Too much vitamin D3 in dry pet food?

A few days ago, I posted this blog entry about a Toronto lawyer’s allegations that dry dog and cat food (specifically, food manufactured by Royal Canin), contained excessive and deadly amounts of vitamin D.  I wasn’t sure if the lawyer was referring to an old vitamin D recall case from 2006, or if he meant the problem was still happening today, so I emailed him for clarification.  He hasn’t replied.  However, yesterday PETA issued a press release where they too demand that vitamin D levels in dry food be investigated, so this is obviously not an old story, but a new tangent to the Menu Foods recall.  In the process of gathering information on pet deaths, someone has obviously seen a pattern which relates to dry food.  This is alarming, given that so many pet owners seem to feel that dry food is unequivocably safe.  The vitamin D issue is getting very little mention in the mainstream press (and frankly, it’s not getting a lot of mention in the online pet community, either), but we need to be aware of it.  Maybe the allegations are totally wrong.  However, I’d rather be wrong now than sit on this information for a couple of months, and then find out it was correct.

Long story short, know what you’re feeding your pet.  Perhaps even keep a record of pet food lot numbers and UPC codes - it’s not that hard to jot the information on a calendar when you open a new bag of kibble.  Watch your pet, and know your pet—know if something “just ain’t right”, and seek veterinary attention immediately if you think your pet isn’t healthy.  Don’t worry about being paranoid or wasting anyone’s time, just do it.  It’s much better that you waste $50 on blood work for a pet who ends up being healthy, than waiting and waiting until your pet needs $2000 worth of emergency care and ends up dying anyway.  We’re all rushing around and always in a hurry (I know I’m guilty of it, too), but now’s the time to slow down the feeding ritual and to make it something you’re really aware of.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 04/04 at 09:20 PM

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  1. There is an uneasy relationship between pet food, PETA and wheat gluten.  To say PETA has an agenda that is NOT in the interests of dogs is to be mild.  See >>
    http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2007/04/peta-pet-food-and-wheat-gluten.html

    Posted by PBurns  on  04/05  at  06:30 AM

  2. "Watch your pet, and know your pet—know if something “just ain’t right”, and seek veterinary attention immediately if you think your pet isn’t healthy.”

    Too true. Years ago my parents old cat was very ill (almost lost her), and the signs were really subtle--just a little “off” overall. I’ve learned with Salem to keep a close eye on anything unusual or “off” and if it doesn’t stop within a reasonable (but short) amount of time, I call my vet. My in-laws give me a hard time for being paranoid, but I take no chances on my cat’s health.

    Posted by Helena  on  04/05  at  08:53 AM

  3. My vet has a term she uses: A “Just Not Right” cat. That’s when there’s nofing obvious, just a hunch, but worth checkin out.

    Speakin of slowindown the feedin ritual, this mornin Mom gaf us treats an then I snacked on some kibble and trotted downstairs to the litterbox. Wul, I herd Mom puttin kibble in our bowls, so I dropped efurryfing an raced back upstairs to see. I mean, this was off-schedule! I checked efurry bowl, but it was just reglar kibble but fresher, so I had a bite, an then, wul, I amembered the litterbox and rushed back to, um, finish my business.

    Posted by Victor Tabbycat  on  04/05  at  09:30 AM

  4. PBurns, as I said in my entry, I don’t always trust PETA.  However, their complaint this time is *not* about wheat gluten, it’s about vitamin D.

    While I’ve got you here, I also don’t necessarily agree with the comments in the post on your blog about the importance of continuing to test pet food on live animals.  We don’t test baby food on human babies—we’ve figured out what babies need to eat, just as we’ve figured out what dogs and cats need to eat.  There are plenty of good diets available which are not tested on cats and dogs, and which are made from formulas based on what we’ve previously determined to be optimal nutrients for dogs and cats.  Invariably, the foods not tested on animals are the ones which don’t have fillers.  In my mind, the only reason companies continue to conduct food tests on animals is to find cheaper ways to feed them.  I’m sure if they could concoct a palatable food made of old rubber tires plus corn gluten, it would be on sale at Walmart.  Please don’t make me pull out my “soylent brown” joke again smile

    As for testing other things on animals, famous cases like thalidomide show that animals don’t always show the same reactions as human do to a drug (sometimes with tragic consequences).  I think it’s great that sophisticated computer models are being designed which can truly show what effect a compound will have on a human body, because I’m sure those models will ultimately end up being more accurate than animal testing.  I generally don’t have a huge problem with animal tests when it’s for something crucial, but I would nevertheless like to see them replaced with something more humane and more accurate.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  04/05  at  09:32 AM

  5. I am by no means a believer in corporate responsibility, but based on that report I find it hard to believe in the face of litigation around manufacturing failures that resulted in a product recall last year that Royal Canin wouldn’t be testing the product that goes on the market today. 

    I hope so, anyway.  Our 17 year old cat began to show signs of the IBD which plagued her (and almost killed her) last year.  Vomiting ensued last weekend, but since huge hairballs were involved we figured it was related to that.  She has done well on IVD (Royal Canin) Duck and Pea brand dry food, and we were out so we went to the vet for some more.  They didn’t have that brand, so we got Hill’s Duck and Pea.  It was overpowering when we opened the bag - stunk (which we figured Ziggy would like) - and clearly rich. 

    Vomiting ensued, so we stopped that food and just located the IVD brand.  She fell into it like we’d been starving her for days, so I’m hoping the problem is solved, but we’re on a wait and see watch.

    She eats the KD canned food, based on challenges to her kidneys last year.  Interestingly, switching her to KD canned and the IVD dry food helped bring her kidney function back just inside normal range, so we’ve noted actual improvement. 

    Sorry for writing a major tome, but it seemed germaine to the topic.  You’re right, Leigh Ann, that it’s so hard to actually know what to do.  In the case of Ziggy she was 13 lbs in her heyday and is down around 6 lbs now, so any food that doesn’t have her vomiting or give her diarrhea and lets her maintain and even gain some weight is less threatening at this point.

    Anyway - thanks for this alert.  I hadn’t heard it but will keep and eye out for sure.  Do you know if pet foods go through different manufacturing processes for different countries?  I know the plants can vary for human food, so perhaps this hasn’t appeared in the US yet (PETA’s claims aside - I notice they didn’t cite actual lab results).

    Posted by Print  on  04/08  at  02:32 PM

  6. Print!  It’s always wonderful to have your insight.  I don’t think pet food companies routinely test every batch of food, although I’m sure they keep a sample for testing later if necessary.  Also, I’m not sure if the excess vitamin D problem was just a manufacturing error, or if it was an actual problem with formulation.  There are so many questions, and obviously with delicate cats like Ziggy, you can’t take any chances.  The one good thing is that you keep Ziggy so closely monitored that you’d probably catch any trouble before it caused too much damage.

    I know very little about pet food manufacturing… it seems that so few people do!  I’ve taken classes in nutrition taught by Hills, featuring video “tours” of the Hills’ factory, and the Hills’ rep always implied that Hills had their own manufacturing plant.  Now it’s come out that Hills contracts their work to manufacturers all over North America.  I don’t know what’s true anymore, sadly.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  04/09  at  10:16 PM
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