Public Post about Pet Food Recall IMPORTANT

[deannie]

March 21, 2007: UPDATE ON FDA CONTACT BELOW...

I finally received a call from the local FDA complaint coordinator. She was very nice and very sympathetic and very, very sorry it had taken her so long to get to me.

She asked me to tell her what happened with my kitty. I told her the whole story: How my little one had stopped eating much and started drinking tons toward the end of February; how I had taken her to the vet in early March and she'd been diagnosed--the whole sordid tale. She then asked very specific questions, including the lot numbers on the food I have (which I've memorized by now *grrrr*!). Also wanted to know the name and phone number of the vet, and their address. She also wanted to know if my cat had been hospitalized, and I said no, but that was probably because part of her labs looked fine and the vet knew I had been through this with other cats before and knew what I was doing as far as care was concerned.

When we were done with all of that, she told me that they were compiling all the information from each state and sending it to the main FDA research site to aggregate the data.

I haven't heard from Iams yet, however. I called them today and actually got through again, and the woman took my name and numbers again and said they have only two vets on this project, and the two of them are just totally swamped. She promised that I'd be moved to the top of the list and given a call within a day or so.

She and the lady at the FDA sounded really heartsick about all of this. As tough as this is for me, I figure I've had to deal with it before when it wasn't someone's fault, but they have to deal with not only my little one but thousands of other cats and dogs, too. I know a lot of people want to be angry about this, but all I can really be is sad that it happened and that everybody is having to deal with it.

Will let you know when I hear from Iams or from the FDA again...

March 19, 2007: Gotta clean this post up!

MENU FOODS RECALLING PET FOOD: SIGNS OF KIDNEY FAILURE IN CATS AND DOGS
CNN story link is here

Menu Foods, which supplies "chunk" cat and dog food to many major manufacturers, is recalling a ton of cat and dog food after 10 animals died and scores of others developed kidney failure after eating the food. My own cat ate that food (we checked the lot numbers and hers is the magic number *sigh*), and she was diagnosed with kidney failure last week.

They don't know why the animals have developed kidney failure, nor what happens next. I spoke to my vet this morning, and she has no more information than the rest of us do. She suggested that I call Menu Foods and find out what else they know. I doubt it will be much, but I'll update here if they tell me anything worth passing on.

So, if you have a cat or dog, no matter what kind of wet food you feed him or her, please go to one of the following websites and make sure your animal isn't eating this food (and please check your lot numbers carefully before you call the vet. Mine's currently being bombarded by calls--some from people who don't even give their animals chunk wet food!). And if you have the food in your house, STOP FEEDING IT TO YOUR PET, call your vet, and find out if the animal should be tested. You should check the links below on information about the symptoms of kidney failure in dogs and cats. If your animal has these signs, PLEASE get him or her tested. Cats, at least, can live for a good long time with kidney failure if properly cared for.

NOTE: IAMS AND EUKANUBA are included in this recall, though the Proctor & Gamble name is not included in the Menu Foods website recall list! CHECK YOUR FOOD! Hill's Science Diet and MIGHTY DOG are also included (see below).

Informational Links

Official recall notices

• FDA announcement of Menu Foods recall (includes links to Proctor and Gamble and Menu Foods FDA announcements)
• Menu Foods recall list (I don't think this is actually complete, because, when I checked it this morning, Iams and Eukanuba were not listed)
• Iams announcement on the recall, including the lot numbers of affected food
• Eukanuba announcement on the recall, including the lot numbers of affected food
• Article on Canadian brands in the recall
• Wegman's
• Safeway
• PetsMart (includes a link to this PDF file [you must have Acrobat Reader to see it] which lists ALL the foods being recalled. About time somebody did that!)
• PetCO
• Hill's Science Diet: Voluntary Recall
• Purina recall--selected Mighty Dog only
• CANADIAN: Iams, Eukanuba, Pet Essentials and President's Choice, as well as the in-house brands for Wal-Mart, Safeway, Price Chopper, Dominion and Sobeys (article above has more on this)
• (How very not-at-all surprising that Wal-Mart hasn't announced this on its recall page online *humph*.)

Signs of Kidney disease in your animal

• What to do if your pet is affected This is a link to the Petconnection website. They are also gathering data to find out the scope of the damage and the types of pets involved. Also, there's a link to a pdf with some info on what you should be doing for your pet if you think he or she has been eating the contaminated food.
• Information sheet on kidney disease in cats
• Information on kidney disease in dogs
• The Feline Chronic Renal Failure Website (Granted, this is more for those of us with cats that already have renal failure, but it does have a nice overview of all the big and small indicators of renal failure in cats.)
• Information on Acute Renal Failure (which many of the cats that are involved here probably have) from the Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine

News Stories

• AOL.com story about a dog who may recover from the kidney damage. (Please note that you should do absolutely everything you can to get your animal treated immediately, but that doesn't guarantee full recovery.)

PLEASE, check your animal's food. I have to deal with kidney failure in my cat, but I'd love if other people didn't.
_______________________________________

Further update regarding Iams, the FDA, and medical claims
2:32 CST Saturday, March 17.

Have left a message with my local FDA complaints section (they're closed on the weekend--hate to see their voicemail box come Monday!) about the recall (that's what their website said to do), so we'll see what happens there.

Just got off the phone with a very nice woman at Iams. That poor thing! I'm sure I'm not the first person whose cat has actually gotten sick that she's talked to today, and she was incredibly sympathetic, but she had that strain of "Oh God! Not another poor kitty!" in her voice. I figure there will be a lot of crying people over there and at Menu Foods. *sniff* Ah well, no moreso than those of us with sick animals, right?

Anyway, because my cat's situation really seems to point to the food (previously healthy 13-year-old cat suddenly has renal failure and strange lab work), she's faxing my info to another group that is actually taking care of claims for this. They will call me in the next hour or so--she said they're swamped (go FIGURE!), or it would be sooner.

So, for now, I wait. Don't know what they're going to be able to do. I mean, what happened happened. Not like they can go back and undo it. *shrug* But maybe they have more info for me. That'd be nice. Unexpected, but nice. *g*

Anyway, will update when I know more.

Update: 8:00 PM CST 3/17/07
No call yet. Assuming they're beyond swamped just now. Poor things!

further update: 1:00 PM 3/19/07
Still nothing from Iams or the FDA. Have sent Iams an email asking for a timeline. Don't have an email addy for the FDA, but if I find one, I'll post it.
________________________

Phone Numbers and Information on Making Claims

Menu Foods: 1-866-895-2708 (I love that they now have a link to a press release that says they've "enhanced" their site. It's exactly the same and there's still no way to contact them via email!)

The US Food and Drug Administration: Go to the FDA's Complaints Site, which has phone numbers for all the states. I called and left my information at the one here in Chicago on Saturday. They were closed, but they were supposed to call me back today. Nothing yet. Also, I have no email for them, either.

Howl911 resource site: The web site Howl911 has a comprehensive list of who to contact for your individual brand. Again, I called Iams on Saturday and was promised a call by the end of the day, but I've yet to receive one.

Recall Report Blogspot: A blogspot has been set up to allow people to unofficially report to the world the status of their pets following this debacle. Don't read this if you cry easily. Hell, even if you don't, it just makes me damn glad my little one eats so damn little wet food! At least she's better off than many of the ones there who lived!

Pet Connection Pet Connection is gathering data to find out the scope of the damage and the types of pets involved--Please log your pet in if your pet is sick or has died as a result of this. The numbers of sick and dead released by the companies seem woefully inadequate, just given the number of anecdotal stories I've heard in the last few days. Also, there's a link to a pdf with some info on what you should be doing for your pet if you think he or she has been eating the contaminated food.

__________________________

Please feel free to run through the comments here. I've tried to update the post with information as soon as people give it to me, but I might miss a few things here and there.

And thanks to all who've expressed their fond wishes for my little one. She's hanging in for now--actually seems to be feeling okay. She probably won't have another set of bloodwork for another couple of weeks (have to talk to the vet about that when I go in to pick up her prescription food this evening), but I'm hopeful that we can keep her at the health level she's at now for a good long time.

My sympathies to everyone who has lost a pet or had a pet sickened by this.

Comments

[bkhager.livejournal.com]

Saw a link to your blog on the AAR board. I hope your baby comes back strong. Thank you for compiling all this information.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

She's doing okay now--God willing, this kidney failure is acute and a result of insult, and she'll come back. I fnot, I had another cat in kidney failure who lived quite happily for a good long time on fluids and diet (and lots of love).

Thanks for the good wishes!

P.S. What's AAR?

[bkhager.livejournal.com]

May I post your information or link to your blog?

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Please feel free to distribute the link. The more people that know, the better. Also, as people give me more info, I'll be updated this post.

Thanks for offering to spread it around!

Menu Foods Recall -- other brand names included

[(Anonymous)]

Morning, I wanted to let you know I checked other major brands of cat/dog food and both Purina and Hill's Science Diet are doing voluntary recalls. The info is here:

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

http://www.purina.com/company/press/2007/MightyDog.aspx (With Purina, it's only one of their Mighty Dog products that are being removed.)

thanks and good luck with your cat -- it looks like I might be in the same boat.
g. (x_art)

Re: Menu Foods Recall -- other brand names included

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I'll update the post to reflect the new info!

Good luck yourself! I hope you and yours are okay!

[tracy-rowan.livejournal.com]

I just checked Purina to see if Fancy Feast was included (it's not) and discovered that some Mighty Dog is being voluntarily recalled (http://purina.com/company/press/2007/MightyDog.aspx ) you might want to include this info.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Dog lovers are more than welcome to let me know the new stuff. As a cat person (dog allergic, though I love them!), I'm not necessarily up of that part of things.

Thanks again!

[aj.livejournal.com]

I'm reposting? *cute face*

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely, you're reposting. *g*

I'll be updating it as people give me new info (and if I ever actually get through to someone at Iams or Menu Foods), so feel free to link to the post.

Hope you're doing okay!

[ozreison.livejournal.com]

Here (http://680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070316_163904_5928) is an article that lists the affected Canadian products as well.

[ozreison.livejournal.com]

Sorry, thougth you just had links to articles.

The Canadian recall affects the follwoing brands:

Iams, Eukanuba, Pet Essentials and President's Choice, as well as the in-house brands for Wal-Mart, Safeway, Price Chopper, Dominion and Sobeys

[epeeblade]

Ugh. This is terrible.

Thank you for the info. My dog doesn't get wet food, but my parents' dog does. Thanks!

[deannie.livejournal.com]

No worries. The more info, the better, I say.

[shelaghc.livejournal.com]

Have you heard anything at all about ProPlan cat foods in sauce?
The sauce has wheat gluten in it and it's the only flavor Jester will eat. He's been eating it steadily for months and months. I'm really worried about my silly boy.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Purina is saying that the only product of theirs that is affected is Mighty Dog 5.3 oz Pouch food, so I think your little one is in the clear.

I'd say, if that's the only wet food he eats, and you haven't seen increased or decreased urine output or vomiting, appetite loss, or increased water needs, he should be fine. I'd give it a couple of days for the volume of calls to die down, but if you want, call you vet.

That's my advice to pretty much anyone. We're just in a different position because our cat was diagnosed so very close to the announcement of the recall and we were able to determine that she was eating the affected food.

*sniff* My poor kitten. I'd be much more worked up if she was actually acting super sick at all, but she's her normal bitchy self and is tolerating the medication and treatment well. I figured we'd have to get a stockade or something for her to give her the fluids *g*, but she seems to get it that it does make her feel better.

Or maybe I'm anthropomorphizing again. *snerk*

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Here via j00j. Thanks very much for this. Much appreciated.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Good info. (And god, I'm sorry about your cat...)

If you want store-specific info, here's (http://www.wegmans.com/kitchen/storage/newrecall.asp) Wegman's recalls, and Safeway offers refunds (http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070316005830&newsLang=en), specifies what it's recalling.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the good thoughts about my little one. She's doing fine with treatment and I've been through renal failure with two other cats--she's definitely doing better than they did right after diagnosis! I figure, if it was the food, she might get better, and if not (meaning if it's not the food OR she doesn't get better) we'll just keep on keeping on. Really, she's not at death's door just yet, irrascible old cuss that she is *huggles cat*.

And I'll post the recall statements you gave me in the main post--was about to go hunting for those, actually. Thanks so much!

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty.

::HUGS::

Thanks for passing the information along. I'm just relieved no Purina cat foods are affected, as that's what I've been feeding my cats.

Whew!

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness for some safe food!

And honestly, this isn't a personal crusade against Menu Foods--I'm sure they didn't know this was going to be a problem, and they and the FDA are still trying to figure out what happened--but I thought the info needed to get out. Even if this isn't why my cat got sick, I figure nobody needs to deal with stuff like this if it can be avoided.

Cheers to you and yours!

[saberivojo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the post. Hope your kitty gets better soon.

[therienne.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry about your cat, and hope she pulls through :(

My cat's food is all from the plant in question, but not the date in question (although I can't be sure about other food we had that he's already eaten) so I'm feeling like this one was way too close a call.

[sorcha5.livejournal.com]

Before people panic this recall does NOT include Science Diet products. Does NOT ! I work for veterinarian and phone ringing off hook today as you can imagine with questions about this. We got info direct from IAMS/Eukanuba and science diet is NOT in the recall. I realise that's only one off the list but it's also a very frequently purchased food like IAMS.

>>Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., is taking this precautionary step to protect the health and well being of your pets. Hill's has received no reported cases of illness. Consumers of other pet food brands manufactured by Menu Foods have reported a small number of cases of cats becoming ill with loss of appetite, vomiting, and lethargy which are potential signs of kidney failure.
This voluntary product recall involves discontinuation of all retail sales and product retrieval from consumers.>>

[deannie.livejournal.com]

That's odd, because it's listed on the recall sheet (found via the PetCo website). Is that just because they're knocking off everything that was manufactured at that plant?

[meret.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the information! I'll pass it on. *huge hug*

[nimbrethil.livejournal.com]

I've called four different numbers and keep reaching dead ends.

I've a feeling that eating the contaminated food is what killed one of my cats and made the other one sick. I'd like to report this, but I can't find the appropriate contact info to get it accomplished. Don't suppose you have it?

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Oh, man... I am SO sorry!

The first thing you should do is call the company that actually markets the food (in my case, I called Iams--the number is 1-800-882-1591). It took about thirty minutes of being on hold, but I finally got through to someone--but keep in mind that you'll have to wait until tomorrow to call, as they're closed for the day. I think they said their hours on Sunday were 8:00-6:00 Eastern Daylight.

The woman I talked to was very nice and VERY apologetic, and took my name and number and said she was faxing that information to their group in Cincinnati, which is where they're handling the claims for this. I expect that, when the Cincinnati group calls me tomorrow, they'll ask a billion questions about my cat's health and such, and document that, indeed, she was eating affected food. I have no idea where things will go from there, but I'll update this post as soon as I find out.

Anyway, that should be your first step. Then, call your state's FDA complaint chapter. The list of the numbers is here. (http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html) They're closed on the weekends (at least the one in Illinois is), but leave a message, saying that you have two cats that have been affected by the recalled food from Menu Foods. Don't say "might," because they'll probably turf you. Say "have been." Let them know that there is a death involved (for which I'm HUGELY sorry!). Leave your name and number and make sure it's a number you can be reached at during the business day.

The answering machine here in Chicago said they'd call me the next business day, but I'm figuring on a call on Tuesday. Again, I'm assuming there'll be all kinds of questions about the cat's health before the last few months, etc.

ALSO, DON'T THROW AWAY THE FOOD. According to the FDA site, they may need it in the event of an investigation (or a class action lawsuit, which, in this case, does sort of seem like a foregone conclusion). And make sure you keep all receipts and information from your vet. Getting a copy of the medical charts for both cats would probably be good.

I am so sorry this happened to you! I hope your sick one is doing as okay as can be expected.

Peace.

[rosamundeb.livejournal.com]

Here via a friend - thank you so very much. I'm relieved that it sounds as if your cat is going to be okay. I hope this saves others.

[londonbard.livejournal.com]

Hello, I came here her from Metaquotes to ask if your LJ name from "Uhura's Song" - but I hope you don't mind if I link to your post? Almost all my friends are cat-owners - and thank you so much for giving all this information. I hope your own cat will recover soon and will have no ill-effects from all this.

[lotus82.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the information! I got to your LJ through the cat_lovers community. I'm in Israel and so I guess we're safe; my Penny is eating Hills Science Diet k/d, the dry kibble variety. She's got chronic renal failure, we were diagnosed in December 06, so I'm very wary of anything that could harm her health any further. Because I swear, anybody messes with my cat's food and makes her sicker than she is, and they'd be sorry. You know how it is =)
I hope your kitty will be fine - what treatment are you receiving so far?

[kaiserdad.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting, The Kaiser has dry food (and any prezzie he can solicit) but many of my friends feed tinned food.

[cindywrites.livejournal.com]

Here via the LJs of debg and theodosia. I don't have a pet, but nearly all of my LJ friends do, so I just wanted to let you know that I've linked to this entry in my own LJ. You've done a wonderfully thorough job, covering this.

Here's hoping your cat continues to do very well. Cheers.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. We're lucky that our cats aren't affected (they don't like the chunky wet food), but my Mom's cat is. Useful info.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this all so clearly. I am linking this post to everyone I know, and hopefully will alert people who aren't lucky enough to be part of an internet community like this one and have all of the information neatly laid out by someone who cares.

[foolsgoldxo.livejournal.com]

thankyou.
I have a 13 yr old Siamese who has been Iams and has been drinking water like crazy the past 2 weeks. I'm worried.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

BUY BRAND NEW, NON-CHUNKY FOOD and CALL YOUR VET.

If you only have one cat, clean the litter box thoroughly and then keep track of how much the cat pees in the next day, and how much stool she/he produces. Also, what kind of stool (i.e., hard and small, soft, runny [I know, it sounds gross, but it's good information to have]).

Tell your vet the symptoms (drinking a lot--is the cat off his/her feed? Let your vet know, if so), and stress that the cat has been eating the bad food (make sure it's actually the bad food, though, because our other cat is on a restricted diet, and his Iams wasn't part of the recall). Get in to see the vet ASAP. If they decide to do a full work up, including urinalysis, it's going to be pricey, I warn you. But if your cat is sick, you need to start treatment as soon as possible.

Also, if you've determined that the cat's food is part of the recall, and your vet says she's sick, call Iams and the FDA (I have links to both of those up in the main post). You'll need to let them both know so that they can track the scope of the damage.

I really hope your cat's okay.

Peace.

[mountainlaurel.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS WITH LINKS! *gigantic hugs* When we checked our dogs' canned food we had the magic numbers too! It really made my heart skip a couple of beats, but since the canned food is just a treat for them I believe we're safe. It has been weeks since we have given them or my baby cat (of seven years or more) any wet food. Again. Thank you! I have called all of my family and friends and passed this along to them. One of my sisters was on vacation and knew absolutely nothing about this.