the DANGERS of Greenies Treats

SissyLukeCooter

My mommy and I were watching tv when grandma called to say to change channel and watch CNN. They were talking about the dangers of Greenies treats, mainly the ones for dogs, but none the less there were deaths and mommy freaked! She grabbed her computer and googled 'greenies dangers feline' and found a whole bunch of articles of people who have lost their dogs and some close calls. Then she found an article posted on this site http://burtscause.com/?p=6 by someone who stopped feeding their cats because of complications. Well mommy is scared and has thrown out my favorite treat! But she says it is for the best because apparently even if I chew them very well, there are problems with digestion. So everyone tell your human guardians to watch out and be careful.

Unknown

I\'m looking at the ingredients list for Feline Greenies right now. It reads a lot like Nutro Max Senior formula. I don\'t see anything in there that would be hard for a cat to digest. It\'s just funny-colored kibble, really. Not to diminish the loss of the people on that website, but correlation is not always causation. The fact that their cat got sick after eating Greenies does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that Greenies caused their illness. Lots of people who get sick have eaten bread at some time in their lives. That doesn\'t mean that bread causes illness.

Deb O'Neill

Yeah, I know, Alex. But after reading about vets finding undigested greenies in dogs' stomaches and esophaguses (sp?), Mom decided to never give the feline ones to us. Which is a big shame. We are looking for a good dental treat that doesn't cost too much.

Karen Lee

Meows, only the DOG Greenies are bad. Dog Greenies are **dental chew toys** and are not meant to be eaten but you know dogs. Some are dumb enough to eat their toys. A piece of Greenies can get stuck in a dog\'s throat or may cause stomach problems. If you read the ingredients on a Greenies bag (or on the company\'s web site: http://www.greenies.com/aboutUs.cfm), it is mostly stuff like glycerin and wheat gluten and cellulose , stuff that is not easily digestible. The CNN article says that Greenies are supposed to break down if it is ingested but that is not the case. That is why some dogs have died or had serious health problems from eating their dental chew toy. Feline Greenies, on the other hand, are perfectly safe for us to eat. They are made with similar ingredients as many other cat treats (chicken neal, ground rice, etc) . Feline Greenies are very similar to Whisker Lickins Tartar Control treats and Pounce Tartar Control treats. If you can eat those treats without any problems, why not Feline Greenies? Feline Greenies will not upset your stomach or cause health problems and you will certainly not get a piece stuck in your throat.. Some Humans are uncomfortable with feeding their cats Feline Greenies now, even though Feline Greenies are not the same as dog Greenies. But the media makes it seem like everything the Greenies company makes is a bad harmful product.

Deb O'Neill

I'm glad you pointed that out, Merlin. Mom may get us some. You know, I didn't know the dog Greenies weren't meant to be eaten!

Molly Shepherd

I\'ve posted this lots, but here it goes again: Read the directions! All chew treats (rawhides, bones, etc) are hazardous to doggy health if the dog inhales them! Also, as with any compressed treat, they aren\'t made so that you can feed them a ton every day; the directions clearly state the amount to feed, any more and you run the very real risk of obstruction. Also, it says not intended for dogs under 5 lbs (toys), that\'s what the lil\' bits are for. Again, feed the toy breeds big people food, and just like a toddler with an improperly cut adult-sized piece of food, choking becomes a real possibility, not to mention obstruction from too much of the treat! Also, states not for puppies under six months; again, just like giving a baby a giant hard pretzel stick, you run the choking/obstruction risk by giving a dental/chew treat/toy to the puppy; that\'s not who their made for!!!! In fact, how many pets die from rawhides or those cow hooves sold in pet stores? These pose a greater risk than the Greenies. Go to the Veterinary Oral Health Council\'s website and see how many dogs and cats die every year from complications arising from dental disease; more than death by Greenies. I feel so bad for those Mommies and Daddies, just like I feel so bad for the Mommies and Daddies of cats and dogs who die from ingesting a sock or choking on a rawhide or eating a poisonous house-plant, but Greenies are a god-send for those of us who can\'t have our teeth brushed, but need to get rid of the plaque that can cause heart disease and oral pain. Please, don\'t take away our oral health!

Emily-Ione Kinney

My lady and man are in the vet industry ( one is a ER vet tech and one is a day practice vet) and while they won\'t give the Dog any Greenies - they give them to us Cats. The reason being is that the Feline Greenies are smaller and cats have a greater tendancy to chew things they eat as opposed to dogs that just gulp stuff down. The danger is that they get stuck in the intestine or pyloric sphicter and cause and obstruction, the don\'t disolve as fast as they should. The lady has assisted in surgeries where they have had to be removed from dogs!!! That\'s bad!

Kelly Ohl

This subject was already discussed. My human called my vet and asked them bout Greenies. My doctor said that they are awesome for cats, but for dogs, they should be avoided. And I might want to add that the dog ones were only in question; not the cat ones.

Beastie_and_the_Boys

Here's an article about Dog Greenies: Negative publicity hasn’t hurt Greenies’ sales much, the company says.

Staci Bowen

The problem with Greenies is that if a dog swallows a chunk, it will NOT break down in the stomach, esophagus, or intestines. It just stays a big chunk, and if the chunk can't be passed, complications arise. The Greenies bag says that they are "100% edible" but that doesn't seem very edible to me!