Rat Poison Found in Recalled Pet Food

[jon1856]

Rat Poison Found in Recalled Pet Food

By MARK JOHNSON
AP
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 23) - Rat poison was found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, but scientists said Friday they still don't know how it got there and predicted more animal deaths would be linked to it.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...00010000000001

[carnation]

My daughter's bichon ate some of this soon after his arrival and went into kidney failure. Luckily, he beat it but we are so angry...

[greeklawgirl]

Glad the bichon is OK, carnation! Our chihuahua eats a special prescription diet which is not on the recall list, but she was in some distress this morning and I took her to the vet just in case. Turns out that she just has a UTI, but we were pretty worried there for a bit. I can't imagine how distressed and angry and upset all those affected pet owners must be. Those poor little munchkins...

[amycat412]

Originally Posted by greeklawgirl

Glad the bichon is OK, carnation! Our chihuahua eats a special prescription diet which is not on the recall list, but she was in some distress this morning and I took her to the vet just in case. Turns out that she just has a UTI, but we were pretty worried there for a bit. I can't imagine how distressed and angry and upset all those affected pet owners must be. Those poor little munchkins...

PUMPKIN MY LOVE!!!!!!

[Jill1228]

What sick bastard would do this?

Glad Bichon is okay, Carnation.

I give my 2 cats wet food about once a week but I am now scared to give it to them

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by Jill1228

What sick bastard would do this?

Glad Bichon is okay, Carnation.

I give my 2 cats wet food about once a week but I am now scared to give it to them

We give ours Friskies everyday and nothing bad has ever happened to them because of it. Don't be scared to do it.

[texas*princess]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/05/pet.deaths/index.html

[UGAalum94]

One of the interesting things about this to me is the range of the products affected. Some of the really expensive "healthy" brands apparently make their products at the same plants with the same materials as the generic store brands.

It kind of makes you wonder.

[Tippiechick]

True, high-quality foods are not involved in this recall.

Why?

1) The really good brands use human-grade ingredients.

2) They do not use large amounts of fillers, like wheat gluten. Most of the petsmart/walmart/etc. brands have fillers as their main ingredients. Dogs only process a percentage (usually from 40-60%) of their food when fillers are used. When high-quality foods are used, the dogs' bodies can use around 90%. The more their bodies can use, the LESS THEY POOP OUT. Your good foods all have meat or protein as their main ingredient.

While you do pay more for high-quality foods, you aren't spending more money in the long run. Since they use so much more of the food for nutrition, they require less. I feed my dogs a fraction of what most people feed their dogs. But, they are healthy and happy.

Some really good brands are Solid Gold, Merrick, Primal, Flint River Ranch and Canidae.

If you absolutely cannot afford these brands, Purina One is the best store-brand. It's better than any petsmart brands.


ANOTHER OPTION:
Buy a bag of chicken thighs. Put them in a crockpot overnight with some brown rice and veg-all. Remove the bones before feeding. This is just as cheap as buying pet food. You just store the excess in the fridge and feed over the next week.

[BetteDavisEyes]

I feed my cats a combination of dry cat food and tuna. They always have plenty of water and dry cat food on hand but in the evening, they get fresh tuna. My poor mom has lots of cats. Technically, she only has 2 but she felt so sorry for all the poor neighborhood cats that she saw roaming around so she started feeding them all. One did get sick but it turned out to be something minor that was easily remedied.

[EtaPhiZTA]

I have been seriously considering changing my dog's food since all of this has been developing. I have a bichon who is 13 1/2 years old, and he has always been on a combination of Iams minichunks and Eukaneuba dry food. In addition to the dry kibble, I give him 1-2 Tbsp. of moist Iams mixed in. He likes his food, but I have to say I was very shocked to see that Iams dogfoods were made in the same plant as other brands. I always thought Iams was a high-quality food.

The local privately-owned pet store stocks Solid Gold dog food, and the owner could not sing its praises enough. (I was glad to see that this is considered to be a true high-quality dog food in Tippiechick's post.) I don't mind switching my dog's food, but I have always heard that dogs often have problems when being switched from one brand to another.

Does anyone have any advice for how to make the switch without getting my dog sick? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

True, high-quality foods are not involved in this recall.

Why?

1) The really good brands use human-grade ingredients.

2) They do not use large amounts of fillers, like wheat gluten. Most of the petsmart/walmart/etc. brands have fillers as their main ingredients. Dogs only process a percentage (usually from 40-60%) of their food when fillers are used. When high-quality foods are used, the dogs' bodies can use around 90%. The more their bodies can use, the LESS THEY POOP OUT. Your good foods all have meat or protein as their main ingredient.

While you do pay more for high-quality foods, you aren't spending more money in the long run. Since they use so much more of the food for nutrition, they require less. I feed my dogs a fraction of what most people feed their dogs. But, they are healthy and happy.

Some really good brands are Solid Gold, Merrick, Primal, Flint River Ranch and Canidae.

If you absolutely cannot afford these brands, Purina One is the best store-brand. It's better than any petsmart brands.


ANOTHER OPTION:
Buy a bag of chicken thighs. Put them in a crockpot overnight with some brown rice and veg-all. Remove the bones before feeding. This is just as cheap as buying pet food. You just store the excess in the fridge and feed over the next week.

[33girl]

Just because they're made in the same plant doesn't mean they all have the same ingredients.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by EtaPhiZTA

I have been seriously considering changing my dog's food since all of this has been developing. I have a bichon who is 13 1/2 years old, and he has always been on a combination of Iams minichunks and Eukaneuba dry food. In addition to the dry kibble, I give him 1-2 Tbsp. of moist Iams mixed in. He likes his food, but I have to say I was very shocked to see that Iams dogfoods were made in the same plant as other brands. I always thought Iams was a high-quality food.

The local privately-owned pet store stocks Solid Gold dog food, and the owner could not sing its praises enough. (I was glad to see that this is considered to be a true high-quality dog food in Tippiechick's post.) I don't mind switching my dog's food, but I have always heard that dogs often have problems when being switched from one brand to another.

Does anyone have any advice for how to make the switch without getting my dog sick? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

The easiest way to switch a dog's food is to gradually add in the new food while decreasing the old food. Mix it all in together. Each time you feed the dog change the proportion. Depending on how often you feed your dog the wet food (every meal or once a day or whatever) you can do it in less than a week as long as s/he is eating and their poop is normal.

[Educatingblue]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

True, high-quality foods are not involved in this recall.


ANOTHER OPTION:
Buy a bag of chicken thighs. Put them in a crockpot overnight with some brown rice and veg-all. Remove the bones before feeding. This is just as cheap as buying pet food. You just store the excess in the fridge and feed over the next week.

Thank you for providing an alternative. I know most people hear that feeding "table food" is bad, but lean chicken and vegetables is fine. I normally mix lean chicken with Nutro Ultra (holistic) dog food).

[RU OX Alum]

some cat treats and even the hairball treatment was recalled too, fyi