Orijen - Champion Petfoods

[Tas]

Anyone feeding their feline children this?

Cat deaths linked to pet food
Kelly Burke Consumer Affairs Reporter
November 24, 2008

The two Oddy family cats that were paralysed and subsequently euthanised.

UNEXPLAINED chronic illness and death among Sydney cats has been linked to a gourmet imported pet food withdrawn from stores over the past three weeks.

A cat neurologist, Georgina Child, has put down five cats over the past week and treated or consulted with other vets about more than a dozen others suffering from paralysis.

Dr Child, who is based at the University of Sydney's veterinary hospital and the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in North Ryde, said the only factor that linked all the cats was a specialist pet food called Orijen, which is imported through a Canadian company, Champion Petfoods.

"There is a highly suspicious link because this is an uncommon expensive food in this country at the moment, and not sold in supermarkets," Dr Child said. "But all tests that have been done so far haven't given us an answer."

First symptoms included wobbliness or weakness in the animal's hind legs, which could then progress to the front limbs. The condition did not appear to be infectious, Dr Child said, nor typical of a nutritional deficiency.

"Most worrying is that the cats showed no signs [of illness] while on the food," she said. "It seems to be happening weeks or even months later."

The marketing manager of Champion Petfoods, Peter Muhlenfeld, confirmed yesterday the cat deaths had been traced back to Orijen's dry cat food, and the problem appeared to be restricted to Australia.

He said samples sent back by the Australian distributor had a "strange odour". The company is investigating whether irradiation upon entry into Australia was the source of the contamination.

The Oddy family of Dundas has lost two cats in the past week. "They were the children's pets; it's awful," Sarah Oddy said.

[Kooky]

Awful story.

Ours eat Science Diet, same as they did in Sg. Supplemented by lizards, of course.

[Burbage]

Lizards, mice, insects, plants. I wonder why I bother feeding them.

Mine get chicken and beef friskies. They won't eat any other dry food.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Burbage, I can't tell you how sick I am of snooty pet shop assistants commenting when I buy Friskies, as if I'm giving my cats rat poison. One of my cats had an intolerance to any seafood products - fish caused crystals to form in his bladder that were painful for him to pass. Friskies chicken and beef was the only food I could find that didn't list a single fish by-product on the ingredients label, and the only thing that prevented this problem. Now all the cats are used to it. But the last time I purchased food, the sales assistant made a couple of comments that were borderline insulting about my food choice.

[Burbage]

I think it's fish with Soda as well. She won't touch any form of canned, dried or sacheted fish.

Doesn't stop her going nuts over fresh fish though.

Anyway, you can tell your know-it-all shop assistants that my two thrive on the Friskies diet, even when unsupplemented by the local wildlife.

[Kooky]

Mine eat crappy wet food for breakfast - it's a habit we've never been able to get them out of, and it's more of a routine than nutrition. In Singapore they'd have Whiskas (one foil pack between 3 because I don't want them filling up on it) but here, most of it is not fish and they'll only eat fish. We've been experimenting with other brands for most of the 7 months we've been here, some of which have gone untouched and some of which have made a swift reappearance.

People say they'll eat if they're hungry. Well they won't.

edit: And their new vet can't believe they have access to dry food 24/7 and are not obese. (Bo is 3.4kg.)

[baloo]

Ours have lost weight. Gonzo at 4.5kg and Kenzo at 7.5kg. Being chased by a toddler will do that to cats.

[Kooky]

Wow, Gonzo's light for his size/frame, baloo. What was his top weight? Even Han is about 6.5kg I think. Dread to think what Fatty Fu is now.

[baloo]

Gonzo tipped the scales at just under 7kg at his heaviest, or maybe just above. Unlike Kenzo's 9kg mark.

[cromasaig]

Burbage, I can't tell you how sick I am of snooty pet shop assistants commenting when I buy Friskies, as if I'm giving my cats rat poison. One of my cats had an intolerance to any seafood products - fish caused crystals to form in his bladder that were painful for him to pass. Friskies chicken and beef was the only food I could find that didn't list a single fish by-product on the ingredients label, and the only thing that prevented this problem. Now all the cats are used to it. But the last time I purchased food, the sales assistant made a couple of comments that were borderline insulting about my food choice.

Next time, just look blank and say that you don't have a cat. That should shut them up.

[Aliya]

Excellent, I must try the Fwegels on Orijen.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Crom, Aliya, you both are very twisted. And that is why you are my friends.

[Aliya]

. Just found out I can get the stuff in Singapore lol.

Joking. Sadly