my loss

[kathy 014]

Hello -
I feel the need to tell about my baby.  His name was Mister Mistoffolees, he was 17.5 yrs old & my last kitty companion.  I had to have him put down on March 26th - 2 weeks after purchasing a new bag of dry food.  Massive kidney failure - no prior symptoms.  His food is not on the recall list - it DOES contain wheat gluten.  Sometimes - I just don't know what to do.  I feel that I should have it tested - but nothing will bring him back.  I miss him so much.  Thanks - I just needed to tell his story.
Kathy    

[Mary K]

Kathy, Seventeen and a half years is a long time to know a cat. Sometimes our children don't even stay with us that long. He was your friend, child and love all in one. That is a very painful loss. Do whatever you need to do to cope with that right now. You can have his food tested later. I send you a big hug and I will bet Mr. Mistoffolees is now happily romping with MungoJerrie and Rumpelteazer.

[Davis]

I'm so sorry Kathy.  Many of us have been there.  We know what it's like to lose a long time companion.  I lost one that was even older than yours.  They become such an important part of our lives.  Nothing is the same without them.  We look for them everywhere, and sometimes for a moment, we even forget that they are gone when we think we see movement out of the corner of our eye.  Then we look and they are not there.  Our heart sinks.  I hope you will heal in time, but you will never forget about your cat.  I've never forgotten my sweet, departed cat. 

[Davis]

P.S.  When you are up to it. I do think you should get that food tested.  If there is something wrong with it, then you could help save others.

[kathy 014]

Thank you for the kind responses to my message.  I have been thinking about what "Davis" said - about getting the food tested & maybe saving other lives.  According to someone at Purina in St. Louis - the Purina dry dog & cat food "have had no issues".  That's not really the response I wanted to hear.  A resounding "we have tested & re-tested & all of our foods are safe" or "we never purchased wheat gluten from the suspect company" was more what I was looking for.  Does the fact that there are "no issues" mean the food is safe - or that it just hasn't shown up in the death count yet?  I gues I need to get it tested - but I'm not sure how to proceed.  Any suggestions?
Thanks
Kathy

[Davis]

Kathy, contact your local FDA, tell them what happened and that they need to test the food. Save your bag of food for them, in case they want test it.  Be firm.  This needs to be done.  There are too many untested foods out there.  You should be able to find the office closest to you on this link.
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html

[TAZ]

Kathy, my thoughts are with you.

There's now another venue for food testing....the article (link below) is new today....about the half-way point:
"In light of the new findings, toxicologists at UC Davis' California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System are stepping up their offer to test other, unrecalled foods to ensure all problems are found.

"There aren't that many labs that are doing this kind of testing right now. It's our obligation to follow up," said Bob Poppenga, a UC Davis professor of veterinary clinical toxicology.

The lab is encouraging veterinarians to contact it through its Web site, http://cahfs.ucdavis.edu/, to arrange testing of food eaten by pets hit with acute kidney failure."

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/153049.html
(registration is free)