An entire lot of Iams and Eukanuba kibbles for cats and dogs has been recalled because of possible contamination with Salmonella bacteria. Routine tests turned up traces of it, and the company is voluntarily pulling all food manufactured during a 10-day window because it just might be contaminated. [More]
actually about cats
Grumpy Cat Coffee Drink Only The Newest Piece Of Internet-Famous Pet Merchandise
By 7.30.13
Apparently, it’s inevitable that pets that become famous on the Internet come out with their own merchandise. Official licensed stuffed toys, t-shirts, stickers, stuffed animals: it’s all been done. What was the next logical step? Pet treats? Hamster boutiques? No…how about cat-branded coffee? [More]
Target Employees Need To Learn Their Own Price-Matching Policy
By 6.4.13
We don’t want to sit here and lecture Target on how to run its stores, but maybe some people at Jared’s local store could use remedial price-matching policy lessons. Jared wanted them to match an advertised price on something dear to the Consumerist community: cat food. Yes, the store running the sale is Pet Supplies Plus, and the sale price requires a loyalty card, but the card is free. We’re not talking about Costco here. Yet the store refused to budge, even though Target’s written price match policy contradicted what they were saying. [More]
Where’s The Best Place To Get Drugs For Your Pet? The Human Pharmacy
By 5.17.13
Generally, when you go to the doctor for a checkup, you don’t fill your prescriptions right there in the office at the same time that you hand over your co-pay. That generally is what pet owners do at the vet, though. As it turns out, the cheapest place to get your pets’ drugs may not be mail-order pharmacies or your vet’s office, but the chain or independent pharmacy where you get drugs for the human members of your family. [More]
Time Warner Technicians Rescue Kitten Snuggled Up Against Cable Lines
By 5.8.13
Late on Saturday night, a San Antonio apartment complex needed an urgent visit from Time Warner Cable. Was it a building-wide Internet outage? Disrupted movie-viewing? No… a tiny kitten was stuck in one of the plastic pipes that contain Time Warner’s lines below the building, and wouldn’t come out. [More]
Nonprofit Turns Food Stamps Into Fido’s Dinner Because Pets Also Need To Eat
By 4.29.13
What does someone do when they can’t feed themselves, much less a beloved pet? There are food stamp programs for the human population, but seeing a need for owners who can’t afford to buy pet food, one nonprofit is trying to keep those dogs and cats in kibble and canned food. [More]
More Readers Crunch The Numbers, Figure Out Pet Health Insurance Doesn’t Work Out So Well
By 4.17.13
Last week, we shared an account by reader Howard about his dog’s illness and the results of his decision to get a VPI pet health insurance policy. While health insurance is just that–insurance, not an investment vehicle–Howard and other readers have crunched the numbers and found that the policies are a worse deal than just sticking the money in the bank. [More]
Make Your Own Automatic Pet Feeder With A Litter Bucket And A Pie Tin
By 4.16.13
Do you have pets who won’t eat an entire bag of kibble in one sitting? If so, your household might be a good candidate for an automatic pet feeder. What you might not realize is that you can make your own auto-feeder out of ordinary products that you probably have sitting around the house. [More]
Littermaid Replaces Entire Automatic Litter Box When My Repair Goes Awry
By 4.10.13
Jasmin received the best housewarming gift ever: a Littermaid self-cleaning litterbox. Well, I suppose it’s not a very good gift if you don’t have a cat, but Jasmin was very pleased with it. When the electric adapter’s end got stuck inside the unit, she tried to get it out, but failed. Instead of just running on batteries as it had been, now the whole thing was useless. What could she do? She couldn’t afford a whole new Littermaid, and hadn’t had the new one for all that long anyway. So she checked in with the company to see whether they could just replace the relevant part. They just sent her a whole new setup instead. [More]
Natura Pet Recalls Four Brands Of Cat And Dog Foods For Possible Salmonella Contamination
By 3.19.13 — Updated: 3.20.13
It seems like only a week ago that we last shared with you the news of a pet food recall––because it was. This week, a kibble sample from Natura Pet turned up with salmonella bacteria, and the company has recalled a wide variety of cat and dog kibbles sold under the California Natural, Evo, Healthwise, and Innova brand names. [More]
Bravo And Steve’s Real Food Cat And Dog Foods Recalled For Salmonella
March 14, 2013
Batches of raw pet food have tested positive for Salmonella, and have been recalled by the manufacturers. Minnesota Department of Agriculture tests found bacteria in 2-pound tubes of Bravo Chicken for both dogs and cats and Turducken dog food from Steve’s Real Food. The recalls affect one lot for each respective brand – check out the recall announcements for lot numbers, expiration dates, and contact information for the companies. [via Dog Food Advisor] [More]
Newman’s Own Takes Accusations Of Cat Food Recall Really, Really Seriously
By 3.12.13
Like most Consumerist readers, Richard was out looking for cat food of only the finest quality. The local high-end pet store didn’t carry the Newman’s Own product that he was looking for, and he was surprised to hear why. The employee told him that it had been recalled and the store wouldn’t stock it. This surprised Richard: he hadn’t heard about any recalls, so he sent a quick e-mail using the company web site’s form. Most of us would assume at this point that we’d hear back from a customer service drone, maybe. Not a staff veterinarian. [More]
Sheba Says It’ll Only Use Sustainably-Sourced Seafood In Cat Entrees By End Of 2013
By 2.25.13
When we heard that Sheba is promising to use only sustainably-sourced seafood in its cat food entrees, of course we pictured a fleet of feline fishermen, sharpening their claws and licking their whiskered chops. That’s not exactly how it’ll be, but the brand has pledged to be good to the environment going forward. [More]
Animal Shelters Make ‘Black Friday’ Literal, Adopt Out Black Pets For Free
By 11.20.12
You may have noticed in the past few years that the staff and readers of this site are rather fond of animals. Specifically, cats, and the occasional dog. That’s why we wholeheartedly support a Black Friday promotion we can get behind that involves no doorbusters, no big-ticket item lines, and can even help you get rid of your leftover turkey this holiday weekend. We’re referring to the Black Friday weekend adoption promotions aimed at finding homes for black cats and dogs. [More]
Man Allegedly Commits Insurance Fraud With Fake Dead Cat
By 7.9.12
Back in March 2009, a customer of PEMCO insurance was in a minor car accident, and the company paid out $3,452 for damages to the other driver’s car. Simple enough. No injuries were reported, and no pets in the car. Which is why it caught some PEMCO employees’ attention when the other driver filed a claim two and a half years later, seeking $20,000 for the death of his cat, Tom. The animal was “like a son” to him, he claimed. But “Tom” only existed as photos of someone else’s cats, readily available on the Internet. The state of Washington has charged the man with felony insurance fraud. [More]
Cat Naps On Router, ISP Provides Decoy Router In Exchange For Cat Pictures
By 3.2.12
Liam lives in England and has a cat. As all people owned by cats know, warm, feline-posterior-sized electronic devices are irresistible to cats worldwide, and the DSL modem/router thingy provided by his Internet service provider, Be, is no exception. The problem is that this particular router doesn’t work very well with a cat on top of it. He made a joking forum post that featured a photo of his cat communing with the router and pleaded for a decoy router so he could keep his cat happy but also have functional Internet. Astonishingly…. the company complied. But only if he sent them more pictures of his cat. [More]
Arizona Clinic Won't Take Credit Cards Over The Phone, Euthanizes Cat Instead
By 12.29.11
An Arizona man didn’t have the $400 for his injured cat’s vet care, and the Humane Society clinic he visited wouldn’t take his mother’s credit card information over the phone or wait for . So he did what he thought was the best thing for 9-month-old Scruffy: surrender ownership to the organization so she would receive treatment. He was told that he could adopt her back later on. A lack of resources meant that Scruffy, whose injuries were not life-threatening, was euthanized instead. [More]
Can Owning A Cat Void Your HP Warranty?
By 12.9.11
Chris sent his HP Elitebook in for repair, only to learn that he had done something to void the warranty, and it wouldn’t be repaired. What was his heinous offense against technology? He owns a cat, and there’s fur inside the computer, causing HP to declare his computer a “biological hazard” and send it back un-repaired. He sent along photos that HP took of his disassembled computer and used to make the case that his computer wasn’t repairable. [More]
