Cat deaths linked to Orijen

[GreyGhost]

This is still very disturbing to me. I can't believe this company has turned out so bad and heartless, well yes I can. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. Keep us posted on what they say to you when you call and try to get answers about the check.

I have been boycotting this company since the bone in food issue months ago. I will not support a company that lies and cheats over and over again.

[maxymia]

Hi all,

Just received an email from Dr. Joanna Milan (ANVC) part of which reads as follows

( there are at least another 4 cats affected in the last few weeks, that started eating Orijen that was given to them by someone whose cats didn't eat it when the owners bought it BEFORE November 2008!).

It is really breaking my heart that there is still so much suffering going on. I have emailed Champion twice now (with no response of course) in regard to the fact that they have removed all recall notices and updates from their website a month ago which is well before they responsibly should have. I honestly can't believe how this company operates. I will notify them of the new cases still coming through though I don't think I should hold my breath for a response. Obviously from the handling of this whole situation they are proving that they do not care for the welfare of anyone's pets, cats or dogs.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CROSS POST THIS WHERE EVER YOU CAN THINK OF. PEOPLE NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHAT KIND OF COMPANY THEY ARE DEALING WITH

[maxymia]

GreyGhost I called MSM loss management this morning and was told that because some of the items/supplements were not purchased at my vets but at pet supplies, Champion are looking at these items as non-veterinary related items. Really interesting seeing as i also sent them all my cat's medical records from my vet which states that my vet suggested to purchase these items as part of their treatment. So it seems again that Champion Petfoods is guilty of not reading all documents BEFORE making decisions. How hard is it when things are written right in front of you. Honestly I am so angry with this company, there are still new cases coming to light as well as the tragic passings of the brave little kitties that have held on for so long yet Champion have removed all updates/recall notices from their website over a month ago and still will not change the closing date of their Compassionless Underfund which was also a month ago.

[GreyGhost]

What did they say when you said the vet recommended them and you had to purchase from a pet store? My guess is there is nothing can do about it. They truly are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to pet foods.

My suggestion to all even though it may be too late is to have your Vet write an Rx for everything. Even supplements. There are many things I purchase outside the vet office. I also purchase most of my Rx's from somewhere else. Usually Walgreens or other Pharmacy. make copies of all the Rx papers of course.

I wonder if anything can be done about their closing date. maybe go to the local news or advocate of some kind. Some of our news channels have people that work on just that. Get this on the news and maybe they will change their tune.

[Bonkers]

  Well this is ridiculous. Champion knew that the best course of treatment for the kitties that were poisoned was to go the holistic route versus traditional medicine.
They are just so anxious to put this all behind them. 

Do you Twitter? If not, I would suggest you give it a try. News can travel much faster thru the web via Tweets.

[raggiesrule]

Rosella we were so very very sorry to hear of Gus's passing.

So easy for Champion to walk away from the desolation they have caused. Two cats that were recovering have collapsed and despite the best efforts of their vets have died after the cut off date of their fund. Will they be looking favourably at these costs? and what about all the other onging costs owners are facing - we still have 4 sick cats thanks to Champions negligence and lack of adequate labelling. Given what has happened to Hali and Gus we have no intention of trying to wean the other cats off their alternate medicines anytime soon. We may find they need to be on them for the rest of their lives.

Their indecent haste in removing all mention of the recall is seriously sickening. And it beggars belief that they can not be bothered reading applications to their compensation fund fully. They said they would assess each case independently on its merits - how can they be doing that if they don't even bother reading what is sent to them.

And what about the monies they promised they'd donate and the testing results they said they would release - that was Dec 2008 and its now July 2009!

Jo

[raggiesrule]

And almost forgot what about their products containing BHA & BHT despite their claims that their food is free of synthetic antioxidants? This was not just an Australian issue - these antioxidants were in the food they were marketing in north America too. What has happened with that - was there a recall on the affected product? were there labels put on bags so people knew the product contained BHA & BHT despite the companies claims to the contrary. Are their products now free of BHA & BHT and if so from what date? which best before dates are actually safe to buy if you do not want to feed BHA & BHT?

Seems to me that Champion have gone very quiet on more than the death and illness they caused in Australia.

Jo

[raggiesrule]

Interesting - I have just been and had a look at the updated Champion site and they have changed their wording on the use of BHA & BHT:

Champion’s ingredients and foods are never preserved with BHA/BHT or any other chemical preservative.

Champion never adds BHA or BHT (or any other chemical preservative) to our pet foods or ingredients, and all ingredients and foods are preserved with our proprietary blend of vitamin E with botanical extracts.

As BHA and BHT are typically present in pet food ingredient supply chains (for example, BHA and BHT are often present in the feed fed to chickens, turkey or duck) we work with our suppliers to ensure our ingredients enable Champion’s final product standards.

Champion’s BHA, BHT standard is set at true trace level not to exceed 5 ppm (parts per million) of BHA/BHT, which is 0.0005%, or one half of one thousandth of 1% – the lower limit of what most certified laboratories are able to detect or measure.

   

Jo
   
Jo

[Bonkers]

  These guys are pretty slick.  Now not only it is not their fault that there are  toxic preservatives in the food, they make sure it is only a teeny tiny amount. 

   They are also taking the same stance on ethoxyquin in their food. 

"Champion’s ingredients and foods are never preserved with Ethoxyquin or any other chemical preservative.

Ethoxyquin is typically used as a preservative in fish ingredients, and is commonly found in fish ingredients produced within the United States. Champion uses two kinds of fish ingredients in – fresh fish, and fish meals.

FRESH FISH. Our fresh fish is caught wild within our region and arrives FRESH – which is defined as ‘never frozen and with no preservatives’. Our fresh fish never contain Ethoxyquin.

FISH MEALS. Ethoxyquin preservatives are common throughout the fish meal supply chain, so Champion works directly with our fish meal suppliers (no brokers or middlemen) and we pay them a premium to have our fish meals preserved with our proprietary blend of Vitamin E and botanical extracts. Our fish meals are never preserved with Ethoxyquin.

Champion’s Ethoxyquin standard is set at true trace level, not to exceed 5 ppm (parts per million) of Ethoxyquin, which is 0.0005%, or one half of one thousandth of 1% – the lower limit of what most certified laboratories are able to detect or measure."    

  http://www.championpetfoods.com/faq/#ingredients-preservatives.4
   

[Bonkers]

  Also found this to be very interesting.  

  Q | GLUCOSAMINE/CHONDROITIN - ORIJEN is very high in glucosamine and chondroitin. What’s the source?  


  A | An answer to this questions will be placed here shortly.  

   http://www.championpetfoods.com/faq/#ingredients-preservatives.4

    

[raggiesrule]

It would be nice if they mentioned they were batch testing then you might have proof of what they told you if they were willing to release that information. When we brought Orijen they were claiming no Ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT and when we found both BHA & BHT according to the company it was still not a problem as the levels were below maximum allowed limits. Big difference between zero & maximum allowed as far as I'm concerned and since they have still not released any of their test results we are just expected to believe what they say about the levels actually found. Now I am assuming we are being expected to believe their trace level comments.

Missed the bit about the high glucosamine/chrondrotin. 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

[TAZ]

...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.

[raggiesrule]

Hi Taz, I immediately contacted the company whose supplement I was using when these things happened to us the first time and they advised me that they had not heard of any confirmed side effects and wanted me to put my dog back on the supplement to "confirm it happened again" my response was not polite as I had no intention of killing my dog to prove her renal issues were caused by the supplement. I was glad we had done a full blood panel prior to the commencement of the supplement and then tested her again after a couple of weeks (increased renal enzymes found) once we removed the supplement we continued regular blood testing and her renal function returned to normal approx. 3 mths down the track. We lost her a few years later to old age and she still had normal renal function.

I am currently stuck on the laptop due to problems with the desktop so can not access my information but:

This article is interesting and supports what happened to us
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/7/2031

And if you look there are other side effects though they are uncommon eg:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:2xJUbuO3_FkJ:ezinearticles.com/%3FSide-Effects-Of-Glucosamine-Chondroitin%26id%3D405454+glucsosamine+%2B+chrondrotin+%2B+side+effects&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/glucosamine.html

The issues with insulin and bleeding may raise concerns for owners of breeders prone to these problems

Don't get me wrong I think this can be a wonderful product when used as a supplement to treat joint pain (have seen some animals and people experience amazing relief) however I feel it should be adequately monitored. Given my experiences I have grave concerns about high levels of it being found in a food, that may form the major component of an animals diet, where consumption may vary and it is consumed by animals indiscriminately and with no awareness of possible risks by owners. There are also

Jo

[maxymia]

Hi all, below is a post from one affected cat owner.

Hi - hope everyone is doing well?

Diesel is now having up to 3 seizures a day and has started throwing up; not great signs. On top of this I have been informed Champion are only paying the $2k and nothing above (my submitted claim was for just over $4k and I have since spent over $1k on vet bills). I am now at a loss - I cannot afford to keep up with the vet bills so is my only solution to put Diesel down? I simply cannot believe them. How they sleep at night is beyond me.

There are quite a few owners in similar situations, this is truly heartbreaking. I have been following Diesel's progress for the last 6 months. Diesel spent approx 3 months being paralysed from the neck down, she slowly started getting movement back in her front legs and then about a month later her back legs started moving. Since then she has spent the last 2 months or so coming in and out of paralysis and has also been suffering from daily seizures since she started getting her movement back. She is also incontinent and is now suffering from a pretty bad UTI due to her incontinence. I am sure you could imagine how much love, devotion and time is needed to look after Diesel. Her owner has been inspirational in the way she looks after her precious Diesel hoping that she will be one of the lucky ones.

Diesel's mum is now struggling financially to give Diesel the treatment she needs and has alerted Champion to this many times but Champion has ignored her pleas for help and will not budge from their $2K limit. Champion stated many months ago that they would look at every claim over the $2k limit on a case by case basis and that they would review the Compassion Fund in June 2009 for such cases. Again this is one of the many lies that Champion have come up with in order to keep us quiet for a while probably in hope that we in Australia would all disappear.

AQIS's job was to keep Australia safe, Champions job was to keep their food safe. Advice to seek independent information on whether irradiation was safe for the end use of the product was ignored and then when Champion claim to have found out about the irradiation, they themselves were still happy to sell Orijen in Australia even though it is common knowledge that irradiation depletes food of essential vitamins and minerals. Champion advertised Orijen as 'Biologically appropriate', a holistic food, a food that puts “nature” back into “natural” and nourishes all dogs and cats as Nature Intended  BUT what they sold us was a product that had been treated with irradiation, the last time I checked nature did not intend our food to be irradiated. This is Champions fault.

I would hate any other dog / cat and owner to go through what we have in Australia. I really hope there are no future problems with Champions food but I can assure you, from our experience, that if anything were to go wrong with Champion's food in the future that they will not do the right thing by you or your pets. Champion Petfoods have had 3 recalls since 2003. Please consider this as it is only when you are struggling to help your pets from Champions wrong doing that you will realise that they really do not care about you or your pets at all, if they did Diesel's mum would not be in the situation she is in now.

[raggiesrule]

My heart bleeds for Diesel's mum what a horrible situation to be in and I certainly understand it after a yr+ of ongoing vet bills caused by the horror that is Orijen and it is clear these bills will be ongoing for an indefinite period if we are to keep out cats moving forward.

If you think Champion's behaviour to date is not acceptable can I please ask you to write to Champion and tell them this is not acceptable behaviour. They have clearly run as quickly as they can from the disaster they caused in Australia. The only way we will get them to review each case on an individual basis as they said they would is to get consumers in the market they care about ie Nth America to demand they do what they said they would and if you are going to write them can I please also ask you to demand they release the results of the testing they have done on the contaminated food. They said they would release these results in December and we are still waiting. What was in the food that was so bad they do not want us to see those results? They said the chemicals found were not neurotoxins but they have yet to tell us what they were. How can we give our recovering cats the care they need if our vets do not have all the information they need to make informed decisions.

If you do not know what happened to our cats here are some videos of a friends affected Birmans one of these beautiful cats is Gus who is now dead from the affects of Orijen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2tLHUn1RSA&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEaXvEbLTVg&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-78h1pa-ug&feature=channel


We all appreciate everything you have done to date - the support you have given us has been amazing and I hate to ask for more but I am afraid I have to if Orijen is to be made to step up to the line and deliver on their promises.

Jo (With 2 dead cats and 4 cats still affected and needing ongoing care)