VALDOSTA — The pet food recall that has made pet owners across the country anxious since it was first announced March 16 has also affected pet owners in the Valdosta area.

Pet owner Adrienne Stephenson told The Valdosta Daily Times she has already lost two cats due to the contaminated pet food and has one “hanging on by a thread.”

Stephenson said she has already accumulated $1,100 in veterinary bills trying to keep her cats alive and healthy and is concerned for the safety of animals whose owners may not have access to the Internet and have not received word about the recall. Menu Foods, the manufacturer based out of Ontario, Canada, issued the recall on any “cuts and gravy” style pet food manufactured between Dec. 3, 2006, and March 6 and has agreed to take responsibility for any vet bills resulting from the contamination.

“Thankfully, I have plenty of packages of the tainted food as well as a multitude of vet’s bills,” Stephenson said. “In that regard, I suppose we are lucky because I didn’t throw anything away.”

One Valdosta veterinarian, Dr. Michael A. Delaney of Azalea City Animal Hospital, has taken blood work and run tests on a number of pets in recent weeks, yet no cases of renal failure have been directly linked to the recalled pet food.

Delaney noted that there has been an influx of concerned pet owners who have seen a change in the mood or habits of their pets.

“The most common sign is increased water intake and increased urination,” Delaney said.

Drinking more water to attempt to flush out toxins is a natural defense mechanism that is triggered during renal failure in animals. In addition to changes in water intake, pet owners should take note of lethargy or vomiting in pets and should contact a vet if any concerns arise, according to Delaney. Acute kidney failure can also result from old age, antifreeze ingestion or certain types of bacteria. For this reason, the only way to know for sure the cause of a change in a pet’s behavior is to run blood work, Delaney stated.

Dr. Amanda Perry at Pineywoods Veterinary Hospital has also seen an increase in blood abnormalities. Two days before the recall was issued, a pet owner brought in a dog that tested positive for blood abnormalities now expected to be associated with the recalled food.

Since that time, three other animals have tested positive for abnormalities.

One of the four owners decided to euthanize their animals, but the other three are being treated at the facility, according to Perry.

Shortly after the first complaints were received raising concerns about pet food manufactured since early December, the Menu Food Income Fund initiated a substantial battery of technical tests, conducted by both internal and external specialists in an effort to identify the root cause of renal failure in pets who had consumed the tainted product, according to a press release issued by the company. The 42 cat foods and 53 dog foods varieties affected by the recall are both manufactured and sold under private-labels and are contract-manufactured for some national brands.

On March 23, the New York State Agriculture Commissioner and Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine announced that scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified Aminopterin, a toxin, present in samples of the recalled pet food.

“We are happy and relieved that the experts from the New York State Department of Agriculture and from Cornell University have discovered the root of the issue that has harmed North American cats and dogs,” said Paul K. Henderson, president and CEO of Menu Foods, in a press release. “This important discovery caps an unprecedented search by top experts. Dedicated and knowledgeable researchers at universities, independent laboratories and our own veterinary consultants worked tirelessly to defend and protect our cats and dogs.”

Henderson added that the company’s next step is to begin testing of all suspect raw materials with the goal of quickly identifying the means through which the substance entered the supply chain.

On March 24, Menu Foods expanded the recall to include any “cuts and gravy” style wet pet food regardless of its manufactured date after receiving word from the Food and Drug Administration that many retailers continued to place recalled brands on store shelves to be purchased by consumers.

“There is no known risk from items not listed on the recall list, but an abundance of caution is called for in this situation,” Menu Foods stated in a press release. “The FDA has been apprised of this action.”

The Fund estimates that based on currently available information, the recall could cost the company between $30 million and $40 million.

A list of all recalled pet food brands can be found, along with additional information concerning the recall online at www.menufoods.com/recall or by calling 1-866-895-2708 or 1-866-463-6738.