Make Sure Your Pets Are Safe from Cat and Dog-Food Recalls

Attention pet owners: A popular brand of kibble made by the company Bravo! has undergone a national recall following tests of the product that showed signs of salmonella.

The company, based in Manchester, Conn., has sounded the alarm on its Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend diet for dogs and cats, Premium Turkey Formula Bravo! Balance Raw Diet and Raw Food Diet Bravo! Turkey Blend for Dogs and Cats.

“Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products,” states a news release issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Pets that have contracted salmonella might have such symptoms as diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Pet owners who believe their cats and dogs might be infected should contact their veterinarians immediately.

“Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain…but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans,” the release warns.

Human reactions to salmonella include similar symptoms, as well as arterial infections, arthritis, eye irritation, muscle pain and urinary tract-issues.

The recalled products can be identified according to their numbers: Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend diet for dogs and cats, Nos. 21-102 and 21-105; Premium Turkey Formula Bravo! Balance Raw Diet, No. 31-405; Raw Food Diet Bravo! Turkey Blend for Dogs and Cats, No. 31-102.

The FDA reports that, so far, no pets or owners have become sick.

As an additional safety precautions, Bravo! also has recalled its Bravo! Balance Chicken Balance and Bravo! Balance Premium Turkey Formula frozen products and two-, five- and 10-pound bags of Bravo! Chicken Blend and Bravo! Turkey Blend.

“This is being done out of an abundance of caution despite no evidence of any manufacturing defect or distribution problem,” the FDA states, noting all the recalls are voluntary. “None of these products are known to have tested positive for the presence of pathogens.”

Here’s what to do if you have a recalled product in your possession:

• Do not feed it to your pets.
• Dispose of it safely and securely/
• Get your money back by filling out a Refund Claim Form and bringing it to the story at which you purchased the product.

The Bravo! Recall follows a similar one of its raw-food products in May of 2014 because of the potentially deadline bacteria listeria, the according to a story on cleveland.com. It also follows a slew of other pet-food recalls earlier in the year.

In April, The Robert Abady Dog Food Company pulled its two-, five and 15-pound bags of Abady Highest Quality Maintenance & Growth Formula for Cats from store shelves because of a salmonella scare. In February, ProPet recalled its Hubbard Life, Joy and QC Plus cat and dog cat for the same reason. Then, in January, Red Flannel cat food was recalled.

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Consumers who want the latest updates on pet-product recalls can visit the Fido- and Fluffy-friendly Web site Pets Adviser.