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Toxic Pet Toys: A Doctor's Advice

Are pet toys safe? Answer: Hot air aside, no one knows

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 4, 2007

• Report Finds Toxins Common in Products for Children, Pets • Feds Bar Teva Animal Health From Selling Veterinary Drugs • FDA Confirms Probe of NUTRO Pet Food Deaths, Illnesses • Evidence Destroyed in Menu Foods Case May Hamper Other Lawsuits • Pet Food Class Action Preemptively Thrown Out • More Pet Foods Added to Salmonella Recall • Lawsuits On the Trail of Nutro, Canidae Pet Foods • FDA Halts Illegally Medicated Animal Feed • Pet Owners Warned about Chicken Jerky Products • Mars Extends Pet Food Recall; More Salmonella Found • Mars Recalls Cat Food Sold at Wal-Mart due to Salmonella • Hartz Recalls Rawhide Chips After Possible Salmonella Contamination • Pet Owners Eligible For $24 Million in Landmark Melamine Settlement • Internet Rumor Claims Cocoa Mulch Causes Dog Deaths • Mars Recalls More Pet Food; Possible Salmonella Contamination • Mars Petcare Recalls Some Pedigree Dog Food • Expert Finds Unexplained Pet Deaths 'Not Consistent' • Illness, Death Dog Nutro Pet Food • Feds Raid PETCO Warehouse in Illinois • Pet Owners Not Thrilled with Poison Food Settlement • CDC Links 2006 Salmonella Outbreak to Dog Food • FDA Orders Illinois Pet Food Maker to Clean Up Its Act • String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets --- • More about Pet Food Recalls ...

According to a Consumer Affairs.com investigation, pet toys may contain dangerous levels of lead, cadmium and other toxins.

A big deal? You bet.

Pet toy safety is a newly-recognized national health problem which affects millions of pets, toys and kids. Imagine, your child or pet touches, licks and plays with pet toys, largely made in China, that can leach dangerous heavy metals from their surface coating and paints.

Sophisticated lab tests ordered by ConsumerAffairs.com, showed it can happen and stirred up a hornet's nest of issues, opinions and not a few denials.

Leaving aside the rhetoric, what does this mean to you as a parent and pet owner?

For starters, when it comes to pet toy safety, we have no tests, no studies, no standards, and no oversight.

No one knows which toxins are in your pet's toys, how much heavy metal there is, or what the long-term health effects are.

Until ConsumerAffairs.com brought the issue to light, no one seemed to care. There is no federal oversight and there's no evidence any of the states have paid much attention..

Toy manufacturers and retailers like PetCo and Wal-Mart say their products are safe, because they usually meet minimum safety standards for kids.

But, though we may love him like a son, Toto is not a kid. Toxins may affect cats and dogs differently than humans, especially over long time periods. And, since animals don't have hands, they spend more time putting things in their mouths than we do.

What to do?

As a nation we need more pet toy testing, more long-term studies involving animals, national standards for toxins in pet toys, and much more stringent governmental oversight. Also badly needed is research into whether pet toy toxins pose a risk to children and adults who interact with their pets.

Until then, talk to your vet, read the labels, buy American if you can, limit Toto's toy time and number of toys. "Organic" toys, like real rawhide, are probably safer than fancy, fluffy toys made from plastics.

Human hygiene is important too. Wash your hands after playing with your pet and teach your children to do the same.

Oh, and don't put Toto's toys in your mouth.

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