# Rat Poison Found in Tainted Pet Food **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 23, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203 "2007-03-23T16:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/1 "2007-03-23T16:40:46Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/pet.food.recall.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/pet.food.recall.ap/index.html) Rat poison was found in the pet food that was recalled recently. I would put it in the pit I guess but what with all the anger over recreational ourage threads and the fact that I personally am not upset because it didn’t happen to me I decided to put it here. Hmmm its like the Tylenol poisoning except with pets! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/2 "2007-03-23T17:04:07Z")
I thought the same thing. I find a hard time believing that it was an accident. Pretty fucking scary. (I’m so glad we’re a dry food family!) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/3 "2007-03-23T17:06:55Z")
I’m having a hard time believing it was intentional. Too many cans, too many brands. Unless an organized group of nutjobs found a way to poison the manufacturing process, I have to write this off to really bad luck. IIRC, the story I read said “chemical used in rat poison,” not “rat poison.” So it still could be an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/4 "2007-03-23T17:29:33Z")
The New York State Attorney’s Office is going to have a press conference about this soon. If it _was_ deliberate, I hope they make the bastard pay dearly for it. A terrible thing to do to animals. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/5 "2007-03-23T22:27:24Z")
The company doesn’t think the pet food was tampered with, but how else does a poison get into your pet food? Somebody grabbed the box of rat poison off the shelf instead of the box of vitamins? In two different plants? This is all very strange. I was going to mention that my husband’s good friend in Ohio almost lost her kitten to this tainted food. She mentioned to my husband on IM that her kitten had eaten food from the recalled list, and was listless and not looking good. At my husband’s prompting, she took the kitten to the vet right away and it looks like that saved its life. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/6 "2007-03-23T22:31:03Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] The company doesn’t think the pet food was tampered with, but how else does a poison get into your pet food? Somebody grabbed the box of rat poison off the shelf instead of the box of vitamins? In two different plants? This is all very strange. [/QUOTE] Maybe rat poison was present on the wheat that was used as a gluten source? Just guessing. Edit: Looks as if I may have guessed right, according to [this](http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21270787.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/7 "2007-03-23T22:54:28Z")
My first guess was rat poison. My second guess was leak on equipment that put chemicals into a batch before it was repaired and they didn’t go back far enough dumping the food. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/8 "2007-03-23T23:02:05Z")
[Aminopterin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminopterin) st Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/9 "2007-03-24T00:00:30Z")
My cat ate a package of that stuff. I called the vet when he lost his appetite and started just picking at his food. He didn’t act very sick, just clingier and less active. His kidney function tests were poor, though. He spent 3 days in the hospital on IV fluids to flush the kidneys out, and now he’s home and eating again. No way to know what the long-term effects will be. We’re just going to test the kidney function again and see whether he gets worse, stays the same, or gets better. ☹ We were lucky. He’s home and alive. I’ve been sick with rage and fear ever since he was hospitalized. According to the FDA, those bastard manufacturers were performing a regular taste test to see if the animals liked the flavor **over 3 weeks ago.** Seven of the test animals **died** within a day or so of trying the stuff. Out of a population of about 50. That’s one goddamn animal out of seven dying after eating the food, and they supposedly said, “Gee, that’s weird. Oh well, lots of cats get kidney disease, must be a coincidence.” They never actually started a series of tests after getting complaints, as they first reported. As far as I can tell, they kept their damn mouths shut so their clients wouldn’t stop buying the food. Whether it was deliberate tampering or just a horrible accident, they tried to say nothing and hope the problem went away. It was their little secret. Which they kept faithfully until 5 days after I bought the poisoned food pouches and 6 hours after I took my cat to the vet. If I wanted to express my outrage to the full, I would have to belch out fire like a dragon with reflux. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/10 "2007-03-24T00:18:08Z")
I’m so glad you’re cat is home, **Ragiel**. Please let us know how he does. Anyone know how long the bad stuff has been out there? I’ve had two cats die of kidney failure since last June. Surely a coincidence, but I can’t help but wonder. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/11 "2007-03-24T00:37:02Z")
I just heard about this today. My first thought? Yet another reason to feed raw. I’m sorry if that’s insensitive, but I do like knowing _exactly_ what my critters are eating. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/12 "2007-03-24T01:28:03Z")
I have heard the stuff was from a supplier they had recently (like last Dec.) switched to, so June 2006 and until Dec. foods should be OK. Ragiel, I would be livid if I were you, too. It is a truly awful situation. I’m glad your cat is OK and hope he has no long term effects. I have a CRF cat (unrelated to this food thing - he’s 17 and this has been coming on for some time now) and it is stressful (but worth it) to give sub-qs and such. Feeding raw is good _if_ you know what you are doing. There are things (like taurine and other nutrients) that cats absolutely have to have. Unless it is researched fully raw probably isn’t a good idea for most folks. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/13 "2007-03-24T14:22:59Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] Maybe rat poison was present on the wheat that was used as a gluten source? Just guessing. Edit: Looks as if I may have guessed right, according to [this](http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21270787.shtml). [/QUOTE] WTF? They were importing the wheat from China? They’re based in _Canada_. Canada is accoutable for about 20% of the global wheat trade. China has traditionally been one of the world’s biggestest importers of wheat. How on earth does it make economical sense for a Canadian-based manufacturer to import wheat from the other side of the world? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/14 "2007-03-24T14:51:35Z")
Looks like Menu Foods may be willing to cover vet bills incurred as a result of anyone’s pets eating the tainted food. > [@CEO Paul Henderson](#): > > The recall will cost the company about $40 million but the company is considering covering veterinary costs made necessary by consuming their food, Henderson said. > > “To the extent that we identify that the cause of any expenses incurred are related to the food, we will take responsibility for that,” he said. From [here](http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/03/24/3820789-sun.html). As to why they’d import from China – my guess: they were given a sweet deal that couldn’t be matched by buying domestic. I guess now we know _why_ it was so sweet. I hope they sue the supplier out of existence. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/15 "2007-03-24T15:21:55Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] WTF? They were importing the wheat from China? They’re based in _Canada_. Canada is accoutable for about 20% of the global wheat trade. China has traditionally been one of the world’s biggestest importers of wheat. How on earth does it make economical sense for a Canadian-based manufacturer to import wheat from the other side of the world? [/QUOTE] I’m guessing that lower-grade wheat can be used for pet food and perhaps there’s a plentiful supply of lower-grade wheat to be had from China fairly cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/16 "2007-03-24T15:27:29Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I’m having a hard time believing it was intentional. Too many cans, too many brands. Unless an organized group of nutjobs found a way to poison the manufacturing process, I have to write this off to really bad luck. IIRC, the story I read said “chemical used in rat poison,” not “rat poison.” So it still could be an accident. [/QUOTE] That’s exactly _why_ I feel it was intentional. The fact that so many amimals are affected makes me think that someone purposely put in enough to harm as many as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/17 "2007-03-24T15:57:06Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve been sick with rage and fear ever since he was hospitalized. According to the FDA, those bastard manufacturers were performing a regular taste test to see if the animals liked the flavor over 3 weeks ago. Seven of the test animals died within a day or so of trying the stuff. Out of a population of about 50. This is what bothered me the most. Intentional or not, they knew it was happening. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/18 "2007-03-24T18:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] This is what bothered me the most. Intentional or not, they knew it was happening. [/QUOTE] Clearly, the Canucks are developing Weapons of Mass Pet Destruction. I say we invade and take their oil sands and wimmins! Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/19 "2007-03-24T21:48:34Z")
Three cheers for Globalization. I wonder how much Contaminated Chinese Wheat (band name!) I’ve eaten? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203/20 "2007-03-25T01:40:29Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Clearly, the Canucks are developing Weapons of Mass Pet Destruction. I say we invade and take their oil sands and wimmins! Who’s with me? [/QUOTE] Hey, I keep telling you to move here, and you keep saying it’s too cold. What, do you think if you have a bunch of Canadian wimmins to keep you warm it’ll be better? Wait, actually, that might work… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-poison-found-in-tainted-pet-food/397203.md?page=2)