Online Database if your Pet Died/Sick from Recalled Pet Food

[RamboLiberal]

http://petconnection.com/

Update: As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 250 pets have been reported as dead to our PetConnection database.

***

Pet-lovers are understandably worried about the massive, voluntary recall of many brands of pet food and reports of pet deaths. Involved are house brands sold by retailers and products from pet food companies. The recall involves "wet" food in cans or pouches.

At PetConnection, we are tracking the number of sick pets, and we're asking for your help. We're also keeping on top of the situation on our Web log.

http://www.kxly.com/news/?sect_rank=1§ion_id=559&story_id=9484

At the North Idaho Animal Hospital in Sandpoint, Dr. Marty Becker says the phones are ringing constantly with pet owners calling, worried they fed their dog or cat one of 95 brands of "Cuts and Gravy" style food recalled last week.

“I would say the overall mood across the country is still panic,” Dr. Becker said. “Because it's not like a threat you can see. You can protect your dog or cat from an oncoming car or angry dog but this is an invisible threat.”

Dr. Becker says that when news of the pet food recall began to spread he knew he needed to start tracking just how widespread the problem is. On Sunday Dr. Becker began compiling reports in a database on his website petconnection.com. On the website pet owners who believe their animal has been affected by the tainted food fill out a short form.

“I think we are going to be surprised by two things. Number one the problem is much larger than being reported right now, and number two it may be confined to more metropolitan areas,” Dr. Becker said, explaining that in metropolitan areas pet owners are more likely to use this kind of food.

[shaniqua6392]

1. Too bad the main stream media would not publish this site.

Maybe then we could get a more accurate picture of just how many animals are falling ill. There should be some way to penalize these pet food manufacturers for this, too. They will never tell us how bad it really is. The media will just stop talking about it after a week of so as they did in the recent Diamond Pet Foods recall. In the meantime, people are watching perfectly healthy pets that they love die.

[kestrel91316]

2. Proper venue for reporting all cases:

1) FDA Consumer Complaints Coordinaters by state: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html

2) Also, have your veterinarian report to the appropriate county or state veterinary public health office.

3) And also, report to the individual pet food companies.

A website set up by private parties is not going to be a very great source for proper gathering of statistics, I'm afraid. It may just lead to unnecessary confusion.

THE FDA NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT ALL CASES.

On edit: Proper reporting systems are already in place and should be used. No need to reinvent the wheel.......

[RamboLiberal]

4. The private website also says report to FDA

Menu Foods, a company manufacturing pet food brands for many companies, has announced a massive recall of pet foods. The affected product lines at this time are restricted to "wet" foods in cans or pouches, with more than 48 dog food brands and 40 cat food brands represented -- more than 60 million containers in all.

We're asking pet-lovers whose pets have been made ill or have died to fill out the simple form below. We're not lawyers, and we're not forming a class-action suit. We're pet-lovers, veterinarians and journalists who are trying to get an accurate idea of the scope of this tragedy. And that's why we need your help.

Please take a few minutes and fill out the form below. You'll be helping us to help other pet-lovers.

You should also report your pet's illness or death to the FDA.

Check out the latest information on our Web log, including links to the lists of recalled products. Also, advice from Dr. Marty Becker on what you should do if you have recalled food in your home.

http://petconnection.com/recall/index.php

[kestrel91316]

5. Marty Becker needs to get online at VIN and he'll SEE the scope.

The sheer numbers of vets reporting multiple cases is staggering.

Reporting needs to be done by veterinarians. Pet owners, though well-intentioned, are not the ones to be diagnosing and reporting these cases. It is likely to result in inflated numbers, IMHO.

[kestrel91316]

3. Email from my local (Los Angeles Co) vet public health office:

After the Animal Health Alert about the pet food recall was sent out yesterday, Los Angeles County Veterinary Public Health has received reports about 4 cats and 4 dogs in Los Angeles County that developed kidney failure after eating pet food currently listed as recalled. Reports were received from Calabasas, Canyon Country, Lancaster, Long Beach, Santa Monica and West Los Angeles.

The first symptoms that owners notice were poor appetite, tiredness and
increased water consumption and urination. Symptoms later progressed to anorexia, vomiting and decreased or absent urination. Four of the animals (2 cats, 2 dogs) have died or were euthanized due to severe illness. A summary of the local cases is attached for distribution or posting.

Several handouts that list the brands, varieties and identifying numbers (lot, UPC or date) that are involved in the recall are attached for your use. Veterinary Public Health will continue to track local cases. Please report suspected cases by faxing a completed Animal Disease/Death Reporting form to our office at 562-401-7112 or calling our office at 562-401-7088 or 877-747-2243. Let us know if it is ok to contact the pet owner to obtain more information. In addition, the client may report suspected cases to the manufacture of the food (see telephone number on can), or the US Food and Drug Administration Complaint Coordinator for Southern California (949-608-3530).

As always, please give us a call if you have any questions, or to discuss potential testing of any animals that die after eating some of the recalled pet food. Thank you for your assistance in tracking the impact of this recall on local pets.


Attached public announcement:

Pets in Los Angeles County
Affected by Recalled Pet Food

March 20, 2007

On Friday March 16, 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice that Menu Foods, Inc., a private label pet food manufacturer, was recalling certain lots of its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat foods. The products are packaged in cans and pouches under numerous brand and are marketed nationwide by many pet food retailers. Lists of the specific UPC codes, lot numbers and dates associated with the recall can be found on the website:

www.menufoods.com/recall

In the past 48 hours, Veterinary Public Health has received reports of 4 cats and 4 dogs in the county who went into kidney failure after eating pet food from the recalled list of foods. Reports have come from Calabasas, Long Beach, Canyon County, Lancaster, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Of those reported, two cats and two dogs have died, and the rest remain hospitalized as of today’s date.

Affected animals developed severe acute kidney failure. In many cases the first symptoms were low appetite, tiredness, and increasing water consumption and urination. Symptoms later progress to absent appetite, vomiting, and decreased or absent urination. Enlargement of one kidney was reported in two cases in dogs, as seen by abdominal radiograph. One unconfirmed case reported today described a dog that was dehydrated and had nystagmus (irregular movement of the eyes).

If you think you have purchased any of the wet pet food on the recall list, stop feeding it to your pet. Note down the brand, UPC code numbers and any lot numbers or dates printed on the affected cans or pouches.

Please report all cases of animals sickened by the recalled canned foods to:
1. Your veterinarian
2. The manufacturer of the food (see telephone number on can)
3. The US Food and Drug Administration Complaint Coordinator for Southern California:
949-608-3530
4. Los Angeles County Veterinary Public Health – tracking all cases in Los Angeles County:
877-747-2243 and online at lapublichealth.org/vet/disintro.htm

[kestrel91316]

6. My assistant just now told me that she got 4 separate phone calls

from clients yesterday thanking me for telling them to not feed the sort of food involved a long time ago as a matter of standard policy.

So far, we appear to be dodging the bullets, but I'm not letting my guard down yet.

[Beaverhausen]

7. Oh god- I had a feeling the numbers here would grow

this is really sad. I'm so glad I learned long ago not to feed my cats this store bought stuff.

[shaniqua6392]

8. Menu Foods is only reporting 15 cats and 1 dog have died.

Kind of funny....There are 250 reported on just that website. They will never let us know how large it has grown. We feed our dogs raw diet, but our finicky cats.... We feed Felidae. They just don't want to eat raw. But at least Canidae and Felidae are the only foods this company makes and they make it in their own plant in California. This is so scary. What do you feed your cats, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks in advance.