by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)
This article concerns a potential Purina ONE® cat food problem.
Purina ONE® cat food had its most voluntary recall back in the summer. Here’s an article with an overview of this recall. Please read over it if at all possible before reading more of my article.
The list of symptoms to watch out for were taken from the above link for those of you who don’t have the time to read the entire article. It’s critical that all cat owners know these.
“Salmonella can affect animals eating the product, and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated products. People handling contaminated dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.”
From the information I’ve learned in the last 24 hours, I’m afraid another recall is imminent. I’m not doing this article to bash Purina. Nestle Purina is taking this issue seriously, but not enough information has been gathered to demand another voluntary recall.
What troubles me is the same symptoms are appearing in cats from Ohio to California and several have died. I even received word from a cat in Australia dying with the same symptoms.
The first thing I’d like for everyone to do is memorize the symptoms of salmonella poisoning. What disturbs me most about the most recent deaths is the failure of blood work to detect any problems. When the blood work comes back as normal, this gives the cat owner a false sense of security. It’s only in the later stage when it’s too late to save the cat that liver and kidney damage is showing up.
“We don’t know that the food is the cause, but everyone needs to be aware of a strange coincidence regarding Purina One Dry Food that is going on between our house in California, and my sister’s house in Ohio. My sister in Ohio had one cat that started vomiting about 2 months ago. She thought it might be hairballs, but he lost the use of his back legs. His blood work came back ok, so the vet chalked it up to a blood clot, and he started feeling better. He came home, and was fed the same food. Then, her cat Franklin had the same problem; vomiting and losing the use of his back legs. The same with him; blood work was good, and vet chalked it up to a strange coincidence. (BTW both cats indoors, previously healthy as a horse, and being fed Purina ONE® Indoor).
A few weeks ago, her first cat, Ernie, declined again, and passed away after having another bout of the same symptoms; this time the vomit had blood in it. This morning Franklin, the second cat passed away. Since his first hospitalization, his blood work got bad; kidneys and liver. He was also vomiting with blood in it. Both cats were drinking water excessively. Her vets still don’t see what would have caused this to happen in both indoor pets. She has filed a claim with Purina One, and has spoken to the attorneys. She is also taking Franklin to the Vet School for a post mortem.
Now my California story….mine is only a week’s worth of illness story. I have been feeding my cats Purina One SmartBlend Chicken & Rice for at least a year. My cats have been drinking a lot of water-noticed the increase a few weeks ago, and chalked it up to the heater being on. Bebe, my indoor 1 1/2 year old healthy as a horse male cat started vomiting liquid green….then yellow bile, and lost his appetite completely. He also had diarrhea. On the second day I took him into the vet. They took x-rays, and thought they saw a bowel obstruction. The vet did exploratory surgery, and found nothing but highly irritated bowels, not even a hairball. He stayed in for a couple of nights. She did take biopsies of his intestines, which we have not gotten back. Then our 22 pound cat Lenny (also no history of illness, and healthy as a horse) started the same barfing Thursday….after he barfed bile again on Friday morning, I pulled the Purina One, went out and got 5 different kinds of food without the Purina Label; Wellness Core, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, Max Cat, and Innova to see which one they like best…Lenny barfed the last time Friday morning, but as of last night, the barfing has stopped, no diarrhea, appetite is back, water consumption has decreased, and BeBe, staples and all, is running around.
I have called Purina on this, as I still have the bag and the remainder of the food. I pressed them to take my information, even though they said there has been no recalls, which they did. I am also considering filing a claim with them, depending on what the biopsy of BeBes intestines say, and what my vet thinks. I will keep you posted. What I have seen is a few people on blogs that have mentioned that their cats have also been getting sick. If anyone thinks that their cat might be getting ill from their food, it is important to call the manufacturer right away to let them know, and press them to take the information so they have a record. Right now, I don’t plan on feeding my cats, or Chihuahua, Purina until my sister and I get the results from BeBes biopsy, and Frank’s post mortem.
A lot of my friends have questioned whether other Purina products are involved, including those for dogs. To my knowledge, it’s only the Purina ONE® Cat Food.
As responsible cat owners, we need to monitor our cats for any health changes regardless of what we feed them. In this day with all kinds of questionable ingredients being put into cat food we must remain vigilant.
If any of you have a problem with any pet food, here’s the link furnished by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to report the problem.
Here’s a link to report to Nestle Purina.
Please, please, if you have had any health issues with your cats on this food, let all of us know under the comment section. Include the flavor and the identification numbers the company would want you to give them. Maybe we can nip this in the bud and save some lives.
In closing I’d like to say I have nothing against Nestle Purina. They’ve done voluntary recalls in the past when a problem is reported on one of their products. I consider myself as doing them a favor by making the consumer aware there may be a problem BEFORE the death of a beloved cat.
Elisa
Michael, Thank you . You already made me feel better, because there are compassionate people like you. I will start to make my research on a quality wet food.
Great. Well done.
I decided to specify what he ate:
Dry: Purina One- Indoor Advantage premium cat food for adult 1+
Soft:1. Purina Beyond- Turkey, sweet potato and spinach
2. Pate (sorry, I threw a can and I’m afraid to make a mistake.
Which of these 3 is the problem I cannot say right now.
Actually it started with a dry food: weight loss and constipation.
But diarrhea with a little blood and hair loss on front legs with soft food.
I am very stressed. I trusted this company. It’s Premium cat food and ingredients seemed to be good on dry and soft : grain free and no by-product, no corn or soy, no added colors or preservatives. And it’s manufactured on U.S. Facilities.
Can somebody advice on a reliable dry or soft food with reasonable price? I need to change his food right away, within days. Something from PetSmart or Petco.
I know there are expensive brands on web, but it will take time to order. I need something new , something that I can buy tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
Hi! I just discovered this site. It is so sad to read all these stories. I have a male cat-August. He got constipated and we took him to a vet. After that I decided to add soft food .Before that he ate only dry food and food that I cooked for him. We bought him Purina Beyond pate and in Gravy. He started to vomit almost every day, lost weight, has bloody diarrhea. He is loosing some hair on his legs as well. I started to
Hi! I just discovered this site. It is so sad to read all these stories. I have a male cat-August. He got constipated and we took him to a vet. After that I decided to add soft food .Before that he ate only dry food and food that I cooked for him. We bought him Purina Beyond pate and in Gravy. He started to vomit almost every day, lost weight, has bloody diarrhea. He is loosing some hair on his legs as well. I started to think the food is the reason. I went on web to see if there were any recalls on Purina and found this site. Now I am not sure what to think as I didn’t find any recalls on Purina this year and here the last comment was dated 2016.Today is November 9, 2017.But may be again Purina is the reason. May be somebody else has the same problem. Personally I had no idea before I found this site. So my big, big thanks to Michael.
Sorry Natalia that there are so many sad stories. There are a lot of happy or neutral stories too 😉
Don’t feed him Purina. I hope you have stopped and changed the food. Purina has a poor reputation in my view concerning animal welfare. Try and buy high quality wet food only. Many dodgy pet foods are not recalled and sold for years even though there are indications that it causes health issues.
I gave my cat beyond she almost died she had lost weight.walked staging.she had drooing from mouth and bad breath.itchy skin with hair loss.vet said she has low sugar bloodpossible poison .bring her back for test.my friend read on line purina food is poison pets are dying or sick.i guess from chinai thought food was made in us..what part of it?i changed her food she is better but weak.co that bought them out needs to recall it all or sellit to a co that care about pets not money.
Thanks for commenting. Sorry for the delay in publishing your comment.
I gave my cat beyond she got sick and died. within 6 months..she had large watery diarrhea daily.low temp.low pressure.shaking head.hair lose on legs and tail.dehydrated.hospital try to save her.she died on my couch.6-2013..i didn’t think purina food would of been the caused.but my friend gave his cat beyond she almost died.she had lost weight.drooling from mouth.twitching face and jaw.itchy skin hair lose.walked staging.she couldn’t drink out of bowl. I told him changed her food he did she doing better but weak.i saw on line pets that are dying or sick from purina foods.i was stunned.purina was a co that I trusted but killed my 18 yrs old best friend.
Thanks for commenting. Sorry for the delay in publishing your comment.
It’s hard to have a discussion regarding cats when the person is mostly interested in talking about themselves.
Yes, comments can tend to be like that. And sometimes people who wish to make comments diverged from the topic in question. I tend to give people a lot of freedom in their comments because they wish to express their opinion which is often based upon emotions about the subject and people need to do that. Also, sometimes comments which are not that great or on topic can generate interesting conversations online which lead to better things. Thanks by the way for your email which I found interesting and to which I’ve responded.
Thank you for being polite out of respect for Michael. Respect for other’s opinions is a sign of consciousness. Personally, I see no reason not to be. This is a forum for exchange of information, experiences, ideas, perceptions, and opinions.
Not everyone is going to be a researcher, and even if they are, they’re findings may be colored by their beliefs and opinions. I don’t imagine that most vets or doctors have time to do research. I do think they are influenced by what’s presented to them, from manufacturer’s reps who also offer desirable perks. It’s the same with medical doctors.
Pet food companies are affected by the bottom line. They’re not in the business of pet health. No more than human food manufacturers are. When enough pets (and humans) get sick or die from food issues, there’s a recall. Sometimes, they become aware of contaminated food, and issue a voluntary recall. This seems to be happening more now, as pet guardians become more aware of the influence of food and illness.
We know that all vets (or doctors) aren’t alike in their diagnosis or suggested treatments. In my years of having pets, I’ve changed from being naive in never questioning a vet, to a more realistic stance. But this is a path I discovered in the 60’s with the slogan “Question Authority”. It took many years before that became integrated in me.
For example, I never would have questioned “prescription pet foods”. I believed that they must be geared to solving health issues. Since they’re only available through a vet, like any prescription, and have a price tag to match, I accepted that it was the best feeding choice, especially since it was recommended by a vet. Pet health is a priority for vets. But their bottom line is of equal importance.
The meaning of “veterinarian” is “a person whose job is to give medical help to sick or injured animals”.
I started doing research on pet foods, stimulated by what I read on TruthAboutPetFood, and Poisoned Pets, after the tragedy of so many pet deaths in 2007 from contaminated food from China. Unfortunately, many treats for dogs and cats from China are still on the shelves of most pet stores.
My housemate used to give her dog treats made in China, in addition to feeding Royal Canin foods. The dog continually suffered from itching and allergies. I shared that it might help to switch to other treats and food. She disregarded my advice.
Instead, she took the dog to the vet, who prescribed ongoing anti-allergy medicines. It seems like a familiar scenario of treating symptoms and not looking for a root cause.
I discovered how to actually decipher ingredients on labels. We’re told to “read labels”, but if we don’t know what the ingredients mean, it’s futile. This applies to packaged pet and human foods. In the past, I never questioned what was in a food that I consumed. I have no allergies that I know of, and ate what I wanted, unconcerned that there could be health hazards. That came from my experience of a healthy lifetime, in spite of my awareness that many friends suffered from various ailments that seemed to be caused by reactions to certain foods.
As part of my research on label ingredients, I looked at Hills Prescription formulas, and Royal Canin. I was in disbelief. First of all, these foods are actually not “prescription” as I would understand it to mean a form of medicine. I do realize that the word doesn’t equate to medicine, but just to being “prescribed”. This is different than how the general public perceives it, so it’s useful in influencing trust.
The ingredients in these foods are the same as those in the cheapest pet food on the market, with a price point on the opposite end. Recently, Hills withdrew some products, but it was on the “down low”, and without any details as to the reasons. I haven’t checked recently to see if Hills actually came forward with the reasons. I wouldn’t trust whatever they say. When the bottom line is profits, deception can be the rule.
Since I’ve been feeding my cat raw food from a local pet food manufacturer, her health issues have been eliminated. One vet suggested that she might have a “mechanical problem” causing constipation. Another vet suggested that I give 4 doses of Lactulose per day, indefinitely. That same vet injected her with a product that had been recalled, and caused serious reactions. I was never informed of potential side effects of medicines that were given. When we’re given a new medicine, we have a “consult” so we might learn about potential side effects.
Antibiotics were given, without any tests to determine if they were called for. Antibiotics for constipation?
I can no longer trust that every vet knows what’s best, putting aside the profit factor and their lack of specialized knowledge. Their opinions vary, though their training may be similar.
My own doctor pushes for me to get vaccines though I’m personally opposed to them. My housemates get flu shots every year, and both are sick for weeks afterwards. I have only had a handful of colds/flu in 73 years. I’ll take my chances that a flu or pneumonia will take my life.
I don’t continue to have my cat vaccinated on a yearly basis, since she’s indoors. I’m taking chances with her also.
Life is a risk, and we each take daily risks with the food we eat, the way we drive, and the people we choose to associate with.
Thanks Sandy for a great comment.
I just reported what I’ve read about how Hills and Royal Canin provide nutrition classes for students in vet schools. I’ve had prescription food pushed on me from a vet, even though I said I didn’t want it. They actually carried it out to the car, ignoring what I said.
I’ve done a lot of research on cat foods, and have learned what certain ingredients mean. I also look to those who devote their lives to these issues, such as Susan Thixton on TruthAboutPetFood.
I don’t feed my cat raw chicken or beef. I only feed her raw cat foods that come from a local company. Most of the meats are combined with sardines. My cat likes duck, turkey, and lamb combinations. I don’t give her chicken because that’s one meat that seems to cause more allergic reactions, although she hasn’t had any.
The meats in these raw foods are organic.
I don’t see the point in calling pet food companies to tell them what my cat won’t eat. That seems “bass ackwards”. Do they care? What would the result be?
To say that what we or our pets eat doesn’t affect health, seems like an unwise statement. It’s the first thing I would look at. The results of our diets and what we feed our pets seems pretty obvious. We are what we eat, and drink.
I did not say “what we or our pets eat doesn’t affect health.” If you read what I wrote, 60% is regarding food fed to cats. I will try very hard to be polite out of respect for Mr. Broad. Organic originally meant that it contains carbon. Now it has varying meanings depending who says it. Poison mushrooms are organic, natural, etc. Ducks & turkeys are poultry and often carry Salmonella. Lamb can have E.Coli contamination like beef. I am a ‘cat lady’ but get very frustrated by the lack of research done by ‘cat ladies’ at times. I think that if cats had opposable thumbs, & larger brains, they might cook their meat to make it safer. You stated that devotion was the key. Would you have a surgeon do heart surgery on you based on his devotion to doing it or his knowledge and experience? There are many quacks in jail for their devotion to doing surgery with no training. Susan Thixton is probably a lovely person, but she admirably makes no claim to having Veterinary training. See her LinkedIn resume. Pet food companies care when their product is not bought due to enough bad press. Sorry about the lack of paragraphs but I don’t want to take up too much space. A scientific process is based on gathering data, analyzing it and coming to a conclusion and plan. Vets try to look at all the data and then come to a conclusion based on their training, education, & experience, rather than fixating on one aspect of a possible illness. There is an ancient saying that when you hear hoofbeats don’t think of zebras first.
It’s a good idea to check recall records. Iams is one that’s been recalled often. although there are very few that escape recall, voluntarily or otherwise. All the large companies use euthanized animals, which means your pet is ingesting medicines, in addition to all the other crap they put in the food. There is a YouTube video showing euthanized animals being picked up from a shelter in black bags, then dumped at a pet food manufacturing plant. It was a shock when I saw it two years ago. When I tell people, they don’t believe me.
If I was able to, I’d make my own cat food, but I have very little freezer space. So, what I’ve been doing is buying 1 lb. containers of frozen pre-made raw cat food. I defrost it just enough so I can pack into serving sizes, then store in freezer. I take one out in the morning and evening, and let defrost a bit. Then I pour a little hot water over it, and mash it up, then serve in a tea cup saucer. She usually eats it right up. If not, I scoop it back into the little container, and put in the frig for the next meal.
Her health has improved so much since I’ve started feeding raw. She was so sick last year I though I’d have to put her down. She was constipated from not drinking water, then had serious reactions to drugs given at 2 different vets.
Vets don’t know much about pet food. That’s not their business. And the prescription foods (Hills and Royal Canin) have the worst ingredients, and those companies provide the nutrition training in vet school. So vets push that food because they benefit.
Food is a critical aspect of health for us and our pets, so it pays to educate ourselves. We can’t believe the marketing since it’s all for profit, not for health.
I urge everyone to check out Truth About Pet Food, and Poisoned Pets on line. These people have done the research, and continue to fight for our right to know what’s in pet food.
Re: Sandra Murphey’s comment – If you are in No. Calif., you can’t be that far from Univ. of Calif.@ Davis. It is harder to get in Vet school than Med school. Davis has wonderful Nutrition programs. I graduated there myself. ( Not Vet) It would be hard to believe that the Vet Med. program doesn’t also have advanced Nutrition studies. Many vets around here graduated from UC Davis. What do you do about Salmonella in raw chicken or E. Coli in raw beef? I know cats have more tolerance for some bacteria than we do, but I won’t eat any meat that they also won’t. You didn’t mention what raw meat you use. My cats were feral as kittens and regularly reject certain foods like Purina Indoor and Hairball. They also reject the thigh meat of fresh cooked chicken. This makes sense to me since thighs contain more fat so would have more of any hormone that is given to the chicken. When I called a popular chicken company, they said they give nothing that doesn’t occur naturally in the chickens. Said differently, this can mean they add chicken hormones plus. Generally, I would recommend calling the Pet Food companies to tell then what foods your cats won’t eat. Even the opossums, ground squirrels, raccoons & rats outside wouldn’t eat the Mixed Grill by Friskies. The Co. has taken it out of the pate selection box. I lost track of who said they feed just fish, but that can promote urinary tract stones. Space it out. Good luck on your sick kitties. Diagnosis takes time. Don’t assume it is what you fed them. That’s not a scientific viewpoint.
I just lost my cat recently and I learned of the purina Problem last night.
He had gotten a Little bit of Purina, I usually Cooked fresh chicken, hamburger meat or fish.
But once I increased the dose of Purina in hindsight, he got bloaded, had diarriah, vomitted and finally had blood hamorages all over.
The vet thought he had been in a fight and igonored the rest of symptoms. He died 4 days later. We know far less of this Problem here in Germany. I am taken aback.
Yvonne
So sorry to hear this Yvonne. Thank you, though for sharing.
Just lost our two cats who eat Purina One Sensitive Systems and Hairball Formula along with Purina Friskies Chicken Dinner Indoor. Tragic.
Sorry to hear your sad news, Peg. Are you saying the food was responsible in both cases?
Whiskas treats have also been known to cause similar symptoms in cats as well as death. When I read about it, there was no recall, but that has been a couple of months, so there may be a recall now.
My family has always fed Purina products to pets, and so have I. For the past few months off and on I have noticed some problems in my cat’s behavior and health. I had one at the Vet last week with diarrhea so bad his poor little backside was a mess, I had picked him up and he squirted a little.
I have another this morning who has a bit of runny stool, and one that has for the past few months debri on his behind. Another guy was throwing up frequently, but in the past week or so he has not but seems to be licking himself a lot in his abdominal area and on his sides. That is 4 cats out of 6 that I know of who are having issues. I have called Purina to let them know so they can check this out. I trust the brand but today I’m off to buy another brand entirely until I hear of a recall or see that no one is complaining.
I have fed them only Purina One kibble, either indoor hairball formula or healthy weight, and did just switch to another type of Purina One about 3-5 weeks ago, so it appears all of their Purina One line is affected. Also, the Friskies Pate canned seems to be causing them issues. I fed the one who went to the vet a can the night before we went. I fed them Special Diet canned the other day, and Lovie ate that up and now he has a bit of runny stool.
It seems to my experience the entire product line is tainted? I don’t know how that is possible. I do not know what to feed them now, I am steering clear of their products until I see no more complaints about the Purina line.
Thanks for commenting Anne.
My 8 year old healthy cat pixie was fine until I started giving a new wet food one evening made in thailand usually they to stick to food made in usa also switched to wet sheba canned cat food she has projectile vomited one evening a few nights ago and then again tonight worse a few nights ago vet said to keep eye on her if continues bring her in tomorrow or next day she means the world to me what. Should I do? Wait or take her in right away?
I agree with the vet. If the cause is the food which you think it is, stopping eating it will fix the problem fairly quickly but if there is, coincidently, a disease that your cat has acquired a vet will have to diagnose it. But I don’t think waiting a day or two will affect the outcome if Pixie does has a disease.
very upset because I bought Purina One catfood the other day and after only about three feedings of it, my cat has been very ill since yesterday.
He stopped drinking water today and has been completely lethargic. I have been eye-drop feeding him today with water and chicken broth.
I demand an answer immediately.
Lucy Wilde
Wow, Lucy, that sounds horrible. I am sorry to hear this. I hope he gets well soon.
Lucy, Purina One has been on and off the recall list at least 4 times in the past 3 years.
I am a big Purina fan myself, but I would steer clear of that formula.
Right now, Purina is struggling and claiming that they are unable to get a supply of one ingredient for some of their pates, making them scarce. I called them and they say the ingredient is pork byproducts. Very odd, because none of their pates have that listed on the labels.
My guess is that they are reformulating in lieu of their legal situation with Blue Buffalo.
In any case, if you are feeding dry only, I would suggest Purina Cat Chow Complete, 9 Lives Complete, or Whiskas dry.
You won’t print my real letter?Big suprise.How could i get a refund for a dead cat.Nothing in your opinion evidently.
Hi there. Thanks for commenting. I always publish comments whether they are good or bad as long as they are polite. The reason why your comment was held for moderation is because it is the first time that you have commented on this website and the software automatically holds those comments for me to check them out. It is just about that. From now on your comments will be published immediately. Thanks a lot.
Hope the bottom line has been good for purina?I had a healthy 2 year old cat die a sad death from eating purina dry catfood.Guess what purina,i now feed fresh tuna,sardines and other meats.Its as cost efficient in comparison with your cost.It took a month to break the last cat from being constantly hungry and bloated.Now i don’t need to buy your product.I wonder why vets are so scared to admit its the commercial food killing our pets.
Thanks for your input. Your comment was moderated because it is the first comment that you have made on this website but from now on all your comments will be published immediately.
We had adopted a couple young healthy cats, and they have been on Purina One cat food. Well, one cat has just been not well. I took him to the vet–he had lost almost 3 lbs! (20% of his bodyweight) and had bloody stools and thickening of his bowel by x-ray, and he had giardial cysts in his stool. He’s just a young kitty! The only explantion for it is the Purina One high fiber hairball formula. the other kitty tends to go outside and “catch” his food and he hasn’t had any problems that we’ve detected so far. send Prayers for Frankie’s health!
Thanks Susan for sharing this experience. It is upsetting to hear how badly your cat’s health deteriorated. I hope Frankie gets better. Good luck to you both.
I hope and pray Frankie recovers Susan, please let us know. It’s terrible that Purina are still selling this dangerous food.
My cat peanut passed away July 2 2013 he just started throwing up bile became very weak would not eat or drink water he became sick on Thursday his white blood cell count was up his liver was over 100 he had a fever an full of gas they thought e might a blocked intestine but it was not he ate purine cat chow complete purine one indoor advantage and fancy feast can food he also had blood color poo oh my gosh I just found this web sight I cannot believe this
So sorry none of us saw this when you posted it Jennifer, this is terrible, poor little Peanut, it makes me wonder how many cats Purina are killing!
Up until last year I had 6 cats, 4 of them died because of Purina. All 6 lost a lot of weight and 4 also developed liver problems after only 6 months of eating Purina One Outdoor Formula in the green bag. Purina needs to be sued. It’s a shame that most people including me don’t have the money to punish a truly evil company. I can’t believe this food is still on the shelf killing more innocent cats.
I’m so happy I found this site. I have been feeding my cats Purina Cat Chow complete for quite a while without any problems. But just recently all three of my indoor cats have been throwing up. I’m going to switch cat food ASAP. But I live on a budget and can’t afford 40.00 for a 17 pd. bag of cat food. Does anyone know of some good cat food that is reasonable? I can afford 30 dollars but not above. I recuse strays and have some dogs but there food is always been great it is not made by Purina. I also took my one cat to the vet he did not have a clue as blood work was normal, no worms or mites but my cat has lost weight.
I have switched to Iams brand until I learn more about making my own cat food. I found a good site made by a Vet that details how to do this safely and efficiently but I forgot the URL. Google it and im sure you can find it, if interested. My brother and parents feed their pets Meow Mix and 9 Lives which are made by Del Monte. Del Monte isnt rated very well but so far I dont think they have killed pets. I was shocked to discover that 90% of the different “Brands” of cat food at my local stores were all made by Purina. there was a 20 foot long, 6 foot high shelf of cat foods and the Non-Purina took up a space about 2 feet wide and 4 feet high! I was appaled.
Anyway, Iams is about $30.00 a bag. My rescue cat who has always had a sensitive stomach loves it. The other 2 cats who survived the Purina mishap also enjoy it. I think Meow Mix and 9 Lives run about $15.00 a bag. I dont want to pormote any specific brand since I have decided that it is probable that all mass manufactured cat food is potentially unsafe. But those are some options.
Thanks for the input. These pages may interest you:
– Raw food diet for a cat
– Best wet cat food USA 2013 (not sure if you are American though)
Recently there have been problems with Purina’s line of Beneful dog food causing kidney and liver disfunction. The company is using the same ingredients (euthanized pets) in all of their foods. Please discontinue feeding Purina products to your pets!!!
I have always felt that euthanised shelter cats were shipped out to pet food manufacturing plants. It makes sense from a commercial standpoint. From a moral standpoint it is horrendous. If it does happen it also promotes and maintains the mass slaughter of animals at shelters.
Do you have some hard proof that dead pets are used as ingredients in cat food?
My 3 year old cat “Lynx”, an evergetic and loving cat, never sick before, DIED last night. I never fed them Purina before and as soon as I “Upgraded” their food to Purina Kit N Kaboodle 3 of my 4 cats began vomiting. One refused it altogether. Within a week they would stand by their full food dish and beg for food. They did not want to eat the Purina. I wish I had seen the signs.
On the 26th of March 2013, Lynx Vomited one final time. A few hours later he was unable to move his rear legs without great effort. Within a matter of a few hours he deteriorated, went into Septic Shock and DIED.
Stay away from Purina.
Your comment is shocking to me. The problem is still out there and nothing is being done to fix it. I may do a follow up post on this because it really looks serious.
I have reported this incident to the FDA. I have also changed to Iams. My surviving cats act like they cant get a big enough mouthful of the Iams and are eating it like it is they best thing in the world. This is good to see. Despite my grief it makes me smile. My current profession places me in contact with many pet owners and I am sharing my experience with them and my assessment of the cause to hopefully prevent this from happening to their pets. In my research since Lynx’s death I have discovered 3 other pet owners who have lost 1 or more pets to Purina pet foods of different brands (Friskys and ONE)
I am boycotting (to the best of my ability) all Pet AND human food made by Purina and it’s parent company Nestle. I would urge other pet owners who have had this experience to try to do the same.
I am also interested in any information about Class Action Lawsuits related to this. I would like to be a part. I dont so much want compensation for the loss of my pet as much as I want to be confidant the food I pay money for and feed to my pets isnt going to KILL them!
I came on the inter net to look up if there had been any bad reports on Purina Cat Chow or Purina One, because I mix the two and feed to my numorous cats. Ever since 2010, I moved into a house with all my kitties, and all the sudden I started losing my cats, at first I thought there was something in the house that was killing them, from other animals that had lived here at one time, so, I cleaned the place up with bleach. Things seemed to have been okay for a while, then, now that I read this, I am disturbed, because I have had 2 cats that got sick over night, and couldn’t move their back legs, and died in less than 12 hours. This was last year. Now, ever since I have opened up 2 new bags of Purina Cat Chow, and Purina One, all my cats have the diarrhea, and quite a few are vomiting. I even noticed that when a couple of them went to eat the food, some, when they went to try and eat, started gagging just from smelling it. They keep putting new things into the food, and everytime they do, things seem to get worse, I noticed blood in some of the stools, and there is a lot of food left over, they are not eating like they use to. This is not conicidental, it has to be the food, my cats don’t go out, and they don’t have contact with other animals.
Forgot to mention one thing. Did you ever notice, people who feed their cats Purina Cat Chow, is it my imagination, but, I swear that when I open the bag, I smell cocoa. Are they putting chocolate into our pets food, knowing that it kills animals? If anyone else thought they have smelt chocolate, let me know. My grandchildren said it smells like a chocolate cake.
I have smelled this too but in European Purina dry cat food (I live in Europe).
Thank you for visiting and sharing. I am sorry to hear of your cat health problems. Terrible. I’ll do more work on this asap and leave a comment of write a page.
I presume you are experiencing cat health problem currently too (22nd Feb 2013). The article was written about the time of your cats dying (the post date is misleading). So, your comment is interesting and disturbing.
Update: My Charlie eats wet food and some occasional dry (nighttime). I bought some Purina GoCat and he has blood in his stool. I have no idea if this is connected to the food. But it is disturbing.
Purina dry cat chow killed four of my healthy cats I would like to start a class action suite against them. I have a case now against them but they turn this over to their paid vet and we all know that vets are in bed with one another, Knowing poison from China is in thier food they continue to sell it along with giving millions of dollars to a wealthy corrupt bussiness that test on animals instead of giving money to shelters in trouble, they have no morrals or ethics and put mega millions of dollars into advertising instead of making a product without China cheep labor that is causing cats to die BOYCOTT PURINA AND START A CLASS ACTION SUITE AGAINST THEM FOR DEAD CATS AND FORCE THEM TO MAKE AMERICAN AND MAKE WITHOUT POISON IN THE DRY CAT CHOW GARBAGE. I now feed 75 percent human food to my animals same as my grandmother did and her dogs lived to be 22. In the old days no commerical garbage was available or vets feed human and add rice but watch because rice also has poison in it.
Oh my God! All 5 of our cats have been sick. And I just Googled and found this site. As I began reading Michaels blog above I was in disbelief! It was exactly to a tee what is going on in our house! We just lost Abigail who had the same exact symptoms before she died. Not to mention 3 of us have been sick with urinary tract infections for months taking antibiotics that was not working. As well as the other symtoms described. We have been feeding the cats Purina Pro Plus Hairball formula. No wonder it was on sale!
Purina definately needs to recall and pet stores need to refuse to sell their product as they are killing our pets and putting themselves out of business.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s very definite Purina only cares about making huge profit from what we feed our animals; this pet food maker might have been good years ago but now that practically everything is being made overseas we have no idea what really is in pet food. I mentioned that our last rescue Scarlett O’Hair had been eating Iams Indoor cat food, we ran out & because closest dealer that carries Iams is 30 miles I simply bought a small bag of Purina Beyond, Scarlett ate a small meal & vomited. Next day I went to town & bought a bag of Iams, placed both in separate dishes, Scarlett devoured every sinle piece of Iams but tried to cover up the Purina Beyond. Did same test few days later with same results. Told my son “Please take it to thrash can, that’s where it belongs”. Shudder to think that our precious loving Scarlett O’Hair would been poisoned by eating Purina dry cat food.
keenpetite
southeast arizona (USA)
As cat lovers/rescuers/helpers for over fifty years i was very disgusted about the dangers regarding pet food/treats by such a well kwown company. My father was a pharmacist from 1954 till he passed away in 6/1962. He always claimed that Purina WAS the best producer for all animal food/treats. Our last rescue 10/2004 is “Scarlett O’Hair” a gorgeous Tortie, was a scrawny 4 month old kitten, full of ear mites & gas. Scarlett was taken to vet for shots & arrangements for spaying, her vet said to feed her only Iams from kittenhood & after.
Spring 2012 we rang out of Iams, so I went to local grocery store & bought a small bag of Purina One, Scarlett ate once & vomited. I told our son “Its a new food, shell get used to it” this was a weekend. A couple of days later I went to the closest Walmart & bought a bag of Iams Indoor cat food. We placed a dish with a dish with Iams Indoor & a dish with Purina One. Scarlett couldn’t get quick enough to the Iams & devoured every single piece, but she tried to cover up the Purina One. We tried it again but this time we waited till she was hungrier. Same results, she devoured the Iams but tried to cover it the Purina. Enough test, Purina One went into trash can. Scarlett O’Hair only eats Iams Indoor cat food, our girl hasn’t been ill at all, it terrifies me that she could’ve died due to Salmonella. My late husband said “Always buy the best you can afford” that includes our purry/furry member of the family, Scarlett O’Hair.