Complaints that Purina pet food has sickened pets have been circulating on social media in recent weeks, sparking fear for dog and cat owners.
But Purina adamantly denies there are any issues with its products.
“Pet parents continue to be understandably scared by an online rumor that there is an issue with Purina pet foods. This rumor is false, and we are saddened to see the confusion and fear that it has caused,” the company said in an online statement Monday.
The claims got amplified in a Facebook group for pet owners, called Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time, in early December. Group administrator Kelly Bone wrote in a post that she had received multiple reports of dogs or cats becoming suddenly ill or dying after eating Purina Pro Plan, a pet food formula for dogs and cats that comes in wet and dry varieties.
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“I started noticing in my group that we started having quite a few pets getting sick,” Bone said. “When I would follow up with [owners] to say, ‘Well, what are they eating? When were their most recent vaccinations, flea, tick medications, all that other stuff?,’ the common denominator was Purina.”
Bone said she has received 969 reports of dogs or cats getting ill after eating Purina food, including 234 deaths. The symptoms have included lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness, seizures, rapid weight loss and rectal bleeding, she said.
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