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What Dog & Cat Owners Need To Know About Poisoned Pet Food Recall |
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Written by Staff
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Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
 Aminopterin has been identified as the chemical found in imported wheat gluten from China that is responsible for the current North American-wide pet food recall by Menu Foods. Wheat gluten is a common filler used in the manufacture of pet food. But what exactly is aminopterin and how did it get into our pet food?
Aminopterin was developed for use in chemotherapy, specifically childhood leukemia in the late 1940s. Because of the instability of the compound and the emergence of a specific birth defect (fetal aminopterin syndrome) from women who had been treated with the drug, it fell into disfavour with the scientific community for decades. Aminopterin is being once again tested in clinical trials for treatment of leukemia.
Aminopterin is also used as rat poison but has never been approved for such use in North America. Cats and dogs, after ingesting any of the poisoned wet food are quickly developing renal (kidney) failure. For those animals that do not die, they will require ongoing medical intervention because renal failure is not curable.
The onset of symptoms is usually rapid and extreme and include lethargy (marked lack of energy), vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia (loss of appetite). Some Veterinarians however are reporting that some pets have developed the symptoms of renal failure over a longer period of time. There have been reports of cats toward the end stage of symptoms being unable to stand unassisted. At this point many Vets will recommend euthanasia to end the pet's suffering.
Treatment for less ill pets include intravenous (IV) fluids to promote hydration and to flush out their systems. Medications including antioxidants and folic acid can be utilized but the beneficial affects are unknown in animals. For cats and dogs that do not respond favourably to the previous interventions, some Vets are recommending Hemodialysis but at that point, the costs of these procedures may be prohibitive for many pet owners.
Veterinarians are recommending that pet owners first check the extensive recall list of cat and dog food here: www.menufoods.com/recall . If your pet has eaten a food from the list they recommend that an appointment be made with a Vet even if the pet is not exhibiting any symptoms but owners must immediately stop feeding their pets any food found on the recall list.
Currently the recall affects only wet cat and dog food. The manufacturing process for dry pet food is quite different than the process for wet food. Pets being fed a diet of dry food are not affected by the recall. |
