Cat deaths linked to Orijen

[Therese]

More than a dozen cats in Australia have become ill, but veterinarians aren’t sure what the cause may be. The only thing in common with the cats is that they all ate Orijen pet food. The pet food company, Champion Petfoods, isn’t sure what the cause of the problem is but they’re looking into it.

    UNEXPLAINED chronic illness and death among Sydney cats has been linked to a gourmet imported pet food withdrawn from stores over the past three weeks.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

    […]

    The company is investigating whether irradiation upon entry into Australia was the source of the contamination.


Here's the rest.

[Bonkers]

  Oh My! This is so sad. And what is so strange is that it takes so long for any symptoms to appear. Lets hope that the problems are identified quickly and that it has nothing to do with the actual ingredients in the Orijen.

[Perseus]

It's interesting that this news is already hitting many blogs and forums for cats and dogs, as we can't just sit back and wait for the MSM to report it!  Don't think I'll see it reported on CNN tonight.  Thanks to all the bloggers and posters out there!

[robfdavis1971]

Here is some information on irridation http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/food.htm

Although, it doesn't sound like irridation would be the culprit. It is strange that it was after a period of time they begin having symptoms. Could there be something else like cat treats, wet food or something else that has been overlooked that was also used or the cats exposed to? Were they all from the same region, state or city? And it has only occurred in Australia.....and nowhere else. That is very odd.

[Bonkers]

  Interesting read Robert. I am hoping this is isolated to Australia, but how do we actually know whether there have been any problems with this food elsewhere??

[Perseus]

It may not be food irradiation, but rather the wooden pallets the food is shipped in on being irradiated prior to entry into Australia with methyl bromide (a deadly pesticide used to kill bugs and insects in the wood).  The wood pallets should be irradiated before shipping, but when certain countries don't comply the entire pallet is irradiated then.

It's supposedly illegal here in the States now to use methyl bromide fumigation, but I have personally witnessed pallets of food products in burlap bags on pallets soaked with it at the Port of Oakland, CA., coming in from China.

[robfdavis1971]

  Interesting read Robert. I am hoping this is isolated to Australia, but how do we actually know whether there have been any problems with this food elsewhere??

I think the question should be do we really know it is the food or something else? If the food ships from Canada....and it is the same food sent to the US and elswhere, then I think we might have heard of other cats getting sick. I think there is something else and I don't want to rush to judgement. I know the article said they found a strange odor...was this caused by some contaminate that was on the bags or in the bag of food? The only other issue I've ever heard about Orijen was the 6 fish with the larger bone fragments from the fish....this didn't cause any illness that we are aware of. I am also interested in how the vet discussed  “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.” So I'm wondering, why the phrase "not sold in supermarkets"? I'm not trying to read into anything, but of course I do at times..... or is this just a way of saying this food is not prevalent in the market? Also, all test they have done have not provided an answer....so I'm thinking something foreign....Perseus mentioned methyl bromide - used to kill bugs and insects on wooden pallets. The symptons described (and I'm not a vet) sound like something wrong with the neurology of the cats - wobbly, inabilty to walk propery, etc... All the other recalled food had issues with kidneys.....if something like a pesticide got on the bags of food, then I can see that causing neurological issues....and wouldnt it take sometime before cats might exhibit signs of exposure to chemicals?
My cats have been eating off and on the Orijen cat ( on rotation with another cat food )and they are doing fine and show none of these symptoms. I am wondering if it is something external to the product.

[5CatMom]

Therese,

Got the Pet Food List's email this afternoon.  Thanks so much for getting the word out.

[Perseus]

Methyl bromide is toxic primarily to the central nervous system. Many symptoms of exposure resemble those of alcohol or drug intoxication.  

The article about Orijens states the first symptoms included wobbliness or weakness in the animal's hind legs, which could then progress to the front limbs.  It also states the company is investigating whether irradiation upon entry into Australia was the source of the contamination.  So it sounds like they make be making the connection already.

[robfdavis1971]

I'm thinking your thought of the chemicals on wooden pallets might be the better answer to the issue and may have nothing to do with irridation but treatments for pests on the pallets to ensure no pets enter the country.

[TAZ]

Hi and peace to everyone here!

I've emphasized peace because all the panic, anxiety, speculation that I'm hearing brings me right back to where I was in March 2007. Unless you're in Australia, I don't believe you need to be in that mindset today.

I've done my research. I have my eyes on the horizon and my ear to the ground...but, I'm not panicked and I will continue feeding my brood of cats the Orijen they have had since last May.

Orijen is made in Canada and almost all is sold in North America and Europe. Since I started using it, there have been no reports of illness associated with Orijen on the most popular English language forum boards frequented by people in those areas. The Itchmo fourms has a following of some of the most food-concerns-obsessed pet parents, and has had ongoing threads monitoring Orijen (as well as most other NA brands) since the NA recalls began. There have been no illness patterns reported there.

Nothing. Nowhere. NADA.

Meantime...down under...there had been postings on Cat World forums with rumblings and rumours, first about an unnamed cat food linked to a mysterious new paralytic illness which (rumours) began showing up in late October 2008 - and indicated that these mysterious cases had been appearing "over the last couple of months or so". Next was an announcement that a Vet clinic was conducting a survey about said cases. And then, an Orijen recall-specific discussion thread appeared in which people were discussing the rumours openly. (While the thread title includes the word "recall", no recall had been announced.)  Some of the posters indicated that they were parents of affected cats. The forums Administrator suggested that there was to be a public announcement forthcoming shortly and that the cause of the problem was thought to be "Gamma Irradiation". Some of the posters indicated that they had learned that this had been done by "boarder security' agency because the product was a new import item. Yesterday, the story appeared on Pets.ca forums, and coincidently, one of the parent/owners also posted a personal story there, decrying the lack of publicity of all this. Next was the story in the Sydney Morning Herald (above). Simultaneously, the same story appeared in the Brisbane Times.

There is no indication anywhere that the food itself is at fault....everything points to an Australian local causation...and the irradiation process to which all imported food is subjected is the prime suspect.

The only positive notes in all this are that
1. All cases are found only in Australia.
2. Orijen is a relatively new import to the country and has only 1-2 retailers, thereby limiting proliferation.
3. Orijen is considered a "higher-end" product in Au, thereby limiting the number of cat users.
4. In the absence of any official public announcement, the breaking of the story today may result in saving the lives of many animals.

The following links will  probably make it eaier for anyone to begin a search for information

Cat World current thread - a search there will produce at least 7 threads referencing Orijen
Cats of Australia - one brief thread at this time which has Champion Foods recall announcement
Pets.ca thread

(edited to modify link sources)

[Bonkers]

  Hi Taz!  I do agree that people should not panic over this news of what is happening to cats in Australia that have eaten the imported Orijen. But I must say that I too would be somewhat concerned if this was a food I was feeding my cats, at least untill a definite cause of the contamination was found. This case also makes me wonder about human foods along with other pet foods that are imported into other countries along with those imported here. As Perseus has stated, she herself has witness the spraying of incoming pallats from China. If it is the irradiation that is the cause of the problems,  it would be a shame to see a decent pet food companys reputation ruined because of it.

[robfdavis1971]

Irridation should not cause this though.....it has been used safely for years, even here in the United States. I can see pallets being sprayed with chemicals to kill pests but irridation uses radiation and there is no left over residue from that process - at least from what I've been reading. This is so strange!

[Perseus]

Here's the latest news I can find on any updates on Orijen, from TruthAboutPetFood.com:
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/168/1/Update-on-Orijen-Pet-Food/Page1.html

An article quoted there states:
It is well known that irradiation can increase the production of some extremely toxic aflotoxins by certain fungi.

I'm not panicked, but I do want to be vigilant.  The pet food recalls last year started with a couple, then a couple dozen, then a hundred.

The melamine found in baby formula started with products just in China, then more and more countries, then foods traced to the US.

Better safe than sorry (again).  RIP Persephone.

[coontuffy]

Thought you all might like to see this from the Champion website

http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/Australia_Consumer_Release.pdf