Breaking News : A mounting number of complaints about sick and dying animals who ate only dry food

[PhilipShore]

Toronto Daily News

A mounting number of complaints about sick and dying animals who ate only dry food that did not contain wheat gluten strongly suggests another source of contamination.

Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to blame tainted wheat gluten for recent cat and dog illnesses and deaths, a mounting number of complaints about sick and dying animals who ate only dry food that did not contain wheat gluten strongly suggests another source of contamination.

Evidence from reputable laboratories indicates that an excessive amount of vitamin D in pet food may be to blame. Vitamin D overdoses produce symptoms similar to those seen in animals who recently have become sick or died after consuming only dry foods.

This morning, PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich made an urgent appeal to Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, asking the agency to refocus its investigation beyond wheat gluten -- which is used almost exclusively in wet foods -- and consider other possible contaminants.

http://www.torontodailynews.com/index.php/BusinessNews/2007040404pet-food-poisoning

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. OMG. This is heartbreaking!

:cry:

ORGANIC FOODS ONLY from here on out.

[PhilipShore]

4. I feed my cat Merrick Cat food

It is not organic, but holistic food grade -- and she has completely recovered, after my vet prescribed a all wet -- special diet.

Merrick Pet Foods

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/">Link

[orleans]

31. i bought two different bags of organic dry dog food lately

for the past week we've been giving my dog newman's own organic which i now see has vitamin d3 supplement.

the other organic dog food i bought is natural balance which DOES NOT have the d3 supplement in it. so, we'll be using that one for the next few days (the reduced calorie natural balance does have the d-3) but not the organic regular.

[lovuian]

2. I still don't think they know what is going on

very sad
it may be both problems together

[lovuian]

40. FDA blew it thats for sure with all our scientists out there

they don't know what it is???
they aren't telling us the truth

[hang a left]

47. you know what louvian???

They probably have been gagged and can't even tell us.

Hence the black out.

[rumpel]

3. thanks, Philip for staying on top of this

I want to be able to buy dog food again - it is really uncomfortable not knowing, whether I cook and feed my dogs the nutrition they need. Besides - the are really big dogs. sigh

And I am totally uncomfortable with any commercial food because the agencies are sooo unreliable -

I have lost confidence in all the agencies run by this administration long time ago.

please also check this post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=576552&mesg_id=576552

[melnjones]

5. I continue to be horrified.

Seriously, a year ago I was feeding my dog one of the dry foods that people are making complaints about- a premium brand, at that. To think I could have been POISONING my dog! At this point I trust one brand, blue buffalo. I need to find an organic soft treat though for my dog (blue doesn't make one, only biscuits) and an organic treat for my cat as well. Does anyone have any suggestions on organic corn/wheat/soy/by-product free treats?

[EFerrari]

6. Or, ? - free products?

I'm afraid for all 8 of us. :(

[PhilipShore]

8. Pet Promise has Organic Treats

http://www.petpromiseinc.com/products_treats.htm">Link

Natural jerky strips -- with natural bison
Natural jerky strips -- with natural beef
Natural Jerky Strips - With Natural Chicken

[melnjones]

9. I was just looking at their website, from your other post.

Thanks for the info!

[Oreo]

29. And they're in Boulder!

Just mentioning Boulder to people around here pisses of the RWers
I'm probably going to go and buy a bag on my way home from work

[PhilipShore]

33. Colorado is a big swing state

[bdamomma]

7. these poor animals. I hate this.

they better find out what the hell is going on?

[woodsprite]

10. Well, it's not the food with Silver. Got a call back from the vet

and they said she has a large tumor in the lower lobe of one of her lungs. It's operable then we could do radiation - to the tune of several thousand dollars to start - without any guarantee it would work. The vet is still in a quandry as to why the excessive drinking and urination though, but I don't think I'm going to worry too much about that now. We're just going to bring her home, spoil her rotten, and when she's either in pain or has more bad days than good days, we'll opt to put her down.

I hate that. It's like you're putting a price on her head. If it didn't cost anything, I'd do the surgery in a minute IF I KNEW it would work. And of course to make it worse, this diagnosis comes on the 1 yr anniversary of my cancer surgery. She was my present from hubby on the day I found out I had cancer (not because of it, things just happened to work out that way - and she just happened to share my mom's birthday). She's been my constant companion during my recovery.

There's gotta be some kinda karma thing going on there, and I'm not so sure I wanna know what it is.

Hasn't it all been kidney/liver issues with the animals affected by the bad food? I haven't seen anything about tumors.

[snowbear]

20. Woodsprite, that's so sad..

It sounds like you're doing the most humane thing though by waiting to see how tolerable life is for her, and if it seems to be too much, then having to make that hard decision.

DU Pet owners are the BEST! ~~

[AZBlue]

34. I'm so sorry.

I know a little what you're going through - when my Sally was sick, they told me that they could try exploratory surgery and other things, but I didn't want to put her through that. Like you said, if you knew it would work, then it would be a different story - but why put Silver through all that for nothing? I felt a little guilty with Sally too and wondered if I was just being cheap - but I think that's human and when I asked myself honestly, I knew that even if I had a million dollars, it still wouldn't be fair to her. I took care of her as long as I could and then when she was in pain that couldn't be alleviated I had to let her go.

I'm sorry for your situation though - it's so tough, you feel so helpless and sad. :hug:

[PhilipShore]

36. Vets can perform miracles

One vet told me when my cat had an infected uterus, that -- there was a good chance she would not survive. I took her to the Animal Medical Center in New York; she was minutes away from death, but she survived, and is as healthy as ever two years later.

[Oreo]

11. What are the alternatives

I just learned about the Iams protest from the Peta announcement.
How can we be sure that any food is safe for our pets anymore?

I've seen a few people that said they cook food for their dogs... can you give some of your recipes?

[murray hill farm]

13. I feed my dogs pork liver mixed with rice...and

my cats get tuna (in oil) mixed with plain yogart. This menue is actually cheaper by far than the dry food that i was feeding them before.

[Oreo]

16. How much do you give them?

I have a 90lb black lab

He was pretty lethargic yesterday and I was worried that it was his food. We feed him Iams dry food.
He got better last night and is fine today. I'd still hate to keep feeding him manufactured dry food only to find out it's bad too. I'm definitely dropping Iam's either way

[murray hill farm]

43. I cook up the liver and rice...and mix it up.

same with the cat food, I mix up a can of tuna and combine it with some yogart. Then I store it in seperate containers in the refrig....and then just serve an amount each day that is about what I would give them in amount from the dry food that I used to buy. I have thought that the next time I mix up some dog food, that I might add a little broth (chicken, most likely) to the rice to give the whole batch a little more moisture. I may keep this up...even if/when the dog food is OK again. I have thought that it might be a good idea to add some vitamins to the food. Anyway, it is not really much work and you can cook up a weeks worth of the dog food at once.

[lukasahero]

32. I just started cooking for my dog

Hamburg and rice (suggested from a vet way back when he was having tummy issues), cooked up some carrots in the microwave, added some green peas (also cooked in microwave) and even made some gravy for him. He's officially eating better than I am. ;)

There's a thread in the Pets forum you can visit as well. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x25161

[melnjones]

41. You might try blue buffalo

I'm completely sold on it, and it's available at petsmart. www.bluebuff.com

[tk2kewl]

12. My puppy eats Science Diet for large breed puppies

I have not seen Science Diet listed on any of the suspect food lists. Am I mistaken?

[lonestarnot]

18. Yes you are.

[tk2kewl]

19. is it on a know list of contaminated foods, or are you saying no commercial food should be trusted?

[lonestarnot]

24. I'm pretty sure it is on the list of recalled food. There are links

here with all recalls.

[Lex]

25. Yes, Hills Science Diet M/D is on the recall list. My vet called

and said to bring it in and not feed it to my cat anymore. It supposedly is only precautionary because Hills says no reports of animals getting sick, but this particular formula has wheat gluten in it (not necessariliy contaminated, but wheat gluten nonetheless).

[AZBlue]

35. So are the "Savory Cuts" cans.

Those are the only two Hill's Science Diet products on the list though - and as far as I know, it was just a precautionary measure.

[lonestarnot]

26. check it here

http://www.labservices.uoguelph.ca/urgent.cfm

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. It could suggest contaminates other than what's in gluten.

It also suggests panic and rumor mongering. If your pet gets sick and dies, the first thing people think of is something in the food.

[rman]

15. maybe there are multiple sources?

Wheat gluten and something else? After all they did find some bad stuff in the gluten.

:shrug:

[kestrel91316]

17. Repeating stuff they heard elsewhere, same old gossip being

passed in circles around the internet.

I still haven't had any ARF cases. Most my patients are on most or all dry food.

"Where's the beef?"

[Oreo]

21. Just read your blog

What foods do you recommend?

[Lex]

23. My vet pulled my cat off Hills Science Diet M/D

and put her on another Science Diet brand. M/D is the only one the vet said they had concerns about at this point.

I'm worried, but my cat seems 100% healthy right now.

[spoony]

46. People seem to be attributing any illness to the food

as a first suspicion. Can't blame them but it's creating a real mess.

[the other one]

22. Its terrorism

Its rat poison, and they don't want to tell us because the implications are frigtening.

It means that someone or a group that has access to our food supply is trying to get our attention. The pets are only a warning, a hint to let us know that whoever they are they can impact the food supply.

The pets may be first, but I think the next target will be people.

And no, and don't think its muslims. It could be anybody with a grudge, but only someone who could get close to the food supply without drawing attention. Maybe someone should start investigating the people on the factory floor.

[PhilipShore]

28. There will always be terrorism and pollution

In order to protect the food supply -- for humans and pets, all they have to do is spend a minimal amount of money, to test all food before it goes on the market. The Bush administration can spend billions for a war, but they cannot spend the $$$ needed to "protect" the food supply.

[yasmina27]

48. I had that thought too

but figured if I said anything I would have to be fitted for a tin-foil hat!:tinfoilhat:

Seriously, after 9/11, there were all kinds of wild theories going around about how the next "attack" would be perpetrated, and poisoning the food supply was one.

I'm not normally the scaremonger type, but this one has kind of raised my eyebrows (as I cook my own dog food and spend a fortune on natural and organic dry foods).

[shadowknows69]

27. I knew this was coming

n/t

[piedmont]

30. There are hundreds of millions of pets in this country. MANY of them die every day.

I think some of these deaths being attributed to food contamination may have other causes. I would like to see some actual data.

[gravity]

37. Every dog death can be linked to food

It doesn't mean that the food caused the death.

These complaints are more than likely just the result of the previous pet food scare.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

44. So you defend Monsanto, and then

post some BS such as "Every dog death can be linked to food, It doesn't mean that the food caused the death." What the F**k are you trying to say?

[piesRsquare]

45. Pets get sick everyday, pets die everyday

from medical conditions related to age, genetic susceptibility, allergies, sensitivities, etc.

Chronic renal failure, for example, is not uncommon among older cats (I'm a vet tech--I've seen it a lot).

Cats--even moreso than dogs--have a rather impressive ability to "hide" serious medical conditions until the very end. When I was 18, my 11 year old cat behaved perfectly normal, ate normally, slept normally...until one day she started vomiting excessively, sleeping all the time, was very warm, and stopped eating. We had to put her down two days later. It seemed as though she pretty much "dropped dead". The necropsy, however, showed lymphoma; she had numerous tumors throughout her intestines. Those tumors didn't grow overnight; she had been sick for a long time.

Many people do not choose to have a necropsy performed when their pet dies. And if not detected early, conditions such as lymphoma, other internal tumors, liver disease, kidney disease, etc, can go undetected until suddenly the animal crashes, making it seem like the animal quickly got sick and died (when, in fact, the animal had been ill for quite some time). I personally have little doubt that many such cases have been misinterpreted as food poisoning.

Switching a cat's food too quickly and/or too frequently (dry, wet or both) can cause intestinal distress (vomiting, diarrhea, etc). Like people, sometimes cats have a sensitivity to some foods and not to others. Colitis is not all that uncommon, and presents as vomiting and bloody diarrhea (remedy is to switch kitty to a bland diet, such as w/d). Sometimes pets have allergies to what's in a particular dry (or wet) food. Non-formulated foods (like those bought in a grocery store) are inconsistent in their contents, and a new bag of food might have an ingredient or something that might throw the animal's system a bit off.

Some animals simply have NERVOUS STOMACHS! High anxiety can even cause dermatitis (called psychogenic dermatitis) and bladder/urinary tract problems, along with gastrointestinal distress, etc. And let's not forget the good ol' "scarf-n'-barf" behavior of some cats (like my mother's). Or "Hey, I chewed on your plant while you were sleeping...see? (barf)".

People are panicking; this is not a good thing. It's good to be concerned and on alert, but people need to calm down and stay rational about this.

Updated pet food recall information at http://2blackcats.wordpress.com

[caligirl]

38. switching to Bones and Raw Food for your cat or dog web site Q&A

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

do not microwave veg's, it destroys the nutrients in the veg's.

http://www.skansen.com/nutrition/

[lukasahero]

39. Microwave bit appears to be a myth, or at best, controversial

http://www.ohiohealth.com/bodymayo.cfm?id=6&action=detail&ref=712

"All cooking methods reduce nutrient levels in vegetables to some degree. Many vitamins are sensitive to heat exposure. Also, water used for cooking can dissolve and wash away even more of those vitamins. Microwave cooking is a good way to preserve nutrients in vegetables because it requires only a minimal amount of water and cooking times are very short."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/health/17real.html?ei=5090&en=224c1912b11b2411&ex=1318737600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1161496824-7uNRBnuKbV9HKtlArlTTAg

"According to most studies, however, the reality is quite the opposite. Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature.

Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects."

[caligirl]

42. thanks, i feed raw fruit and vegs(never cook them at all.