More on Recall...interesting and informative

This was sent to me and I found the information to be very useful, especially the second half (the first is a recap of info.) I did remove a telephone number from the post.

It's Dr. Jon here. I wanted to give you another
update about the
recent pet food recall. I know many of you are
scared. And there
is tons of information out there and some of it
is confusing to
interpret. I've spent a lot of time on the phone
trying to get you
the latest information and want to share an
overview of the
information with you now.

As you know, a couple weeks ago there was a dog
and cat food recall
of 60 million containers packaged under 95 brands
of food. Two
additional brands - Alpo and Hills were added to
the list last
week. The Hills recall was for the first dry food
of the recall - a
prescription diet for cats called m/d.

The preliminary reports indicated that the
affected foods caused
over 16 deaths and may have caused illness in
hundreds of others.
Last week, the Agriculture Commissioner of New
York State Patrick
Hooker released information that Aminopterin, a
form of rat poison,
was found in some cat foods. Since then, it is
believed that
Aminopterin did not contribute to the deaths.

On Friday, the FDA announced that melamine, a
chemical used as a
fertilizer and in the production of plastics, was
found in tested
samples of recalled pet food from Menu Foods. The
substance was
also identified in urine and tissue samples taken
from sickened
cats and from the kidney of one cat that had
eaten the recalled
food. According to the FDA, "Melamine is
primarily used in Asia as
a fertilizer but is not approved for that use in
the United States.
It is used in plastic kitchenware in this
country."

As with the Aminopterin, it is not possible to
test pets for
melamine at this time. No one seems to know as to
how much or if
any other compounds were found. They also are
not certain if
melamine is linked to the illness in deaths of
the pets eating the
recalled foods. As you can tell, there are many
unanswered
questions. Reports are continuously being
updated and there is
still a lot that we don't know.

They do know that the compound involved is
causing kidney failure
and it seems to affect cats worse than dogs. The
most common signs
of kidney failure are: vomiting, not eating,
drinking more,
urinating more and/or lethargy. If your pet is
eating or was eating
one of the recalled foods and is experiencing any
symptoms, please
call your veterinarian immediately. We recommend
testing and
treating all affected pets! If caught early,
kidney failure can be
treated successfully in some pets.

For more information read about:

Kidney Failure in Dogs:
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?Gl7L9JMF9Q4KwR947q5HJg

Kidney Failure in Cats:
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?PPJjV4z.KrdF.IuSGrLo8Q

The food recall covers several different foods -
primarily those
with gravy components - with the dates of
December 3rd - March 6th.
The recall does not affect all varieties of the
different food -
but is now thought to affected both canned and
dry formulas.

If you suspect your pet has been affected by the
food - please read
these steps to help your veterinarian with your
pet's diagnosis:

Advice to Pet Food Owner After National Recall:
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?V2dqQO_JKtxS7TmYYbmmFA

This article gives recommendations and resources
for veterinarians.
If your pet has been affected, please print both
articles and take
them with you when you see your vet.

Here is also an update for veterinarians:

Pet Food Recall Updated Information for
Veterinarians:
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?1Y5JSgpAKtH7FZ4VnEFjLg

I sincerely hope that your pets are not affected.

Regards,

Dr. Jon