Pet food recall causing stress with pet owners

by Brian White (Subscribe to Brian White's posts)
Mar 19th 2007 12:03PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation

Over this past weekend, the massive pet food recall has started almost every pet owner into a frenzy of overreaction. After all, most pet owners love their pets dearly -- me included.

Although this is a little off-topic for That's Fit, I felt it necessary to post something nonetheless due to the emotional stress that could occur (and is happening most likely) over this situation. After digging into the details, only wet foods (not dry) are affected, and the recalled list of actual products (UPC code list here -- PDF File) should give pet owners some guide into the media madness that is going on right now.

It's important to understand exactly which foods (brands and products) and exactly what the issue is here. As this situation develops further (into more brands and products, possibly), rest assured we'll cover it here. Until then, be watchful of the specifics and make sure Fido or Kitty is okay with the food you've chosen for each.

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Comments (6)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Heather 3-19-2007 @ 7:18PM

"Frenzy of overreaction"? Are you referring to my husband and me who just spent the last 24 hours shuffling our border collie between three different vets, subjecting him to forced IV fluids and constant testing? Maybe we are overreacting because we haven't slept, maybe because we are already in for over $700 and as the vet says "not out of the woods yet", and looking at at least three more days of taking him from the night vet to the day vet for constant care. Or maybe we are overreacting because while we are on some level prepared to lose a pet to old age, cancer, or even being hit by a car we are NOT prepared to have him poisoned by the premium food we lovingly feed him. So thanks for your thoughtful comments. I'll be sure to pass them on to our friends Donna and Ken who are going through the same thing, and the emergency clinic vet who cared for 10 pets suffering from this over the weekend at his clinic alone. Yeah, they didn't all pull through. Sorry, gotta go tell my husband who is digging through our garbage for empty cans of the toxic dog food for the class-action suit against IAMS to stop overreacting.

vreston 3-19-2007 @ 8:14PM

Commercial pet foods are made from all the toxic junk that gets left behind from human food manufacturing processes. After our beloved boy cat had to endure a horrible operation and months of bladder problems, we did a ton of research to understan how he got there. He is a happy healthy 11 year old cat now, but what we learned then changed us for ever. Most of these brands are owned by major food companies for a reason - so nothing is wasted, and pet food is the last stop. I am shocked that it took so long for a crisis to to happen. If you care about your pet - PLEASE GO HERE, as an example, and educate yourself. http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html . Even some of the "best" brands are guilty - for the sake of your beloved pets, please stay away from commercial pet foods. They do a ton of damage over time too, when we think we are taking care of our furry children. Please pass it along!

JHM 3-20-2007 @ 11:14PM

We had to have our cat euthanized last Wednesday as a result of her eating the tainted food. She was a healthy vibrant pet and in a matter of days she grew ill and lost the use of her kidneys. She died a painful death. My wife and I miss her greatly and still grieve.

Dan 3-19-2007 @ 10:24PM

My cat went to the vet today for testing, he stopped eating and had been really sick. I know he had eaten the tainted food last week, I looked it up online in the recall website. The vet does not know how to treat him exactly, $600 later I might add, but he has already been given fluids today and he is scheduled to be back tomorrow. I thought I was doing a favor feeding him the Nutro brand, I wish I knew then what I know now. I just want him to be ok. I wish only the best to everyone with this issue. I hope Nutro goes bankrupt for this, there is no excuse.

Kim 3-19-2007 @ 10:54PM

I'm posting in response to the comments by Heather, JHM and Dan - I'm so sorry all of you are going through this. It's so horrible any time our pets suffer, to have it be because of something like this makes it so much worse. I'm praying for you and your furry ones.

My 2 cats aren't affected by this, only because in the past 3 years I've had 3 other cats get sick and die, in large part because of they food I gave them. (One cat still has ongoing kidney problems.)

I now give them only the high-end foods available at specialty pet stores. I've got a bunch of info on these foods that I put together, am updating it now and will have it available in the next day or two. I'll come back and post a link when it's available.

Again, my heart goes out to all of you.

Kim

Susan Thixton 3-20-2007 @ 8:54AM

It should be a crime - unfortunately it's completely legal. AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) are the 'big dogs' rule makers for the pet food industry. Quality control measures - according to AAFCO - are "recommended" to pet food manufacturers. Better quality control - only my guess - would have prevented any tainted ingredient from being included in millions of containers of pet food.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Just because a pet food states on the label it's "Premium" or "Choice" - doesn't necessarily mean the ingredients are premium or choice. Pet food can LEGALLY contain ingredients so inferior - from euthanized animals, and discarded ingredients left over from the human food industry. Pet Owners MUST understand the ingredient definitions in order to KNOW what's actually in their pets food. AND call the manufacturer and ask them about their quality control measures. That's not on the label!

I lost an 8 year old dog to bone cancer 15 years ago and have been studying the pet food industry ever since. My Vet advised me that the chemical preservatives in her food was probably the cause of her cancer. Please, all pet owners...learn how to read an ingredient list BEFORE purchasing your pets food. I've written a book on the subject - Truth About Pet Food. http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com

Don't be misled by slick advertising or marketing. Read the ingredient list!

Best wishes to all,

Susan Thixton
Pet Behavior and Nutrition Consultant
Truth About Pet Food
www.TruthAboutPetFood.com