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Edited on Fri Mar-23-07 02:22 PM by Holly_Hobby
BY DENISE FLAIM
denise.flaim@ newsday.com
March 22, 2007, 5:50 PM EDT
Newsday Newspaper, Long Island, NY
If your cat or dog ate any of the pet foods recalled last week by Ontario-based Menu Foods and isn't showing any dramatic symptoms of kidney failure -- including vomiting, refusal to eat, lethargy or increased drinking or urination -- that doesn't necessarily mean you are out of the woods, veterinarians warn.
"There are two categories of kidney failure -- acute and chronic," said Neil Shaw, chief medical officer for NYC Veterinary Specialists & Cancer Treatment Center in Manhattan. "Initially, there was an outburst of acute cases, but now we are beginning to see more chronic cases as well."
Acute kidney failure is a sudden, major loss of kidney function that the body cannot adjust to, resulting in a very sick animal in a very short period of time. But with chronic kidney failure, "the damage to the kidneys happened over time, and the body has had a chance to get used to it," often over the course of weeks, he said.
Cathy Langston, of the Manhattan-based Animal Medical Center's renal-medicine service, said that some cats or dogs may have been mildly affected by the tainted food, but have not acted sick enough for owners to bring them into the vet. "Seventy-five percent of patients we have seen have been drinking and urinating excessively, " she said. "But that means that 25 percent of owners did not perceive a change."
Indeed, in chronic cases, symptoms can be subtle, Langston noted. "The cat might go to the food bowl, but may not consume as much. The weight loss might be very gradual, so you don't notice it on a day to day basis. And vomiting may be only occasional, and attributed to hair balls."
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This was from an email I received - no link other than www.newsday.com
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