Catzfine - ALERT!! Dangerous bones!

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Julie and Alice

Julie and Alice

Member Since 2014
Hi, sorry its been a while since I last posted. I don't know if this is the best way to alert people but unfortunately I think there is a serious problem with a batch of Catzfine food lamb & buffalo. It has LOTS of sharp bones of various sizes with very sharp jagged edges. I didn't notice at first until Alice spit a chunk out.
Details: MHD 01.08.17. DEO 3452000213 165.A (bottom of each can). Some pieces are small but like shards of glass but many large pieces that could in my opinion possibly obstruct a narrowed oesophagus or gut. Alice struggled at one point & kept putting her paw to her mouth as though to get rid of it. Another time she was gasping & breathless, I don't know if it was pain or not. I had forked it very carefully through but still missed small pieces but now have started to sieve it. I did complain to Zooplus & warned them that this could be serious and should be recalled. They have done NOTHING!! They took back the batch and replaced it with exactly the same batch number - exactly the same in every single tin! I did notice a sharp piece of bone in a previous batch but it seemed to be a 'one off'. Unfortunately for Alice, she is intolerant of every other food I have tried. I also rang Bitiba - they use the same warehouse and stock as Zooplus. Has anyone else had this problem? It would be worth just checking other flavours incase they are not grinding the bones sufficiently in other lots too.
 
Did you contact the manufacturer directly? There may be contact info on the can ... it may require a magnifier to read it.
 
Hi Julie,
Gosh, that's worrying. (((Poor Alice)))

Thanks for alerting people.
I do buy Catz Finefood but only a couple of the flavours and I've not noticed that anything was amiss with them (but I will check the contents of the cans carefully.)

Zooplus customer service isn't great, unfortunately.:banghead:
But, even though your 'consumer contract' is with Zooplus you could try contacting the manufacturer directly. It's a German company but many Europeans speak some English (they put us Brits to shame....:oops: ) Or maybe you know someone who can speak German....?
If you can't get a good response from them then you could leave a message on their Facebook page....

The Catz Finefood website is here:
http://www.catzfinefood.de/
It is possible to leave a message via the website on the contact page.

Or, the email address is: petsnature@petsnature.de

And here's the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/catzfinefood?ref=stream

It's lovely to hear from you, Julie; but I'm sorry it had to be in these circumstances, and I do hope this problem with the food can be resolved.

Hugs to you, and chin scritches to Alice,

Eliz x
 
Thanks! I have written to manufacturer today. I'll let you know of any outcome. Hopefully they will be able to translate my English! Must have poor quality control inspection.
 
It's been a while since I posted too!

I had an issue with CFFood last year. I found an 'elastrator' in a tin of the same flavour. Thankfully Milo & Lola hadn't noticed it & I got to it before they did. I reported it (with photos) to both Zooplus & Petsnatur, and they were both very swift in acting on it. (It turns out that the same rubber bands are used to dock lambs' tails, castrate the males AND prevent the severed gullet from tipping the stomach contents over the rest of the carcass during processing after slaughter. Nice.
They refunded the cost of the whole order, which was great, but I am very sorry to hear their quality control has not improved since!
Not good.

Please let us know how you get on?

Juliet
 
Hi Juliet,
Sorry only just seen your reply. Oh yuk! I so wish we could all live happily as vegetarians!

I did contact Petsnature have been extremely impressed with their response, unlike Zooplus who did not care at all and happily continued to forward the same dangerous batch (presumably to other customers too).
Petsnature themselves acted very quickly by contacting Zooplus and putting a stop on the batch and organising another delivery. Also they went the second mile in trying to find me another supplier but these are abroad and expensive to ship. They are however sending a new batch out to me and apparently also some samples of a new product that may suit Alice (Catz finefood Purrrr including other novel proteins). A lady called Julia has been extremely diligent and could not have been more caring. Until the new batch arrive I am having to sieve all of Alice's food as its the only food she tolerates - evry single tin has lots of bones in it. Apparently there should be NO bones in this recipe (lamb & buffalo)!
Thanks very much for advice & links - very useful.

Best wishes - Juliex
 
Hi Julie,
Looks like you got a good response there from Petsnature. Well done!

That Catz Finefood 'Purrr' (great name...) sounds like it might suit quite a few kitties who need single/novel proteins.
I just did a quick search online (using the wonderful and hilarious Google Translate) and, according to the German Katzen forum 'Kangaroo' is a favourite flavour...

I just emailed Zooplus UK asking if/when they'd be stocking the Catz Finefood 'Purrr' range. And maybe if enough of us contact them they might respond to that demand.....? (Or maybe the Happy Kitty Co could be persuaded...? :rolleyes:)
.
 
Unfortunately the new batch of food dispatched to me to replace the Lamb & Buffalo with bones also has bones albeit much much smaller. I am still having to sieve it. Alice doesn't seem keen on it sieved, its just a sloppy mess and she cant get her teeth into it. I would imagine that although thethe smaller bones wouldn't obstruct the intestine they could still possibly puncture or cause bleeding. I really should take it along to a vet to see what they have to say, just not had time yet. I have written again to Petsnature but unfortunately this time I have had no response at all. I guess it is perhaps an impossible problem to solve. They did originally inform me that that recipe should not have ANY bones in it anyway. NOt sure what, if anything i should do now. Incidentally I have actually bought kangaroo, Alice loved it but it upset her gut!! I tried it on a couple of times. I wouldn't have thought it possible to react first time unless it is a cross reaction with another protein she has tried, maybe beef?? Oh well....... :arghh:
 
Just to update re the bones in Lamb & Buffalo!
I did receive a reply from Pets Nature. The reason I had no response was that the person was out of the office for a period of time. Since I have again received a very responsible and helpful reply. ANOTHER batch of 90 cans of food was sent to me, thankfully this time bone free!! Alice loves it. This batch has more jelly on the outside which she loves. I have NEVER seen her eat the low carb food with such enthusiasm before. It may be just that she hated the sieved texture but I suspect that is not entirely the case. I have had to increase her insulin to cope with her increased appetite! Petsnature are trying to find the slaughterhouse that has allowed these affected cans through. I cant fault their efforts to help me. Zooplus however clearly didn't care at all and continued to distribute them knowingly. Should you buy a batch I suggest you sieve one can to ensure it is not a 'faulty' batch first.
I am yet to try their Purr product, hopefully it wont be too high in carbs.
 
A distributor can't do anything about a plant; always contact the manufacturer about a product problem.
 
No, thats true, but a distributer surely should let the manufacturer know about a problem that is potentially dangerous. Zooplus clearly did not care about the hazard. Thanks for previous advice regarding contacting the manufacturer. I'm so glad I did.

The following is part of a paragraph from Pets Nature:

"...our production checked all the slaughterhouses they purchased lamb and buffalo meat from. There are only two slaughterhouses from which the impure goods could have come from. Both slaughterhouses are now under close observation and the meat is checked even more intensively. If we find one more foreign object in the meat we have proof and will quit our business connection with the affected company immediately.

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with the members of the diabetic-forum.
If anybody has further questions about Catz finefood, please feel free to pass along my contact details.

Many greetings from Amsterdam,

Julia Klischies
 
Thank you for sharing this with us Julie. My diabetic cat also likes lamb and buffalo. Don't know why they find it so appetizing..my other cat who's not diabetic and eats only her favourite food ate this flavour too. She won't touch any other Catz Finefood but this one must have something 'special' in it.
 
Nice work there, Julie!
So glad that Petsnature are on the case, and I am very happy that Alice can carry on noshing her favourite flavour.
My Lola (civvie, but with chronic kidney disease) still adores it, too, but I have since worked out that it is lamb is really her fave meat. (Poor sheepies...:(). Both kitties now get weekend treats of raw minced lamb, which they seem to inhale, rather than eat.:joyful:
 
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