Comments from the VetMed Blog:
-
From Missy: "Two of my pets died this weekend. One was kidney failure but he also had heartworms. The little one that was healthy before Jan.14, 2007 died from pneumonia, both dogs ate Ol’Roy dog foods. When I first took the little one to vet cause she had trouble raising & walking they thought she had back problems. It wasn’t until she had difficulty breathing that they did blood work right after the recall. Could her death be caused from the poison? Her symptoms varied from fever, bloody lose stool, excessive drinking and urination, weight loss, and pneumonia. She was sick from Jan.14 - March 25,2007. All the symptoms took place over this period of time! Could it have been caused by the poison?"
From Tom: "On March 1st. our four-year-old house cat developed kidney failure. This was confirmed by a blood test and ultrasound. There was no evidence of plant material in his vomit and no high risk plants in our house to begin with. The only possible causes we could come up with were either something congenital or something in its diet. For the past four years we have only fed our cat Prescription t/d. As it turns out, this food, although not currently on the recall list, is made by the same manufacture as Science Diet, which is on the list. I’ve contacted the manufacture, Hills, and also contacted the FDA. It seems to me that this food, which I still have a lot of, should be tested as well. What else should I do to push this idea? t/d is not as well-known as Science Diet, Eukanuba or Iams so perhaps fewer people would have reported an incident with it. There is always the possibility that the timing of our cat’s illness could just be coincidental, but I’d like to know for sure."
From Candice S.: "I just wanted to apprise everyone one that I suspect my cat developed kidney failure from her recent introduction to a new cat food recommended by the Vet. It is a dry cat food and of course is not on the recall list. I purchased Prescription Feline c/d from my vet on February 24, 2007 but did not feed for a week. After introducing the Hill’s Science Diet Prescription formula all 3/4 of my pets became ill. One suffered lethargy, loss of appetite, weight loss and kidney failure. We had to euthanize her. I have tried to e-mail Hill’s but no one has gotten back to me. I called the Menu Foods number but they claim not to handle the recall for that brand. I contacted my veterinarian who also was not concerned because this company has not posted a recall for that food. Just because they haven’t recalled it, doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated!!! Veterinarians sell this food and someone needs to investigate if this food was affected. I don’t have the bag anymore because I poured it in the self-feeder and threw the bag out. I do have a receipt from the purchase but it does not have the SKU. Any suggestions?? I also called ABC 13 Houston to advise them, since they ran the story."
My reply: "I am SO sorry to hear about your cats! This is terrible, and I can’t imagine the sadness and frustration that you must feel at this time. My condolences to you.
For product complaints/adverse reactions, you may want to contact the FDA for your state: FDA complaint Form
Also, please see this latest press release from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. There are resource links included in the article: ACVIM press release
From Maria R.: "My cat usually eats dry Iam’s food. A little over 2 weeks ago I ran out of food and fed him two cans small cans of Savalot canned food. He has had mild diarrhea for the last week and a half. I am taking him to the vet tomorrow for tests. The food I fed my cat is not on the recall list. I am starting to think that the contaminated food is more widely distributed than is thought. Again, my old cat was not sick before he ate the canned food!"
From Tom: "I too have a cat with kidney failure, as of March 1st., and have only fed it Prescription Feline t/d, manufactured by Hill’s. My cat is a four-year-old indoor cat with no other source for kidney failure outside of something congenital or tainted cat food. I contacted Hill’s and left a report but have not heard from them. In fact, the first time I contacted them they did not even want to take the report! My suggestion to Candice Santillo who wrote the above comment is to contact the FDA. They took a detailed report from me. I too think that the Prescription series of foods should be tested as well. I have plenty left. My condolences on your pet, ours is responding to subcutaneous injections twice a day, but the prognosis is grim. Ultrasound showed one kidney fully compromised and the other significantly so. There are so fewer users of Hills prescription diets that I fear it may not prompt an investigation. The branch of the FDA I contacted on March 26th. was the Southern California one. This disease could have very well be congenital, but I’d like to know for sure if it was the food."
Other people have voice their fears and anger in various blogs (web journals) around the web. Here are a few of particular interest:
- Menu Foods Recall
Large warehouse of information here. - Pet Connection
This site is keeping an informal database of pets sickened and who have died from the food. - New Cat City
Avram in New York City is understandably mad about the pet food recall!
Finally, have your say in the poll: Pet Food Safety Poll
