I know most of you have heard of the pet food recall taking place across the country.  As of today, they’re now reporting the discovery of rat poison in the food.

Rat poison was found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, but scientists said Friday they still don’t know how it got there and predicted more animal deaths would be linked to it.

[…]

The substance in the food was identified as aminopterin, a cancer drug that once was used to induce abortions in the United States and is still used to kill rats in some other countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said.

The federal government prohibits using aminopterin for killing rodents in the United States. State officials would not speculate on how the poison got into the pet food, but said no criminal investigations had been launched.

[…]

Aminopterin is highly toxic in high doses. It inhibits the growth of malignant cells and suppresses the immune system. In dogs and cats, the amount of aminopterin found — 40 parts per million — can cause kidney failure, according to Bruce Akey, director of Cornell’s diagnostic center.

Because it’s not used in the U.S. for pest control and is no longer used for cancer treatment, it’s only available for research purposes.  That means it was intentionally put into the food supply.  All affected pet foods were made at two different plants, so a base ingredient had to be contaminated rather than direct placement in the feed.

Why no criminal investigation has been started yet I do not know, but it better start soon.

Unfortunately, the number of animal deaths is expected to go up dramatically due to the substantial amount of the poison being found.

Donald Smith, dean of Cornell’s veterinary school, said he expected the number of pet deaths to increase. “Based on what we’ve heard the last couple days, 16 is a low number,” Smith said.

Likewise, the deadly food has a greater distribution than any of the companies first knew.  In fact, the recall has been greatly expanded.

Also Friday, the company that produced the food expanded its recall to include all 95 brands of the “cuts and gravy” style food, regardless of when they were produced.

[…]

The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. Some pets that ate the recalled brands suffered kidney failure, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog.

If you have dogs or cats, my first recommendation is that you visit Menu Foods’ recall information page.  It currently lists 42 brands of cat food and 53 brands of dog food.  But the list isn’t all there is.  If you see your normal brand of food listed, click on that brand’s link to see which variations of that food are being recalled.  For each brand, there are a great many varieties shown that animals should not eat.

One thing I find interesting about this recall, as with most of this nature, is the realization that many of these brands, including expensive brands like Iams and Eukanuba, are all made by the same company.  It calls into question the exorbitant prices they charge considering we now know you can get the same quality by purchasing other labels—like many “generic” store brands.  While this generally is true of all products, I find it compelling to see the “luxury lines” of pet food are in fact nothing of the sort, and they’re not even produced by the company whose name is on the packaging.  Typically deceptive capitalism at work…  Thankfully that very premise has already bubbled to the surface in response to this fiasco.

To be quite honest, though, you should never trust the label or brand to guide you in determining what food to use for your animal family.  Most companies do not offer full disclosure in their ingredient lists anyway.  A good representation of this is the presence of “meat meal” on generic brands and things like turkey, lamb, chicken, or beef on high-price brands.  Guess what?  They’re all the same.  Meat meal is where those other items come from, but listing them separately somehow makes one brand better than the other.  This is why selecting foods by ingredient lists or brands is useless.

The best way to choose a food is to talk to your veterinarian.  Listen to their recommendations, weigh them heavily with your financial capabilities, and go from there.  That’s the only way to be certain you’re choosing wisely instead of being sucked in by flashy marketing schemes and the oft misleading promise of higher quality through higher prices.

So why have I not been worried about this?  First: The food The Kids eat is not being recalled.  Second: The food they eat is specialty food, a prescription diet made by Hill’s that is intended to address a specific medical condition in cats, to wit, Kako‘s tendency to develop deadly urinary tract infections.

Does that mean it couldn’t be contaminated?  Of course not!  The widespread poisoning of so many brands makes quite clear such a thing easily could happen to this food as well.  The best I can do is keep an eye on the recall list, be extremely watchful of all five cats, and take immediate action if something seems amiss—like Kazon‘s recent bouts with diarrhea.  However, a single hiccup like that indicates something less sinister because all five cats eat the same food (both wet and dry).  If it was contaminated, I should expect to see some kind of reaction from each of them, perhaps some worse than others, but still a different flavor of the same ailment across the board.

Despite the threat, such a generic contamination is less likely because the food they eat is only available by prescription, only sold by vets, and made specifically to address a certain feline problem.  Such foods are not usually made en masse with every other food since it’s such a unique concoction that requires a whole different approach to base ingredients.  Remember, it’s the base ingredients that cause UTIs in cats in the first place.  In that sense, I feel a bit more comfortable with the safety of their food…but not completely comfortable, and certainly not lackadaisical about their welfare.  I’m watching them and the recall with eagle eyes.

Again, those who share a home with dogs or cats should check the recall list—and check it often.  It’s been growing by leaps and bounds almost daily.  Also note Menu Foods is now offering to cover medical costs associated with animals taken ill by this poisoning.

But will that stop the lawsuits?  Nope.  And it shouldn’t.  Responsibility for the health and wellbeing of cats and dogs for whom they provide food must rest squarely in the company’s lap.  Legal action should—hopefully—put some kind of plan in place that would force organizations like Menu Foods to more thoroughly test and ensure the safety of their products.  Regrettably, this approach has rarely worked in the U.S. or anywhere else.

I sincerely hope the impact from this lessens sooner rather than later, that the expected jump in poisoning cases remains less severe than it could be, and that not too many animals suffer and die because of this unfortunate incident.  I also hope the responsible parties are brought to justice swiftly and vehemently.  To inflict untold anguish on so many innocent animals, even if through ignorance, is unforgivable.

[and special thanks to connie for prodding me a bit on this issue; I had decided to write about it just today given the latest developments and findings, but it was nice to get a swift yet gentle kick in the hindquarters to get me going]