From: "Mark" 

This whole thing sucks, sorry you got hit by it Gary. I hope they all pull
through okay.

"Gary Britt"  wrote in
message news:46048528{at}w3.nls.net...
> One thing that's being kept out of the public eye are the details on
> *when* Menu Foods knew their was a problem.  They have claimed that the
> existence of a problem was noted when doing their quarterly taste tests of
> the food. They said those tests involved 50 animals. What they don't say
> and what is my guess is that of the 50 test animals only 25 were cats.
> They have said 9 of the test cats died.  That's 1 out of 3 died.  They
> didn't say if the others became very ill, which likely happened.  They
> also haven't said *WHEN* these quarterly taste tests were done.  If it was
> two days before the recall that would be one thing.  If it was two months
> before the recall that would be entirely something else.
>
> We feed three cats.  All of them got tainted food.  It did almost kill one
> of them, and made the other two ill and lose 20% of their body weight.
> Fortunately for me and so far (knock wood) for them I realized something
> was going on and started watching their eating before the recall.  They
> still kept getting tainted food after I knew something was wrong until
> news of the recall came out.  Fortunately, recalled foods only made up 1/2
> of their total diet, perhaps a little less for 2 of the 3.  The one that
> almost died ate the highest percentage of the tainted food as her total
> diet.
>
> I don't think we will be completely out of the woods on any of the tree
> for two more months.  From what I've read renal failure could take place
> up to two to three months AFTER having had the tainted food.
>
> Gary
>
> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>> http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2975912&page=1
>>
>> March 23, 2007 - The president of pet food maker Menu Foods, which last
>> week issued a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food after a
>> rash of animal sickness and death, said today that the company would
>> reimburse pet owners who can trace their pets' illnesses to the company's
>> products.
>>
>>  Earlier today, New York State veterinary health investigators announced
>> that the pet food responsible for pet deaths around the country was
>> contaminated with the rodent poison aminopterin.
>>
>> Investigators, meanwhile, are looking into whether the rat poison came
>> into the United States on an ingredient used in the recalled food. ABC
>> News has learned that Menu Foods bought wheat gluten, the only ingredient
>> changed in its plants, from China. That possibility raises questions
>> about the safety of pet and other food products in the United States.
>> The chemical can cause kidney failure in dogs and cats, said Donald
>> Smith, dean of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine,
>> during the conference.
>>
>> Scientists at the state's food laboratory in Albany, N.Y., made the
>> discovery a week after Menu Foods issued its recall.
>>
>> "This is one step in a long process that will lead us to know what has
>> happened and how it has happened," Smith said.
>>
>> Aminopterin is not registered for use as a pesticide in the United
>> States, and it has been known as a potential source of birth defects in
>> humans.
>>
>> Interestingly, trials are under way to test the chemical's effectiveness
>> in the treatment of certain types of cancer.
>>
>> ABC News first reported that the rodenticide may have been present in the
>> wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods, according to a
>> source close to the investigation.
>>

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