MENU PET FOOD RECALL INFORMATION

Firehouse has been closely monitoring the pet food recall situation with Menu Pet Foods since it began on Friday, March 17th. There is a lot of information (and misinformation) circulating in the media and on the internet, but we have pulled together the most up-to-date information in this summary.

Here are some important facts:

• The recall was initiated by Menu Foods after reports of cats developing kidney failure after eating the food. A total of 9 cats and 1 dog are thought to have died.

• We do not know if any of the affected animals were from Denver – that information has not been released.

• This is a very large recall involving many different brands of food. The types of food affected are the “cuts and gravy” types sold in cans and small foil pouches.

• There is no recall of prescription diets. Dry dog and cat food is also not affected.

• The exact cause of the problem is not yet known. More research is being done to pinpoint the cause.

• Don’t panic – we expect very few animals to be affected. If you do have these foods, stop feeding them and call Firehouse for advice.

• Signs of kidney disease include lethargy, a decreased appetite, vomiting and increased thirst/urination. If you pet is showing these signs, please call Firehouse.

• If necessary, we can run laboratory tests to check kidney function, which will help us determine if treatment is needed.

You can get more information from the following resources:

www.menufoods.com/recall - this site is the most useful we have found; it lists the affected brands and provides links to either lists of specific serial numbers of concern or to the brand web sites

You can also call Menu Foods at 1.866.895.2708 or 1.866.463.6738, although neither of these numbers were functional as of this morning (that’s not much help!)

Individual pet food company websites are also helpful (these are just a few of many):

IAMS / Eukanuba: www.iams.com; www.eukanuba.com; 1.800.882.1591

Hill’s Pet Nutrition: www.hillspet.com; 1.800.445.5777

Purina: www.purina.com; 1.800.551.7392

As always, Firehouse is ready to help – if you have any questions, please feel free to call. If you are concerned about your pet or if you see symptoms that worry you, please come in for an appointment. We can help make sure that everything is ok.