Cat Food Recall Weruva Best Feline Friend (bff) Product Recall - Australia

[Miffysmum]

Personally, I wouldn't until the results come back, particularly since she is an older cat. Could you try her on the Cats in the Kitchen range? If she likes her dry you could try her on the Applaws range? It's quite expensive but very good quality. Just be aware that the wet food does not meet a cat's nutritional needs by itself.

She also has Black hawk biscuits which she can eat anytime, which in itself is a good biscuit. She also has a little bit of roast chicken most mornings. Spoilt hey!
As I live in regional WA, I don't have access to much. My sister gave me some BFF pouches to try when I was in Perth quite a few months ago. Miffy loved them, so when we were in Perth we got a few boxes and brought them back with us and whenever family come to visit, I get them to bring some boxes up with them. I actually have about 6 boxes at the moment and with no visitors in sight, I have no way of returning them at the moment. It is one of the only wet foods that she eats most of. She would only drink the juices from many others I have tried. Since the recall, I have been giving her a Dine wet food, but she looks at me as if to say where is my BFF. From the phone call this morning, I don't even think they are testing the pouches.

 

[mani]

M Miffysmum If you feel the pouches are OK, you could try mixing the BFF in with the Dine. I often mix a little 'fishy stuff' in with meat for my two when they're getting finicky. It's the only time I feed them seafood, though.
I think BlackHawk is pretty good, especially in terms of what I believe are good nutrients at a very economical price in comparison with others. (sorry.. going a little off-topic here.. I might have to moderate myself. )

 

[valentine319]

It looks like thiamine deficiency. Owners devastation as toxic cat food sold at Petbarn | Daily Mail Online

"Weruva, the American pet food company behind BFF, said in a statement testing had revealed low levels of thiamine on May 25." It looks like they are still delaying releasing test results.

 

[Sallysoo]

Is it only due to thiamine deficiency? If the kitty is solely on Wevuva BFF, the symptoms will be seen weeks later and vet attention would have make a difference to it. Sorry unless Im wrong?

My mum cat is on homecooked fish with no supplement. And it is still alive, 6 yrs old now. So I really dont quite understand.

 

[valentine319]

Is it only due to thiamine deficiency? If the kitty is solely on Wevuva BFF, the symptoms will be seen weeks later and vet attention would have make a difference to it. Sorry unless Im wrong?

My mum cat is on homecooked fish with no supplement. And it is still alive, 6 yrs old now. So I really dont quite understand.

They haven't fully released all results.

 

[Sallysoo]

Hope there are more to it. I bought their cats in the kitchen pouches weeks ago in cartons, through Amazon, still a lot left, not sure want to continue to continue giving. Lost my trust in their products, very disappointed as it is supposed to be one of the best in terms of quality. Should I discard the food or I can ask for refund even though this series are not affected? Not sure can gv the reason as in losing trust in this brand, etc...

 

[valentine319]

Hope there are more to it. I bought their cats in the kitchen pouches weeks ago in cartons, through Amazon, still a lot left, not sure want to continue to continue giving. Lost my trust in their products, very disappointed as it is supposed to be one of the best in terms of quality. Should I discard the food or I can ask for refund even though this series are not affected? Not sure can gv the reason as in losing trust in this brand, etc...

I would think through Amazon you should call and request a refund. With something like this they should refund you without question. Even if they request you send it back with their label it would be worth the piece of mind. Weruva still hasn't released the test results so I don't blame you for questioning it.

 

[orange&white]

They haven't fully released all results.

It only takes one to two weeks for thiamine deficiency to make a cat seriously ill (or worse...fatal outcome). They haven't released the results and may try to skirt around what really happened. We'll see. I'm guessing too much sulfite. Some sulfites, used as preservatives, absolutely kill any thiamine content, no matter how much thiamine they added.

 

[valentine319]

It only takes one to two weeks for thiamine deficiency to make a cat seriously ill (or worse...fatal outcome). They haven't released the results and may try to skirt around what really happened. We'll see. I'm guessing too much sulfite. Some sulfites, used as preservatives, absolutely kill any thiamine content, no matter how much thiamine they added.

I never realized it hit so fast.

 

[laura mae]

So isn't this limited to Australia?

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ It seems to me the "best" - most expen$ive pets foods are always the ones being recalled ...

 

[valentine319]

So isn't this limited to Australia?

From what we know at this time it is limited to Australia.

 

[maggiedemi]

What are the symptoms of Thiamine deficiency?

 

[valentine319]

What are the symptoms of Thiamine deficiency?

How Your Pet Can Become Thiamine-Deficient a few points from the article.

Symptoms of thiamine deficiency in pets typically start with GI disturbances like vomiting, excessive drooling, and lack of appetite, and left untreated, can progress within weeks to neurological signs and ultimately, death.


Progressive symptoms of a thiamine deficiency can take weeks to develop, but initial signs of general GI upset including vomiting, excessive salivation, loss of appetite, and weight loss, often occur within a week after an animal begins eating a diet severely lacking in thiamine.

If the deficiency remains untreated, neurological signs will follow. These can include:

• Dilated pupils
• Loss of coordination
• Head tilt
• Circling
• Abnormal gait
• Ventriflexion (bending downward) or curling of the neck backward
• Arching of the head, neck, and spine
• Falling
• Stupor
• Seizures

Typically, a pet must be thiamine deficient for around a month before the terminal stage is reached. Once an animal has entered this stage, he or she will die within a few days if the deficiency is not immediately reversed.

 

[maggiedemi]

Thanks. I started giving my cats each a brewer's yeast tablet today for the B Vitamins/Thiamine. I'll look into maybe getting them a powder with no additives. But they eat the tablet no problem. They seem to have a lot more energy, hope there are no side effects to brewer's yeast.

 

[orange&white]

I'll look forward to hearing what Weruva's final conclusion is, but it sounds to me like some ingredient didn't make the food only deficient, but killed the thiamin completely. Could have been sulfites, or it's possible that a fish ingredient didn't have the thiaminase knocked out. Also a possibility is that they simply cooked the food at the wrong temperature for the wrong length of time.

Guess we'll have to wait and see what they say.

 

[maggiedemi]

Very interesting. Which fish have thiaminase in them? What causes sulfites to be in the food? Thanks for all this info.

 

[destinyz12]

Even though this recall is specific to Australia, and its only for the BFF line of Weruva, are other people on here (both in and outside of Australia) going to continue feeding other lines of Weruva for now? I want to continue using their CITK line (no fish flavors) but all of this makes me weary now. And I'm in the U.S.

 

[Sallysoo]

Definitely this incident will affect the sales of all their products. I have a few CITK pouches left which I may discard them. Very disappointed if it is due to their neligience in their quality control for the BFF food. People will switch to other brands.

 

[shadowplay]

This whole situation is terrifying me. I want to be able to trust that brands will, at the very least, make food not kill my pet. My kitties liked some Weruva stuff but I'm hesitant to feed it now. I almost feel as though their "poor quality" foods like Friskies, Iams, and Science Diet are safer.