Cat owner sues over tainted pet food
A Fairchance woman has filed suit against a Canadian pet food company, alleging that her cat, Faith, suffered from kidney failure after eating one of the wet food products from Menu Foods Limited. Lori L. Wilson, through her attorney, James T. Davis, indicated that Faith, her 8-month-old cat, was eating Special Kitty cat food for several months, and got ill in mid-March.
Special Kitty was among several brands of cat food recalled by Menu Foods on March 16 after they were found to be contaminated with melamine-laced wheat gluten.
The cat underwent vitamin and antibiotic treatment, but her health has not “dramatically” improved in the last 1 1/2 months. Davis alleged that Menu Foods acted maliciously in distributing the tainted cat food, which was bought at a county Wal-Mart.
“She’s very upset about the situation because she’s very close to her pets,” Davis said Friday.
He said Wilson is currently the only plaintiff in the suit, but noted that there is a possibility that it could become a class action suit if additional plaintiffs come forward. A class-action suit involves a larger number of people who join together with similar legal claims.
According to Menu Foods Web site, the recall was limited to the “cuts and gravy” style pet food in cans and foil pouches produced between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6 at two of its facilities. The recalled products were produced under various brand names.
The recall affected 42 brands of cat food and 53 brands of dog food. The site, www.menufoods.com/recall, lists all the various recalled brands.
Symptoms of kidney failure include a loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness, disorientation and changes in water consumption and urination.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that the illness was associated with food manufactured with wheat gluten that was contaminated with melamine. Melamine is a nitrogen-based compound used in the manufacturing of countertops, glues and fertilizers.
The FDA identified the distributor of the contaminated wheat gluten as ChemNutra of Las Vegas, Nev. The product was shipped from China.
The FDA site noted that, as of April 3, it had received 12,000 reports about the tainted food from consumers and veterinarians.
The Menu Foods recall site indicated that if one of the company’s products caused illness or pet death, that it would “take responsibility.” A posting on the site instructs pet owners to keep veterinary records, pet food receipts and vet bills.