Wordy Wednesday Public Service Announcement: Catster's sold out to Nutro!

Attn:  All Catster/Dogster members
Re:  Catster's new policy regarding advertisers


Catster HQ has been kenneling (temporarily taking offline) member pages that post links to recalls, update others on kenneling of friends' pages, inform others of poison food (by brand name, i.e. Nutro, or in general) that advertises on Catster/Dogster, and/or post testimonials of adverse reactions to poison food that is advertised on Catster/Dogster.

By the new community guidelines, you cannot post anything that could turn someone else away from an advertiser.  See the post that Dogster founder/Top Dog/Top Cat Ted R. wrote here.  Notice that all comments will be moderated first?  They're scared, and they have a right to be!

Catster Hazel Lucy, of the famous Tranquility Blankets and the Purr List, had her diary "cleaned up" (aka censored) by HQ for listing recalls and telling others plainly about Nutro's poison food.  She has also been put on warning that she may be kenneled if she keeps this up.

Other Catsters and a few Dogsters saw this and complained to HQ about it.  Over the weekend, many names on Catster were appended with "who loves Hazel Lucy".  Cats wrote diary entries about her, and some wrote about their experiences with poison food of various brands (mostly recalled).  One cat wrote about her doggie brother who ate Nutro after winning it in a Dogster-sponsored contest (free Nutro for a year).

Over the past day and a half, the diaries that were anti-poison food were either kenneled or put on notice, and many of the cats who had changed their names were either kenneled or warned as well.  Some of the cats who had commented on censored diaries were also kenneled for commenting and agreeing with what was posted.

Catster/Dogster has prohibited anyone from commenting there on what is going on, but many have been making the new policy known other places.  There is a group on Facebook for Concerned Catsters/Dogsters.  Some of us have been posting on our non-Catster blogs.  Many people have been using their FB status updates to keep others apprised of the situation as well.

Some Catsters/Dogsters are leaving because of this.  Some have chosen to stay but not participate as much.  Some have chosen to stay and defy the new rules.  So far, only a few e-mails have been answered, of the many sent to Ted R. about the whole situation.  None of the answers are good; most state that since advertisers pay the bills, they must be respected at all costs, and anyone who speaks out against them is defying the terms of service and will be kicked off the site.

User-friendly?  Community?  Definitely not!

Say No to Nutro Ads on Catster!

Cats all over Catster, dogs on Dogster and purrents on Facebook are protesting Catster.com and Dogster.com's decision to serve advertisements for Nutro pet food on the Vet Blog.  Why?  Because Nutro has been involved in many major recalls, both involuntary and voluntary, during the last few years.  Some pets who have pages on the site have died from eating tainted Nutro food which was later recalled!  Still, the head of Dogster.com, Ted Rheingold, made the decision to take Nutro's money!

Ted R. and co. have issued a few statements, but no apologies and no promises.  The only explanation they have given was that Dogster.com users were in favor of the ads and that the company didn't think Catster.com users would read the Vet Blog.  We say that's a load of poop!  Nutro food killed both cats AND dogs!  Most Dogsters are against the Nutro ads, so why is Ted R. saying the exact opposite?

If you have a page on Catster or Dogster and would like to participate in the strike, tag a photo "no to nutro".  There are also threads in both the Plus forums and the regular forums on both Catster.com and Dogster.com.  We don't know how long the threads will continue to be open, as the Catster police are out in force deleting posts and diary entries which expose the ad campaign.  Protesters are determined to be heard, and are reposting two or three for every one that gets erased.  There is also a protest group on Catster/Dogster and one on Facebook.

Foodie Friday: Pet Food Recall

This is not a regular Foodie Friday post, but it's important enough to be mine for this week. Nutro has issued a voluntary recall of some of the varieties of their Natural Choice and Max foods. If your dog or cat eats a Nutro food, please read this article!

Foodie Friday posts