If you care about the welfare of people’s beloved pets, then please pass this message onto everyone you know…
DO NOT buy these hard foam balls sold as cat toys at pet stores (see photo attached). They cost hardly anything but are deadly dangerous! They're made with non-digestible hard foam that can have a jerky texture, and are very easy to break apart with an adult cat's teeth.
Our purebred Ragdoll Meena chewed the ball into pieces and swallowed a big piece, which then got stuck in her intestine just below the stomach. She spent a painful week at the vet’s, got operated on twice, and passed away two weeks ago despite the vet's efforts to save her. The vet bills have mounted up to NZ$2,500, and all we got back were her ashes!!
It’s been two week since we first addressed the issue with the pet store we bought the ball from, but all they’re doing is just talking and blaming it on other problems.
Please DO NOT EVER buy these balls from ANY pet store (whether physical or online), and pass this message onto everyone you know, especially the ones you care about so they don’t suffer such unnecessary heartache and financial loss!!
Yours sincerely
Agnes (NZ)
I'm so sorry for your loss of Meena. How incredibly sad for you. I'm fairly certain I've seen those in Canada as well - thank you for sharing your experience.
Coral
(12-01-2009 09:41 PM)Purple Smoke Wrote: [ -> ]If you care about the welfare of people’s beloved pets, then please pass this message onto everyone you know…
DO NOT buy these hard foam balls sold as cat toys at pet stores (see photo attached). They cost hardly anything but are deadly dangerous! They're made with non-digestible hard foam that can have a jerky texture, and are very easy to break apart with an adult cat's teeth.
Our purebred Ragdoll Meena chewed the ball into pieces and swallowed a big piece, which then got stuck in her intestine just below the stomach. She spent a painful week at the vet’s, got operated on twice, and passed away two weeks ago despite the vet's efforts to save her. The vet bills have mounted up to NZ$2,500, and all we got back were her ashes!!
It’s been two week since we first addressed the issue with the pet store we bought the ball from, but all they’re doing is just talking and blaming it on other problems.
Please DO NOT EVER buy these balls from ANY pet store (whether physical or online), and pass this message onto everyone you know, especially the ones you care about so they don’t suffer such unnecessary heartache and financial loss!!
Yours sincerely
Agnes (NZ)
Thank you for letting us know. I am sorry that you had to have a loss for everyone to know they are unsafe.
Yikes, I just looked at the picture. I think I have seen these balls somewhere. I think the kids may have one. The next time I see it I am definitely getting rid of it.
Thank you both for the kind words and support. This has been very devastating for our family. Meena was only 4.5 years old when she passed. She had just reached her full maturity and full potential, and was in every bit a sweet little princess. Macky our birman who grew up with her is so depressed that he's been acting weird ever since she left the house. I really hope this doesn't happen to anyone else, esp with Christmas being just around the corner...
I'm so sorry for your loss
and sad that we're meeting you because of these awful circumstances. I saw your kitties in your avatar, and Meena looked like she was so beautiful. Thank you so much for passing on this advice, and I'm so sorry you had to lose your baby.
I'm sorry for your loss. I have seen those balls in the store and online. Thank you for sharing.
I'm so sorry for your loss of your little meena how your heart must be breaking.
I would think the company that makes those balls would have some responsabilty,
and you
have to wonder if any other cats have lost there lives to those balls.
What company is making those balls do you know have to wonder if there makeing other
cats toys that we all need to watch out for.
(12-02-2009 01:25 AM)jellybean Wrote: [ -> ]I'm so sorry for you lose of your little meena how your heart must be breaking.
I would think the company that makes those balls would have some responsabilty,
and you
have to wounder if any other cats have lost there lives to those balls.
What company is making those balls do you know have to wonder if there makeing other
cats toys that we all need to watch out for.
Hey thanks for asking. I think there're more than one company that makes them as I've seen them in several pet shops and also websites based in other countries. They're trying to say that there was a bad batch that had softer foam, but no foam can be so hard that adults cats can't chew through with their sharp teeth!
I've told all my friends in NZ to watch out for them but thought I could post it here too for a wider audience. The pet shop that I've been talking to are still selling them. And there was no warning given when I bought one yesterday (for future evidence just in case). I've asked my vet to write a letter certifying the initial cause of Meena's death, and he's more than happy to as he and the nurses worked to hard to save her. I'm considering legal actions too if we don't get a satisfactory outcome.
Hi Anges,
I'm sorry this has happened to Meena. You must be devastated.
(We have a million or so of those balls around the house and Sam's never taken bites out of them. **sighs** He has a whole lot of other toys he likes to nibble on.)
I'm also in Palmie.
(12-02-2009 02:44 AM)thirzajane Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Anges,
I'm sorry this has happened to Meena. You must be devastated.
(We have a million or so of those balls around the house and Sam's never taken bites out of them. **sighs** He has a whole lot of other toys he likes to nibble on.)
I'm also in Palmie.
Hi Jane,
Yes it has been very devastating. I found it so hard to talk about her during the last two weeks. I even found myself trying to stay at work late just so I didn't have to go home, as everything in the house reminds me of her. I thought I'd go insane!
I bought the ball from Animates. I rang them as soon as we found out Meena had passed away. The store manager was away that week, and the girl that I spoke to said unsympathetically that it'd take more than one request for them to stop selling those balls. A couple of managers from Animates have since rung and apologised but they're not really taking much action. Meanwhile the balls are still being sold without warning.
I'm sure not every cat would try to chew the balls and then swallow them, but we've bought plenty of other cat toys and this is definitely deadly. For example, ping pong balls are not easy for cats to grap onto with their teeth and therefore they won't be able to eat them. The feather tessel toys usually come with product warning that your cats should not be left unsupervised with them. As with some other really small toys, they're usually made with digestible material.
I just can't get over the fact that we tried so hard to cat safe the house and never let Meena outside without supervision, but then she got killed by something that's designed specifically to tempt and entertain them. It's like feeding your cats anti-freeze just cause you know they'll love it!