[Rhapsody]

Pet Deaths Prompt Recall of Pet Food

WASHINGTON (March 16) - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart , Safeway , Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

LINK: http://tinyurl.com/362tmq

[Talulah]

Yea, fed the boy 6 cans of this.....seems to be okay so far.....just loaded up all the cans to take back to the store. I hope he's alright, keeping close watch.

[(JD)]

I need to go find the recall number for the IAMS... that's what I have for my new puppy as per the vet!
#6269 4197 Select Bites is what he's been eating...well.. he quit eating well several days ago... but I thought it was due to his vet visits and recent deworming... but he turns his nose up at it.. so I wasn't going to buy it again.

UPDATE: I called the hotline, was on hold for 10 minutes and then the lady said they don't really have a full listing because the company doesn't really know how widespread the problem is YET> I called two other numbers but the centers aren't open yet. They are heavy HEAVY with the AD campaign though.. this affects a very small portion of the wet products and does not include and dry, sauces or ...I forget what... In this VOLUNTARY recall.

I'm taking the product back, keeping proof of purchase and if there is a class action suit, I think I'll join it. IAMS is a very high end food line and this is unacceptable! That I fed it to a puppy for good nutrition and that it may have damaged him in any way is really upsetting. (I'm not upset per se physically... doing ok on that front )

SINCE they really aren't sure of the nature of the problem, I would suggest NOT feeding any dog any of the wet products from any of those NAMED brands. Just my POV.

[(JD)]

Caleb is sick and at the vets as we speak. They put a special white collar band on him designating IAMS food puppy He was vomiting this morning again. He hasn't been eating well and drinking too little water... I quit feeding him the IAMS special bites the middle of last week... and switched him to ONE (Purina) but he still wouldn't eat....

I can't lose another dog.

[Rhapsody]

Signs of Trouble

Experts advise owners to call their veterinarian if a pet has eaten recalled food and shows symptoms of possible kidney failure. An animal could be in trouble if it:

· Stops eating
· Appears tired and lifeless
· Seems excessively thirsty
· Urinates much more than usual
· Vomits
· Has diarrhea
· Seems to have abdominal pain

Source: USA Today

[Talulah]

sorry sky!! Hope your pup gets better! My cat seems ok...

(((((((((sky))))))))))

[Perna]

Oh, Sky, hope your puppy's okay! My cats eat ONE dry (only) but occasionally I give one of them Iams wet but the Iams is not on the cat list. Whew. This is scary stuff. I was a little glad I'd never heard of most of the brands.

[Talulah]

I took my IAMS cat food back and the science diet....double check that food Perna....just in case

[(JD)]

I would continue to check or not use the IAMs or any of the brands until there's an all clear...as they still aren't sharing the full scope of the situation and still, that might not come out until the court case. I've notified my attorney to add me or to refer me to an attorney who will.. to the class action suit when it's filed.

Caleb is home just now. They ran all the tests to rule out normal ordinary things and they all came back negative... but his body is riddled with bacteria So they put him on megadoses of antibiotic for a week or so and we'll double check again. He still isn't up to eating much but he's very zactive. (in fact, he typed the "z" there)

I guess I caught it in time, and took him off theszws (gonna have to teach him the keybo abnrmjnkd) bad stuff when he quit eating well... so he was on it less than a month. Maybe even the additional deworming we did last week, suspecting tape worm, helped clear his system out faster??? (Of course it wasn't tape worm.)

Thanks for all who prayed.. I'm sure it made a difference for Caleb and me.

[Gemstone]

I'm glad your dog is at home healing sky. How scary!

A lab rescue I have worked with have 3 dogs sick now, and they think it is from the food. They think all will be okay, thank goodness.

This is one of the reasons I wont feed from these mega-brands. You think they are good quality, but it turns out they share ingredients with Ol Roy and Save-A-Lot brand. Most commercial pet food is pure junk. Even the "better" foods like Science diet aren't great. It's just big money for the vets and the companies. Most of the commercial dog foods even have corn in them, and dogs can't even digest corn, it just makes more poop.

I hope not too many more pets are affected by this.

[(JD)]

To my knowledge, Science diet was also on the list.,, it's a huge list and mostly of off brand foods. Ol Roy is the worst you can give an animal....imo...

Their PR says, "This is a VOLUNTARY RECALL that affects a very small portion of our customers" yeah right! The vets are packed, and they even give the dogs a different color paper color depending upon the food eaten... just like with a people contamination in a terrorist zone

[Gemstone]

I agree Ol Roy is the absolute worst. The dogs I have met that are fed it don't look good at all. Its scary that these other brands share ingredients with it.

I was trying to say Science Diet isn't great food either. You pay an arm and a leg, and the ingredients aren't even very good. I wont go to a vet that sells anything but prescription foods in the office. The rest of them are recomending not so great foods for thier own profit.

If anyone is looking for a new pet food after this mess I strongly recomend Fromm Family. I feed my cats and my dogs this and they thrive on it. All the ingredients are human grade. http://www.frommfamily.com/ . Its pricey, but worth it imo if you can afford it. (ps: I don't work for them, I'm just really impressed how well my pets do on this, lol)

This whole thing is just so upsetting! I feel so bad for everyone whos pets have been affected by this.

[Perna]

Dayton, OH (March 16, 2007) – In response to the recent Menu Foods, Inc. nationwide recall of wet pet foods, P&G Pet Care has announced a voluntary recall in the United States and Canada on specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch “wet” cat and dog food products manufactured by Menu Foods Inc. Emporia, Kansas plant with the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197. This voluntary recall is part of a larger product recall by Menu Foods Inc., a contract manufacturer that makes a small portion of canned and foil pouch ‘wet’ cat foods for Iams and Eukanuba as well as other non-P&G brands. There have been a small number of reported cases of cats from the US (none in Canada) becoming sick and developing signs of kidney failure. The signs of kidney failure include loss of appetite, vomiting, and lethargy. P&G Pet Care has received no case reports involving dogs.

This above is from the http://www.iams.com site.

My date is in the 5000's so before all this started I imagine.

[(JD)]

From what I'm seeing, complaints began pouring into the pet food companies the end of last year! I think in January they decided they might have a problem and in February they notified the FDA and then it took this long to get a "voluntary" recall. (That should have happened... VOLUNTARY as soon as January imo) They did a test on 43? animals in January and 7 died!!! That is a huge percentage!

I need to double check my feeding of Figaro, as it was his kidneys and infection that took him down in January

I hate having to leave Caleb home today, but I have to sign new papers at the bank, and then PT and T... and T should be virtual reality exposure therapy so I can fly again...

[Rhapsody]

This is a list of products NOT involved in the Menu Foods Dog food recall.
These brands are not a part of Menu Foods Company.

Dog Food List - NOT involved:

Alpo
Beneful
Cesars Canine Cuisine
Chicken Soup Pet Foods
Cycle Dog Food
Dog Chow (Purina)
Gravy Train
Kibbles n' Bits
Nature's Valley
Old Mother Hubbard
Pedigree
Pet Promise
Purina
Purina Pro Plan
Reward
Trilogy Dog Food
ONE (Purina)
Wellness

[desperado]

this is atrocious.

(((((((((((((((((((((poor dogs & poor cats who have suffered))))))))))))))))))))))

[Rhapsody]

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desperado said:
(((((((((((((((((((((poor dogs & poor cats who have suffered))))))))))))))))))))))

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Yes.......... I am sorry for them all and for their owners.

And - I thank God that the three products I use faithfully for my three dogs are on the NOT list.

- - - - - - - - - > > > Kibbles n' Bits (and) Pedigree & Purina

[desperado]

Yes, I forgot to hug the owners.

(((((((((((((owners of animals affected))))))))))))

Glad your dogs are o.k., Rhapsody.

[Talulah]

Thanks.............mother-in-laws doggie just got home from the vet after 2 days........sad........she needs to go back next week to check blood again. Now, she's on 2 kinds of meds and expensive kidney food.........it is really scary.

[(JD)]

Caleb is eating full tilt today and he played for hours in the 3' dog pool I put on the patio He balked at his night pill though, and that wasn't fun I had to cram it down his throat He's going to be okay I'm sure!

My lawyer called me back today, but I haven't been able to return the call...about the class action suit. Will let you know.

[Talulah]

Yes, they say it's rat poison in the wheat........so many angry people, so many deaths (16 at last count). So sad.

[(JD)]

I don't know where they are getting their numbers but it's way more than 16... is that counting the 7 that died from their own testing in January? I know of one cat owner here ... but haven't begun to ask around or at the vets.

This is a tragedy. If I didn't know better (and I do) I would say this is terrorism. Our pets are a heartful but soft target. Of course it happened when they changed factories... but it wasn't done overnight or in secret you know? Rat poison in the wheat... I guess that means the wheat is grown in a 3rd world country that has no rules? Sorry I rant.

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Talulah said:
Yes, they say it's rat poison in the wheat........so many angry people, so many deaths (16 at last count). So sad.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

The NUMBERS are for Albany New York ONLY!!

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 23) - Rat poison was found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, but scientists said Friday they still don't know how it got there and predicted more animal deaths would be linked to it.

[(JD)]

I suggested it came from a 3rd world country ... probably hoping so. Otherwise, we in the USA have a two fold problem: that of the FDA not taking care of how our wheat is grown, and, what of the wheat consumed by humans??? If such things can happen to celery and spinach, and now a problem with wheat (glutin) in dog/cat foods??? I shudder to think it.

[nothemama8]

Sky , I heard it came from overseas and we had a family lose a beautiful siamise (sp)