Worried Pet Owners Calling Vets Over Food Recall

Shannon Weidemann

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The pet food recall has many worried owners calling their veterinarians in a panic wanting to know if they should be concerned. Over 90 brands of dog and cat food were recalled including large brands Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The recall is limited to canned and foil pouch pet food. The food was all produced at two Menu Foods plants and has been found to contain rat poison.

Menu Foods recalled 95 brands of canned cat and dog food March 16 because investigators found aminopterin, a substance in rat poison and one doctors also use to treat cancer patients, in some of the products.

Stores pulled more than 60 million cans from their shelves.

A veterinarian information service, the Veterinary Information Network, reported Tuesday that it had learned of 471 cases of pet kidney failure since the recall and that about one-fifth of the pets died.

Menu has confirmed the deaths of 16 pets.

Veterinarians want pet owners to know that should call them if their pet is exhibiting unusual behavior such as increased thirst, vomitting, or loss of appetite. Those can all be indicators of kidney failure. The recalled pet food has been blamed for many dog and cat deaths.