[maxymia]

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Yes Peter you are right, as is often the case in circumstances like these, facts often give way to misinformation.
1)You said "We have a long and proud tradition of producing innovative foods from fresh regional ingredients since 1985." Your company representative said you found BHA & BHT during your testing, preservatives possibly from a dried chicken product
2)You said "the recall is limited to Australia and results from the high level of irradiation (61kGY) that our foods were exposed to when entering the country." AQIS said that this treatment will not go ahead without an Authority to Treat Goods document signed by Manufacturer or importer or agent which states the level of irradiation applied and that AQIS render the goods safe for treatment purposes ONLY.
3)You said "Australia does not irradiate all pet foods - only those made with fresh ingredients (like ORIJEN) and/or cooked at low temperatures (like ORIJEN) are irradiated." AQIS said you/importer/agent was given the choice of heat treatment OR irradiation.
4)You said "no one in the industry - including Champion - was aware of the potential danger irradiation posed to our cat foods." Sorry is this the pet food industry or the irradiation industry. Are you telling us that you have checked with everyone in the entire world an no-one was aware of the potential danger of irradiation. 30 seconds on Google Peter
5)You said "we began to receive strange reports of cats falling ill in Australia." If you owned one of these cats strange is not a word that comes to mind absolutely devastating is closer.
6) You said "All tests showed the foods to be fine." Fine maybe but also containing preservatives which contradicts what your website says
7)You said "Enquiries into all other markets (50 countries) where ORIJEN is sold revealed there were no reports or problems with the foods anywhere else." I have spoken to few people who have reported problems only to be told to retract their comments. I am not saying your food was the cause but we will not know as these reports were not followed up.
8)You said "we decided to put a stop sale on our cat foods in Australia and send a staff member to Australia to investigate first hand." Correct but not in that order. Your staff member came to Australia prior to your recall which took at least 2 months for you to co-ordinate.
9)You said "Indeed, like everyone else we had assumed that irradiation process was safe." Peter please, There are so many studies and advocacy groups stating otherwise. That is a very big assumption indeed.
10)You said "We have also done our best to be open, honest and transparent. All of our actions, investigations and subsequent findings were (and still are) posted on our website." mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Were are the test results?
11)You said "Our mistake was trusting that the irradiation process was safe." No misconception there.
12)You said "In total, less than 3 pallets of ORIJEN cat food were sold in Australia between November 20, 2007 and the recall date of November 2008." Your press release on your website says 6

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[Trellis]

I bought a hugebag of the stuff from Zooplus a few weeks ago, now I don't know whether to continue feeding it to my cat. I know apparently the UK stuff is safe but how can we be sure?

He only has 1 small handful per day to supplement the wet food, but it's still a concern. I don't think I shall be buying this product again after reading the posts on here.

 

[Number 1]

Same here, just ordered 7kg I heard that Applaws are offering straight swap for your Orijen but I think lots of cats have gotten the squits from that. I wonder if Champion are willing to do a refund.

 

[Number 1]

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7)You said Enquiries into all other markets (50 countries) where ORIJEN is sold revealed there were no reports or problems with the foods anywhere else. I have spoken to few people who have reported problems only to be told to retract their comments. I am not saying your food was the cause but we will not know as these reports were not followed up

So other owners in other countries have reported similar problems? Any from the UK?

 

[raggiesrule]

He only has 1 small handful per day to supplement the wet food, but it's still a concern. I don't think I shall be buying this product again after reading the posts on here.

My 6 cats would have only received about a 1/2 cup a day of Orijen shared between them at most. And some of the affected cats were having the odd snack on a few dog kibble. It didn't take much of the affected food to cause devastating results.

Jo

 

[Trellis]

If there was something wrong with the food, how long would it take to show up? My cat has been eating from this bag for a couple of weeks now and it's the 2nd bag of Orijen I've bought.

He has been sick twice, but I put that down to him having eaten some foil off a party streamer as that was in the sick along with Orijen, plus the 2nd time he'd ripped open a bin bag and nibbled on a very old empty cat food pouch so I thought that might be the cause too!

I'm tempted to cut my losses and throw the food away but there's probably £15 worth left in the bag and I really can't afford to waste it if there really is no cause to worry!

 

[raggiesrule]

We fed Orijen for months before symptoms showed. And had stopped feeding it for over a month when our last cat started showing symptoms. She hadn't really been interested in it so had not eat much of it at all. We were hoping she had escaped what had happened but unfortunately not.

And as far as being out of pocket for the food I can assure you that is nothing compared to thousands of dollars this has cost us in vet bills and ancillary costs. You have to weigh the risks and decide what is safe for your cat but I can assure you I would have appreciated a heads up before I started to feed this food as what has happened to us has been totally devastating to our cats, ourselves and our vets.

Jo

 

[maxymia]

So other owners in other countries have reported similar problems? Any from the UK?

RECALL - Orijen cat food in Australia - has been linked with fatal illness! - The Something Awful Forums

I am not saying the food is the problem but we will never know as other claims, not this one, were dismissed even though symptoms were quite similar to the cats in Australia. You asked of any reports in the UK, this is why this one is posted.

 

[Number 1]

RECALL - Orijen cat food in Australia - has been linked with fatal illness! - The Something Awful Forums

I am not saying the food is the problem but we will never know as this claim was dismissed even though symptoms were quite similar to the cats in Australia

Well that's done it for me. I believe my cats get a good balanced diet of foods, all high in meat, so it's not going to make the world of difference, they prefer Hills Kitten anyway.

 

[rosella]

Hi, thanks for all your support, Gus is now into day 37 without being able to walk thanks to Orijen. He is incontinent, being hand fed and hydrated with a syringe, Maurice, thankfully has not got any worse but he was the first to get sick in December for 3 weeks and then got better for about 2 weeks and now well you have all seen him on You tube. The pain and distress this Orijen caused poisoning is inflicting on me by having to watch my sick cats is heartbreaking. My cats are everything to me,they keep me company and make me laugh as my partner works away from home on long shifts. All the vet can do is prescribe a cysteine amino acid, a Vitamin B shot and a twice weekly visit.
Rosella

 

[Janee]

Surprised no lawyers in Australia have suggested a class action, or no win, no fee damages against the company.

If the company knew that food coming into Australia needed to irradiated, didn't the company research the affect on cats and dogs? If it didn't, then negligent, surely?

 

[Perseus]

Surprised no lawyers in Australia have suggested a class action, or no win, no fee damages against the company.

If the company knew that food coming into Australia needed to irradiated, didn't the company research the affect on cats and dogs? If it didn't, then negligent, surely?

I don't know if any of the affected pet parents are pursuing any legal action, as I am not one of the affected parents. I am following and researching this tragedy as one of my kitties was killed from the pet food recall in the States in '07. Surely if Champion doesn't step up to the plate and cover their expenses, I would think legal action will be their only alternative. I doubt that these pet parents who are nursing their paralyzed kitties around the clock want it to go in that direction, but may be forced to.

Champion admitted they did not research the effects of irradiation on their food.

 

[Number 1]

What was the recall in the US?

 

[maxymia]

I don't know if any of the affected pet parents are pursuing any legal action, as I am not one of the affected parents. I am following and researching this tragedy as one of my kitties was killed from the pet food recall in the States in '07. Surely if Champion doesn't step up to the plate and cover their expenses, I would think legal action will be their only alternative. I doubt that these pet parents who are nursing their paralyzed kitties around the clock want it to go in that direction, but may be forced to.

Champion admitted they did not research the effects of irradiation on their food.

You are absolutely right. It would take much stress out of our already devastating lives if Champion would just come forth and do what is right. We are spending so much time nursing our sick kitties that having to pursue the legal route is just another blow to us from Champion. By the way we just lost another fury baby to the rainbow bridge yesterday. RIP Tito. What this syndrome is doing to our cats is truly devastating and what is sadder is that there are still cases comming to light.

 

[The Cats Mother]

Here's why the Orijen "Compassion Fund" has been re-named by Australian affected cat owners the Horrorjen Compassionless Underfund.

My expenditure to date: (Australian Dollars)
Vet consults/tests: $526.00
Vet prescribed meds: $394.30
Non-vet practitioners: $794.00 (acupuncture, physiotherapy)
Supplements: $242.65
Ancillaries: $257.77
TOTAL to DATE $2144.72 and I'm only 2 months into it.

Their allowable paid: Vet consults & meds $ 920.30
Supplements $100.00
Ancillaries $100.00
TOTAL PAYABLE $1120.30

As you can see, there is over $1000 shortfall already.
Given that this can take 6-8 months at least to run its course, assuming your cat makes a full or partial recovery, and having regard to the fact that most of the high veterinary costs are in the initial stages, there is still a long way to go before the spending stops. I am now stocked up with supplements for a further two months. As cats rehabilitate, the non-vet treatments can start to be spaced out with much of the rehab being done by the owner between visits.
Still however a long way to go before the spending stops in order to give a cat the best possible chance of recovery, and we are finding that the older cats are taking far longer. My cat is 10.

This fund is said to have been decided in consultation with vets in Sydney treating the cats. If these are the vets I am thinking of they do their own acupuncture and the more alternative treatments. Some of us are using our own conventional vets and selected specialists. So this was quite possibly based on an unusual veterinary set-up and certainly well in advance of anyone knowing how long the whole recovery process could take and what types of ancillary products would need to be bought. Very little anticipation of the need for cages/pens or incontinence sheets and nappies.

Champion's example of how to fill in the form gives the example of a confining pen, cost $40. I don't know what world they are living in but the cheapest confining pen here is around $65 and if you need a full cage because there are other (healthy) cats in the house who keep setting upon the weaker one, that's around $110-150. Whoops that's swallowed up your ancillary allowance, nothing left for pee pads. They are allowing for feeding syringes. Feeding syringes!!! They cost diddly squat and most vets will give you two or three for free anyway.

If they have based their estimates on Edmonton cost of living prices, they need to remember that Sydney is the 19th most expensive city in the world to live, just four places behind New York, and the Canadian cities rank around 85th. It would be interesting to compare some prices of say, petrol, over the counter health supplements, other day to day expenditures.

Once again, a failure to research properly and think things through.

Australians are sometimes accused of having a slack. "she'll be right mate" attitude. We've got nothing on this mob, they make us look like Einsteins.

 

[Leah100]

I can't believe that they are going about it this way, surely it is for each individual owner and their vet to decide the best treatment plan for each individual cat and then to submit expenses?! If it is vet authorised, how can Orijen reasonably query it? Everything would obviously be accompanied by invoices and receipts and cost break downs. I have to say that it seems as if they are indirectly putting pressure on people to have their cats put to sleep if they cannot keep up with the bills themselves thanks to Orijen's lack of responsibility

If they know and accept the food was at fault, and that it was bought under their name without them doing the relevent checks, then how do they have a leg to stand on treating people this way, absolutely shameful!

 

[Number 1]

The more I read the more it's less about the safety of the food and more about not wanting to feed food from such a company

 

[The Cats Mother]

And that is why we feel duty bound to let people know what is happening.

After all should any sort of problem ever arise in your country you know right from the start what you are dealing with and what you might come up against and forewarned is forearmed. The choices you make can be informed ones.

 

[maxymia]

Here is an email I received from a pet supplies store were I bought my Orijen from. Dated 6th Dec 2008.

It is the least we can do to keep our customers updated. I just wish that we were notified earlier about the recall as we have all the email addresses of our customers and could have notified them straight away. It is interesting how the update says they recalled the food on Nov 20. When you go into the document properties of the recall notice pdf file it was actually created on the 22/11/08 and sent to retailers even later than that. It has been very poorly coordinated.

Thanks for your understanding and lets hope an answer is found soon.

Approx 3 weeks after the recall one affected cat ownwer actually had to tell a pet supplies store to remove Orijen off their shelves as they still had no idea. We asked Champion about this at the end of Dec 2008. Still waiting for an answer.

I would like to say a big thank you for all the support we have received.

Peter, Do the right thing and cover all documented costs we have incurred whilst nursing our sick and disabled cats until they hopefully fully recover, and I just thought I would let you know a families beautiful pet cat, Tito, just passed away due to eating your food. The children and owners are devasted. You also need to think about what you are going to do in terms of compensation for the people who have sadly lost their beloved pets.

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[mckitty]

im pleased that these people are responding to your emails and coming here to give their side although it just looks like orijen registered to give the statement and then leave, i know theyre busy but who isnt ?

will they be back to read our replies ?

how are your cats rosella ?