More Pet Food Recalls

This time, it's dog chews with salmonella contamination. Three different batches and sizes of American Bullie A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews were tested by the FDA and a mandatory recall due to salmonella contamination was issued. The affected treats:

- A.B. Small Chew, 3-4 inch
- A.B. Dog Chew Medium, 6 inch
- A.B. Dog Chew Large, 10 inch
- A.B. Dog Chew XL, 13 inch
- A.B. Dog Chew Mega, 16 inch
- A.B. Dog Chew Jumbo, 26 inch

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Well animals 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.

(And as an aside, why are you feeding your dog "treats" made from bull penises anyway? Not to be a prude, and I know dogs lick themselves anyway, but still. GROSS.)

Also, the recall of pet food contaminated with deadly chemicals has been expanded again. There have been a couple of pet deaths associated with DRY DOG FOOD, and unfortunately one of those poor dogs belonged to a friend of mine. So just keep in mind that just because your dog eats the dry stuff doesn't necessarily mean it's been cleared. Please continue to watch this story!

Also, today a prescription-only cat food has been shown to be contaminated with melamine and was issued a mandatory recall. More info from the FDA's website--

"Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry Food

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today notified Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., of Topeka, Kansas, that FDA testing has detected melamine and melamine byproducts in wheat gluten received by the company to make dry cat food. FDA is conducting an investigation into pet food products made with wheat gluten that contains melamine and their association with reports of injury and deaths in cats and dogs.

Because the cat food is sold exclusively through veterinarians, Hill's has notified veterinarians, and is voluntarily recalling the pet food containing the wheat gluten and will conduct its own testing.

Consumers who have any bags of Prescription Diet m/d Feline should discontinue use. They should speak with their veterinarian if their pet shows any signs of kidney/renal illness. Such signs include loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting.

During two months in early 2007, Hill's Pet Nutrition manufactured Prescription Diet m/d Feline using wheat gluten from the same company that has supplied wheat gluten to Menu Foods, Inc. Menu Foods, Inc. (menufoods.com/recall) has also voluntarily recalled products potentially contaminated with melamine. See http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html for more information on the pet food recall.

The Hill’s cat food now being recalled is labeled Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food. The products are:

• 4 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42770
• 10 lb. bag, U.S. & Canada UPC code 52742 42790"

Check that food! Actually, being the paranoid individual and doting pet-parent that I am, I've thrown out all my dog and cat food and have been feeding my pets homemade food until this is all worked out. Here's the dog food recipe I'm using:

2 pounds cooked ground beef, not drained (the original recipe says to use lamb but a) it's expensive and b) it's hard to find around here!)
1 cup cooked brown rice (NOT WHITE--white rice is horrible for your dog! please don't substitute white rice!)
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (the blend I get is the potatoes, peas, corn, and carrots blend--the cheapo stuff that's cubed, basically frozen Veg-All. It's perfect)
1 TBSP chopped garlic (I get this in the jar, pre-chopped--hey, I'm lazy and I have no problem admitting it. I use this chopped garlic in everything!)

Cook it all, then get a great big bowl, dump it all in, and mix it up. Easy peasy, and Simi snarfs it down like there's no tomorrow.

This recipe makes enough for my German Shepherd for 2 days, and it's really not expensive. Of course, I make it in big batches and refrigerate it--it's easily doubled. I also squeeze in a Fish Oil capsule just before I give her the daily serving because I've got some lying around here, crush up a glucosamine condroitin tablet in it since German Shepherds are so prone to joint problems, and add a fresh raw egg every other day because I have my own chickens and I know my eggs are safe, but that's just my added stuff and not in the original recipe.

Now, for the picky cat who doesn't seem to realize he's getting a treat *eyeroll*:

1 cup cooked chicken (I use thighs)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (again, white rice is evil for pets! it's nothing but sugar and so hard on their kidneys, please don't go there!)
1/2 cup chopped broccoli, cooked until tender
1/4 cup chopped carrot, cooked until tender (I get all the veg frozen and nuke it in the microwave, it's so much easier and you don't waste anything, you just take what you need out of the bag and leave the rest frozen)
Chicken broth (if you need it, please get the sodium-free kind that is NOT fat-free)

Toss it all in the blender and mush it up, adding enough chicken broth to hold it together. I find that if I don't drain the veg after I cook it (just toss it in the microwave with a couple tablespoons of water in the bowl with it), I don't need to add much if any broth. Besides, draining the veg means all the vitamins in that water are lost! I also squeeze a couple of fish oil capsules in this as I blend it up, and it seems to make Pharaoh a little more inclined to eat it. (If I put the fish oil on top, he just licks it off, the rotten picky mumble grumble...) But not much more inclined, alas. My cat is a picky little pain in the... er... adorable loveable darling, so he's not wild about this. But I don't want him to keel over on me, so he'll just have to learn to deal.