Pet Food Recall Update - Was it Rat Poison???

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Remember the Pet Food Recall I told you about? They thought it was contaminated wheat gluten that was causing cats and dogs to die of kidney failure.

Scientists at a food laboratory in Albany, NY found rat poison in the pet food they tested.

This poison known as aminopterin actually isn't legal to use in the U.S. for killing rodents, although it is used as a cancer drug because it inhibits the growth of malignant cells. It is highly toxic if taken in high doses, and for small animals like cats and dogs, it can cause kidney failure.

The rat poison could have been used on wheat imported from China, and that's why it was thought that the contaminated wheat gluten was the culprit.

Fit's Tips: So far 15 cats and 1 dog have died from kidney failure due to eating pet food manufactured by Menu Foods. If this pet food recall is news to you, check to see if your pet food is on this list.

PetWheatDogCatKidney FailurePet Food RecallMenu FoodsAminopterinRat Poison

20 Comments

JKe895 JKe895
That's horrible!!!
JKe895 JKe895
That's horrible!!!
Marci Marci
This is just the scariest thing. You buy a product like IAMS because you want the best for your pet, but then you find out that IAMS is made by someone else who makes many different brands of pet foods and they use illegal pesticides, etc. It's like no one really gives a damn about the possible effects on us or our pets. If I had a pet that died as a result of this, I'd be beside myself. I feel really bad for all of them, and the poor dogs.
Marci Marci
This is just the scariest thing. You buy a product like IAMS because you want the best for your pet, but then you find out that IAMS is made by someone else who makes many different brands of pet foods and they use illegal pesticides, etc. It's like no one really gives a damn about the possible effects on us or our pets. If I had a pet that died as a result of this, I'd be beside myself. I feel really bad for all of them, and the poor dogs.
Acey Acey
that is so sad.. my heart goes out to the people who lost their pets :(
MuppetsForDinner MuppetsForDinner
I believe that my family dog was poisoned by this. My mom feeds her Purina Mighty Dog pouches (one of the foods recalled). My dog got extremely (and inexplicably) sick in mid-February to early March, but we thought that it was due to old age. She was displaying symptoms of kidney failure (excessive thirst, excessive urination) and we had her tested for Cushing's disease. She tested negative for everything and while she was at the vet for observation she miraculously got better. The vet gave prescribed a food for dogs who display kidney problems and she seems to be back to her old self. We didn't think of it then, but it seems very possible that this was due to the food. So scary but we're glad she's okay.
MuppetsForDinner MuppetsForDinner
I believe that my family dog was poisoned by this. My mom feeds her Purina Mighty Dog pouches (one of the foods recalled). My dog got extremely (and inexplicably) sick in mid-February to early March, but we thought that it was due to old age. She was displaying symptoms of kidney failure (excessive thirst, excessive urination) and we had her tested for Cushing's disease. She tested negative for everything and while she was at the vet for observation she miraculously got better. The vet gave prescribed a food for dogs who display kidney problems and she seems to be back to her old self. We didn't think of it then, but it seems very possible that this was due to the food. So scary but we're glad she's okay.
controlledspin controlledspin
This makes me so incredibly sad. Pets are so important to so many lives...
POPSUGAR Fitness POPSUGAR Fitness
My heart is just so saddened...
mandiesoh mandiesoh
oh god, hate this!
mandiesoh mandiesoh
oh god, hate this!
Desirella Desirella
You'd actually be surprised at what most of these so called "major brands" such as iams, eukanuba, pedigree and such are putting into their pet foods. Mainly stuff we ourselves would not touch with a ten foot pole. When I adopted my dog Coby, I did a lot of research about food, treats, vaccines and such. I ended up feeding him Solid Gold which is considered a human grade food so pretty much everything that goes into it, we would eat ourselves and he gets castor and pollux treats which are a hollistic brand. I also agree with JessNess that if you buy your dog rawhides, make sure that they are from the USA. It is really sad about what has happened and I'm sure many more than 15 families are devastated, the company alone has killed 7 dogs and or cats already by running their own tests as to wether their food was the culprit. I hope that this situation will promote more pet owners to buy better quality foods for their pets if possible because those few extra dollars could save your pets life.
Desirella Desirella
You'd actually be surprised at what most of these so called "major brands" such as iams, eukanuba, pedigree and such are putting into their pet foods. Mainly stuff we ourselves would not touch with a ten foot pole. When I adopted my dog Coby, I did a lot of research about food, treats, vaccines and such. I ended up feeding him Solid Gold which is considered a human grade food so pretty much everything that goes into it, we would eat ourselves and he gets castor and pollux treats which are a hollistic brand. I also agree with JessNess that if you buy your dog rawhides, make sure that they are from the USA. It is really sad about what has happened and I'm sure many more than 15 families are devastated, the company alone has killed 7 dogs and or cats already by running their own tests as to wether their food was the culprit. I hope that this situation will promote more pet owners to buy better quality foods for their pets if possible because those few extra dollars could save your pets life.
crayolacraze crayolacraze
I cant believe big food companies like this would actually use something ILLEGAL to kill rats... I would guess they make enough money to buy legal stuff. Just trying to be cheap and killing not only rats but dogs and cats... :(
groby groby
The "15" number seems a blatant lie to me. As far as I know, those are the numbers that died in tests that MenuFoods did. My local vet alone is treating more animals than that - and some of them are in bad shape. Yes, one of my kitties is there too. I got here Iams as a "treat" two weeks ago. Thankfully, she's recovering again - brought her to the vet the moment she seemed a bit off. Keep your fingers crossed for all the animals currently suffering as a direct result of corporate greed. (MenuFoods knew of this since Feb-20, but kept quiet - presumably because it might hurt the bottom line to do a public recall)
groby groby
The "15" number seems a blatant lie to me. As far as I know, those are the numbers that died in tests that MenuFoods did. My local vet alone is treating more animals than that - and some of them are in bad shape.Yes, one of my kitties is there too. I got here Iams as a "treat" two weeks ago. Thankfully, she's recovering again - brought her to the vet the moment she seemed a bit off. Keep your fingers crossed for all the animals currently suffering as a direct result of corporate greed. (MenuFoods knew of this since Feb-20, but kept quiet - presumably because it might hurt the bottom line to do a public recall)
caitlinp86 caitlinp86
this is just so sad, I can't imagine anything like this happening to my babies!
kscincotta kscincotta
This is such a sad story. These poor animals didn't do anything to deserve this.
JessNess JessNess
This is horrible!!!!I cant believe that they let this happenBTW if you buy your dogs things like raw hide and any other product like that make sure that it was made in the US. If it was imported then it is a no-no because they treat it with a product that is basically arsenic. Plus raw hides are bad for your dogs anyways
JessNess JessNess
This is horrible!!!!I cant believe that they let this happen BTW if you buy your dogs things like raw hide and any other product like that make sure that it was made in the US. If it was imported then it is a no-no because they treat it with a product that is basically arsenic. Plus raw hides are bad for your dogs anyways
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