Hey folks, recently I have been experiencing a similar issue with some different dry cat foods I feed.  I would prefer to feed Purina One daily, but sometimes I purchase a less expensive brand when money is tight, and the crew is hungry.  Usually I would buy Purina Cat Chow or Friskies Indoor Delights.  (Save the schtick about expensive brands lasting longer because your pets need less at a meal to feel full – I worked at a pet supply store, I know the speech, but 30 bucks is 30 bucks, and when one doesn’t have 30 bucks, one doesn’t have it.)

Recently, a few cats and kittens were vomiting;  I never thought much of it, because that’s what cats and kittens do.  (Note: I never walk around my house without socks or shoes or slippers.)  However, I started to draw a connection between the increased frequency of vomiting and when I was feeding the cheaper foods.  I also noticed that the vomit was always a reddish color, but it wasn’t a blood red color.  I had also noticed for a while that some of the kittens’ stools would contain a hint of red, or a full red streak.  When this happened a few months ago, I panicked,  and took some stool in to work to have tested.   I did not find any intestinal parasites (hookworm being the one most likely to cause fresh blood in the stool).  Our vet technician said that it wasn’t blood, because it wasn’t a fresh stool any more (it was from the night before) and the red was still a bright red, not dark of dried or old blood.  She said sometimes some pets can’t digest the red dye used in cheaper pet foods, so that might be what I was seeing.

Long story short, I put two and seven together and got nine .  Actually, I concluded that whichever cheaper brand I purchased, the greater the quantity of red-colored pieces or kibble, and the more likely my kids were to vomit and have red streaks in their stools. 

I intend to email the Purina Company about this situation.  Maybe it is a bad batch of red dye, or maybe my kids don’t tolerate the red dye at all.  Or maybe it is all just a strange coincidence.   I will continue to keep an eye on the vomiting, and I am dipping into rent money so that I can buy something without any dyes; hopefully that will stop the vomiting.

Note to Pepsi1979 (who has also mysteriously disappeared  after that post&hellip: any vet tech, assistant, pet owner, etc. worth their salt knows that dogs and cats vomit, sometimes for no other reason than to relieve an upset stomach.  That is COMMON.  What is rare about vomiting is if it occurs several days in a row, is associated with diarrhea, lethargy, or a change in appetite or thirst, to name a few situations.  THAT is cause for concern and an immediate trip to the vet.

Note to Oatsdad and other Wal-Mart bashers: Any job is better than no job.  Also, having worked for a VENDOR of products you may have purchased from Wal-Mart, products that were manufactured in the US of US and foreign materials, I can tell you that Wal-Mart demands of its vendors low costs, so that it can pass the low costs to its retail customers.  It may seem crappy to you, but it is (in my opinion) helpful to our economy.  We as a vendor had to demand low costs from our suppliers in order to keep our costs low to Wal-Mart.   It is this type of cost control that keeps inflation in check, keeps people employed, keeps markets competitive, and keeps the economy rolling.  So, just like Dram said: Never say never.  You may find yourself one day applying for a toilet-scrubbing job at a big box store, paying minimum wage.  It sure beats being homeless.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox now.  I originally just wanted to post beware of red dyes in your food if your pets are vomiting.  I remembered this thread, and decided to add to it.  It’s just that some other posts bothered me – if you haven’t been in the fire, don’t tell me how hot it is.

Cathy and the Crew.