More pet foods added to recall

It seems every day more brands are added to the recall list. As the recall spreads so does confusion for pet owners. This is how pet store owner and dog boarder Marcia Habib starts her day: checking the internet for recalls for both wet and dry pet food. The list on the original recall web site menufoods.com is daunting. There can be dozens of products for each manufacture on the list. Making things more complicated, there are now at least three more web sites to check for recalled pet food. Experts like Dr. Ann Hohenhaus of New York's Animal Medical Center still do not know exactly what is poisoning pets in the tainted food. Dr. Hohenhaus said, "I don't think we know what it is. The story is really confusing; how the melamine and the rat poison both fit into the story is really perplexing and unclear." So what should concerned pet parents do? You can check the many web sites every day for recalled food, or when all else fails you can look for one ingredient that seems to be the string that ties all recalled pet food together. The offending ingredient in all of the recalled foods is wheat gluten. Pet food companies are required to list ingredients on their packaging. While some people may be tempted to cook food in their own kitchens for their pets experts say it's probably not the best way to provide your pet with a balanced diet in the long run.