OT: Does anyone know if this is true?
Before I get worked up on a rampage, does anyone know if this is true? Hello everyone, One of the major cat food manufacturers which donates food to the feral cat rescue groups, Natural Balance, has released a large amount of recalled canned cat food to rescue groups for feral cat consumption. Although the labels and lot codes on these cans are listed by the FDA as recalled due to the melamine contamination, Natural Balance is taking the stand that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats. I feel that this is inhumane and negligent of Natural Balance. These cats already suffer greatly by living outdoors year round, some without shelter, without flea and mite protection, or the benefit of veterinary care to help diagnose and treat illness. Renal failure is a horrible death for these cats to suffer needlessly. For Natural Balance to assume that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats is wrong. Please check the bar codes and lot numbers of your Natural Balance canned and dry food products that have been donated to you for your feral cats. Dispose of any food that is listed by the FDA due to melamine contamination. If you are in doubt about the safety of the Natural Balance food you are feeding, don't take the chance, and dispose of it. DO NOT FEED RECALLED PET FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! Also, check the expiration dates on the food you feed. Some of the food being distributed by other companies is more than 3 months expired and many lots over one year expired!! One recent lot donated to us was from December, 2005!!! The idea that canned and dry food is still ok to feed to your ferals is wrong! Expired dry and canned cat food will go rancid (spoilage of fats in the food), develope bacterial overgrowth, become moldy with fungus, or develop worms and/or maggots that are not visible to the human eye. Cats can develop significant gastrointestinal, nervous system, kidney, and liver liver problems if they eat expired food. Kittens may not thrive and begin to waste, and older cats can die. DO NOT FEED EXPIRED CANNED OR DRY FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! The companies should be disposing of these foods, and not donating it to rescue groups. These companies get to deduct the full cost of these foods on their income tax, thereby recovering the financial loss of the bad foods at our expense and at the health and lives of our feral cats. DO NOT ACCEPT RECALLED FOOD OR EXPIRED FOOD FROM PET FOOD DISTRIBUTORS. PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF YOUR FERAL CATS. IF WE DON'T SPEAK FOR THEM, NO ONE WILL. --Patricia J. Meredith, MD, PhD __._,_.___ Susan J. DuBose ^..^ www.PetGirlsPetsitting.com www.Tx.SiameseRescue.org www.shadowcats.net As Cleopatra lay in state, Faithful Bast at her side did wait, Purring welcomes of soft applause, Ever guarding with sharpened claws. Trajan Tennent
Re: Does anyone know if this is true?
Here is a later update from the person who originally posted the warning. Gary Dear Diana and Franny, We have been in contact with Natural Balance and they have offered the following explanation: evidently the canned food they donated to us was good despite the UPC label code being listing on the FDA recall list. All canned cat food for Natural Balance has now been reformulated and has a new label, but a few early batches were packaged inadvertenly with the old label and the recalled UPC code. Natural Balance is offering to replace all of the canned food with the older, recalled labels with food that has been packaged with the new label. They have apologized for the mix-up. We thank Natural Balance for their prompt response to our inquiry. They are doing everything possible to pull the cans with the wrong labels, and we are currently in the process of returning the batch of canned food with the recalled labels to Natural Balance. We continue to feel that Natural Balance is a superb source of nutrition for our feral cats. Please check your labels and return all recalled foods to the manufacturer. Sincerely, Patricia J. Meredith, MD - Original Message - From: Susan Dubose To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 11:49 AM Subject: OT: Does anyone know if this is true? Before I get worked up on a rampage, does anyone know if this is true? Hello everyone, One of the major cat food manufacturers which donates food to the feral cat rescue groups, Natural Balance, has released a large amount of recalled canned cat food to rescue groups for feral cat consumption. Although the labels and lot codes on these cans are listed by the FDA as recalled due to the melamine contamination, Natural Balance is taking the stand that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats. I feel that this is inhumane and negligent of Natural Balance. These cats already suffer greatly by living outdoors year round, some without shelter, without flea and mite protection, or the benefit of veterinary care to help diagnose and treat illness. Renal failure is a horrible death for these cats to suffer needlessly. For Natural Balance to assume that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats is wrong. Please check the bar codes and lot numbers of your Natural Balance canned and dry food products that have been donated to you for your feral cats. Dispose of any food that is listed by the FDA due to melamine contamination. If you are in doubt about the safety of the Natural Balance food you are feeding, don't take the chance, and dispose of it. DO NOT FEED RECALLED PET FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! Also, check the expiration dates on the food you feed. Some of the food being distributed by other companies is more than 3 months expired and many lots over one year expired!! One recent lot donated to us was from December, 2005!!! The idea that canned and dry food is still ok to feed to your ferals is wrong! Expired dry and canned cat food will go rancid (spoilage of fats in the food), develope bacterial overgrowth, become moldy with fungus, or develop worms and/or maggots that are not visible to the human eye. Cats can develop significant gastrointestinal, nervous system, kidney, and liver liver problems if they eat expired food. Kittens may not thrive and begin to waste, and older cats can die. DO NOT FEED EXPIRED CANNED OR DRY FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! The companies should be disposing of these foods, and not donating it to rescue groups. These companies get to deduct the full cost of these foods on their income tax, thereby recovering the financial loss of the bad foods at our expense and at the health and lives of our feral cats. DO NOT ACCEPT RECALLED FOOD OR EXPIRED FOOD FROM PET FOOD DISTRIBUTORS. PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF YOUR FERAL CATS. IF WE DON'T SPEAK FOR THEM, NO ONE WILL. --Patricia J. Meredith, MD, PhD
Re: Does anyone know if this is true?
Thanks so much! Susan J. DuBose ^..^ www.PetGirlsPetsitting.com www.Tx.SiameseRescue.org www.shadowcats.net As Cleopatra lay in state, Faithful Bast at her side did wait, Purring welcomes of soft applause, Ever guarding with sharpened claws. Trajan Tennent - Original Message - From: gary [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 3:51 PM Subject: Re: Does anyone know if this is true? Here is a later update from the person who originally posted the warning. Gary Dear Diana and Franny, We have been in contact with Natural Balance and they have offered the following explanation: evidently the canned food they donated to us was good despite the UPC label code being listing on the FDA recall list. All canned cat food for Natural Balance has now been reformulated and has a new label, but a few early batches were packaged inadvertenly with the old label and the recalled UPC code. Natural Balance is offering to replace all of the canned food with the older, recalled labels with food that has been packaged with the new label. They have apologized for the mix-up. We thank Natural Balance for their prompt response to our inquiry. They are doing everything possible to pull the cans with the wrong labels, and we are currently in the process of returning the batch of canned food with the recalled labels to Natural Balance. We continue to feel that Natural Balance is a superb source of nutrition for our feral cats. Please check your labels and return all recalled foods to the manufacturer. Sincerely, Patricia J. Meredith, MD - Original Message - From: Susan Dubose To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 11:49 AM Subject: OT: Does anyone know if this is true? Before I get worked up on a rampage, does anyone know if this is true? Hello everyone, One of the major cat food manufacturers which donates food to the feral cat rescue groups, Natural Balance, has released a large amount of recalled canned cat food to rescue groups for feral cat consumption. Although the labels and lot codes on these cans are listed by the FDA as recalled due to the melamine contamination, Natural Balance is taking the stand that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats. I feel that this is inhumane and negligent of Natural Balance. These cats already suffer greatly by living outdoors year round, some without shelter, without flea and mite protection, or the benefit of veterinary care to help diagnose and treat illness. Renal failure is a horrible death for these cats to suffer needlessly. For Natural Balance to assume that it is ok to feed the recalled food to our feral cats is wrong. Please check the bar codes and lot numbers of your Natural Balance canned and dry food products that have been donated to you for your feral cats. Dispose of any food that is listed by the FDA due to melamine contamination. If you are in doubt about the safety of the Natural Balance food you are feeding, don't take the chance, and dispose of it. DO NOT FEED RECALLED PET FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! Also, check the expiration dates on the food you feed. Some of the food being distributed by other companies is more than 3 months expired and many lots over one year expired!! One recent lot donated to us was from December, 2005!!! The idea that canned and dry food is still ok to feed to your ferals is wrong! Expired dry and canned cat food will go rancid (spoilage of fats in the food), develope bacterial overgrowth, become moldy with fungus, or develop worms and/or maggots that are not visible to the human eye. Cats can develop significant gastrointestinal, nervous system, kidney, and liver liver problems if they eat expired food. Kittens may not thrive and begin to waste, and older cats can die. DO NOT FEED EXPIRED CANNED OR DRY FOOD TO YOUR FERAL CATS! The companies should be disposing of these foods, and not donating it to rescue groups. These companies get to deduct the full cost of these foods on their income tax, thereby recovering the financial loss of the bad foods at our expense and at the health and lives of our feral cats. DO NOT ACCEPT RECALLED FOOD OR EXPIRED FOOD FROM PET FOOD DISTRIBUTORS. PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF YOUR FERAL CATS. IF WE DON'T SPEAK FOR THEM, NO ONE WILL. --Patricia J. Meredith, MD, PhD
