Sylvia — the talking cat

It is always sad to say goodbye to a good friend and Sylvia certainly fit that category. She and I spent many a time watching Gordon Ramsey on the Food Network. She in my lap, me brushing her, and both of us enjoying each other’s company.

Sylvia was quite the talker and she had lots of commentaries on everything, from the events of the day to her opinions about Gordon. And that suited me just fine. I enjoyed our conversations.

I have to admit that I admired this old gal, she was an only cat in a household full of dogs and when a Macaw joined the throng she took it in stride, although her ears did do the 360 degree rotation when the bird would send out a loud screech.

It is, as ever, one of the challenging things of working with animals that their lives are short and their departure is always too soon.

Sylvia had a great life and she lived long and strong. Goodbye sweet girl! I will miss you….

Nutro Food and the FDA versus Concerned Pet Food Consumers

Tempest in the Teapot? No! It’s the Tempest in the Kibble Bag!

A whirling-dervish of media reporting is the outcome of a recent report that the FDA has placed Nutro Products, Inc. under investigation. According to Consumer Affairs the leading cause for this investigation is the large volume of complaints against Nutro pet food products. So far there are over 500 documented complaints, and growing. Consumer Affairs has a point. With this many complaints it’s not a wonder that consumers are demanding answers from the Nutro Company.

After the loss of my own dog to a possible Nutro-food related seizure, I have followed the complaints against Nutro Products, Inc. with interest. In March of 2007 (the same year as the Menu Foods recall) Nutro was acquired by Mars Inc. At some point in late 2007 or early 2008, the Nutro Products, Inc. kibble began changing both in color and smell. Of course, pet food varies from batch to batch and most consumers felt (myself included) that if the formula had changed it would be because of “improvements.” However, shortly after receiving the new food my senior dog began vomiting and had diarrhea. In November of 2008 I switched from Nutro Natural Choice Senior to Nutro Ultra both the dry and canned food versions.

She responded favorably to the new food, vomiting and diarrhea appeared under control, she even regained some of her previously lost energy. But I had overlooked something important about this miraculous change: I had actually stopped feeding her commercial pet food altogether and started making my own dog food. The first reason was to treat her diarrhea. The second reason was the result of her lab work: Her blood panel revealed highly elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of liver failure.

In the meantime, the new bag of Ultra and the canned food remained in the pantry. Once she began feeling “good” again, I resumed feeding her Nutro. She appeared to respond fine to the food — for a while. Then she resumed having loose stools and began eating excessive amounts of grass, vomiting frequently from the grass consumption. On April 17, 2008 she had a seizure, it was a continuous group of multiple-cluster seizures. Even if the vet could get the seizures under control, the likely hood of a full recovery would be minimal. Her internal temperature was so high that major organ damage (including kidney failure and brain damage) would be likely. I made the difficult and gut-wrenching decision to euthanize her. I was devastated. To his credit, my vet suggested that we do a necropsy. At that time, I couldn’t handle the thought of it. So I declined. I now regret that I did not follow through with his suggestion.

Previously, I had not shared my own story with anyone on the SecurePet blog, partly because I wasn’t certain that Nutro was to blame. And, I certainly did not want to taint my reporting with something that could not be substantiated. Then several people contacted me with their own stories. I followed up on these and asked for more details. None of the owners initially made the food/illness connection. They sought veterinarian care because their pets were seriously ill. One lady, whose three dogs died within weeks of each other, contacted me with her story, you can read it here. Many pet parents reported that their dog’s lab work revealed liver damage. Often the food/illness connection occurred (like myself) after the dog’s death, when the pet parent was seeking answers to the mysterious illness and ultimate death of their beloved family member.

Therefore, when one of my readers alerted me to the FDA probe I eagerly went to the ConsumerAffairs.com web site to read more about it. The April 20, 2009 report by Lisa Wade McCormick was a welcome relief. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had confirmed their investigation into Nutro Products, Inc.. In her online article, Ms. McCormick states that, “the FDA’s Division of Freedom of Information confirmed the agency has an ongoing investigation into NUTRO — and said the investigation could be criminal or civil in nature.”

But the FDA immediately started back-peddling, despite the fact that Consumer Affairs had actual documented proof addressed to Lisa McCormick in response to her query under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In fact, the agency did something it had never done before: On April 28, 2009, the FDA posted a denial of any investigation into Nutro Products, Inc., on the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine portion of the agency’s web site. However, let’s be clear about this, the CVM is not the department that handles complaints, nor does it do the investigative work. So, yes, indeed, the FDA CVM is stating a fact: This department is not investigating Nutro Products, Inc.

In what can only be described as a fit of “lazy-reporting” the major media broadcasters immediately jumped on this news story by parroting the FDA’s statement and Nutro’s denial. The winners are the FDA and Nutro, whose efforts to deliver a wonderful media-spin on the whole FDA investigation report made them both come out smelling like the proverbial rose. The losers are the consumers — who are now left more confused than ever. And, both the FDA and Nutro made it appear as if ConsumerAffairs.com was caught with its pants down. Thankfully, the folks at ConsumerAffairs.com responded quickly. On April 29, 2009 another article appeared detailing more vividly than ever the complaints against Nutro and more documentation from the FDA.

The Nutro corporation has always taken the stance that the rumors about their product’s safety are the result of low-minded, non-investigative, blog-writing, rumor-mongering, hysterical people. Well, let me remind Nutro that these are people who purchased their products, fed them to their pets, and watched helplessly as their pets became ill and died! I for one am glad that ConsumerAffairs.com is not taking matters lying down. The FDA is not an agency that is pro-active, it only moves when it absolutely has to, remember the Menu Foods debacle? So, why should consumers place any weight on what this agency states? If it weren’t for courageous, honest, and investigative reporting pet parents all over the world would be totally unaware of the potential dangers of feeding their furry family members Nutro!

Animal Lovers Protest Slaugther of Cats

Shameful Slaughter of Cats Protest

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, December 19, 2008

BEIJING - A southern Chinese province must stop the “shameful” and “cruel slaughter” of cats for food, a group of more than 40 animal lovers in Beijing said Thursday as they unfurled banners in a tearful protest.

Thousands of cats across the country have been caught in the past week by traders and transported to Guangdong province to be killed for food, said the protesters gathered at the Guangdong government’s office in Beijing.

“We are very angry because the cats are being skinned and then cooked alive. We must make them correct this uncivilized behavior,” said Wang Hongyao, who represented the group in submitting a letter to the Guangdong office.

The protesters urged the provincial government to crack down on cat traders and restaurants that serve cat meat, although no law says it is illegal to eat cats. It has long been common for cats and dogs to be eaten in some parts of China and in some other Asian countries.

The demonstrators held up banners saying “Cooking cats alive! Shame on Guangdong!” and “Resolutely oppose cruel slaughter” as they met with a representative of the Guangdong office.

Calls to the Guangdong provincial office in Beijing rang unanswered, while the government news office in the province refused to comment.

The protest was apparently in response to Chinese media reports in recent days that carried pictures of furry felines peering out through bamboo crates and metal cages, apparently en route to Guangzhou, Guangdong’s capital. Other pictures show cats being skinned in restaurant kitchens.

About 5,000 cats were sent from Nanjing to Guangzhou, while cats from Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places were also being rounded up, the Chengdu Business Daily reported last week. The paper said people in
Guangdong eat 10,000 cats a day.

No reason was given for the increased media coverage, or if there has been an increase in cat meat consumption.

Many of the protesters in Beijing were retirees who said they have been caring for strays cats. The protesters said they believed that some street cats in Beijing, “especially the fat ones,” have disappeared and were likely nabbed by cat meat dealers.

“These cats, they are like our children,” said Cui Qingzhen, a 56-year-old woman who said she has been feeding street cats for six years. “We can’t let these people do this to them.”

The demonstrators also noted that a virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, is suspected to have been spread to humans by civet cats, mongoose-like animals considered a delicacy in southern China.

SARS was first reported in Guangdong in November 2002 and killed 774 people worldwide before subsiding in July 2003. In 2004, Guangdong banned the raising, selling, killing and eating of civet cats.

“Haven’t they learned from SARS that some animals just shouldn’t be eaten by humans?” Cui said. “Ask the Guangdong people: What else must they eat?”

Associated Press researcher Xi Yue contributed to the report.

Please note that although I am thankful that the senseless killing and slaughter of cats has caught Chinese media attention it is sad to note that only 40 Chinese people were present at the protest. If this were happening in America the number would be into the multiple of thousands. However, it is a start.

Even sadder is the inability of the Chinese people to comprehend that there are other sources for cheap protein, many of which are easy to obtain and raise such as farm-raised fish, poultry, and milk products produced from goats and cows. Not to mention vegetable proteins such as beans and rice.

A government program to encourage the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs would help keep the overpopulation of these animals at a minimum. Humane methods of euthanasia can be employed. And a national program to vaccinate dogs and cats against rabies would help the overall health of the Chinese people and its pets.

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