Thursday, May 24, 2007

Iams Dry Food - Lab Reports Cyanuric Acid In Unrecalled Dry Food

Updated June 3rd, 6pm: I have added (and will continue to add) reports at the bottom of this post of suspected illnesses and deaths due to Iams Dry food. These are reports that other people have posted online, on other sites. I am providing links to them so you can check them out for yourself.

http://www.itchmo.com/read/lab-reports-cyanuric-acid-in-dry-food_20070524
Itchmo has learned that a toxicology test reported the presence of cyanuric acid in an opened bag of what is alleged to be Iams Large Breed dry dog food.

According to the report obtained by Itchmo, the results have been certified by a forensic toxicologist. The testing method detects concentrations in excess of 0.1%. We have obtained a copy of the toxicology report and you can see for yourself. We have remove personal information for privacy reasons and a correct lot number was obtained.

We have contacted Iams and we’re waiting on their response. Iams Large Breed does not list rice protein concentrate or wheat gluten as ingredients.

We cannot stress this point enough: This test was performed on a sample from an opened bag. We do not know if this is an isolated case of contamination before or after the sale, or if it is widespread.

...

Note: Like with the Nutro Dry, there are many reports posted online suspecting illnesses and deaths due to Iams Dry food. Check out these links and read the comments posted by people like yourselves.
http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323

http://www.itchmo.com/read/voluntary-dry-food-reports_20070328

And let's not forget this from back in March (posted over at itchmo.com) FDA Issues Warning Against Iams Dry and Wet Foods
FDA has warned the Iams company in January against using an untested “dietary supplement” in its cat and dog weight control formula wet and dry foods. “The FDA considers chromium tripicolinate to be genotoxic, meaning it can damage DNA and cause mutations and tumors.” Amazingly, the FDA posted the letter only today.

No word yet if Iams has complied with the warning to remove the ingredient chromium tripicolinate. We’ve read several posts concerning the removal of weight control formulas from stores.

...We have several articles that suggest a link between this substance and chronic as well as acute renal failure below...

(click link above for the full posting, including the full Warning Letter and links to articles mentioned)

************************************************************************************

Updated June 3rd, 10pm: I have added (and will continue to add) reports here of suspected illnesses and deaths due to Iams Dry food. None of these foods have been recalled.

These are just a few of the comments that other people have posted online, on other websites, forums and blogs. I am providing links to them so you can check them out for yourself. If I have received permission to repost then I have included the comments in full, otherwise I have posted a small portion of the comment and you can click the link to read the rest. I've tried to include links from different sites - in most cases there are multiple stories on the same site.

Disclaimer: These are reports by people like yourself who posted online (or emailed me) that they believe a certain food made their pets sick. This information is simply for you to use as part of making an educated difference about what products you purchase - both for yourself and your pet. None of these foods have been recalled, and the problems reported may have nothing to do with the current round of recalls. If your pet has eaten any of these foods and got sick, please report it to the company and FDA!

Iams Dry Cat Food - unspecified type/flavor

http://www.itchmo.com/read/voluntary-dry-food-reports_20070328#comment-6078

...my cat died Monday evening after being fed from a bag of Iams dry food. She was 8 years old, healthy and lively... I bought the bag of dry food Sunday and fed her from it that day. Monday evening when I got home from work, she was obviously sick, with diarrhea, vomiting, excessive drool and she was lethargic. I took her to the emergency vet, who, because dry food is not on the recall list, said it “must be a tummy ache from something she ate” asked for thousands to run tests and for “fluids”, and because I did not have the funds, sent her home insteads with some pain medicine for her stomach and droplets to start the next day. My cat died of Acute Renal Failure that night. ...

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/pet_food_recall_strikes_fear_into_central_oregon/C509/L509/

... story about my indoor tortoise cat. She is 10 and has never been fed anything but Iams dry food. She had bloodwork done the end of 12/06 prior to a dental cleaning and her bloodwork was perfectly normal....no sign of kidney disease. Suddenly on 3/7/07 after eating from a newly opened bag of Iams, she started vomiting violently and refused to eat anything, which she had never done before. ... 3/9/07 ... I was told she had acute renal failure, and her bloodwork verified this ...

Iams Dry Multicat

http://www.rateitall.com/r-2247278.aspx

...This food nearly killed my cat. He weighed 16 pounds before i put him on this last march. By the end of May he weighed 9.5 lbs and was losing 1/2 lbs every 2 weeks. I spent over $500 in vet bills on xrays & pills. The xrays revealed that his intestines were inflammed. The vet vet thought he might have an irritable bowel syndrome. When the pills did not work it was assumed that it was probably intestinal cancer. I did not expect him to live past the end of June. at that time time I switched back to what I had been feeding him, and today he is back up to his full weight and he seems healhty and happy

Iams Dry Hairball and Iams Indoor Weight Control Cat
http://www.itchmo.com/read/lab-reports-cyanuric-acid-in-dry-food_20070524#comment-22471
LorieVA Says:
May 25th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Kim
Double posting to make sure you see this:
this is for your IAMS spreadsheet not sure if you saw post from way back that my 2 cats last spring had issuse with IAMS hairball formula and indoor wt control they ate the two mixed together,
Geisha had bloody runny stool and develop a UTI with perm crystal problem vet said she at some bacteria, she is an indoor cat of a very parinoid cat owner MOI who makes everyone remove shoes, no plants etc……..
Topaz would vomit yellow bile and then foamy stuff in about 20 piles at a time all over the house upstairs in down, vet said she had sensitive stomach issues from turning seven
Switched food to Eukanuba sensitive stomach for Topaz no more vomiting till new problems with FF this past March
Switched Geisha to Science Diet RX C/D no more problems till FF this past March

Iams Dry Dog Food
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?ThreadID=232979&GT1=9145&BoardsParam=Page%3D19
I have 2 friends in NE Ohio who have dogs that died of kidney failure in the last month. Both ate IAMS dry dog food and both were otherwise healthy 4 year old Labs. ...

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/merrick-ny/T58EI5N4QJOEB9FKP
...My 7 year old dog Angel was fed the Iams dry dog food from January 5th to the 25th of January and died that night. She had a very high fever, was vomiting profusely, and couldn't hold her bladder. She couldn't stand up It was almost like she was having a stroke. ...Our precious little angel passed away that night.


http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323#comment-560
I had three cats, all of which ate primarily Iams Multicat dry food. We had to put our 17 year old, Buttercup, to sleep in late December due to kidney failure. In early January we took our 13 year old, ..., to the vet for a check-up. He had lost a few pounds in the last few months .... His bloodwork showed he was severely Anemic. ... the vet was never able to determine the cause of the anemia. ...They also did protein tests and x-rays to look for possible cancerous tumors, and nothing. In the midst of this we switched his food to PetGuard canned food, in hopes to curb his weight loss. With no medication except for Pet-Tinic (a vitamin), his HCT is now magically up to 36. The only change in his life was the food, and I am convinced that was the cause of his anemia. ...


Iams Dry Dog Food Green Bag
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/MenuFoodsClassAction/message/994
(You may need to be a member of this Yahoo Group to read the post. If so, the same gentleman has posted other places about his dog's death, including here:
Our Dear Abby Gayle Died last night at 10:05 pm with my wife, sons and daughter at her side. Almost 4 years old, purbred Airedale Terrier, picture perfect health record, She died of kidney failure due to eating tainted, contamiated, IAMS Dry, Green Bag, purchased from Walmart. ... If I was warned before my dear Abby got sick, I would have fed her anything, steak, chicken, rice or anything other than the poisons they are selling us. I have called the FDA and are shipping the suspected bad food to Cornell University for tests. ... Opened a new bag of food on thursday, she would not eat saturday but was active enough to not alarm me or my family. Monday am she was in the back yard having trouble walking, called vet, walked her in the garage, she layed down on warm pad and we started fluids. Vet said, bring her in in the morning if she makes it through the night. She did not.

Iams Dry Dog Food Mini Chunks

http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?ThreadID=232979>1=9145&BoardsParam=Page%3D23

...our family had to put are japanese chin bruce to sleep he was in full renal failure was fine on friday saturday was just a little wobbly sunday got sick a few times monday morning took him to doctors and had to have him put to sleep doctor said can not save him when he was wobbling on sat it was already to late feed him iams mini chunk dry food does not get any wet vet said either food or antifreeze he is an inside dog only goes out to go to the bathroom in a fenced yard he is not replicable it was a great loss ...

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/03/17/pet_food_recall.php#comment-1068205

My pet dog age 6. Died March 11,07 before the recalls came out. She only ate dry IAM's mini chunks, dog bones and tartar treats.
I reported it to IAM's but they didn't sound to concerned since its only about the wet food. Same with FDA. ...

http://jules4265-menufoodrecall.blogspot.com/index.html

On Feb. 19, 2007, we lost our beloved 5 year old dog Allie to Iams dry mini chuncks. She died in less than 3 days after eating a new bag.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

My mother's Peek-A-Poo became sick in April with vomiting & diarhea. Fed only Iams Mini Chunks. She is better now, but I told my Mom to stop feeding Iams and bought her some Canidae lamb and rice. She loves it and is doing fine.

Anonymous said...

I have 4 dogs: 3 pekes and a lab. Lab ate only Nutro Natural Dry & pekes ate Nutro Natural dry and wet. Over the winter, they all developed diarrhea and vomiting. The lab would wake up each morning and vomit, then eat, and then was extraordinarily thirsty. They were lethargic, especially the oldest peke and she just would not eat. This continued after I stopped wet food. I am cooking for them now and this all stopped within 3 days of stopping Nutro dry. I know there is something wrong with the dry, too! Vet could NEVER find a problem, despite many trips.

Anonymous said...

My dog ate IAMS dry Mini Chunks (green bag) in early February and died within 3 1/2 days. He was wobbly, his back legs were stiff and straight, he couldn't stand up, he hung his head over his water bowl and seemed not able to lean down to get a drink, he refused food, he urinated a lot at first. Near the end, he didn't urinate for two days. His back was arched high due to pain. His abdomen was hard and blown up just like a balloon. The smell coming from him the last two days was unbearable (and I don't mean urine or feces smells at all). Vets at the time did not know what to look for and thought my dog was just in arthritic pain because his back was arched. He limped once in a while, but this was extreme. He never arched his back before. My dog did not die from just melamine, which is relatively harmless and the story the FDA wants you to believe. This entire poisoning has been a huge cover up to protect big business. I know my dog very suddenly died from poison. Even the University of Guelph that found the crystals in the kidneys (and verified the NY Ag & Food Lab's findings of rat poison) says that melamine and cyanuric acid combined still do NOT account for all of the cellular damage they saw in the tissues. I believe the New York Ag. and Food Lab that found rat poison (aminopterin) in the wheat flour, and I also suspect genetically modified wheat that manufactured its own poisonous insecticides or it was genetically modified wheat used to grow pharmaceuticals (called pharming). Do a google search for Dr. Michael Fox, veterinarian, who suspects a genetically modified wheat strain along with other toxins.

Anonymous said...

This comment is going out to the lady with the 3 pekes and lab and every other dog owner. I recently had 2 issues with dry dog food. The first one came with Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Dry adult dog food. I have 2 American Pit Bull Terrier and 1 senior Chihuahua. My 2 larger dogs were on the dry food and became increasingly thirsty, anorexic no matter how much we fed them and began vomitting and after a period of time unable to hold in their urine. Their urine was also SO diluted that it looked like water. We of course contacted our vet and had bloodwork and all tests done..the vet was mystified. I took them off of nutro and switched to merrick cowboy cookout which put the weight on them again but gave them horrible digestive upsets - runny poop and bad gas. I then once again switched their food. I put them on California Natural lamb and rice which turned out to be the worst of all. All 3 of my dogs were eating it and began leaving an entire bowl of food and not wanting to eat which was VERY unlike my dogs. They once again began vomitting with diarrhea and then bloody diarrhea and very lethargic. My chihuhua is 15 years old. I seriously thought my dogs were dying. They were SO sick..of course we called the vet right away again. But I decided to get them off of everything and they eat a homeade diet now. This is crazy. My friend had the same experience with california natural with his 3 dogs. I contacted the company and they insisted that nothing was wrong with the food and that none of their food was recalled. Maybe they did not recall it but it surely should have been..my dogs could have died if I didn't get them off of it as quickly as I did. This goes to show no matter what the price or fancy packaging is dog food is still all the same..some jsut better hidden ingredients than others!
I would like to express my deepest sympathy to those who have lost beloved pets in this severe tragedy. I would also like to send my heartfelt happiness out to the dogs that have come close but survived. Be well all! Sincerely, Kathleen.

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Anonymous said...

I have two 14 year old cats that have been eating IAMs dry cat food for several years per our vets suggestion. Lately both cats have been losing significant weight to the extent that I thought one cat was literally starving. I decided to give them wet food (not IAMs) instead of IAMs dry and they have both gained weight over the last ten days.

The weight loss coupeld with the weight gain once I switched food led me to goodle IAMs pet food and weight loss to see if others were having this problm. Sure enough there seems to be a significant pattern --- IAMs should pull the food beofre more pets suffer. I'm hopeful that my cats will recover. I'm feel just sick thinking that they may have been suffering from IAMs food all this time.

Anonymous said...

I had 3 cats that I had been feeding Iams dry food for years. Since January my oldest cat a 15 yr old developed runny diarrhea but did not act sick. He always had impeccable litterbox habits. I had him throughly checked by my vet who could find nothing wrong. He did not appear sick but yes did appear to be losing some weight. One day I just found him laying dead on the floor. I had him to the vet over and over but they couldnt find anything wrong. Now one of the other cats a 2 year old Bengal has developed a strange twitching in his back that makes him pull his hair out and run like mad for no reason. Off to the vet again. They suggested a food allergy and I have switched my 2 remaining cats to Natural Balance Duck and Pea.Well I made the switch over a weeks time and today they have been eating the new food only for 2 days. I am seeing a marked improvement in the Bengals behavior. He is much less manic and frantic and isnt trying to pull his hair out anymore. I wrote to Iams last week to ask them if something had changed in their food recently and they sent me and email back saying they are very concerned and want me to call them. I am going to call them but am giving the food swicth a few more days so I can let them know as soon as I quit feeding their food, everything improved. Too bad I didnt know sooner as my 15 year old always healthy cat would probably still be around. I think something is going on and I believe the big companies know about it but arent doing anything just yet maybe hoping the problem will go away? I wonder how many others are going through the same thing?

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Anonymous said...

I have two male cats - brothers who are not seven years old. I have been feeding them IAMs indoor cat dry food for years. One of them developed UTI - vet said its because of the food - he said it was common with IAMs. I thought IAMs was a safe, nutritional food, but not anymore.

Because they can't have different foods - they now BOTH have to eat the antibiotic prescribed food for six weeks.

I hope this is the end of it, and never will I buy IAM's again.

Anonymous said...

We had two male siamese cats not blood related that we fed Iam Dry Cat Food. The older one developed a tumor in his neck that grew into his mouth (where he started to gnaw on it)after taking him to the vet numerous times, we had it removed the best they could as they figured it could have been on his thyroid (he was a very skinny cat). The tumor grew until it was the size of his head and he seemed to be out of breath so we made the heartbreaking decision to have him put down. We never understood what had caused this and never got any definite answers from the vet(s). Last night our one remaining cat died suddenly and we had noticed that he had a strange lump on the side of his head. The position he was in tells me he was probably having a seizure or something. I am not sure if this was caused by the food or not but if and when we ever get another cat we will NOT be feeding them Iams.

Volunteers Needed! Get food off shelves...

howl911.com, itchmo.com, thepetfoodlist.com, petconnection.com, petfoodtracker.com and spockosbrain.com have joined together to ask for your help.
Update 6-10: Recalled food was purchased from a
California store on 5-29th – this stuff is still out there!
We need Volunteers to help get recalled food off store shelves. Read this post at Spocko’s Brain for instructions. Print a list (or two) on this site. Visit stores, then report safe stores here at Itchmo.com.

Printing Information:
1. Print the main FDA Pet Food Recall page http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html – this will be handy to show retailers who haven’t heard anything about the recall. (3 pages)

2. Print the list of 14 Major National Brands - it includes flavors and date information where applicable so you can tell if specific products for these brands have been recalled. The brands are: Alpo Prime Cuts, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Doctors Foster and Smith, Eukanuba, Gravy Train, Hill’s Science Diet, Iams, Jerky Treats, Lick Your Chops, Mighty Dog Pouches, Natural Balance, Nutro, Pounce, Royal Canin. (It’s 7 pages and includes FDA contact information.)

3. Print the List of All Brands – it will remind you what products have been recalled - but it does not give you date and flavor information, there is just too much to put in one document. (7 pages, but the 7th page is links to more detailed information so you don’t need to print it)

If you want, and are going to a store that you know has store brands that have been recalled (such as Walmart), go to that recall information at the links on the summary or at the FDA site and print it out. Some of the information is formatted in ways that make it difficult to read (one of the main reasons for this site), but it’s better than nothing.

Note: The FDA is the official source for all recall information and recalled products. This is an unofficial volunteer effort to help get the word out and get recalled foods off of shelves. We’re doing the best we can but can’t guarantee these lists are completely accurate. Again, here is the official recall site: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html