Published: March 21, 2007 11:58 am      

Pet Food Recall

Veterinarians seeing cases of kidney failure

CUMBERLAND - Local veterinarians have seen cases of kidney failure in cats that may be associated with the pet food recall.

"A 11-year-old cat was brought in last night with acute kidney failure, and it was eating one of the foods listed for the recall," said Dr. John Gustafson of Hi-Rock Animal Hospital in McCoole. "We're not sure whether the food induced it or not, but we're advising people to stop feeding their animals any of the recalled foods immediately."

The recall, which is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food sold in cans and pouches, covers 51 brands of dog food and 40 kinds of cat food.

Another cat with symptoms of kidney failure that had been eating one of the recalled brands was taken to LaVale Veterinary Hospital about three weeks ago, according to Dr. Ian MacFawn.

Animals can survive if owners detect symptoms early.

"Symptoms of kidney failure include drinking more water, not eating and lying around," said Gustafson.

A spokeswoman for the Allegany County Animal Shelter in Cumberland said that while she has not seen any animals displaying symptoms of kidney failure, she has received numerous inquires about the recalled brands. Any recalled canned foods at the shelter have been discarded.

Menu Foods, an Ontario, Canada-based company, an-nounced the recall Saturday, and Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill's Pet Nutrition also voluntarily recalled some products made by Menu Foods as a precaution.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recall of pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc. by issuing a Stop Sale Order directing retailers to remove all identified pet food products from public sale and prohibits the shipment or movement of the products other than as part of the recall plan.

A complete list of the brands, lot numbers and types of products being recalled is available online at fda.gov.

For more information, visit healthypet.com or call, toll-free, 1-866-895-2708, 1-866-463-6738 or 1-800-551-7392.

Jennifer Raley can be reached at jraley@times-news.com.



A look at recalled brands:

Menu Foods announced Saturday it was recalling dog food sold under 48 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands. The food was distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food that was sold in cans and pouches.

Two other companies - Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. - also voluntarily recalled some products made by Menu Foods as a precaution.

The recalled brands are:

* Cat Food - Americas Choice, Preferred Pets, Authority, Best Choice, Companion, Compliments, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Foodtown, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Key Food, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Meijers Main Choice, Nutriplan, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Paws, Pet Pride, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Science Diet (The recall affects only 3-ounce and 5.5-ounce cans of Kitten Savory Cuts Ocean Fish; 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Adult Savory Cuts Beef, Chicken and Ocean Fish, and 5.5-ounce cans of Feline Senior Savory Cuts Chicken.), Sophisticat, Special Kitty Canada, Special Kitty US, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Total Pet, My True Friend, Wegmans, Western Family, White Rose and Winn Dixie.

* Dog Food - Americas Choice, Preferred Pets, Authority, Award, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Bloom, Bruiser, Cadillac, Companion, Demoulas Market Basket, Eukanuba, Food Lion, Giant Companion, Great Choice, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams, Key Food, Laura Lynn, Loving Meals, Meijers Main Choice, Mighty Dog (The recall affects only 5.3 pouch products that were produced from Dec. 3, 2006 through March 14, 2007.), Mixables, Nutriplan, Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro, Ol'Roy Canada, Ol'Roy US, Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride - Good 'n Meaty, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, Publix, Roche Bros, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Shep Dog, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stater Bros, Total Pet, My True Friend, Western Family, White Rose, Winn Dixie and Your Pet.