food recall,is anyone going to sue?

Question

i took Max to the vet after he started acting strange, vomiting, drinking and peeing alot, not eating and sleeping all the time, this was unlike my baby. after some blood work we found out he has kidney failure, most definately from the recalled food. he was visiting with my mom a week ago and she knows that i give him 2 whiskas packs a day because its his favorite treat.in anticipation of his visit she went to lablaws and picked up some of the presidents choice packages. after she found out PC was on the recall list she checked the dates on the packages and found that what she had was recalled. tomorrow morning he will be going back to the vets for 48hrs of IV treatment. im so upset. i dont know what to do, i feel helpless and im so mad. i love him so much. i just cant believe it. . i didnt even know about the recall when i first saw he was sick :S so watch ur pets closely. and my poor mom thinks its partialy her fault. this is awful. i wanna do something but i dont know what. :(

thank you all soooo much for this information, i just cant stand sitting here doing nothing but crying, im going crazy. i just cant imagine all the ppl feeling this way right now, this is horrible, how could this happen?? again thank you sooo soo much.

Answer 1

Make sure you do the treatment asap and on a continual basis with vet supervision -- pets can have a complete or nearly complete recoverly from acute kidney failure if you protect the kidneys and get the poison out before too much is lost. My kitty recovered amazingly from acute kidney failure due to a bad kidney infection. She would have lived many years of normal life (she lived two more) but she kept getting more kidney infections and one finally took her -- but I was able to keep the kidneys stable. And I would definitely consider suing, this is your baby and you did nothing wrong but buy some food that should not have done this. Here are some other things that can help with acute or other kidney failure -- and make sure the fluid treatment is nonstop drip and that there is vet supervision, no being left overnight unattended on IV that is dangerous.
You may get home fluid treatment for a while, don't be afraid of it. It is very simple to do and easier if you don't stres over it. I can also give you www.bricomedicalsupplies.com, a very cheap place to get a lot of supplies to help with some temporary need for fluids. If you want more info, email me and send me the test results and I can tell you what I have learneed about this illness.
acidopholis once in am and once in pm can help flush out some toxins
CQ10 is also great, I would check with vet first on this one
There are also vitamins that are meant to help protect the kidneys, I had to get mine from a vet. But low phosphorous food with quality meat is important. When first diagnosed AD diet by Science Diet is often a good way to get them to eat a high calorie food since they can't keep a lot of food down. KD was too starving for my cat, but she thrived, and her kidneys stayed the same for two years, on some low phosphorous no-byproducts food like Innova Lite.
You may need to syringe feed until he gets to feeling better, and nausea medicine is very important -- your vet will recommend an over the counter pill for nausea, like a quarter of a regular pepcid. Not eating for too long threatens the liver.
Metoclopramide is a stronger dose that can help more serious cases of nausea.
If the fluid treatment doesn't help, jus tknow you did your best, and you did nothing wrong. Your kitty will always love you and be with you no matter what. And please do send me a message if you want help, there is a lot of misinformation out there.

** also cats can breath in food, so I would recommend syringing carefully. Use a small 1 ml syringe and no more than three squirts of food for each full syringe. Make sure htey know the food is coming, and it will be fine.
**Vitamin B is also good to give any cat who has anemia due to kidney issues, until the anemia resolves. Make sure you give a 1/10 human dose of a B12 that starts with myth, not the more typical B.. they wil make a big deal about it being the "better B12," and it helped resolve my cat's anemia so she stopped shivering.

**EDIT** Sorry for all this, but I just feel terrible about your predicament. My kitty wasn't given treatments for her acute issue until a couple days after she was sick -- it was recommended I not take her in, and she still recovered. I am sure there is still a great chance your kitty will do well on the fluids and you will be in my thoughts, as treatment begins tomorrow. If the numbers don't go down until your kitty comes home, that at times happens. Just hug and cuddle him tonight.

Answer 2

There are groups presently getting togeter for a possible class action suit against menufoods and other parties responsible for this despicable tragedy. I sooo hope that your kitty will bounce back - some cats have, depending on the amount of tainted food they ingested. Check out the following:
(1) www.Pet Connections.com
At PetConnection, we are tracking the number of sick pets, and we're asking for your help. We're also keeping on top of the situation on our Web log.

Report a sick pet to our database
Find out the latest on our blog
Check the list of recalled foods
PetConnection's Dr. Marty Becker explains what pet-lovers should do
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(2) [e-mail]
Description
This group is for pet owners that have lost a pet, or their pet became ill due to renal (kidney) failure from eating Menu Foods cat or dog food.

Check the website: http://www.menufoods.com/recall
to see if you have fed some bad food to your pet.

If your pet has died, try to do the following:

- Save the food package
- Save your receipt from where you purchased the food
- Save any vet bills
- Save any burial bills
- Find a picture from when your pet was alive
- Take a picture of your deceased pet
- Journal the loss of your pet (pain & suffering)
- Some have suggested to have a necropsy done on your deceased pet

I know that some of the requests above are odd. But we need to hold Menu Foods accountable for their actions.

Signs of renal (kidney) failure
- Increased water consumption
- Increased urination
- Loss of appetite
- Depression
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Bad breath
- Eating cat litter or sand

Treatment
- Request that your vet do blood work and check the kidney levels
- Put your pet on IV fluids (a vet can send you home with an IV kit to DIY)
- Feed them renal pet food (force feed with a giant syringe if needed)
- Give kidney medication

*Note: I am not a vet or attorney. I am doing this because my good friend's cat passed away due to renal failure from eating tainted food. This group will eventually be turned over to a class action attorney once there is enough people coming forward.
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They will at least answer some of your questions and point you in the right direction.

Answer 3

Save your food packages, and save the copy of the vet's bills. At this point in time, most of the pet food manufacturers will reimburse you for the vet bills. Good luck to you and your kitty. The IV fluids will do a lot to help him feel better. I hope there's no permanent damage.

Answer 4

Oh wow. I'm so sorry! I hope your kitty gets better. Most likely he will, but do as the other posters said and get into the group with the lawsuit. Manufacturers should make suretheir poducts are safe for animals. And comfort your mom, too...it wasn't her fault! It could've happened to anybody. And tell Max to get well soon!

Answer 5

i think you should go to the following web site where people are trying to start a class action suit against the companies and supplier. i urge you to participate, maybe some retrobution will make you feel a little better. sorry to hear your cats sick, hope it feels well soon.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/menufoodsclassaction