Cat Blogosphere

[scroll wayyyy down to get to KC’s post for today, lots of stuff happening in the Cat Blogosphere!]

Mommy’s been doin lotsa reesearch and readin and stuff bout the pet foods problems. So I’s gonna let her tell you bout what she finks about it all and her thoughts n suggestshuns bout it.  Ok Mommy, yoo can go now! 

Mom Robyn here. :)  While I’ve been "taking a break" I’ve also been doing extensive research on the contaminated pet food issues. I thought I’d share my take on it. 

Observations

1. Tainted and/or recalled pet foods (and now pig feed) apparently is coming from China in tainted grain protein meals and glutens.
   1. Wheat gluten was the first to be recalled.
   2. Rice protein are being recalled just the last few days.
   3. Corn gluten / corn gluten meal has been linked to deaths of pets in SA and again, the source of the corn gluten was China.
2. I have personally spoken at length with a business man friend two days ago, who has been to China in the past 6 months, and been inside 3 of their wheat processing factories and one rice processessing factory. He said that his experience was that the factories were so "filthy" and "disgusting" that he won’t eat anything made in a Chinese processing factory any more. He was not surprised at all to find that items coming from these factories might be unhealthy for pets or humans.
3. The FDA, the pet food manufacturers, pet food vendors, and veterinarians in many cases are far behind the bloggers in general in getting and distributing information about potentially hazardous pet foods.
   1. I’d cite sources, but you’ve probably already seen them and there are too many for me to grab quickly. Itchmo.com has references to many, if you’d like to see those.
   2. My veterinarian’s office as of 4:15pm yesterday DID NOT KNOW that there may be a problem with corn gluten from China. I was the one who reported it to him.
      

My Personal Summarization and Thoughts

My summary and thoughts here are geared towards helping my cats, and maybe yours too, to be healthy and safe from this horrid mess. I’ll rant elsewhere. *grin* 

1. Wheat gluten and rice protein in pet food, whether currently recalled or not, may or may not be safe. The same goes for corn gluten, since the information about tainted corn gluten from China is so new.
2. The FDA, pet food manufacturers, vendors, and veterinarians in many cases, do not know what foods may be safe at this time.
3. Because information comes out so slowly from these sources, by the time the information does get it, it may be far too late for many pets.
4. Having worked in large corporations for many years in the past, I am intensely aware of the fact that the larger the corporation, the slower it will move. In addition to this, as a business owner myself, I know that the process may be slowed in both larger and smaller companies due to their need to earn a living. It’s a reality of doing business. So I expect that the process of getting all this straight will take months if not years.
5. I personally believe that until continuous and rigorous oversight of all pet food ingredients is well established, it may not be safe to feed cats any pet foods with (at the least): wheat gluten, rice protein, and corn gluten, including meals of these glutens.

An Abundance of Caution

I prefer to be overcautious in what I feed my cats, than wait for the FDA, the veterinarians, pet food vendors, or manufacturers to get the recalls and information out. While I applaud Royal Canin and Natural Balance for recalling suspected pet foods far more quickly than some others have, since I knew about the problems before the recall, I’m no longer willing to wait for recalls. As of today, the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats is going to avoid all cat foods and treats containing wheat gluten, rice protein, and corn gluten. And I’ll be paying approximately 5 times what I was paying before, but it’s what I feel I have to do. Since I don’t need the stress of worrying about it, they’re also going organic, although we’ll stick to dry foods for now so they don’t have issues with a switch to wet. But most sadly, it means no more tem-tay-shuns for the kitties, as all flavors of the moist temptations contain corn gluten. I cried when I read that on the labels today at PetSmart. It’s what I feel I need to do, though.

Please do what you feel is best for you and your cats. I understand that everyone will have different levels of concern about emerging news, for instance, as it may be inaccurate or limited. I support your choice to do what you feel is best.

Calls to Action 

Things I will do and I’d like to see all of us do together to help each other out. 

1. Let’s get together a list of pet foods without some or all of these glutens, rice proteins, and gluten meals, for the folks who feel more cautious. I’d like to see the Cat Blogosphere have this information handy so that not everyone has to spend the hours going over cat food bags and cans and websites too, that I’ve spent over the past few days. Recall information has been much easier to find than information on what is more likely to be ok. All those that have no wheat gluten and/or no rice protein and/or corn glutens could be listed so that people can make more informed choices. Please send any information you have on "without glutens" cat foods and treats to me at catsnmom AT houseofthemostlyblackcats DOT com or at the noos contact page.UPDATE: I’ll also be adding info from other cat moms and dads and not-moms as they come in. So send that on too. And I’ll peek at Chey’s site.
   First "No Glutens" list is here. Updated 4/20/07 9:06pm EDT And FYI The foods noted so far are available at PetSmart.
2. For folks who are less "abundently cautious" (read that as "paranoid"), I’m doing to do this: Cat Blogosphere Cats Food Database. I will be starting a database of what our cat friends eat and if you want, we’ll email you directly if we hear of something suspect about that particular food. To get on the database and email list for particular foods and treats, email me this information for each food and treat: Brand Name, Flavor, Style (Wet, Dry, Moist, Crunchy), and any other identifiers like that on the bag, box or other container, along with the email address(es) you’d like to get any notifications at. I can’t guarantee I won’t miss anything, but I will do my best, and if it helps one cat, it will have been worth it. And, of course, help with keeping the database up to date and notifying people is welcome.

Pride & Gratitude

Lastly, I’m proud of this group of cats and their people for supporting each other through all this chaos with the pet food recalls and news, as well as everything else. Thank you to all of you for being their for each other. It just blows me away and makes me grin. 

Love, Robyn

Dang, she goes on. Now where’s this noo organik stuff? I’m hungry!!!

Purrrrrrrrrs,
Sanjee