Thanks for the info CT, I'll check our Science Diet canned cat food inventory Monday.

I've been buying Purina Pro Plan and Pedigree lately so nothing in my cupboards from any of the lists.

Nestle Purina supposedly has an 800 number set up but I've not been able to secure it yet. They are not on the Menu Foods list, but from a vets office I heard they have an 800 number. I will post it when I get it. I feed my cats Friskies Ocean Whitefish Dinner and their Tuna Flake and Egg with sauce. Not much of it, it's a treat only. My animals mostly eat dry food.

No dry pet foods are listed, only canned and pouches.

Thanks for posting that list information CT.
That has certainly got them scuttling at Menu Foods,in Toronto, though like you, I have not heard yet what is was that they brought in from the States and used, that was the cause of the initial problem.
Our dog's food was not on the list, nor was the food my daughter feeds her two Weimaraner's, thank goodness.
"Horton"

Addition that you won't find on the list because Nestle Purina may have kept it off the list: Mighty Dog canned and pouch foods, made by Menu Food. You can get this information, via recording, by calling Purina Vet Resource 800 number (if you hang on they will think you are a vet so listen to the recording only unless you are a vet), but the public number is always busy! Here are both numbers below. I never got anything but a busy signal on the general public number, but they also may have a recording. The other number is not so easy to obtain per se.

Public Number: 1-800-778-7462

Vet Resource Number: 1-800-879-1266

A link to Nestle Purina's website with their own news release related to Mighty Dog. What I want to know is the Menu Food list claims it is a 'complete list' of all pet foods manufactured by them (yet Purina is not on the big list) but does have food made by Menu. How many others are keeping their names off that list? I've heard it is not just the pouches, but who knows at this point. Time to go out and make your own pet food from ingredients you cook yourself!

Here is a link that might be useful: Press Release Link - Mighty Dog

This was in our morning paper. Please keep these families in your prayers. The couple with five cats is so heart-wrenching. Praying that they all make it.

Jenny

Here is a link that might be useful: Bad food taking toll on local pets

Yeah, there's a small town here in N. California (Turlock) where a Pomeranian has died, and 2 cats are being treated for kidney failure. :(

The scope of the recall is just incredible - from Wal-Mart's Special Kitty (a cheaper brand that I sometimes buy as a treat for Pookie in place of Fancy Feast) to Iams and Eukanuba, both well-known, popular brands, sponsors of dog shows, etc.

The key words that have been used are "chunks in gravy"-style foods in cans and pouches, but the only way to know for sure is look on the site for can numbers and expiration dates. Mighty Dog brand pouches, made by Purina, is on the list, so the list seems extensive. Fancy Feast is a Purina product, as well, but it's not on the list. I really don't think anyone is keeping any names off the list, since Menu Foods is in too deep as it is, and no one wants any further deaths or kidney failures.

Remember, these folks are on our side.

Brenda

Purina was not on the first list that Menu Foods said was a 'complete list'. I suggest folks consider making your own food by boiling chicken with a tad of garlic powder in it (not salt) if you want to mix something with the dry food (or switch to all dry food) for a while.

I am not sure I agree they are on our side - they are more on the shareholders side. BTW - Menu Food just tested the tainted food on 50 dogs and 10 of them died. Probably shelter dogs or the beagles they raise for animal food testing (as many of those companies do - like IAMS for instance).

The only remedy being offered by some of the companies is the return of the purchase price for the cans/pouches of food after you call their 800 number, which you can't get through. Too bad if you spend tons of money trying to save your pet. This bad food has been out their since Dec 2006 and it is not the first recall on pet foods by any means.

More information goes to clinics than the public but that is measured too.

CT

I was at Wal-mart and checking out if they pulled the cans and they had most of them gone, but they had a list they were working from. Remember Purina only said it was their Mighty Dog pouches? The list Wal-mart was pulling from had at least 8 different flavors of Purina's Friskee's catfood flavors. Also, I saw Kal Kan dog food which was not on any previous list.

That is not right - one reads the first list, sees their food brand not on it and that's it, they think it is safe. Check the list two days later and bingo.

I ended up buying a case of human tuna packed in water and 6 cans of human salmon packed in water. That is not going on the list! Then I went to PetCo and picked up Dick VanPatton's Natural Balance, various flavors of canned food, for both the dog and the cats. Pricey but safe (let's hope it stays that way).

Tomorrow I am going to cook a whole chicken, let it cool, throw out the skin, pulverize the bones, liver, etc. into the meat, and then pack it in individual serving size zip locks and freeze them. This way I can take them out when needed, maybe two at a time to give to my dog. See how that goes, until this mess passes.

Is there really that much incompetence going on a complete list cannot be made, or is it the bottom line holding out?
I guess this subject doesn't interest most, but it sure does interest me. I want my animal companions safe. I want the pet food industry to get honest real fast. Hmmm....

CT

CT- VanPatton is a really good food! I feed Innova EVO because of Oreo's cancer.

CT, are you saying that they've added brands to the list since March 16th?? Because the site isn't showing the list has been updated since then.

I have a feeling that Wal-Mart is using extra caution when it comes to brands made by certain companies. It's far better to be safe than sorry, as we all know.

Where did you find out about Menu Foods testing on the 50 dogs?? And the beagles and Iams? Is this a PETA thing?

Brenda

I saw the list change from the first day to what it says now. I've seen the list at Wally's directing which foods to clear off the shelf. The list were different than the list on the website. I don't know why it is different.
The Wally list was hanging on a ring by the pet food area in the aisle and I read it. I'm guessing they left it out so people could read it. It was more than just a list, it was several pages long and was addressed to all store managers. It was instructions on what products to remove (by brand and flavors), instructions not to leave empty shelf spaces, instructions to stock up on other brands to antipate customer needs, how to package the recalled foods to go back, where to store them in the meanwhile, how long to keep the brands pulled, how UPC codes should be handled if a suspect food were to be bought anyway (because left on the shelf by mistake for instance) the UPC was to be coded to prevent the sale, etc.

I'm not sure if that list was meant to be left hanging on a ring or not and I don't know why it had other foods not on the Menu current list. Someone had written on it in black pen the words 'Done'. I presume they were talking about having pulled the brands listed.

If you looked at the Menu Food list the first day I posted it, no Purina was on it at all and it said it was a Shareholder memo not to be released via the newswire. Obviously it was released to the newswire as I first saw it on Yahoo news.

Of course animals are used to test some pet foods. Not all of them, just like some consumer products are not tested on animals. That is another subject though.

The last I heard the claim is they don't know what it is in the food, depending on what you read and where you read it, but the big suspect is the wheat gluten, which is used to make 'gravy'.

This is not the first pet food recall by any means, just a real big one that caught much attention because of the expansive nature of all the brands. Most grocery store pet foods, even the ones that claim they are better than the other store brands, have a lot of corn and wheat products in them which can cause animal allergies, but nobody expected this of course.

Many animals die of kidney failure all the time, but it makes one wonder how many really died because of this. Nobody will ever know that IMO.

Just be safe and buy products you know are not on the list (or in danger of being put on the list) (I mentioned in my prior post) or make you own food. I would not buy any food, list or not, with gravy in it. Or, even easier, switch to all dry food for a while, if you pet is OK with that physically/medically, which is better for them anyway.

I really don't have more insight than what I posted before. Sorry. I guess more may come out in the news.

CT

Here are two links that might be useful or interesting.

http://www.avma.org/aa/menufoodsrecall/default.asp

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aKc95WcV_aOA

It sounds like Wal-Mart is doing the right thing, even if it's possibly overkill, CT. And I like that they had the information right out there in the open.

I looked around a bit more today and found the Pet Connection website, which is very open to reports of possible illness and/or death resulting from the recalled food.

Also checked out the FDA page, where they state, "To date, Menu Foods, Inc. has reported 14 animal deaths to the FDA. Nine cats died during routine taste trials conducted by the company. Consumers reported deaths of four cats and one dog."

I have a feeling that it's going to be much higher than that. And it mentions some animal testing, which I must have buried my head about. I just never thought about it, but I guess, for the overall health of our pets, it's...necessary? Yeah, that doesn't sound right, but...what are the options when it comes to processed food? Ugh.

My friend in Canada, who was the original owner of my Pookie kitty, says she's extremely concerned over her cat Charlie. I guess she fed her some of the recalled food, and they're watching Charlie very closely. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now.

I know that when I fed Pookie some Fancy Feast this morning, I felt sick to my stomach, wondering, "Could this have missed the list??" I keep checking on her while she's sleeping, and she's not happy with me. LOL I have to let it go, or we're all going to be crazy...

Brenda

Brenda:

I can relate. I sit at work all day and worry are my pets going to be OK while I'm at work. First thing in the door I do "puke patrol" and a head count.

My dogs have always been raised on Iams dry chunks. I just bought a new 20# bag of the mini-chunks and was really scared to give any to Apache even though they said it's not the dry food. Both my son and I examined it with a fine tooth comb before we gave it to him.

As my cats have gotten older (they'll be 15 on July 4) they are very picky eaters. They will only eat Friskies in the can. Boa can only eat the ground up food because she doesn't have teeth. I tried the pre-moistened food (mashed it real fine with a fork) which they turned their nose up at. The food that comes in the gravy......well they'd lick up the gravy and leave the food so I stopped buying it. Maybe being "too picky" saved their lives.

I know we shouldn't fret like we do, but hey, we have to look out for our babies.

Jenny

Culprit found and list of foods expanded.

RAT POISON (Not approved for use in the US).

See link below. CT

Here is a link that might be useful: RAT POISON Identified

I just read this, too. Actually, the list is the same, but it's for ALL production dates, not just the original dates listed on the bottom as Dec. 3 through March 6. In other words, if you have the brand listed, toss it (or return it) ASAP.

I hope everyone's babies are safe.

Brenda

Heard on CNN to-day that the pet food possible came from China???????????
Will we ever know the truth?
"Horton"

Anybody anywhere in the process could have introduced the rat poison. I hope this example leads to several changes in the regulations and inspections of pet food producing plants. Also, lessons learned, this poison could have just as easily been introduced into the human food production cycle, if the persons who are responsible for this felt like doing that. Could it be the act of terrorists, disgruntled employee, plain ol whack job, who knows? Think how easy it would be to get a job anywhere along the process of food production of any type - from slaughter houses to input of the food into into it's final packaging.

I can't believe it but so far I've read that 'no criminal investigation is planned.' Why not is what I want to know. I think they should trace every source right back to the exact starting point for every product that came out of those two plants. It cannot be that difficult to trace back paperwork for purchases and shipments all the way back to the slaughterhouse and grain operatons, etc.

Time consuming yes, expensive yes, but it should be done.

I refuse to buy any of the products on the list permanently until there is legislation that forces them to clean up their act and improve the quality of the food instead of the glossy advertising. The conning of America.

Well, I think their reasoning about investigating (or not) the poisoning of the food (from what I read, anyway) is that IF it was the poison mentioned, it would cause more problems for animals than what it has so far. In other words, that particular poison usually causes more extensive damage than just kidney failure.

Whatever the heck it is, I just hope they're working their butts off to find out details. They KNOW the public isn't going to stand for any glossing over of the facts. People don't mess with kids or pets and get away with it.

Brenda

Went to Wal-Mart yesterday, and they actually had a bunch of Special Kitty pouches ("..with gravy") on the shelves! What the....?!

Brenda

Well hopefully the instructions given to Wal-mart (that I read) was to scan the UPC to be a 'no sale' at the check-out. Somebody just put it back up no doubt. All the workers were probably not informed or didn't pay attention. When I was in Wal-mart and the worker at the pet area was getting fish I mentioned to him the recall and asked did they pull all the offending brands/types and he said 'what recall, I didn't know about that'.

Be safe and don't buy any low grade foods right now, or anything from any of the listed companies. I know Pedigree is not affected. It is made by Mars (the candy people). Their catfood is Whiskas I think. Don't buy Friskies anything. Purina is being sneaky.

Once again - Dick Van Patten foods are OK to use. It does cost way more than the cheap stuff but does not have cheap products in it. The dog food (regular size can) is $1.59; and the catfood (regular size can) is $1.29 here at PetCo. One can of dogfood lasts me 3 days as I don't use much when I mix it with the dry. After reading much on-line about cheaper pet foods I've decided to make this food change permanent, including using the dry by Van Patten. I also supplement my Riddler's food with small amounts of fresh carrot, apple, and green beans. He is on a diet right now, so the beans are to add bulk without calories.

The cat's have been tougher to switch over which is to be expected. I bought various flavors and some they turn their nose and others they like, but the more days go by I will know which one they like and buy only that. I'm not into variety wtih cats - it upsets their stomachs. My dog is NOT a picky eater. He had duck and potatoes this morning. LOL

Did you hear that it is supposed to be rat poison that somehow got into the pet food and has been traced back to two packaging plants in the U.S.A.
"Horton"

I read that about the 2 plants (Emporia, Kansas, and Pennsauken, New Jersey) in the latest report from Menu Foods, Horton.

I love this part - "NOT FOR RELEASE OVER US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

"Media outlets have reported conflicting and incorrect information, including that Menu Foods has expanded its recall to include all products produced."

Yep, the media is out of control yet again.

Brenda

I've hear the rat poison came from China. Apparently Menu Foods buy source material from China to have it processed in the USA. Why in the world we buy China's garbage products to turn into pet food here in the US ought to make every one of you that has pets very angry. The pet food industry is all about making money. If they can save 2 cents on a load of raw product from a dubious source they will do it. Stop buying and giving your pets crappy food! There are alternatives. Don't let their deceptive marketing and labeling convince you otherwise. Most commerical pet foods are no good, but some are. You have to look and be informed. I would not feed my pet any of type/sytle/flavor of any foods from ANY of the companys on the list period. You do so at your own risk if you choose to believe the line 'no other types of our food are included in the recall'. They don't know the extent of this or they are not saying (perhaps a bit of both), because loss of sales is loss of money and THAT is the bottom line.

If you are worried than do something about it because you can. Pull the head out of the sand. Beneful does not have all those good looking products ON the bag IN the bag. They can't very well sell pet products with photos of dead (ofen long dead) animals, moldy grain, restaurant leftover grease, crap-filled intestines on the bag can they? Maybe list phenobarbitol on the ingredients list right - it's in there. You are being conned, manipulated and lied to period - and they take your money at the same time.

CT

Melamine found in dry food now. This is used to make plastics but is sometimes used in China as a fertilzer. More as I get it.

Class action lawsuits have started too.

I'm sure you have heard this already, but Hill's Pet Nutrition recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food. The food included wheat gluten from the same supplier that Menu Foods used. It has tested positive for Melamine. As if diabetic cats don't have it rough enough.

Hills Food is crap anyway - look at all the corn in their regular menus. Stay away from corn, wheat and soy in pet foods.

More to follow as I get the information.

New wet food added to list (see link). See, Purina is sneaky. All this time claiming all their 'other foods' not on menu's list was OK. I think we will see additions to the wet and dry list trickle in as more testing is done by OTHER than the people that make the food and have their pocketbook to protect.

ALPO canned dog food is officially on the list.

What a debacle this has become - and will get worse as th rats get forced out of the cellar.

Here is a link that might be useful: New Canned Food Added to List _ ALPO

OMG..... so glad I feed holistic. Just goes to show what the industry thinks of our pets..... low grade crap for food. I won't buy anything that has by-products on it. Those are the scrapings off the floor!! Not real good healthy meat. ugh!