Pet Connection Blog » Pet food recall: And now, Purina joins the recall

Pet food recall: And now, Purina joins the recall

By Christie Keith

March 31, 2007

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From a little “Friday at midnight” press release drop from the folks at Purina:

Nestle Purina PetCare Company today announced it is voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO(R) Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. The Company is taking this voluntary action after learning today that wheat gluten containing melamine, a substance not approved for use in food, was provided to Purina by the same company that also supplied Menu Foods. The contamination occurred in a limited production quantity at only one of Purina’s 17 pet food manufacturing facilities.

Earlier today the FDA announced the finding of melamine in products related to the March 16 Menu Foods recall, and advised Purina of the source of the contaminated supply. Purina then determined that it had received some quantity from the suspect supplier. The company proactively notified the FDA and immediately began this recall process.

Press release here.

Itchmo asks:

The FDA announcement stated that one other manufacturer received the same wheat gluten. After the Hills announcement, and now Purina, we would like to know who else is using this tainted wheat gluten. And for the love of our pets, pet food companies, please speak up now to save our pets’ lives. FDA, do you even know who is using this food?

What they said.

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177 Comments »

In January one of my greyhounds almost died. She was suffering acute abdominal distress, then started bleeding under the skin in the abdominal area. She was tested for every disease the vets could think of to no avail. We were asked over and over if she had gotten into decon or some other poison but it just wasn’t possible. She had been on Hill’s z/d. It supposedly doesn’t have wheat gluten but maybe there’s something else?

Comment by Sandy — March 31, 2007 @ 3:31 am
I can’t believe that Purina would publish a recall at midnight on Friday and then not have a phone number to call until 7:00 AM Monday morning. I may have fed some of this food to my dog a couple weeks ago but, of course, I don’t have the cans anymore to check the codes. I’d like to find out from Purina where these shipments were distributed. They need to have a 24-hour number available so we can get our questions answered now.

Comment by Marilyn — March 31, 2007 @ 4:32 am
This whole nightmare is completely out of control?? Who is going to stop it and HOW are the pet parents going to stop it??? It’s a tail spin….just when you think you have a clear day, it starts all over.. how many more babies are we going to have to lose over this? I did receive a pre-recorded message from Menu on 03-26 saying someone would contact me in 72 hours - still waiting….. I did have my Blue’s bloodwork done yesterday with a FULL chemical check, hopefully I will hear today from the vet and keep everyone posted. Also, has anyone found a lab yet? I still have 36 pouches of the Nutro Natural Choice and it’s driving me crazy because I can’t do anything with it

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 5:54 am
There is a reason for late Friday news releases when it’s bad news for the company. I worked in the media for many years and this was usually standard procedure when corporations were breaking bad news to the public. It’s all part of “damage control”. It should be criminal to withhold news like this when it can be a matter of life or death.

And it’s not just with press releases. Ever notice that when you receive bad news in the mail it usually comes on a Friday or Saturday? It’s timed that way so that you don’t get it until Friday at the earliest, usually when you get home from work, and their offices are already closed for the weekend. Insurance companies are especially notorious for this if it involves a denial of benefits. Most companies hope that by Monday you’ll either have forgotten or you’ll have cooled down and won’t be so irate on the phone when you do call them.

Comment by Sandy — March 31, 2007 @ 6:03 am
Does the recall for Purina, include Purina One cat dry food? The reason why I ask is because my 3 year old baby Nemo, eats Purina One, Special Care Urinary Tract Health Formula. He was on Science Diet, but that was expensive and his doctor said that Purina One was basically the same thing. He has been on the Special care product for about 2 years now. He has had problems with his tummy before, and I almost lost him 2 times. I don’t want to go through that again, nor do I want to lose my little baby. I checked the list and did not see Purina One on there, but you know how they release the info in the middle of the night. :-) If anyone knows if Purina One is one of the foods, please let me know!! My kitty is my life. :-)

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 6:08 am
Notice how they use the term “voluntarily recall” like it’s some sort of favor they’re doing the public. The truth behind that is the pet food industry remains UNREGULATED and buying ingredients from UNREGULATED China to save a few cents is likely common practice across all their ingredients. Has it ever occurred to them that the Chinese have a ghastly reputation for the inhumane treatment of cats and dogs? They consider them vermin, make products from their fur and in some regions a source of food.

Comment by Sandro — March 31, 2007 @ 6:21 am
Yeah, that “voluntary” part irks me too. If they didn’t do it “voluntarily”, the FDA would probably make them do it anyway. It makes them look better if they do it voluntarily.

Comment by Sandy — March 31, 2007 @ 6:25 am
The only way to stop this nightmare is to completely STOP giving these companies your money. As consumers, that is our only avenue of action. I have tossed everything except what I need for proof that my three cats were exposed to this. I won’t be giving one red cent to these people ever again. The complete lack of responsibly by everyone involved (above and beyond Menufoods) has been reprehensible.

Comment by Sharon — March 31, 2007 @ 6:35 am
I agree with you Sandro, on the issue with Chinese reputation against inhumane treatment against cats and dogs. I mean, could the ingredients been “purposely” effected? What about the issues that China and the U.S has had in the past. I am not pointing fingers, but it is something to take in consideration. These are our pets, they are family members, and it saddens me to hear this happening to animals. I am a big animal lover. I have 4 dogs and 1 cat. I would be furious and no telling what I would do, if I lost them to a “human error”… Yeah, “voluntarily recall” is not a favor, they should do it anyways. And with them not giving the names of companies that think their food is tainted, well I think that is just poor service. I mean what if we have a bag, can or pouch of food in our cabinets that came from that company. We wouldn’t know until it was too late. I really think that all cat and dog food should be tested. The FDA needs to stop worrying about protecting the companies and start protecting our animals.

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 6:38 am
more bad news,last night on our local news the reporter was talking about the recall said hill’s m/d but also SAID That there is a dry dog food co the FDA is checking into but the FDA WILL NOT RELEASE NAME THE PET FOOD CO.

Comment by MARY ANN — March 31, 2007 @ 6:38 am
Why doesn’t the FDA name the supplier? Why doesn’t the FDA issue a cease order for the manufacturing of food using this Chinese wheat gluten/flour? Who is the FDA protecting, consumers or industry? There shouldn’t be a voluntary recall, it should be a forced recall and cease production order.

Comment by Sandro — March 31, 2007 @ 6:43 am
The FDA needs to release the name of the company so we can try to protect our animals. I am telling you, if they do not release the name of the company and it is the brand that my dogs eat. The FDA will pay big time!!!!!

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 6:52 am
OK PEOPLE I TOLD YOU THERE IS A MYSTERY OUT THERE. DON’T TRUST ANY DOG FOOD RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE HIDING SOMETHING? THEY ARE SO AFRAID THERE PROFITS WILL DROP DRASTICALLY IF THEY TAKE ALL THE FOOD OFF THE SHELVES? WHICH I THINK THEY SHOULD DO RIGHT NOW. TAKE THEM ALL OFF. YES I MEAN EVERY DRY AND CAN AND WET AND OTHER AND EVERY BRAND NAME THEY HAVE OUT THERE.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? IT SEEMS TO ME THEY WANT US AS THE CUNSUMER TO BE THE GUINY PIGS FOR THEM EVERY TIME THEY HAVE A PROBLEM AND CALL IN ONE AT A TIME SO THEY CAN TRACE EVERY CASE? WHY DON’T THEY MAKE THE MANUFACTURER TAKE THE BRUNT OF IT INSTEAD OF OUR BELOVED PETS? LET THE MANUFACTURER TAKE THEM ALL OFF EVERY DAM ONE OF THEM SO THERE WOULD BE NO DOG FOOD LEFT ON THE SHELVES. THEN THE FDA CAN WORK WITH ALL THE COMPANIES OUT THERE AND TEST THEM ALL? DON’T YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE BETTER THEN TO LET ONE BY ONE CALL IN AND ONE MORE ADDED TO THE DEATHS EVERYDAY? MEANWHILE ALL OUR BELOVED PETS HAVE TO DIE WHILE THE FDA TRACES EACH CASE. NO I SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGHT. IS THIS SOME KIND OF PROJECT BLUEBOOK? GET ALL DOG AND CAT AND PET FOOD OUT OF THE STORES NOW. EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING. NOT JUST A FEW HERE AND THEIR?

Comment by Georgeann Heckman — March 31, 2007 @ 6:54 am
What I’m wondering is didn’t Hills and Purina KNOW WHERE their wheat gluten came from? Why didn’t they pull their products with wheat gluten supplied by the same supplier as Menu in the beginning?

Comment by Cathy — March 31, 2007 @ 6:55 am
Our dog has been showing signs of kidney failure for 4 days but we weren’t too concerned as she eats only Alpo Come N’ Get It and Wal Mart’s hard biscuits. Now this issue has become so huge we can only wonder if these items should be on the “list” also.

Comment by MAC — March 31, 2007 @ 6:56 am
In case anyone is wondering, Royal Canin’s wheat gluten in their dry foods come from the US. I called them in a panicked state yesterday when I heard there was an unnamed company that used the same wheat gluten in dry food.

Comment by Cathy — March 31, 2007 @ 6:58 am
I agree with you Georgeann…. All the food should be removed.. Our animals should not have to risk their lives just so the FDA can say, oh, I guess it was in that brand. It makes me sick to think they are treating our animals that way. I am with you, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 7:03 am
Since menufoods is a Canadian company it might be a good thing to call in or e-mail protests to the Canadian Embassy and the consulates. Also contact Congresspersons and ask for a Congressional investigation of the pet food industry.

Comment by expat — March 31, 2007 @ 7:03 am
I agree, the pets should not be in danger.. Enough is enough. The FDA needs to release the names of the companies now!!!!!

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 7:05 am
on the today show -they had a vet.on and she said if the pet food has wheat or wheat gluten do not give,the dog bones i give have wheat flour.at this point i don’t know what to feed them. i heard wellness is good but they hate it.

Comment by MARY ANN — March 31, 2007 @ 7:06 am
My guess is the reason the FDA is holding back is the fact that this stuff COULD already be in human food and a lot of it!

Comment by Lois — March 31, 2007 @ 7:06 am
Has it occured to anyone that this might have been done on purpose? I mean look at all the terrorism that is going on today. This really scares me. I do not know what to feed my babies, nor do I know what to eat my self, because you have a very good point there. It could be in human foods as well.

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 7:17 am
I heard the today show as well. I checked all my pet food labels - no wheat at all. I wonder about the human food link too.

Comment by Jenny — March 31, 2007 @ 7:24 am
Purina has shown us their true colors. If they truly cared about pets, they would have proactively searched to see if they purchased Wheat Gluten from the same supplier as Menu foods several weeks ago and voluntarily recalled the product at that time. I own a pet boutique and while we didn’t have any food with wheat gluten, we did have one treat on the shelf that included that ingredient. I pulled everything and will not sell them until we can verify that the wheat gluten originated from a domestic source. We will not be purchasing anything else with Wheat Gluten EVER.

Now that the FDA has told us that there could be other food (and treat?) manufacturers that purchased the tainted Wheat Gluten, I’m surprised that Petsmart and Petco haven’t voluntarily pulled all the products that contain that ingredient until it can be verified safe. Again, the almighty dollar wins out.

Comment by Deb — March 31, 2007 @ 7:28 am
I would really like to know what foods they are holding back? Why wont they tell us?

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 7:30 am
The FDA is conducting a pilot program to alert consumers of recalled human products. In this FAQ
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/pilot.html

“FDA is conducting a six-month pilot program to educate and assist consumers in identifying recalled food products that may pose a significant health risk. FDA wants to help consumers identify recalled food products that pose a significant health risk by posting a photo of the principal label panel.”

They indicate that they are considering other including other FDA-regulated products in this program and give an email address for consumers to comment. In addition, they say that “Consumer as well as industry feedback will weigh heavily into FDA’s decision process.”

I wrote them an email suggesting they include pet products in this pilot program. I thought I would mention it here in case anyone else wanted to email them.

Comment by Robin — March 31, 2007 @ 7:36 am
“From a little “Friday at midnight” press release drop from the folks at Purina:”

There are no conspiracies at work, just stunning and startling coincidences.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 7:46 am
Not to sound overly dramatic but a certain mantra keeps coming to my mind:
What did they know and when did they know it?

Comment by slt — March 31, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Thank you Robin. I e-mailed the FDA with my concerns about the Pilot Program. It is scary to think of what we and our pets are eating and that something could happen to one of us at anytime.

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 7:58 am
What can we do???? There are so many people and pets that are affected by this….. I have called written every Tom, Dick and Harry- I feel like I am going in circles - seems like no-one gives a damn!!! What do we do next???

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 7:59 am
Well, I have this to say. The FDA could save itself a lot of time by reading the posts here from real people. (Alpo was questioned early on) Everyone bought this wheat. I think that the Chinese were dumping it on us and it was such a deal that the US Supplier just couldn’t resist it. This stuff must have been Filene’s basement prices. Guess these companies never heard the saying “if it looks too good to be true, it must be”. Well now they know and our pets are paying the price for their greed. I want to know who the US Supplier is so that I can try to avoid giving them any business. And as far as the FDA goes, they should tell American Pet Owners to avoid all products tainted with wheat period. Somebody somewhere processed the chinese tainted/poisoned wheat into wheat gluten and maybe just plain old flour. Enforcement Action by the FDA?? Pets are getting sick. FDA just tell us to stop using products containing wheat. That is what people need to hear to protect their pets. Then you FDA go after the industry. Please. And if this goes beyond our pets to the Human Food chain, there needs to be some straight talk right away. Sorry for a near rant, but this is just unbelievable. And just think, a little over a week ago they were saying that PetConnection was over the top!!! Yeh, right. I used to think PETA was over the top, but no more (except the paint throwing thing).

Comment by Shawn — March 31, 2007 @ 8:03 am
This just irks me. I want to know what other dog foods have been supplied the wheat gluten.

Comment by Eskie Lover — March 31, 2007 @ 8:05 am
Figures Nestle might do a “midnight express”

How they doing on these issues?

In May 1999 a ruling against Nestlé was issued by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Nestlé claimed in an anti-boycott advertisement that it markets infant formula “ethically and responsibly”. The ASA found that Nestlé could not support this nor other claims in the face of evidence provided by the campaigning group Baby Milk Action.

In November 2000, the European Parliament held a public hearing into Nestlé’s alleged malpractices. Although management told shareholders months before that they welcomed the hearing, they refused to send a representative. At the time, Nestlé objected to a presence of an expert witness from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). Later Nestlé claimed none of its 230,000 employees was available.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 8:11 am
I am to the point where I am scared to death to even read the news anymore for fear that another product is going to be recalled. I changed from Ol Roy to Alpo after the recall for my dog. Thankfully, it’s not the prime cuts that I have in my cabinet although you can bet your bottom dollar I won’t be using any of their products anymore irregardless.

Comment by Adrienne — March 31, 2007 @ 8:15 am
My cat died last month from the tainted wheat gluten and now do I have to worry about my dog? He eats Purina Pro Plan dry and wet. Am I safe does anyone know?

Comment by Sue N. — March 31, 2007 @ 8:16 am
Comment by Shawn — March 31, 2007 @ 8:03 am
“FDA just tell us to stop using products containing wheat. That is what people need to hear to protect their pets.”

Totally agree with you, Shawn…
Watching CNN this morning, a vet being interviewed said to avoid pet food products containing wheat and wheat gluten for now. I wish this advice were being broadcast more broadly in the media since the FDA seems so reticent to take a stronger stand.

I, too, used to think PETA was over the top but found myself cheering yesterday watching video of their call for an expanded recall.

Comment by karen — March 31, 2007 @ 8:17 am
All the food companies are afraid of the financial fallout over this. They care more about covering their sorry you know what’s than they care about the suffering of our pets. This is criminal. I am expect more from America - but evidently these companies have sold their soul to the devil.

Who and what is next?

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:17 am
Who and what is next? Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:17 am

Human Food Problems? Scary.

Nestle acquires Joseph’s Pasta City to have largest filled-pasta plant in the nation
Eagle-Tribune Online - Mar 21 9:06 AM
HAVERHILL - Like a big Italian meal, it has plenty to dig into. A main course featuring a pasta-making plant that will be the biggest in America. A side dish of new jobs, allowing the company to continue as the country’s top producer of pasta and sauces.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Well thankfully my dogs food is grain free for that matter so I’m not worried about wheat products. No food is safe from being recalled though. There are recalls almost everyday in some form or another, but this is just crazy that they aren’t telling us what they know. Oh yeah, I don’t like PETA regardless of what they do.

Comment by Eskie Lover — March 31, 2007 @ 8:23 am
I wonder if the FDA is finding it hard to turn down the sudden upsurge of “donation” money arriving?

Gary

Comment by Gary — March 31, 2007 @ 8:26 am
Why would the pesticide on Chinese wheat be just on petfood grade wheat? doesn’t make sense. More than likely, they apply the pesticide to ALL the grains. Especially the more valuable “human” grade grains.

Gary

Comment by Gary — March 31, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Steve,

It’s all co-op health food natural and homemade/local grown for me. But not everyone can do that, can afford that, or just can’t believe these products are so hurtful. We can’t turn to the FDA to help. It is now on “our” shoulders to spread the word, but sad to say - no one is listening much.

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:32 am
The Disinformation Age? WHO’S IN CHARGE?

NO AMINOPTERIN IN TISSUES OF PETS KILLED BY TAINTED FOOD 03/30/07
AUBURN, Wash., March 30 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers from Syntrix Biosystems, Inc. and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) announced today that there was no evidence of Aminopterin in the tissues of animals who had died from consuming food from Menu Foods … Using a highly specific and sensitive test for Aminopterin, investigators at UMDNJ documented that there was no evidence of Aminopterin in the tissues of affected animals. … “Aminopterin persists in the liver of animals for months at levels that are readily detected,” said Barton A. Kamen, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Pediatric Oncology at UMDNJ. “Whatever is causing the renal failure, it is not Aminopterin.” …”To our knowledge, Aminopterin is not, and has never been, actually used as a rodenticide.”

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/07.....html?.v=71

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 8:35 am
When this recall started, I called my parents to find out if they might have a problem. It turned out that they were feeding their dogs (two pekingese) Merrik’s dry/canned and some Alpo canned, so we didn’t worry too much.

Now I’m worried…and really, really pi$$ed.

Comment by Pamela J. Betz-Baron — March 31, 2007 @ 8:35 am
I agree totally with the PETA thing - I really don’t think they are over the top, might be a wide-opening thing for all of us. Go ahead and rant - I feel the same!! I JUST WANT ANSWERS!! To think I have been in this tail spin since the beginning of January trying to find out what is wrong with my cats??? March 12th it began a roller coaster ride with them in the hospital…. Menu has caused people to be in shock and anger. Does the CEO REALLY expect us to believe them??? FDA??? Petfood companies??? Maybe PETA will throw paint on Menu Foods???

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 8:37 am
I have lost my Newfoundland of 8yrs. she was our joy. And the big companies act as if they are guinea pigs. With all that is going on in the World I would be suspicious of any foreign company supplying tainted food. After 8 years of only giving her what I was told the best, I find out it killed her. We all know our pets and when something isn’t right we know.For the media to report only a few dogs have died is bull. When I have been asked if whe was tested or an autopsy done to look for poisoning. This was a 160 lb. dog in good health. And no she was cremated. In January there was no news of any tainted food. For the money we spent trying to save her.After years of feeding the same Iams dry food and then to think I was giving her a treat 2-3 times a week of the wet food. Well I would like to take the CEO’s of the companies and slowly feed them the same food.

Comment by Cindy Schwarz — March 31, 2007 @ 8:41 am
everyone who has questions about the specific purina food should call the company. The number should be on the bag. There is got to be someone working there that will tell the truth!

Comment by Jennifer — March 31, 2007 @ 8:41 am
Thanks Steve for posting that. I’m not ready to completely discount the fact that aminopterin might be in the products. When I had to have my cat put to sleep last week, the vet asked for permission to preserve her kidneys. Of course I said yes. When she and I had a chance to talk the next day, she told me that her liver was in pretty bad shape so she has that preserved as well. Additionally, her kidneys were also in bad shape as well.

Comment by Adrienne — March 31, 2007 @ 8:41 am
About PETA. Some of what they do is wonderful, some extreme methods I don’t agree with. But for the most part I believe PETA helps and in this situation they can just swing all the muscle to stop this insanity and killing of our pets. Again, these companies and CEO’s etc only care about the financial bottom dollar - they will lie, hide, shred docs, etc. and watch our pets die to keep their company profitable and still selling pet food. They have complete disdain for us, for the consumers. They think we are idiots! No, they KNOW we are idiots. (present company excluded, of course.)

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:42 am
Adrienne -

What brand or brands of pet food were you feeding/using?

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:47 am
What we are dealing with here are Corporations that have morphed into huge, top heavy, anti regulation, global monsters.

Here’s a tip. No matter what we are feeding our pets during this crisis. Keep accurate records, unopened samples, stay on top of events and the news.

We absolutely ZERO guarantees right now.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 8:47 am
Special Kitty 3 oz packets from WalMart, exclusively. I have 10 cats (not all of them are inside cats) so this was a luxury for them. I would supplement their dry food with a packet of the moist food for a treat every time I fed them.

Comment by Adrienne — March 31, 2007 @ 8:49 am
Steve, great advice. Yes and keep the bar codes and labels too. I threw out my wheat filled Natural Choice puppy food in a fit of anger - stupid move on my part. Puppy is being checked today.

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:52 am
Thanks Andrienne - just like to know what people are feeding their pets and posting it here helps I believe.

Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:53 am
In the Watergate scandal, Deep Throat advised Woodward and Bernstein to “follow the money.” When all the digging is done on this story, I suspect we’ll find that if you “follow the money” you’ll discover a major US agricultural company with deep pockets and a history of huge campaign contributions at the bottom of the hole, importing this poisoned garbage and dumping it on an unsuspecting public. Want to know why the FDA is tiptoeing around naming the supplier? That’s my bet.

Comment by Bernadette — March 31, 2007 @ 8:56 am
I am sorry for all of you who have lost your animal companions. I have a female toy Poodle who is having kidney problems, she’s on a special diet from the vet now. Upon hearing the news of the recall, I immediately went out and bought a different brand of dry food for my other 4 dogs, 3 adults & 1 puppy. I don’t know who or what to trust anymore, you think you’re doing the best you can for your animals, now this?!?

Comment by Bonnie — March 31, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Comment by Linda — March 31, 2007 @ 8:52 am

Exactly. Brand, Receipts, Bar Codes, your retailer or store. Vet visits, vet records. Keep records of EVERYTHING.

Stay calm, focused, and don’t become completely consumed by fear. This is going to be a long term battle. So it has to be fought methodically, and calmly.

If you need to vent though DO IT. Don’t internalize this stress and make yourself sick.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 8:59 am
A quote from purina
“We have confirmed with our supplier that our Crete, Nebraska, plant was the only Nestlé Purina facility that received the contaminated wheat gluten. We have a sophisticated traceability system that enables us to track all ingredients from time of receipt at our plant through their inclusion in finished products and on to our customers to which the finished products were shipped.”
Now if they have a traceable system like they mention why in God’s name didn’t they trace their wheat gluten the minute Menu foods recalled their foods. I’m sick over all of this.
My cats all eat the Purina One Urinary health dry food. It contains No wheat gluten but you can bet I’ll be searching for an alternative to giving Purina another $.
My dogs had eaten the Purina One dry (no wheat Gluten)and some of the cuts that were recalled. They are eating prescription food mixed with another low Phosphorus moderate protein food until they are rechecked.
I’m back to Purina’s site now to see if the Purina ONE urinary health dry cat food has any wheat at all in it.. sigh

Comment by Maureen — March 31, 2007 @ 9:00 am
Keep in mind also this Web Site is a major player Nationally now regarding this fiasco also and you can bet “THEY” are lurking and reading this blog.

Good Morning Gentlemen. Are you golfing, sailing, or traveling on your private jet to the 3rd home in Aspen this weekend for some skeet shooting and r+r? Guess who pays for that?

Thats right. Us, your customers.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:06 am
I was looking at the Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy cans last night at CVS, and told the store manager they would be next to be recalled.

If for some reason you’re still feeding your pets canned food by any of these companies, at least stop feeding any ‘gravy’ varieties.

(Off to CVS now to get them pulled off the shelves, because unlike other retailers they listen to me!)

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 9:07 am
This cut’s in gravy in pouches I saw yesterday is I believe a Menu spawned project. I saw an article so I am going to get it. Menu’s marketing gurus and evangelists has been working to convince Pet Food Brands this is the big thing for a several years now. And that pouches will eventually replace canned products. And investors are drooling from the mouth.

Don’t kid yourself. Pets do not need “gravy” and pouches are no substitute for canned goods.
When is the last time you saw a cat or a dog catch a wild prey then sit there and try to get the attention of a waiter to bring a side of gravy or special sauce?

Anyway let me find this so I can verify the facts.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:18 am
Dear Friends: The extensive recall of dog and cat food does not include any of our products. Our sympathies are with the pet parents who are dealing with the heartache of this situation. If your dog or cat has eaten any of the foods listed on the recall list and they are showing any signs of illness, please contact your vet immediately.If you are looking for alternatives to these foods, we invite you to review our web site Purrfect Pet Health http://www.purrfectpethealth.com for more on the healthiest possible pet foods, or call us at 678-999-3958. Please comment on our BLOG about the latest issues - we need to form a stong base to fight those criminal attacks against our beloved pets!

Comment by The Purrfect Nanny — March 31, 2007 @ 9:18 am
HERE IS WHAT I POSTED DAYS AGO!!! Our 5 year old Healthy terrier died the night before the recall from EXACTLY the same symtoms as the recall. She spent 48hrs at the Vet but nothing could be done. Her Diet her entire life was alpo “prime cuts and gravy”. I know it is NOT on the list but thought I would let others know. I repeat the symtoms were EXACTLY the same and the dog was in perfect health before this.

Comment by dave — March 21, 2007 @ 12:34 pm “
By the way I called Alpo Purina and they called me back a few days later to assure me that there cuts and gravy was ok..

Comment by dave — March 31, 2007 @ 9:19 am
And also Menu stated in one of it’s investor pitches that “Palatability” is one of it’s most important goals. As in “Taste”. Sure, a great tasting gravy would make _______ palatable if you didn’t know what the gravy was hiding.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:20 am
George Bush, Michael Chertoff and crew, where are you? have you gotten off your leather chairs yet?

You made personal visits to the Katrina Victims so don’t claim your above it and your peons will handle it. This involves your major government departments.

Gary

Comment by Gary — March 31, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Comment by The Purrfect Nanny — March 31, 2007 @ 9:18 am

Good luck. You do of course realize you are pitching to people here who really don’t TRUST anyone at this point. I would be interested if you can absolutely verify every single aspect of your business, your suppliers, ingredients, manufacturing facilities and techiniques, and a ton of other questions related to safety.

Welcome to the New World

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:25 am
I have three cats who eat Science Diet Prescriptoin m/d, and have for years. I just found out about the recall and now I am struggling to decide rather to bring my cats to the vet for tests? They presently exhibit no symptoms. No matter the decision, I wont be able to have them seen until monday. Is it a good idea?

Comment by steve nowell — March 31, 2007 @ 9:25 am
EVERYONE FOR NOW, PLEASE STOP BUYING ALL PET FOOD. THIS INCLUDES PET FOOD SOLD AT YOUR VETS. GO TO YOUR LOCAL HEALTH FOOD STORE AND BUY NATURAL PET FOOD WITH INGREDIENTS YOU CAN READ AND UNDERSTAND. ALSO, GO TO THE BOOKSTORE OR GO ONLINE FOR BALANCED MEALS YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOUR PETS. PLEASE, THIS WITHDRAWAL FROM CONSUMERS WILL MAKE ALL THOSE RESPONSIBLE CHANGE. MY CHOCOLATE LAB DIED A CRUEL DEATH MARCH 16, 2007 AND MY BLACK LAB STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE TODAY. I FED THEM BOTH NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE FOR SENIORS. HOW IRONIC. I WAS TRYING TO FEED THEM SOMETHING VERY HEALTHY AS THEY AGED ‘ULTRA HOLISTIC’ IT SAYS ON THE CAN. AGAIN, PLEASE STOP USING PET FOOD. TAKE YOUR SICK ANIMALS TO THE VET AND INSIST THAT MENU FOODS PAY COMPENSATORY DAMAGES. BE RELENTLESS.

Comment by Allyson Jones — March 31, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Since I stopped feeding ‘gravy products’ over a year ago I’ve been adding water to the canned food. Gets more water into my cat with kidney stuff, and gives them a bit of water gravy.

I just poke the food with a fork, fill it with water, stir and serve.

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Yes, thank you Maureen, Purina One Urinary Tract Health Formula is what my little baby eats, and it scares me that I might lose him. Please let me know what you find out. :-)

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 9:34 am
Allyson just said “go to Natural Pet Food store or Health Food Store”.

I agree, but want to caution you NOT to automatically believe what they tell you about pet food, even the food they carry. Do your homework here first, then go buy food there.

Example, I’ve been the one to tell them (one Natural Pet Food store and one HEalth Food store) that Wellness canned products(for instance) are in fact made by Menu Foods.

Do not trust ANYone else to do your homework. Your pets lives depend on it.

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 9:35 am
It’s Interesting. I can not really find much Bio Information on Paul Henderson, CEO Of Menu. He seems to be kind of an “unknown under the radar” CEO with little background information. (There is some confusion he is a former Canadian NHL legend also.)

I like to know something about the CEO’s I give my money to. Anyone have anything on this guy?

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:40 am
Natural Balance emailed me that the wheat gluten in their Crunch-e-Bones is ok. My dog has had about 6. I think that is another product I will return. I know I will not feed them to her. My blue heeler mix, Scout, was one that died early. She ate Iams Active Maturity. She started on this food in mid-January. She was in complete renal failure by February 22. She was euthanized February 25. I am devastated. I switched everything to Natural Balance for my dog Boo. My kitties refused to eat Natural Balance and went back to their Purina indoor formula. Now I don’t know what to do. My uncle threw out all his Alpo this week. We told him last night that Alpo was not on the list. He said he doesn’t care, he’s not using it. Thank goodness. I’ll let him know that he did the right thing. Now, if only these companies and the FDA would do the right thing!

Comment by Allison — March 31, 2007 @ 9:40 am
I totally agree with Allyson and Georgeann! STOP BUYING IT! Boycott ALL commercial non-regulated pet food…go directly to your local health food store, read the ingredients on organic pet foods.
If we really love our pets, we will take the time to do our homework and STOP going to Walmart and Target and Petco…and all the other junk food stores. If we really love them like our babies, we will do this for them.

Read this article to find out what is REALLY in that junk they are selling us.
http://www.api4animals.org/fac.....e=1cat=286

and this article to find out which brands the FDA found Pentobarbitol in (drug used to euthanize dogs and cats in pounds and vets offices)

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/dfchart.htm

That and the fact many of them do cruel animal testing is enough to tell me to NEVER GIVE A DIME to these companies again! EVER!

Comment by Surfsista — March 31, 2007 @ 9:43 am
I found this article on purina.com… I wanted to share this with you all:

“We want to take this opportunity to reassure you that Mighty Dog pouch products are the ONLY Purina® brand products affected by Menu Foods’ recall. Nestlé Purina stands behind the high-quality of our pet foods, and all Purina brand cat food products and all other Purina brand dog food products, including Mighty Dog canned products, can continue to be fed to your pets with complete confidence” Found on web site, http://www.purina.com/company/.....g0323.aspx

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 9:46 am
Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 9:46 am

“Trust Us”

Don’t think so.

In May 1999 a ruling against Nestlé was issued by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA found that Nestlé could not support this nor other claims in the face of evidence provided by the campaigning group Baby Milk Action.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Nice Melinda. I remember seeing that. Gives one trust, doesn’t it?

Steve - I found some stuff on paul henderson last week, but will have to look for it. I’m in the middle of updating the Pet Food Tracker to include the new recalls, will look when that’s done.

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 9:50 am
HOLLYWOOD has been strangly silent.

Gary

Comment by Gary — March 31, 2007 @ 9:58 am
I read Purina’s statement several times…I was also wondering why they didn’t trace this right away, however if you read the statement carefully you will notice that they indicate the FDA informed them of the supplier yesterday. Hills indicates the same thing. This sounds like an FDA issue…why didn’t this info get passed to pet food companies right away?

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 10:01 am
Gary - I’ve noticed that too. I don’t understand why…

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 10:04 am
I just hope that there are no other pets effected by this.

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 10:17 am
why didn’t this info get passed to pet food companies right away?
Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 10:01 am

They don’t want to inconvenience the two million people (The Forbes Crowd) in the U.S. who are raking in gigantic profits from these various Corporations. To them everything is great and the economy is booming.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 10:23 am
I have been posting all along about our pap that died suddenly Feb. 19, 2007, just before the recall. She ate only Iams dry. We now have a new papillon and my husband and I are so fearful of what he is eating. We just can’t go thru this again with children. He has been so pickey about his food. We have tried Innova, and Science Diet both dry. I even went out yesterday and bought him baby food, suggested by our vet. He loved it but it was too much for his little stomach and he couldnt’ hold it down. I of course panicked and rushed him to the vet for blood work just to make sure nothing else it going on. $250 later, his labs came back good. I hate that this whole ordeal has made me so worried. I don’t know who we can trust.

We are just trying to have our voice heard. I have emailed the FDA and PETA, emailed Anderson Cooper 360 and of course reported our dog’s death here and with Iams and the FDA.

Comment by Julie — March 31, 2007 @ 10:29 am
About the profits… Quick summary/overview of the industry players, including the Pet Food Institute. Nestle’s, Del Monte, P&G, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive. If they pulled their advertising…we’d be watching only car ads.

http://playingbig.blogspot.com.....mbers.html

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 10:30 am
The pet food industry, as represented by such as P&G, Colgate-Palmolive and Nestle is not what so many consumers appear to think it is. Here’s a clue; if a number of the ingredients in the foods could not be diverted to animal feed then they would end up as landfill. Landfill of contaminated material is expensive and so there is a large incentive to turn an expense into an income. Tracing how and why each ingredient ends up in an animal feed would be an interesting exercise but one item may give many people pause. If you go on the FDA website you will be able to find the results of testing for pentobarbital in pet food. It is found on a random basis in low concentrations in many pet foods. Pentobarbital is the chemical used to euthenize animals. Its a barbiturate and so consuming it at a low level induces tolerance suggesting why sometimes it may be more difficult to euthenize a pet. Is pentobarbital a carcinogen with regualar low-level exposure? who knows? and I doubt there is any practical way to find out. It cost billions to get Vioxx to market yet all that effort did not reveal its darker side. I don’t believe California however, allows Dead, Down, Diseased or Dying, (4D), protein to be incorporated into pet food so at least it shouldn’t have pentobarbital.

Last year we had corn contaminated with aflatoxin used in dry dog food and killing more than one hundred dogs. These dramatic situations are almost certainly just the tip of the iceberg. it’s impossible to determine other long-term hazards that are almost certainly present. Sad to say, the Vetianry profession and professional trainers have been taken in by the marketing detailers that work for these companies and function in a somwhat similar fashion to the relationship between drug company detailers and many physicians. The doctors are starting to rebell and its time for Vetinarians to do the same.

Comment by David Boothman — March 31, 2007 @ 10:36 am
Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 10:30 am

I’m pretty much convinced after some study the Pet Food Institute are the people who carry those shiny aluminum briefcases full of cash to the Capital. “Lobbyists”

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 10:36 am
Couldn’t agree more Steve.

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 10:40 am
I wonder how many more products are effected that have not been tested yet? The thought of it is scary!!!

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 10:44 am
We really need to somehow find out the name of the wheat supplier, how many wheat suppliers cater to the U.S. anyhow, it cant be that many can it? I would think somehow we could find out who it is & if we could, it could probably be tracked back to who they supplied the wheat to…..does anyone here have any investigative skills?

Comment by Sandi K — March 31, 2007 @ 10:56 am
Is there a way to find out the name of the company?

Comment by Melinda — March 31, 2007 @ 11:05 am
I know I’m going to start sounding like a broken record, but I will be shocked if it is not ADM. They will not comment on this when reporters call them. Why would that be!? The other 2 US wheat gluten suppliers came out right away and said they did NOT supply Menu with wheat gluten. Midwest said they had, but that ended 18 months ago if you go read their site. When you read this article, focus on this part “The only other major U.S. producer of gluten is Archer- Daniels-Midland Co., Steve Pickman, MGP Ingredients vice president for corporate relations, said in a telephone interview.” Seems Midwest wanted to make sure the media knew about ADM. Midwest probably knows who they lost the Menu Foods grain contract to.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/.....p;refer=us

There would be incentives for these large pet food manufacturers to contract with 1 company for all their grain needs. The more you buy from one company, the larger the discount. Now, if it is ADM, I would like to know if Menu started using their grains and wheat 18 months ago, or was there someone in between and this new supplier is actually NEW as they say? If fertilizer is one of the issue’s with this food, it should be an issue with all wheat products coming from China. ADM set up shop in the Asia Pacific years ago. I should also mention that China imports US wheat. It was on hold for a long time due to something in our wheat, which was found to be safe. I don’t believe we are importing any wheat from China for human foods. . .BUT, it is probably in other animal feeds. Go read ADM’s site.

We need reporters to pounce on workers at Menu, Purina and Hills. There has to be a lot of people who know where this gluten is coming from. This also has to be the talk amongst employees at these plants. I can’t believe no one can crack this secret!

Comment by Jackie — March 31, 2007 @ 11:09 am
They don’t want to inconvenience the two million people (The Forbes Crowd) in the U.S. who are raking in gigantic profits from these various Corporations. To them everything is great and the economy is booming.

Comment by Steve — March 31, 2007 @ 10:23 am

Steve, I see a lot of anger at pet food companies, and I would be madder than hell if I had anywhere near the problems some of these folks here have had. I have three cats and had to make the change from IAMS (we had some recalled wet food) to Purina to keep them on wet food. So far, they are all well and $600 worth of tests confirm this. We did have an unopened case of the tainted food, call it a sixth sense that I never put it away, and have no way of knowing what they ate in the past two months.

As I was just mentioning to my husband, it is more of PR nightmare for Purina to have recall another product 2 weeks later, than to have just recalled both Alpo and the Mighty pouches together. It’s like ripping off the band-aid quickly rather than slowly. If I were Purina and Hills, I would be pissed at the FDA for not being informed of the supplier upfront. This obviously put their consumers at risk and in this case the pet food companies are taking all the crap for this.

I don’t plan to switch my cats again, not at this time - that is more detrimental. We are monitoring things closely and have chosen not to start them on a new dry until this whole thing shakes out.

I’ve owned cats my entire life and always make sure I research anything my cats ingest, including medications. This has been a stress nightmare but we going with our instincts, rather than over-thinking the situation. Pro Plan does have wet food that doesn’t contain wheat gluten and we’ll be using that as well.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love my cats more than anything and go to extremes to protect them. And because of this, were I associated with Purina or Hills, and learned that the FDA held back info for two weeks (I’m sure they have their reasons), I would be furious that they jeopardized more lives.

That is the one thing I am having the toughest time with…the FDA.

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 11:10 am
Melinda the Purina One Urinary Health does contain wheat but not wheat gluten. I honestly don’t know what that means. Do they buy wheat from China? I don’t know how much actual wheat is imported. Later today I’ll be out looking for the low ash low Magnesium levels in the natural cat foods. My cats have eaten the Purina One UH for years with great results so I’m sorry I feel I have to look for something different. My decision to switch them is more because I gag when I think of giving Purina any more money. My dog’s foods have been changed because they did eat the recalled wet food (not purina) but I’m still not happy with what they are currently eating and I’ll be checking again for more
alternatives. With the dogs I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place. Their BUN levels were elevated and one had higher liver enzymes and they are suppose to be eating good old Purina prescription NF kidney diet but the food has such low protein etc that I’m actually afraid the puppy (7 months) will die from lack of nutrition. I’m mixing the kidney diet with a natural low phosphorus moderate protein food and adding some vegetables to it as well. They actually like this mix and eat the cooked vegetables instead of their beloved Iams dog biscuits now.

Comment by Maureen — March 31, 2007 @ 11:15 am
i posted this on another topic but this one may have been appropriate. please help me pick a cat food to buy today. My local choice as to what is in stock and on a shelf is:
Wellness
Solid Gold
Innova or Evo - by Natura.
I am leaning toward Solid Gold. Is this a wise choice. Natura & Wellness seem to have some links to Menu which sickens me right now. But honestly I do not know who to trust anymore.

Comment by dan — March 31, 2007 @ 11:20 am
First my heart goes out to all of you who have lost a furry friend or who are carrying for a beloved sick furry friend. I’m not sure that my dogs symptoms are linked to what she has eaten but my veternarian has me freezing some kibble and dog bones in case they become recalled. My dog since the end of Dec had late evening episodes off and on with symptoms of huge uncomfortableness,extreme panting and 2 weeks ago - huge thirst! 2 1/2 gal of water a day. The episodes only happened the days she got dog treats(wheat based)her dog food is corn based Eukanuba. Three days ago she started getting home cooked meals and sleeps like a baby though the night and no excessive water drinking. She will have blood drawn next week for my peace of mind. This is a horrible thing to have happened to our beloved companions. I will say my vet has been helpful and compasionate even calling me when more news became available to him. There are vets who do care.
I will definitely be contacting my state legislators this weekend!

Comment by Katie — March 31, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Pedigree brand dog food recalled in Asia after illnesses reported
Asian Economic News, March 15, 2004

Find More Results for: “whiskas recall cat food “
Editorials Pet food…
Banfield Treats Pets…
More interactive ads…
BANGKOK, March 12 Kyodo

The makers of Pedigree brand dog food and Whiskas brand cat food have recalled products manufactured in Thailand and sold in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia after reports of increased renal illness among dogs in Taiwan, according to a company statement Friday.

Effem Foods (Thailand) Co., a unit of food and confectionary giant Mars. Inc., said in a statement that it has recalled the dry dog and cat food ”because of concerns over raw material quality at a manufacturing plant in Thailand.”

It said it had found mold in raw materials Wednesday at a pet food manufacturing plant in the Pakchong district of Nakhon Rachasima Province, 160 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, where operations have since been suspended.

But the company said its investigation has not confirmed a direct link between the mold finding and an increase in reported cases of renal illness among dogs in Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.

Comment by Jamie — March 31, 2007 @ 11:28 am
My heart goes out to all of you who have pets who have been sickened or killed from this scandal. I myself have lost a 13 month old cat due to poisoned food.

Steve has an excellent point, http://www.petconnection.com comments are surely being monitored by the scandalous conglomerate pet food corporations. This site has become one of the few trusted that are diligently watching, concerned and offering us a forum.

And so to those from the pet food companies monitoring this, I want to say we want answers NOW. Not two months or two weeks from now after more excruciating illnesses and deaths. Why must you withhold the information that we need that will stop this slaughter? These are the creatures that your food was bought for. How wise is killing and maiming them for a short term CYA business model? Honesty, candor and at least a pretention of caring early on would have earned a public trust and made any of the conglomerates billions as most of the population owns and feeds a pet(s).

For example, the way Purina dumped their latest recall announcement in the middle of the night is appalling. We want to know why the wait on the recall of Alpo cuts and gravy now when weeks ago this information may have been known.

Hmmm… an easy search on your own website yields 180 products with wheat gluten:
http://search.purina.com/searc.....sp_f=UTF-8
Are we to wait weeks or months to find out whether any of those products are also poisoned? Does it truly takes weeks to compare the suspect supplier lots? We know it doesn’t.

Step up to the plate folks. We are reasonable and educated people here who WILL hold you accountable.

Comment by Laurie — March 31, 2007 @ 11:28 am
Question…

It seems so many animals are getting sick on IAMS and Nutro Dry food. Neither contain wheat gluten, so I don’t see the connection. If you are one of the folks that was using this, how are you determining what dry food to use? I guess I don’t understand that part.

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 11:28 am
For those of you who have not heard, BJs is recalling its Berkley & Jensen Pigs Ears imported from Chile due to Salmonella contamination. I bought a bag of them about 3 weeks ago. My wife took it back to the store yesterday. She expected to see a sign on the door informing people about the FDA recall, but there was nothing posted anywhere. If not for a friend who happened to notice the recall on the FDA web site by accident, I would not have known about it. Word of mouth, nor an Internet posting, is a sufficient method to get the word out about a recall. Stores need to be required by the FDA to post a notice.

Comment by Michael — March 31, 2007 @ 11:33 am
Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 11:28 am

They have no idea what the toxin is. So far, there are two. How many more?

Comment by Nadine Long — March 31, 2007 @ 11:37 am
This is an article from 2004 regarding a recall in Asia:

“Pedigree brand dog food recalled in Asia after illnesses reported

Find More Results for: “whiskas recall cat food ”

BANGKOK, March 12 Kyodo
The makers of Pedigree brand dog food and Whiskas brand cat food have recalled products manufactured in Thailand and sold in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia after reports of increased renal illness among dogs in Taiwan, according to a company statement Friday.
Effem Foods (Thailand) Co., a unit of food and confectionary giant Mars. Inc., said in a statement that it has recalled the dry dog and cat food ‘’because of concerns over raw material quality at a manufacturing plant in Thailand.’’
It said it had found mold in raw materials Wednesday at a pet food manufacturing plant in the Pakchong district of Nakhon Rachasima Province, 160 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, where operations have since been suspended.
But the company said its investigation has not confirmed a direct link between the mold finding and an increase in reported cases of renal illness among dogs in Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.”

http://www.findarticles.com/p/....._114410165

Comment by Jamie — March 31, 2007 @ 11:47 am
I’ve updated the Recalled Pet Food Tracker for National Brands to include the two new products. Also added the Parent Company name to the list!

http://playingbig.blogspot.com.....ional.html

Comment by Kim — March 31, 2007 @ 11:55 am
I HAVE NOTICE THAT MOST CATS AND DOGS HAVE DIED FROM IAMS AND NUTRO. NUTRO ,I ALWAYS HEARD IS THE BEST FOOD OUT THERE.

Comment by MARY ANN — March 31, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
Carole, I have had my cats on Nutro wet pouch and Nutro dry - 1 died and 1 is trying to survive. I know the pouch killed Raz and at the time of the recall I returned my bag of dry to be on the safe side. I still think there is something wrong with the dry - there was a horrible odor to it and it wasn’t the container I had the food in. I have now switched to Purina One and for wet food I have been using baby food - so far, so good

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Sandi, that is horrible. I thought about baby food however I also know from past experience that it does not contain everything they need and should not be fed long term.

Like everyone else, I am scared but trying to maintain a reasonable outlook. We are still feeding our cats ProPlan wet (switched from IAMS) and don’t plan to switch again. In our situation, we are going by what we see in our cats - that they are all doing well and have had no problems. Their bloodwork and UAs support this. They have been on the ProPlan wet for 10 days now, except for one has is now on prescription for a couple of days because transitioning them overnight coupled with the stress of several doctor visits caused him to have some bowel upset. In fact, I still have the metronidazole and never had to give any to him - I hate drugs. But we are transitioning him back to ProPlan as he seems to have returned to normal and his stress is gone.

At this point it would not make sense for us to switch again because there is so much unknown. And since we see no problems with our current food, we feel it’s best to try to stabilize them. I would pull all pet food in a heartbeat if I saw even the slightest indication of a problem.

And BTW, my cats had BUN levels in the higher end of the normal range but their creatinine was fine. My vet is not at all concerned as high protein diets, such as they were eating (tuna, etc) are very high in protein, as are Pounce treats. So BUN is indicative of diet as well which is why creatinine is more of the determining factor.

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Purina One Adult Chicken and Rice formula for cats DOES contain wheat and wheat gluten. I have dumped this from her bowl and I am going to the store with a printed list from Petsit to see what I can find without wheat.

I do not trust Purina since they did have wheat gluten from the same supplier and they did not step up until now. They say it is only in Alpo but since the Menu Foods recall, Purina has continued to say that only their Mighty Dog pouches were impacted. Now we find out another product they said was safe is not. So, are they withholding information on their other foods?

No more Purina One and no more wheat for my girl. I am not taking any chances. This will be a hard switch for my finicky one because she loves the stuff. When I give her wet, she eats about a third of it, and then it is back to her crunchy.

Maybe Purina One is ok, but Purina has lost my trust!

Comment by Lora — March 31, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
I need a list of numbers off the dog foods to know what to feed my dog or need to fix my own foods for my dog?????!!!!!
Now I am just wondering what we are eating????!!!!!

Comment by Anita Joyce — March 31, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Nutro is not the best food out there. It’s an okay brand but they still inferior grains like corn and glutens in their food. Some of their foods are good, but if you read past the first five ingredients you start seeing some things you don’t like.

Comment by Eskie Lover — March 31, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
I found a few Chinese wheat gluten sellers on alibaba.com, no less (that’s the eastern version of ebay). Many of these sellers also manufacture plastic products (think dollar store crap), gelatin pill capsules, bone products (God only knows what that stuff is for) etc. etc.
Check it out yourself. Most are mainland China, most produce plastic as well as wheat gluten..

So menu foods INCOME FUND got their stuff on the big time cheap….
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/s.....mp;CatId=0

Comment by Lori Lee — March 31, 2007 @ 1:33 pm
Carole, thanks for the input. I may try the Pro Plan - it has been so hard trying to find something for him to eat - the kidney wet food is not cutting it. My cats BUN level was 186 and the 2nd one had 172 and they were on the Nutro. Are you feeding your cats dry food too? If so, can you give me a suggestion? I am so scared of any pet food right now and want to do what is best, because I am covered with guilt, thinking I was feeding them the best.

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 1:33 pm
I found a few Chinese wheat gluten sellers on alibaba com, no less (that’s the eastern version of ebay). Many of these sellers also manufacture plastic products (think dollar store crap), gelatin pill capsules, bone products (God only knows what that stuff is for) etc. etc.
Check it out yourself. Go to alibaba and search for wheat gluten Most are mainland China, most produce plastic as well as wheat gluten..

So menu foods INCOME FUND got their stuff on the big time cheap….

Comment by Lori Lee — March 31, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I looked at my cans of cat food, Purina “Friskies” Prime Filets, Shredded, and Dinners,(all turkey),and they have the same date, lot number and factory number as the recalled Alpo. (9 cans). I am taking them back to the store, but I wanted to let people know. Does this mean that the same food mixture was used in dog and cat food in the same lot?
I copied the paragraph from the Purina Press Release, which follows:

“The recalled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce ALPO Prime Cuts cans and 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-can ALPO Prime Cuts Variety Packs have four-digit code dates of 7037 through 7053, followed by the plant code 1159. Those codes follow a “Best Before Feb. 2009” date. This information should be checked on the bottom of the can or the top or side of the multi-pack cartons.”

Comment by Linda Bruin — March 31, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I posted a while ago that my Frankie ate a significant amount of Euk.
Rx last Dec. (being treated for giardia & acid reflux, now has renal
failure). Although they had not recalled any Rx at that time- I
called his primary vet to see if they had reported his case anyway.
To my surprise, there is no “place” for just vets to make reports like
this (at least according to my vet’s office). Therefore, I got on
line to see how I could report it. I ended up calling my state’s FDA
office and left a message. I was impressed when they called me back
(on a Saturday) to get my full complaint. Within a few days, the FDA
called me again. Looking for a sample of DRY food since I told them I
had some of it left. I am SURE they would not have contacted me a
second time if they didn’t have other leads. As a tax paying citizen,
I am grateful the FDA has taken my case, recorded it and is
researching it.

Please, please, please if you have not yet reported your pet’s kidney
failure - to the government, not just your vet’s office, do so now.
It might help our heavy hearts understand what has caused some of
these kidney problems of our beloved pets.

Comment by Alicia — March 31, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I am USING INNOVA AND CANIDAE FOR MY BELOVED FURBALLS DRY FOOD AND CANNED SO FAR SO GOOD. i HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES, MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE LOSING THEIR BABIES AND THEIR BABIES SUFFERING.
CANIDAE IS MADE WITH ONLY USA INDGREDIANTS HUMAN FOOD GRADE (OR SO THEY SAY) I AM ALMOST TO THE POINT OF ABANDONING ALL ANIMAL FOODS AND FEEDING PEOPLE FOOD ONLY.
I AGREE THAT THIS IS MOST LIKELY A TERRORIST ATTACK AND I AM WONDERING IF PEOPLE ARE DYING RIGHT NOW, AND WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT . THEIR HAS BEEN AN OBVIOUS GOVERNMENT MEDIA COVER UP ABOUT THE PET FOOD, WHY SHOULD WE TRUST THEM WITH OUR OWN LIVES. I’VE HEARD THAT WHEAT GLUTEN IS STORED IN BATCHES FOR UP TO TWO YEARS. IT COULD BE THAT THE SUPPLY HAS NOT HIT HUMAN FOOD YET. MENU FOODS ALSO PRODUCES HUMAN FOOD. NOW HOW SCAREY IS THAT?
THE MANUFACTURERS MY BE REELING AND NOT SURE WHAT IS GOING ON EITHER. I HEARD THAT MENU FOODS COULD NOT FIND THE CHEMICAL THAT WAS RAT POISON UNTIL IT WAS SENT TO ONE OF THE SPECIAL LABS THAT HOMELAND SECURITY HAS SET UP FOR SUCH AS AN OCCASION AS THIS. EVEN SCARIER?
ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ON THIS? UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT STEPS UP AND GIVES US STRAIGHT INFO(I WOULDN’T HOLD MY BREATH, REMEMBER KATRINA?)
I’M GOING TO TRY AND STAY AWAY FROM PACKAGE FOODS OF ANYKIND FOR MY KIDS AND ME.

Comment by lori anderson — March 31, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
Sandi, I only wish I knew what was going on. The best we can do is go with our instincts and what we see. I am anal about my cats and always have been. We monitor everything about them all the time, not just in this situation.

So, in saying that I have watched them even closer at times and they really do seem fine. From what we can tell right now, dragging them to the vet two times in 7 days was what affected them most.

I would hate to ever recommend something and have your animals get sick. Not all animals can eat all foods and people also need to keep that in mind if their animals are throwing up, especially if they changed their food abruptly.

I do know this much, we selected Pro Plan wet and have not seen any problems. So rather than make a rash move without any evidence to do so, we choose to stay with it. I am sure it paranoia on my part that I have not opened the ProPlan dry cat food, but since they don’t eat much dry food, it’s not really important.

We all have to do what we feel is best and we are going by what we see with our own animals. Until I hear anything different, ProPlan will be their source of food.

I am still a little freaked out by all of this therefore changing to another food scares me more than feeding them what we know is okay for now.

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
I just saw about the Alpo and that’s the only canned food we feed out dogs. Only once a week as a treat but still. So I went to the Alpo website and saw the numbers that were affected. Plant number 1159 - which was on our cans! The numbers before that are affected: 7037 through 7053. All of ours are in the 6000’s. But still a scary feeling. I’m unsure whether to throw them out anyway.

Comment by Veronica — March 31, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
HELP! Did I see a comment that Purina has now joined the list???? When, I did not see their name on the list. Is this true? Is it the dry food?

Comment by Grace — March 31, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
Veronica, I totally understand your feeling. We were feeding IAMS, found a case of the tainted food that we never opened, but the cans in our cupboard were all under the recall numbers. We never used them again. In fact, we didn’t use any of the IAMS with that plant number. Even though IAMS manufactures their other wet food, we quit IAMS altogether.

You have to go with what you see, think about how your dogs are doing if they’ve already eaten some of this. A lot of what folks have on hand is food manufactured months before and there really isn’t anything wrong with it. But peace of mind sometimes wins out.

It’s a crappy situation - you feel like your heart is going to fall out.

Comment by Carole — March 31, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
okay, if you are feeding your cats dry food and don’t want any of the food associated with Menu Foods then try Natural Balance, Orijen, Solid Gold or Felidae. http://www.championpetfoods.com is the site for Orijen
If you are not boycotting Menu then Try Innova Evo, Nature’s Variety, Wellness,

Comment by Eskie Lover — March 31, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
Grace,
Purina did indeed issued another recall of ALPO Cuts and Gravy canned food very early this morning. This is in addition to their recall almost 2 weeks ago of its Mighty Dog pouch food.

Purina now admits that they did buy wheat gluten from the same supplier as the contaminated batch identified in the Menu Foods recalls.

All recalls have revolved around this ingredient wheat gluten. At the very least, do not feed any food that has wheat gluten listed as an ingredient.

Comment by Laurie — March 31, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
Thanks Carole, I appreciate your comments -I am just scared to death right now - I’ve lost one and have another sick and it makes me sick - I rescued these guys 4 months ago and I thought I could give them a better life and I just want to do what is right, even though I thought I was. Thanks again… and I understand completely about being anal - I had a cat for 20 years and had to put her to sleep in October - double wammy!!!!

Comment by Sandi Schreiber — March 31, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
LETS GET ALL CAT and DOG FOOD TESTED!!!! WE owe our pets and ourselves that much… I hate the Loss i’m feeling the pain is GREAT! GET ALL PET FOD TESTED!!! PLEASE LETS BE SAFE and CAUTIOUS Lets not let these irresponsible people desroy more Loved pets PLease This Can Nevere Happen AGAIN!!!

Comment by kelly — March 31, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
I think this condition existed as way back as Oct 2006… Several healthy local pets died unexpectedly, with similar organ failure. At the end of 2006.

My companion passed away Oct 30… after feeding him a new diet of Iams and other purina products.

I prepared home-made food, however,
I went on a business trip and had to leave him with a care taker who could not cook for him.

I am so distressed!

Comment by dice — March 31, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
YES, the Wheat Gluten is a protein thickener instead of meat, I guess it’s Supposed t osave Them MOney.. Go Figure!!! Now Miss Cuddles is DEAD!! Love your Mommy forever Kelly-4-Cuddles
They need t oInspect Everthing!! I miss You Cuddles Please Get All Pet FOOD TESTED!!!

Comment by kelly — March 31, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
I know Frikies/whiskas..has wheat gluten in there meat /gravy wet pet food is that SAFE for SURE??

Comment by kelly — March 31, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
I would stay away from any food with wheat gluten.

Comment by Eskie Lover — March 31, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
How do you all suppose these foods are being tested now that the manufacturers have to admit something is wrong? In a closed memo to stockholders “not to be released to U.S. news sources” Menufoods stated shortly after 3/17/07 that out of 50 dogs and cats they had fed their food to THAT DAY, 6 had died. The more testing, the more the poor lab animals are dying and suffering. This “testing” is going to go on forever now, and I just hope God makes for a peaceful demise for the animals involved (although I know how painful death by poisoning must be). Please pray for these animals too. Thanks.

Comment by Mary Ann — March 31, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
Meanwhile, now they are blaming the cats for being “more sensitive” to chemicals. This article is the biggest tailspin yet:

http://www.comcast.net/news/in.....24757.html

I am getting really angry! We cannot let this go on!

Menu Foods must be stopped!

Comment by Jaycee — March 31, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
Giving these press releases on a Friday is disaterous for the following reason.

A lot of supermarkets won’t get instructions from their corporate headquarters to pull the food since they’re not open after 5 on Friday and are closed all weekend. I went shopping just now and the Alpo is still on the shelves. I told the manager of the supermarket that he had recalled food that needed to be pulled and he told me that he took care of it all two weeks ago. I told him that he didn’t understand and that there was a new release yesterday. He insisted that the recall was “over” and he did what he had to. I again, tried to tell him that there was more but he wouldn’t hear it. He said he won’t pull until corporate tells him to. I told him he needs to pick up a newspaper and that what he’s doing isn’t right. Moron. Fortunately their other store down the street took all the product information from me and their manager said he was pulling immediately.

The weekend is the busiest time for grocery shopping and without ‘official instructions’ from store offices, a lot of this food will be sold anyway. All because these pet food companies time their releases for reputation damage control not and not in the interest of pets.

Comment by Pam — March 31, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
i’m wondering how long they actually have been using the tainted wheat i lost a cat on sept 23 showing the signs that are described for the tainted food we spent thanksgiving worrying about another cat with the same symptoms he pulled thru and then on dec 9 i lost his brother all with the same problem and now im wondering if it is linked to the food we fed them at the time….crunchy the surviving cat is on hill science diet c/d formula and i checked the lable to make sure no wheat there and the remaing cats and dogs we own have all had their food change to no wheat products at all

Comment by Brenda — March 31, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
carole - I am one of the ones who thinks my dogs were sickened from the Nutro dry. And no, the type I fed didn’t contain wheat of any kind, as I recall.

That is why I think there was something else contained in that dry kibble that was causing the stomach upsets/vomiting; and am still reserving judgment on the severe seizure day we had. I still can’t believe the instantaneous end to the vomiting once I stopped the dry food. How on earth did me and the vet just keep trying to explain it away for any other reason than what it turned out to be?

I am convinced I can do better than companies that don’t care enough about QC to check for things like rat poison, plastic compounds and god knows what else (even the excessive Vitamin D that Royal Canin is in trouble over). So for the time being, I am homecooking for the dogs. I know that simply won’t work for everyone.

The cat feeding seems more complex to me and for the moment, I have switched her to Felidae. But admit I am skeptical of ALL pet food manfacturers. Yes, this company sounds very good, so does their ingredient list. But so did Nutro.

I have no trust in anyone on this issue right now. So for the moment, if the dogs get sick now, then we people will be sick too, cause we are all eating the same human grade food now - the crockpot is my friend again. I have vitamin supplements in case I have messed up, and am reading up on canine nutrition.

My cat is the only one at risk, if I am mistaken in my switch to Felidae. I get a bit sick everytime I put her bowl down - what if….

Comment by TC — March 31, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
am I the only person who’s noticed that nobody is saying who the supplier of the poisoned wheat gluten is? in every AP article, it’s always “an unnamed supplier”.

you know what I think? this gluten got into the human food supply, and there’s a huge FDA coverup going on.

you read it here first.

Comment by joe — March 31, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
I have never posted here, but wanted to spread the word. I have contacted Purina - it could be a coincidence, but my cat was vomiting a lot! We were feeding her Fancy Feast. I called PetSmart to let them know, as well as emailing Purina. Purina said Fancy Feast was fine, but to send them the serial #’s anyway. I switched my baby to Natural Balance, and she hasn’t vomited since. I know it could have been an allergy, but still. Today I received coupons from Purina - into the trash they went.

Comment by TR — March 31, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
ALPO PRIME CUTS AND GRAVY>>>If you find my past posts on this topic I have listed it many times. Our dog died the day before the recall from these symtoms. She was a 5 year terrier in perfect health. She got sick on Sat died on that Thursday the 15th of March. We had her at the Vet for 48 hrs but he told us there was nothing we could do. We tried anyway and brought her home Wed the 14th. As I said she died the 15th. I called Purina and they returned my call a few days later and said that there Prime Cuts with gravy was ok. I did not believe they knew what the problem was so I doubted that it was ok. I called the FDA and 2 news stations telling them the I believed Alpo might also be a problem.

Comment by dave — March 31, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
Isn’t it interesting how this keeps expanding? I don’t think we’ve even touched the surface of it yet, unfortunately.

A week ago I called Nestle Purina regarding my cat almost dying from eating Fancy Feast. Of course they denied any wrongdoing, and said that all of their products are subject to rigorous testing and are safe!

Hmmm…now a recall of Alpo, on top of Mighty Dog??? I think there’s a problem here Nestle Purina. Your products are safe and tested…but now you have some on recall??? Just because they are voluntarily called, doesn’t make it ok. You wouldn’t be pulling them, if they weren’t bad.

The big pet food giants will never get another dime from me…I do not trust them anymore.

By the way, my cat continues to improve…she is getting some homemade food, along with natural/organic canned food. Her condition, compared to two weeks ago…is like night and day. She is gaining weight, is stronger, and is starting to have some life in her.

The pet food industry (and our government, through negligence) almost killed her.

Comment by Marcy — March 31, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
Marcy,
over a week ago I posted that one of my cats became sick and he was eating only Purina Friskies canned food, couldn’t eat dry due to teeth issues( he was 10 years old) My other cat only ate Meow mix dry food, he is fine so far. I know that it was the Friskies that killed my baby, now Purina is involved in the recall and I am afraid to feed my remaining cat any dry food..problem is he will not eat any people food, has to be the weirdest cat yet that will not eat even tuna! what are you making for your cats? what can I now get him to eat so I can boycott all commercial cat food? I am so scared I will lose him too.

Comment by Brenda — March 31, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
I have several duck Special Kitty pouches, made by Menu foods, reported a week ago never heard back, I have fed my cat so many of these pouches now I am holding them as evidence I have Purina dry prescription from Vet for Diabetes and it has wheat what do I do?
This is absolutely crazy!!

Comment by Catherine — March 31, 2007 @ 11:05 pm
They keep telling us that DRY foods are safe???
My Barbra is overweight. She has been eating Beneful and
Alpo Prime Cuts in gravy. My vet said that wasn’t all that good for her, so I spent hours on the computer
researching dog foods. The best I came up with in content and nourishment was NutroMax Weight Control DRY.
She loved it and has eaten it for a week. Then she started throwing up and we put her back on Beneful, but by that time the recall came out and I’m afraid to touch the Alpo we have in the cupboard, even though it doesn’t have the recall numbers. She’s going to the vet Monday. Now I don’t trust the NutroMax either. We’re going to start cooking our own pet foods. I’m waiting for them to recall Friskies,Whiskas and Kit-N-Kaboodle next. We lost Merlin, our 17 year old cat last week. My heart goes out to all of you have lost your babies. I join you who are questioning this
horrible mess as possibly being another terrorist attack against us. May God help us all.

Comment by Deanna M.Pozesny — April 1, 2007 @ 12:23 am
Brenda,

I am trying Merrick canned food. So far, so good. It takes them a little while to get used to though, as the texture is different. My two Persians are not “people food” eaters, and are slowly having to adjust…as the Merrick is made from whole ingredients.

I am also going to give Drs. Foster and Smith dry food a try…and might try Canidae.

You can try making your own…but my vet warned me to make sure that a vitamin supplement is added, as cats have to have taurine.

My JuJu is having an off day today. Not hungry and tired. I’m hoping that’s all it is…as I would imagine that if I had been poisoned, I might feel that way too. At least she ate a lot yesterday, so that’s good.

I called IAMS today (they are working)..and talked to their customer service. I told them that in view of all that is happening, I don’t trust them anymore. Plus I told them that I had found out about the animal cruelty that they are subjecting their test animals to. He denied it, and said it was just a campaign by PETA. I told him that I saw the pictures…and that pictures are worth a thousand words. He had no comment to that.

Anyway, they are reimbursing me for the dry IAMS food that I have on hand.

Comment by Marcy — April 1, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Thanks Marcy,
I tried Solid Gold dry and Innova canned food today..he won’t touch them, very frustrating, he is still eating the Meow Mix, but since the Del Monte recall I am scared to keep feeding it to him, I also mixed the Meow Mix and the Solid Gold together to see if he would eat it that way..so far no. I am going to try to find the Merrick canned food. There are not any places in my town that sell the specialty brands I have to travel to the city, but it will be worth it if I can get him off of the brands that have wheat fillers.

Comment by Brenda — April 1, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
Brenda,

Another canned food brand that was recommended to me, is Triumph.

I wanted to try Newman’s Own dry food…but it’s a looooong drive from here to get to a store that stocks it. Why??? Doesn’t make sense, as I live in a metropolitan area.

Comment by Marcy — April 1, 2007 @ 11:31 pm
Our beloved dog Zo died January 20 and only ate dry food. I had just bought a bag of Alpo Come-n-get It…thats when her symptoms started. She died with in two weeks. Its hard enough dealing with her sudden death and now to think it was from the food we gave her just sickens me. I don’t have any of the food left or the receipts…what do I do now?

Comment by Laura Spitko — April 2, 2007 @ 5:53 am
Marcy You can mail order Newman’s from several sources.

Laura, I am so sorry for your loss. Not having the receipts/cans/bags/ is something I’m sure Menu Foods was absolutely counting on! Who saves all that anyway?
Maybe you didn’t pay cash every time, so your bank/cc co. with have a record of the purchases and the store can get all the info from that record. Also, If you use a “frequent shopper” card, you can probably get them to tell you what you bought.

Comment by Lori Lee — April 2, 2007 @ 6:16 am
The best thing that anyone who is concerned can do, is contact their local veterinarian and have bloodwork run. I am an LVT and we have had so many conerned owners calling. That is all we can tell them. At this point if you are concerned about your pet have their kidney levels checked and feed a bland diet that is homeade. Boiled hamburg or chicken (no pork) mixed with boiled white rice. It is the safest way to go until this is figured out. But I can slo say that I have my pets on Royal canin dry food for my Kitties and my dog is on Purina Pro Plan Selects. I trust them fully and have not had any problems. The reason the grocery store brands are being recalled is because they are made with cheaper ingredients. The majority of purina brands are manufactured without any sort of wheat gluten.

Comment by Jennifer — April 2, 2007 @ 6:37 am
Wondering about Pedigree dog food it has wheat gluten in it and of course there website says nothing other then they are not on the menu foods recall list. Veteranarian on CNN recommended don’t feed any dog food with wheat gluten. Do you stop it all at once even if not currently having a problem or slowly taper? Went and bought orgranic dog food that uses corn gluten and wheat from Whole Foods. Who knows if that is ok?

Comment by Scott — April 2, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
The person above that is asking about the purina one it is not on the list. I have found a list on Hubpages.com and it is not involved in the recall. I have been intouch with purina by email and they told me that none of their dry food is involved in the recall. Thats what I was concerned about because I feed my cat purina cat chow. I hope this helps.

Comment by jill — April 2, 2007 @ 9:49 pm
I have given my cat PURINA CAT CHOW for 5 years and I have had no problem at all. I have recieved emails from purina and I have been told that their food that is dry is not sent out of the country. I just sent them a email reguarding friskies because I have been on a site where people ask question and other people answers them. One of the questions was that friskies canned cat food has wheat gluten in it and I emailed them to find out for someone else and my friend up North gives her cats friskies and I want to make sure that her cats or going to be ok. I have had no problem with purina cat chow at all. At this point i don’t know if I could trust any kind of cat food even if I trust them or not.
When I read that China is trying to deny it.I am getting really mad right now because I have a cat and my mother has a dog and we lose any one of them I will never look upon anyone that comes from there. Or that also I will never buy anything that comes from there either. The FDA need to release the name of the company that gave the wheat gluten. I saw the import alerts both they were for two places. ANGRY OWNER TO A CAT AND A DOG. FDA I am pleading with you please tell.

Comment by jill — April 2, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
Lauri Lee -

Can you give me the sources to mailorder Newmans Own from? I did just find out that we have a retailer close here…but it would be good to have another resource online. Thanks.

Brenda - you can order Merrick’s cat food online at their website. Just do a search.

My JuJu is eating again today. Thank God. She is so thin, that when she doesn’t eat it really bothers me. Don’t want her to go downhill. While I feel so badly for those here who have lost their precious ones…I also feel badly for those who are nursing sick ones, who are trying to recover. It’s not an easy road. Praying for all of us.

Comment by Marcy — April 2, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
Is Fancy Feast on the recall list? I use wet and dry….my cats are older and this is all they will eat. Please let me know if anyone has a cat sick from Fancy Feast. Thanks.

Comment by joann — April 3, 2007 @ 10:03 am
I am getting to the point where I am scared to feed my dogs any dod food or treats. It is unreal.. These people need to be punished for what they have done the FDA and all of them. I am afraid to feed any of these products to my dog at this point. They all need to be pulled off the shelf, I fed my dogs Mighty Dog but no more, 4 months ago my shitzu took sick and almost died the vet called it thrmbocytopenia, but my baby had a lot of the same symptoms that these dogs have suffered. After 2 months of treatment and $800 later he did survive. I feel that this has been going on for quite some time.I also used little Ceasers but I am afraid of that at this point. All of the products that contain wheat need to be pulled off the shevles untill it can be an all clear. This people do not give a shit if they are killing our dogs and cats and that is exactly what they are doing. This is no different than involuntary manslaughter on a human. Action needs to be taken immedatly. People lets stick together our pets cannot speak so let us speak for them!!!!

Comment by Donna Plott — April 3, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Donna - I also believe that this has been going on for some time. Or at the very least, the food has been subgrade, and not providing the correct nutrition they need. And then with the contaminant(s)…it could have pushed them right over the edge.

joann - my JuJu initially got sick from eating Fancy Feast. It’s not on the recall list though…but most of it contains wheat gluten, as does some of Friskies. I have switched to Merrick canned food..and there are other “natural” foods made from human grade food that you can buy…Newman’s Own, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul, etc.

My JuJu is sick today, after I fed her Royal Canin Persian 30 dry food (not on recall list, but contains corn gluten). I contacted the FDA and told them, as an addition to my formal complaint against Fancy Feast last week. The FDA advised me not to feed her any more of the Royal Canin (as if I would). This is twice that she has gotten sick from it 24 hours after feeding, so it’s not a coincidence.

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
i am trying to find out when did these pets start dieing and what the symthoms are because i had two pets that died one on december 3rd 2006 and the other in august 2006 both were older dogs but they died with the same symthoms, loss of apetite vomiting, excesive thirst, also i thought at the time they were dieing of old age they evetually went into terrible convultions and died they suffered very badly a very long death now i thing it was the food because i was feeding them total pet from weis market i need information if any one can please tell me whe the pets starting dieing from this and if these are the symthoms, thank you very much.

Comment by earl — April 3, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
earl - I’ve been wondering the same, as JuJu has been going downhill in health for quite a while.

Comment by Marcy — April 3, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
I feed my two little kitties Purina One Special Care Advanced Hairball & Healthy Weight. I just discovered to my horror that it contains wheat gluten. They both seem fine and playful as usual, but this doesn’t comfort me. Please let me know if your ktty has gotten sick on this food. I don’t know what to feed them. It’s the only food my little Himalayan will eat. Purina says that it is not being recalled, but that doesn’t mean that they have tested the wheat gluten in that product.

Comment by Diana — April 3, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
I haven’t used it personally…

I can tell you what I am going to try…

Newman’s Own and perhaps Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul (both make dry and canned)

No more commercial food for us!

Comment by Marcy — April 4, 2007 @ 12:09 am
2 weeks ago, my 11yr old healthy indoor cat began showing symptoms that something was wrong. She had never been sick. A visit to the vet indicated no kidney problems, but a swollen liver and increased temp. A regimen of antibiotics was started, but things are worse. I’ve always fed her Science Diet Light Adult Dry and “Fancy Feast” grilled chicken in gravy. Back to the vet tomorrow for blood work and whatever it takes to find out why she is not getting better. I am convinced this particular product of Fancy Feast is to blame and trust Purina will insure this product is either safe or not.. My instincts tell me this is the problem.

Comment by Theresa — April 4, 2007 @ 4:33 am
Hi Theresa,

I’m not buying Fancy Feast anymore. I don’t tru

pet connection

Pet food recall: And now, Purina joins the recall

By Christie Keith

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