Pet Food Recall - please read

[ddthetide]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

O.K......You are right.....Find a cat.

easy now !

[ddthetide]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

Where did you hear that? That's serious stuff.

IF they find who did this, they should have to eat poisoned food as well.

[Riot]

It is suspected the toxic agent may have come in with a load of grain from China. That's unknown.

Fortunately, very few animals have been affected (the Animal Medical Center, Cornell, the big national veterinary lists, etc. have been keeping, obviously, tight tabs on suspected cases).

Here's a brief summary from the vet lists:

A press conference has announced that the toxic agent involved in the pet food recall has been identified as aminopterin. Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide in some countries, it is illegal to use in the United States. Aminopterin was used as an anti-cancer drug in the US in the 1940's, but has since been replaced by other, less toxic, chemotherapeutics.

At toxic doses aminopterin causes nephrotoxicity - it affects the kidneys, at high doses forming crystals in the urine, and causing acute renal failure.

What owners should do: check the recall list again today - it has been updated - www.fda.gov

See your veterinarian if you believe your animals have been exposed. If they have eaten the foods on the recall list within the last two months or so, their kidney function should be tested (screened) by your veterinarian.

Toxicity is treatable by aggressive fluid hydration, and diuresis to dissolve and remove the crystals from the kidneys. Treatment is similar to that used for any acute renal failure. At least partial renal recovery is anticipated in many cases. Toxicities are "dose-related", meaning animals that ingested more of the toxic substance are sicker than animals that have not. As aminopterin is a folic-acid inhibiting agent, and can suppress bone marrow function, animals should be monitored for anemia, etc. by blood tests. There are no current reports of animals suffering bone marrow suppression. Recovering animals should be monitored by your veterinarian on a regular basis.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

We lost one of our golden retrievers to a brain aneurysm caused by an ingredient that was in Nutro Max...

What ingredient was that?

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Riot

What ingredient was that?

Riot, I couldn't tell you what the actual ingredient was. This was about 6 years ago and I was told at the time (by my veterinarian) that there had been a certain lot of Nutro Lamb and Rice that had been contaminated and there had been documented cases of this rancid ingredient causing seizures in dogs. My dog was a completely normal and healthy 6 year old retriever... I came home from work one evening, took him outside to play ball and he all of a sudden collapsed and began seizuring. We took him to the Emergency Vet Clinic and we were told that he had had a brain aneurysm. He lived for a few months, but he lost all coordination in his left side including eye sight, hearing, feeling... it was awful. So rather than take the chance again, I felt the need to start feeding my pets something better, so I've gone the natural route.

You're a vet... have you heard anything like this before? What is your opinion on Nutro?

[packerbacker7964]

My buddies high dollar Hair-less cat died of kidney failure less than two weeks ago right before this story broke. He had the cat cremated and there are no remains but the cause to put the cat down was kidney failure and the vet's bill said just that. I told him to try and get a settlement from them.