FDA Asks For Public's Help Identifying Jerky Pet Treats That Are Sickening Animals

[Archae]

Source: ABC News

The Food and Drug Administration is asking for the help of pet owners, after it was unable to pinpoint why thousands of animals were getting sick from eating jerky treats, mainly manufactured in China.

The agency has spent years trying to find out why 3,600 dogs and 10 cats in the U.S. were sickened by different brands of the treats since the agency first started getting complaints in 2007.

Of the thousands affected, approximately 580 animals died.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/fda-asks-pet-owners-finding-toxic-treats/story?id=23112678

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Check any pet treats you have.
If they are made in China, throw them away.

[Wolf Frankula]

1. My Cats Eat Locally Made Food

and locally grown mice. They don't get food made in China.

Wolf

[BrotherIvan]

7. Could you tell us more about this?

Do you feed raw? Whole prey? I haven't had the nerve to do whole prey though I know it is good for them. I'm very careful of what they eat and it has save thousands in vet bills. We had to switch to raw and some canned, mostly rabbit because of a terrible allergy. Thousands in vet bills and they couldn't figure it out. Finally, our awesome pet store recommended an elimination diet and we found he was allergic to fleas and chicken. Now he is very healthy and his coat that he had ripped out and scratched till he bled has grown back in. Also supplemented with raw milk and colostrum and that was the final key.

Same with my mother's dog who had suffered from severe asthma and allergies all her life. Even overly medicated on steroids, the vets could never explain it. One month on raw meaty bones and everything went away, including the drug-induced Cushings from all the steroids. Must have spent over $10k on vet bills throughout the years trying to find why she was coughing and hacking all day and night and could barely breathe or sleep.

Don't mean to be nosey, just any info would be much appreciated! What pets eat is just as important as what humans eat. It's the key to health and unfortunately doctors and vets have all forgotten that.

[Wolf Frankula]

9. The Mice they Catch from the House and Garage

Very few mice actually, because although the neighborhood is supposedly notorious for rodents, I seldom see them. A local pet food store sells meat for cats and dogs. A local pet food manufacturer sells food for cats with urinary problems (We have two cats with this problem. Brother and sister) Our vet says "Mouse, or something similar to mouse, is the best natural food for cats."

Wolf

[BrotherIvan]

11. Ha Ha! I thought you were buying frozen mice

We don't have mice where we live it seems, though I'm sure my Maine Coons would love that. It's great that you have found so many local sources. I bet your kitties are in heaven!

[House of Roberts]

2. Also, don't buy treats made in China in the future.

We lost a pet pig to kidney failure when the melamine was being added to the wheat gluten several years ago.

[SoapBox]

4. That was a horrid period.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Yes, it was. But I think this is worse.

The problem is that they cannot find what the problem is.....they can't put their finger on the toxin. And that is really scary.

[aquart]

5. I lost two cats to kidney failure and had no idea why.

But I was occasionally buying house brand cat foods to save money.

[SoapBox]

3. Sheesh...

Talk about a day late and a dollar short!

They literally ignored peoples' complaints and the tragic stories of their beloved pets deaths.

[hollysmom]

6. Now they ask? Find out why they are letting pharmaceutacals close down in the US and move to China -

My pills are all made there and in Vietnam -you remember where they illegally grow farmed shrimp with pig poop but no one checks.

[BrotherIvan]

8. Yes, it's very scary

All our food is being processed in China, even if it is grown here. It's very frightening and disgusting. The TPP will make it even worse.

[onehandle]

12. All foodstuff from China should be banned.

The U.S. is the #1 producer of soybeans and yet you can't find American produced edamame.

[newfie11]

13. My dogs eat raw that I make myself from the same food I eat

This is why. I got tired of recalls, hearing of pets dying, pets sick with strange symptoms.
Best thing I could have done.

[catchnrelease]

14. I always check

I never ever buy any pet food/treat etc that comes from China. That rash of pets dying a few years back made me wary and since then if it's not made in the US, or even better local, I don't buy it.

[armed_and_liberal]

15. Trader Joe's pet treats are US made

Probably isn't saying much, but at least you have a chance at getting to the SOB who poisoned your pet.

[Auntie Bush]

16. I lost my dog in 2008 due to severe diarrhea that started 2007

after eating dog treats and dogfood made in China.

[bossy22]

17. why do we continue to accept this as a country?

and i'm not talking about just pet food...all products. There should be a huge import tax on any products that are made in a country whose safety standards are not equal or greater than ours.

Oh wait...that would be against free trade...and we can't have that

[Michigan-Arizona]

18. My 3 Jack Russell's won't eat dog treats

I'm kind of glad that they don't now with all this crap going into their food & treat's. I buy Acana dog food which is made in Canada. I don't trust food made here in the USA anymore......

[RebelOne]

19. I have fed all of my dogs chicken and duck jerky treats

for years. I had 2 Rottweilers, and one died of an immune blood disease when she was 12 years old. And the other one died of liver and bone cancer when she was 13 years old. Their deaths were not linked to the treats. They lived past their lifespans because Rottweilers do not usually live past 13 years old.

I also had a mini-pin to who I fed the treats. She was 6 years old when I first adopted her. Then I gave her to my sister who wanted her. That was 5 years ago and she is still alive and healthy.

I now have a Chihuahua who I have had since she was 6 weeks old. She is now 5 years old and I have been giving her duck jerky treats since she was a puppy because she will not eat any other treats. She is very much alive and very healthy.

[enlightenment]

20. I think this is what the FDA wants to know.

Your animals have had no health issues from eating the treats you give them - which suggests that whatever is in - or not in - those treats is a clue to what might be the problem with other treats.

Perhaps you could let them know what brand you feed your pets?