No cat's meow

Here's a deadly federal food recall pet owners need to know about.

The "cuts and gravy" cat and dog food an obscure manufacturer makes for store brands sent poisonous food since December. Nine cats and one dog have died of kidney failure (loss of appetite, lethargy and vomiting).

The stores that got the recalled food are listed here. They include brands like Iams, off-brands like America's Choice at Wal-Mart and store bramds found at PetSmart, Wegmens and other stores. For a full brand list go here for cat food and here for dog food.

I'm glad I never shop at Wal-Mart, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory of this millenium.

Do you think the FDA does enough to get the word out about these things? It seems like the agency isn't as aggressive in the media as it used to be. And, question for you libertarians: Do you really prefer we don't have such an agency, so this obscure Toronto company could keep mindlessly making poisonous food without anyone being employed to put the pieces of the deadly puzzle together?

Update March 24: The recall on the rat poison-tainted wet pet food was expanded. ABC television reported the toxin came from wheat imported from China that was used in the pet food. Ain't outsourcing grand?