Wild Kitty Cat Food(R) Responds to FDA Recall

Wild Kitty passed the FDA's very sophisticated testing for E. Coli. on all 4 recipes. We have been successful at screening E. Coli out of our food. In addition we sent samples of the same lots tested by the FDA to Eurofins, the premier pet food-testing laboratory. All samples were negative and test results are available online. However, Wild Kitty Cat Food has recalled all products associated with the FDA findings.

No cats or people have been reported sick to the CDC or FDA in connection with the Wild Kitty Cat Food recall. The same food was safely fed to over 70 cats and kittens as part of an All Life Stages AAFCO feeding protocol. Wild Kitty Cat Food is the first raw pet diet to pass the ALS feeding test.

Our ongoing in house testing for Salmonella is a test recommended for use in poultry plants and approved by the USDA in 1996. It is used extensively and the manufacturer reports the tests 99% accurate on live bacteria. The testing used by FDA takes 6 to 12 days for results and cultures live or dead bacteria to determine the presence of pathogens.

The tolerance set for an FDA recall of Wild Kitty Cat food was Zero Tolerance for pathogens, which means the food cannot have one single pathogenic microorganism. The tolerance for dry dog food is less than 10% of the sample. As exhibited by Dole's "recall" of Salmonella-infected cantaloupes, if cantaloupe has salmonella just wash it off and feed it to the kids. No problem. It is illegal to sell raw milk to humans because of the same pathogens found in poultry. However it is perfectly legal to sell raw milk for "pets." Clearly the FDA has exceptions to the zero tolerance rules applied to Wild Kitty.

To date there has been only one report of cats ever having contracted lethal salmonella from raw food. Considering the millions of cats eating raw diets every day, in addition to the cats eating their own raw diets, statistically there is zero chance that your cat will get salmonellosis. The statistical chance of your cat getting Diabetes is 10 to1; the statistical chance of morbid obesity is 5 to1.

There is no scientific evidence to support the FDA assertion in their consumer warning about Wild Kitty that you could contract salmonella by touching your cat. They have redacted this statement in the recall letter. The only way you could possibly contract salmonella from your cat is by ingesting the cat's feces when the cat is infected and actively shedding. The latest study indicates that only 1 of 278 healthy cats have salmonella in their feces. However the reference to "household pets" transferring salmonella to humans refers to snakes, turtles, iguanas, birds and hamsters, but NOT CATS.

The salmonella found in Wild Kitty Cat Food is not a result of poor processing, second grade product or bad sanitation. Wild Kitty Cat Food is processed in a state-of-the-art USDA plant, with USDA inspectors on site at all times. There is no way, short of irradiation of all food products, to excluded salmonella from the US human food supply. The attempt to do this in the production of food animals has lead to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria through the use of antibiotics designed to kill pathogens like salmonella.

Since there is no "kill" step (cooking or irradiation) in the production of any raw meat pet food, and none required by FDA or USDA, the consumer and pet will always have some risk of exposure to food born pathogens. We believe our extremely knowledgeable customers think the benefit of a raw diet outweighs the risk, are aware of this risk, and follow the FDA mandated sanitation and handling guidelines that are on the container of our cat food.

We question the FDA's choice of Wild Kitty Cat Food as part of the bioterrorism initiative on pet food safety. Wild Kitty Cat Food is probably the smallest pet food company in the US. We are the only raw food company to have undertaken and passed an independent All Life Stages Feeding trial, the same testing as a major pet food product, proving our diet was both a safe and nutritionally balanced food for both adult cats and kittens. Of the two pet food recalls the FDA has done in recent history, both were initiated by reports from field offices of pets being sick (pig ears) or dying (Diamond Pet Food). This was not the case with Wild Kitty Cat Food.

About Wild Kitty Cat Food®

Founded by Stephanie Nadeau in 2005, the company is located in Kennebunkport, Maine. Stephanie's love for cats and her own experiences with family pets that seemed to not heal based on traditional methods, led her to extensive research on the benefits of raw, natural foods. Stephanie launched Wild Kitty Cat Foods to provide a healthy alternative raw cat food line. For more information on Wild Kitty Cat Food, please visit www.wildkittycatfood.com or call 888.733.1033. For all press inquiries, please contact Darren Jordan at Darren@thejordanagency.com, 323.230.7379. Please visit us at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, February 22nd - 24th, Booth #676.