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 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.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
My wife just came and made this comment. Since this WHEAT GLUTEN fiasco has been happening the price of our wheat bread has nearly doubled over the last few weeks. Is this why? Could it already be in the HUMAN food chain? Are they having to pay more for good local WHEAT GLUTEN? Just a thought.
Have also noticed that some of our Human food manufacturers are advertising, GLUTEN FREE products. Whats up?
keen and Abby Gayle
April 1st, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Just stumbled across this,
www.topwebsecrets.com/dogfood/.....od%20scare
Very informative!
keen and Abby Gayle
April 1st, 2007 at 1:07 pm
~Yet another culprit~
April 1, 2007
Barking up wrong tree in pet food recall?
Lawyer claims culprit is vitamin D
By ALAN CAIRNS, SUN MEDIA
As the poisoned pet food crisis widened yesterday with the recall of a dry
food, a Toronto lawyer leading a $60-million class-action negligence suit
against a Guelph company fears scientists might be barking up the wrong
tree.
With suspicions in the Menu Foods poisoning shifting from animopterin rat
poison to melamine used in Asian fertilizers, lawyer David Himelfarb said
suspect
food should be “immediately” tested for excessive vitamin D.
Himelfarb said the kidney failure seen in the Menu Foods case is “exactly”
the same as symptoms that left a Whitby woman’s dog seriously ill in 2005.
The woman, Janet Grixti, alleges in a statement of claim filed in Superior
Court of Ontario that her chocolate Labrador Mocha became ill after it was
fed
Royal Canin pet food with excessive amounts of vitamin D.
10 TIMES NORMAL
“We have taken hundreds of samples of (Royal Canin) food from across the
GTA.
I can’t give you accurate numbers … but there is an awful lot of (vitamin
D) … some tests have shown more than 10 times the normal amount … might
even be more,” said Himelfarb, who is on the class-action case with lawyer
Joe
Rochon.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 8,800 complaints of dog
and cats deaths or illness.
No corresponding statistics are kept in Canada.
But after receiving 1,000 telephone calls and e-mails from concerned pet
owners, Himelfarb suggests that the poisoning tragedy is much bigger than it
appears.
“There could be many thousands,” Himelfarb said.
Vitamin D is essential to a healthy diet for dogs and cats, Himelfarb said,
but excessive amounts cause “total (kidney) failure.”
High levels of vitamin premixes are added to dog and cat food to offset
vitamin destruction during heating and shelf storage, Grixti alleges in a
statement
of claim.
While most vitamins break down, vitamin D “remains in full strength,” it is
alleged.
None of Grixti’s allegations have been tested in court. Royal Canin has not
filed a statement of defence.
Royal Canin admits excess levels of vitmain D3 led to the recall of seven
vet-only products in March 2006, but its web site assures its foods “are
safe”
and unaffected by the Menu Foods recall.
Meanwhile, scientists still seek answers to the lethal poison which
two-weeks
ago forced Mississauga-ago forced Mississauga-based Menu Foods to recall
wet dog and cat food.
CHINESE WHEAT GLUTEN
Nestle Purina Petcare Co. yesterday recalled batches of American-made Alpo
Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food it says contains Chinese wheat gluten
bought
from the same American company which supplied Menu Foods.
Tainted wheat gluten also prompted Hills-Pet Nutrition to recall
Prescription
Diet m/d Feline dry cat food, the first dry food recall.
keen Abby Gayles rep
April 1st, 2007 at 1:52 pm
My six-month old Border Terrier pup died of acute renal failure on Feb. 2. He was being fed Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy. He had previously been very healthy.
April 1st, 2007 at 3:32 pm
MY POOR DEVOTED CAT IS DEAD I BELIEVE SHE DIED FROM BEING TREATED TO THE MOIST PACKET IN THE 18 POUND BAD OF FRISKIES CHEFS BLEND DRY CAT FOOD SHE GOT SICK AND WE TOOK HER TO THE VET SHE COPULD NOT WALK, HAD TROUBLE BREATHINGT, URINATYED BRIGHT YELLOW, ALWAYS THIRSTY, YELLOW EYES YELLOW EARS MEOWED ION PAIN HER KIDNEY AND LIVERE WERE FAILING SHE DIED i CALLED THE PET FOOD COMPANY THEY WILL NOT RESPOND I HAVE A VET BILL OVER 3 HUNDRED DOLLARS AND I AM MAD ABOUT THIS SITUATION.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I have read numerous entries on blogs since the Menu Foods recall looking for others whose pets were sickened by a possible link to dry dog food. I see two brands of kibble being mentioned repeatedly, Nutro Nautral Choice and Iams (in the green bag).
I think it is time I posted our pets story. We were at our vets at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning 3/17 with our Huskie mix unaware of the Menu recall. Our dog was ill exhibitng all the symptoms listed later that day with the recall info. He had been fed dinner earlier in the week from a new bag of Nutro Senior dry kibble purchased on March 3, 2007. He had been in excellent health but woke the next morning disoriented, lethargic, had excessive thirst, developed diarrhea. He would lay by his water bowl to drink, had difficulty standing. I tried to hand feed him kibble mixed with ground beef . He would spit the Nutro kibble out. Refused to even eat Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Biscuits. Extensive blood work sent out to a lab on Saturday showed elevated liver levels. After I learned of the Menu foods recall later in the day on 3/17, I discontinued trying to entice him to eat his kibble just on the chance the kibble too was tainted. I hand fed him chicken, rice, vegetables and ground beef. Everyday he grew stronger. It is almost 2 weeks now that he has not eaten Nutro Natural Choice kibble and he is like a different dog. None of the earlier symptoms remain. His energy level is back and he is very alert. I have saved a sample of the Nutro kibble just incase a link is found.
We were lucky that our beloved pet is recovering. Our heart aches for those who were not as fortunate.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:50 pm
I just bought a new 8 pound bag of Iam’s Indoor Weight Control/Hairball Formula cat chow… definitely afraid to let them eat it now. Are there ANY commercial brands that aren’t affected?? So far, my two fat cat boys are okay. But, last December, after a week out of town, I came home to my poor little Gretel cat all skin and bones. Long story short, she died in my arms on January 4th, having finally been diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis the day before. She would only eat home-cooked chicken or deli turkey or chicken from restaurants once she got sick. She had been eating Iam’s Original cat chow for the last several years. She was 12 years old and seemed healthy until then, although she was always a very thin cat at only 8 pounds in top form (5 1/2 when she died) It doesn’t sound like she may be an actual “statistic” for this situation, but her illness definitely came on suddenly. The other two cats (one 18 pound fat cat and one 18 pound muscular cat!) haven’t shown any signs of illness of any kind. Just the usual occasional hairball, and some throw-uppiness as someone put it earlier, which is always just some chow right after he eats, like he eats too much at once or something. Although I am wondering if they have been drinking more, as it seems their water bowls get empty faster these days… You know, I cut back drastically on my own consumption of fast food because of the “stuff” that’s possibly in it… and I have come to feel that the drug companies are running the world just about, and now I can’t trust a top name pet food company either… My allergy doctor keeps telling me I need to eat like a caveman; lean meat, fruits and vegetables, nuts and berries. No sugar, no flour, nothing fried, and no dairy “Cavemen didn’t catch wild cows and milk ‘em! Besides, cow’s milk is for baby cows.” I do feel better eating that way. Guess now I’ll have to start feeding my cats like they were cave-cats.
So sad to read all the losses that everyone has had. My heart goes out to one and all.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:32 am
I can just imagine all the pet food companies sitting back and scoffing at us for thinking that, in light of the recall, every illness our pets are now suffering from is caused by some pet food that is not even on the list. They think to themselves that we are ignorant and are just panicking. Well, I’d like to correct their stupidity for assuming that. This concern is not new for many of us. Most of us have always known that pet foods contribute to the illness and disease that our pets succumb to. That is not to say that in time, even with a perfect diet, they would not eventually succumb to old age or disease processes. But that is not what we are talking about. And we are not just talking about contaminated wheat gluten, or whatever else is responsible for this poisoning incident not yet uncovered. We are talking about the food in general, and what other kinds of horrible toxins and unhealthy ingredients they contain on a regular basis. Cats are particularly sensitive to toxins and imbalances, and they are very susceptible to their various body systems being damaged, kidney failure, and death. Their foods should be prepared even more carefully than people food.
*****THE NEW RULE: THOSE AT THE TOP OF EVERY PET FOOD COMPANY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO EAT PORTIONS OF THEIR PET FOOD EQUIVAVLENT FOR THEIR SIZE THAT PETS WILL CONSUME OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. IF THEY WILL NOT EAT IT, THEN IT IS NOT FIT FOR OUR PETS EITHER. THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE TEST BEFORE IF GOES TO MARKET. MAYBE THEN THEY WILL START PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT IS IN THE FOOD, HUH?******
And maybe we now should require them to dine on some of those nice recalled gravy pouches. Would they feed it to their children or families day after day?
If nothing else, this horrible tragedy has finally given us a voice for something that has been a concern for a long time, but before our concerns would have gone ignored. I would give anything to have back the time that my sweet baby has spent on foods that compromised his health. My vet recommended Iams to me years ago (what a joke), so he was fed that before I decided it was horrible and I switched to Nutro (both dry). This is all incredibly heartbreaking. Whatever damage has been done to his system cannot be taken back. I could have had a healthy happy cat for many more years than I will now.
Most of us are afraid to prepare our pet’s foods from scratch for fear that they will develop some kind of deficiency, so we have always hoped the food that is designed for them will take care of them. Pet food companies are supposed to be the experts, because not all of us can be. That is their job.
Please read the following article. I don’t agree with the victim status the author grants the pet food companies, but the comments at the end of the article are very interesting, especially the one about the vets who are furious at Science Diet because they deliberately hid the information about their M/D food from them. As far as I’m concerned, Science Diet has selfishly and intentionally killed pets by omission. They should be forced to shut down.
http://cats.about.com/b/a/257806.htm
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
Check this out.
It is more than just a problem with china & wheat gluten. Our own government requires that we use poison in the process of fish meal used in our pets food.
Eat It, I Dare Ya!
How about fish meal? Fish meal for pets is stabilized with ethoxyquin at a level of 400-1000 parts per million. That’s a lot of rubber preservative! BHA? …
www.sojos.com/eatitarticle.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages
I will no longer feed my dog anything that contains fish meal.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
To confirm, go to this us government site:
http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.g.....n=retrieve
or do the research yourself on fishmeal & ethoxyquin. Check out what OSHA has to say on this toxin as well. It will really open your eyes to what we’ve been feeding our best friends. No wonder dogs have had such short life spans.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Kalina makes a suggestion: *****THE NEW RULE: THOSE AT THE TOP OF EVERY PET FOOD COMPANY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO EAT PORTIONS OF THEIR PET FOOD EQUIVAVLENT FOR THEIR SIZE THAT PETS WILL CONSUME OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. IF THEY WILL NOT EAT IT, THEN IT IS NOT FIT FOR OUR PETS EITHER. THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE TEST BEFORE IF GOES TO MARKET. MAYBE THEN THEY WILL START PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT IS IN THE FOOD, HUH?******
Of course the vets will be glad to do this too for any petfood they sell? Right.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 pm
i qould like to know if kibbles n bites is owm that list because my dog hasn’t poop in days and usally he does and he hasn’t been acting right so please email me at slayergirl1989@yahoo.com please i wouls like to save my do so i need all the help i can get
Thanks all
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Do you know any labs that would be available to the public to get the food
tested ourselves since one day they say only the brands listed were affected and the next day there are more discovered. I just don’t trust
any of them.
Note: I have never said this before.
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:22 am
My two pups became ill in November with all the symptoms that are being reported now. The vet could not figure out what was wrong. They had been eating Iams dry. This has been going on for much longer than we know. My angels are doing well today on cooked chicken/rice/vegetables. My heart aches for all who have lost a beloved friend due to this horrendous situation. I know all to well the unbearable emotional trauma loosing one who has given nothing but unconditional love and devotion can cause. PLEASE EVERYONE DO NOT FEED ANY COMMERCIAL DRY FOOD TO YOUR LOVED ONE!!
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:36 am
Please send me any information on the dog and cat food recalls and any new safety questions. I have many animals and would be devastated to lose any from anythings, but particular any food that I unknowinly feed them. Thank you, Maggie
April 3rd, 2007 at 1:18 am
I feed my three dogs Purina litlte bites dry food regularily and see no adverse reactions of any kind.I did switch to combining the dry food with either a combination of broths,rice,vegetables,or tuna when the recall on wet food was announced.I am a bit concerned now that I shouldn’t be giving my dogs the Purina little bites even though I have seen no issues.If there is any additional info on paticular Purina dry foods that are a concern I would love to know more for my mental or emotional well being but most of all my three friends and there health in my family.Thank you,Sean
April 3rd, 2007 at 2:54 am
My Chow mix has been eating Nutro Ultra canned food and Solid Gold Holistique dry food for about 2 years. He has had stomach problems in the past but his bloodwork always came back good. I switched his canned food to Solid Gold and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul (neither contain wheat gluten). He had a complete blood profile done one week ago and everything is normal. I am hoping those brands are okay. I also have 4 cats, one with struvite crystals and one with chronic constipation issues, so all 4 cats eat Hills Prescription Diet W/D. The cat with constipation issues also has idiopathic hypercalcemia, kidney stones and chronic pyelonephritis. It was relatively easy to change my dog’s food because he is not picky at all, but the cats will not eat any dry food other than the Hill’s W/D…..they also get the W/D canned food as a treat, they do not like other wet foods. I have been giving them chicken baby food as a treat but am worried about the dry food. I am also worried about switching food on my cat who already has kidney problems. I can get them to eat baby food and rotisserie chicken, but I know they need supplements and I am not sure what to give them. I am very worried about feeding them Hill’s Prescription Diet now, but I am not sure that making them food would be any better given their medical conditions…I want to do the right thing for them. My cat with kidney problems has a complete blood profile every 3 months to check his kidney function, and so far he is good. My persian got a blood profile done in Feb and hers was also good…………..
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:18 am
I have 8 cats and 2 dogs. The dogs eat Moist and Meaty. My cats eat Hills Science Diet Hairball Control. One of my cats recently lost 10 lbs. (He weighed 20 lbs.) in a week and a half. Took him to the vet and he has renal failure. They gave him fluids as he was dehydrated and sent him home on k/d dry and wet. The wet food is for the supplement I have to sprinkle on and then mix with the dry. None of my other cats show any signs of illness. I have a 16 yr. old, 3 12 yr. olds, 1 10 yr. old, 2 8 yr. olds, and 1 5 yr. old. All of the cats eat the same dry food. They do not get wet food or treats. I am really concerned because I have had these cats since they were kittens. They are very special to me. My “human” children are grown and gone. I have spent $1,000 so far to save the one cat (Vinny). I hope he doesn’t die! Does anyone know anymore about Science Diet dry food recalls?
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:46 am
Gee this list concerns me greatly. Renal failure can be caused by Lyme - which it treatable. Addisons disease mimes kidney failure so well that nearly two thirds of dog with Addisons are not dignosed before their owner has visited multiple vets. I fear we are loosing pets that could be saved through the natural tendency to leap to the conclusion this is pat of the pet food problem.
PS John PLEASE ask your vet for an ACTH test for your poodle - addisons is quite comon in the poodle.
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:48 am
Gee this list concerns me greatly. Renal failure can be caused by Lyme - which it treatable. Addisons disease (also treatable) mimes kidney failure so well that nearly two thirds of dog with Addisons are not correctly dignosed before their owner has visited multiple vets. I fear we are loosing pets that could be saved through the natural tendency to leap to the conclusion this is part of the pet food problem.
PS John PLEASE ask your vet for an ACTH test for your poodle - addisons is quite comon in the poodle and an ACTH is the only way to know for sure it isnt addisons.
April 3rd, 2007 at 9:32 am
Has anyone ever tried this food? http://www.naturesvariety.com
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:28 am
I have a small Chihuahua (2 1/2 lbs) 3 years old, female spayed.
In november 2006 she started vomiting a frothy, bloody substance and was not eating or drinking. A trip to the vet and she was diagnoised as having a mild stomach virus. Placed on meds and sent home. several days later with no improvement she was returned to the vet. After extensive test, she was diagnoised a having a grastric infection. The vet kept her 2 days and nights on IV and anti-biotics and suggested thet I change foods for her. She was and had been on Kibbles and Bits for 2 1/2 years with a small amount of chicken in her diet. Thankfully she recovered and was placed on Science Diet for sensitive stomachs and has been doing great.
Now I am wondering if the Kibbles and Bits Original was the cause. Nothing was said about liver problems. My vet was asked and mostly shruged it off. My daughter has a Chih. Male, 7 lbs that eats the same food (Kibbles) and has had no problems. Neither dog will eat the wet food.
Makes you wonder ????????????????
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:14 am
I agree with the posters who say there is too much panic.
Renal failure is NOT uncommon in cats and dogs, and there are a lot of things that can cause it, including inherited conditions. Also, symptoms that appear to be renal failure could also be other conditions (pancreatitis, for instance). And truthfully, how long your pet is going to live probably has more to do with genetics and with the condition you keep them in (be honest with yourself–you should be able to feel ribs EASILY) than with the food they’re fed.
That said, most grocery store dog food is crap. Don’t buy it. Information about the low quality of grocery-store food has been available for a long time. And nobody I know considers Iams or Science Diet “super premium” food–especially after Iams started selling in grocery stores.
Buy a high-quality food made of human-grade ingredients at a feed store–preferably an INDEPENDENT feed store (they need your business!) If you want to feed a raw diet, for god’s sake read up on it–most raw diets have to be supplemented. I know lots of dogs on raw diets who seem to be doing just fine, but OTOH performance-wise (I do dog sports) they don’t seem do any better than dogs eating a quality dog food.
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Please dont be so quick to bash the veterinary community,our vet clinic is paying out of OUR OWN pockets for bloodwork and urine on pets sickened by the Hills science diet feline M/D dry cat food that was recalled. HIlls has NO INTENTION of paying for anything other than refunding the clients of the price of the food they purchased. We are more concerned than the company is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DOnt bash your vet, get the facts first!!!!!!!!!!
April 3rd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO FEED OUR PETS IF ALL IS TAINTED?DO WE FEED THEM PEOPLE FOOD AS I WILL DO WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP MY DOG SAFE. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THERE IS HARDLY ANY DOG FOOD (GOOD DOG FOOD) THAT WE CAN FEED THEM.SO CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT TO FEED MY DOG SO HE WILL GROW UP STONGE? I HAVE PURINA PUPPY CHOW AND OLE ROY’S BOTH AND HAVE SEEN NO SIGNS OF ILLNESS BUT I AM SCARED THAT IF I BUY ANYMORE IF MY PET WILL DIE.SO IS THERE A LIST OF WHAT I CAN SAFELY GIVE HIM ?
April 3rd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I have 3 cats and 1 dog. I feed my cats purnia cat chow and I feed my dog pedigree. Can you specify what dry foods are on recall. Thank you.
April 3rd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
My Yorkshire Terrier became very ill from eating Iams and vomited around 30 times from evening to morning. His vomit contained blood towards the end and caused an extreme panic in me. I call my Vet’s office the very morning and got him in right away (this was 2 weeks before the recall came out). When the recall was announced I immediately took my Yorkie back to the Vet to have blood and urine tests done. He has some damage but appears to be doing fine now. I am extremely careful of what I feed him and make most of his food myself. I do give him dry food made by Royal Canie sold at PetSmart and Petco. You can get this for large and small dogs. I am not sure about cats as I do not own any. My dog is my family and I am thankful I acted quickly to save his life.
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
my pet became ill from eating iams dry food i awoke two nights and my dog had big pile of vomit he was sick. what i did was stop feeding my dog the iams and start cooking him chicken pieces and i sprinkle a little of antibiotic in his food, and after a day he was better.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:43 pm
My best friend died suddenly, Im not sure if it was the food that I was feeding her, She was eating Nutro dry… January 3rd she wasn’t herself, then January 4th she was dead!!! She bled internally, I couldn’t afford to do an autopsy and the vet said they might not find anything at all so I didn’t have one done… It was a freak thing that happened to her. I was feeding my dog ultra for a little while and she would vomit everyday, I told the vet and they suggested to change the food, so I went with the regular Nutro and thats what she was eating when she died… Then came the recall of wet food and now its also the dry, now I need to investigate and try to find out if the food did kill her. Rat poison causes internal bleeding and thats what happened to my 6 year old ANGEL!!! I need some closure, please tell me who I need to get in contact with about this situation
thank you
Kathy Fernandez
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:39 pm
can anyone tell me the right brands to buy?
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Has anyone heard anything about Purina One Dry food being recalled?
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Hi my pom. has gotten sick of the bene ful the only type she eats has been througing up and shorten of breath.
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Krissy it’s on the list. Call the number on the back of the bag 1-800…….
You have to be able to give them the lot # and the best if used before date call them at least once a week, until someone make sence of this. This is what we feed our puppies,as of now there is no recall on it. My best to all, take care.
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Sorry to put my 2 more cents in, but has anyone thought to question PETA. If you all knew the real ultimate outcome they are really for. I don’t trust them at all and wouldn’t be surprised if they had some kind of participation.