Friday, March 23, 2007

Friday Cat Blogging

Top 10 finalists getting their rosettes signed by Judge Mary Auth.

Cat-tested and approved cat trees for sale!

Breathtakingly beautiful!
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Don't forget to stop by...

PSA

Aloysious reports that seventy-two more pets have died from tainted pet food.

The cause is poison. There's more info here.

If you feed a sliced food in gravy to your cat or dog and you haven't already gone to the Menu Foods website to make sure the stuff on your shelf is not affected, do it right now.

Here's more info, received in an email from the CEO of PetSmart:

Dear Valued PetSmart customer:

As you have probably heard, Menu Foods, a national manufacturer of pet foods, issued a voluntary recall of canned and pouched wet dog and cat food manufactured in two of its facilities between December 2006 and March 2007. Again, this is a recall of a specific type of wet pet food made by Menu Foods. Other wet pet foods and all dry pet food and treats are not impacted by this recall.

Menu Foods initiated the recall after receiving reports that some of its foods may be the cause of reported illnesses and kidney failure in dogs and cats. Menu Foods distributes these products to supermarkets, mass merchandisers and pet specialty stores, including PetSmart®, under a variety of brand names.

Click here to see a complete list of PetSmart products that are part of the recall, as well as their respective UPCs (also referred to as the bar code). The bar code can be found on the product label; the UPC is under the series of bars. As a reminder, the items listed are the only items that PetSmart carries that have been affected by the recall.

In the meantime, we have pulled all recalled products from our store shelves and have a process in place to help ensure they're not restocked or distributed in any way. The brands and products currently on our shelves are considered safe.

If you have purchased any of the recalled items, you should discontinue use immediately. We recommend you contact your vet if you have any concerns that your pet may have been affected. Symptoms may include:

  1. Vomiting (this is usually the first sign)
  2. Refusal to eat
  3. Fatigue
  4. Abnormal increase in water consumption
  5. Abnormal increase in urination

If you're interested in finding out more about what kinds of tests vets recommend to make a diagnosis, click here.

Additionally, if you are looking for a recommendation for your unique pet food needs, please visit our Smart Nutrition Selector on our website. Or, if you need additional assistance while in the store, feel free to ask an associate. If you know of any other pet parents that are in search of more information, please share this with them.

If you have food that is a part of the recall, you can bring it back to PetSmart for a complete refund. Or, we'll exchange your items with any dry food or alternative canned or foiled pouched wet foods that we have in stock.

Please remember, this recall affects only specific wet pet food items. All dry pet food and treats are not impacted by this recall.

We also encourage customers with concerns or questions to contact any of the companies listed below:

Authority – 1-866-738-7375
Award – 1-866-738-7375
Eukanuba – 1-800-882-1591 (www.eukanuba.com)
Grreat Choice – 1-866-738-7375
Hills/Science Diet – 1-800-445-5777 (www.hillspet.com)
Iams – 1-800-882-1591 (www.iams.com)
Menu Foods – 1-866-463-6738 (www.menufoods.com)
Mighty Dog – 1-800-778-7462 (www.purina.com)
Mixables – 1-303-768-8400 (www.varietypetfoods.com)
Nutro – 1-800-833-5330 (www.nutroproducts.com)
Sophisticat – 1-866-738-7375

At PetSmart, we're very concerned pet parents too, and we will do everything in our power to help. Please visit PetSmart.com for the most up-to-date information. If you have any additional questions about the Menu Foods recall, please call our Customer Service line at 1-866-738-7375.

Sincerely,

Philip L. Francis
Chairman & CEO, PetSmart, Inc.

What a mess.

Monday, March 19, 2007

PSA

If you are a dog or cat owner, please stop and read this important dog food/cat food recall announcement.

Dogs and cats are dying from this. Don't let this happen to your animal because you didn't take a few seconds to read on!

Here's the AP article that came out Saturday:

Dog, Cat Food Recalled After Pet Deaths

Saturday March 17, 7:32 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major manufacturer of pet foods sold throughout North America under dozens of store names is recalling millions of containers of its products while working to determine what caused kidney failure and some deaths of cats and dogs.

Menu Foods said Saturday it is recalling dog food sold under 46 brands and cat food sold under 37 brands and distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The pet foods were sold by major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates is available from the Menu Foods website, . Consumers with questions can also call (866) 895-2708. http://www.menufoods.com/recall

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

The recall covers the company's "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.

The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.

The company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.

P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.

Menu Foods' three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.

Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.

"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.

The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said.

Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.

Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.

Yikes!