The Cat Food Question
As promised, I want to update anyone who might be concerned about the issue of contaminated pet food; specifically, dry cat chow. This stuff was suspected in the sudden, shocking death of Sammy Dammit the Wrong Dog.
After calling in sick for two days so she could deal with her own grief over Sammy’s death, Miz Possum went in to the local community service agency. She obtained a bag of the questionable cat food from the same lot that had been donated, and brought it home that evening.
The brand name of the food was “9 Lives”. The next morning, I called Del Monte Foods, the parent company. I got hold of someone who knew what he was doing, and we spoke at length. I gave him the lot number and expiration date on the bag. He, in turn, gave me a detailed explanation of the contamination of certain brands of cat food leading to their recall. 9 Lives was not among those involved in the recall.
The person I talked with explained that melanin—or “melanine” as he pronounced it—is a plastic [petroleum] derivative that was used by the Chinese as an additive to artificially inflate the protein content of pet food, thus bringing it up to American [FDA] standards. The widespread contamination of products bound for America occurred in late 2007. After numerous pet deaths, the products were recalled by the FDA in September 2008.
The expiration date on the bag I possessed was 5 March 2010. Extrapolating from this, it was determined that it had been manufactured no later than fall of 2009, some 18 months after the initial adulteration of the Chinese cat food.
During the conversation, I bore in mind that the company spokesman might be tacitly considering liability litigation on my part, and so might be lying to me. I did my best to assure him that I am not an adherent of lawsuits, although when I said I was going to post my findings on a modest blog, his voice grew shaky. Sammy’s veterinarian is supposed to be independently verifying the dates and lot number of the cat food, but as of this writing, he has not contacted me.
As far as can be determined, 9 Lives cat food, and the Del Monte Corporation, bear no fault at all in Sammy’s death. They do not, and have never purchased products manufactured in China for use in their pet foods. There is nothing wrong with 9 Lives cat food, and I want to totally exonerate them from any suspicion related to Sammy’s death. Lupe the Ninja Terrier ate some of the same cat food, and despite being four years older than Sammy, she suffered no ill effects from consuming the same food from the same bag.
To their further credit, the folks at Del Monte are sending me a pre-paid envelope in which to return the remainders of the cat food in question, which I almost tossed, but set aside at the last minute. They will send it to their Quality Assurance lab, where it will be tested for mold, fungus, or any other outside contaminants. A Constant Reader told me a horror story about a friend of his whose dog ate food that had absorbed antifreeze by osmosis during shipping; it was stacked on cardboard instead of wooden pallets in a trailer where a previous shipment of antifreeze had leaked onto the floor, soaked through the cardboard, and ultimately through the paper sacks of dry dog food on the bottom of the pile.
Such things happen, and if I was an actuary, we’d have to call that an act of God.
In conclusion, there are several warnings I’d like to repeat:
Read your labels, and if something is past the expiration date, even if it’s dry pet food, don’t take a chance. Toss it.
I already knew about the dangers of automotive antifreeze, but if you don’t please be advised: antifreeze is sweet-tasting to animals. It is also deadly poison, and a small portion will kill them. If you change your antifreeze at home, make sure you dispose of any waste or excess in a manner which will prevent pets from getting at it. One or two slurps are all it takes for your pet to die an agonizing death.
Do not cross-feed. Most cats won’t touch dry dog food; they consider it bland and unappetizing. However, dogs will lap up cat food. Being a redneck, I’m quite familiar with the phrase “What do you mean, the dog won’t eat that?” Nevertheless, I’m advised that cat food, in addition to being more pungent—cats don’t have the sense of smell that dogs do—is generally of a high enough protein content that long-term consumption by dogs is harmful to them. In a pinch, a handful of cat food is probably okay for the dog, but do you want to conduct long-term home science experiments with your beloved pet?
In this age of conspiracies, governmental lies, and cover-ups, I don’t think Del Monte Foods is part of all that. 9 Lives cat food is harmless, and probably good for your cat. Miz Possum can stop beating herself up for bringing the stuff home; it was coincidence that Sammy ate some before he took sick and passed.
If anyone obtains further information, or anything clarifying what I've put forth here, please contact me at once.
After calling in sick for two days so she could deal with her own grief over Sammy’s death, Miz Possum went in to the local community service agency. She obtained a bag of the questionable cat food from the same lot that had been donated, and brought it home that evening.
The brand name of the food was “9 Lives”. The next morning, I called Del Monte Foods, the parent company. I got hold of someone who knew what he was doing, and we spoke at length. I gave him the lot number and expiration date on the bag. He, in turn, gave me a detailed explanation of the contamination of certain brands of cat food leading to their recall. 9 Lives was not among those involved in the recall.
The person I talked with explained that melanin—or “melanine” as he pronounced it—is a plastic [petroleum] derivative that was used by the Chinese as an additive to artificially inflate the protein content of pet food, thus bringing it up to American [FDA] standards. The widespread contamination of products bound for America occurred in late 2007. After numerous pet deaths, the products were recalled by the FDA in September 2008.
The expiration date on the bag I possessed was 5 March 2010. Extrapolating from this, it was determined that it had been manufactured no later than fall of 2009, some 18 months after the initial adulteration of the Chinese cat food.
During the conversation, I bore in mind that the company spokesman might be tacitly considering liability litigation on my part, and so might be lying to me. I did my best to assure him that I am not an adherent of lawsuits, although when I said I was going to post my findings on a modest blog, his voice grew shaky. Sammy’s veterinarian is supposed to be independently verifying the dates and lot number of the cat food, but as of this writing, he has not contacted me.
As far as can be determined, 9 Lives cat food, and the Del Monte Corporation, bear no fault at all in Sammy’s death. They do not, and have never purchased products manufactured in China for use in their pet foods. There is nothing wrong with 9 Lives cat food, and I want to totally exonerate them from any suspicion related to Sammy’s death. Lupe the Ninja Terrier ate some of the same cat food, and despite being four years older than Sammy, she suffered no ill effects from consuming the same food from the same bag.
To their further credit, the folks at Del Monte are sending me a pre-paid envelope in which to return the remainders of the cat food in question, which I almost tossed, but set aside at the last minute. They will send it to their Quality Assurance lab, where it will be tested for mold, fungus, or any other outside contaminants. A Constant Reader told me a horror story about a friend of his whose dog ate food that had absorbed antifreeze by osmosis during shipping; it was stacked on cardboard instead of wooden pallets in a trailer where a previous shipment of antifreeze had leaked onto the floor, soaked through the cardboard, and ultimately through the paper sacks of dry dog food on the bottom of the pile.
Such things happen, and if I was an actuary, we’d have to call that an act of God.
In conclusion, there are several warnings I’d like to repeat:
Read your labels, and if something is past the expiration date, even if it’s dry pet food, don’t take a chance. Toss it.
I already knew about the dangers of automotive antifreeze, but if you don’t please be advised: antifreeze is sweet-tasting to animals. It is also deadly poison, and a small portion will kill them. If you change your antifreeze at home, make sure you dispose of any waste or excess in a manner which will prevent pets from getting at it. One or two slurps are all it takes for your pet to die an agonizing death.
Do not cross-feed. Most cats won’t touch dry dog food; they consider it bland and unappetizing. However, dogs will lap up cat food. Being a redneck, I’m quite familiar with the phrase “What do you mean, the dog won’t eat that?” Nevertheless, I’m advised that cat food, in addition to being more pungent—cats don’t have the sense of smell that dogs do—is generally of a high enough protein content that long-term consumption by dogs is harmful to them. In a pinch, a handful of cat food is probably okay for the dog, but do you want to conduct long-term home science experiments with your beloved pet?
In this age of conspiracies, governmental lies, and cover-ups, I don’t think Del Monte Foods is part of all that. 9 Lives cat food is harmless, and probably good for your cat. Miz Possum can stop beating herself up for bringing the stuff home; it was coincidence that Sammy ate some before he took sick and passed.
If anyone obtains further information, or anything clarifying what I've put forth here, please contact me at once.
posted by Robert at 4:25 PM
4 Comments:
The FDA website has a list of all the pet food recalls. Here's the link:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/
You can always check this out before you buy any type of pet food. They keep it pretty current.
Hope this helps.
Sorry for your loss...and the flippant comment on your prior post.
Possum, Thanks for the advice.
So sorry about your pet. Having three dogs and two cats, ourselves, and being unhealthily attached to all of them, I know that it was very sad for you. Your post was very good.
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