Spotted Cat Designs

There are numerous advantages to having an automatic feeder

• less anxious or annoyed cats (and dogs)
• regulated portioned feeding can help prevent or reverse obesity (versus free feeding out of a bowl)
• feeding times can be specified with some models
• your cat can be fed without you being there — good for short trips away from home or long days at work

A few disadvantages:

• you have to keep it very clean
• prevent ants or other insects from inhabiting the feeder
• set the times correctly
• with most models it dispenses only enough to be feeding one or two pets
• each model presents varying degrees of difficulty being programmed — some are less intuitive than others

Notable for techies in Korea and Japan: Korean mobile operator SK Telecom has created a way to feed your pet using their cell phone feature. I wonder when someone will bring capability to the US…

Then there is the futuristic looking coffee maker sized automated and programmable Perfect PetFeeder is available in the US — for about $499.00US

Or the gravity fed elevated wheeled food or watering stations by Critter Cooler. For about $95.00US.

Having said all that, here are a few less costly models I have seen that you might want to consider:

Petmate’s Bistro Electronic Portion Control automatic feeder

Synchronic’s Lentek PD06G 6 Day Automatic Feeder

Radio Systems’ Petsafe PF5-11 5-Meal Electronic Pet Feeder

Blitz’ 11899 25lb Automatic Feeder

Plus there are a large number of gravity fed kibble feeders by Petmate that you can find in almost any pet store.

For any of these feeders look at:

• the sturdiness of the construction
• warranty
• ease of cleaning
• ease of emptying and refilling
• food capacity
• will it hold and dispense the type of food your cat likes to eat
• anticipate a trial period for any new feeder
• be sure the construction does not allow an industrious cat from pawing out additional kibble, or breaking the mechanism!
• if you return the feeder, let the seller (and manufacturer!) know what went wrong — the pet food industry is a billion dollar market — the best way to bring about change is to provide consumer feedback!

Free Stuff Channel’s Pet Page

Cool Freebie Links Pet Page

There is a lot of information overlap between each of these sites, so I try to keep a record of the offers I have already taken advantage of.

Cool Savings requires you to “become a member”. Personally, I don’t often do this as it has led to spam in the past. If you try them out, let me know.

The US Food and Drug Administration has a section comprised of many web pages devoted to the Pet Food Recall that started in March 2007. From the main page, you can get an RSS feed for any new alerts, as well as get on their Recalls Email Mailing List.

I have seen misleading information on blogs and private email lists — check here before panicking.

OK, we feed our cats Nutro Natural Indoors cat food. There was an notice on an email rescue group I subscribe to that more Nutro foods had been recalled, so I did some research. First I went to the FDA Website on Pet Food Recalls. Then I checked my email in which I receive alerts from Google about pet food. No information on any such a new recall. I even checked the FDA Import Refusal section. Then I went to the Nutro Products web site. Here is their press release:

City of Industry, CA (August 22, 2007) — It has been brought to our attention that confusion has been caused by the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) Import Refusal report. We wish to assure our customers that this report is in no way a cause for concern about the quality and safety of Nutro pet foods currently on store shelves. This report lists recalled product that has been returned to Nutro from overseas. This product is not intended for sale.

Immediately upon being notified of the Menu Foods recalls in March and April 2007, Nutro ordered the discontinuation of all sales of the involved products, removal of these products from retail stores, and the isolation of product in warehouses and distribution centers. Nutro also ordered recalled product to be shipped back to the U.S. from overseas for proper handling. Some of this product is the subject of the FDA report.

Pet owners can feel confident in our products and contact us directly with questions. For more information about Nutro’s pet foods or for answers to any questions you may have, please contact Nutro’s Customer Service representatives at 1-800-833-5330, or visit our Web site at www.nutroproducts.com .

I found this alert on another web site:

News for cats and dogs – Smokehouse Brand Dog Treats Pulled From PetSmart Shelves

I have seen these foods and some of these packages are marked “IRRADIATED FOR YOUR HEALTH, WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY AFTER HANDLING” All are labeled as “Made in China”

Here is the press release sent out by the American Veterinary Medical Association:

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recently been made aware of several complaints from pet owners and veterinarians that multiple brands of jerky treats manufactured in China have been making pets sick. On Thursday, September 13th they posted a Media Alert to their website at www.AVMA.org. Symptoms of illness have included vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. To their knowledge, no deaths have been reported.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently testing these treats to see if a contaminant can be found. So far they have ruled out melamine, one of the chemicals that led to the massive pet food recall this spring, but have yet to identify anything that might be making pets sick.

While a list of brand/product names of affected treats is not yet available, the AVMA has learned that all complaints have involved jerky treats from China. They recommend that pet owners use their best judgment in this matter and continue to consult www.AVMA.org for updates. Diplomates in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM), who work in the field of veterinary nephrology and urology, had become aware of an unusual number of dogs with very similar presenting complaints and clinico-pathologic testing results associated with the ingestion of jerky treats from a variety of brands. No cats have been reported to date. (Italics mine)

They report that these are typically small dogs that present with a history of vomiting, lethargy and anorexia. They have all consumed jerky treats (mostly chicken jerky) within a few weeks prior to becoming anorexic. Physical examination has been relatively unremarkable. Blood chemistry in many of the cases has revealed hypokalemia and mildly increased liver enzymes. Blood gas analysis indicated acidosis. Urinalysis has consistently shown glucosuria and granular casts. These findings suggested an acquired Fanconi syndrome.

Fanconi screens on urine, when submitted, have been positive. The Metabolic Genetic Disease Testing Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania can run urine screens for generalized amino aciduria and lactic aciduria tests of Fanconi Syndrome and other causes of PRTA. Their website can be found at http://w3.vet.upenn.edu/research/centers/penngen/services/metaboliclab/fanconi.html

The most common severe abnormalities appear to be acidosis and hypokalemia. Liberal potassium supplementation appears to be warranted during hospitalization and often needs to be continued orally after discharge. Most of the dogs did not require long term bicarbonate supplementation, although this should be considered based on repeated blood gas analyses. Azotemia does not appear to be a consistent finding and therefore cases will likely be missed in the absence of a urinalysis.

The vast majority of dogs have recovered from their acute disease. All clinical signs of disease including glycosuria have resolved in many of the patients within a few weeks of initial presentation.

The cause of this renal tubular/GI toxicity remains under investigation. Veterinarians should seek a thorough dietary history including treats when presented with a dog presenting with acute GI signs or PU/PD. Diagnostics should include a general blood screen and urinalysis. Treatment consisting of supportive care, electrolyte and blood gas monitoring should be instituted if this acquired Fanconi syndrome is identified.

For further recommendations and assistance on a case by case basis, veterinarians may wish to consult a small animal internist in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in their community. Please see www.ACVIM.org to locate a Diplomate.