Have You Guys Heard About The Pet Food?

[JerryK]

Sorry if this is on another thread, but I've been hearing about pet food recalls the last couple mornings on the news.

This morning they said they are "focusing on Wheat Gluten" as the source of the contamination.

Not sure what that means...either Wheat Gluten is bad for pets OR they Gluten filler they use is

contaminated.

Anyone know more? j

[kbtoyssni]

They changed gluten suppliers. My impression is that the gluten was contaminated, but I tell everyone I know it's because gluten is evil I printed the story, highlighted the bit about the gluten being bad and posted it at the entrance of my cube.

[psawyer]

The cause is still under investigation, but it is supected that contamination in the wheat gluten is the problem. Certain heavy metals can cause the noted symptoms. But this has not been proven as of the latest information I have. I own a pet supply store, so I probably am as up-to-date as anybody on the outside.

There is another thread about the recalls Open Original Shared Link

[JerryK]

Funny but a year ago, I didn't know what Gluten was. Now it is everwhere I look. Sort of like when you buy a car, you suddenly notice all the cars that look like yours....

[chocolatelover]

I did have to chuckle slightly when I heard that it was wheat gluten that was the problem...contaminated or not, I guess it's still bad for all of us!

[JerryK]

I did have to chuckle slightly when I heard that it was wheat gluten that was the problem...contaminated or not, I guess it's still bad for all of us!

I did a double take because the radio didn't explain whether it was simply Wheat Gluten harming the pets, or CONTAMINATED gluten, which it sounds like it is. In any case...made me chuckle too. j

[angel-jd1]

You can find the list of recalled cat and dog foods here: Open Original Shared Link

Hope that helps.

-Jessica

[jerseyangel]

You can find the list of recalled cat and dog foods here: Open Original Shared Link

Hope that helps.

-Jessica

Jessica--

What a beautiful kitty!

[CarlaB]

Funny but a year ago, I didn't know what Gluten was. Now it is everwhere I look. Sort of like when you buy a car, you suddenly notice all the cars that look like yours....

It's always like that when you learn a new word ... you start to wonder how you missed hearing it all these years!

[angel-jd1]

Jessica--

What a beautiful kitty!

Thank you!! He is such a brat! ha I found him under my porch and bottle fed him because his "birth mom" abandoned him Two years later he is just as bratty as when I found him! ha He makes me laugh.........yesterday he was quite upset because he didn't get breakfast (his food was one of the recalled foods). I had to run out and buy new food!!

-Jessica

[Viola 1]

This is the time when I'm so thankful that I've had Sheba on a gluten free diet. As much for me as her. Her food is not on the recall list for sure.

However I feel terrible for the poor people who have lost there pets and those who are still ill. It's all so sad for them.

And yes! Jessica, that is a beautiful kitty

[Abug]

Just a skewed blurb to say my mother's dog is on a gluten-free diet too, and is allergic to wheat and corn, and she's also intolerant of something in dairy and eggs. It amused me to find the only other member of the family who (almost) shared my diet was a dog. (≈10-year-old Dalmation)

[blueeyedmanda]

It makes me wonder now, we have had Lucky for almost a year and we used to feed him Iam's wet pouches in the beginning. Wasn't long after that, he was having bloody stools and such. Well, our options were exploratory surgery or diet change. We changed his diet, and we now use fancy feast. He hasn't had any problems since. The only problem we have now is how spoiled he is....but I guess that is our fault.

[jerseyangel]

I'm also so relieved that Allo is on a gluten-free diet. I feel so bad for all those who lost their pets, and for the poor animals....

Amanda,

I can relate to the "spoiled' part

[Nancym]

Dr. Lewey has an article up about the toxicity of wheat gluten in animals, this has been known since the early 1900's...

Open Original Shared Link

[rach6886]

My brother told me he read an article somewhere about how the increasing gluten sensitivities are in part due to the way we (modern man) store wheat products - for extended periods of time and exposed to contaminants before they are ever prepared and packaged and put on the shelf. He wanted me to try growing my own wheat field (yeah, right - eating is already enough labor!!) as an experiment.

The dog food gluten contamination thing made me wonder more about the storage/handling/safety of wheat products. i'm glad my pooch's food is safe because he sure eats enough of it to sink a battleship. also - confession - on "bad celiac days" I have felt envious that my dog can eat wheat and I can't. but then i smell his food and don't feel so bad about my PB&J rice cake.

[pooter]

my pets are all on a gluten free diet, but over a year ago I did lose a pet to renal failure and I know how sad and awful it is. He wasn't on a gluten free diet. I don't think it's related though, just because it was over a year ago, but still a coincidence?

I have thought it was interesting that the media is focusing on the wheat gluten as the culprit! Evil gluten.

[NoGluGirl]

Dear JerryK,

I heard it for sure! I was scared to death! We have a 3 year old Yorkie that has seizures. I wonder if he has food allergies. However, my parents do not think gluten can cause that. If it can cause it in people, why couldn't it be caused in a dog? We took him off of the Frontline Plus Flea and Tick protection because we found out from someone they have heard about toy dogs like him being poisoned and causing convulsions. He has been off of it since January, but he is still having them. I also think we should do a tox panel on him to check for heavy metals. He licks everything, including the wood, which often will have copper arsenate as an ingredient in the treatment. Dart is spoiled as well, but I am concerned because he should be improving more than that. So, I am thinking this food that was recalled (Dart did not eat that kind) may have had arsenic get in it somehow. Here is a scary reality check: our drinking water has arsenic in it! Thank God for Culligan!

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[Lisa]

JUST IN....CNN

Rat Poison is the source for the contaminated pet food.

[Viola 1]

Dear JerryK,

I heard it for sure! I was scared to death! We have a 3 year old Yorkie that has seizures. I wonder if he has food allergies. However, my parents do not think gluten can cause that. If it can cause it in people, why couldn't it be caused in a dog? We took him off of the Frontline Plus Flea and Tick protection because we found out from someone they have heard about toy dogs like him being poisoned and causing convulsions. He has been off of it since January, but he is still having them. I also think we should do a tox panel on him to check for heavy metals. He licks everything, including the wood, which often will have copper arsenate as an ingredient in the treatment. Dart is spoiled as well, but I am concerned because he should be improving more than that. So, I am thinking this food that was recalled (Dart did not eat that kind) may have had arsenic get in it somehow. Here is a scary reality check: our drinking water has arsenic in it! Thank God for Culligan!

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

Several Breeds can be genetically prone to epilepsey, including Yorkies and Keeshonds. Our old dog had it and learned to lay down when he felt a seisure coming on. He lived until he was 12 and was quite happy most of the time. Check with your vet, epilepsey can be treated, and the treatment isn't all that expensive.

Yes, I heard that CNN said that the gluten was contaminated with rat poison. How terrible for the pets!

[miles2go]

JUST IN....CNN

Rat Poison is the source for the contaminated pet food.

From what I understood from the bit on NBC Nightly News just a while ago, it was rat poison-contaminated wheat gluten that was the source. My head is reeling, partly because of all the jokes that we make regarding rat poison and gluten, but also from the fact that I lost my 16 year-old kitty last summer to renal failure and my rebound kitty who is just as old now is a 3-times a day wet-food eater, whereas the other was not nearly so into the squish for the dish. A coworker of mine was talking about losing a cat of his quite a while back, so is this a long-term problem that is finally being recognized, methinks?

I'm trying to keep the conspiracy theories at bay, I've read way too much Agatha Christie for that to be any good.

But I think Sunshine might just be going gluten-free very, very soon.

WFTD: animadversion

:/

[miles2go]

So here's a theory:

Rats and other rodents tend to congregate in areas of food storage that are not well-attended by humans, like grain bins, bird feeders and fast food restaurant garbage bins. Farmer A is really a conglomerate and Farmer B is a small, sustainable, perhaps organic farmer. Farmer A has a rodent problem and puts out rat poison. Farmer B does not. One of them is more likely to make it to the expensive, elite-human food market while the other is more likely to make it to the average consumer and then pet-food market.

Possibility?

And then you get into the various statistics about wheat production, consumption, importation and exportation...

Margaret

[psawyer]

Please see my recent update on the situation Open Original Shared Link

I am a pet food and supply store owner, so I am keeping as close a watch on this as anybody.

[Viola 1]

Please see my recent update on the situation Open Original Shared Link

I am a pet food and supply store owner, so I am keeping as close a watch on this as anybody.

Thanks for this Peter! Sheba has been gluten free for some time now as it's just easier for me as her food is close to the kitchen counters.

I feel really bad for the people that this is affecting, both those that have ill pets and the innocent store owners that are trying to sell safe products to their friends, family and customers. This has been and will continue to be a scary thing for all concerned.

[NoGluGirl]

Several Breeds can be genetically prone to epilepsey, including Yorkies and Keeshonds. Our old dog had it and learned to lay down when he felt a seisure coming on. He lived until he was 12 and was quite happy most of the time. Check with your vet, epilepsey can be treated, and the treatment isn't all that expensive.

Yes, I heard that CNN said that the gluten was contaminated with rat poison. How terrible for the pets!

Dear Viola 1,

The thing is Shirley, Dart does not respond to medication. He was on Phenobarbitol for quite some time. It did nothing, and in fact, seemed to make it worse. He does feel them coming on. I suspect poisoning of some sort. Something else that is interesting, epilepsy does not run in his family.

No other puppies from that litter or the others have had this wrong. Also, the sire and the dame do not have these problems either. Dart also has elevated bialary acid levels. That concerns me. When he shakes, he also cries in pain. His stomach gets very rigid. Arsenic would put him in pain. I have also wondered about gallbladder trouble due to the bloodwork results. He also had bloodwork done for epilepsy, and the markers were not there. I feel there is more to this. The only other thing I figure he could try is potassium bromide. It is used for seizures as well. I took notes and the vet kept them. They are not like doctors for people. Maybe to get better I should go to a vet. I am a dog in the Chinese zodiac. Do you think they would count that?

Dear Margaret,

I believe you are right. That is a very plausible explanation. The thing is, rats are often immune to poison. They always eat very small amounts of things. If they get sick once, they won't eat that food again. They are highly intelligent. Did you know they can tread water for 3 days straight?

They also can end up in people's toilets because they are able to collapse their ribs when going through the plumbing pipes. Don't worry, this does not happen often! Rats are so intelligent, they are even being used to find landmines to safely remove them. People in foreign countries can use rats to sniff out the mines, and they are lightweight enough that they do not set them off. Rats also tell other rats about good meals like people do!

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl