Nutro Premium Pet Food has announced a recall of certain types of dry cat food: Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care and Nutro Max Cat with expiration dates between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. These products are available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Israel.
Why are these foods being recalled? During a routine audit, Nutro discovered that incorrect mixes of zinc and potassium had been added to certain dry foods in the Natural Choice Complete Care and Max Cat food lines. One mix had too much zinc and potassium; another mix did not provide enough potassium. They first became aware of the issue on May 18, 2009 and issued the recall on May 21, 2009.
In the future, Nutro will be introducing stricter quality checks for suppliers and more careful ingredient management in their factories. Both raw materials and finished products will be carefully tested before being used and/or released for distribution. Nutro hopes these measures will avoid future problems with their pet foods.
If you believe you have one of the recalled products, please STOP feeding that food to your cat immediately. You can return the unused portion of the bag to the store where you purchased the dry cat food for a refund or replacement. The Nutro website has a list of suggested foods that you can offer instead that provide similar nutrients and are not affected by the recall.
Although Nutro has not yet received any complaints about pet health relating to the recalled food, here are some symptoms you should watch for:
- Reduction of appetite/refusal of food
- Weight loss
- Vomiting or diarrhea
If your cat is experiencing any unusual symptoms after eating the recalled foods, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Nutro dog foods are NOT affected by this recall. For more information on specific types of dry cat food being recalled and how to find the expiration date information, please visit the Nutro Premium Pet Food web site or call 1-800-833-5330 between the hours 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST.