Four weeks after pet food contamination was announced and a nationwide recall took effect, now of nearly 100 brands, local pet owners are looking for safe alternatives to feed their cats and dogs.
Pet Country pet supply in north Medford has been inundated with questions from people worried about their pet food.
"It's been many, many customers, many, many phone calls," said Sig Thurnbauer, assistant manager at Pet Country. He said none of their products match the date, product and plant criteria for the recall, but they've been providing refunds for customers who have concerns.
Pet Country customer Shellie Greer, of Rogue River, said she checked the recall list when the news first broke, and was relieved the particular Nutro food she feeds her two dogs was not on the list.
"Our dogs eat a brand of dog food that wasn't affected," she said.
Advertisement | |
On March 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced identification of melamine, used in production of plastics, in samples of wheat gluten used in the production of the recalled pet food. The recall list has since expanded, and investigations continue.
On Thursday, the FDA issued a warning after finding that some stores had not removed the recalled pet food from their shelves.
Oregon's public health veterinarian, Dr. Emilio DeBess, reports that there have been at least 116 suspected cases of cats and dogs in the state that have consumed recalled Menu Foods pet food and who have experienced various stages of kidney dysfunction.
In the latest state figures released Thursday, of the 116 suspect cases, 43 are dogs and 73 are cats. At least 45 pets have died. Of those, 20 were dogs and 25 were cats, including one cat in Medford. There is also a suspected illness of a Medford cat from the tainted food. There are four reported cases in Grants Pass.
Glenn Kolb, executive director of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, said the number of reported cases continues to grow. Veterinarians call in suspect cases when there is a dog or cat with sudden onset of kidney problems who has been fed the recalled food.
"We'll have to take it on the word of the owners," he said, adding that they just receive the information, they have no role in the class action lawsuits being filed.
Dr. Dwight Sinner of Siskiyou Veterinary Hospital in Medford reported the suspicious death of a cat who had been fed the recalled food. He said a lot of older cats will develop kidney disease, but this particular cat was not an old cat and had a sudden onset and was euthanized.
"They (the owners) phoned the next Monday and said, 'We had been feeding this food,' " he said.
He said his office has seen a dramatic increase in people wanting to talk about pet foods and people asking about making their own pet foods.
"This is rocking everybody's boat," he said.
Sinner said because there are many particular vitamin and mineral levels to maintain in food, he doesn't recommend people turn to "the home-cooked thing. We think that your best bet is commercial pet foods," he said.
The Ashland Food Coop has seen an increase in sales of natural and organic dog and cat food.
"Our sales have definitely jumped," said Tyler Barron, assistant grocery manager. He said though he didn't have a sales percentage figured, they have seen a noticeable increase.
"None of the food that we carry was involved in the recall," he said. He said they've seen some new customers who have switched from mainstream commercial brands.
"There's been some serious trust broken," he said. "Definitely better quality control is going to have to come out of this."
Pet owners are also turning to Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Medford.
"We have had quite a big interest," said Tish Snyder, assistant store manager, adding that she could not disclose sales numbers.
From books on animal care to information on selecting foods and pet food recipes, customers have been asking for the books at a marked increase since the recall, and it's not slowing.
"We're still seeing a lot of interest every day," she said.
For a complete list of recalled foods, visit www.fda.gov on the Web.
Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.
