|
|
Posted: Wednesday, 28 March 2007 2:51PM
California Cat Owners File Lawsuit Against Menu Foods
|
 SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A lawsuit against pet food manufacturer Menu Foods has been filed in California, blaming the company for recent health problems in pets. Earlier this month, Menu Foods recalled several brands of dog and cat food products nationwide, after several owners reported pets getting sick.
Scientists have found a drug used to kill rats in two cat food samples, but they say its unclear how the substance got there. While the company says about 15 cats and one dog have died since the contamination came to light, a veterinarian group maintains the numbers are much higher and may even reach into the thousands.
Attorney Gregory Helmer is representing two clients in the lawsuit. One woman claims her cat was healthy and vibrant until she recently started vomiting and drinking an excessive amount of water. The cat was eventually diagnosed with acute kidney failure. Another cat owner said his pet got sick after eating tainted food.
"Both of them are alleging that their cats were poisoned by the food manufactured by Menu Foods. One of them purchased the pet food at a Petco in Santa Monica California and the other purchased her food at a Walmart store in Fresno," said Helmer.
Helmer is seeking class action status for the suit, and said it’s unclear how many people will be added.
"The story is unfolding every day and every day there are more and more reports of poisoned, injured or dead pets who've ingested the tainted food. So at this point we believe it's going to be numerous, we just don't know yet," he said.
Helmer added he has several questions for Menu Foods. "We'd like to know exactly what the food was tainted with or contaminated with. There's reports that it was tainted with rat poison, but we'd like to get an answer directly from the company. We'd like to find out when they first knew that the food was contaminated, how long before they issued the recall."
(RdD)
|
Copyright 2007, KCBS. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
E-Mail Story
Print Story
DW.pageParams = {
siteId: '255'
};
DW.clear();
DW.trackClicks();
