PetSmart has announced that it will stop sales of cat and dog treats sourced from China. It is one of several other companies taking the measure due to ongoing fears that pet treats made in China are making pets sick.

The company will have its China-sourced pet treats off all stores by March 2015. Erin Gray, a spokesperson for PetSmart, said, “This is something we've been working toward for some time, and feel it's the right thing to do for pets and our customers.” US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators have been unsuccessful so far in proving that China-sourced pet treats have made pets ill. This is despite the FDA receiving over 4,800 complaints of illnesses and over 1,000 reports of dog deaths due to sweet potato jerky, duck and chicken treats made in China.

The FDA provided an update on its investigation saying that it had found the antiviral drug amantadine in some chicken jerky treats sold more than one year ago. However, it does not believe that this drug is the cause of the illnesses. It will continue investigating the matter. Apart from PetSmart, PetCo also announced that it will remove China-sourced pet treats from its chain of 1,300 stores by the end of 2014 due to demand from its customers. It revealed that it been reducing the number of China-sourced treats on its shelves in the last three years.