Voluntary Dry Food Reports
For the latest news, including new recalls, the sources of the toxin, and others, go here.
Report your pet’s death or illness now.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated since the first posting.
Several days ago, we started reading reports of dry food possibly making pets sick, specifically Iams. We then asked our readers to provide their experience to us. Here’s what we found:
Number of pets covered: 134 (47 cats, 87 dogs)
Reported ARF (Acute Renal Failure): 24 (17%) 15 cats, 9 dogs
Cat Deaths: 20 | Cat Illnesses: 26
Dog Deaths: 9 | Dog Illnesses: 77
Since our report, one DRY food from Hills has been recalled so far.
We caution you against accepting this as the final word as these are self-reported numbers from parents who have been reading about other sick or dying pets. Given the caveats, the brands that really stood out were Iams, Nutro, and Science Diet. We expected quite a few Iams reports since the survey results from posts about sick pets who ate Iams, (read about Menu Foods’ exclusive contract with Iams) but the Nutro reports seemed to have come from nowhere. Of the 5 reported deaths parents linked to Nutro, 3 were from Acute Renal Failure. 3 ARF deaths were reportedly linked with Science Diet and 7 were linked with Iams. There may be legitimate reason why some brands are on this list, for example, Science Diet may be recommended by vets to particularly sick pets.
Recall resources: Detailed timeline & facts | Recalled Food List | Get recall alerts | More
Our numbers are not enough data to make any conclusive decision, but some correlations were highly troubling. We are highly in favor of a statistically correct and significant study of dry food-related problems. And we’d love to hear your thoughts in our comments.
Important note: If you feel that dry food is causing your pet to fall ill, please contact the FDA.
Number of Specific Cat Food Brand Reported: What to feed your cat
Iams: 17 (ARF: 5 dead, 1 sick)
Purina: 6 (ARF: 1 dead)
Science Diet: 5 (ARF: 3 dead)
Nutro: 4 (ARF: 1 dead, 1 sick)
Special Kitty: 3 (ARF: 1 dead, 2 sick)
Royal Canin: 1 (No ARF)
Number of Specific Dog Food Brand Reported: What to feed your dog
ARF reported:
Iams: 21 (ARF: 1 dead, 2 sick)
Nutro: 14 (ARF: 2 dead)
Ol’Roy: 5 (ARF: 1 dead)
Eukanuba: 2 (ARF: 1 sick)
No ARF reported:
Science Diet: 4
Pedigree: 2
Purina: 2
Authority: 1
Beneful: 1
Natural Balance: 1
Trader Joe’s: 1
(For emailed alerts about future recalls and other important news, sign up for our free Itchmo Pet Safety Alert.)Report your pet’s death or illness now.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:33 am
My cat became sick the 17th. on march. she was fed iams dry food.
i recognised symtoms associated with renal failure and started imeadite
homeopathic treament, my cat survived.. but was excedingly ill for 4days?
i feel lucky to have been sucessful in saving her, but am nonethe less
excedingly angry at pet food maunfactures? iams is on my list of corporate
con-artists?
in the present times , we can no longer turn away in the face of corruption
and corporate greed? whatever must be done, we must do. in doing so
we will regain our liberty, threatened by corrupt interests and ceos who
only seek to enhance their wealth at the expense of all.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:08 am
How do we know if these numbers are anything more than the “normal” instances of ARF? I know that it’s not common, but also not unheard of. And is the Iams number highest b/c more people feed Iams brand? I am no statistician but as they are, those numbers are not very meaningful.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Adrienne, your concern it totally warranted. Without getting a sample of the entire pet population, it’s hard to know if the total ARF numbers are normal or not. However, relative numbers to the brands can be significant. The Iam’s brand only has a very fractional market share, Nutro was in the single digits…
March 28th, 2007 at 10:37 am
to itchmo: THANKS THANKS THANKS!
It would be helpful to show in your breakdown of cat food brand reported:
“Of the 5 reported deaths parents linked to Nutro, 3 were from Acute Renal Failure.”
How many of these were cats/ how many dogs????
Could you please add this?
catfood brand reported:
Nutro: 4 (how many deaths how many illnesses)
dogfood brand reported:
Nutro: 14 (ditto)
AGAIN THANKS THANKS THANKS!
March 28th, 2007 at 10:44 am
ADRIENNE: Adrienne Says: How do we know if these numbers are anything more than the “normal†instances of ARF? …as they are, those numbers are not very meaningful.
THEY’RE MEANINGFUL TO ME ADRIENNE. MY 3 YR OLD HEALTHY CAT EXHIBITED THE SAME EXTREME SYMPTOMS AS THE RECALLED CANNED FOOD, FROM DRY FOOD MFR BY A PRODUCER ON THE RECALL LIST, FOOD PURCHASED WITHIN THE RECALL DATE, TIME FROM INGESTION TO ONSET OF SYMPTOMS W/IN THE VIN REPORTED RANGE. I FEEL RATHER CERTAIN THAT MOST PET OWNERS WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR COMPANION ANIMAL WOULD PREFER NOT TO WAIT UNTIL THIS BECOMES MEANINGFUL TO YOU - ESPECIALLY IF THEY MAY ALREADY BE NOTICING
SOME SYMPTOMS BUT WERE UNSURE OF THE CAUSE AND HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHETHER THEY SHOULD SUSPECT DRY FOOD BECAUSE THE PET INDUSTRY IS COVERING THEIR A’S NOT RECALLING DRY.
I’D RATHER NOT WAIT UNTIL MY PET IS KILLED. IT’S NOT LIKE THERE’S NOTHING GOING ON HERE. BUT, FEEL FREE TO FEED YOUR ANIMAL THIS FOOD IF YOU’RE THAT BLASE.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:56 am
benemo Says: Adrienne, your concern it totally warranted. Without getting a sample of the entire pet population, it’s hard to know if the total ARF numbers are normal or not. However, relative numbers to the brands can be significant. The Iam’s brand only has a very fractional market share, Nutro was in the single digits…
I’D LIKE TO KNOW IF ADRIENNE HAS A PET THAT BECAME ILL OR DIED FROM DRY? OR SEE A DISCLAIMER OF NO CONNECTION TO PETFOOD INDUSTY. **ANY** NUMBER OF ARF CAUSED BY FOOD IS UNACCEPTABLE AND ABNORMAL. PERHAPS WAIT ANOTHER 6 MO TO SAMPLE ENTIRE POPULATION (MEANTIME MORE DEATHS — AND MORE INDUSTRY PROFIT). NUTRO MAY HAVE SINGLE DIGIT MARKET SHARE, BUT IF YOUR CAT ATE IT AND DIED OR HAS KIDNEY DAMAGE OR RESULTING IM SUPPRESSION FROM EFFECT ON BONE MARROW -
MARKET SHARE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO RELEVANCE WHATSOEVER.
ANY FOOD RELATED DEATH OR ILLNESS IS SIGNIFICANT REGARDLESS OF MARKET SHARE. YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT INITIAL PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS FROM ARF FOR THE CANNED FOOD ONLY CONTINUED TO GROW.
WE ARE SEEING LESS, NOT MORE, IN STATISTICAL RESULTS THAN THIS SCANDAL WARRANTS.
PLEASE POST YOUR DISCLAIMERS. THANKS.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:08 am
MAKE THAT DISCLAIMER OF NO CONNECTION TO PETFOOD INDUSTRY-
OR THE POSTER BOYS OF THEIR MARKETING CHAIN - THE VETERINARY “BUSINESS”.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:18 am
4lgdfriend- First of all, please stop yelling.
Second, my cats don’t eat dry food, nor do they eat wet food with wheat gluten in it.
I’m sorry your cat is sick, and if you have any inkling that it might be from the food, please do change it. I certainly would in your shoes, and indeed i am suspicious that the same wheat gluten used in the wet food was used in the dry. But those numbers are just not enough at this point to prove a link between dry food and kidney failure. I hope they never will be.
Oh, and no, I have no connection to pet food or vets, in fact I’m seriously against the fact that most vets recommend what I consider poor quality pet food.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
You should have this dry food tested for the poision that has contaminated the wet food.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I completely agree with the idea that the “poster boys for their marketing chain is The Veterinary INDUSTRY. On several occasions, when I was considering switching to a highly researched, holistic alternative, a frozen raw diet, every veterinarian in town debunked the idea that this was more nutritious. Never mind the processed dry food is enzyme deplete and needs to have artificial vitamins and nutrients pumped back into it after it’s been through the ‘mill’ of rendered, euthanized and diseased animal filler. Never mind that my dog succumbed to seizures, extreme thirst and renal failure because of it. All but one veterinarian said “Keep them on the same dry food diet.” He died. Bottom line: These pet food corporations are ENCOURAGED to keep the price down and therefore cheapen the product in any way so they can make more of a profit. Secondly, VETERINARIANS are subsidized by the Hill Corporation and are often awarded all sorts of perks to promote these products and claim they are more balanced nutritionally. They aren’t educated about proper nutrition in veterinary school. I just heard a professor of veterinary medicine make a claim on NPR a few days ago saying that generally commercial pet food is safe and that it’s not much different from what an animal would find in the wild. How preposterous! It’s a lie that consumers have bought into. The veterinary industry has an investment in the illness of our pets. If we were to take more responsibility for our own health, their businesses would not be flourishing as well. Morbid, but in a business-oriented world, buyer beware and take care of thyself and these domestic creatures who depend on us.
Hopefully the brighter side of this issue is that people are being forced to examine what they are feeding their animals. If conventional medicine works so well, why then are so many animals getting sick. With or without the present toxins in the food. There are more allegies and degenerative diseases than ever.
March 28th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
4lgdfriend is glad to hear Adrienne respond.
However, I must still object to the basis /rationale behind the questionable post. ANY number of ARF death/illness caused by food is too many, is relevant, and unacceptable.
I still find this quick criticism of the first preliminary tally available when the “usual suspects” seem to be stalling, highly questionable and cold-hearted.
March 28th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
If I am “cold-hearted” because I don’t like jumping to conclusions, then so be it.
Anonymous- very nice post.
March 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
4lgdfriend - I would agree with you that:
“ANY number of ARF death/illness caused by food is too many, is relevant, and unacceptable”
The problem - as Adrienne tries to calmly explain is CAUSATION.
My pet ate food X
My pet died
THEREFORE: food X killed my pet.
That doesn’t work in science. It doesn’t work in the courtroom, and ergo
it doesn’t work with the government when you are trying to get laws passed or changed.
Do I think there are problems with some dry food?
Yes.
Do I think that Itchmo has done a wonderful job?
Yes.
Do I also think a few people are running around with their arms in the
air screaming “the sky is falling!”?
Yes, I frankly do.
A tragic occurance, and the following COVERUP have killed thousands to
tens of thousands of precious furbabies and we need to get it fixed, NOW!
However, running around in circles only does one thing - the people with
the power to change things point at you and go “Look at that NUT!”
(Like it or not - it is the truth!)
The lax and cheap way most commerical pet food is made is nothing new.
What IS new is that due to the Menu Foods incident we’ve learned that
there really isn’t much difference between some of the SUPER-PREMIUM
brands (and pardon my laughter here) and bargain store brands. To get
food that is “better” you need to go BARF, other homemade, or go with
some of the rather expensive and esoteric brands of pet food that the
vast majority of pet owners don’t even know about.
(There’s a lesson here about what ‘marketing’ really is - I’ll leave that one
to the readers)
This should never have been, and we need to hold the manufacturer, the
marketers (the brands), and the governmental agencies responsible for
oversight to the fire until it’s fixed.
If for no other reason than to owner the memories of the pets who died
because some corporate SOB somewhere decided the payment on his
new house or Mercedes was more important than our pets lives.
March 28th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Jim wrote:
“The problem - as Adrienne tries to calmly explain is CAUSATION.
My pet ate food X
My pet died
THEREFORE: food X killed my pet.
That doesn’t work in science. It doesn’t work in the courtroom, and ergo
it doesn’t work with the government when you are trying to get laws passed or changed.”
I agree. In 2004, I adopted a cat slated for euthanasia because it was severely anemic, jaundiced, and borderline diabetic. I took him home and changed his food and he recovered completely. No longer any issues. I would claim it was the food making him sick - but others say he recovered because he “went to a home”. Likewise, I have adopted three diabetics. Since adoption (and changing food), two have ceased needing insulin and the other’s needs have decreased over 85%. Again, I claim it was the food - again, I’m told it could be the change in environment. I’ve also fostered two diabetics (one ceased needing insulin) and fostered a cat with chronic diarrhea (problem stopped)…
Appearance is there - proof is not.
In my opinion, the way to make change is to shift the burden of proof. Currently *we* are forced to prove the food made our cats sick. Yet, pet food companies can make claims on their packaging without any proof to back it up. They can claim it benefits dental health, claim it supports the immune system, claim it is “complete and balanced nutrition” - based on what? A six-month trial that six animals survive? If a cereal company puts “reduces cholesterol” on a box, it needs to show research to back that claim up - but for reasons unknown to me, pet food companies aren’t held to the same standards other industries are. We are fighting to change that. If you care to join the fight, there is information here:
http://www.mousabilities.com/n.....paign.html
March 28th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Adrienne Says: my cats don’t eat dry food, nor do they eat wet food with wheat gluten in it.
Your reply shows a pattern I have observed in many people. You seem to have an attitude that your views are superior because you only feed wet food and would never consider feeding your pet food with wheat gluten in it (Horrors). When others show concern about the food their cats or dogs are eating, posters like you express the idea that they are overreacting. Your attitude is concerning to me. If you feel this way why are you reading and posting??????
Some of us have fed the recalled food and have concerns for out pets. We do not need to be told we are acting as if the sky is falling.
So please try not to be such a snob and show a little care and compassion, for if you really cared you would not post the way you do.
March 28th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Our cat died of acute renal failure in Jan. We had just bought a new bag of dry Hill’s food. I contacted the FDA last Thurs. and Fri. an investigator called to say they would send someone to pick up a sample of the food and test it. If all who feel the food is the culprit in their pet’s illness or death will contact the FDA for testing, perhaps enough reliable statistics can be compiled. My cat’s death may have just been coincidental, but I want to know the truth before I adopt another cat. I do not want to endanger another cat if there is something toxic in the food supply. Could some of you give suggestions for alternative foods? Should I try making my own cat food? We also have two Border Collie dogs who were eating Nutro but exhibited no signs of illness. However, just to be on the safe side, we did buy an organic food–Natural Balance–for them.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
To add some degree of balance to the approach of posters who are questioning the value of the numbers reported here - looking at their response objectively:
Concerned petowner reports death or illness does not = irrational, hysterical, exxagerated, or sloppy assessment of facts concerning that death or illness. Detractors are making a subjective assessment of the petowner possibly based on some personal bias. Since neither they nor I have access to the history or vet records of all these pets, lucidity or relative awareness or education of the owner, — we can’t speak for anyone but ourselves. Can we rule it out? Maybe not, but the numbers are important to call attn to the deaths/illnesses so that further investigation can occur.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I’m not sure if I reported yet to this site that I also lost my Kitty Boy within 3 days of feeding him 2 pouches of Special Kitty brand wet food. He had all the tell tale signs of a major shutdown. Vomiting, not eating, laying in his bowl to drink. I want Kitty Boy to be counted. He was my best fur friend for alomost 5 years. I have no opened pouches as he died about 2 weeks before the recall. What I do have is my Walmart receipt with the UPC’s matching the recalled food. The day was February 23-2007. I am devastated and hope he is added to the number of cat deaths.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
My yorkies just started refusing to eat the Nutro Max small bites over this past weekend! I usually mix it with Flint River Ranch. I dumped the bowls out, only put in the Flint River Ranch and they gobbled the food up in no time. What do they know that I dont know?? Needless to say, we are no longer using the Nutro Max small bites.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I haven’t reported it on this site because i honestly don’t know if its true. However i have a 5 year old cat that was in good health who was diagnosed with ARF a week before the food recall. My cats have only been eating Science Diet Dry cat food. I honestly don’t know if its related because i have 4 cats and only 1 became sick. I am suspicious though as he had the exact same symptoms that were later reported for the wet pet food recall. My cat was hospitalized for 4 days, on IVs before the vet deemed him stable enough to send him home. I am now required to administer 100ml of fluids to him through a needle every other day. The Vet tried to put him on perscription foods for renal failure, but he refuses to eat any of them. The only food i have been able to get him to eat is Fancy Feast, and i’m not sure i feel comfortable feeding it to him but he has to eat something.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Maybe I am one that is being paranoid…but I love my dogs and have been feeding dry Nutro…would like to know what others are using (that seems to have no side effects) while I consider what to change their food too….thanks.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I have been feeding my cats Nutro dry… and have not seen any side effects, I am quite nervous and am researching home propared holistic diets. I just received my copy of Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats and am planning on using one of the diets from this book. My trust in the pet food industry is gone.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Brandon,
Report your cat’s illness to your state FDA. It might take awhile to get a reply from them, but they will test your cat’s food to see if there is a problem. Be sure to save some of the food. I would suggest switching to an organic food. Better to be on the safe side. After a week of being on IV’s at the vets, our cat came home for 5 days. The vet suggested kd but he would not eat it. He did eat a few kibbles of Royal Canin kidney formula. You might try it, but I think an organic food would be best.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Thank You Janice, I feel the same way. I also just want to know the truth and would like to try to protect any future animals I get from potentially
harmful ingredients. I lost my best friend on Feb 28th at the age of 3 1/2 All of his test results came back as “toxic poisioning”. My cat became ill within days of opening a new bag of Hill’s Science Light Adult.
P.S. I work for a MAJOR retailer that yesterday notified us that
all stores are to immediately pull Iam’s INDR WGH CTR HB and
Iam’s ADULT ORIGINAL
March 28th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Susski,
Our border collies ate Nutro dry, but we switched them to Natural Balance just to be safe. They were not exhibiting any symptoms, but after losing our cat to acute renal failure (he was eating Hills’), we were not taking any chances. They love the Natural Balance. In fact, when we were switching (1st mixing 1/4 Natural Balance to 3/4 Nutro, then half and hal, then 3/4 Natural Balance to 1/4 Nutro, they would pick out the Natural Balance and pretty much leave the Nutro alone. Hmmm!! Maybe they recognized something we didn’t!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!
March 28th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Sorry I forgot to mention on my previous post that the Iam’s we are to
pull from shelves is the 4 LB bag
March 28th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Do not reccomend DRY FOOD. Please don’t do it! Dr. Becker, you have good intensions but your 180º out of whack. You see, I believe that the dry food problems have been with us for years, they are being magnified now because of the newer wet food problems…in a big way. In the past your dog got sick and you didn’t go on the net to see who elses dog or cat died, no, you just buried them. Now we have the resources to compile and assimilate a great deal more information in a short time. With these tools we have the world and all of it’s good and bad at our fingertips. I have been in touch with people in all over this great country and Great Britan, Mexico, Newfoundland and South Africa all since the death of my dear Abby Gayle. I have found that pets are in serious trouble every where and no one wants to admit it. The news papers give us the back page, the syndicated columnist under state the crisis, the vets are getting wealthy. Hell, they sell to us what is killing our pets and then charge enormous sums for treatment. The pet food manufactures make their quick bags of change and the pet owners foot the bill.
This is just the opinion of a person who has lost something very dear and knows it will be impossible to replace. Any money we recieve should be used as Mary stated earlier, get your pet at the S.P.C.A. or Animal Shelter, maybe then, if we all did this, it could put animals in our homes instead of in our pets food.
They killed our Dog! Our Dear Abby Gayle Died last night at 10:05 pm with my wife, sons and daughter at her side. Almost 4 years old, purbred Airedale Terrier, picture perfect health record, She died of acute kidney failure due to eating tainted, contamiated, IAMS Dry, Green Bag, purchased from Walmart. Dead before we could do anything because we were notified to late and as for the dry food no notification at all. Please people, listen, do not feed your dog any products from these recalled manufactures, wet or dry. Do you trust them, they have been hiding this for months possibly years. They have had this problem for 2 years and have still not trully fiqured out why. Please don’t feed your pets poison DRY FOOD! It may have anti freeze components in it or worse yet someone elses pets.
I know I’m going to ruffle some feathers, bring it on.
keen for Abby Gayle (keen@mac.com)
March 28th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
didn’t want to be Anonymous.
keen@mac.com
March 28th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
If the dry food is tainted, I shudder to think what will happen at animal shelters all over the country. Many have contracts with Hills to get free dry food and feed it exclusively.
Personally, I don’t feed any dry food to my cats. Recent research links dry cat food to CRF, FLUTD, diabetes, obesity, IBD and other health issues.
http://www.catinfo.org
http://www.catnutrition.org
http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com
http://www.felineoutreach.org
March 28th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
keen and lynette are reflecting a lot of information available showing that dry food is bad. Good for the mfrs profit sheet though - full of cheap fillers and low quality highly processed ingredients [and we can now add: from unknown suppliers].
Dry food is especially bad for cats and especially for male cats. However there are some cats that simply will not eat anything else. And fortunately *are* a few dry catfoods that are better than others. If you can’t be certain of a safe canned food right now, and do not understand how to properly prepare a homemade diet that meets the animals nutritional needs *completely*, a better dry food might be what you’re left with. sigh.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Lynette,
Thanks for the links about cat nutrition.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
For catowners who are thinking of switching to homemade food - a wise move is to get feedback from others who are experienced with this.
There are online communities that can offer good info. holisticat is one.
This site provides links to others who do this. http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/sources.htm This is not to be undertaken without careful reading and consideration of the complete nutritional aspects of the diet.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Read carefully considering all the recall information available.
forums on raw feeding/nutrition:
www.holisticat.com
www.listservice.net/wellpet
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CatNutrition
INFORMATION ON FELINE NUTRITION:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jacm2/id1.html
www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html
many resources: http://www.holisticat.com/archive.htm
http://www.api4animals.org/689.htm Selecting a commercial petfood
about.com rates types of catfood - caution!
http://cats.about.com/cs/nutri.....atfood.htm (consult the recall information before taking advice from any website)
March 28th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
My beautiful baby girl, Sophie, died on March 9, three days after she ate a sample bag of Science Diet dry dog food. This was prior to the recall. She was only 7 and very healthy. The vet was stumped as to why her LIVER scores were off the scale. When I asked the vet to “look” inside to see if she could figure out why Sophie died, she (the vet) said Sophie had “bled out” and the only other times she’s seen that was when dogs got into rat poison. There’s no doubt in my mind what so ever that Sophie was poisoned by the food. She’s with me 24/7 and there’s no posion here. I’m just devistated. Thanks for caring.
March 28th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Claire,
I am so sorry about your Sophie. I feel Hill’s dry foods are contaminated. Our cat died after eating Hill’s Prescription dry c/d. We had just bought a new bag. The FDA is going to pick up the remainder of the food to test it. I saved out enough for testing by an independent lab if I can find one.
We all care and are so sorry for your loss.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
For anyone interestd in making their own cat food see this link:
http://www.catinfo.org/
The site is done by a lady vet and she’s VERY well educated & informed about cat nutrition.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Our 6 year old toy poodle (pure bred) had enjoyed perfect health up until two months ago. She ate only Eukenuba dry pet food. In a very short period of time, she lost complete control over urinary function (never happened before), lost about 20% of her weight, became lethargic and very ill. We took her into the vet who did a urine test and x-ray. The x-ray was clear, but the urine test showed crystals. He put her on Royal Canin. She would not eat it, lost more weight and continued her downward spiral. We switched vets. After much discussion we convinced the new vet to do blood work which showed acute kidney failure. The vet said that our dog would die in 1 to 6 months. All of this happened before the recall. We insisted that our dog be placed on fluid therapy which we now administer each evening via IV.
I then proceeded to report all of this to the FDA, Pet Food Manufacturers, Pet Food Retailers, elected officials (2 US Senators, 1 Representative, and The President of the United States) and the press (CNN & ABC News). The extremely dubious reporting process, lack of interest of our elected officials and media certainly does explain why there are not more reports being filed or process. At each and every step, I encounted denial and cover ups. With the FDA, which after much insistance finally accepted my complaint but never requested a sampling of the contaminated food (I still have it), I was immediately told that dry food was not recalled. The implication was clear as it was with the Pet Food Manufacturer and Retalier-do not waste our time with a complaint about dry pet food. I had to insist that a report be processed. I responded to the FDA and the Manufacturer, “how do you know the food is safe? Do you not have a legal, ethical and moral obligation to process these complaints? If more pet owners such as myself make similar complaints, then maybe an investigation will follow.” After much insistance, my complaint was finally taken. I’ve also contacted the legal firm in Seattle which is handling the class action case. They informed me that they too had received many complaints about contaminated dry pet food.
None of the news networks have responded to any of my complaints. I’ve received nothing but form letters from all of the elected officials I contacted and not even a form letter from the president of the United States. The coverage is so extremely biaised towards the Pet Food Manufacturers. Vets are put on TV proclaiming the safety of dry pet food. An industry which has killed thousands of pets because of the documented presence of rat poisoning in wet pet food, is granted by the Media the benefit of the doubt about dry pet food. How is this possible in America?
I have never been a partisan of conspiracy theory, but I am absolutely disgusted by the entire process. A government to which we pay hard earned tax dollars that could care less about this criminal activity; a supposed free press that has taken the side of America; and elected officials at the highest level of government who do not respond to the desperate pleas of their constituents.
Completely lost in the entire process, is a wonderful being, our poodle, who is in the process of dying a horrific death before our eyes. Completely lost in the process is a 3 year old girl and a 14 year young women (our daughters), who was raised by this adopted mother/sister and who will loose shortly this beloved family member. Completely lost in the entire process are the parents of this wonderful child, who must now bear witness to this horrific death and make at some point the decision to put her life to an end when the suffering becomes too much.
I ask you all, is our daughter’s terminal illness and inevitable death a meaningless statistic? I think not and will fight as hard as I can to ensure that it does not become one.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Thanks for caring. I have contacted my local TV news and they are investigating the dry dog food also. I have also give them this web page to read how many people are having the same problem with dry dog food. I just want everyone to know about the dry food so they can beware and save there pets.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
my 3 year old pitbull has had lots of algery problums in the past, so when he got sick the vet said “oh its just algerys” but that same day i saw the recall of IAMS wet food and stoped feeding him the IAMS dry food immeaditly. He soon got a little better on the ground beef and rice diet i was feeding him, but he lost 10 lbs and for a 50lb dog thats alot so i decited to feed him the dry food once again. and what did i wake up to? pee on my bed, vomit in 5 spots on my white carpet, and poo just about everywhare else. I stoped feeding him that crap instantly and he is slowley geting back to himself (still 10lb light) CAN ANYBODY SAY CLASS ACTION??? i dont know what to feed him now, if anyone has an idea please e-mail me bmt602@aol.com
P.S. i bought the bad food at albertsons in henderson, NV
March 28th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
To Beau,
I truly think a raw food diet is probably best. Am I doing it? No. I did for a while but was having trouble finding food I liked. Would probably be a good time for some on-line research.
Currently for my two dogs I use Blue Buffalo dry food. There’s no wheat in it. Blue Buffalo is sold in Petsmart and it’s made in Connecticut. But, I also cook chicken for them and add vegetables to it. That takes the place of canned food which I just don’t feel safe using any longer.
March 29th, 2007 at 12:02 am
maybe animals that have been dying from these diseases for years were never connected to the food source until now. I think its been the food all along thats making pets sick, but now people are aware of why.
I’ve switched to either home cooked or completely holistic brands
March 29th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Could someone please either compile a list or point me in the right direction if one already exists, for the specific Flavors/Formulations of the suspicious dry foods? I am particularly interested in the Iams dry products and the Purina dry as I feed several different flavors/formulations and am trying to determine how great the risk and if I need to discontinue them? Breaking it down farther, I need to know if any cat illness or death has been attributed to Iams Original Chicken and Rice in the orange bag or Iams Multicat in the blue bag, also Purina “One” chicken and rice and Pro-Plan Adult Chicken and rice. I have special needs cats and do not want to risk gastrointestinal upset by changing foods unless necessary.None of them were eating any of the recalled wet food but I still have huge concerns about the safety of the dry. Thanks.Sue
March 29th, 2007 at 4:41 am
All of my animals were eating some form of Nutro.
Dog was on Ultra Holostic Nutro for Large Breed dogs and Cats were on Ultra Indoor formula.
Unfortunately I did not save any samples (im kicking myself in the butt for that now). Our dog started throwing up a lot of mucous and some of his food, we thought perhaps worms so I dewormed him, but he still continued to vomit up his food. I pulled him off it immediately and started raw and I have had no problems since then.
Our cats wouldnt even eat the Nutro so I started feeding the junk cat food I feed the ferrals “Kit and Kaboodle”. We are now in the process of switching over to raw for them as well.
I strongly believe that the dry food is also tainted or just poison itself. We will not be going back to a Manufactured food and I will continue to make their foods for them.
March 29th, 2007 at 7:08 am
I everyone there I know what you’re saying, I did a test yrs ago on my pups, feed them 2 hrs before travelling, then when they threw up it was the same as what went in, no digestive tract etc, it hadn’t even broken down to go thr the body, so in what they are saying it takes a lot of digestive system to send it thr and then a whole lot more more to digest it.
If you’re worried about it then don’t feed your dogs any sort of dried food whatsoever, go back to usng raw meat or raw veges or raw whatever. Jan
March 29th, 2007 at 8:50 am
MY cats have been sick for three days from eating Iams Original Dry food. Iams Original Dry is all I have feed them for the past eight years. I bought a new bag last Saturday at PetCo. Started noticing the next day they became VERY lethargic, not sick, but out of their routine. All they do is lie around and drink all the time. I called Iams and made a report, gave them the ID Codes from the new bag, but they told me nothing was wrong as their dry food was made in their own factory. Something is VERY wrong with my cats. All they have eaten is Iams Original Dry food.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Jojo said: “When others show concern about the food their cats or dogs are eating, posters like you express the idea that they are overreacting.”
I think you are failing to understand my point here.
By questioning the numbers posted, I wasn’t saying that I believed them to be false. And if someone’s pet is sick, they’re certainly not overreacting to be concered about the food. I was questioning the numbers because it’s a small amount of data and I wanted more information. Numbers on their own don’t tell you much. For instance, if you say 13 people who ate at a restaurant got sick afterwards… that’s data with no information. How many people ate there total? 13 out of 50 would be a high percentage, 13 out of 500, not so much. Is there a flu going around or something else going on that could explain those people getting sick? Are two of those people exibiting different symptoms than the other 11? Wanting more information is not the same as saying “so what, who cares”. It’s critical thinking.
I consider myself lucky that I don’t happen to feed any foods made by Menu. It’s pure coincidence that I don’t, it doesn’t make me feel superior. And I do feel compassion for those that were feeding the recalled foods, or who have concern about foods that aren’t on the recall list, and frankly I’m horrified at the number of folks who will be/are affected if this recall expands to dry food. I don’t really appreciate being judged and called a cold hearted snob when I’m on the same side as others here- I want Menu and the FDA to be accountable for this fiasco, and I want people to learn about better choices for what to feed their pets.
My condolonces to those who have lost pets, and best wishes to those who are learning and making changes to their pets diet.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Here’s a great link to a site that lists foods NOT on the recall list:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=210.
March 29th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Janice,
Thanks for sharing what dog food is working for you. I have an Aussie mix and a border collie/terrier/heinz 57 mix.
To some of the other postings…I am so sorry to read about your losses and thank you for sharing, so the rest of us can become educated.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:28 am
This was posted on another site:
“Julie Schmit // Mar 18, 2007 at 11:56 am
I’m a reporter for USA TODAY, trying to locate someone who’se pets ate these products. Please call me: 925-528-3657 ”
Note the date, Mar 18th, so she’s talking about wet foods. However, might not be a bad idea to let her know if you’ve had problems with dry food.
March 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
In August 2006 I lost my much loved Rottie mix. He had been eating Nutro Lamb and Rice Large Breed Adult, the store where I bought his food was out of that type when his food got low, so I bought a bag of I think Nutro Max Natural (the only other one I could find not containing corn) to mix in and tide him over. He stopped eating, would only eat a few bites and walk away. Took him to my vet, who figured a bad tooth was the most likely explanation, so we cleaned all his teeth and removed the bad one. Curly Joe never recovered from this simple surgery, over the next two weeks he just got weaker and weaker. After antibiotics and steroids, we did some blood work and found his liver enzymes bad. The next step was a liver biopsy. His liver was found to be literally cracking apart and bleeding, therefore no sample was taken. Curly Joe died that night, I have no doubt that he would have anyway even had we not done the surgery, and I don’t blame my vet at all. I did send samples of both bags of food to Nutro for testing, many weeks later I got a letter from them stating that nothing was found to be wrong with the food. On that note, I decided the food was safe, and tried to feed it to my other dogs. NONE OF THEM WOULD EVEN TOUCH IT!
Wish I had kept those bags of rejected food so I could now send them to FDA.
Curly Joe was a large dog, he was almost 10, but he was not by any means an old dog, still active, always ready to go (part lab), his coat was shiny, the bad tooth was no doubt caused by playing tug-of-war with an over exuberant 10 year old boy (Curly always let him win), I know this is no scientific evidence but in my own mind and in my heart I know that Nutro was to blame for his death.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Peggy,
What is the manufacture date on the Iams Adult Original? I have some here but don’t know if I should open it or not.
If this were the case, why isn’t it on any known recall lists?
March 29th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Peggy, could you please tell me what the initials INDR WGH CTR HB stand for? I can’t get Iams’ site to load or I would look there. Interested because a friend feeds Iams but I don’t know which one and don’t know what those initials mean.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Peggy,
I’m just guessing here but I am thinking that those abbreviations stand for Iams Indoor, Weight Control and Hairball formulas?? Sue
March 29th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
AL,
I’m very sorry to hear that your cats are sick, I hope they will all be ok! Do they seem to be getting any worse?
I have fed the IAMS original chicken and rice for more years than I can remember to many cats and overall it has always seemed to work well and I’ve been pleased with it.
I have special needs cats and they have done fine on it in the past, but now there are so many unanswered questions! It’s a worry for sure that the dry Iams keeps popping up as being a potential contaminated food. Sue
March 29th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Something that I have not seen mentioned is: any cat with residual kidney damage or immune issues resulting from exposure to this toxin(s), whether from wet or dry food, is going to have to watch CRF issues (chronic renal failure) and other immune-related problems/diseases in cats VERY CAREFULLY FROM NOW ON for who knows how long. This is not just an issue until you find another food!! Start getting info now so you are not left without the facts. If your vet wasn’t omniscient enough to warn you about the dangers of the petfood industry, don’t expect him/her/them to google into the future effects on your pet either!! This is up to you if you want to protect your pets health.
Feline health links: http://www.mindspring.com/~kerspin/
March 29th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
For pets with immune systems compromised by the effects of this toxin (see VIN for info on that) please be aware that vaccinations should NOT be given to pets that are already ill.
It’s not only the petfood industry that panders to vets for profit - big pharmaceuticals also do this. For a look at what one forward looking DVM with PHD in immunology has to say about this see: http://www.drpitcairn.com/talk.....cines.html
March 29th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Thanks for the info, Sue. For some reaon my mind was on dog food and I couldn’t come up with sensible translations of those initials. Cat food, makes perfect sense.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
1. My brother very healthy dog died last year suddenly of kidney failure. My brother assumed the dog had eaten something toxic, however he fed the dog mainly O’Roy dry food. He lives in CA.
2. In Michigan, my cats eat dry and wet food. The tortie basically lived on dry MaxCat. She has a bad stomach and for some reason does not throw up MaxCat. However I was feeding all my cats recall canned IAMS as well as occasional canned tuna. Last year they were getting Nutro pouches also. In the last few weeks before the recall, all cats were rejecting the wet food, but gobbling the tuna. I thought they were jaded. Their fur became dingy and shed heavily, they stopped acting like cats - stretching, yawning, grooming. They started terrible vomiting just before the recall. I stopped all this food, including the dry MaxCat. Two are improving. The tortie, who ate the most MaxCat dry is still throwing up most food, but not the strange vomit they had in the beginning which was filled with watery liquid and mucous. I am worried about her but also, broke.
Like so many cats I hear about my cats did not want to eat the wet cat food. However they are not too fond of the replacements either yet they all want tuna for humans, fish from fast food sandwiches, and fast food chicken. There is something in even the safe brands they do not like.
3. My husband’s coworker fed his cat only MaxCat dry. Last year the young cat went into renal failure, and died $4000 later
March 29th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
This is so awful the whole thing. I am thankful I only feed raw food from someone I know. The food is from an organic source and for that I am fortunate and grateful. All the breeders looking feeding this insane food and I mean all dry food which I describe as “Fast Food for dogs and cats” are looking at why their puppies are dying of kidney failure and other things. I have friends who have lost animals for no reason. fine one day then dead. This should be taken to the highest courts and this industry sued for all it is worth. The gaul to feed animals any of this crap. I don’t know of any animal who goes out to wheat and corn fields and eats that crap. Fresh vestables, fruits chicken thighs, duck beef. Then you have these vets supplying the animals with Science diet and all the other crap.
I think it is lazzyness that has created this; lazyness on the part of pet companions as well as the industry as a whole. It is a dam shame.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Itchmo, I have a question for you. I researched and found that China sells 28 million pounds of prepared wheat gluten a year to the US. Wheat gluten is prepared by washing with water, so Chinese water had to be used.
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/n.....htm?csp=34
However, where is Wheat gluten, or even ‘wheat’ listed on the recalled foods. Not in the IAMS flake tuna in the can. I also found that China is now shipping wheat approved for humans. Is human approved wheat gluten also allowed to be left off the label?
http://english.peopledaily.com.....2687.shtml
http://www.alibaba.com/country.....luten.html
March 29th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I just received a 2nd call from the local FDA office in Shreveport, LA. The gentleman who called was very polite and listened again to my story. I asked about the number of reports the FDA had received since the Menu recall and he said in 2 weeks the four state area of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee had received more than 8,000 complaints regarding contaminated pet food. He said this is a very significant number. My particular case has been referred to the Kansas City office of the FDA because that is where the Hill’s Prescription dry food was manufactured. He stressed that if I did not hear something from Kansas City FDA in 2 weeks to call him back and he would investigate further. He had been out on a call about a sick dog in Shreveport or he would have called back sooner. He apologized for not calling more quickly.
Please, please, please call your local or state FDA. He acted a little surprised that I had been told to contact the state FDA. He acted like contacting the local office would have resulted in quicker action on my complaint. So you might check your phone books or google in the FDA in your city to find the local number.
We must continue to press our case so our fur kids will not have died in vain. We must also keep this from happening to any other pets now and in the future.
March 29th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I had to put my 6 year old sheltie to sleep on Monday because of kidney failure. She was eating Nutro dry dog food. I am devastated, and angry; when will all of this end?
March 29th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Kristy I am so sorry for your loss. I have four shelties and I refuse to feed them anything but raw food. The food I get I personally checked out and know the butcher and the butcher shop where it is being made here in Arizona. God I can’t say how sorry I am. These little loved ones have to suffer before mankind gets a clue.
I now know what people food has to look forward to. This crap about products from China and Chile have to stop coming in to the U.S. We all need to get up and fight back.
March 29th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I lost my cat due to feeding him the Walmart brand of kitty food. My husband said he acts like he has been poisoned and thought no more of it. I couldn’t see him suffer anylonger so I asked him to put him out of his misery. And he did. The following week end we find out we had been feeding him the tainted food. We might have been able to save him if the had announced that the food had been tainted…. Menu foods STINK!
March 29th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
E wem, that is exactly what my cat was doing before he died! He was eating 9 lives canned food. Shredded turkey with gravy, tuna and egg, turkey and giblets, turkey dinner and super supper. He would eat it then throw it up. He was throwing up a lot of wet watery stuff too. Started loosing his hair,grooming all the time and drinking tons of water. He started to refuse to eat the 9 lives and would only eat a bit of human tuna or some raw ground beef. He was sick for about a month and a half then died in my arms. I think he would have been gone sooner if I hadn’t been mixing either fresh ground beef or bits of fresh pork or human tuna in with his 9 lives….he died almost 3 weeks ago now.
FDA has NOT called back and Del Monte denies there is any problem with their canned 9 lives food. I beg to differ with them. My cat is dead. He died in my arms after a massive seizure. I am still devastated about it. Unfortunately I gave away all the left over canned pet food…..
Bear was only 7 yrs old and up until early Jan he was a big strapping healthy Maine coon cat of 16 lbs. He wieghed about 10 when he died..
March 29th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Hello,
I am confused as to why Natural Balance is listed under “Number of Specific Dog Food Brands Reported”? I only feed Natural Balance, so naturally after this recall I contacted the company to see if they were involved. They assured me that they had no involvement, nor were they associated with Menu Foods or any of the companies involved in this recall. Further, their web site states the following “NOTICE:
NO Natural Balance® products are produced
by ANY company associated
with the Pet Food Recall.
For more information, go to www.fda.gov.” After going to the FDA site I found that Natural Balance was NOT on the recall list. I was also under the impression that this recall only effected canned food not dry. Since I feed my dogs Natural Balance, I am very curious to know why you have listed them under this list? I would also like to see what report you based this on. Further, all the posting I have read on this site has nothing but good things to say about Natural Balance. Any response would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Confused210
March 29th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Confused210, this is a self-reported list of consumers who feel that DRY food has made them sick. The recall only affects WET food. At only 1 report, it’s not statistically significant enough to mean anything.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
I have three dogs. I fed them Nutro Natural Choice small bites & senior dry food. All three got sick, with vomiting including yellow bile, bloody diarrhea, urgent need to urinate, excessive thirst.
I took them to the vet and had a blood work up done on all three. The two that ate most of the food have kidney failure, and the other one has liver failure.
I contacted menu foods first, they told me to contact Nutro, which I did. They took my information, and told me they will get in touch with me. I also contacted the FDA. Anyone who’s pet is ill or passed needs to do this. I would advise everyone to not feed their pets any of these foods, dry food included. These dry foods need to be tested, and recalled!
I’m very sorry for everyone who lost a beloved pet and everyone who’s pet’s are sick from this horror. I am very upset and sad about this turn of events.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Lil Bear’s Momma, you described the symptoms better than I did. I put out Wysong, Wellness, and Meow Mix dry food to replace the recall brands. My tortie has eaten mainly Meow Mix (Del Monte). I know this because she is throwing up red - the dye color of the Meow Mix. So I have removed Meow Mix to see if she does any better.
I could not find a single a pet food maker that clearly states they make their product from scratch. They are buying things like chicken meal from other manufacturers, or having their products made at places like Menu who add Chinese wheat gluten without listing it on the label. One maker stated they use only the finest chicken meal. What does that mean? Chicken meal from where? Chicken meal with rat poison?
I am absolutely stumped. I do not know what to buy. ‘All meat’ means nothing unless I know they started with a cow or chicken.
Made in USA? That means canned in USA. Big deal. My baby is so sick and there is not an honest supplier out there, except the raw food suppliers.
It hurts to read about Lil Bear.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:43 am
MY dog died on Christmas night 2006. I fed him Pedigree for seniors, Pedigree wet food and Purina One.
My sister has had 3 cats die from October, 2006 until February 2007. She fed her cats Friskies, 9-Lives and occasionally for a treat Iams.
March 30th, 2007 at 8:54 am
I was reading the post by “Anonymous” & I just have to say that I experienced quite the opposite. I am virtually hounded by my vet’s office to switch to the more expensive product which can only be ordered through them or another dealer. I was told that all pet food which can be purchased from retailers is the equivalent of eating fast food for every meal. I did not switch because one of my pets has digestive problems and can only tolerate the Eukanuba dry food (I have tried Nutro, Science Diet, Iams, & Purina). When the initial recall came out, we had little info on it, but worried because our other pet had recently begun to have stomach problems on and off since December. A stool sample brought to the vet yielded nothing more than being told “it could be anything: stress, the food, a virus. There’s no way to know.” Since it was only on and off, & the recall only included wet food, we let it go. Now I am concerned, but also confused as to what dry food is OK to feed them. I have been unable to find any news related to dry food causing illness/death, although this morning my husband heard on the radio Iams, Eukanuba, and Purina were recalling dry food. That prompted my search, but has thus far come up empty.
March 30th, 2007 at 9:20 am
For all who have lost a PRECIOUS PET or has one who is sick, my heart goes out to you.
At the present time I do not have a pet but I have in the past & know what you are feeling.
My friends have 2 standard Poodles, both of which are their “BABY’sâ€. The oldest is a 9 ½ yr old “RESCUE“, & the younger one is 4 ½, both were fed “ONLY THE BEST FOR MY BABY†Hills Science Diet. During the early part of 2006 the older dog’s health SUDDENLY started to deteriorate to the point where the Vet was advising that he soon be put to sleep. The younger dog never had any problems or showed any signs of distress, while both were on the same food.
As no REAL diagnosis could be found as to his illness my friends became convinced that he was allergic to his food & through a friend they learned about the differences in the ingredients of pet foods. They did a lot of research & found a Super Premium all natural pet food that they tried. After a short time his condition improved to the point where he got back to being “HIS OLD SELFâ€.
This occurred in early 2006 so his illness was not related to this recall. BUT since the switch BOTH pups are healthy & happy today. The brand they found is not available nation wide but is available in limited markets for both dogs & cats & they do free home deliveries.
Check out www.naturesselectusa.com & decide if this product would be RIGHT for your pets. I suggest that you also do some comparisons to other Super Premium pet foods.
I just had to post this story & I hope this post is helpful.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:56 am
After reading all of these postings I find that most people need to pay attention to signs. Animals by nature do not eat any grains and grains grow in field that are sprayed with pesticides. Dogs eyes will water, dogs get black around the corner of their eyes. Their eyes look watery. The dog itches (it is not because of fleas they get treated for fleas then there is another problem) If the animal is fed a natual food that they if on their own would eat i.e. vegs, fruits and meat (chicken, duck, rabit, beef) you will not see the problems with itching, fleas, watery eyes, hot spots, etc.
I feed only raw and have had no problems yet I used to 7 years ago feed dry and had all of the above mentioned problems. My heart goes out to all of you who have lost a loved one.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:42 am
I have a very healthy seven year cat who has not had a single thing wrong with him in his entire life, I’ve been feeding him Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor formula for the majority of his life, he has never once had any problems. Except shortly after purchasing his last bag of Nutro, he started losing hair and becoming constantly itchy and somewhat fatigued. While I don’t know if this could be related to the Nutro dry, I thought it would be worth mentioning. I’m taking him to the vet today for a checkup/ blood work.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
[…] reported on possible dry food contamination earlier in the week as well as what may happen if aminopterin was not the cause of deaths. […]
March 30th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
dear adrienne:
LETS NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS HUH?
sincerely,
4lgdfriend.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[…] Itchmo offers more on what pet-food terms really mean. […]
March 30th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
What’s ARF?
sorry to be so ignorant.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
ARF= acute renal failure.
Now one very important thing is missing here. Do we know the ages of the animals that ate these foods and died of ARF? Since older animals are naturally more likely to end up with it and it would have nothing to do with the food. Where as younger animals it would be much more suspicous of the food. I am just finishing veterinary assistant school and these are important factors as to if these numbers mean anything at all.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Are there others out there with a sudden onset of diabetes in a pet with none of the risk factors? Our cat Sterling has always been fit, slim & active & was declared in amazing health at his annual checkup a few months ago. Then in February he developed a very sudden & extremely severe insulin-resistant onset of diabetes. The timing now makes me wonder especially with so much unknown about what is in this pet food.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
DATABASE OF DRY PET FOODS CONTAINING WHEAT GLUTEN:
The Pet Food Project has a database of DRY pet foods containing wheat gluten. Go to this link to do a Search. Click on “dry food” in the left column, type in “wheat gluten” in the search box.
And everyone is wondering if DRY is affected? Duh.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
DATABASE OF DRY PET FOODS CONTAINING WHEAT GLUTEN:
The Dog Food Project has a database of DRY pet foods containing wheat gluten. Go to this link to do a Search. Click on “dry food” in the left column, type in “wheat gluten” in the search box.
And everyone is wondering if DRY is affected? Duh. Go here:
http://forums.dogfoodproject.c.....rd=dogfood
March 30th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Janice and others…just an FYI…
I took Janice’s advice and started switching my dogs last night from Nutro dry and Iams puppy food to Natural Balance dry food…I witnessed the same thing has Janice: my adult dog on Nutro…picked out the Natural Balance and ate it all first. I didn’t see the same with my puppy who is on Iams. Just wanted to share, because it surprised me that I saw the same thing with my dog as Janice shared earlier.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
From www.dailykos.com For the past few months have only fed IAMS dry to my cats and dogs. One new dog had a bloody stool at the adoptions, lots of blood but when Ibrought him home he has been OK. Maybe the combination of IAMS and stress of being in a cage. My Orange cat has had a bloody stool.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Have been lately feeding Purina One to my cats and one has a bloody stool. Will take him off immediately.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I had 4 very beautiful cur/lab mix puppies, 8 weeks old. Yes, I said had, one of my puppies died and we had the other 3 put to sleep before they suffered anymore. I fed my puppies purina puppy chow. I first started noticing a change in them about 5 days ago. They lost weight very fast, had renal failure and craved water. Just wanted to post to let people know. I have other dogs that I am afraid to feed any kind of dog food. I know they say table food is not good for dogs, well when I weigh the difference I think I’ll go for the table food. At least until I know this is over. I have two children and their hearts are broken, as is mine. We live in Florien, La. and I know for a fact we are not the only ones in this area that have experienced this. My pets are family members we love them all and this is just devistating.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I am extremely disturbed by the new development in the pet food recall today. The FDA is now saying that Aminopterin is not the likely candidate for the poisonings, but a chemical called Melamine has been found in samples and in the renal tissues of animals who died. We are being lied to by all involved, it seems to me. I’ve decided the only safe cat food is one free of any types of grains, fruits, veggies, etc… I purchased a product, after research, that is a raw diet containing no produce of any kind, shipped frozen via next day delivery. It arrived still mostly frozen and looking and smelling very fresh. My problem is our cats refuse to eat it. I took away their dry Friskies cat food today and am feeding them every four hours in small amounts the new raw food in an attempt to get them hungry enough to eat it (at the recommendation of the raw food website). If this is unsuccessful, can anyone recommend a dry, all natural food my cats might like? It may not be raw, which I’ve researched and found to be the most sensical diet for my little carnivores, but at least it wouldn’t be a commercial brand food without any safety or health precautions in place.
Thanks!
March 30th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
TJ,
Hang in there. When your cats get hungry enough, they’ll eat. I’ve had my cats of raw food in the past. A couple took to it right away, a couple didn’t. I offered it twice a day. Eventually the two hold-outs came around. Don’t worry. Remember in the wild they only eat once a day, sometimes not even that much is the “catch” is not abundant.
What brand did you decide on?
March 30th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I use WYSONG, various dry varieties, for my cats. But I think for a while I am going to just have to make them something with meat and rice.
My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a pet.
March 30th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Thank you for putting this information together. I had emailed you regarding my cat that passed away. She was 7 years old, healthy and ate Nutro Dry. My dog also got sick, eating Nutro Dry. He is doing better now, I switched him and my other cat to Science Diet. For our follow up vet visit, we are going to ask about organic food options.
All this research is really starting to get attention. Today was the first time I had heard the concern about dry food mentioned on the news. All these deaths are not a “coincidence” and I am glad our voices are finally being heard!!
March 30th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.html
I found this website for home made cat food owners, it orginated from a post above. I am going to make it over the weekend to ride out this BS. I really hope Menu Foods goes under due to this unforgivable problem.
Not sure what I would do if I lost either of our cats, they are our children.
I feel for everyone who has lost a pet.
March 30th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
“benemo Says:
March 29th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Confused210, this is a self-reported list of consumers who feel that DRY food has made them sick. The recall only affects WET food. At only 1 report, it’s not statistically significant enough to mean anything.”
If you believe everything they are telling you I feel bad for you.
March 30th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
benemo, email me at keen@mac.com if it’s info you need!
March 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
My beloved 9yr old healthy 140lbs Rottweiller “Hercules†died on March 13/07. He was on the dry Iams weight management. I came home in late February and found him paralyzed and lethargic in my bed. He had stopped eating his kibble apx 1 week prior. However, he would eat human food. His belly was rock hard and he seemed to be in alot of discomfort. I rushed him to the vet -who had no clue what was wrong with him. The vet gave him a shot of steroids, did some blood tests and gave me a supply of steroid pills which gave him the strength to walk with assistance for about a week. I told the vet that I had thought he had a bad batch of food and I actually returned the dry food for a refund after showing the manager my vet bill. My boy hung on to dear life until March 14 until he collapsed on my back step…dead.
His belly was 2X the regular size and still rock hard. He also had extreme thirst & urination but no vomiting or diarrhea (however he was burping and gagging quite a bit) I am so guilt ridden with the fact that my poor dog was suffering and didnt have the words to tell me. According to my vet Herc still had many years to go & his illness was not age related. PEOPLE DO NOT FEED YOUR ANIMALS ANY DRY OR WET IAMS FOOD PRODUCTS!!!!!! Also I contacted Iams to inform them that it was the dry food that killed my dog and they said to fax my vet bill to them for an immediate reimbursement. My lawyer has advised against this. Somebody is going to pay. My young children have been so traumatized that they are sleeping with me every night & keep having nightmares from seeing their beloved family member drop dead before their eyes-while I cry hysterically trying to revive him. They wont even go downstairs at night alone because they’re “scared without Hercâ€. BTW I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jen@goddessfilmproductions.com
March 30th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Patricia says:
Have you seen the blog and the figures about dead pets on petconnection.com? 2.400 pets deceased. Go check it out, very interesting. I fed my dogs Pedigree Dry (all kinds, from senior to lamb and rice etc.), two Jack Russell Terrier, one is almost 8 years old and has suddendy cushings desease (drinking a lot of water, urge to urinate, he also had blood in his stool).His illness (we are at $ 1,350.- now) came very sudden, everything was OK in Sept. last year. My other dog is a female one year old (just adopted), had to vomit recently inlcuding yellow bile, and vomited violently. I switched to “Good Life” dry dog food, supposedly all natural, no fillers, artificial colors and preservatives. It’s not on the list (yet), but I am already thinking of cooking their food now. Boykott is the best, withholding our money, until corporate America (the food producers AND the news media) come to their senses.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
I’m so tore up reading some of these, they really have an impact. Sorry to all of you who have sick pets, and sorry for all our lost comrades. Wet or dry, it doesn’t matter, they are still dying. Has anyone read our posts and listened and saved their loved ones? I’m hoping that people realize that there is no reason for any of us here to be other than truthful. We have no shareholders to make happy, not one person here is making anything not a penny. We are in some cases, mad as hell, but liars we are not. I know there will be a recall on the DRY foods in short order. What I’m afraid of is that they don’t know what’s killing our pets and are only speculating at this point. Pointing fingers thousands of miles away so as to defray the blame. Blame will not bring our pets back or pay for their care, now and into the future. I can’t say for sure if justice will ever be served, kismet.
As our headaches continue their psyco bable runs rampant. We have to learn by this, how can we fight them when they have no fear. What’s really going to happen here. No one will go to jail, no one will pay the price of what we all have lost or are losing. The only thing that can be done is to BOYCOTT retailers who profit from the sales of products that kill.
keen and Abby Gayle
March 31st, 2007 at 12:17 am
there are so many more!
By Jen, 3-30-07
My beloved 9yr old healthy 140lbs Rottweiller “Hercules†died on March 13/07. He was on the dry Iams weight management. I came home in late February and found him paralyzed and lethargic in my bed. He had stopped eating his kibble apx 1 week prior. However, he would eat human food. His belly was rock hard and he seemed to be in alot of discomfort. I rushed him to the vet -who had no clue what was wrong with him. The vet gave him a shot of steroids, did some blood tests and gave me a supply of steroid pills which gave him the strength to walk with assistance for about a week. I told the vet that I had thought he had a bad batch of food and I actually returned the dry food for a refund after showing the manager my vet bill. My boy hung on to dear life until March 14 until he collapsed on my back step…dead.
His belly was 2X the regular size and still rock hard. He also had extreme thirst & urination but no vomiting or diarrhea (however he was burping and gagging quite a bit) I am so guilt ridden with the fact that my poor dog was suffering and didnt have the words to tell me. According to my vet Herc still had many years to go & his illness was not age related. PEOPLE DO NOT FEED YOUR ANIMALS ANY DRY OR WET IAMS FOOD PRODUCTS!!!!!! Also I contacted Iams to inform them that it was the dry food that killed my dog and they said to fax my vet bill to them for an immediate reimbursement. My lawyer has advised against this. Somebody is going to pay. My young children have been so traumatized that they are sleeping with me every night & keep having nightmares from seeing their beloved family member drop dead before their eyes-while I cry hysterically trying to revive him. They wont even go downstairs at night alone because they’re “scared without Hercâ€. BTW I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jen@goddessfilmproductions.com
cross posted keen for Abby Gayle
March 31st, 2007 at 12:27 am
On March 3rd our diabetic and blind rat terrier had become violently ill after a two hour nap. Before that I had taken him on a long energetic walk. After the walk, I fed him his usual Science Diet W/D dry dog food. When he awoke he could barely stand and began vomiting. He was sick every hour on the hour throughout the night. By morning we decided to end his suffering and had the vet put him down.
This was a week before any media reports of pet food contamination. Just a few days before I thought to myself that he would be with us for quite some time yet and then out of the blue he was so weak and sick.
I am still in shock and miss him dearly. The last thing we wanted to chance was a long stay at the vet office for an outcome that he would not have survived. I know he is in a much better place but I have always had the feeling deep in my heart that it wasn’t his diabetes that made him so ill on March 3rd.
Now I am totally disgusted by all the similar postings by pet owners who have had to put their animals down as I have.
March 31st, 2007 at 1:01 am
My cat just went to the vet because she was vomiting and had diarrhea. She has been eating Science Diet dry food.
March 31st, 2007 at 1:20 am
questions maybe yes.
i would like to know why my father when he was a farmer got paid by our government for leaving wheat fields bare. so we could buy wheat from China?
and why i do not see posts about what critter food IS safe?
March 31st, 2007 at 2:23 am
My toy poodle died on February 9, 2007 of renal failure. She was four and half years old and healthy.
She ate Iams dry down all the time and Mighty Dog wet in the evening.
This was before the recall. I have tried to call the number given to report this but have not been able to get through.
I sent an email to both Mighty Dog and Iam with no answer.
My baby was SOOOOO sick and I never thought it was the food since she has ate this most of her life. She lost bladder control and had blood in her urine near the end. She would vomit and was in so much pain that I had her put down on the date above. I couldn’t watch her suffer any longer.
What my vet thought was just a bladder infection and later did blood work showed full renal failure.
Nothing will replace my baby. I don’t even have the bag any longer but I do have some of the pouches left, why, I don’t know. Guess what, the numbers on the pouch matched the recall that came days later after her death.
I have a standard poodle too who ate the same food and showed no symptoms, but she is much bigger than my toy poodle and I am taking her in to have blood work done to see what damage to her kidneys have been done by this food.
I want everyone to know that not all deaths have been reported yet and the number given is hard to get through. My heart is so broken. My Sammy baby was my life. Even her sister, my standard, misses her so much she is depressed.
How dare they say this food is complete. I have become a smarter consumer and learned more about pet food. Now my standard is on SOLID GOLD dry and wet. Lord forbid if this stuff gets recalled, I will have to learn to cook again (LOL) just for my baby.
Sammy, my heart, my love, I am sorry. I didn’t know what was causing you to suffer so. Now I know. Now I know. I miss you baby, I miss you so much I cry daily for you. I love you and wish I could take back the past months and do it differently.
March 31st, 2007 at 5:18 am
STEPFORD VETS: Don’t get me wrong. I have had a good veterinarian before, but just don’t jive with their ideas on nutrition. Where do they get this stuff? The last part of veterinary school for some of these ’specialists’ must be deprogramming or brainwashing by the Hill corporation to such a degree to enables these fledgling veterinarians to desensitize thoroughly enough to witness case after case of renal failure and still maintain that commercial food is more life-sustaining than home cooked or raw diets. Sheesh! One would have to have had a lobotomy to think that after watching these animals waste away, one after the other, and still not get the connection to STOP PROMOTING THE DARN COMMERCIAL FOOD, WET OR DRY. Well, this recall will have repercussions which will last YEARS and probably bleed right on into the next recall if people don’t put the almighty dollar in a completely different direction and starve corporations like MENU FOODS into bankruptcy. A new paradigm for animal nutritionists is in order. Commercial food is not the answer as it will be subject to future poisons.
March 31st, 2007 at 6:34 am
re Stepford Vets: Great posting. I especially like the part about starving the corporations like Menu Foods into bankruptcy.
That could get some legs and become a mantra; Starve Menu Foods and Starve Hills Pet Nutrition. Hills gets their own slogan because is anyone to believe they didn’t realize until YESTERDAY that the wheat gluten was in their m/d dry food?
March 31st, 2007 at 9:33 am
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have lost or are losing a beloved friend.
As a long time employee of a nutrition oriented pet store, I would encourage those of you looking for good clean dry food to feed your critters, check out Natura.com. Unlike all the big name pet food companies that are owned by major human food conglomerates (pet foods are a very convenient place to incorporate the crap not fit for human consumption), Natura uses only human grade ingredients for their foods. In fact, this company came into existance because they realized that most pet foods on the market were crap and were slowly killing our animals. I had the pleasure of visiting their new state-of-the-art dry food plant several years ago and cannot begin to tell you how impressive that was! All employees are required to shower on site (preventing any inadvertant contamination of any kind) and don sterilized clothing before beginning their shift. The ingredients are human grade, clean and stored properly - as opposed to truckloads of restaurant grease and offal from rendering plants that sit in the sun and further degrade - then to be coated with heavy duty preservatives and cooked at such high temperatures that everything in it is destroyed ~ the good and the bad.
I do not mean to sound like a commercial ~ but I believe very strongly in this food and in the past 10 years (how long we’ve been selling this food in our store) have seen the results first hand. We board and do grooming as well, so we see and interact with these critters. We can spot an animal on a substandard diet a mile away - and we are not afraid to mention that to its human counterpart (sometimes we are considered a bit obnoxious in our zeal to convert the humans way of thinking about pet food!), but more often than not we later hear what a huge difference it has made in the life of the animal. And no, I recieve no kick-backs or special deals from Natura ~ but I live with 4 gorgeous healthy cats, which is the biggest best perk of all!
Natura’s wet food is made at Menu Foods South Dakota Plant - and from the research I have done, most (with the exception of Purina) wet pet foods are made by Menu Foods. The recipes come from their customers (SD, Iams, etc)- if these recipes did not call for wheat gluten - we wouldn’t be talking about this to begin with. This is not a necessary ingredient - but a cheap high protein substitute. This does not mean I am defending Menu Foods Income Fund - but their job is to do what they are told - and if that is make this stuff using the cheapest ingredients you can find, thats what they do. If they are told to make this recipe using high quality human food ingredients, thats what they will do.
Sorry to go on and on! In a nutshell, what we as caretakers need to do is read the label now! Please don’t wait for a food to be recalled (Purina just pulled its first food moments ago (you can go to the FDA website and sign up for notification of any recalls)) ~ go read the label now! If it has wheat gluten as an ingredient - do not feed it!!!! I don’t care who made it or what it is! Check out your treats too - if it lists wheat gluten as an ingredient - do not feed it!!!
March 31st, 2007 at 11:07 am
I think my cat may have died from eating Nutro Max Cat Chicken dry food. I opened a new bag in mid-January, and she did not display her ususal enthusiasm. In fact, she would not eat unless I stood by and coaxed her. This went on for about a week, then she began sleeping all day in a secluded place and skipping meals. I finally took her to my vet, who said she was dehydrated and kept her overnight for fluid transfusion. The next morning she went into congestive heart failure and died. She was my sole companion, the light of my life, and I miss her.
Damn the greedy bastards at Menu. They knew they were selling poison food after their taste-testing cats died. (New York Times 3/21). Yet they delayed the announcement for three months until the news began to leak out. Had I known that there was dangerous food on the market, my cat might still be alive.
Fourteen animals–Hah! It looks like the size of this tragedy is much larger than anyone suspected.
Al
March 31st, 2007 at 11:12 am
I, too, am concerned about the dry cat and dog food. My dogs were eating Beneful dry and doing fine until about a month ago. I switched to Purina and they don’t like it either. I then changed to kibbles n bits dry and they are eating it just fine. Then I noticed a problem with the dry cat food I was feeding my cats. Special Kitty was purchased by my grandson by accident and I fed it to them and they seemed to like it. But they are drinking more water and urinating more. The older cat (12) has lost weight and has grown very lethargic. i thought it might be her age as there was no recall on dry food. I also lost 2 rabbits within days of each other after feeding them the cheaper rabbit pellets. The one rabbit who has survived refused to eat it. I changed brands and he is fine. (they are mini’s) My question is how long will it take to decide which brands are contaminated? And how long will it take to find out how it is contaminated?
I also had problems with the cheaper brand of bird food for my cockatiel birds. i bought the more expensive and they are now eating and just fine. My dogs do not have access to anywhere except my fenced yard and house. no access to any contaminants so it has to be the dry food. I don’t feed wet food. ?????
March 31st, 2007 at 11:50 am
I think this crap has been going on for years and years and years. I thank the internet for most of what we now know about these poisonings. Left to the greedy we would know little. I’ll bet they wished the internet would just go away. They have been spinning their own web of deceit for years, and getting away with murder. The internet and friends is allowing us all to see them squirm and they are not done squirming yet!
Anyone know what they are going to do with all of these recalled products? How and where are they disposed of? Do they burn it, bury it or re-sell it? I have asked this before, I know, but I still have NO answers. How can we as consumers rest assurd that this stuff will not make it’s way back into the retail pipeline somewhere. Maybe with a little patience they can render out the bad stuff that came all the way from China that they mixed in.
I don’t know about you, I think they still know very little of what they are doing correctly, let alone what they have done wrong. Prove to us that they are doing the right thing! To date they have bungled this and continue to be dumbfounded by the truth. Really, do they think we are as stupid as they wish us to be? Please everyone, lets redouble our efforts this week and make them pay. BOYCOTT the liers, don’t buy their products, don’t support their retailers or their vets. This late and untrustworthy news I’ve been watching all week on TV depresses me. Please everyone, keep up your outstanding work, don’t let these bile filled ambassadors of death prevail.
keen and Abby Gayle
March 31st, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I started feeding my cat the Purina Natural blends dry food. I went to the website and found that it contains the wheat gluten…now what do I do???
March 31st, 2007 at 1:12 pm
hello, I did not know this site existed or would have reported earlier. I feed my cats nothing but science diet senior. The food does not contain wheat gluten (according to the ingredients anyway and the claim of the company). I have a 2.5 yr old cat that was playing one minute and on deaths door the next. I got him to the vet within 20 hrs of his becoming ill and my cat luckily did recover after 6 or 7 days. He is almost his old self now, but not quite there yet. It was very touch and go for a few days, he kept throwing up the medicine and his vitamin gook I had to give him, but when he finally took two bites of food on his own 3 days later I was very relieved.
I split the bag of cat food with my mother as it is quite expensive. One of her cats started throwing up for hours , but seemed ok after 4 or 5 hours. Another of mine started throwing up , but recovered after 4 or 5 hours and immediately stopping their intake of that food for all of my cats and my mothers cats. I have saved the bag and the food that was left.
I did call Hills to ask about that particular dry food and emailed them, the only response they would give me was short and terse saying that food was not on the recall list. I see now many days later Hills has recalled some of its dry food, but not the kind my cats were eating.
March 31st, 2007 at 3:56 pm
[…] tally the dry food illness and death reports and create a […]
March 31st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I too believe that there is an attempt at a coverup. The problem is much more serious than the industry would have us think. If not for the Internet, the issue would have been “old news” by now.
March 31st, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Thank You Michael. I think you are absolutely correct. The pet food manufacturers are slowly letting their recalled items be known. I think they are hoping we will all go away and stop looking for answers.
THINK AGAIN!!
I for one, as many others here are demanding to know the truth.
March 31st, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Please everyone be aware…I would recommend you to prepare your dog or cat’s diet at home and quit buying commercial dog or cat food. My Sadie (mini poodle) was eating the Ol’ Roy chunks with gravy and quit eating and starting vomiting. I took her to the Emergency Animal Clinic and after blood tests, she was diagnosed with progressive kidney failure and I had to have her put down. She was the love of my life and if I ever have another pet, they will not eat commercial food. My daughter prepares her dog food and gives her dog suppliment vitamins and he is healthy and happy. My heart and thoughts go out to those who have suffered the loss as I have and it will never happen again. Menu can go to he_ _ for such criminal preparation of their products.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:20 am
This is so scary! I feed my cat Hill’s Science Diet (Hairball Control) dry food… he started drinking a lot of water and shedding more than normal a few days ago… (in case you don’t know, these are some of the symptoms to watch out for!) I just happened to be running out of my Hill’s bag and I’ve been feeding him Friskies instead. He’s not drinking the normal amount of water now, shedding less, and now he hasn’t even thrown up lately (he’s normally a very throwuppy/hairbally guy).
****PLEASE IF YOU HAVE HILL’S DRY FOOD, THROW IT OUT!****
We apparently can’t trust the recall lists! It may not be wheat gluten that’s causing the problem… the Hill’s I was feeding him had no wheat gluten at all and yet I suspect it was making him sick. There’s more to this that we don’t know yet! Please be careful and best of luck for your pets everyone out there!!
April 1st, 2007 at 12:25 am
Sorry, I made a typo– that should have said “He IS drinking the normal amout of water now, shedding less, etc…”
April 1st, 2007 at 2:15 am
My house cat is the love of my life and my best friend. I am terrified. I do not know what to feed him and he has not been doing well. He has been having neurological episodes. He is 10. The only health problem he’s had until now is the frequent vomiting and thirst that everyone else here has been describing (which I attribute to pet food). I’m sure his kidneys have gradually been on their way out. And I suspect his episodes are some type of seizure, although he does not have convulsions, but instead he becomes dazed, tilts head, one eye sometimes droops, uncoordinated unusual movements or freezes in mid step, etc. It subsides within 5 minutes and then he’s back to normal, then it happens again in a few days or sooner. This started a few months ago, and I’ve been researching what could be wrong with him (I don’t always trust vets to make the right diagnosis or even do anything helpful, and can’t afford lengthy tests). I have come up with a number of things that could be wrong and most are life-threatening, such as brain tumors or “poisoning”. The poisoning really struck me, but there is nothing he’s been exposed to, other than his food. He eats Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care dry. I can’t say for sure that his symptoms being caused by the food, but I don’t think this food is doing him any health favors and I am very worried because I don’t know what else to feed him. I have no faith in the pet food industry whatsoever, and don’t believe they produce anything healthy or truly safe. Most is pure garbage and always has been. I’ve been concerned about pet food for a long time and thought I was doing a good thing when I put him on Nutro a few years ago. Now what? I look at him and can’t bear to think that his health is in danger every day.
I will never purchase Nutro again, or any other brand that is associated with Menu foods, but sadly, this kind of action does not ensure our pet’s safety. I am so outraged. The company knew something was wrong and did not go public immediately, but let pets continue to be exposed, and that includes all the brand name companies associated, i.e. Science Diet, who is supposed to be in the business of maintaining our pets’ health and saving their lives when they have illness and disease. Obviously the potential for financial damage is more important to them, so hush hush, knowing that gluten crap was in their dry food. I hate them!!! I had a cat die from kidney failure years ago and she was on Science Diet, as well as other foods before that. I have no doubt that it is pet food that has been killing our pets earlier than they should die, and that this has been going on for years. We just didn’t know it until now. Who knows what has been in pet foods on and off over the years. We accepted our pet’s illnesses before, figuring they were just victims of a normal disease processes. I do not believe this is true in many cases.
I keep hearing the argument that it is not anyone’s fault, since this chemical was not one that would be expected to be in the food, and therefore was not routinely tested for, so it took them a while to discover what the culprit was. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE NEED TO STOP IMPORTING FOOD PRODUCTS! DUH! I’m so sick and tired of this country banning dangerous chemicals and then importing them back in and putting them into our food supply. If they know that other countries are using things that have been banned in this country, then why are they importing anything? What the hell is wrong with our government? Trade…the almighty dollar…the world economy…lovely! And if they must import food products, then they’d better know darn well what is being used in the other countries (every single chemical) and test the imports CONSTANTLY for those very things. Otherwise, DON’T IMPORT, YOU SOBs! You risk our safety every single day when you do and do not have the necessary controls in place. As citizens who pay taxes to be protected, we seem to have less and less protection or control over anything, yet we are still forced to pay up. What a joke! And how useless is the FDA? We could go on and on about all the things they refuse to approve or which take forever for approval…things that could help people….and then this kind of thing happens! Go figure. Maybe they don’t understand how much we love our pets….they were expendable. Perhaps we are too. The USA was once the bread basket of the world. What happened to home grown? I don’t know what else all of us can do, other than wait for death for us and our pets. Only then will this all be over. Death seems to be the only freedom from this insanity. I hope they read this.