Pictures from concerned dog owners claiming to have found what looks like wires embedded in their Pedigree dry dog food have gone viral over social media this week.
Now, dog owners around the country are taking a closer look at their dog’s food, and many are finding the same unidentified “hairs” in their own food.
In the wake of all those reports, we went looking to see if the same “wires” were showing up in cat food, too. As it turns out, they are.
Sheri Dawson posted a photo to Purina’s Facebook page which clearly shows a fiber poking out of a single piece of kibble, with the words, “This was in my bag of kitten chow!”
Emily Ritchart posted another photo, explaining, “So everyone had me worried so i went and searched through my bag of Purina kitten chow that we bought for our kitten. Low and behold about 30 seconds in i find this sticking out of a piece. This is not a soft piece at all…it is clearly a hard wire-like material. How could a little kitten digest this? Please tell me what this is and i will be replacing this food tomorrow morning. This is not okay at all…!”
A look at Pedigree’s Facebook page and Purina’s Facebook page reveals dozens of the same – photos of kibble with mysterious hairs, fibers, or wires sticking out, upset, concerned customers begging for answers, and stories of dogs or cats becoming sick after eating the same food they’d been consuming safely for years. A quick search of a few other brand’s pages showed complaints on Iam’s, Whole Earth Farms, Beneful, Dog Chow, and Purina One.
The one thing that is blaringly absent from these companies’ pages are responses to the dozens of customers begging for answers, aside from the occasional “copy-and-paste” response from Pedigree that reads:
“Our team has conducted testing on affected kibble and determined these are natural fibers from meat and bone meal, like pig hair, that occur with products made using those ingredients. PEDIGREE is completely safe for your dog to enjoy. If you have any other concerns, please call us at 1-800-525-5273 (8:00am-4:30pm CT), or send us a direct message with your phone number so we can call you directly during those hours. Thank you.”
There have NOT been any recalls.
As always, The Catington Post urges pet parents to thoughtfully consider their pet’s diet. Look for high quality foods that are made and sourced in the USA, from a company that is completely transparent and forthright with their ingredients and manufacturing processes.
Your cat is your family, feed them as such.
If you find a problem with your pet’s food, please stop feeding it at once and report your findings to the FDA through their online Safety Reporting Portal by clicking here and report to the USDA by clicking here.
