Wellness Canned Cat Food Recall

[krazyaboutkatz]

I received this in an e-mail today from a lady I know in a rescue group:

Wellpet LLC Marketers of Wellness Pet Foods Recall Selected Wellness Canned Cat Foods

Only some lots affected by recall

Foods may be insufficient in Thiamine (B-1), a necessary nutrient for cats


The press release states:



"While recent laboratory testing found that most lots of Wellness canned cat food that were tested contain sufficient amounts of thiamine (also known as Vitamin B1), some of the lots ...might contain less than adequate levels of thiamine."



Cats fed only the affected lots for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency, the company states.



The company advises that the symptoms of thiamine deficiency can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. The company's press release informs: "Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures."



Treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible. If your cat has consumed the recalled lots and has displayed the listed symptoms, please contact your veterinary health provider immediately.



The lots involved in this voluntary recall are:



Wellness Canned Cat (all flavors and sizes) with best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13;



Wellness Canned Cat Chicken & Herring (all sizes) with 10NOV13 or 17NOV13 best buy dates.



Wellpet advises that consumers who still have cans of cat food from these lots should stop feeding them to their cats. The company instructs consumers to call them at (877) 227-9587 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am - 7:00 pm Eastern Time. You can also visit their web-site at www.wellnesspetfood.com but you'll have to dig to find the press release information, it's not obvious nor as of this writing is there a link to it on the Home Page of their web-site, a consumer help that other companies issuing recalls often offer.



My own "digging" also revealed something VERY encouraging. For those of you who are wondering if your specific compromised health situation with your animal can make a difference if it's reported to the FDA, please know that the independent testing that was initiated on the affected batches of Wellness came from an FDA complaint from a single consumer. I noticed a long time ago that for any ONE who speaks up, as many as HUNDREDS have noticed ... so consider being that ONE and PLEASE SPEAK UP WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT!!! Other kudos need to go to Wellness in this situation, because they acted on the complaint when it was brought to their attention and initiated independent lab testing to verify and validate ... AND THEN THEY ACTED, TOO, TO INITIATE THE RECALL.


I also looked up their website and it basically said the same thing. Here's the link: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/letter.aspx. I have many cans of this food and they all have the dates between 14APR13 - 30Sep13. I'll definitely be calling the company tomorrow morning. Until then I guess my furkids will only be eating dry food. When will these recalls stop.

[catmandu]

It is maddening when these premium, very pricey brands of Cat Food cannot get it right
Who are we to trust in buying complete nutrition for Our Pets

[krazyaboutkatz]

I called the Wellness number this morning and I had to go through all of my canned cat food and give the lady the dates, code number, type of food, and quantity. They'll send me a prepaid return kit and then I have to return all of the canned food. After they receive it they'll send me a reimbursement for it. I just bought a case of this on Sat. It turns out that I have 85 cans that have been recalled. Only two of them are good. Now I have to find a canned food to feed my cats until I can buy a new supply of Wellness that hasn't been recalled. I still want to stick with Wellness because all 4 of my adult cats love it and have been doing very well on it. Wish me luck.

[katladyd]

I have a couple cans of chicken and herring at my house, not worth the trouble of a send back. I figure one or two cans of the stuff won't hurt them. They love Wellness, but I have some Royal Canin as backup, so I guess I will use that. I won't be buying anymore Wellness for awhile, I guess. If anyone needs a good, quality food to replace their Wellness that their cats might really like, I'd suggest Royal Canin. I don't think it is quite the quality of Wellness, but it's close and both my cats will eat it, (nothing short of a miracle around here!)

[phesina]

I just got an e-mail from Petsmart about this, saying:

"Please stop feeding these products and bring any remaining Wellness food affected by this recall to your closest PetSmart store for a full refund."

Nothing about needing receipts to prove you bought them there, or shipping or mailing the cans back somewhere!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I also thought it was strange that I would have to wait to for a shipping kit. I called Pet Club where I bought the canned food from and the manager told me to just bring in the canned food at my convenience and they would either give me store credit without a receipt or a cash refund with a receipt. I do have Sat.'s receipt plus an older receipt when I bought several of their cases on sale. I plan on going there this Sat. to return everything.

On my way home from work, I stopped by Petfoodexpress and they did still have some Wellness canned food that wasn't recalled. I bought 8 cans and the lady said they should have more in by Sat. It's still more expensive than Pet Club but the manager from Pet Club didn't know when they'd have another shipment in with the later experation dates. She said that a shipment should've arrived today but nothing came in.

Since it's so hard to find a canned food that all 4 adult cats will eat and that they'll do well on, I'm sticking with Wellness. I've tried other grain free canned food and either they all won't eat it or Storm's old tummy can't tolerate it. Hopefully this will be the last of the recalls for Wellness.

[Freedom]

I don't use that brand, but thanks for posting this!

Here is a link to the info on their website:
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/letter.aspx

[kaycountrygal]

Thanks for posting about the Wellness recall. I started using it for Luke in Dec and he does good with it. I checked the cans and looks as if it's ok because it didnt fall into the dates that were mentioned. I declare; it is frustrating to have problems with one thing or another. On the other hand, it's good and responsible that the Wellness company didnt try to cover it up. I'll stay with Wellness.. Kay in NC

[snakemama]

KAK, we have a few cases left at my store that aren't recalled. If there's any flavors in particular you want, let me know and I can see what we have and set some aside.

I see no point in getting inflamed about this. Pet foods are made by human beings, so mistakes will be made from time to time. I, for one, am thankful that Wellness took prompt action and is doing what they can to make their error right.

My store got a fax from Wellness with all of the information right away so that we could keep our customers posted. Thanks to their quick action we were able to get all of the recalled product off of our shelves and get word out to our customers before much had been fed to their cats.

[katladyd]

I took my cans back to my local Petsmart and they gave me full credit for them, no receipt needed. The helpful clerks told me that Blue Wilderness is close to Wellness in quality. I told them that I already fed Blue canned sometimes, but while both of my boys will eat Blue dry, Ming doesn't care for the canned. So, they showed me where Wellness had some pouched food that was not involved in the recall. I bought some of them and now to see if both boys will eat them.....

[krazyaboutkatz]

KAK, we have a few cases left at my store that aren't recalled. If there's any flavors in particular you want, let me know and I can see what we have and set some aside.

I see no point in getting inflamed about this. Pet foods are made by human beings, so mistakes will be made from time to time. I, for one, am thankful that Wellness took prompt action and is doing what they can to make their error right.

My store got a fax from Wellness with all of the information right away so that we could keep our customers posted. Thanks to their quick action we were able to get all of the recalled product off of our shelves and get word out to our customers before much had been fed to their cats.

Thanks. I just may need to stop by to see what you have. I was able to return all of my cans to Pet Club and I got a cash refund. Before I did this though, I went to Pet Food Express and I bought one case of canned food and they had 4 flavors to choose from. I then showed them my receipts from Pet Club and they were able to match it plus they took an additonal 10% off so I was able to get each can for only $1.07. That's very close to Pet Clubs sale price of $1.01, their normal price is $1.19 per can. The lady then told me to keep my receipt and I can use this for a few months and I'll get the same discounted price.

Yes, I had already called both Petsmart and Petco and they told me that all they have in stock are the pouches. Hopefully all of the stores will be able to get new unrecalled shipments in by next month.