Hi Dr. Carol,

My cats are doing very well, thanks! The PAAWS vitamins do a great job on their coats, alertness, energy levels, everything! I can only imagine the internal benefits they are getting from them. Whats great is there have been no more issues with vomiting or diarrhea so I have to guess that your PAAWS has also helped Margies IBD clear up.

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Results arrived this week revealing toxic zinc levels in an unopened bag of Nutro Max Cat Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor food. The Nutro cat food bag stated it was best if used by June 7, 2010. The zinc levels were deadly coming in at 2100 parts per million. A cat eating this food would receive over 38 times the amount of zinc recommended by the National Research Council, or 175 mg of zinc a day. A 9 pound cat would ingest a lethal dose of this food in just over 2 days. Chances of any cat surviving after eating this food would be very unlikely. Signs of Zinc toxicity are similar to those of pancreatitis with severe episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. If the cats survived long enough liver and kidney damage could be possible consequences as well.

The receipt for the purchase of this food showed that it was purchased 1 day AFTER the Nutro Cat Food recall was announced. Apparently Nutro had not yet informed the retail store of the problem. Nutro didn’t seem to be overly concerned. Pfpsa.org is glad to work with clients and law firm’s interested in pursuing a class action against Nutro Pet Products.

Most of us remember the deadly pet food recalls of 2007. What few people realize, is that AAFCO aggressively lobbied for allowing non-protein nitrogen in pet food and was able to slip this allowance past numerous state legislatures, including Washington State. By AAFCO standards, melamine and cyanuric acid in pet food was nothing more than a labeling violation. AAFCO sees nothing wrong with including those substances in pet food at up to 1.25%. Using cyanuric acid, for example, by AAFCO standards, would allow 5,875 ppm cyanuric acid content in pet food, provided the label included a decidedly deceptive disclaimer of “This includes not more than 1.25% equivalent crude protein, which is not nutritionally available as protein”. What is the real value of the pet food safety guidelines offered by AAFCO? If pet owners purchase pet foods and products that comply with AFFCO guidelines, how would they impact the health of their pets? In one study, as little as 30 mg/kg day of cyanuric acid destroyed the kidneys of lab animals in just six months.

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HI DR. CAROL,

THANK YOU, I DID RECEIVE THE VITALIFE CAT VITAMINS FOR ARNIE,

AND HAVE READ YOUR NATURALLY HEALTHY CATS BOOK, AND FOUND IT TO BE VERY HELPFUL.

I HAVE ALSO RECOMMENDED YOUR PRODUCTS TO MY FRIENDS WHO ALSO HAVE PETS, AS I HAVE FOUND YOUR VITALIFE CAT PRODUCT TO BE OF EXCELLENCE.

MANY THANKS ONCE AGAIN FOR YOU KINDNESS IN HELPING WITH ARNIE’S ILLNESS, AS YOU CAN TELL I LOVE HIM VERY MUCH AND WILL DO ANYTHING TO HELP HIS INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) ILLNESS.

MANY, MANY THANKS!!

MARIA W.
UNITED KINGDOM

This past week, we saw two more food recalls of concern. First, about 96,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled in Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania after several people became ill because of contamination, with a bacteria, commonly found in fecal material, called E. Coli. E-Coli bacteria cause severe diarrhea in people and pets. The recall included meats produced by Valley Meats, LLC.

Next, Nutro Pet Products announced the recall of two brands of their dry cat foods (Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Natural Choice Cat). The foods were deficient in potassium and had too much zinc.

Nutro Products recall is for select varieties of NUTRO(R) NATURAL CHOICE(R) COMPLETE CARE(R) Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO(R) MAX(R) Cat Dry Foods with “Best If Used by Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. The cat food is being voluntarily recalled in the United States and ten additional countries. This recall is due to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium in our finished product resulting from a production error by a US-based premix supplier.

Two mineral premixes were affected. One premix contained excessive levels of zinc and under-supplemented potassium. The second premix under-supplemented potassium. Both zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats and are added as nutritional supplements to NUTRO(R) dry cat food.
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Hi Dr Carol,

Very well, thanks..As I type, Sampson is “flirting” with Maggie again! I still have to be careful re: Maggie’s food – she still seems to be able to eat only the chicken or else she gets a little “loose” – I tried her on a whole vitamin night and day but went back to 1/2 dose…she looks fantastic and I think is gaining a little weight…things seem so much better now, than they did a year or even six months ago!

Maggie is still off insulin and her heart murmur, at least at the moment, has not cramped her style. She is agile and alert (though she has always acted a little schizo). What I really notice with the PAAWS vitamins are all three cats’ coats…so much softer, really beautiful for three “senior citizens”!

I wish for the sake of convenience that I could feed Maggie a commercial food, but I think I have tried the best of them (all canned)…It seems, she is fine with your home made recipe and I am able to add a tiny bit of wet food now and again, but then I have to back off the wet as the smelly stools return (though not as before). A real puzzle to me…but she doesn’t look jaundiced or anything, otherwise I would suspect a liver problem…her ALT came down too, so that’s another positive.

As much as I’d love to put a label on whatever “condition” Maggie has, I am so pleased that she is holding her own, and is so much improved WITH ALL YOUR WONDERFUL HELP AND ADVICE, as opposed to how she suffered with her diarrhea and vomiting before I contacted you!

Thanks for all you have done and for your ongoing concern…and for PAAWS. I recommend them to all my pet-owning friends.

Sylvia W.
San Francisco, CA.

Hartz Mountain Corp. has recalled two lots of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats because of concerns about potential Salmonella contamination of bottles within the lots.

UFAC (USA) Inc. of Baconton, Georgia manufactured both lots for Hartz in 2007. Testing by Hartz and UFAC has not revealed the presence of Salmonella in any Hartz products, but recent sampling by the Food and Drug Administration did detect the bacteria.

The first lot of tainted pet vitamins that Hartz recalled was 3,600 bottles of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats, lot code SZ-16371. The second lot was 739 bottles, lot code SZ-22771. The bar code on bottles from both lots is 32700-97701.

Hartz has not received reports of pets or people becoming ill as a result of coming into contact with the product. Customers can contact Hartz at (800) 275-1414 with any questions and to obtain
reimbursement for cat vitamins that are tainted.

Bookmark www.carolonpets.com for the latest pet health news and longevity updates for your dog and cat. Veterinarian and author, Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM is available for personal pet health consultations and pet health questions for dogs and cats. Call Dr. Carol toll free at 1-866-372-2765.

HI DR CAROL,

I RECEIVED MY PAAWS CAT VITAMIN SHIPMENT, AND AM ABSOLUTELY AMAZED BY THE RESULTS SO FAR!

MY CATS DIARRHEA HAS SUBSIDED, AND HE IS SO MUCH BRIGHTER.

HE ALSO HAS A SISTER, CHLOE. CHLOE IS ALSO 12 YEARS OLD SO I WOULD LIKE TO ORDER THE 1 YEAR SUPPLY OF YOUR CAT VITAMINS WITH 6 MONTHS FREE.

CAN YOU ADVISE AS WHEN I HAVE TRIED TO ORDER IT STATES 1 YEAR AND 50% OFF.

THANK YOU,
SANDRA R.
SOUTH WALES, UNITED KINGDOM

I wanted to share this note I received from a client I have been working with over the phone for the last couple months, trying to help her resolve chronic diarrhea in her cat, Maggie.

After several months of costly veterinary visits, x-rays, ultrasound and blood tests, Maggies diarrhea had become an expensive night mere for her owner, who was at the end of the road and was contemplating euthanasia as a last resort. This shows how effective a simple diet change along with a comprehensive natural pet vitamin supplement can be for your pet’s health, even with a diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Hi Dr. Carol…

So far so good…Maggie (the “IBD” cat) is getting about 1/2 of each of your Paaws AM/PM vitamin capsule and it does not yet seem to be bothering her. My other two cats, as you know, are doing really well with Paaws.

I am happy to keep our cat Maggie on 1/2 dose for a little longer just to be super careful…I have a question for you regarding her diet.

Maggie is still getting home cooked chicken breast. The other two cats have grain free canned chicken formula and/or Chicken canned. They do great on these diets. When they were getting home-cooked, they practically never had bowel movements, even with pumpkin added. So I put them back on the high quality natural canned food and kept Margie’s diet home cooked using your recipe.

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Hi Dr. Carol,

I know I have told you many times, but your pet anti-aging-wellness products are absolutely the best. It’s not just one product, I mean ALL of your products. I honestly wouldn’t know what I do without you and your wonderful dog and cat products! Our pets depend on you.

My husband loves your digestive enzymes for cats.

It seems to settle (Joe the Himalayan) stomach, our vet has seen major improvements that she made a notation on his chart and herself because she wants to inform her other patients to try your enzymes.

As for the new paaws cat vitamin product, I can’t wait to get it! I will definitely let you know what they think. Thanks again for everything Dr. Carol.

Although pets have yet to be been reported ill, several people have become ill and the numbers are rising. To date, 485 people were sickened and six have died after eating the tainted peanut butter products.

As the FDA continues its investigation of tainted peanut butter and paste made products at the Blakely, Georgia facility of Peanut Corporation of American, seven lines of pet food products have been added to the recall list. These products are to be avoided as they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, which are highly contagious and transmissible between owners, tainted pet food, pet treats and pets.

In addition, recalls have been issued by several companies that received peanut butter or peanut paste from the Georgia facility. A searchable database of all pet food products involved in this recall can be found at the FDA link at the end of this article.

PetSmart says it has voluntarily removed the Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits because of the potential risks. PetSmart officials are in contact with all the company’s vendors to see if any other pet products they carry contain the affected peanut paste. The Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits affected by the voluntary recall were made after Aug. 21, 2008.

The FDA will continue to update the list of recalled products as quickly as new information becomes available. Pet owners should practice good hygiene and carefully wash their hands with hot water and soap before and after handling pet foods and treats. It is also wise to wash your pet’s food and water bowls daily.

Salmonella bacterial infections in pets usually cause lethargy, diarrhea with or without blood, fever and vomiting. Some pets may lost their appetite and experience a fever along with abdominal pain. If your pet shows any of these signs or has ingested any recalled product, contact your veterinarian. Pets can also be “healthy” carriers and show no signs themselves but transmit the disease to other pets and people.

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