Pet Food Recall Strikes Fear Into Central Oregon

Wet Pet Food Recalled Throughout North America

By Joseph Friedrichs, 3-19-07

Pet owners across the nation, including all those happy souls in Oregon, have spent the past several days making sure their pets are not consuming contaminated food following a recent nationwide recall of food sold at some of the largest retail pet stores in the country was announced.

Certain types of food sold at Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and Petsmart has all been recalled. Menu Foods, the makers of the product, recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

The Associated Press reports that an unknown number of cats and dogs have suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, a spokesperson for Menu Foods said.

“At this juncture, we’re not 100 percent sure what’s happened,” said Paul Henderson, the company’s president and chief executive officer, according to the AP.

To help keep your pet safe, watch for symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite and increased water consumption—all signs of kidney failure. Also, if you come home from work and your pet is not moving or breathing, that’s not a good sign either.

The recall covers Menu Foods “cuts and gravy” style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

There have been no official reports of pets being contaminated in Central Oregon from these products. However, it’s a good idea to stick with dry food, at least temporarily.

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By Joseph Friedrichs, 3-19-07 | comments (28) | email story | print story

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By Michael Keen Sr, 3-19-07

Please listen, the dog food recall in this country is insuficiant. The South Africans are pulling DRY FOOD from their shelves because of
contamination from NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTS.

My 3 year old Airedale, friend and protector of my 5 children, is nearly dead due to the DRY IAMS product. The last bag we purchased was from Wal Mart and the sized and color of this new bag was diffent then from years past. She ate it for 2 days and then would not touch it. She did consume a very large amounts of water.

Please let everyone know that the dry food is not safe... Cornell Universtiy will be testing the 2 pounds of DRY IAMS that we have sent them. Our vet says this is a clasic case of a coverup.

DO NOT TRUST THE DRY PET FOODS!!!
If my Abby Gayle dies from this and the Dry Food I've sent to Cornell is responcible then we have a serios problem.

Mike and Sue Keen

By Brian Gaynor, 3-19-07

"Also, if you come home from work and your pet is not moving or breathing, that’s not a good sign either."

Doesn't anyone proofread this?

By Michael Keen Sr, 3-19-07

Sorry Bri, couldn't see the keys through the tears.
Next time I'll post on a site with spell check...

By Al, 3-19-07

Mr. Keen. The previous comment was not directed at you, but to the website, please do not take offense. Thanks for voicing your concern, as friends of ours are putting their cat down today due to suspected jaundice/kidney failure. Their cat was initially on dry food but due to loss of weight and vomiting was put on wet food for a short time, quite possibly a fatal move. I don't have the specifics on what brand of food, but it was probably purchased at either Fred Meyer (a Kroger Company) or Safeway. It also could quite possibly be a coincidence or other illness. I'll post back if I find out any further information.

Al

PS. This site does have a spell check, or I'd be in trouble.

By Kelly, 3-20-07

Does anyone know of other dry foods that have caused problems or might be affected?

By Jennifer Howard, 3-20-07

My dog has been eating a new bag of Science Diet dry since Friday and has been throwing up severely ever since. My husband is taking him to the vet this afternoon but I'm very concerned. I just keep getting the official line "this is not included in the recall list" whenever I call Hills Petfood, but I'm worried.

By kelly, 3-20-07

I had a friend who called yesterday and they told her to throw her bag (Science Diet - Adult) away after she provided a batch number. Of course...they are going to send coupons for more food. THEN...Today I told a colleague and she called and they said there were no problems. It concerns me that dog food companies will not share info until it is too late. I DO NOT use Science Diet, but there is always a concern about other brands.

By Michelle, 3-20-07

My dog has been very sick, and I have suspicions that it's related to his food... I think it's dry Iams, Science Diet.

By Carla, 3-20-07

My dog has all the listed symptoms and he is only fed dry dog food as well as dog bones. Purina ONE lamb and rice. Target brand dog bones./

By Linda Conte, 3-21-07

When everyone laughs at me because I cook for my 4 Italian Greyhounds and I eat Frozen Dinners, this justifies it all. It's hard enough to trust what goes into food meant for humans let alone foods meant for our beloved pets.

By Shaana, 3-22-07

I'm beginning to think I should start cooking too! I was feeding Wellness canned (stopped that last week cause my dog quit eating it - FIRST CLUE) .. And I stopped the Nutro dry puppy food also. I'm going to look in to a link someone sent to me as an alternative to the heavily processed foods. It's called "The Honest Kitchen" .. and I'm going to comfortably switch my dogs over to a more natural diet. I'm so over corn this and corn that .. and wheat gluten this and that .. it's mind boggling - not to mention the added crap! I want to do the best for my pets! And it can only pay off to educate myself! Shaana (with a Lab and an IG)

By Terry Gardner, 3-23-07

The Iams website states that the dry food is not manufactured at Menu Foods but at Iams own facility.

If the reports of rat poison in the wet food manufactured at Menu Foods are true, it sounds like criminal activity at that plant.

Dry foods made at that plant could certainly be affected.

By HAnk, 3-23-07

Our Cocker-Spaniel, "Buddy"(three years old) started having terrible diarrhea and urunary incontenence the day after we gave him some Eukanuba Lamb and Rice for small dogs from a new bag we just bought. The Eukanuba website says there is "no problem with their dry dogfood" but this seems like a strange coincidence since it was not a change of diet for Buddy. We have stopped using this food and are watching him closely.

By Michael Keen Sr, 3-23-07

My dog did not make it, she died at 10:05 Monday night in my sons arms of acute renal failure! We have only used the Dry Iam's Products. We are certain that the dry food killed our dog and there are virtually thousands of cats and dogs sick and dying as I type this note. Talk to as many people as you can, let everyone know, this is real as it gets. Check this out feed://www.gothamist.com/2007/03/17/pet_food_recall.xml
Many people are reading and posting about the dry food.
http://itchmo.com/
http://poopcity.typepad.com/poop_city/
Please spend some time with these web sites and let me know what you think.

By Alanna Strocen, 3-23-07

My cats were eating Special Kitty dry food and moist consitently over the last three months and both have died of kideny failure. Has any one else been experiencing these problems with dry food only?

Thank you,
Elanna Canada

By Alanna Strocen, 3-23-07

Has any been having problems with dry cat food? Special Kitty being one of them?

By Jeanna, 3-23-07

Hello~
I am so sorry for the horrible tragedies so many are experiencing. I too have 3 cats who ate the poisonous food--both the wet and the dry. They are currently undergoing fluid therapy through IV. I am hoping for the best. It has caused such upset and stress in so many of our lives!

As far as the dry food, my aunt has a 10 year old indoor only siamese. In November 2006, he went for a vet visit and was given a clean bill of health...no issues. For his entire life, all he ate was Iams dry food. Approximatly 3 weeks ago he just stopped eating..would not touch the stuff. He dropped 5 pounds in about 5 days. My aunt fed him yogurt which he gobbled up. She thought that maybe she bought him a flavor of the Iams dry that he didn't like, so she went to the store and bought the other flavors...he barely touched those as well. She was of course extremely concerned and took him to the vet. He was having kidney failure they told her. He was pumped with IV's and sent home. Everyday she has to give him injections of fluids at home and he is now on prescription cat food. He seems to be getting better, however his kidneys are quite damaged. Coincidence? I don't think so. I firmly believe the dry food is tainted as well.

By elizabeth parisi, 3-30-07

i have a min pin that started out with a bladder and kidney infection urination and excessive drinking upon going to vet was told dog had infection which secondary to that developed sugar he is now on insulin twice a day . i was told by two vets he was to young to have this and it probaly was due to his bladder and kidney problem my dog has been on iams since i got him when he was a baby since this problem i have been reading a lot about how pet food is made and the dry food is processed so poorly and also supposably sprayed with rancid oil that are sent to the food makers the oil is left from some of the big food places like mcdonald and burger kings it is sent in large vats and left outside til used the resaon is so that food is more appealing to the animal also some of the dry food sit in trailer trucks for months on end before sent to stores trailers are not huminity controled there just rrgular trucks stay away from ingredients that have wheat corn soy gluton artficial colors or flavors bha bht ethoxquin propylelene glycol these are posionious meal that is renendered meaning to liquify fat by heating most bag food has is made to have a shelf life of two years by the way they process food and put chemicals that presserve the food any thing with by products can and offened include intestines,head,blood ,feet, hide, feathers, bone,dieased meat, road kill,and animals that are put to sleep so at that point your animal gets the drug that is used to put this dead animal to sleep which does not discinagrate with heat also what ever is left on the animal when he is used including collar tags and platic are also added to that i think its time people started getting more involved with what is going on in not only our pets foods but also people food .

By Jen, 3-30-07

My beloved 9yr old healthy 140lbs Rottweiller “Hercules” died on March 13/07. He was on the dry Iams weight management. I came home in late February and found him paralyzed and lethargic in my bed. He had stopped eating his kibble apx 1 week prior. However, he would eat human food. His belly was rock hard and he seemed to be in alot of discomfort. I rushed him to the vet -who had no clue what was wrong with him. The vet gave him a shot of steroids, did some blood tests and gave me a supply of steroid pills which gave him the strength to walk with assistance for about a week. I told the vet that I had thought he had a bad batch of food and I actually returned the dry food for a refund after showing the manager my vet bill. My boy hung on to dear life until March 14 until he collapsed on my back step…dead.
His belly was 2X the regular size and still rock hard. He also had extreme thirst & urination but no vomiting or diarrhea (however he was burping and gagging quite a bit) I am so guilt ridden with the fact that my poor dog was suffering and didnt have the words to tell me. According to my vet Herc still had many years to go & his illness was not age related. PEOPLE DO NOT FEED YOUR ANIMALS ANY DRY OR WET IAMS FOOD PRODUCTS!!!!!! Also I contacted Iams to inform them that it was the dry food that killed my dog and they said to fax my vet bill to them for an immediate reimbursement. My lawyer has advised against this. Somebody is going to pay. My young children have been so traumatized that they are sleeping with me every night & keep having nightmares from seeing their beloved family member drop dead before their eyes-while I cry hysterically trying to revive him. They wont even go downstairs at night alone because they’re “scared without Herc”. BTW I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

By Lynn Jennings-Bloxom, 3-31-07

I just read the entry from Jeanna (3-23-07) about her aunt's cat; I have nearly an identical story about my indoor tortoise cat.
She is 10 and has never been fed anything but Iams dry food. She had bloodwork done the end of 12/06 prior to a dental cleaning and her bloodwork was perfectly normal....no sign of kidney disease. Suddenly on 3/7/07 after eating from a newly opened bag of Iams, she started vomiting violently and refused to eat anything, which she had never done before.
On the morning of 3/9/07 (after continual vomiting even though she had eaten nothing) I took her to the vet's. I was told she had acute renal failure, and her bloodwork verified this (BUN 86 and Creatine 6.1). The vet kept her until 3/17/07, keeping her on IVs. We were told on 3/15 that she probably wasn't going to make it since there had been little, if any improvement. However, she rallied on the 16th & 17th and we were allowed to take her home.
She's been steadily improving since, but has severe kidney damage. The vet put her on Science Diet k/d and we're giving her sub-q fuids every other day. I find it hard to believe that the Iams dry food did not factor into her sudden renal failure. This is all just too much of a coincidence.
Now I'm worried about the Science Diet food since one type (m/d) was recalled as of yesterday.
Are there others that have similar stories concerning cats experiencing sudden kidney failure after eating Iams dry food?

By Cathy, 3-31-07

My dog was eating the affectied IAMS cuts and gravy food. He was very sick since the end of Jan. Bloodwork showed pre renal failure. I switched him to hamburger and rice and his throwing up stopped. I then switched him to Dry Purina Lamb and rice and he threw up 5 times. My vet now told me to take him off the Dry Purina Lamb and rice until all this gets sorted out. He is now back on hamburger and rice or chicken and rice. 2/3 cups rice to 1/2 cup chicken or 1/3 cup hamburger. It isn't nutritionally complete but untl all this gets sorted out atleast he won't be sick. Meanwhile he is getting IV therapy fluids twice a week because his BUN levels (measure of kidney function were elevated)... he has one morve week of IV fluids until they will recheck his bloodwork. This has been horrible. These poor animals. They are so helpless. These dog food companies should be hung up to dry! I'm putting my name in for the class action lawsuit. My vet bills are going to be atrocious! This should never ever be allowed to happen again! Don't trust the names of the foods on the recall lists. I don't believe they are complete. I think there are other dog foods that are tainted that are not yet on the list. I do feel Purinal DRy Lamb and rice is tainted and should be on that list. My dog was very sick on that food- just as sick as he was on the IAMS wet cuts and gravy. Beware- dry foods may be affected. If you dog has any of the symptoms vomiting, lethargy etc... call your vet immediately.

By Rusty, 4-01-07

Since my dog became sick from eating Science Diet large breed weight control dry food and sensitive stomach dry food, my family has been making him chicken and rice with some other ingredients (mixed vegetables, cottage cheese, and macaroni). I would advise other people to do the same and make sure they give their dog a good daily vitamin.

By johnypaycut, 4-15-07

If your worried about selection for a good food for a dog,or cat
you might try Neuman's own organics...
for the last 3weeks i've been on a "quest" (like everyone ?).
im very convinced that this food is safe, it's only made with ingredients from america. i really suspect the scope of the poisoning is very wide? if so and their a number of toxins in the food. well? it could be terrorism , surely it's large ..
i hope you check this brand out? i am starting my cat on it as soon
as my evo is finished.
johnypaycut

By Misty Lee, 7-25-07

I bought a bag of Iams Mini chuncks maintenance dry dog food 2 weeks ago. my minischnauzer has ate this food for years. His name was Prince. I took him in May to the vet for his full yearly exam. Tuesday night I notice him not feeling all that well. I call the vet on friday they said if does get to feel better bring him in. Friday evening he was walking around I call the vet said I would watch him over the weekend, Saturday night he was hurting vomiting, drink over amounts of water and very weak, by Sunday morining I had him at the emerency vet they had him hospitalized and on fliulds and antibotic. They told me everything mass, infection, pancreatic, he eat something bad, etc. they didn't know. his white blood count was every high. all of his internal organ was was enlarged and his liver was not working corectly. By
know he had been 5 day with no food. Monday morning I picked him up with his IV's and CAT still connected and transported him to his vet. My vet kept him over night. During the night he past away. I know I take care of my dogs very well and I know in my heart he didn't have anything wrong with him or he didn't eat anything that would have harmed (toys, sticks, rats etc,) I also know in my heart the the Iams mini chunk green bag is what took him from me. Yesterday I had bury not just a dog but a part of my family becuase the FDA and Iams will not do anything about all of the report of people animals pass away from eating dry dog food. PLEASE PULL THE IAMS GREEN BAG MINI CHUNCKS FROM THE SELVES.

By Michael Keen, 7-25-07

Misty Lee post of 7/25/07,

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. We also lost our pet to Iams (lamb and rice in the green bag) and know what your going through. I have tried my very best to warn as many people as possible and have saved many others pets, sorry I did not get through to everyone.

There is some very good information at MenuFoodsClassAction@yahoogroups

Also, please go to defendourpets.org and sign our petition. Ask around on the yahoogroups site and I'm quite certain you can join one of the many class action law suites in order to recoup some of your losses. Itchmo, petconnection or Howl911 are all great places to get information. Also great discussion groups with very good information and links to all the info you could ever digest. This is a very large problem and has been nearly covered up. If not for the power of the internet, I'm quite certain they would have never recalled a single product. I've read that nearly 30 thousand animals, pet, have been killed or permanently damaged by these greedy pet food manufactures. I still have not replaced our dog, Abby Gayle, because of the constant worry about the food. Now it's in the human food chain! I fear for what's to come. Please look into the legal aspect of this, you will get your vet bills paid and something for your pet if you are persistent. Your vet should be able to tell you if it was the food or not... Do not get rid of any leftover food you may have. Contact me at and I can give you the address to an analytical laboratory that have been testing pet food for several different toxins. If they find the food to be poisonous then you have a very good claim.

Please know that someone does care and we are doing something about it.

Michael C. Keen
Missing Abby Gayle

By Lori Morris, 2-02-08

I just lost one cat and another one is dying. Purina One regular and urinary tract care dry. This is insane! I had just bought a large bag of Purina One for my dogs and I threw it away.

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By joeAnne, 4-24-09

I am curious if these foods really contain <a >steroids</a>. This is what I have heard some weeks ago from a person who works with pets.

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Wet Pet Food Recalled Throughout North America