Animal Testing’s Happy Healthy Test Subjects
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Last week, Skeezix and I were the guests of Iams/Eukanuba in Dayton, Ohio. Pictured above is Dan Rajczak, the CEO of Iams/Eukanuba, with Skeezix and me, which illustrates the access we had to everyone in the company.
This week I’ll give you an inside peek at what goes on behind the scenes at Iams/Eukanuba. Today I’ll focus on animal testing, since that’s such a hot button with many of you. (Photos weren’t allowed due to the proprietary technology, but I’ll describe what I saw as best I can.)
Animal Testing and Research at Iams/Eukanuba
My biggest surprise was the animal testing/research facility. One of the guys in our group said he was expecting to see animals hooked up to the Matrix, and that pretty much reflected my expectation. Frankly, I was kind of dreading it.
I was in for the surprise of my life.
This tour was a rare treat; outsiders are seldom allowed in, both to protect their proprietary methods and technology, but also to keep the animals from being exposed to any kind of disease. The facilities are housed on a campus surrounded by woods and cornfields. The first thing you see are dogs in outdoor “playpens” rollicking like maniacs (except for the pair of beagles we saw humping each other).
The Cat Facility
I was most interested in the cat facility, and I could have stayed there all day. The resident cats are housed in a festive cage-free stimulus-rich indoor-outdoor environment, and someone is there all day long to play with them, groom them, and basically wait on them hand and foot.
The cats are obviously healthy, happy and well-socialized. There is a platform affixed to the glass wall where you can view the indoor living area, and one after another, the cats would jump up, and rub against the glass to greet us. All of the cats are domestic short-hairs/long-hairs.
They all have access to an outdoor “catio” which is littered with toys and has hammocks and platforms affixed to the chain link enclosure at varying heights to accommodate the cat hierarchy (alpha cats stay low, while the low cat on the totem pole gets as high as she can.)
The Testing Process
Cats have embedded microchips to identify them. When they are fed, the amount they eat is measured. They pee and poop in million-dollar litter boxes that measure and collect the output which can be analyzed to determine how effectively the food is digested. That’s it. They’re not caged, they’re not hooked up to machines, they’re not force-fed like geese to make foie gras.
The unanimous consensus among everyone in our group was that the test cats are treated far better than our own spoiled cats. Someone is fully dedicated to playing with them all day long, they never ever have to poop in a dirty litter box, and after they’ve served their time as test cats, they are adopted out to loving homes.
Socialization Training
In conjunction with testing, the cats and dogs go through extensive socialization training, partly to ensure that they will make great pets after they “retire.” This includes familiarizing them with the home environment and training them to behave properly in the home.
The dogs’ kennels are state-of-the-art. Dogs get plenty of outdoors time, which includes stimulus-rich playpens and walks. Employees can “check out” dogs to take on walks on a dog path that winds through the nearby woods. Like the cats, the dogs were all very happy, well-trained, and well-socialized.
Retirement
When the animals are between 6-8 years old, they are retired from testing and adopted out to forever homes. Before they’re adopted out, they go through transitional training to ensure they will fit in to the home environment.
Iams/Eukanuba no longer contracts out testing to outside research facilities to ensure the welfare of the dogs and cats in its test program.
Everyone at the research facility (well, everyone who works at Iams/Eukanuba) is an over-the-top animal lover, who will whip out the iPhone to show you photos of their pets. Sure, they are scientists, but that takes a back seat to their passion for animals and interest in animal welfare. Most of the people we met have worked there for many years, and absolutely LOVE their jobs, and that’s reflected in the superb care these animals receive. I would LOVE to board my cats here when I go on vacation.
And by the way, Dan Rajczak is a cat person. He has two cats, and an adopted black lab research dog just joined their family.
In the interest of full disclosure, this trip was fully paid for by Iams/Eukanuba. They gave Skeezix two stylish scarves: a green Iams scarf, and a pink Eukanuba scarf. They provided a gift basket which included but was not limited to Pringles and a travel-sized bottle of Scope. They took us bowling and had custom-embroidered bowling shirts made for us.
TOMORROW: All about corn.
This is GREAT to hear, thank you so much for posting this. I have always trusted IAMS and its good to know that at least one company goes the extra mile in caring for the pets in their research centers. This is GREAT news and made my day, thanks again for sharing with us.
Jaime
Glad to read this. Last year we posted on Iams Home 4 the Holidays shelter adoption campaign and we were a bit nervous about it because of Iams reputation for not treating their animals well. Maybe we can participate again this year.
We are furry happy to get the inside “scoop” on Dan!
If you approve of the facility then we know it’s top notch!
Can we get one of those million dollar litter boxes?
We are furry happy the kittys and pooches live fun & happy lives, and then get adopted when they retire!
Wayyyyyyyyyyyy cool!
And as long as the kitties and woofies get proper v-e-t care, then we are good with IAMS/Eukanuba.
all’s i eat are iams and the occashunal can of fancy feast. mommie wants da jobbie of waiting on the kitties hand and foot
Dear Iams,
Please send me a big bag of adult catfood and I will test it and I promise to write back and tell you if I like it.
Meows,
Christopher
PS, Do you think Iams will read this??
I recently realized, after boycotting Proctor and Gamble products for years, that the Eukenuba my current dogs have always done well on that it is made by P&G. I’d like to know more about animal testing done by P&G on other products.
Wow, dem cats has my kinda life! Fresh air, sunshine, all da foods dey can eats, an da litter box is always clean? But what bout sumone to snuggle in bed wif at nite? Sleepin on Mom’s feets is one of my favoritest fings.
Purrs,
Victor
PS Iams mite go along wif Christopher’s idear if he agrees to send thems samples of his “output” fur them to study.
I have always trusted Iams, even during the “boycott Iams” thing. Squeakers loved it. Wish I could get Sandy to like it more, she likes generic Alley Cat food. I had a feeling those cats and dogs were not hooked up to machines, etc. Wow, those cats sure have an awesome life!
Sandy says: “I wanna be an Iams cat! With lots of food, a million dollar litterbox and lots of sunny places to play!”
That is so good to hear about Iams. I always wonder what the animals go through. I’m so relieved to hear their lives are happy and enriched.
Do you know if they breed the dogs and cats or do they adopt them from shelters?
Thank you so much for sharing this with us Karen. I feel so much better knowing that the animals are happy and well cared for. Did they say where they got the animals in the first place?
That is so freaking good to know! I love Iams food but the Woman kept hearing stuff…now maybe she’ll relax and let us have Iams crunchy food as treats.
It’s great to hear about how nice their facility is. However why can’t they make a good cat food if they have all these research people and love cats. I have yet to find an Iams product that didn’t have cat inappropriate and even toxic ingredients in it. I wish someone would prove me wrong and tell me what cat food they make that is made with cat appropriate ingredients and doesn’t have the added junk in it that ruin the cats gut and kidneys. I want to be wrong so that I can find a good cat food I truly do.
How wonderful to hear. Thanks so much for sharing the inside scoop!
No mention of the history of violations, fines, and boycotts against Iams due to concerns about the treatment of their “testing” animals? It’s great that they’ve possibly cleaned up their act related to treatment of animals but any article about how great they treat animals should include mention of their not-so-distant history including fines from the USDA for violations of the animal welfare act by the research center they were contracting with.
I hope they continue to make progress in their treatment of animals and that what you saw is truly the way operations work there on a daily basis and not just on a day when they’ve invited, paid for, and wined and dined media/bloggers and are looking for good publicity.
Lucy already has so eloquently expressed so many of the points that I had on my mind. There is almost nothing for me to write further.
The first thing I did think of when reading this blog entry, was “carefully orchestrated positive public opinion marketing campaign.” Iams/Eukanuba’s parent company Proctor & Gamble has such a long history of proven, documented violations in several countries that I am sure they wish to present themselves in a positive light. Recent humane legislative victories have shown the public to be very aware and concerned in regards to social responsibility and the humane treatment of animals. Any company who wishes to court the consumer in today’s marketplace must also emphasize these values and concerns.
Like Lucy, I applaud any real changes they have made, even though I myself remain skeptical.
[...] Meet Skeezix? We’re in the middle of a fancy restaurant….does she mean that her cat is in that big bag she had pushed under the table? Poor kitty, stuffed in a bag under a table!? What if the wait staff saw him?–we’d be thrown out! Does the hotel know she’s traveling with her cat? What would we do with the kitty the next day when we toured our Pet Health & Nutrition Center? [...]
If you are all clean now and so proud of your organization, why no pictures? And don’t give me the proprietary technology. It’s cat food, for goodness sake. If you’ve got nothing to hide, open your doors.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by skeezixthecat: Find out about the happiest and healthiest animal testing subjects you’re likely to meet: http://su.pr/2HjBWU…
[...] bloggers to tour our Pet Health & Nutrition Center. You can also see eye-witness accounts at: Animal Testing’s Happy Healthy Test Subjects Some of Your Iams Questions are Answered. I hope that this has been helpful! Jenifer, RVT [...]