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rcexplorer
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« Reply #225 on: July 29, 2008, 08:11:16 PM » |
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Kathy, I will definitely look into that, I knew about the stems and leaves, but never considered green tomatoes. Living here in the south, they are something of a rare delicacy we have at BBQ's, etc. I love them. But will do more research. DMS, From some reading I have done, I think some people /animals, could have a night shade food intolerance foods in the night shade family do have beneficial vitamins and minerals though. I dont think eating a fried green tomato occasionally is going to harm you as long as you do not have a night shade food intolerance. Myself personally have never eaten eggplant or peppers and have cut way back on potatoes and tomatoes, but that is because of my epilepsy and RC's arthritis http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id72.htmlthere are more links on link above also, Since we can decide what to eat and when ,what concerns me in pet food are the addition of potato and tomato , one has to wonder if skins, stems, and leaves are being used or not edit to add that sweet potato are not part of the night shade family , they are part of the morning glory family |
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« Last Edit: July 29, 2008, 11:02:45 PM by rcexplorer »
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Carol
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« Reply #226 on: August 06, 2008, 05:02:51 AM » |
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« Last Edit: August 06, 2008, 05:19:20 AM by Carol »
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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Sandi K
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« Reply #227 on: August 12, 2008, 09:21:38 AM » |
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Nutro has an updated FAQ on their site addressing the most recent article by Consumer Affairs. http://www.nutroproducts.com/quality_facts.htmlIts intriguing that they say they've either contacted or left messages with the consumers from the June 23rd article: "In others, NUTRO™ has taken active steps to address pet owners' concerns and determine the cause of pet health issues. We've either spoken with or left multiple messages for all of the consumers cited in the June 23 posting." when Consumer Affairs say they dont know how that could be done: "But pet owner Sharon A. of Cheektowaga, New York — who was included in our June 23 story — said no one from Nutro has contacted her.
"I've not heard from anyone at Nutro," she told us. Some of the other consumers in our June 23 story had already contacted Nutro.
But others would be hard for Nutro to find because we only identify consumers by their first names and last initials when their complaints are published. Nutro has never contacted ConsumerAffairs.com about those pet owners or asked how they could reach them, although a company spokesman said the information would be "immediately" provided.
"Whenever health and safety are involved, we are happy to immediately share consumer contact information with responsible company researchers, provided the companies agree that they will not take legal action against consumers making comments they object to," said ConsumerAffairs.com President James R. Hood. "No one from Nutro has ever bothered to contact us."And I figured they would take the ASPCA toxicologist info and run with it: "ConsumerAffairs.com has posted an August 6 update to their June 23 posting regarding NUTRO™ pet foods. The most notable information in the posting, and the subject of its title, "Expert Finds Unexplained Pet Deaths 'Not Consistent,'" are the findings of Dr. Steven Hansen, a veterinary toxicologist at the ASPCA. Dr. Hansen conducted an in-depth review of the complaints against Nutro and concluded that the complaints appear to be random, non-pet food related health issues." But what Consumer Affairs said is that he reviewed the complaints, it doesnt say he did an "in-depth" review and Im not sure he could without speaking to the pet parents to get all of the info from them which it has not been reported that he did that. It says he reviewed 50 cases but if it was just info posted to CA he wouldnt have received all the medical details that might be involved from the pet parents. It sounds like he just reviewed the info posted at CA and that was not a place where people were asked to give in-depth medical info regarding their pets illness. Also noteably, Nutro did not mention the veterinarian that is convinced the food caused the death of a dog under her care. Nor do they mention anything about the 118 employee layoffs. |
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Sandi K
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« Reply #228 on: August 12, 2008, 09:28:51 AM » |
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And in the meantime, the complaints just keep pouring in, these are just some of the real recent ones: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.htmlNutro Pet Foods Tammy of Neenah WI (08/12/08)
Ok now I am really upset.This is a follow up complaint I filled a few days ago. I am s small breeder of Poms. We had two of or femals that were having puppies. One was 43 days and the other 36 days. Well we now only have one having puppies. A few hours ago we were snuggling Dori the female that was 43 days and I was rubbing her tummy. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that there were know puppies in her tummy. The last time I really felt them was on Saterday night at about 11:00 PM. SHe was panting really hard and I was conceared so I felt around. YHer belly was really tight but I could still feel three bumps for sure. Tonight there was nothing. This explains why she was following me all day today. SHE WAS SAD!!!!!!
I will be calling the vet right away in the morning. This is a dog that has not ever had a problum befor. Then I picked up Mia the other femal and she also feels smaller than she was last night when I was scratching her belly. I want answers from Nurto!!!!!
We take very good care of our beloved pets and I am now very conceared as to what the food dod to make one of the femals for sure loose her puppies. This is simply wrong that Nuto is not working with us to solve the issue. How many more dogs have to have problums befor something is done? I will keep you posted o Mia our other femal.
I want answers!!!!!!!
Shelley of Humble TX (08/12/08)
I used to use Nutro/Ultra for all 3 of my dogs. A friend told me to look at this site because she feared I may have a problem. After reading all of these horrible stories, I feel so bad for all of these poor people and their 4 legged babies that I cannot even tell you! This company must be stopped!
I sent an e-mail to Petsmart and spoke w/someone at Petco in their customer service dept. as I could not find anyone to write to. Apparently, Nutro is not giving any help to the poor victims of all of these problems. I thought if I was able to get some big pet food companies to stop carrying their food, it would hit Nutro where it hurt the most - in their pockets! Which apparently is all they are concerned about - they are obviously not concerned about the well being of our animals.
I took my unused bag of Nutro back to Petco and got a refund. I don't want my babies to suffer like these others have. I am now using Nature's Variety (Prairie). A little more difficult to find, but let's face it - these animals are like our family. Like our children to most of us reading this site. I hope people continue to find out about this site and continue to send their complaints to Nutro - also keep telling the pet food stores about these problems. If enough people complain, surely, eventually something is bound to get resolved.
I am a pet sitter and have told every client that I have not to use Nutro EVER. Also, told my vet today about this site and all the problems people were having. Wellness and Natural Balance are now carried by Petco. They are 2 good foods that should be easy enough to get. I am so sorry for all the families that lost pets, but mostly sorry for all the dogs that had to die a needless death and suffer needless pain and suffering. This company must be STOPPED!
Sheri of Falmouth ME (08/11/08)
My standard poodle was an active healthy dog, running and playing on Sunday and by Thursday she was dead from acute renal failure. She had been on Nutro for years but it was getting more and more difficult to get her to eat it. I should have know something was wrong when she was refusing to eat it. Sunday night she began vomiting.
I brought her into the Vet on Monday and he began hydration and medication. On Tuesday we rushed her to Tufts in Ma. They put her on dialysis and did it three times along with other treatments but she couldn't be saved. After all I have read about Nutro I firmly believe this was the cause of her death.
My standard poodle is dead. She suffered a lot from the episode through the medical treatments she was on. She was placed on a respirator, was on dialysis and many IV medications. The dialysis and medical treatment cost us several thousand dollars and my husband and I are still very depressed over her loss.She died Nov. 9th of this year. She was our fur baby.
Laurie of Cedar Falls IA (08/11/08)
My husband and I have fed Nutro dog products for 7 years with our yellow lab, Nicki. Two weeks ago I purchased another bag of Nutro Natural Choice lamb & rice and also a bag of lamb & rice puppy for our 5 month black lab we recently adopted from our local Humane Society.
Within 3 days of starting my yellow lab on the bag of Natural Choice she began throwing up the dog food then vomitting clear flem and started urinating throughout my home which she had never done. Within a few days she appeared back to her normal self but continued with loose stools. Five days later she started to refuse to eat, was drinking water constantly and vomitting dark brown flem. I called my vet on 8/8 who advised me to hold her food and water and I was to take her in the following morning if she was not better.
I woke up on 8/9 at 7 a.m. to her vomitting up nothing but blood. I immediately took her to my vet where she again vomitted blood. The vet ran bloodwork on her which came back a little low on the liver test but otherwise fine and her urine test came back fine as well. Since she was lathargic, had lost 8 pounds in 3 days, was vomitting blood and could not hold liquid or food down, my vet kept her and put her on an IV, gave her an antibiotic injection and an injection to help ease the vomitting. As of tonight Nicki is still at the vet's office - the vet states she is doing a little better and has begn to drink water but he is waiting to start her on solid food - wants to take it slow.
Before I took her to the vet I got on the internet to see if Nutro had any recalls out recently I was not aware of. This was a truly healthy dog and for her to just go down so quickly makes no sense to me. I found no recall information but was shocked to find information on consumer affairs website that other pet owners in other states have had near identical cases with their dogs whom also had eaten Nutro Natural Choice lamb & rice. I'm sorry, but I find it really hard to believe that this is only a coincidence.
I printed off the information and took it with me to my vet so he could run the necessary tests and he agreed that it would be good idea to stop feeding Nutro so I have changed to a veterinarian brand he suggested for both of my dogs. My puppy at home had only showed signs of extreme thirst but has now returned to normal. I cannot believe that no one at Nutro is looking into this further! I am outraged at the ignorance Nutro is showing to their customers!
I have been a customer for 7 years and have always spoken highly of Nutro dog products until now. I am going to talk with my vet tomorrow regarding sending the dog food in for testing. I find it sad that the animals have to suffer or die because Nutro wants to possibly avoid another recall.
Emotional upset over the sudden illness and severity of Nicki and the impending veterinarian expenses. We do not yet know since she has not been released from the vet if she will have any long term side effects due to this or if she will resume to normal. At this time it is not certain.
Molly of Springfield MO (08/10/08)
I have been a loyal Nutro user for many years without any issues. In fact, my experience has been positive with both my dogs and cats. Since all of the recall disaster last year, people are too quick to blame pet food for everything. Not every case of diarrhea, kidney failure and liver failure are a result of contaminated food. I could be wrong, but I don't think that it's up to the companies to decide to issue a recall if they have a contamination issue. Especially since people call the FDA every chance they get.
If your pet is sick and you suspect the food, call the company. Have the food tested, and if you don't trust the company then have it tested yourself. It would be crazy for a pet food company to intentionally ignore complaints on their products, since it is their reputation on the line and chances are, they actually care about the animals that they are feeding.
Amy of Pittsburgh PA (08/09/08)
I've been feeding my dogs (all three are 3 yrs old) the Nutro Natural Choice Dog Foods since I got them at 8 wks old. Hershey the Chi refused to eat his food about a yr ago so I switched him to Royal Canin (which I just found out is also associated with Mars, Inc and chi doesn't eat his food w/o chicken being added to it). But both the Beagles have been on the Nutro Natural Choice Chicken Meal Rice & Oatmeal, and Venison Meal & Whole Brown Rice which I switch up. I know there had been a recall on the Nutro a while back; but didn't seem to be a problem.
While looking over this website (actually was just looking for Nutro coupons and this website popped up) -- it just hit me like a ton of bricks that my male Beagle Newt who has been acting weird for months has been refusing to eat his food now for about 2-3 mths (just got 2 new bags two wks ago); the female Beagle Pixie eats everything that is put in front of her with no problem (she has a stuffy nose pretty much of the time so her sniffer isn't that great, runny eyes, rash on belly - allergies). So what have I been doing since Newt refuses to eat his food I'm mixing other foods (carrots, peanut butter, ground beef, rice, chicken, etc) in with the dry kibbles to get him to eat; he's been drinking excessive amounts of water (just figured the weather has been very humid here), and eating tons of grass when he's outside (jokingly say he looks like a cow grazing); not much energy for a 3 yr old beagle (would say how lazy he is).
Makes me sick to think that Newt knows something isn't right with his food and there I am doctoring it up so he'll eat it. For this past week I've been cooking chicken/rice for them. Researching all the dog food out there and I believe I've found a replacement. After taking the beagles off the Nutro their energy level, excitement at their feeding times has returned. The urinating in the house, eating grass, and drinking excess amounts of water has since stopped. I hope that there is no permanent damage to my pups. After reading everyone's horror stories my heart goes out to all those that still have sick pets or have lost them.
Cleaning rugs from accidents, Vet says just to keep an eye on dogs and see if any of their symtons improve after taking them off the Nutro & Royal Canin
Tammy of Neenah WI (08/08/08)
I have been a user of Nutro dog food for years. I also am a small breeder of poms. All of our litters have been raised on Nutro. The last bag we bought at pet smart seemed to turn all our dogs heads. They were simply not eating much nor were they drinking water. We were getting conceared as the oldes seemed to be loosing energy, hair and wanted to sleep all the time. We also noticed that they were all snappy and cranky. A friend of mine who is also a nutro user and a small breeder stumbled on issues wih the product and told me. I called are vet right away and they confermed some issues and had me stop using all nutro products. If we o not see an improvement by Monday with Nemo are oldest we are to bring him in.
I bought a bag of Eukanuba Naturally Wild an all 8 of my Poms chowed down and then drank water for the first time in the two weeks we had the new bag. We defanatly saw a differance in energy in all but Nemo. The part that has me so up tight is that we have two femals that are expecting litters in the next three weeks. I want some answers!!! How can this keep happening and why is Nutro not helping here!!!!
We are not sure at this point. Are hope is that the two litters of puppies will be ok.
Lin of Fresno CA (08/08/08)
these posts are legitimate. Just because you have been feeding your dog Nutro for years doesn't mean that a really bad batch of food or packaging did not exist. I have spent over $1,400 in bills on one of my dogs. Something didn't agree with her system and it was in the Nutro bag. I already did the dish, toy, and anything that could have been changed. IT WAS THE FOOD, or the packaging. I have had my food tested and processed. If there is nothing wrong why won't Nutro or the Mars Inc companies respond to my letters and phone calls?
I have heard from the reps that there are changes in the food and packaging. What's the big deal with admitting it? I just want to know how the process was changed so I can figure out what harmed my little 8 pound Miniature Pinscher so we don't let it happen again. Guessing games are not fun when we are playing with lives. There is no need to tell the innocent people on this site that what happened to their dogs is not real. Until you have had a dog as sick as some of our dogs have been, don't throw stones.
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Offly_irked
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« Reply #229 on: August 12, 2008, 11:08:34 AM » |
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Another outlet for people to file complaints that JustMe mentioned. http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=78000036BBB Explanation of Rating: D "We have enough concerns about this company (for example, their offer, customer complaints, advertising, etc.) that we recommend caution in doing business with it." |
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« Last Edit: August 12, 2008, 11:25:36 AM by Offy »
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Carol
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« Reply #230 on: August 12, 2008, 11:15:31 AM » |
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What I can not understand is how Nutro was able to contact people they had no info on...the president of CA said there was no info given out to Nutro on these posters and Nutro had said all posters had not contacted them so how did they know...do they have a fri&&in psychic??? . and also to those that have read the consumer affars articles before, Nutro would find that they report consumer complaints and also recall news...they posted that VW would recall my car weeks before my dealer knew about it....while I can not hold every article truthful firsthand, I can say with 100% that after speaking with Lisa I have faith in what she writes...from my own experience she prints what she is told in her interviews and does not seem to form an opinion...this is a consumer based website....and that is why I think it gets trashed....  |
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« Last Edit: August 12, 2008, 02:42:51 PM by Carol »
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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YesBiscuit!
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« Reply #231 on: August 12, 2008, 02:11:09 PM » |
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Yeah it doesn't take an "expert" to read through a ton of unedited postings on a pet related forum to realize there are going to be inconsistencies. What would be relevant, as you mention, is to ask an "expert" to evaluate if there are any cases which can be picked out as consistent and do they merit an investigation as to food being the possible cause. I would say YES. (But no one has asked this particular expert.)  |
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Sandi K
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« Reply #232 on: August 12, 2008, 02:19:52 PM » |
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I so agree with Don and YesBiscuit! Consumer Affairs is a place people were posting their complaints about food not giving specific medical history or info on their pets, no one was asked to do that. There are many, many cases where we know nothing other than their pet became ill. I would have liked to have seen Dr Hansen say something to the affect that there isnt enough info to fully determine whether the food is the cause or not instead of him outright saying, its not the food. I knew Nutro would jump with glee and joy when they saw his statement. I still hope the vet that CA reported about will follow thru with her investigation. As far as inconsistencies, I would have liked Dr Hansen to address the consistency of gastro-intestinal symptoms that a good majority of the posters complained about.
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sharky
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« Reply #233 on: August 12, 2008, 02:21:47 PM » |
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I have my suspicions on what is in the food that may be causeing these issues... as it is the reason no one eats nutro dry in my house anymore
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Sandi K
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« Reply #234 on: August 12, 2008, 02:25:14 PM » |
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I didnt know that Sharky, I thought they based their findings on a company from the number of complaints, how the company responded, whether they responded, etc. And pray tell, what do you think is in the food that is causing the symptoms? Im all ears!  |
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catwoods
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« Reply #235 on: August 12, 2008, 02:52:56 PM » |
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I've thought about this for several weeks. I have an IDEA for investigation for anyone who can do so and thinks it's worthwhile - it's NOT a conclusion or certainty at all and DOES NOT mean I think it's the only possibility for problems with this food.
Because I have had pain in my hands the last few weeks, and still do, I haven't fully researched this. Sorry if this has been mentioned before, and for the lack of links and references.
Again, this is totally speculation but may be worth a look.
I saw a magazine ad for Nutro cat food and "Omega 3 and Omega 6" jumped out at me. I went to the Nutro web site and looked at ingredients in a few cases. Two examples: Nutro Natural Choice Adult High Energy, dog, has poultry fat, lamb meal (I do not know if lamb meal would retain the high fat content of lamb meat or not), Soybean oil, and sunflower oil, preserved with mixed tocopherols. Nutro Cat Adult Dry has fish oil, poultry fat, and menhaden fish oil preserved with mixed tocopherols.
Reading I did in years past on oils said that essential fatty oils are difficult to extract while preserving the freshness and nutritive value. Precise methods of extraction, dark containers to protect from light, and refrigeration are needed. Some writers recommended eating fish rather than using fish oil capsules because of this.
That suggests to me, a lot of potential room for error in using them. I meant to research what kinds of things can happen when fats go wrong but am not able to at this time. True, many companies use fats successfully. I've used other products with two plant oils, Missing Link, successfully in the past.
Massive gastrointestinal upset, clearing up after stopping the food, suggests a reaction to fat content to me. True, any insult to the body can disturb the gi tract. But in my experience, high fat content (as in that was too "rich" and upset the stomach) or many differing fats together in one food item, can readily do that, too. Also, extracted, pure forms of oils might be harder on the gut than those that enter as part of meats or whole plant matter.
I also question whether using plant oils as part of a STAPLE diet is necessarily good for animals that are mainly carnivores. That's different from using a plant oil as a supplement or short term remedy for a specific, time-limited condition. Please don't misunderstand - I am all for using alternative, natural remedies and don't want them to become unavailable. I just think you have to be very careful when deciding that what works for humans works well for animals too, especially in a day in and day out diet, as has been mentioned recently.
This is just a speculation and an avenue for thought for anyone who wants to research into it, I just can't do it right now. Or if no one thinks it's worth considering, that's ok too.
I'm soon going to go rest my hands on one of three cats. Seems to help. Mutually beneficial.
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« Last Edit: August 12, 2008, 04:58:58 PM by catwoods »
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catbird
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« Reply #236 on: August 12, 2008, 03:01:19 PM » |
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I have my suspicions on what is in the food that may be causeing these issues... as it is the reason no one eats nutro dry in my house anymore
Care to post your speculations? catwoods has posted hers. |
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sharky
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« Reply #237 on: August 12, 2008, 03:56:22 PM » |
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SOYBEAN OIL is my main thought .. then flax and beet pulp ( the beet pulp research my vet showed me FLOORED ME ) ... see all oils have to be "purified" as they are a very fractionated item( think brewers rice is bad look up oil processing )... Soybeans ARE LIKE 80% GMO thus most of the oil is ... not to mention this can interact hormonally in a animal( ie cat dog or HUMAN) ... SOY is also one of the TOP 5 in regards to ALLEGIES ( YES technically oil should NOT cause a reaction but tell that to MY own body;) )
My Gigi ate various version s of the chicken and rice for 4-5 yrs with NO issues at all ( basically it was one of three brands SHE DID NOT react to ) ... suddenly about the recall time she had a reaction and thus took her food and her to the vet ... where both the vet and I viewed the ingredients and I noted the soybean oil as a change and then both the vet and I research and were shocked.. YES it is a source of Omega 3 that is WIDELY used in PF and HUMAN food but IMHO it is a risky item....
the next to react was my kitty Zoey who was KNOWN allergic to soy....
If you want I will do my rant on beet pulp and flax;)
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5CatMom
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« Reply #238 on: August 12, 2008, 04:13:55 PM » |
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The Nutro stories are heart breaking.
I hope some owners whose dogs died will have necropies performed so that the cause of death can be determined. Is it acute kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis, or what?
Do we know if any of the food has been tested for the usual suspects: melamine, cyanuric acid, acetaminophen, aminopterin, mycotoxins?
5CatMom
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"What is man without the beasts? If the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected." Chief Seattle
"We are the caretakers of our creatures . . . the peacekeepers of our planet"
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5CatMom
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« Reply #239 on: August 12, 2008, 04:34:08 PM » |
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Forgot to add, if you are new here and have had problems with Nutro: 1. Contact your FDA consumer complaint coordinator, insist that they make a report, and try to get them to agree to test the food (just don't give them all your food). It's important to get complaints on the record with the FDA. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html2. Contact your state's Department of Agriculture. Same routine. Make a report, and ask about food testing. OR Contact Don Earl at http://www.pfpsa.org. Don works with pet owners and independent labs to have food tested. This Nutro thing sounds like The Pet Food Recall all over again. The difference is, I don't believe we'll ever see another PF company admit there's anything wrong with their food. 5CatMom =^..^ = |
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« Last Edit: August 13, 2008, 04:21:53 AM by 5CatMom »
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"What is man without the beasts? If the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected." Chief Seattle
"We are the caretakers of our creatures . . . the peacekeepers of our planet"
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