Woman Sues After Kitten Dies Getting Trapped in Popular Pet-Food Container

A Pennsylvania woman is suing Iris USA Inc., after her pet kitten died in a devastating accident that she says involved one of the manufacturer’s airtight pet-food containers. In July, Valentina Mallozi’s pet kitten, Ace, reportedly died after climbing into one of the containers — which are advertised to be pet-proof — and getting trapped inside. Seven-month old Ace eventually suffocated, because the lid automatically locks and creates an airtight seal. 

According to LawCommentary, Mallozzi’s lawsuit — filed on Oct. 22 — specifically alleges that Iris “violated Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, committed negligence, breached warranties, and engaged in deceptive marketing practices.” Pennsylvania product liability law states that manufacturers must design products that are reasonably safe for their intended use. The lawsuit argues that Iris did not meet these standards, because the container could easily trap animals. 

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The container has a latch that is said to be pet-proof — but animals are able to pry it open. They subsequently become trapped when the lid closes and locks automatically. Being trapped in the storage container can suffocate a small animal within minutes.

Mallozzi cites a report from the Center for Pet Safety (CPS) in collaboration with nonprofit Prevent Pet Suffocation. The March 2025 study evaluated a collection of airtight storage containers, warning consumers about the dangers that they present. These accidental deaths can happen to any small pet, but CPS says the majority of cases occur in cats.

“While it seems intuitive that a pet would simply be able to push the lid open to escape the closed container, the data indicates otherwise,” the study says. “Based on reports received, pet owners believe pets became disoriented and/or were unable to escape the closed containers due to depth of the container. Deceased pets were found in both latched and unlatched containers.”

CPS also made note that there are no mandatory warning labels for these airtight containers. The report identified the Iris brand containers as being particularly dangerous and specifically called out the manufacturer. However, despite this report, Iris does not appear to have adjusted any of its manufacturing or added any warning labels. 

Furthermore, Mallozi alleges that Iris USA Inc. is deliberately misleading customers by promoting the container as safe to use around pets, despite knowing about the dangers. The lawsuit claims that in addition to the CPS report, Iris also knew about the dangers of the container through customer complaints and social media posts. Indeed, on the Prevent Pet Suffocation Facebook page, there are posts memorializing pets who died after getting trapped in an Iris container (including one for Ace). Many commentators express sympathy and also share anecdotes of how they similarly lost their own pets in food-container accidents.

“Peach suffocated to death because she was able to lift the lid on a food storage bin and climb in,” reads a post from just this past August, alleging an incident with an Iris container. “The lid shut on her, and the bin was airtight. These storage containers are deadly. She isn’t the first to suffer this fate. Please, please, please secure the tops on your food storage bins." 

If Mallozzi wins her lawsuit, Iris will have to pay compensation to Mallozzi and other consumers who lost their pets. Per Law Commentary, the company will also have to refund the unsafe products and either warn consumers with proper labeling or stop selling the containers.