quite a shock to her. I still have some Purina left over and the last batch hasn’t made them sick, just not as healthy as I would like, so I can mix the two foods together for a little while to help her get used to it.
I still don’t know if Whiskas buys anything from China, but then what pet food DOESN’T now days?
I DO know, that if I try to make their food myself, that I’ll probably make a horrible mess of it, and they end up not getting everything they need, so I’m doing the best I can.
My grandmother swears by pedigree, and the Mars company makes it as well as Whiskas, so we’ll see if their health improves. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
May 12th, 2007 at 1:01 am
Mandy;
I feed my cat Merrick’s. They use only U.S. ingredients, make the food at their own plant and do not seem to use gluten at all.
May 12th, 2007 at 1:20 am
The above wasn’t an advertising thing. For years, I could not get Simon to eat anything wet but baby food. I was going nuts. He’s getting old and I was realy worried about him not getting all the nutrition he needed.
Then we got a Mud Bay Pet supply http://www.mudbay.us/ down by the Safeway in Burien. I went there at Christmas to see if they had any Hot Cats. While I was there, I talked with the person waiting on me and she recommended a number of foods based on Simon’s prefered eating style (he licks the gravy in the can and rarely would eat the actual food, it’s why I originally tried baby food.)
Out of all the foods, he liked the Natural Balance and Merrick’s the best. On both of them he would lick the juice and actually eat the solid food as well. It’s a big deal, he cleans his plate. Unfortunately, Natural Balance is on the ‘do not buy’ list in my house until their products are cleared.
May 12th, 2007 at 5:03 am
I may have to stop coming to the blogs here for awhile. Another person on a different thread was extremely pushy and upset me greatly. She seemed to think I should rush to the store, return the products I already had, and try to find and buy the products she recommended just on her say so, and implied if I didn’t do that, that I didn’t really love my cats.
I am VERY upset. This whole thing is bothering me enough without harrassment being added on.
May 12th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Mandy,
Try not to let that upset you. At this point, all of us are upset. I don’t think she means any harm. We all need advice now. She just my be thinking she finally found the right one, and maybe she did. You know how much you love your cats and she may not be thinking straight herself. She may be in the same boat as all of us, upset. Some people handle stress the only way they know how and sometimes at someone elses expence. Try to calm down. I thinks you have helped most of us on here.
May 13th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Thank you Barabara I am feeling a little better tonight. Another person seemed to think I should apologize to the first person for telling her to back off, but I politely informed her that I thought the person who was harrassing me should be the one to apologize, but that she had a right to her opinion. I also said I had a right to MY opinion, and that I didn’t have to speak or listen to anyone I did not wish to.
I am perfectly happy to take down any advice given to me, but I do not appreciate ANYONE who tries to FORCE it on me. That just makes me feel threatened.
May 13th, 2007 at 6:48 am
*Sigh.* That same person and another one was harrassing me again. I think I’ll just ignore what they say from now on. One of them was being downright insulting to me. Can’t we all just get along?
If it keeps up, I really might have to stay away from the blogs for awhile…
Barbara if you want to e-mail me it’s thea_harman_witch@hotmail.com
It’s an e-mail I don’t often use so I can screen who gets the e-mail I use the most.
May 13th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I don’t want to talk about it anymore on itchmo. I don’t want to sound like I just badmouth people willy nilly. Thanks for being encouraging Barbara. This whole situation is just frustrating for me.
May 13th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I’m glad your feeling better.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
1st I would like to thank Itchmo for letting us sign up for an automatic notification of any new recalls. What an additional terrific service you are providing in addition to keeping up with the latest recalls. I was going crazy spending hours every few days going to the websites to keep up & worried that I missed something. You have made it more managable. God bless you!
My problem is I have a 14 year old kitty who has eaten mostly dry food all her life. She is very finicky, is little so she eats just a little food at a time but often, which always made feeding wet food impractical. She also has always tended toward constipation. She did best on Meow Mix as the 4.5% fiber helped keep her regular. Since the recalls I have been giving her more people food & giving her just enough of the old Meow Mix I have to keep her regular but its running out. Can anyone suggest a “safe” dry food with about that much fiber content? The organic foods say they use veggies for fiber but she won’t eat veggies. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I took her in as a feral kitty when she was 6 months old. I never had a cat before. I am trying my best not to make a mistake now. What would you experienced kitty parents recommend? Thank you all for being there!
June 12th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I been feeding shrimp pellets to my huge Butterfly koi. In 2 weeks I lost 4 koi. One was euthanised due to kidney failure. I allso lost many Angel fish in tank. Melamine does kill fish!
July 13th, 2007 at 4:11 am
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November 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I WORK IN A FACTORY WHERE WE USE MELAMINE EVERY DAY TO MAKE DISHES I HAVE ASKED MY BOSS “ARE YOU SURE ITS SAFE TO BREATH THIS STUFF?” AND HE ALWAYS SAYS YES SOMETIMES I RUN MY MACHINE WITH NO VENTALATER TO SUCK UP THE DUST AND ALL I CAN FIND IS THIS STUFF BEING RECALLED IN FOOD WELL I BREATH IT EVERYDAY ANF I GO HOME EVERY NIGHT SO STUFFED UP I CANT EVEN BREATH THROUHG MY NOSE IM ONLY 24 YEARS OLD AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE KIDS SOMEDAY WHAT HEALTH RISKS AM I PUTTING MYSELF AT WORKING HERE? I ONLY MAKE $8 HOUR WITCH IN MY AREA IS GOOD MONEY. IT IS VERY DUSTY WHERE I WORK AND IM STARTING TO WORRY ITS NOT EVEN LIKE I HAVE HEALTH BENIFETS OR ANYTHING IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME INFO THAT WOULD BE GREAT
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