Rat poison found in tainted pet food

Tests turned up rat poison in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure in dogs and cats across the country and killing at least 16, state officials and scientists announced Friday.

The toxin was identified as aminopterin, which is used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said. Aminopterin is not registered for killing rodents in the United States, though it is used as a cancer drug.

The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. There have been several reports of kidney failure in pets that ate the recalled brands, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog.

Menu Foods last week recalled "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The recall sparked concern among pet owners across North America. It includes food sold under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers, as well as private labels such as Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. A list of the recalled pet food can be found at: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

I have two dogs myself and find this type of thing very disturbing. I view my puppies as members of my family and hope this stupid thing gets straightened out quickly so that I don't have to worry about the type of food my puppies are getting. Thankfully Pedigree and Mighty Dog brand dog foods in the can are NOT included in the recall. HOWEVER: the Mighty Dog Pouches have been added to the recall list. For more on the story go to Yahoo.com news.