Pet Food Recall

Thanks. Going camping without her tomorrow, it will be quiet.

CoWolfpack, great info, and about right for what is happening here locally.
But, most independent vets are not tracking it, like mine.

Local well off cat lovers are spending $8000, another spent $10000 and the cats are alive, but still having problems. The $10000 cat's food was sent to UC Davis Vet labs (top school). Nutro Max 3 oz cans, NOT on the recall list as of today, CONFIRMED by testing to contain Melamine. They have a special Homeland security supplied lab there.
So, once again, do NOT feed wheat gluten products to your animal, whether on the recall or not, IMOP.

I am so sorry about Luna.....please accept my condolences.

When I read of such loss and know the pain it causes, words will never be enough to express how I feel....

Just read this article on foxnews.com

Veterinary Hospital Chain Reports 39,000 Pets Were Sickened or Killed by Contaminated Food
Monday, April 09, 2007

WASHINGTON — Pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical may have sickened or killed 39,000 cats and dogs nationwide, based on an extrapolation from data released Monday by one of the nation's largest chains of veterinary hospitals.

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, said an analysis of its database, compiled from records collected by its more than 615 veterinary hospitals, suggests that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the pet food contaminated with melamine developed kidney failure. There are an estimated 60 million dogs and 70 million cats in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The hospital chain saw 1 million dogs and cats during the three months when the more than 100 brands of now-recalled contaminated pet food were sold. It saw 284 extra cases of kidney failure among cats during that period, or a roughly 30 percent increase, when compared with background rates.

"It has meaning, when you see a peak like that. We see so many pets here, and it coincided with the recall period," said veterinarian Hugh Lewis, who oversees the mining of Banfield's database to do clinical studies. The chain continues to share its data with the Food and Drug Administration.

FDA officials previously have said the database compiled by the huge veterinary practice would probably provide the most authoritative picture of the harm done by the tainted cat and dog food.

From its findings, Banfield officials calculated an incidence rate of .03 percent for pets, although there was no discernible uptick among dogs. That suggests the contamination was overwhelming toxic to cats, Lewis said. That is in line with what other experts have said previously.

At least six pet food companies have recalled products made with imported Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical. The recall involved about 1 percent of the overall U.S. pet food supply.

Measuring the tainted food's impact on animal health has proved an elusive goal. Previous estimates have ranged from the FDA's admittedly low tally of roughly 16 confirmed deaths to the more than 3,000 unconfirmed cases logged by one Web site.

"On a percentage basis it's not breathtaking, but unfortunately it's a number that, if it was your pet that was affected, it's too high," veterinarian Nancy Zimmerman, Banfield's senior medical adviser, said of the newly estimated incidence rate.

In another estimate Monday, the founder of a veterinary group said 5,000 to 10,000 pets may have fallen ill from eating the contaminated food, and 1,000 to 2,000 may have died.

The estimate was based on a Veterinary Information Network survey of 1,400 veterinarians among its 30,000 members. About one-third reported at least one case, said Paul Pion, the Network's founder. He cautioned that a final, definitive tally isn't possible, and that even his estimate could be halved — or doubled.

"Nobody is ever going to know the truth," Pion said. "It's always going to be a guess."

Also Monday, the Web site petconnection.com said it had received reports of 3,598 pet deaths, split almost evenly between dogs and cats. The site cautioned that the numbers were unconfirmed.

Banfield's veterinarians treat an estimated 6 percent of the nation's cats and dogs. After the first recall was announced, the chain beefed up its software to allow those veterinarians to plug in extra epidemiological information to help track cases, Zimmerman said.

The new template allowed vets to log what a sick pet had eaten, any symptoms its owner may have noticed, the results of a physical examination, any urine and blood test results and other observations.

Lewis said there is no reason to believe the company's findings — including an apparently heightened vulnerability of kittens to the contaminant — wouldn't hold for other veterinary practices as well.

In outbreaks of foodborne disease in humans, the FDA leans on its sister agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to help track and confirm cases. During the ongoing pet food scare, FDA officials have repeatedly reminded the nation that there is no CDC for dogs and cats.

A spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association said the lack of hard numbers has worried pet owners eager to understand the extent of the problem. He suggested the recall could spur the creation of an animal counterpart to the CDC.

"This might be something that would push this in the future," AVMA spokesman Michael San Filippo said.

Another large veterinary chain, Los Angeles-based VCA Antech Inc., has not tallied reports from its nearly 400 VCA animal hospitals around the country, a spokesman said.

My heart just breaks for you and your family. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. It's just criminal what has happened.

Just buried Luna out back on the hill, overlooking SF bay and the sunrise. DD went with me to the Humane society, they wrapped her in towels. I opened them to check, gave her a pet, DD turned around and gave her a pet too. Then buried her snuggled in the nice towels.
I wish criminal charges could be filed on this food thing, but it's China. Hopefully they will never buy from there again.
Camping will be different without her. I still think there was a dog bias on the contest at Monster Mash Rally...

We don't know about amount and timing of signs. It stands to reason the more of the affected foods eaten, the more severe the signs and the smaller the animal the less of the affected food required to cause problems. We've had equal numbers of cats and dogs (3 of each - suspects). VIN - the veterinary board I belong to is gathering information from their members and trying to collate information that could be helpful in diagnosing and treating this.
They are gathering info about how much was eaten, when and then lab test results and autopsy findings when the pet dies.

Doug

Dr Doug, does it seem that just one meal of the recalled food can put a cat or dog in the hospital or is it cumulative? Have you had more incidents involving cats than dogs?
Judy

So sorry Vern. We all know the feelings we get with the loss, but right now you get the added uncertainty about the food. We run into the same problem when we get cases of kidney failure now. We've have 4-6 cases since early February that were or could have been food related. We've just about as positive as can be that two were (I actually have in my possession a can of recalled food). The other 4 are suspicious enough that I believe they are.

Doug, DVM

Our cat Sassy passed away 1 week ago yesterday. She was 17.5 years old and had been diagnosed with failing kidneys several years ago. This is common for older cats. She had been fed brands of cat food that were recalled. I have no way of knowing if they were the recalled dates as the packaging had been thrown out in the garbage. Since the recall announcement we did not feed her any of the recalled brands.

I of coarse do not know if the death was food related, but it could have been. I filed a comment on the FDA site today. It may not help but as Americans it is our duty to support the FDA people. I told them that they need to fight hard on this as today it is pet food and tomorrow it could be our food! Remember they are people just like us and probably have pets also.

Sassy always went camping with us and she will be missed!

Did anybody else see the report on Anderson Cooper's show on CNN? They said that some poisoned pets had been saved by their vet, sent home to grateful owners just to be fed more of the food that was the culprit in the first place. OMG, how ironic! This was before the recall, of course. I'm so glad Luna is still among us, and hope she will be one of the lucky ones.