Local cat sick; tainted food suspected

Cape Breton Post
Friday, March 30, 2007
Page: A1
Section: Front
Byline: Matthew Daye
Source: cape breton post

It appears Cape Breton hasn't escaped the tainted pet food scare, but because owners are not keeping empty pet food containers, nothing can be confirmed.

Tanya Capstick of Little Pond owns three cats, including three- year-old Taz. The pet consumed four packets of Iams wet cat food three days before the Menu Foods recall was made public.

Capstick said Taz had previously been an energetic cat and suddenly began to act lethargic and stopped eating. But what she really noticed was his breath.

"It was his breath that caught me off guard; it was unbelievable. It was like shit and fish and something dead," she said. "From a distance you can smell it."

The pet is currently in Dr. David Richardson's care at Cape Breton Veterinary Service. Richardson said the bad-smelling breath was caused by the damage to Taz's kidney.

While Menu Foods has agreed to pay vet bills for poisoned animals, the problem is proving it was the food that made the animals ill. And without the can or packet the food came from, that becomes hard to do.

Other chemicals can cause kidney failure, such as anti-freeze, Richardson noted.

Richardson advised pet owners to avoid most wet foods for the time being.

"As far as I know, the dry foods are unaffected," he said. "The key is to stay away from wet foods."

There are currently six suspected victims at the Cape Breton Veterinary Service, two of which have already died but this might be part of a larger problem, Richardson said.

"(Only) three out of 10 pets ever see veterinarians. The rest just go off and die. As veterinarians, if we start seeing these things, it's only 20 per cent of the problem."

Capstick said she has been in touch with a representative from P&G Pet Care, which produces the product Taz consumed and was told the company would take care of the cat's vet bill.

The representative did not return calls from the Cape Breton Post, Thursday.

Capstick remains upset with the way the situation was handled and what it means for pet owners.

"To think that you're feeding your cat something that you're paying a lot of money for, that's supposed to be the best of the best. At the same time, you're feeding him and you're killing him and you're not even knowing it."

Patsy Rose at the SPCA said the shelter hasn't had any cases of sick animals related to the pet food scare. "Knock on wood. I think we're pretty lucky."