Obtained through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, the FDA has released the reports of sick pets (adverse event reports) received by the agency through January 31, 2024.
Note: the FDA released reports provide this on each page…
“Disclaimer: This record contains information submitted to FDA through FDA’s established reporting systems.The existence of a report does not, itself, mean the product listed was defective or the cause of an adverse event.”
We only examined the reports for the month of January 2024. The data tells us:
971 complaints submitted to FDA during the month of January 2024. This total does not include multiple complaints of bug infested pet food, or others that did not appear to match the symptoms of the current pet food crisis.
886 reports were a Purina product.
85 were other brands.
Some of the reports included more than one pet. The total number of sick pets received by the FDA in (only) January 2024 was 1,312.
Other pet food brands complaints received:
Pet Pride – 1
Signature – 1
Freshpet – 1
Open Farm – 1
Ol Roy – 1
Fromm – 1
Natural Balance – 1
Kibbles n Bits – 1
9 Lives – 1
Total pet death reports received by FDA in (only) January 2024: 103 pets.
The pet food brands associated with these pet deaths:
Purina – 97
FreshPet – 1
Ol’ Roy – 1
Victor – 1
Kibbles n Bits – 1
Diamond 4 Health – 1
Instinct – 1
The pet symptoms provided in the FDA report ranged from minor to many very serious. Many pet owners reported their pets were bleeding from the rectum, vomiting blood, and many pet owners reported seizures.
One report provided this horrendous detail: “On the 23rd of January I came home from work and my home looked like a murder scene. There was vomit and very very bloody diarrhea from the front to the back of my home.” This pet owner submitted the report while her dog was hospitalized; we do not know if the pet survived.
Many other reports were also submitted to FDA while their pet was hospitalized.
Many reports stated that a change in food resulted in their pet’s recovery.
Many reports pleaded with the FDA to do something to prevent other pets from suffering like their pet had.
Many reports said that after seeing reports of sick pets online (many specifically stated the Facebook group Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time – the original) – they changed their pet’s food and the pet survived.
But…
Four months later, the FDA has not warned pet owners. The FDA has not provided how many consumer complaints the agency has received since January 31, 2024. The FDA has told pet owners NOTHING – even though we now know that they are well aware of how serious this issue is.
And…
On January 15, 2024 Purina Pet Food made the following public statement:
“Pet parents continue to be understandably scared by an online rumor that there is an issue with Purina pet foods. This rumor is false, and we are saddened to see the confusion and fear that it has caused for pet owners. There are no health or safety issues with our products, and they can continue to be fed with confidence.”
When Purina made this public statement, the FDA (and we assume Purina itself) had already received 631 reports from pet owners that month (January 1, 2024 through January 14, 2024) – involving 839 sick pets. 86 of those pets died.
Unfortunately…sickeningly…we continue to receive reports of sick and dead pets. More than 100 were received by the Facebook group just this week.
FDA’s silence has done nothing to stop this very serious issue.
Again, we have to ask…how much more serious does this have to get before FDA does something to protect our pets? Why are pet owners and advocates the ONLY ones to be trying to protect pets?
Click Here to read the FDA Adverse Event Reports.
If your pet becomes sick you believe linked to a pet food, please report it to FDA. Click here for links to where and how to report.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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CB
May 10, 2024 at 9:25 pm
Thank you for providing this information. It’s heartbreaking and maddening.
Jo
May 11, 2024 at 12:59 am
Please, we need you to publish this information on the r/DogFood forum on Reddit. I have tried and keep getting deleted, every time you write another article like this. It’s sad that there’s even one, let alone multiple.
But that forum is “owned” by the big companies – and it’s so obvious that it’s mostly Purina. They laugh at pet parents and belittle them about how corn is so amazing for your dog too eat, boutique brands are the problem, and basically you’re stupid for reading ingredients and not “following the science backed research” blah blah blah while happily dishing out endless recommendations for Purina Pro Plan.
And there’s so many new pet parents that just want to do the best for their babies, hell we all do. And the fact that Purina has their shills in there activity subverting this information and continuing to push their poison is sickening.
Natalie Miller
May 14, 2024 at 6:41 pm
I’ve been perma banned from r/dogs for talking about dog food
Steve
June 20, 2024 at 4:38 pm
I am so happy to read this! I knew deep down that Reddit and/or the dogfood forum was entrenched and a fraud, otherwise why work so hard to inverse the truth…..? Needless to say, they deleted all my comments and banned me last night.
Jan
May 11, 2024 at 2:24 pm
I think that the only way this will be looked at more seriously is if veterinarians get involved but they’re probably not going to do that as they sell Purina at their practices. If their client’s pets are dying and they ate Purina then they should be reporting these cases and refusing to carry their products. Vets do not seem up in arms about this so they’re part of the problem.
Kenneth Clapper
May 11, 2024 at 6:58 pm
Bought whitefish&potatoformula from tractor supply and noticed my dog Julio was having problems with his lungs coughing he was panting not as active his health went down hill he was a healthy dog he died Feb 21st 2024 it i still have his dog food i still have half of a 30lbs bag.Im upset i even asked one of the workers at tractor supply about recalls on that brand dog food i would like to get to the bottom of these sensless killings of our pets!
Gwendolyn Doshen
May 12, 2024 at 11:02 am
That’s so sad. I hope you get answers. Losing our babies is heart breaking. Hugs to you…
Sara C
May 12, 2024 at 9:35 pm
You need to send the food off for testing.
Barb
May 12, 2024 at 9:37 am
Correlation does not equal causation. Simply because pets became sick, and they were feeding the same brand, not even type by the way, of dog food,does not mean the food caused it. That’s equivalent of saying all these dogs were breathing air, so air caused it. The medical records are required for a full investigation.
Susan Thixton
May 12, 2024 at 12:13 pm
I’m so confused when anyone defends any pet food company over more than a thousand sick pets and more than 100 dead pets in one month. Agreed, medical records are needed for a full investigation – and many of the pets were admitted in hospitals when reports were filed. Thus – FDA has access to those records. As well, many of the records explained this illness/death happened right after opening a new bag – of the same food they had been feeding for years. That is NOT something to ignore.
DJ
May 16, 2024 at 5:35 pm
You seem to have a problem with the fact that Purina is a big company and not the facts. No one likes seeing pets sick or dying, but articles like this, with no conclusive evidence, only throws pet parents into a panic and causes many to unnecessarily change their pets’ food, which in turn causes many more cases of gastric distress. Purina feeds more pets than any other company, and their food is made in dozens of factories with ingredients from dozens of vendors. If the food was the cause of any of these illnesses, a pattern would be evident, and they could quite easily track back the product at fault. All I’m saying is do the research before you drop an out-of-context piece of data that you know is going to cause pet parents to spin.
Susan Thixton
May 19, 2024 at 10:06 am
The adverse event reports received in the FDA Freedom of Information Act request are the facts. You can choose to dismiss these reports. But I do not.
Dianne & pets
May 13, 2024 at 3:29 am
It still needs to be investigated. If a correlation is observed, an avenue of investigation is suggested. As far as the type of food, if they are all made in the same plant using the same ingredients, that factor is irrelevant.
Sara Cobb
May 12, 2024 at 9:39 pm
This has been going on for almost a year. Why are they reporting from Jan 2024 only? There are full lots of dog food being thrown in trashes and dumps. But yet, no recalls and a blah blah blah response from Purina. THIS IS HAPPENING and it’s UNACCEPTABLE!
Ken knutson
May 13, 2024 at 3:14 am
Lost my cat Chester 02-03-2024. He was 3 years old. It was a major blockage in his Uninary Tract. I’m still wondering what the hell happened… Still trying not to blame myself…. Still heartbroken beyond comprehension…. Have a new Bengal kitten that I’m bringing into my life June 16th and I’m terrified and confused as to what feed him….
Jan
May 15, 2024 at 11:51 pm
My cat had a blocked bladder too a few years back. I then stopped feeding dry food after that as a lot of cats don’t drink enough water and dry food is lacking in moisture. Canned is much better as it has 75% water so you don’t have to worry about them drinking enough. I also make homemade sometimes using Balanceit supplement to make sure it’s balanced. I get recipes from their website. You could try those with your new kitten. I would stay away from dry, it’s not true that it cleans teeth, only brushing works for that.
Tina Leach
May 15, 2024 at 11:33 am
One of the dog food sites I was following, can’t recall the name, raved about Purina and about 4 other companies, while they knocked every other method of feeding and every other kind of dog food. They insisted there were no issues with Purina at all.
Chris M
May 16, 2024 at 2:32 pm
Purina won’t release anything until they’ve had a chance to review, redact and scrub anything incriminating. You can’t get into the realm of the wealthy elite by being honest in your dealings. Purina didn’t get as big as they are without some skeletons in the closet.
Joyce A Eikenberry
May 17, 2024 at 10:43 am
In March, 2024 I was feeding Purina “Moist & Meaty” dog food to my Australian shepherd. I got up one morning to his bloody diarrhea all over the living room floor; the dog was vomiting repeatedly. I withdrew the food and asked about the dog food. I was informed it is full of things that are NOT good for dogs!
I switched my dog to Pure Balance chicken and rice recipe and have had no trouble since. I am online every day, and I sure wish I could see more recalls and/or problems with commercial dog foods when the problems arise.
Diane
May 17, 2024 at 10:25 pm
Please, the FDA needs to release the last 18 months of data for all dogs/cats sick from an adverse event from being fed Purina pet food.
Manuela
May 28, 2024 at 12:53 pm
Really terrible what the pet food companies do and get away with. Laws should be, worldwide much more severe and above respected with harsh sanctions. We are talking of the life of living beings who should be treated with respect. “Feed” grade should not exist.
Dianne & pets
May 30, 2024 at 10:34 pm
Is kidney disease one of the results? I haven’t seen a list of the effects.
Steve
June 20, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Look, this is the new norm. Big business before health….. thankfully we have a bit of social media to share the horrid truths and reach the others. These conglomerate’s have taken to army’s of firms in hopes of swaying the public’s opinion in all matters and it’s really not just pet foods. Most review sites are terrible now, misinformation is published on a grand scale and weekly. Reminds be of March 2020 and that fraud .