You're so right about how excess leads to people calling for torte reform. But I really don't see what is wrong with tortes. I particularly like sacher, linzer, and raspberry almond.

What's that, Randy? It's tort without an "e".

Nevermind.

Be a blessing to someone today.

I suspect that there is more than we know going on with the pet food industry. And, I am not sure if it is corporate greed or sabotage, or any of several combinations. People are spending more on their pets now than ever before. Supposedly, the industry is heavily controlled and monitored--but, you can bet that people would be willing to spend a lot more to insure safe food for their fur children. Hmmm, if you follow the money aspect...

i'm wondering if this will become a class action lawsuit. Vet bills add up pretty darn fast, just like our own medical bills.

Well since you are an advocate for your kitty, I hope you will be on board.

How about if it were hamburger meat that was poisoned, or if it were oatmeal.

Would your kitty stand up for you if the roles were reversed?

I don't know how far that lawsuit will go. The company that makes the pet food has announced that if a pet owner can prove their pet died of the contaminated food, the company will pay the vet bills. I'm not sure about whether they will pay if the pet survives.

There are allegedly millions of cans that were contaminated enough to kill a range of animals. Did rat poison suddenly become free? I think not. My wild ass guess about how much rat poison it would take to contaminate that much material, considering how much I have put out to kill rats, says that they would have had to have a couple of box cars full.

So, if it was rat poison, who sold it? Who bought it? How did they sneak that volume into the manufacturing process? How did they sneak it into the facility. How did they get the finished product past the testing?

Perhaps it isn't impossible but, on first analysis, it looks like you have to be pretty damn easy to accept that rather flimsy explanation.

CAFKIA

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It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
  - William G. McAdoo

The chemical that they found in the pet food is not used as rat poison in the US but is used in other countries. The contaminated wheat gluten was imported from China.

I agree that the explanation doesn't pass the smell test. My theory is that it is some kind of sabotage. But why?

Since the peanut butter and spinach recalls it has crossed my mind about a terror attack, but oh well, I keep eating the stuff until I have a real reason not to, all we can do, either that or live in fear. As for the pet food, thank goodness my cat eats mostly dry food and has not had any of the recalled brand. If he became ill from food I'd join a class action. But, I know enough to be cynical of some local suits. But I'm all for legitimate ones.

Well, here's a new wrinkle:

Elaine Larabie said Saturday she ate some dog food last week in an effort to convince her terrier, Missy, to do the same. Soon afterwards, both Larabie and Missy found themselves in hospital...

It goes on...

For three days, she suffered a range of "confusing" and "embarrassing" symptoms, including loss of appetite, vomiting and foaming of the mouth.

Just go ahead and insert your own punch line.

Full Story.

Now being recalled due to same problem with the wet pet food. According to the FDA, "Consumers who have any bags of Prescription Diet m/d Feline should discontinue use. "

< (link...) >

Pet Food Recall Expands to New Wet Brand

>snip:
Nestle Purina PetCare Co. said it was recalling all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. Purina said a limited amount of the food contained a contaminated wheat gluten from China.

I didn't assume a conspiracy, just that workers had set out poison to kill rats in the granary and somehow it got mixed in by mistake. Or maybe the poisoned rats got mixed in the food. Incompetence rather than conspiracy.

___________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

I know water transport beats trains and trucks by far for efficiency but it seems something is way wrong here. Coals to Newcastle and all that.

Sometimes I boggle that bulky or heavy items can even be transported here from China for less than their price.

____________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats...

In this story, the low price of the product is due to child labor, non-existent workplace safety, and wages of $3 per day.

Kids are lucky to have work! When I was their age, I had to play soccer, watch TV and earned no money!

Pupster got sick week before last with vomiting and diarrhea. We kept her hydrated and put her on a diet of rice and chicken and broth, but she couldn't keep that down either, and Immodium wasn't helping the diarrhea.

After about five days and -1 pound (she only weighs 17 pounds) we decided we'd better take her to the vet last week.

They examined her and did a full blood workup looking for any signs of poisoning related to the pet food recalls. She checked out OK and had none of the liver or kidney blood chemistry that would indicate a problem related to the contaminated pet foods.

We feed her Eukanuba dry and two kinds of Mother Hubbard treats, none of which has been included in any recalls or notices so far.

We think she may have gotten into some organic fertilizer we put out a couple of days before. The company says it isn't toxic but it could cause a stomach ache for "a few hours" if ingested. She'll eat all kinds of nasty stuff off the ground, though, so it could have been anything.

But naturally we were concerned about the pet food recall, with new brands being announced every few days it seems. This latest recall sounds like it's a new source of contamination.

Anyway, the vet gave her two injections and sent her home with pills for the vomiting and diarrhea and she seems to be OK now.

We asked the vet if they had had any cases related to the recall. They said they had been swamped with folks bringing their pets in with symptoms similar to Pupster's, but so far they have not identified any cases related to the recall.

So that's some good news. The best bet, though, is to get your pet to the vet if there is any doubt.

They examined her and did a full blood workup looking for any signs of poisoning related to the pet food recalls. She checked out OK and had none of the liver or kidney blood chemistry that would indicate a problem related to the contaminated pet foods.

I have not heard anything about the contaminated food causing liver problems. What did you hear or was your vet being extra careful?

The reason I ask is that last fall we tried to get our kitten spayed and pre-op blood work indicated that she had liver problems. The problem turned out to be so bad that she probably would have bled out during surgery. She did recover and we were able to have her spayed. When the vet spayed her, she did a liver biopsy. As it turned out, she did have some liver damage.

She (the vet) told me what they would expect to see in the liver enzymes with poisoning, but I don't remember what it was.

But her (the Pupster's) alkaline phosphate levels are always elevated (first discovered before surgery to have a growth removed from her paw), suggesting a possibility of Cushing's Disease. She has been tested for it a few times and always tests negative and has no other symptoms. Maybe that's why they ran the liver tests.

Glad to hear the Pupster is recovering.

I wonder if the spike in vet-related visits (due to pet vomiting/diarrhea) is because of heightened caution related to the pet food contamination rather than actual poisoning from the food. Pretty much every dog on the planet finds and happily eats something nasty once in a while which messes up the digestive system. Normally, most owners would just wait for it to... uh, pass.

Also, I imagine a lot of people (like us) have switched to a different pet food brand and have cut out the canned/pouch wet food. Diet changes always seems to take our dog's system a week or so to figure out how to process.

Yep. When you walk your dog in a park every day and clean up after it, a person becomes a little too familiar with this kind of stuff.