NEW LOCAL: Cat owner sues pet food maker

Now she’s filing a lawsuit against the people she believes are responsibile.

The Ellwood City woman says her cat’s illness is the result of “cuts and gravy” Special Kitty brand cat food that she purchased March 6 at Wal-Mart in Union Township. The pet food has since been found to contain a toxic substance that resulted in illness, kidney failure and death.

The manufacturer, Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada, on March 16 announced a recall of the “cuts and gravy” style pet food, manufactured between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6 at two U.S. facilities.

Earlier this month, attorneys Robert N. Peirce III of Pittsburgh and Joseph Bellissimo of Ellwood City filed suit on behalf of DiCaprio and others, naming as defendants Menu Foods, its subsidiaries and Wal-Mart, where the pet food was sold.

The attorneys estimate that to date, DiCaprio has spent more than $5,000 in veterinary care to nurse her pet back to health.

“We’re still battling kidney failure, but it looks as if she’s going to make it,” DiCaprio said of the cat. “She has a good disposition and has allowed me to do what is required as far as treatment is concerned.

“She’s like one of the kids. I’m not about to stop trying to do all can to get her well.”

Although the cat appears to be recovering, DiCaprio must inject fluids into the cat’s tiny veins, a procedure she will have to do for the rest of the animal’s life. She also gives the cat pills, “with a cheese chaser.”

Saying that she “is not a suing kind of person,” DiCaprio said she agreed to participate in the lawsuit because of the medical bills.

The Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, where the case was filed on April 9, has been asked to rule if the suit can become a class action. If it does, Peirce said, he could be “representing people I don’t even know yet.”

The attorney believes the class action status should be granted because thousands of consumers across Pennsylvania might have purchased the Menu Foods pet food in good faith, feeding it to their pets, only to see their animals become ill as a result.

Through the suit, Peirce said, he is asking that anyone who purchased the tainted Menu Foods pet food to be reimbursed for the price of the food; that pet owners whose animals became ill after they ate the tainted food be reimbursed for medical bills; and that animals showing possible symptoms — which include loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy and kidney failure — be tested to determine if their condition is the result of the tainted food. And, he believes that pet owners should be reimbursed for these expenses.

In Pennsylvania, Peirce noted, pets are considered to be property. “So you can’t seek compensation for emotional suffering or distress,” he said.

In the suit, Peirce said the products were “not usable for their intended purpose and when used caused significant risk of bodily harm including kidney failure or death.”


Information from: www.ncnewsonline.com