Scientists at a state animal health laboratory confirmed Monday that a popular brand of pet food submitted for testing by Marin veterinarians was indeed contaminated, even though it is not on a growing list of recalled pet foods.
The pet food apparently sickened a cat owned by a Greenbrae woman. The cat has slowly recovered and was returned to its home on Monday.
At the request of the Mill Valley Pet Clinic, three varieties of Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics, in 3-ounce cans, were tested by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
The food tested positive for melamine, which has been found in wheat gluten imported from China. Melamine is used to make plastics and other industrial products.
Tests were ordered by the Mill Valley Pet Clinic after the cat was diagnosed with acute renal failure on March 26. UC Davis officials supplied the test results to the Mill Valley Pet Clinic, but declined comment.
“We do not discuss results from specific testing with third parties,” said Birgit Puschner, of the lab’s toxicology department.
Dr. Marianne Willis, veterinarian at Mill Valley Pet Clinic, said the UC lab “doesn’t want to be in the middle of all this. They said since we ordered the test and paid for it, we were free to do what we want with it.”
She said clinic veterinarians were notifying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the food manufacturer of the tainted food.
Last week, the FDA added dog biscuit manufacturer Sunshine Mills Inc. to a growing list of companies that have recalled more than 100 brands of pet foods and treats made with imported Chinese wheat gluten.
Several varieties of Nutro Products brand pet food - including 3-ounce food pouches for cats, 5.3-ounce pouches for dogs and 12.5-ounce cans for dogs - are either on the FDA’s list or on Nutro’s own list at its Web site, www.nutroproducts.com. But the lists do not include the 3-ounce cans for cats.
The canned cat food that tested positive for melamine at UC Davis were the Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, California Chicken Supreme and Chicken Cacciatore.
A Nutro spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday.
The overall recall covers “cuts and gravy”-style products made between Nov. 8 and March 6 from a select variety of popular brands including Iams, Hy-Vee, Nutro, Paws and private label brands sold by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kmart and Longs Drug Stores.
Last week, the FDA said 21 pet food samples obtained from consumers tested positive for melamine. The recall is one of the largest pet food recalls in history, according to Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. The FDA has received more than 12,000 complaints but has confirmed only about 15 pet deaths.
Mill Valley Pet Clinic officials ordered the food sample test for Cleo, an 11-year-old domestic short-hair cat brought to their office last month after she stopped eating. She was rushed to the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center of Marin in San Rafael.
Kellie Little, Cleo’s owner, said she purchased the food from Pet Club in Corte Madera on March 19. She said she has been in contact with Nutro officials about six times over the past two weeks, but she was told that only the cat food in pouches had been recalled, not the canned cat food. She provided two samples to the company’s office in addition to the samples sent to UC Davis.
Little’s cat has slowly recovered under constant veterinary care, and she brought Cleo home Monday.
“I feel it’s kind of a victory that we may be able to save some other cats’ lives,” Little said of Monday’s test results.
When it comes to specific pet foods on the recall list, “we’re getting updates every day,” said Dr. Chris Rodi, Pet Emergency and Specialty Center of Marin.
NUTRA MAX CAT GOURMET CLASSICS
The following three 3-ounce varieties tested positive for melamine by UC Davis:
- Chicken Cacciatore, UPC 79105352055
- California Chicken Supreme, UPC 79105300117
- Lamb & Turkey Cutlets, UPC 79105300148
