...I would be concerned about high levels of glucosamine/chondrotin in a food as they can cause high blood pressure and/or impaired renal function in some individuals - have seen it happen with some of my own animals when we tried these products as supplements for joint pain over the years which I have to say they were very good at controlling.

Jo-
This is the first I've heard of any side effects whatsoever from these two supplements.....apart from your personal experience, it sounds like you have seen/read/found references to these side effects. Is there any chance you might still have them at hand and could post them? 'Twould be much appreciated! TIA.

[TAZ]

Actually, TAZ, Whether the video has been previously posted is not important...

Well, perhaps it isn't important to you but, actually, Bonkers, my own code of ethics is one that supports truth and accuracy....values which I hold dear and, which I have sometimes found to be lacking in some of the posts here. (Oh, if something were not "important" to me, I'd just ignore it! )

...What is, is that it can never be viewed enough times as a constant reminder to people of the horrors that this food has caused.

While you, and some others here (I'm sure they'll chime in soon enough!) appear driven by the need to wage never-ending war against the Pet Food Industry, even a cursory read of what most of those affected are saying is that they want all this to end. As a responsible kitty-parent, I see that video as a reminder of my own need to remain constantly vigilant.

Meantime, if you wish to nit-pick, so be it. You can certainly have the last word, if you'd like. Me...I'll keep my eyes on the ball!

[kaffe]

I don't know if this has been posted before...

Actually, kaffe, that's a copy of the Australian Broadcasting Corp's 7:30 Report (which, itself, is posted in the Australian Media's YouTube 'chanel').

[give these pet parents the funds that they need]

  A true Angel would give these pet parents the funds that they need to treat their afflicted cats.

Well, if that's intended to mean that "D" isn't an angel.......perhaps we should ask whether/not it is within "D"'s abilities/position to meet those expectations.

It seems that, given her position/responsibilities, she performed admirably.....as I said, there are others at Champion - the power and control people (and, I think the quote above very well applies to them) who could benefit from her example.

In a conflict, when you believe/know there may be friends on the other side, isn't it (at least, just a tad) counterintuitive to "target" them?

An incident has been recounted on the private forum where a kitty parent received a very discreet personal acknowledgement within a very official letter from a "powercrat".....the kitty parent replied, not with a blast, but with a thank-you letter.

People want and need justice and resolution....not war unending.

[YES, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...]

YES, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...an ANGEL at Champion Petfoods!


Two kitty parents have received apologetic emails from Champion.....

Thank you for your email and please accept my sincere apologies for this error. The actual date that the applications have to be in by is May 31st, 2009. I did read the attached letter from Mr. Horder and I agree with you it is quite cold and rude and it is not what I would call compassionate either. I am sorry for this as well.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if anything else like this comes up again and I will be happy to clarify things for you.

Take care,
D
Customer Service

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

I am very sorry to hear that your beloved cat Taya has become worse, I do hope that the treatments will work and that she will soon return to her old self.

I cannot imagine the stress and anxiety that you and everyone else there is feeling because of the bush fires. I am so sorry about your friend who lost her husband and her animals. I have been watching the news and it is just so devastating, I do hope that they soon get everything under control and no one else loses their lives.

Regarding having your application in by the end of February, do not worry, we be excepting applications until the end of May 2009. I am sorry if this has caused you any stress, but please take your time.

Kindest regards,
D
Customer Service

'Seems to me that certain others at Champion could learn a lot from "D"'s example....better yet, put "D" in charge!

Now, how a communication from a (presumed to be) professional claims adjustment agency could be so flawed with rudeness and such a wildly outlandish deadline date just leaves an observer incredulous. Is this a case of "cheap help" being hired? Or, is it more lack of due diligence......or 

So, then, the original application date stands and, while unacceptable, removes the immediate threat and anxiety the most recent blunder caused.

[worst natural disaster]

The beyond-believable has just occurred.

In the midst of Australia's worst natural disaster, Champion Pet Foods has undertaken to impose an early deadline for applications to its (Lack of) Compassion Fund.

An email from (a very ignorant) sub-contractor of Champion has been received by several of Australia's Orijen victims. One of the victims provided this copy on the group's support forum:

We have been advised that you notified the manufacturer that your cat may have or did suffer some ill effect which you say is a consequence of consumption of Orijen brand cat food.

This is to advise that should you wish to be considered for an ex gratia payment of compensation under the Orijen Compassion Fund you should complete the attached form and lodge it with us no later than 28 February 2009.

Should you have any questions in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. In the meantime, we can confirm that payments under the fund have already commenced.

Kind regards

This new deadline, despite the following statement in Champion's December 20 "Update":

All eligible families are encouraged to apply for medical cost reimbursement under the ORIJEN COMPASSION FUND, with submissions to accepted up until May 31, 2009.

One of the affected cats' owners has posted the following

Now I am really stressed.

(my cat) is not improved. Our wonderful and compassionate vet lost her husband, home and all her beloved animals in the bushfires on Saturday which is heartbreaking. ...Do I need to have (my cat) diagnosed within the next week?!

If I have to find another vet, it will take time. It will take time for that vet to learn about the orijen syndrome. If that vet wants to run any other tests before making a diagnosis, the results will take forever with the system overloaded with injured animals from the bushfires. Let alone the fact that so many local vets are working in the field, operating on injured animals.

How can it be that we're out of time already!

The devastation and suffering that Australians are experiencing is truly, beyond description. How, on earth, can this oh-so-proper Canadian company wreak such emotional havoc on an already devastated group of pet parents?? Beyond belief.....beyond words.

[sherrylynne]

sherrylynne-
The second link you posted is no longer working for me - it's again demanding that I log in.

Strange board...if I just simply go to the main page, I can read anything I want!

Perhaps you could post the name of the section where it appears and the name of the thread.

Thanks!

...This Wikipedia article...also references the problems that Champion Pet Foods have ecountered from their food being irradiated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation

Nice find, Bonkers!

...I would love to see reports on the US cats getting sick in the media....

The "doctor" has apparently acknowledged that his report was NOT accurate.....

I use Orijen, so I have all my radar going full tilt.......nothing, nil, NADA on the screen.

Popular cat discussion forums frequently have threads titled: "mysterious illness...Vet doesn't know/can't help".....yet, NONE to date for these symptoms.

Vigilant, yes. Panicked, NO.

[his report was unfounded]

This Dr. Jones has apparently been contacted by one of the Australian Veterinarians involved, and it has been determined that his report was unfounded. He is about to publish a retraction, apparently.

So says the Champion rep on CatWorld forums.

Here's a statement by Eagle Pack to their pet food customers in Australia that I find interesting,...

I had read that as well thx to a Google alert. At the time, the only message I read was: 'to those looking for a substitute/replacement for your Orijen, our stuff is all-natural and, and the quality is so good, it doesn't need irradiation'. I picked up an implied superiority of Eagle Pack foods over Orijen...

Are you instinctually picking up something else?

(BTW, I had slipped a note to you under the fence...)

[Perseus]

Hey Perseus - it's only just now that I noticed how you replied to my post (yours, #22).

OK - so each bill of lading only differed by date...could you post the dates for each (which will then also give the total # of shipments. (picky? well, think back to my PM...that might show the distributor to have been doing much more distributing)

...How can any manufacturer guarantee their product doesn't get contaminated if they don't package their own product before shipping and then place the best before date or manufacturing imprint on the package?

There may be some risk in that process ("someone else" doing the final packaging), but it's a matter of risk assessment, risk management (including monitoring, sampling etc.) and contractural obligations between the parties involved. The "necessarily "made in-house" concept is history for many of the products we have today.

[Perseus]

Perseus- amazing job of pulling this up!!!! KUDOS to you!

Now, a few things...
1. I think you may have inadvertently inserted a decimal point in the number of items shipped (the QTY column)...How I interpret that info is: "Quantity 2124 pieces", i.e. packages or individual items.

Next, note that the weight of the shipment (20695) is in kilos, not pounds.

Then, doing the math division of 20695/2124, that gives an average item weight of 9.74 kilos (kg).

However, Orijen is available in 3 sizes, 400g (this size comes in boxes of 30, for a total weight of 12kg per box/"item", 2.5kg and 7kg.

Because we don't know the composition of the shipment, i.e how many items of each size item it contained, we really can't say whether/not this was a bulk unpackaged shipment - or, a shipment of Canadian pre-packaged goods.

HOWEVER - this bill of lading is an important piece of the puzzle...

This document is dated 2008-06-11. I don't know if this means June or November month.

One of the cat victims parents tells me that he first purchased Orijen in January 2008.

Could you search for any other such documents? Knowing how much was shipped and when and when the shipping started, etc....all that might be useful at some point as we try to compose the entire scope of these events.

As you stated, the food was shipped from BC to Seattle, Washington. Why? Why not straight to its destination, nearSydney? I suppose it might simply have been re-loaded in Seattle...but, I'm wondering if it might have been irradiated there....

Perseus - one more thing...actually, I think it might be better if I PM you (never know who's watching!)

[Perseus]

I found some interesting information in the US Customs Export database for Champion Pet Foods in Alberta, Canada. 

Hi Perseus!

Could you post the link (URL) to that particular entry on the database?

TIA!!!