Deb Dempsey’s pet boutique, Mouthfuls, is normally closed Mondays, but because of the pet-food recall, she decided to open.
It was a good decision.
In 90 minutes, she had at least 30 visits and received dozens of phone calls from anxious owners worried about whether their pets had eaten tainted food.
“Everyone is just frantic,” said Dempsey, who owns the northwest Denver pet store. “We’ve been absolutely swamped.”
Pet owners were searching for reassurance that their dogs and cats hadn’t eaten products included in Menu Foods’ recall of more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet dog and cat food.
The food, sold under dozens of popular brand names such as Eukanuba and Iams, has been linked to the deaths of 10 animals nationwide, most from renal failure.
In a press release, the company said the recall was limited to “cuts and gravy”-style pet food.
A federal investigation is focusing on a new source of wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination, said Stephen Sundlof, the Food and Drug Administration’s top veterinarian.
Menu Foods told the FDA it began new tests Feb. 27, after reports of illnesses.
During those tests, as many as one in six animals died. The company fed its product to 40 to 50 dogs and cats. Seven animals – the mix of species was not immediately known – died, Sundlof said. The contamination appeared more deadly to cats than to dogs, he said.
Amy Torres’ cat, Blue, had been sick for a few days. When she called her veterinarian Monday morning, she found out food that Blue had eaten was on the tainted list.
“They said, ‘Get her in, now,”‘ said Torres, who lives in Denver.
Blue was receiving intravenous fluids late Monday afternoon, Torres said, and was expected to survive – but not without a lot of worry from her owner.
“I was very disappointed,” she said. “You pay the price for premium food for your cat, and now she was dying.”
Planned Pethood Plus in Denver received about 40 calls from concerned pet owners Monday but reported no sick animals.
At Mouthfuls, Dempsey helped people identify whether they had any of the bad food.
“A lot of people were really scared,” Dempsey said.
Darla Castaneda was at the boutique to switch to a dog-food brand that didn’t have wheat gluten. She had given her 9-month- old Snickers canned Iams, which was on the list.
“We just figured we’d throw all the dog food out and not risk it,” Castaneda said. “I don’t want this dog to die.”
Veterinarians in town for a convention say that for the most part, the pet-food industry is regulated well, but as with recent recalls of spinach and peanut butter, things can slip by.
Michael Andrews, president of the American Animal Hospital Association, the convention sponsor, believes that Menu Foods responded appropriately.
“The problems that happened, fortunately, do not happen very often,” he said. “Most companies have pretty good quality control.”
The best thing to do, Andrews said, is to take your pet to the vet if it is sick or acting unusual. Symptoms of renal failure could include vomiting and frequent urination.
At the very least, vets said, this scare will make pet owners much more aware of what they are putting into their animals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
Recalled cat food:
- America’s Choice, Preferred Pets
- Authority
- Award
- Best Choice
- Companion
- Compliments
- Demoulas Market Basket
- Eukanuba
- Fine Feline Cat
- Food Lion
- Foodtown
- Giant Companion
- Hannaford
- Hill Country Fare
- Hy-Vee
- Iams
- Laura Lynn
- Li’l Red
- Loving Meals
- Meijer’s Main Choice
- Nutriplan
- Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
- Nutro Natural Choice
- Paws
- Pet Pride
- Presidents Choice
- Price Chopper
- Priority US
- Save-A-Lot
- Schnucks
- Science Diet Feline Savory
- Cuts Cans
- Sophistacat
- Special Kitty Canada
- Special Kitty US
- Springfield Prize
- Sprout
- Wegmans
- Weis Total Pet
- Western Family US
- White Rose
- Winn Dixie
Recalled dog food:
- America’s Choice, Preferred Pets
- Authority
- Award
- Best Choice
- Big Bet
- Big Red
- Bloom
- Wegmans Bruiser
- Cadillac
- Companion
- Demoulas Market Basket
- Eukanuba
- Food Lion
- Giant Companion
- Great Choice
- Hannaford
- Hill Country Fare
- Hy-Vee
- Iams
- Laura Lynn
- Loving Meals
- Meijers Main Choice
- Mighty Dog Pouch
- Mixables
- Nutriplan
- Nutro Max
- Nutro Natural Choice
- Nutro Ultra
- Nutro
- Ol’Roy Canada
- Ol’Roy US
- Paws
- Pet Essentials
- Pet Pride – Good n Meaty
- Presidents Choice
- Price Chopper
- Priority Canada
- Priority US
- Publix
- Roche Brothers
- Save-A-Lot
- Schnucks
- Shep Dog
- Springsfield Prize
- Sprout
- Stater Brothers
- Weis Total Pet
- Western Family US
- White Rose
- Winn Dixie
- Your Pet
