Posted on 03/20/2007 4:17:06 PM PDT by kellynla
A Chicago woman sued Menu Foods on Tuesday, alleging the pet food manufacturer delayed announcing a recall of 60 million containers of dog and cat food despite knowing its products were contaminated and potentially deadly. Dawn Majerczyk, 43, said her orange tabby, Phoenix, fell sick last week just two days after he ate a single package of Special Kitty. It is one of 95 cat and dog food brands recalled by Menu Foods of Canada. Friday's recall came two weeks after nine cats died during routine company taste tests of its products, the Food and Drug Administration said.
Majerczyk said she took the 9-year-old cat to its first-ever veterinarian visit the day of the recall. The cat had lost six pounds in four days and was lethargic, dehydrated and nearly blind. She returned over the weekend to have him put down after his organs began to fail. Her suit, filed by Chicago attorney Jay Edelson, seeks class-action status.
"I want my vet bills and I want some compensation for what they did to my kids -- and for the company's neglect," Majerczyk, a medical assistant in a dermatology office.
The company said it had not seen the suit and had no comment. The FDA had no comment on the company's delay in announcing the recall.
The FDA so far has confirmed the deaths of 13 cats and one dog that had reportedly eaten the company's "cuts and gravy" style pet food. The wet food was sold throughout North America under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers, as well as private labels like Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba.
FDA has sent inspectors to company plants in New Jersey and Kansas. Most complaints stem from products made at the latter factory, though both received shipments of wheat gluten, identified as a likely source of contamination, from the same supplier, said Stephen F. Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian. The ingredient is a protein source used to thicken the pet food gravy. The FDA is screening pet food samples for substances known to be toxic to the kidneys, like toxins produced by molds.
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site, http://www.menufoods.com/recall . The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information -- (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708.
FDA inspectors had never before visited the Kansas plant. The FDA warned the company following a 2004 inspection of its New Jersey factory after it failed to flag food made for zoo cats of the risk of mad cow disease if the product were fed to cattle.
Menu Foods is majority owned by Menu Foods Income Fund of Streetsville, Ontario.
Honestly, I don't have a problem with this suit. Company screwed up, didn't really do much to own up, lots of people's pets are going to die because of their screw-up.
If you sell a poisoned product, you can expect to be sued.
That gal's got a lot of gall. Her cat is 9 years old and she's taking it to the vet for the first time?! She obviously didn't care for the health of her cat before she learned of the pet food recall.
FDA pet food recall information:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
(OK, I know the cat's name was Phoenix, but he-he.)
I don't blame anyone for suing. IF one of my kitties would have died, I would not only sue, but I would track down those responsible and feed them a little of their own poison. LOL Of course, I really wouldn't do that but I'd sure be mad enough to strangle someone for killing my kitties. They're my babies. ;o)
If this had happened to MY dogs, especially if one had died, woe be unto them, is all I can say.
papa
I have not been following this story. Was it a liberal attack on our Viking Kitties?
I know cats and how to maintain a healthy cat too. I also know kids and how to maintain a healthy child. However, I still take my pets to the vet and my kids (before they became adults) to the doctor for annual checkups. They need their shots and a physical exam in order to help maintain their health to the best of our ability. Vets notice things that we might not notice. Like the lump our vet found in our beloved golden retriever's neck years ago, or the ear infection one of my cats had that I wasn't aware of. Let alone the annual shots and worming.
Personally, I agree.
I just think it's unfair to judge one for not doing what I think is "normal".
When I was a kid, excepting the time I spent more than 3 months in the hospital, I might have gone to the Doctor's 3 times...in my entire life!
Same for my 7 Brothers and Sisters. If it ain't broke, it didn't get fixed. :)
:O)
P
You're right, papasmurf; I shouldn't judge the woman. And I do feel awful about what happened to her cat. That wasn't her fault.
As for doctors, I don't go to them either but I insist on making my loved ones go to the doc. How's that for hypocricy? LOL
If the cat is a purely house cat, no outside exposure, they can live to a very old age (18-20) and be perfectly healthy the entire time -- without vet visits.
My dear father, god bless him, never took his dogs to the vet. He bought all the correct injections at the local feed store and injected them himself.
They all would eventually die from old age.
Me neither. If my puppy who did have some of the bad food (Nutro Puppy) fell so ill I would expect my Vet bills to be taken care of. I have no problem with this.
I agree with you 100%. I have two kittens and a puppy. I don't have kids but I do have my eye on this 18 year old Korean girl but thats another story!
Good post. Informative.
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html
Predictable - and warranted!
Thanks to Hair & Slings and all who've borrowed their critter ping lists to keep FR pet owners informed about the Menu Foods recall.
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