More on the pet food recall

I was just reading that Hill’s Science Diet is involved in a voluntary recall of a number of their “cuts and gravy” food types, yet another casualty of the Menufoods recall from a couple of days ago.  I believe both Hills and Nutro have food manufactured at the same processing plant as some of the Menufoods products, so I think this recall is a precaution and not a result of any reported problems.  Still, it’s upsetting for me to know that the “kitten savory ocean cuts” food is now being recalled, because it was one of the foods I was giving Madison while I was weaning her.  I also sent an entire case of the food with her when she went to her new family.  Obviously she’s doing fine, and wasn’t negatively affected by anything she ate, but if she’d gotten sick I just would have been beside myself.

As Helly pointed out in the comments from my previous post on this issue, it’s tough to point fingers at pet food companies when even food for people is prone to contamination.  I always thought grain-laden kibble was the product most likely to cause pet illness (because of the potential for aflatoxin contamination), but I think this current recall of canned food shows that our best protection is to be diligent and aware of our pets’ behaviour.  There are many times I’ve been able to sense that a pet “just isn’t right”, even though there’s nothing visibly wrong, but I often take a “wait and see” approach because I don’t want to seem like a hypochondric-by-proxy.  Maybe that isn’t always the best approach, though… maybe any case of “just ain’t right” should really make us stop and think about what we’re feeding, changes in diet, etc.  I feed so many animals every day that I slop the food in dishes and often don’t take the time to watch my pets eat, but it’s something we should all try to do a couple of times a week. 

Another comment from my previous post is worth repeating.  Jan stopped by to mention that she was feeding a colony of cats, and they suddenly refused to eat when she offered them a new bag of kibble.  When she switched to a different bag, the cats all resumed eating normally.  I’ve had that same thing happen here, with my own pets—every once in a while, I’ll open a can of food and none of them want to eat it.  Even Derek refused to eat the contents of one can of food, yet it looked and smelled normal to me.  We can all benefit from listening to the little messages our pets send us.  Maybe they’re just messing with our heads, but it’s still okay to be overly protective.

Speaking of “messing with our heads”, Frank and Jackson had one of their worst fights ever this evening.  It was almost cartoon-like—I came across them intertwined and rolling rapidly down the hallway, like a couple of tumbleweeds.  Frank got the worst of it, but that just seemed to be some missing chunks of fur and a spitty neck (maybe I should say the carpet got the worst of it, with cat pee and some poop tossed in for good measure).  I’ve checked both cats over and didn’t find any evidence of blood or wounds, and I don’t want to find another abscess in a week and a half.  We decided this evening that we will take Phoenix to the vet tomorrow for her cat bite, because the “pocket” of the abscess is so huge.  It still seems to be clean and no longer inflamed, but when I flush it, the wound swells up like a ping-pong ball with fluid—that’s how much room there is inside that space, with only a tiny pin-sized hole for an entrance.  I think a course of antibiotics would be a good thing.

Let’s end this on a nicer note.  Here’s a blog entry from Helly about a cat who was pretty darned happy about the pet food recall:  Finnovar and the sushi dinner

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 03/19 at 03:00 AM

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

  1. Thanks for the link! I hope you liked the pictures as much as Finnovar liked his sushi!

    Posted by Helly  on  03/19  at  06:04 AM

  2. Definitely worrying. I have one picky girl and sometimes top dress her kibble with people food in order to get her to eat. If it ever happens that the others also suddenly get picky on the same food, I will definitely take it to heart. :( No gravy. Quit, kaput.

    Posted by Semavi Lady  on  03/19  at  11:27 PM
    3. Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email (required, but will not be made public):

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my details for future comments?

Let me know about new replies to this topic?

What is the sum of 2 and 9?

Next entry: A veterinary toxicologist opines about the pet food recall

Previous entry: The one where Phoenix is bitten by a cat

<< Back to main