WARNING! MERCADONA DOG FOOD PROBLEM.

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

I've been invited to talk about the Mercadona pet food (Note I said pet and not dog) alleged poisoning problem on Spectrum Radio 92.6Fm tomorrow morning (Tuesday) just after 11am. I'm not an expert but have a dog whose ill from eating their food in my opinion and in fact with hindsight I believe she's not been well since being fed on Compy/Mercadona's dog food for nearly three years now but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.
If anyone has any comments for me then call in before or when I'm on if you like, it will give me time to take breath because I won't be biting my tongue. John.

[carolcross]

This is such an awful thing to happen to the dogs and cats.  I am just thankful that we feed our 3 dogs on tinned food all the time with some  dried biscuits. Our thoughts go out to all those who had painful experiences because of this.  No money could possibly compensate for the lose of a much loved pet.

[sirena]

Have had people saying that this includes the compi dog biscuits too, As far as I was aware it was wet dog meat only. NOT COMPY COMPLETE BISCUITS ( yellow bag)

[byrney]

Amazing.  I sent Mercadona an email on Saturday informing them of the problem with my dogs (see earlier post).  At 9.25am this morning I received a phone call from a lady at customer services asking how the dogs were.  She told us that they were sorry if the illness could be traced back to their food and that they were doing various tests to establish any connection with their food.  She said they would keep me informed.  A couple of hours later I received a similar call from customer services from the pet food manufacturers.  I know this has been a very distressing time for a lot of people but I am impressed by the speedy and personal response from both companies.

[tijolian]

Hi all......went into mercadona today returning my orange bag of dried dog biscuits "COMPY" brand......and was told very nicely by the manager that there is not a problem with the dried food only the bricket wet food...but that it wasn't a problem to change it...so i did anyway.....hubby going to carmonas this evening to buy a different brand......liza

[olulagirl]

It was around Christmas that they changed to cartons. We have 5 dogs, and 4 of them suddenly started peeing in the house, they had never done that. That is only over the past 3 weeks that that happened. They swap dishes when they are eating, so were obviously all trying the offending food. It was our Rotty that had the most as she cleans all the dishes after they have finished.....when she peed....good god it was a flood, she was really upset. Thankfully the "wet" food was a small amount to the biscuits they all have. I wish all you folks out there that have poorly pets all the best, it is heartbreaking reading all your stories. Rosemary x

This is so scary. I hope every animal affected gets well soon.

Thankfully my cats didn't like the new packets so I stopped buying it apart from as emergency rations. Will be taking them back to mercadona.

Does anyone remember when the cans were changed to packets? I seem to remember that it was a few months ago now, it's a bit odd that there are problems only now. Maybe if it's a salt problem it takes a while for the salt level in the animal's kidney to get too high?

[uslot]

This is so scary. I hope every animal affected gets well soon.

Thankfully my cats didn't like the new packets so I stopped buying it apart from as emergency rations. Will be taking them back to mercadona.

Does anyone remember when the cans were changed to packets? I seem to remember that it was a few months ago now, it's a bit odd that there are problems only now. Maybe if it's a salt problem it takes a while for the salt level in the animal's kidney to get too high?

[ColinC]

well ours have had cat food regularly and apart from the mercadonna issue the only other thing we have noticed is them meowing for their dinner instead of barking.......... ;D

[tijolian]

@ colin...yes i sort of did know that dogs shouldn't have cat food but i open the carton and gave the cat the meat and just gave my 2 dogs about 1/4 of the packet...not anymore.....

[ColinC]

my little yorkie has been having a little of the cat food and normally we can go out and he's fine in the house but i came home to find he had wet 6 times in the house.......watching him with a close eye today and checking the water bowl on his level of drinking......really worried about all these dogs being poorly.....have thrown all the food out.....liza

We were giving our dogs the cat food (they seemed to prefer it) and they have had the same problem..they have now been on chicken and boiled rice for 3 days and are now fine again..and by the way the vet gave us a rolicking for giving them cat food as the vitimins that are added are different for cats and dogs..

[ramblagirl]

Liza, take him to the vet for a checkup to be sure he's OK, Jan

[tijolian]

my little yorkie has been having a little of the cat food and normally we can go out and he's fine in the house but i came home to find he had wet 6 times in the house.......watching him with a close eye today and checking the water bowl on his level of drinking......really worried about all these dogs being poorly.....have thrown all the food out.....liza

[Albondigas]

Hi Olulagirl

Thanks for the info about Carmona, I will ask for Ben when I go in there to have a look at the food in stock

I don't suppose Ben can persuade them to stop selling puppies etc?  Anything I can do (such as write in etc.) let me know...

[olulagirl]

NO!!!
Animals should never be given chicken bones..... they splinter easily and can cause terrible suffering and can be the cause of an extremely painful death.

Sorry but you are talking from a position of ignorance.  RAW chicken bones do not splinter, it is cooked bones, not just chicken, that splinter and should not be fed.  Many people feed their dogs following the BARF diet and there dogs are in good health, try looking it up on the internet and read the research that has been done.  We have fed our dogs this way for many years and back in the UK would feed our GSD & Dobberman raw food including whole rabbits with the fur.

Well, I've always been told (by all the vets I've come into contact with) that to feed cooked chicken bones is a definite NO NO but feeding them raw chicken bones is also inadvisable as many dogs have problems with them and need surgery...

I would also add that if possible, feed your dog a high quality dry dog food - the dog food you buy in supermarkets is really poor quality, you don't want to know what is in most of this food, especially the wet stuff

High quality food is more expensive but can work out cheaper than the supermarket stuff as you feed lower quantities due to the superior nutrition

I hope that all affected dogs are recovering from this

Not sure if I have done this post correctly but.....my son Ben works in the pet store at Comercial Carmona in Olula del Rio. He said they can order in all types of foods including special diet foods and have a good selection already in store. If you live quite a distance from Olula, he said to ring him before making the journey on 655 957 301 (pet shop number) and he can give you more information. He is there Mon-Friday 08:30-14:00 and 15:30-20:30, Saturday 08:30-14:00 (Closed Sunday). This is an awful situation, we have even been topping up our Rotty with this Compy food......never again!

[debs]

Byrney, please take your dogs to the vet tomorrow irrespective, especially the large dog, those are the exact same symptoms our dog was showing, especially the 'shaking'.  Even if you have changed the food please get them checked out.

[byrney]

Copy of an email I have today sent to Mercadona :-

Dear Sir/Madam,
Our two dogs have suddenly developed sickness and diarrohea over the last 24 hours (Saturday 25th / Sunday 26th February).  We fed them Compy - Trozo con Salsa ? - both chicken and beef in the yellow and red cartons during the course of last week.  Having seen the experience of others we threw our last couple of cartons away so are unable to give bar codes etc.  Our small dog only ate a small amount of it but our large dog ate lots.  He is particularly sick and is drinking lots.  He is very lethargic (unlike him) and is lying here licking his lips.  He also had a shivering "fit" during the night.  If they are no better tomorrow we will take them to the vet.  In view of the many other complaints it is apparent that their illness is due entirely to your pet food.  If not already done so I would urge you to remove this product from your shelves to prevent further harm.  I will keep you informed.
Yours faithfully

[Albondigas]

NO!!!
Animals should never be given chicken bones..... they splinter easily and can cause terrible suffering and can be the cause of an extremely painful death.

Sorry but you are talking from a position of ignorance.  RAW chicken bones do not splinter, it is cooked bones, not just chicken, that splinter and should not be fed.  Many people feed their dogs following the BARF diet and there dogs are in good health, try looking it up on the internet and read the research that has been done.  We have fed our dogs this way for many years and back in the UK would feed our GSD & Dobberman raw food including whole rabbits with the fur.

Well, I've always been told (by all the vets I've come into contact with) that to feed cooked chicken bones is a definite NO NO but feeding them raw chicken bones is also inadvisable as many dogs have problems with them and need surgery...

I would also add that if possible, feed your dog a high quality dry dog food - the dog food you buy in supermarkets is really poor quality, you don't want to know what is in most of this food, especially the wet stuff

High quality food is more expensive but can work out cheaper than the supermarket stuff as you feed lower quantities due to the superior nutrition

I hope that all affected dogs are recovering from this

[temasek]

Well, Uffington 15, the vet I worked for in Uk must be 'ignorant' as well.
I have seen the web pages you mention.

[ray]

From a Murcia site:

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-10785-31-mercadona_withdraw_cat_and_dog_feed_from_sale.html

Ray

[terri]

Hi I have just been informed of this problem.  My cat has eaten the wet compy newly packaged food and is suffering with kidney problems.  When she was first given the new food she couldn't get enough of it.  Then she stopped eating altogether.  I have been to the vet and will return on Monday for the result of the bloody test.  Our dog has only eaten one packet, thank goodness, and is showing no ill signs.  I wonder if Mercadona will pay the vet fees?

[JessicaH]

Before mass hysteria through rumours set about which dog product is involved...read this article

http://www.simplynetworking.es/news-10785-31-mercadona_withdraw_cat_and_dog_feed_from_sale.html

[uffington15]

I believe dogs do not get Salmonella or Campylobacter Jejuni from raw chicken as can humans? John.

[/q0uote]

John you are correct, dogs can handle gut germs differently to humans.  For them eating bones is natural and even puppies once weaned can have raw meat and bones if supervised.  Weight bearing bones are to be avoided as these are much harder and can break teeth, also pork is not always best suited.  One of our dogs loved pigs head and trotters while another did not like either

[ColinC]

The manufacturers rang me this morning, I was too busy in the shop to speak to them, they rang back several times in attempt to speak, so I sent them a text back asking them to email me their comments, I have had nothing back as yet, but suspect they do not want to put anything in writing.

There were tins in Mercadonna today, with sell by dates going as far as 2014, no as this only appeared to have been reported to them 2 days ago it seems strange that they have been able to get the product into tins and on the shelves in that time. I could be cynical and suggest that they knew about the problem some time ago and were hoping to offload the dodgy food onto its consumers before the wheel came off!

I have kept my unused boxes ready to send off to independant laboritories if needed...

[nibbler]

JaneyT
Can you tell me who informed you about the dry food,my dogs seem to be fine and they've been eating the dry stuff for years with no effect.
I only ask because with instances like this rumours abound.
Nibbler :tiphat:

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

NO!!!
Animals should never be given chicken bones..... they splinter easily and can cause terrible suffering and can be the cause of an extremely painful death.

Sorry but you are talking from a position of ignorance.  RAW chicken bones do not splinter, it is cooked bones, not just chicken, that splinter and should not be fed.  Many people feed their dogs following the BARF diet and there dogs are in good health, try looking it up on the internet and read the research that has been done.  We have fed our dogs this way for many years and back in the UK would feed our GSD & Dobberman raw food including whole rabbits with the fur.

I believe dogs do not get Salmonella or Campylobacter Jejuni from raw chicken as can humans? John.

[uffington15]

NO!!!
Animals should never be given chicken bones..... they splinter easily and can cause terrible suffering and can be the cause of an extremely painful death.

Sorry but you are talking from a position of ignorance.  RAW chicken bones do not splinter, it is cooked bones, not just chicken, that splinter and should not be fed.  Many people feed their dogs following the BARF diet and there dogs are in good health, try looking it up on the internet and read the research that has been done.  We have fed our dogs this way for many years and back in the UK would feed our GSD & Dobberman raw food including whole rabbits with the fur.

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

Hi John

Our dog was only on Mercadona´s food 2 weeks is there a set limit of time before kidney problems set in?
Total Entertainment - Turre

I'm sorry Janey I don't know the answer but do know the problem of needing more water and of course urinating more was very soon, days at most, after first eating the food and so I expect whatever is wrong with the food or packaging is causing damage to the kidneys immediately. Your vet is the best person to answer your question, best wishes and good luck, John.

[temasek]

NO!!!
Animals should never be given chicken bones..... they splinter easily and can cause terrible suffering and can be the cause of an extremely painful death.

[Janeyt]

 Hi John
I´ve just been informed that it is also Comply dry food as well. Also my cat went off the new package cat food at the same time my dog started showing signs of needing more water and urinating more.
We have since replaced his food with Lidl´s cat food as he as shown signs of not wanting any other brand of dog food.
Our dog was only on Mercadona´s food 2 weeks is there a set limit of time before kidney problems set in?
This has caused a great deal pain and anxiety for pet owners I hope Mercadona hang their heads in shame. Regards and thanks for the info Jane Thomas - Total Entertainment - Turre

[stephenamore]

Just spoken to the Murkys help line number - the product has been withdrawn from sale - we have had 2 dogs vomiting and for 2 weeks had stopped eating the stuff. Luckily got some cans in Albox Murkys on Wednesday which strangely has silently been restocked. My condolences to all that have lost a loved pet.

[uffington15]

Why, not try the BARF diet fro your dogs, raw chicken carcasses can be obtained from Mercadona.  Keeps the dogs healthy, less tartar build up and what comes out the other end is easier to deal with.  PLEASE DO NOT FEED THEN COOKED BONES ONLY RAW.

[JessicaH]

Phoned me back as well which I did appreciate.
I mentioned that my preference was for the tinned food and hoped they wouldn´t abandon it once this problem was sorted.

My 3 little mongrels are back  to normal now so wondering about the welfare of  the other dogs/ cats affected. Hopefully the same as mine.

[Beachcomber_Bar_Mojacar]

Likewise a call on behalf of the manufacturers with the promise to keep informed We queried the "safety" of the original tinned variety and were told that it is not a problem but as a double precaution until there is conclusive information it will be fresh chicken and vegetable stock with the dried which we normally do as a "bonus"

It will cost more but the health of our many "boys and girls" must come first

Kathy

Unless its a vegetable stock you have made yourself be aware most commercially produced ones are full of salt, use plain water I think, John.

[Dog Lady]

Likewise a call on behalf of the manufacturers with the promise to keep informed We queried the "safety" of the original tinned variety and were told that it is not a problem but as a double precaution until there is conclusive information it will be fresh chicken and vegetable stock with the dried which we normally do as a "bonus"

It will cost more but the health of our many "boys and girls" must come first

Kathy

[debs]

I have also received a phone call from the food manufacturers this morning, asking how my dog was now (nice touch) and confirming they were carrying out studies and would let me know the outcome.