I need to rant a bit. A little over a week ago, my not-quite-eight-year-old cat Roscoe was diagnosed with primary kidney failure. The diagnosis followed several days of veterinary hospitalization and tests (costing a bundle, you may be sure). After ruling out Addison's disease, which is treatable, the vet concluded it was primary kidney failure, and said the only thing that would keep him alive (and for who knows how long) would be for me to administer subcutaneous fluids every day, and feed him special kidney formula food. We'll probably never know what caused it, the vet said.

Well, now we know what caused it. For the past year Roscoe has been eating -- and enjoying -- Iams "weight control" formula cat food – the kind that comes in a foil pouch. Very easy. But now it turns out that Iams "wet food" in pouches is one of MANY well-respected brands now being recalled because they were found to be tainted with something that causes kidney failure. Terrific.

The condition is irreversible, and treatable only by a procedure that is a royal pain (for both me and the cat) to administer, and involves very expensive equipment. I have to buy hanging pouches of NACL fluid, plus special tubing and needles -- it comes to about $50 or $60 per week. Not to mention the nearly $1000 I have already incurred in vet bills, and the fact that I'm supposed to take him back in for regular checkups. And of course, the treatment may stop working at any point, and then I'll have to have him put down. Sheesh!

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up -- emotionally, logistically, or financially. Of course I'll return my remaining supply of the Iams food back to the store and hope for a refund, but that's a drop in the bucket. I sure would like the manufacturer of this tainted ingredient to reimburse me for my veterinary costs. Of course there's nothing anyone can do to restore my cat's health.

Anyhow, be VERY careful what you feed your pet. There are several websites that list all of the recalled brands. If your dog or cat suddenly loses appetite (Roscoe stopped eating almost entirely, though eating had been his entire raison d'etre previously), starts vomiting, etc. etc., get it checked out immediately!

I'm not really asking for anything here at Mudcat, unless someone knows of a source of cheap veterinary supplies, or knows of any class action suits contemplated against the manufacturer. I just needed to rant.

Nancy :-(