Paul said,
Cangirl
-
Don’t
be complacent. Nutro ‘meat chunks in sauce’ foods were part
of the recall from the start. Have your cats checked! What the company
told you is misleading.
The
only thing that Nutro did voluntarily was to also pull food manufactured
outside of the problem dates - and I applaud them for that. However, it
took them a long time to admit the problem - there was nothing on their
website for several days, even after Menu Foods (not Nutro itself) had
the products removed from store shelves. Now, Nutro is playing up the
voluntary portion of the recall, and reading their website, you’d
think the whole thing was vountary and precautionary. The initial recall
was NOT voluntary and was done because the product was dangerous.
Nutro’s
current spin is dishonest and insulting.
If
your cats ate the recalled Nutro foods since December, you should be concerned.
Regardless of what they told you about ingredients, Nutro foods contain
wheat gluten, the current popular suspect. We don’t necessarily
know yet what the problem is.
My
cat got sick from eating Nutro Natural Choice in foil packets manufactured
during the recall dates - this is what she’s eaten for most of her
life, and I know for sure that she ate at least 12 made during the crutial
time period - perhaps many more.
This
little cat spent a miserable week going to the vet twice a day for fluid
injections to flush out her kidneys. She’s only two years old, and
was perfectly healthy when she had her annual exam in February.
I’m
angry because I was feeding her premium wet food hoping to AVOID the long
term kidney problems that cats are vulnerable to.
My
cat showed a few symptoms, but they were not obvious, and I thought I
was being paranoid when I took her in. If I had not, she might have died.
We don’t know yet how much permenant kidney damage she might have.
What breaks my heart is that, as young as she is, she may have now have
very little reserve kidney capacity to sustain her through old age; this
may drastically shorten her life.
I was
already cynical about the pet food industry even before this. I sincerely
hope that this incident wakes people up and that we don’t return
to the status quo once this is over.
With
the dishonest way Nutro is trying to spin recent events, I will never
buy their products again.
- Paul
Lisa Clay said,
An
addition to my post from last night. My cat Peaches LOVED the Nutro chunks
and ate about 2 packs a day. My cat Maggie would hop up on the table and
lick all the gravy from Peaches food. For about 2 weeks, she was vomiting
almost every morning - I am positive it was the food now. Right now, Maggie’s
blood work is normal, but her urine is still under investigation. My cat
Hacoona ate the least Nutro and both her blood and urine are fine.
For
cats that love the cuts and gravy style food, does anyone know of a similar
SAFE food that can be fed as an alternative?
Thank
you.
Carol said,
There
is no info about Great Life on the list so I checked with them directly.
Here’s their response:
“None
of our products are made at Menu Foods. On our website: greatlife4pets.com.
We have the url up to find the recalled items.”
Diana said,
Sharon,
What
is wrong with HSUS?????
email me at pethelp@att.net
email me at pethelp@att.net
JC said,
Quote:
“linda
said,
March 26, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
March 26, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
Someone
had ask about the dick van patton brand lamb roll and I was wondering
are the involed with menu foods? ”
Linda,
it is not enough to wonder “IF” it was produced at menu foods,
the fact remains that Van Patton uses Menu foods period!
We
must stop supporting companies that use menu foods for anything.
To
put money in Menu foods pockets, even indirectlty supports inhumane treatment
of animals, often contradicting individuals companies own policies on
animal tesing.
Boycott
any company using menu foods! Not just affected products.
Cat lover said,
9 Lives
is also not listed here, but on their website this is posted:
Del Monte Pet Products Not Affected By Recall
Del Monte Pet Products Not Affected By Recall
The
nationwide recall of pet foods by Menu Foods and other companies does
not include any products made or distributed by Del Monte Pet Products.
Del Monte does not procure any finished products from Menu Foods and does
not use Menu Foods as a co-packer for any of its products. Del Monte Pet
Products makes or distributes the following brands:
MeowMix® Gravy Train®
Kibbles ‘n Bits® Wagwells®
9Lives® Jerky Treats®
Snausages® Cycle®
Pup-Peroni® Gravy Train®
Milk-Bone® Reward®
Meaty Bone® Skippy®
Pounce® Canine Carry Outs®
Nature’s Recipe®
MeowMix® Gravy Train®
Kibbles ‘n Bits® Wagwells®
9Lives® Jerky Treats®
Snausages® Cycle®
Pup-Peroni® Gravy Train®
Milk-Bone® Reward®
Meaty Bone® Skippy®
Pounce® Canine Carry Outs®
Nature’s Recipe®
Del
Monte is committed to delivering safe, high-quality products to consumers
and their pets. We deeply regret that this unfortunate incident has impacted
families with pets, and we will provide as much support throughout this
challenge as possible.
Julia said,
This
is a great website, I’m glad I found it. I agree with JC, I won’t
be supporting Menu Foods any longer (we used Nutro), which means I will
not buy my pet food from any brand associated with them. We switched to
Fromm and Artemis. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that Artemis
won’t disclose their manufacturer; they only confirm it’s
not Menu Foods. I emailed them with some questions, including their animal
testing policy, hopefully they’ll respond.
Lacy said,
We
have decided to go with Natural Balance. I talked to them yesterday and
they said that Diamond only Packages their Dry Food. They have their own
Manufacturing facilitiy in California, and ship it to Diamond where the
food is packaged. They have their own people on site all the time and
own equipment. On this website it says Diamond manufactures their food.
Does anyone know which one is right????
Therese said,
Lacy,
I just
made a clarification in the Natural Balance info on the list. Hopefully
this will help…
- Dry
food is manufactured at Diamond, with Natural Balance machinery, by Natural
Balance employees. Natural Balance personnel are the only ones to work
with the machines and products. Diamond packages the products.
- Canned
food is manufactured at American Nutrition in Utah, with Natural Balance
machinery, by Natural Balance employees. Natural Balance personnel are
the only ones to work with the machines and products. American Nutrition
packages the products.
Therese
PetsitUSA.com
PetsitUSA.com
ml said,
i recommend
dr pitcairn’s book, “complete guide to natural health for
dogs and cats”. it has recipes and instructions for natural diets.
tips on switching foods and using a supervised cleansing fast - which
might be appropriate for some of the pets discussed here. it also outlines
homepathic remedies for many common ailments.
i was
lucky enough to live in a small town recently, which has a wonderful locally
owned pet store. the woman who owned it helped me heal various pet conditions
with homeopathic remedies. i was skeptical, but found these remedies really
worked, even when modern pharmacueticals did not! (there are effective
remedies out there for cat urinary tract infections - even though a traditional
vet may tell you there is no course of action but switching diets and
waiting - not true!) anyway, the store owner convinced me to change my
pet’s food and backed her reasoning up with plenty of information.
i am so glad she did. i would never have become so well informed without
her help.
and
that is the point really. we need to inform ourselves -not only to the
dangers of unsafe food practices out there for our pets, but for our own
food choices as well. human grade food is no longer good enough for me.
we are bombarding ourselves with so many so-called safe chemicals - pesticides,
herbicides, chemically treated water, polluted air, crazy synthetic ingredients,
etc. we need more safe food for people and animals, and we need to tell
the manufacturers and suppliers. forget the corporate food model in this
country, lets get back to supporting our local farmers, buy local, buy
organic - DEMAND safe food!
by
the way - is the situation really sinking in here - rat poisin on wheat
intended to be used as food! yikes! it just makes me think about lots
of other possible scenarios out there that uninformed consumers know little
or nothing about. yep, its all about the cash-ola!
Julia said,
Therese,
In
regards to Natural Balance, it says their food is tested before and after
production. I’d be interested in their testing methods.
Julia said,
I just
got a swift response from Artemis. Indeed, they will not disclose the
name of the manufacturer (although, as it was posted, it’s not Menu).
I’ll try to dig deeper. In any case, they claim they do not conduct
any animal testing (again, it would be nice to know what their manufacturer’s
stance is).
Also,
it seems the itchmo site is down. Anyone knows what happened?
Sue said,
Natural
Balance (the Dick Van Patten brand) is not made by Menu Foods. Check their
website. naturalbalancepet.com
judy said,
Hi
all,
I still haven’t heard from Petguard .
I called yesterday & it was still the same BS.
I did a sneaky thing today & called MENU.
After a few phone transfers I got a gentleman on the phone.
I asked him what flavors of food they produced for PETGUARD.
He told me they don’t produce PETGUARD .
I hope it’s the truth because Petguard was so “guarded”.
Anyway , I’m not using it anymore .
I still haven’t heard from Petguard .
I called yesterday & it was still the same BS.
I did a sneaky thing today & called MENU.
After a few phone transfers I got a gentleman on the phone.
I asked him what flavors of food they produced for PETGUARD.
He told me they don’t produce PETGUARD .
I hope it’s the truth because Petguard was so “guarded”.
Anyway , I’m not using it anymore .
Just
incase your interested.
There’s a new flickr group about the Menu recall.
If anyone is up to it it’s pictures of our pets ,stories , posts & resources dealing with the recall .We are hoping the pictures & stories will make this never happen again !!!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/petfoodrecall/
(It’s easy & free to sign up with FLICKR .)
There’s a new flickr group about the Menu recall.
If anyone is up to it it’s pictures of our pets ,stories , posts & resources dealing with the recall .We are hoping the pictures & stories will make this never happen again !!!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/petfoodrecall/
(It’s easy & free to sign up with FLICKR .)
Sincerely,
Judy Starr
Judy Starr
Linda Pardue said,
Is
Pedagree on the recall list? Both dry and the little pouches.
Lois Koblizek said,
I am
wondering about a situation that hasn’t yet been addressed. As a
breeder for over 25 years I have found that many pet owners lose their
pets anywhere from 1 1/2 to 7 years of age with kidney disease. Cats should
live up to 20 years. Is it possible this substance that is killing cats
overnight has been in the food for years in less amounts and took a number
of years to destroy their kidneys? Kidney disease is rampant these days
and responsible for a large percentage of feline deaths.
Last
year I began making my own raw diet. (I never knew a cat that cooked its
mice) but one has to be sure to add proper supplements. No more diarrhea,
no more hot spots and general health much better. Since cats are carnivores
they assimilate meat protein much better than plant protein. http://www.geocities.com/~sahjacats/feeding/feeding.html
Meat
is a more expensive protein than grain. The main objective of most pet
food manufacturers is profit and grain protein along with other fillers
is preferred over meat.
As
pet owners we must be more diligent in the foods we choose to feed. This
will force the companies to upgrade the garbage they are peddling now.
Diana said,
Yes,
road kill is in pet food.
A national
rendering company picks up road kill from the county animal shelter where
I worked for years (they still do) and for local veterinarians who do
not have crematories. They use it in meat meal for pet foods. The company
no longer picks up dogs and cats but THEY USED TO until the book Food
Pets Die For. Contact me if you have any questions or want the company
or shelter name or info about the contract. Road kill is in pet food.
Diana said,
Avacados.
The
skin of the pit can be toxic. The meat when ripe is not. That goes for
people, too.
Ruthe said,
I spoke
with someone named Julio at Breeder’s Choice this morning about
Advanced Pet Diet wet food for cats, since that’s what I’ve
been using. He said that particular canned food is processed at American
Nutrition and NOT Menu Foods yet your info on this site says otherwise.
Can someone clear this up for me? I know their Avoderm brand of wet cat
food IS processed at Menu.
Also,
I am interested in the post regarding problems with dry food but when
I tried to access Itchmo Seattle to find the section on this I couldn’t.
Any ideas? I am particularly concerned about Nutro Max Cat dry roasted chicken flavor because I’ve been using it for a while and in the last few months one of my cats has been throwing up more than usual. Her last blood panel was fine but I remain concerned and vigilant. Anyone have any information on this? Of course I am not using anything from Nutro ever again but I do want to be informed about what I WAS feeding my cats.
Any ideas? I am particularly concerned about Nutro Max Cat dry roasted chicken flavor because I’ve been using it for a while and in the last few months one of my cats has been throwing up more than usual. Her last blood panel was fine but I remain concerned and vigilant. Anyone have any information on this? Of course I am not using anything from Nutro ever again but I do want to be informed about what I WAS feeding my cats.
JC said,
I emailed
Wysong again today and provided many statements from the web about people
who do not want to support Menu foods even indirectly.
I asked
them to clarify if they indeed plan to rethink there asscociation with
Menu foods and it seems they are ignoring me.
I emailed
them yesterday asking to return my products and they did not return my
email.
This
is sad, becuase I really thought Dr. Wysong was a stand up guy for animals
and now his company seems to be avoiding the problem.
Wysong
had so much potential in my book with their freeze dried raw mix and now
I have lost faith by their lack of response.
Kim said,
I’m
just still so shocked that these companies are not stepping up to the
plate and handling this better. I’m just disgusted.