Pet food recall has local impact

The recent nationwide pet food recall has caused concern for local pet owners and health problems for two local pets.

Dr. Roger Gooch, a veterinarian at Animal Health Center in Watertown, has diagnosed two local animals with kidney problems related to the food recall.


“We do regular wellness screens here and these two animals were acting OK but from their screening we noticed they had some things that were starting to change including early stages of kidney failure,” Gooch said. “We put the cat and dog on a special diet for kidney failure and both recovered.”

Gooch said the two incidents occurred weeks before the initial food recall. Without knowing about the food recall Gooch chose the right treatment which included changing the animals food. Both the cat and dog diagnosed were being fed products from Menu Foods which has been believed to contain contaminated wheat gluten from China. The recall included mainly canned moist dog and cat food. Only one dry food was recalled as a precautionary status, Hills Feline MD.

“This is unprecedented in the pet food industry. I don't know of any similar incident of this magnitude or scale. There have been incidents where a problem is noticed but the product is grabbed in the warehouse and never makes it to the store shelves,” Gooch said.

“Obviously it doesn't appear to be a red hot fatal toxin in each can. It seems to be a little bit hit and miss in the cans with not every can containing a deadly amount.”

Gooch said many pet owners choose to feed their animals canned food because their dog or cat prefer the texture and style more.

Others have animals with poor dental hygiene and switch their animals to can or moist food. Gooch said no one should be concerned about feeding their animals dry food.

The Animal Health Center and other area veterinary clinics have been receiving numerous phone calls from pet owners with questions about the contaminated food products.