I got a notice in the mail, from Costco, that the cat food I've been feeding my cats, for the better part of the last 10 years, is being recalled. The brand was Kirkland Healthy Weight Cat food.
You can read more about it, here:
http://petfoodtalk.com/catfoodreviews/kirkland-cat-food/
I am not sure why, but something told me that something about that food just wasn't great for the cats, and for the last few months of Blabla's life I tried to switch them over to the Trader Joe's brand. I will never know if that was why he and his mother experienced kidney failure, but there were two people on the discussion thread, above, that said their cats had kidney problems, and they ate this food. Blabla used to drink a tremendous amount of water.
In 2014, my other cat Bert started peeing and pooping on the rug... a lot. After he started drinking Kangen water, this completely stopped. Blabla and Bert both had so much more energy, and their coats became really shiny and beautiful. But I wonder if the damage for Blabla had already taken it's toll. It seemed like when they were eating the cheap food, they had just become a lot more lazy, overweight and sluggish. After they started drinking Kangen water, they had a lot more energy. But I can't help wondering how much of the damage was reversible. I feel really guilty that I had fed them the cheaper cat food, but at the time it was all I could afford.
I realize cats can develop kidney problems for a variety of reasons, and there are many cats that will develop kidney failure anyway. So who knows if it was a factor. I did hear that cats that are of a siamese or burmese mix can have kidney issues, and don't know if he had the genes, but his siblings were siamese, and his mother died of kidney failure also. I think it was a combination of things. I also looked up our water report, and we have a good amount of chlorine, chloroform, dichloroacetic acid and other things that can cause organ failure. Chlorine is known to cause cancer, chloroform is known to cause kidney problems, and dichloroacetic acid is known to cause organ system toxicity. I wish I'd bought a really good water filter, earlier.
Chloroform
Chloroform is a carcinogenic pollutant that forms when disinfection agents such as chlorine and chloramine react with organic matter in drinking water sources and in wastewater treatment (Richardson 2007; International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2008b).
Chloroform pollution in the environment also comes from industry releases (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 1997b). The paper industry accounts for nearly half of the 1.5 million lbs of chloroform released in 2002, followed by the chemical manufacturing and solvent recovery industries (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 2009i)
In humans chloroform is known to cause nausea, vomiting, irregular heart beat, kidney damage, liver damage, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, insomnia, increased dreaming, impaired memory, and anorexia. In animals, chloroform is known to cause infertility, birth defects and cancer (ATSDR 1997b; Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) 2001b).
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Health Concerns for Chloroform:
- Cancer
- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
- Multiple, additive exposure sources
- Persistence and bioaccumulation
- Occupational hazards
- Endocrine disruption
- Developmental/reproductive toxicity
- Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
- Biochemical or cellular level changes
- Ecotoxicology
- Neurotoxicity
Dichloroacetic acid
| Dichloroacetic acid | Amount detected: 13 ppb 13 ppb | Yes (Health limit exceeded) Recommended Health limit: MCLG: 0 ppb |
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE "RECOMMENDED HEALTH LIMIT" FOR THIS TOXIN IS ZERO PARTS PER BILLION. MOST TOXINS HAVE AT LEAST A SMALL LEVEL THAT IS CONSIDERED SAFE BY THE CALIFORNIA EPA, IN TRACE AMOUNTS, BUT NOT THIS ONE. The Federal EPA's legal limit for this toxin is 60 PPB.
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Dichloroacetic acid is a disinfection byproduct regulated by EPA as one of five haloacetic acids that are formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Health Concerns for Dichloroacetic acid:
- Cancer
- Neurotoxicity
- Developmental/reproductive toxicity
- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
- Occupational hazards
- Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
- Ecotoxicology
- Miscellaneous
- Persistence and bioaccumulation
You can see some of the other toxins that are in our water, by clicking HERE.
I still think about him a lot and get misty eyed when I feel his absence. He really was the best cat ever. If there is an afterlife, I will look forward to seeing him again.
