This has the potential to be big.
Pet food companies the size of 9 Lives’ parent, J. M. Smucker (yes, the jelly people), don’t make mistakes with their food very often. Fortunately, they caught this one early, so cats are at little risk, as long as their owners get new food soon.
For starters, let’s point out that, if you’re not feeding your pet certain lots of 9Lives™, EverPet™, and Special Kitty™, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, and you can use the SEARCH window in the upper right hand corner to look for an article that actually applies to you.
The potential problem is that some of the Smucker foods may have been formulated with too little thiamine, A.K.A., vitamin B1. Prolonged eating of foods deficient of thiamine can result in problems in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as neurological signs (brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves).
Neurological signs would get anyone’s attention and would inspire any pet owner to call his veterinarian immediately: downward-bent neck, falling over, circling or seizures.
GI signs, on the other hand, may be milder and might indicate less cause for concern, at least initially: less appetite, drooling, vomiting and the resultant loss of weight.
Therefore, if your kitty exhibits any of these signs, see her veterinarian right away.
To find out whether the Smucker food you have is affected by the recall, click here to go to a site where all of those UPC codes and lot numbers are listed.
