Cat Food Recall: Wellness Cat Canned Food

PRESS RELEASE:

WELLPET LLC VOLUNTARILY RECALLS CERTAIN LOTS OF CANNED CAT FOOD

No Other Lots, Products or Dates Affected

Tewksbury, MA (February 28, 2011) - WellPet LLC announced today it has voluntarily recalled certain lots of Wellness® canned cat food.

While recent laboratory testing found that most lots of Wellness canned cat food that were tested contain sufficient amounts of thiamine (also known as Vitamin B1), some of the lots listed below might contain less than adequate levels of thiamine. However, out of an abundance of caution, WellPet has decided to recall all of the lots listed below.

Cats fed only the affected lots for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is essential for cats. Symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. If your cat has consumed the recalled lots and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. If treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible.

The lots involved in this voluntary recall are:

Wellness Canned Cat (all flavors and sizes) with best by dates from 14APR 13 through 30SEP13;

Wellness Canned Cat Chicken & Herring (all sizes) with 10NOV13 or 17NOV13 best buy dates.

Consumers who still have cans of cat food from these lots should stop feeding them to their cats and call us at (877) 227-9587 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 7:00 pm Eastern Time. Consumers with further questions should visit our website at www.wellnesspetfood.com or call us at this same number.

WellPet discovered the lower thiamine levels during independent testing conducted together with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to a single, isolated consumer complaint received by the FDA. Although WellPet has received no other reports concerning thiamine in its products, WellPet has taken additional steps with the manufacturer to ensure that this does not happen again.

“As a pet parent myself, I’m concerned for the health and welfare of all pets, and as a company we are committed to delivering the most nutritious natural pet food,” said Tim Callahan, chief executive officer of WellPet, the maker of Wellness products. “Even though the chance of a cat developing a thiamine deficiency is extremely remote, we are voluntarily recalling all of these lots of our canned cat food as an extra precaution.”

Feel free to comment and to discuss alternative grain free natural cat food.

Cat Scratching at French Doors

Keep your Cat Safe During Winter

Winter Safety Tips for Cats

Use Pet Safe Ice Melt: Regular snow melting supplies are toxic even in small amounts. Rock salt brought in by your shoes can irritate paws and if ingested your pet can experience vomiting, but symptoms can range through diarrhea, salivation, depression, anorexia, tremors, disorientation, excessive thirst, seizures to death. Here are some examples of pet safe products you can purchase Safe Paw Ice Melter, Petco Ice Melt for Pets, and Walk Safe for Pets.

Leave shoes by the door: Even if you are the most vigilant person on caring for your pet, your shoes can track in all the rock salt and road chemicals from the street and sidewalks of those that are not so pet-friendly. It's best to leave them by the door or in a shoe cabinet. It guarantees that your furball will not destroy your Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos. Also, it's actually good feng shui to leave your shoes by the door.

Keep cats indoors: My general opinion is keep your cats indoors year round. I'm not a fan of having indoor/outdoor cats because cats can pick up terrible diseases and virus such as feline leukemia. Keep cats warm by providing them a soft bed, blanket, or your lap but be very still. Cats hate it when you move around while they are trying to take a nap especially when they are having lucid dreams about taking over your house and how to manipulate you for more treats. Also don't buy or use any electrical heating blankets or beds for your pet. You don't want Ms. Fluffy biting on the wires and electrocuting herself or starting a fire. Although, Olive has been known to gaze too closely into candles and sizzling her whiskers. Now we hold a no candle policy in our house.

Check under cars before driving off: Stray cats and kittens can find their way under your freshly parked warm car and they might still be there when you're ready to drive off again. Stay warm during the rest of winter and please take down your "Let it Snow" holiday decorations. Your neighbors will thank you for it.

The Birdie and the Flying Saucer Cat Toy Giveaway

I decided to make a basket full of homemade cat toys for the local cat shelter and rescue. The flying saucers are made of felt and organic cat nip. The birdies are made of felt/and or cotton with organic catnip. I made an extra one for Gin, Cur and Oli and they approved of it. Gin likes to rake at the birds with her hind legs, Oli likes to nibble and bat around at the toys and Cur likes to chase at them incessantly.

I've decided to set aside 1 toy as a giveaway this holiday season before the presents are given to the shelter. Here are the details:

-Tweet 1 photo of your cat or kitten in their strangest sleep positions to "Gincurolicat" using the hashtag #gincurolicatGIFT
-1 lucky winner will be selected from the entered photographs
-Must live in the US (until I can afford international postage)
-Deadline is December 31st 2010
-Also if you feel generous, donate or help out at your local shelter.

Goodluck but most importantly have fun capturing cute moments with your cat on camera!
In the meantime you can watch GinCurOliCat on youtube.

Meet the Breeds 2010 NYC

Photos are finally here! Meet the Breeds 2010 in New York City had a huge turnout. It was the perfect place for current and future pet owners to meet and greet most dog and cat breeds all under 1 roof. Knowledgeable veterinarians and experts were there to answer any questions. It was a great opportunity for people learn about the details of specific breeds. Personally it was like being a kid in a candy store. Woofs and Meows of all shapes and sizes made their appearances. Several training schools demonstrated their talents as well as the NYPD K9 unit and TSA K9. Despite the heavy crowds it was well worth the attendance for the samples, swag, and cuddles from the animals. If you're looking to add a furry friend into your family, consider adopting from a shelter or rescue. Many purebred dog and cats have ended up needing new homes. It just takes patience and research. Start here.

How to Trim Cat Knives (I mean claws...)

I'm sure many of you have suffered from PTSD by attempting to trim your cat's claws. The idea of being sliced with tiny knives and left with paper cut pains throughout your arms may frighten you while you sleep. And for those who have given up completely and declawed your cat (without a valid medical need), shame on you since you've successfully amputated your cat. That's right, declawing a cat is not merely the removal of the claws, as the term "declawing" implies, but is a series of amputations. The last bone of each of the ten front toes of a cat's paw is removed, and tendons, nerves, and muscles that enable normal function and movement of the paw are severed. An analogy in human terms would be cutting off each finger at the last joint. Declawed cats are deprived of the means to defend themselves or flee from danger. Declawed cats have been injured or killed by other animals when they could not climb out of harm's way or had impaired ability to protect themselves. I want to offer a long term solution to the bond between you and your cat while trimming their nails. Here is my personal method of trimming cats nails. If you are lucky and have the time, start trimming cat claws when they are are kittens.

Things you'll need
Cat nail trimmer (I prefer a regular human nail trimmer or the side to side cat trimmer)
Styptic Pencil or powder
A comforting lap
Patience
Calmness
Your cat's favorite treats

1. First it's very important to establish a calm state of mind and a trusting bond between you and your cat. Have some tasty treats on hand and wait for the cat to approach you. Treat the cat each time you raise your hand to pet and gently caress it. When your cat is comfortable with being handled, start petting its paws and rewarding it for remaining calm. Bring the cat to your lap and continue treating the cat while you hold and gently press on the cats paws. Do this for at least the next 3 days, 3x per day for about 10 minutes.

2. When your cat is comfortable with being in your lap and handing its paws in various angles, then its time to move on to introducing the nail clipper itself. Place the clipper on the floor and allow the cat to investigate the object. When the cat approaches the clipper, treat it. Practice holding the clipper and treating the cat anytime it remains calm in the presence of the clipper. This should continue for at least 3 days along with step 1.

3. Once you have established that being handled is a good thing and that the new shinny clipper is not a threat, place the cat in your lap and hold the clipper in your hand while petting and treating the cat. Be sure to not expose the sharp edges to your cats skin. Then treat the cat each time you are able to bring the clipper and rub it gently on your cats paws while. Basically you are still rehearsing and treating the cats for remaining calm.

4. When you have reached the point where you are able to keep the cat in your lap, squeeze its paws gently, and touch the clipper to its paws, then you are ready to begin the actual clipping. While in your lap, gently squeeze the center of its paws to expose the sharp end of the nail. Locate the pink line (quick) which you can see through the cats nails. DO NOT CUT CLOSE TO THE PINK OR BEYOND. Always leave extra room between the pink of the nail and the actual nail itself. Keep some paper towels , styptic powder, & pet friendly disinfectant close by in case you make a mistake. It happens to the best of us. Just don't react by squealing or tensing up because that will cause your cat to panic and go into defense mode. Just calming wipe the blood away and dab the edge into a small amount of the powder.

Guidelines

Consider it a win if you are able to just clip one nail the first day! Treat the cat immediately after, give praise, and allow your cat to continue roaming around. It's important to not rush through any of this process. Your cat will need to be acclimated to the nail trimming process. At any time that your cat is showing obvious discomfort, stop, remain calm and encouraging. It can take as long as several weeks to clip the entire set of nails but that's what you have to do in order for the cat to tolerate it and still enjoy your companionship. Other resources may say that you need two people and the cat should be muzzled or restrained. If at a hospital when the cat is already stressed, that may be the case but at home it doesn't need to be that way. With patience, praise, and the ability to read your cats state of mind, clipping cat nails can be a stress free regular routine. Also to reduce the chance of your cat scratching or biting on your hands, NEVER USE YOUR HANDS AS A CAT TOY. It may be tempting to allow your cute kitten to chase and pounce on your hands but don't do it. Doing so will teach the cat to treat the hand as something that can be battered and mauled at in adulthood. I'll post a video demonstrating these tips in the near future. In between nail trimmings be sure to offer scratching outlets such as a cardboard scratcher or my favorite a sisal post. Place them in several areas in the house that your cat likes to be in. Encourage them to use it by adding a bit of organic catnip or by running a toy along the post.

Best wishes,
GinCurOliCat
http://www.youtube.com/user/GinCurOliCat
http://www.twitter.com/gincurolicat

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Cats Can Do Tricks Too

Ginger, Curry, and Olive's debut youtube video showing off some tricks they've been working on. Training methods include positive reinforcement & clicker training.