BREAKING: Recall expanded to some dry food (incl. Hills Prescription!!)

[catgirl]

Source: AP

ASHINGTON - Federal testing of recalled pet foods turned up a chemical used to make plastics but failed to confirm the presence of a cancer drug also used as rat poison. The recall expanded Friday to include the first dry pet food.

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The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food involved in the original recall and in imported wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the company's wet-style products. Cornell University scientists also found melamine in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating some of the recalled food.

Meanwhile, 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. The recall didn't involve any other Prescription Diet or Science Diet products, said the company, a division of Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070330/ap_on_go_ot/pet_food_recall;_ylt=Aj_4eI3II8DuO_0KOBIk8.Os0NUE

---

What was the delay? They have wheat gluten in the product...made by Menu Foods!

[catgirl]

1. Hill's M/D

One of my cat's is on the K/D which has corn gluten in it. I'm
returning it to the store and making her a special homemade diet.
I'm furious. She has lost a lot of weight and has diarrea. This delay is
tragic.

[kestrel91316]

7. Corn gluten has nothing to do with this Wheat gluten is the trouble.

Your cat may have issues tolerating K/D, but it's not being poisoned by it.

[catgirl]

15. Like I trust them on this.

Yes, they are saying the wheat gluten is tainted, but
where did the corn gluten come from? I just don't trust
them.

[originalpckelly]

34. "This" didn't have anything to do with dry food, now did it?

I would really not trust anyone.

[barb162]

65. Do you think this recall will be expanded?

[SquireJons]

73. Mine Was!!!

My cat is 15 years old, but has been doing fine all along. I took her in for some blood work (at the suggestion of a friend who works as a vet tech) at which time they said my cat should go on a prescription diet. They sold me Hills Prescription Diet k/d and when I fed it to my cat, she vomited it up (fortunately) and then refused to eat for almost a week. I finally switched back to Cat Chow and she's fine. But if my cat wasn't smarter and more ethical than my Vet and the food manufacturers, she would be dead.

I'm hoppin mad!

[Le Taz Hot]

76. Don't forget that the

vet makes a profit out of every bag/can of food sold out of their office under the guise of "prescription." I have to wonder how often the animal actually needs that prescription food.

[SquireJons]

90. According to my friend..

Who works at an emergency animal hospital, the prescriptions are legit. I can get the same food elsewhere, but it would cost more. But I'm upset that my vet wasn't on top of this and didn't know that they had been distributing contaminated (or potentially contaminated) cat food to their clients. They should have known and should have contacted us.

[Lorien]

83. You should be! Hill's Science diet is garbage. Always has been.

I posted this on another thread about the recalled food, where someone claiming to be "DU's resident Vet" had been promoting her favorite product, Hill's Science Diet:

Here's what's in my kitties favorite, Prairie Nature's Variety freeze dried raw diet:

http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1335& -...

Ingredients
Chicken, Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Hearts, Pumpkinseeds, Ground Chicken Bone, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Chicken Eggs, Montmorillonite Clay, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid, Sage, Clove

My cats also get a Wellness multivitamin to boost their taurine, though both Turkey Liver and hearts contain taurine.

And here's what in Hill's Science Diet, a favorite among heavily lobbied vets:

Ingredients
Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Now tell me, which is closer to a cat's natural diet? Which has more wholesome ingredients?

I foolishly thought I was doing right by by my late kitty Peewee by "upgrading" him to Hill's, which was sold to me by my vet at the time. He wouldn't eat it, but the vet insisted that I feed him nothing else. Eventually he developed hyperthyroid, cardiomyopathy, and renal disease while eating the stuff. Genetics may have played a part, but the specialists I took him to suggested that his diet was a huge contributor to his health problems. $7500 and two years late Peewee died as I was waiting to pick him up from the vet's one evening :cry:

I didn't read the ingredients. I didn't do any research. I just trusted that vet (a cat specialist). I've found that there are many great vets out there-and the ones you can trust the most are the ones who don't push ONE brand on you over and over again. I don't know what Hill's gives vets to make sales for them, but it must be a pretty sweet deal. My current vet sells five brands at his office and offers a long list of other human grade, organic pet foods that he endorses.He also instructs pet owners on how best to make their own pet foods (both raw and cooked). I'm so happy to have found him, but I wish I had done so six years earlier!

I'm so glad that your kitty is OK! :hug:

[Iceburg]

93. Wow--Now that's an eye opener! If one's MD was promoting a specific "brand"

of drug above any other they would probably have their licensed revoked and yet it is common practice in the VET profession to not only promote but to SELL products. I understand that Hill's Prescription Diet is SOLD ONLY to VETS. The veterinary profession is in dire need of an overhaul to separate the clinical practice from the food and pharmaceuticals promoted and sold.

Congratulations on finding a vet that is able and willing to provide instruction on making nutritious home-made pet food. The alleged "DU Vet" aka the "do not expect me to endorse home diets" poster has been pedaling his/her irrational fears ..."We are DREADING people starting in with home cooking." and unsubstantiated claims ..."We know it will lead to nutritional deficiencies, nutritional excesses, foodborne infectious diseases, and much unnecessary misery." See DU Pet Group thread

Here's a link to a list of food that the site owners (a group of vets) say cats should not eat:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1399&articleid=1029
I bring it to your attention only because I noticed in your post that Persimmons were one of the ingredients in Prairie Nature's Variety mix and according to the link "Persimmon seeds can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis.". The site also states that "Raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain Salmonella." I don't know anything about raw food diets but I thought I would pass the info along fwiw.

[Lorien]

94. Thanks for the link! It's inspired me to do more research

I feed my cats a variety of foods every day (at least three different brands are available to them at all times), but the freeze dried raw diet is the one that is consistently in their bowl.The stuff seems to be finely ground prior to the freeze drying process, so I'm hoping that the seeds are crushed. I'll write to Prairie about it anyway.

Yeah, my vet provides a list of books on natural pet care that contain homemade pet food recipes and instructs owners on safe food handling and ingredients to avoid.He feeds his own pets a raw diet that is made locally (I think it's called "brother's blend", but I may have that confused with another locally made raw pet food). I was also given this link, though it does include raw eggs. My vet says raw eggs are fine as long as they are fresh, organic, and safely handled: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=25161&mesg_id=25171

:hi:

[Iceburg]

99. Here's an excellent tool for those embarking upon home prepared diets

It's the USDA Nutrition Database Standard Reference. There is both an on-line tool for use and a MSAccess Database that you can download so you can use it off-line.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964

The USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference is the major source of food composition data in the United States. It provides the foundation for most food composition databases in the public and private sectors. The USDA Nutrition database currently contains data on 7,293 food items and up to 140 food components.

Note:I could not get the on-line search tool to work for me ...probably a cookie-related issue, but I did download the MSAccess database and was amazed at comprehensive info provided.

For newbies (aka Me) into the world of nutrition, I found the documentation very complete.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR19/sr19_doc.pdf

Another useful food tool from the same site:

This is very handy for finding food products by nutrient class. These reports are sorted either by food description or in descending order by nutrient content in terms of common household measures.

[cwydro]

96. Thanks for this!

I'm making food for my dogs, but worried about the cats...getting the right nutrients and so on.

[BushOut06]

2. Notice how all everything has gone to hell since * took office?

Seriously - it seems that our government is failing us at pretty much EVERY level.

- mine safety
- disaster response
- food safety

These are just a few things that we normally take for granted - because there usually isn't very much of a problem! Yet since * has seen fit to put all his old buddies into positions of power, shit's been going to hell in a handbasket.

[catgirl]

6. There are no standards on pet food

Congress better look into this ASAP and do something now!
Science Diet KNEW there was tainted wheat gluten in their
products. How despicable. All these sick animals on their diets,
with lowered immune systems to begin with are doomed.

[kestrel91316]

28. Reactionary nonsense. The only cat I can think of that i have on M/D dry

has not been sick to my knowledge.

Adulterated pet food is illegal. The tainted foods are BY DEFINITION illegal.

"......All these sick animals on their diets,
with lowered immune systems to begin with are doomed......" This is simply ignorant. I have no other words for it.

Prescription Diet M/D is the only one of their dry foods with any gluten. You have no idea what you are talking about.

[JanMichael]

39. I don't really understand

why you are so intent on protecting the companies that make the food that you prescribe and sell in your office.

[Critters2]

41. Asked and answered. nt

[Lorien]

86. Exactly. Add to that a note on DU rules:

"Do not use our message board for personal fundraising, for-profit advertising, or selling products or services, except in the specially-designated "DU Marketplace" forum. We will occasionally make an exception in cases where the product or service contributes to the Democratic or progressive cause, provided that you ask an administrator for permission before you post."

Promoting one product or brand on many, many posts (for several years now) constitutes spamming.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[catgirl]

69. "reactionary nonsense"

tell that to the pet owners who've lost their cats and dogs.

[catgirl]

71. Um. Yes I do.

"I have no words for it". Meanspirited? Vets who downplay things
things like this worry me.

I know Science Diet has a close relationship with vets and this is
going to cause many headaches. Clients returning food, needing
an alternative treatment, asking lots of questions... Yikes.

[woodsprite]

75. Well, my dog is on W/D dry and we've been looking into

kidney issues for the past 3-4 weeks with her. She's a 7yo shephard/husky mix. I'm looking into the ingredients of both that and the Pedigree we mix 50/50 with. We started mixing in W/D after she developed a colitis issue and kept mixing Ped. in because she was used to it. This week, testing will hit the $1000+ mark because no test so far has shown anything suspicious except that her adrenals are a bit smaller than usual. We thought (were actually hoping) that the Addisons' test would come back positive because at least we'd have a diagnosis, but results yesterday showed that she didn't have that. Next week it's off to the vet for a water deprivation test. She's losing weight (10 lbs so far), drinking voraciously, peeing up a storm and not concentrating her urine. I know it could be a coincidence, but it seems so strange that she's going downhill right now and they can't find an explanation for it. She was fine at her yearly physical 3 months ago, which included a full senior bloodpanel.

[Doremus]

77. So sorry to hear she's feeling poorly.

When talking to your vet about food, it wouldn't hurt to keep this snippet in mind. Written by a vet about their training in nutrition:

Sadly, many (I would venture to say most) vets are pretty ignorant about nutrition (besides what their Hill's and Iams' reps tell them), and many don't even ask clients what they feed their pets. My nutrition class in vet school was all about feed rations for livestock, with one 2-hour lecture on dog and cat nutrition delivered by a guy from Hill's ("k/d is for Kidneys, h/d is for Heart..." Really. I was there.).

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=home


You are your pet's best advocate, woodsprite. Good luck.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

81. cat food can make dogs sick

I am sorry about your pet.

Is there any chance that your dogs have access to the cat food?

I have a little dog who started gorging herself on the cat's dried
food. She started having frequent urination and severe thirst.

She would pee every half hour, and was bloated.

Finally, I put the cat's food in the basement where the dog couldn't get
it, and she is fine now.

[Lorien]

84. She's beautiful. Maybe this link will help you with your research:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388

I hope that she feels better soon. You have some very contented looking furkids there! :hug:

[catgirl]

92. There was a news item yesterday...

about a vet (I think in Florida?) who tried a drug on a pet with renal failure
and it worked! The dog recovered completely. Anyone have a link to the
story?

[ShortnFiery]

97. Thank you. My 13 y.o. dog has been doing well on Hills k/d. Both dry and canned.

However, when this issue first arose, I went to check the ingredient list to make sure Wheat Gluten was not included.

IMO, people need to resist over-reacting. Sure you can cook your own food, but many people do not have the time ... can NOT even make the extra time. :shrug:

*on edit: I am NOT promoting Science Diet. Only commenting that, for my dog, it's working well for the past two years. Depending on your pets condition, likes and dislikes, other pet food, or cooking for them may be the answer for you. No bias here. :hi:

[burrowowl]

61. And what if some poor elderly people eat

some pet food because other food is too expensive or enfants who like to try Rover's food?

[pitohui]

82. dog food is too expensive these days for poor people to eat

probably been that way for 20 years now altho i heard of this done (poor people eating canned dog food) in the 70s -- by the 1980s canned dog food was almost always much more expensive than the cheapie 3 for $1 tinned tuna and sardines meant for human consumption

so i don't think we have to worry about that one

[Dyanci]

91. And it aint over until its over. Two long years until these people are gone.

[PhilipShore]

3. How many dry foods contain the same wheat gluten? n/t

[kestrel91316]

4. Please note, ONLY M/D dry has been recalled.

FIRST they had to verify the gluten was tainted. Until they ID'd the melamine they could not do this.

SECOND they had to trace back the gluten to the supplier and then find who else they sold the same stuff to.

THIRD they had to verify that the tainted gluten had in fact gone into food.

At that point a recall was justified. FDA does not operate based on rumors. The US government would lose every single resulting lawsuit if they did. FDA acts based on EVIDENCE.

[catgirl]

8. Hill's could have put out a warning...

that their products may have the tainted wheat.
That way pet owners could have made their own
food until the coast was cleared.

[catgirl]

14. Plus the article says no other Hill's products...

are affected. Wrong. There are several wet food varieties on
the recall list. The news is making this an even bigger tragedy
by not reporting the facts correctly.

[anitar1]

62. Hill's is simply part of a large corporation. n/t

[Doremus]

48. Trader Joe's voluntarily recalled their cat food brand

Voluntarily ... as in they did it because they want to verify it's all right before they sell any more of it ... NOT because they have found anything wrong with it.

Doing the right thing.
It's a rare concept these days.

These are the types of businesses we can trust, not the "cover our butts and to hell with anything but profit" companies ... like the company that makes Science Diet et al.

[kestrel91316]

5. Everybody needs to remember that we have ALL been barking up the

wrong tree for days with the aminopterin red herring. That's a shame, but these things happen in toxicology. It's not a CRIME.

They couldn't verify aminopterin in the gluten, so they couldn't blame the gluten - UNTIL THEY FOUND THE MELAMINE.

[catgirl]

11. The M/D has tainted wheat gluten.

and they must have suspected this.

[Critters2]

19. Please explain why they imported wheat into a wheat-producing state

in a wheat-producing nation. Someone needs to be held accountable.

[pushycat]

43. Some info for you on US wheat production, July 2006:

http://www.uswheat.org/newsRelease/doc/3B3E005051716E75852571CE006EE148?OpenDocument

<snip>Hard wheat production decline in the U.S. and key exporting countries sends prices to 10-year highs

USDA downgraded HRS crop condition ratings again this week, confirming that the drought that decimated the HRW (hard red wheat) crop in the Southern and Central Plains has spread north. Meanwhile, competitors for the hard wheat export market in the southern hemisphere, Australia and Argentina, are also suffering from drought conditions, leading to lower plantings and lower expected production. The forecasted pinch in hard wheat supplies has pushed HRW and HRS prices to their highest levels since July 1996.


HRS condition ratings by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) have declined every week for nearly 2 months, with 42 percent of the crop now estimated in good to excellent condition compared to 78 percent this week last year. The poor growing conditions have led NASS to forecast a decline in HRS production exceeding 42 mbu (1.1 MMT) from last year to 425 mbu (11.6 MMT), 9 percent lower than last year and 18 percent below 2004/05. The forecast average yield is 33 bushels/acre compared to 37 bushels last year. Over 90 percent of the U.S. HRS acreage is planted in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana where production is forecast to fall by 9 percent (20 mbu), 18 percent (12 mbu), 13 percent (9 mbu) and 2 percent (2 mbu) respectively.
<snip>

It appears that drought conditions are causing our wheat production to decline. Maybe that's why pet food producers are looking to China.
Not sure what all this means... any DU'er a wheat farmer who can help us city folk understand what's going on ?

[RamboLiberal]

42. How's the aminopterin a red herring?

NY lab is standing by their findings and the aminopterin would probably be the more deadly ingredient.

[catgirl]

45. Let me guess, you work for these assholes.

[Doremus]

49. Except that one lab did find aminopterin. How do you explain that?

Sorry, but given the smarmy way this entire fiasco has been handled by the companies involved, and given that we really don't know WHAT all the facts are yet, you really have no basis for your unequivocal statement above.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there are more dry food brands involved. Nor would it surprise me if they discovered other contaminates. The pet food industry has been flying under the radar for too long.

[hedgehog]

80. As I posted in another thread, isn't it possible that the NY Lab

tested one batch and found the rat poison, while the FDA tested another batch and found the melamine? When Menu Foods tested their product, they had a bunch of animals (6 or 7 out of 40?) drop dead overnight, which suggests that whatever Menu Foods fed them was way more deadly than anything that got out into the distribution network.

My guess? Either the people making the wheat gluten have a habit of buying bargain wheat from time to time (Bargain because it's contaminated with something or another) or they're doing something stupid like reusing 55 gallon drums or tank cars that haven't been rinsed properly. Either case would mena that some of the gluten is OK and some is deadly.

[Doremus]

88. That makes as much sense as any other theory I've been reading.

Actually makes a lot of sense.

Thanks.

[Bitwit1234]

9. I posted this in another threat

Iams dry food just sent me an email, saying that they had tested their dry food and it had none of the posion that was found in the animals that had died from eating. They said they do not use wheat gluten in their dry cat and dog food.

But they did not mention the other product found in the food. They told me several times they had tested and tested the dry food after the recall. So they must not have found any animals that had died from the dry pet food. That is mostly what my two cats eat and I was worried. I stopped feeding them for a while.

[hashibabba]

12. Thank you for the post. I've been feeding my dogs Iams because

I haven't been able to get to the vet for a couple of months. I was worried about it and have looked every day to make sure their dry food didn't appear on the list!

[Doremus]

50. Whoa there. FDA issued a formal warning to Iams today .

***The FDA also issued a formal warning to The Iams Company for using an unapproved and potentially toxic form of chromium in its light and weight reducing formulas of Iams and Eukanuba dry and canned foods for dogs and cats. The form of chromium used, chromium tripicolinate, is only approved for use in swine diets. It is thought to be genotoxic; that is, it can cause genetic mutations and/or tumors. Iams doesn't have to recall the food containing this ingredient, but it can't use it in "future formulations."

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=petfoodrecallinformation

[Donnachaidh]

10. in virtually EVERY local news cast the numbers of Dead pets are going DOWN?

WTF?

Yesterday it was 200+. This afternoon they said a *couple of dozen* deaths?

WTF? :rant:

[catgirl]

13. Try 1700 suspected deaths from tainted pet food.

Yes, why is MSM covering for these bastards? Is it
that good journalists don't exist anymore. MSM relies
on old news reports...never updating. No fact-finding.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

16. We don't have news broadcasters -- we have corporate liars

propagating lies.

[kestrel91316]

29. Veterinarians reporting cases at VIN are up to about 100-some deaths

and about 500 total made ill.

Your numbers are nonsense, based upon completely unreliable owner self-reporting.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

64. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[catgirl]

70. re-ead my post

SUSPECTED deaths. And veternarians seem to be in agreement that the numbers
will be much higher. Nonsense, right.

[rainbow4321]

67. 3-ounce cans of Iams flakes with tuna killed a local family's cat

http://www.nbc5i.com/newsbycounty/11288690/detail.html

A North Texas family fears food may be what killed their beloved cat as a major pet food maker recalls 60 million cans and packets of wet food products in the wake of 10 known pet deaths.

When Rose and his wife heard about the wet pet food recall they checked the 3-ounce cans of Iams flakes with tuna, and ocean white fish and flakes with salmon in sauce and were shocked when the code date and plant code matched the recalled product.

"If it happened to us there's bound to be hundreds, if not thousands out there because these are some big names," Rose said.

[melissinha]

17. so is it safe to say that if your animal eats any food from any co

on the list, regardless of dry or wet, you should switch to organic???


Cause my sister's dogs eat Nutro Max Dry Senior, Puppy and Venison foods....

I'm so glad my cats are on "Hippie" Solid Godl Katz-n-FLocken and my dog is on Waltham Prescription.

[JanMichael]

18. Scout is on Hund 'n Flocken

and we are switching Stinky the Wonder Cat to Katz 'n Flocken as soon as we can get to the store.

This is pathetic--

BTW--My wife works for a vet in a SMALL town in NC, and they have had three animals for sure put to sleep over this.

Hundreds? My ass. Try thousands.

[melissinha]

25. un fortunately Wrigley couldn't eat Hund-n-Flocken

As she really needs her prescription... believe me I tried before this happened and it didn't work, but I think you will be very happy.

but I'll tell ya my boyrfriends 3 cats and my 2 eat the Katz-n-Flocken and the older cat who usually pukes when he eats a new food didn't puke when he first had it.. it was really notable.

The local food store owner here in Austin met the owner of Solid Gold and said she is the only owner that shows up at trade shows and always matches her dress to her packaging, sounds like a character!!!

[Critters2]

20. If a person buys any food produced by Menu Foods,

or from any company that does business with Menu Foods, they are contributing to these people who poisoned pets.

It's time to boycott Menu Foods and its clients.

[melissinha]

26. You may be right

You can't be worried that your animal's food is not completely traceable... its worrisome.

[catgirl]

47. Exactly.

I noticed today that Newman's Organics (which I have used) has it's wet food
on sale. The owners were unaware that Menu Foods makes at least a portion
of their products.

[gulfcoastliberal]

32. I believe Nutro is made in the same Menu Food plants as store brands.

One thing this scandal has revealed is how the manufacturers pump up their margins by marketing brands of pet food as "holistic", when they're the exact same crap as the store brands.

[Doremus]

51. If you depend on hype to choose your pet food, you probably will get taken.

However, if you read the label closely you will realize that there are MAJOR differences between store brands and the super-premium foods.

Rule of thumb: if you're buying it from the grocery store you're buying garbage -- whatever the price.

[Purveyor]

21. I just checked the ingredients in my dry Purina One Senior dog food

and it has 'corn gluten' so perhaps it is ok.

However, I did find the ingredient "animal digest". Please tell me it isn't what I think it is.

Am I feeding my little dog..."shit"?

[kestrel91316]

30. Wheat gluten is not corn gluten. Jesus wept.

[Doremus]

52. Wheat, corn ... they're fillers with practically no nutritional value.

If you're feeding food that contains these fillers, it's of poor quality.

As for your other question, "animal digest" is road kill, sick livestock, euthanized pets or any other scraggly piece of garbage the pet food industry gets away with shoving in a bag or can.

That food you're feeding is junk. Your dog deserves better.

[Purveyor]

87. Indeed she does and that has started this morning.

I always supplement her dry food with chicken and shredded carrots. For this morning and tomorrow, THAT is all she got.

I'm still researching recipes and will start cooking soon so I will know exactly what she is eating and where it came from.

It helps having a little dog (chihuahua) but I'd do the same if I still had my big dogs around. Perhaps they would be, had I realized the crap they were eating.

This was certainly a 'wake-up'...indeed!

[Doremus]

89. Glad to hear it!

Your little guy is going to appreciate your extra effort!

Here's a recipe from a holistic vet to help get you started:

http://www.foundersvet.com/home_cooking.htm


Best of luck!

[roody]

60. They love shit. I can't keep my dogs from eating dug up

cat poop.

[Dover]

22. I wonder who the "undisclosed supplier" is?

In a news conference, Sundlof and other FDA officials said the melamine had contaminated a shipment of wheat gluten imported from China and purchased by Menu Foods from an undisclosed supplier in the United States.

And Melanine is used both for making plastic dishes AND fertilizer (in Asia)????!

[Raine]

23. I haven't feed my dog or cats "pet" food...

canned, pouch or dry since this whole scandal broke, I don't trust ANY of it. :mad:

[MsFlorida]

24. i used to feed Phoebe Pug iams exclusively

switched about a month or so ago to Merricks (merrickpetcare.com) They manufacture their own food and welcome phone calls and emails with questions about their food. Not sure why I switched just a feeling i had back then and an incident where Phoebe had gotten sick that I didnt connect with the food. It does cost a little more but Phoebe doesnt seem to eat as much and I believe her to be healthier.

Called the vet to find out what the tests were going to cost for Phoebe since she had been on wet and dry Iams and it is highly recommended he said it will only be $238!

I cant afford this now since I've been on disability since my car accident in October (hope to be getting an insurance settlement -- but it hasnt happened yet). Does anyone know of any discounted tests in the Florida area? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[flamingyouth]

27. Our five-year-old cat died on Monday.

He'd been eating Hill's C/D for a while. There's no wheat gluten in it (only corn), but I'm in no hurry to run out and get any more of their products, let me tell you.

[slackmaster]

33. Sorry to hear of your loss

My three furmonsters all seem to be doing fine. One of them is over 18 years old, and I'm amazed how well he's doing. I expect him to go into kidney failure from old age at any time.

They've been eating mostly Iam's dry BTW.

[flamingyouth]

35. Thank you, slackmaster.

I appreciate your words. There is no proof that the food had any role in his death, although he was the only cat of our four that ate Hill's, and I admit I wonder now, even though it's probably for nothing.

Glad to hear about your furkids - over 18 is amazing!

[slackmaster]

36. He's almost completely deaf but very cool

He fought off a coyote as a young cat, and lived with Labrador Retrievers most of his life. He's not afraid of anything.

It's hard to tell that he's deaf because he always orients toward what the other cats are watching.

[Doremus]

53. See my post #50 above.

Iams was issued a formal warning today by FDA for putting a form of chromium illegally into some of their dry foods.

[slackmaster]

78. Thanks, my cats are eating Iams "Original"

The orange bag kind.

[pokercat999]

68. Do you have a fountain for your furmonster?

You can find them on Ebay and I believe they really help by inducing your cat to drink more. The brand I use (and used to sell) is "Drinkwell Pet Fountain". The fountain was invented by a Vet but she has since sold the company, still a good product I think.

[barb162]

56. Oh, I am very sorry. Such a young cat

Do you know what he died of?

[OhioChick]

79. I'm sorry to hear that....

:hug:

My dog's diets are made up of 50% of what I prepare and the other half SD. This week I've taken them off of the SD for a while. I have enough to worry about in life, let alone what the dogs are eating. :eyes:

[Lorien]

85. I'm so very sorry for your loss

you've had far too many. :cry: :hug:

[kestrel91316]

31. New FDA recall info (finally):

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petfoods.htm#PetFoodContamination

The FDA is supposedly having a press conference tomorrow?

[catgirl]

72. There's nothing about the dry food recall

[seafan]

37. Info from Hills Pet Nutrition re Dry Feline m/d recall

http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_03302007_en_US.htm

[ingac70]

38. Fancy, expensive pet food a scam.....

As we saw with the earlier recall, made with the same fine ingredients as the pet food at Save-a-lot.

Tried Science Diet with my cats when they were younger. They stood in front of the food and meowed continuously like they do when the bowl is empty.

[Critters2]

40. You have smart cats. Their finickiness may have saved their lives. nt

[Doremus]

54. You are mistaken.

Cheap grocery store brands contain fillers, preservatives, meat byproducts (consisting of road kill, euthanized pets, sick livestock, etc.).

Quality foods do not contain this garbage.

They're slightly more expensive up-front but you don't have to feed as much because there aren't any useless fillers, making the cost fairly equivalent.

[barb162]

57. I think I agree with you there.

[Heidi]

55. Kick.

:kick:

[barb162]

58. I don't trust the pricier brands

after some things I have been reading the last few years.
Not that I trust the cheaper brands either.

[Doremus]

74. What do you consider the "pricier brands"?

Chances are you're talking about chain pet store brands like Eukanuba, Iams, Bil-Jak, etc.

These are not the foods I'm referring to. Nor are any brands you can get at the grocery store. Most all of these brands use fillers.

If a pet food has fillers, they are not the type of food I would feed my pet.

This page has a list of good quality foods that do not contain fillers, chemicals or byproducts:
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#commercial

[mountainvue]

98. My cat food manufacturer is on

that list. They like Castor and Pollux a lot. Their coats are beautiful too.

[ingac70]

59. Hill's Prescription Diet being recalled (dry pet food )

Source: www.hillspet.com

Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Single Product, Prescription Diet™ m/d™ Feline Dry Food, Only Product Containing Wheat Gluten
Topeka, KS (March 30, 2007) - In accordance with its over-riding commitment to pet health and well-being, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food from the market. Hill's is taking this precautionary action because during a two-month period in early 2007, wheat gluten for this product was provided by a company that also supplied wheat gluten to Menu Foods. U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests of wheat gluten samples from this period show the presence of a small amount of melamine. Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry represents less than one half of one percent of all Hill's products.

This is the only product Hill's currently sells in the United States and Canada that contains wheat gluten from any supplier. No other Hill's Prescription Diet® or Science Diet® products are affected by this voluntary recall. Hill's Science Diet Savory Cuts Feline canned cat foods, manufactured by Menu Foods, were previously withdrawn from the market as a precaution. Together with this earlier withdrawal, less than 1% of all Hill's products have been affected.



Read more: http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_03302007_en_US.htm

[rumpel]

63. An interesting entry at Howl911: Enzymatic modification

WAS THE TAINTED WHEAT GLUTEN ENZYMATICALLY MODIFIED? 03/30/07

A visitor to Howl 911 submitted the following two links to a couple of intriguing articles; one, on the enzymatic modification of wheat gluten with transglutaminase by Chinese food researchers and, two, a U.K.-based research paper citing a link between transglutaminase and renal insufficiency (kidney failure). While intriguing, little can be extrapolated from this information without making certain assumptions, as the enzyme used in modifying the wheat gluten is microbial in origin, while the enzyme used in the cited in vivo research was tissue transglutaminase. And even if the microbial transglutaminase possesses the same cross-linking potential as is credited to the tissue transglutaminase (which is certainly within the realm of possiblity), there would have to be sufficient transglutaminase left as a contaminant in the enzymatically-treated wheat gluten to be of any concern. But because the FDA's most recent speculation (melamine contaminating the wheat gluten from China) has only served to create yet more doubt, Howl 911 has chosen to include the following articles on this website.

Enzymatic modification to boost wheat gluten gelling: 11/27/2006 - Modifying wheat gluten protein with transglutaminase enzymes improves the gelling, rheological and textural properties, claim Chinese researchers - a result that may offer value-added solutions for a wide range of food products ... Some modified wheat gluten is already available to food formulators, like, for example, Tate & Lyle's Meripro 410 and 420 launched earlier this year. The former is designed to bring functional benefits as an emulsifier and dough plasticiser, while the latter is said to have emulsifying and foaming properties well suited for desserts and confectionery.
The Role of Transglutaminase in the Rat Subtotal Nephrectomy Model of Renal Fibrosis This observed association between tissue transglutaminase ... rats demonstrated a steady increase in proteinuria and serum creatinine with time ... indicating progressive renal insufficiency ... and renal tubulointerstitial scarring in rats submitted to SNx suggests that tissue transglutaminase may play an important role in the development of experimental renal fibrosis and the associated loss of tubule integrity

http://www.howl911.com/

[Iceburg]

95. Howl911.com...a very informative site. Thanks! /nt

[truthisfreedom]

66. MUST READ!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2788341