Reported Deaths - Update Post #15 Page 1 (Cats More Effected)

[Craftlady]

I would think the major stores (PetSmart for example) arent giving a fuss about returning. I havent read of any difficulties.

[Laura's Babies]

I lost my trust in the FDA a long time ago. They have failed to protect humans so why should they give a hoot about our fur babies? Just look at ALL the recalls on things they have approved in just the last 15 years. Maybe they should insist on a "sterner warning" lable on all pet food... "CAUTION! THIS COULD KILL YOUR PETS!"... then they have done all they can! Grrrrrrrrr!

[Craftlady]

Pet Food Chemical May Be Worse for Cats
Saturday, March 31, 2007 4:43 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By ANDREW BRIDGES

WASHINGTON (AP) — A greater sensitivity of cats to a chemical found in plastics and pesticides could explain why they've died in larger numbers than have dogs after eating contaminated pet food, experts said Saturday.

The small number of confirmed reports of pet deaths bolstered by a far larger number of unconfirmed anecdotal reports suggests cats were more susceptible to poisoning by the chemical melamine that tainted the now recalled pet food, officials with the Food and Drug Administration and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Saturday.

"I am concerned we have a situation where we have a sensitive species and it is the cat," said Steven Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist and director of the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control center in Urbana, Ill.

Testing by the FDA and Cornell University has found melamine in samples of recalled pet food as well as in crystal form in the urine and kidney tissue of dead cats. They've also found the chemical, in apparently raw form in concentrations as high as 6.6 percent, in wheat gluten used as ingredient of the recalled cat and dog foods, said Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian.

"There was a sizable amount of melamine. You could see crystals in the wheat gluten," Sundlof told The Associated Press.

Sundlof and others have not been able to explain why the chemical would have caused the kidney failure seen so far in the roughly 16 confirmed pet deaths, all but one in cats. There are anecdotal reports of hundreds more pet deaths.

"It has a very low toxicity, at least in rodents. The problem is, we don't have information in cats, and that seems to be the most susceptible species," Sundlof said of melamine. Sundlof also allowed that the tainted cat foods could have contained higher concentrations of melamine than did the dog foods.

Earlier this month, Menu Foods became the first of three pet food manufacturers to recall its products. It did so after cats began to fall sick and die during routine company taste tests of its wet-style pet foods, sold under nearly 100 store- and major-label brands across North America. Other than in the recalled products, melamine has not been found in other Menu Foods pet foods, the company said.

Melamine is used to make plastic kitchenware, glues, countertops, fabrics, fertilizers and flame retardants. It also is both a contaminant and byproduct of several pesticides, including cyromazine, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The United Nations Environment Program considers melamine of low potential risk, as does the EPA. The agency has sent FDA the database information it has on the chemical and will provide technical assistance as needed, EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said Saturday.

Sundlof said the FDA hadn't found any studies of melamine in cats, and the results of only a single 1945 study that tested it on dogs. That study suggested the chemical increased urine output when fed to dogs in large amounts.

"That was pretty much it," Sundlof said.

Still, it's well known that identical substances can have very different effects on cats and dogs. For example, the flea killer permethrin is OK to use on dogs but lethal to cats, Hansen said. The same could be the case with melamine.

"Cats are very sensitive to many different chemicals, whether drugs, pesticides or plants. We certainly know they have some unique physiological responses that make them susceptible in cases where we wouldn't expect it in other species," Hansen said.

The investigation has traced the melamine to wheat gluten that Menu Foods, Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill's Pet Nutrition bought from an unnamed U.S. supplier. The latter two companies have recalled a limited number of products since Friday. The wheat gluten, a protein source, was imported from China.

Sundlof said the recall could expand further, depending whether other pet food manufacturers also bought wheat gluten from the same supplier.

"We're still in the process of tracing it at this point," Sundlof said. There is no indication the wheat gluten entered the human food supply, he added.

[momcat]

Hi fellow PTer's!! The news seems to just get worse on pet food. On the news tonight reports are saying the problem has narrowed down to melamine, a chemical used to make plastic. According to something I just read on the internet, cats are much more sensitive to this chemical than dogs and get sick or die more often from this.
What makes this whole thing so much worse is we love our pets and do all the right things to keep them happy and healthy. We make sure they get to the vet for regular check-ups as well as when they don't feel well. We feed them what we believe to be the best food which is often recommended by our trusted vets. In many instances we keep our kitties indoors to protect them from injury,accidents and the countless risks out there.
But now we're afraid to fill up their food dishes because we don't know for sure what's going in those dishes. A news report also said that healthy cats and dogs were getting sick and dying during taste testing done by Menu. Kind of makes one wonder what they knew and when they knew it!
At times like this I'm grateful for having PT and all the wonderful people who come here. Until this situation is over and completely resolved, the best we can do is keep each other updated on the latest developments.
Prayers are being prayed for every kitty to get food that is safe!

[Craftlady]

Since this is a trillion dollar (just guessing) industry (pet food) the FDA is going to get pressured to regulate and test food more often.
This should never of happened. Up until now, FDA didnt give pet food a priority. Sad

[catfamily]

I trust fully
www.naturalbalanceinc.com
I've been using it for years and have noticed an overall remarkable improvement in their health ,fur,eyes,teeth,just everything including seeming happy because of their health.
It's really the best food for them,In my opinion though.
But of course when bringing in skin and bones cats that need fast food to fatten them up I was using the recalled food...and gave some to the others as treats.
They seem Ok right now...but gosh....All I do, all the money I spend trying to keep these guys as healthy as possible and I make those few mistakes of giving them cat treats with poisoned recalled food!!!!Treats...meaning those recalled foods (I call those foods like going to MacDonald"s)because there's so much fat salt whatever in it to taste good.
I'll never buy any other cat food again except:
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance cat Food

[momoffuzzyfaces]

There is a story on Yahoo today about how this stuff is lots more deadly for cats! The story is from the AP. Here is the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070401/...et_food_recall

[Catlady711]

It's difficult for a person to rely on the statistics from any source particularly when they've been thrown together in a hurry.

Earlier this week we had someone call wanting a telephone interview with my boss (head vet) about the pet food recall. My boss refuses to do ANY type of interviews with anyone unless it is in person AND it's someone he knows. He's had times in the past, and known of it happening to others, where a reporter skews what a person says to make the article more 'dramatic' or just outright misprinted something.

It would be difficult to nail down a statistic based soley on kidney failure. We've had cats suffereing from kidney failure for years from various causes including :age, disease, and injury. It would be difficult for any veterinarian to narrow down that a tainted food specifically caused it without an autopsy and prior lab work to indicate that the pet was not already suffering from kidney problems.

I don't put much faith in statistics alone. I don't put much faith in the FDA or the EPA for that matter.

Honestly in todays global, mass production society, the only way anyone can be even reasonably assured of food quality (whether our own or our pets) would be to grow our own veggies, raise our own cows/pigs, and grow our own wheat/rice/corn and process it all yourself, which isn't feasable for to do anyways. Even then, you'd never know whats in your soil, water or floating around in the air around your home either. Nothing in this world is guaranteed.