Our question this week was:

First, I would like to say Thank you for having such an easy site to look up this horrible information. I am thinking my dog has been eating the pet food that has been recalled. She will only eat the wet dog food. She currently likes the Alpo Prime Cuts I noticed that it is on the recall list. How long do the symptoms appear and last before you should take them to the vet? Are there any safe foods out there?

Abby Christopherson - Minnesota

Answer

Hi Abby– thanks for your email. It seems as though all the pet foods on the market are being recalled however, the recalled foods actually represent just over 1% of pet foods. So there are a lot of what are believed to be "safe" foods.

As far as the time between eating the foods and the symptoms, a lot is not known. It seems to depend on the individual pet, the level of concentration of the toxin and the individual pets response to it. Cats seem to be more sensitive. There is so much unknown, it has not even been determined with certainty that the melamine is the causative problems. Some believe that it is not. I'm really not sure.

If you have been feeding a recalled food, I'd recommend that you take him to the vet immediately for evaluation. They will most likely do blood work to determine if there is any kidney damage. If your pet has been eating the food, you will be interested in this article Advice to Pet Owners after Nationwide Food Recall.

Stay tuned to our link "Pet Food Recall Update" and I'll try to keep you updated as new information is released.


Best of luck!



Dr. Jon




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