Pet-Food Scare: Vet Answers Your Questions

March 21, 2007 — -- With at least 10 dogs dead and a massive recall of pet food, pet owners are worried and brimming with questions.

ABC News asked veterinarian Ann E. Hohenhaus, the chairman of the department of medicine at the Animal Medical Center in New York, to answer your questions about what to look for and what you can do for your pet right now.

Question: Now that the recall has started, what should I do?

Check your pantry for any of the recalled foods. If it appears your pet may have eaten some of the recalled foods, your pet should be evaluated by a veterinarian. The blood and urine tests to determine whether a pet is in renal failure are readily available, take 24 hours or less to get results, and have no side effects for the pet. The list of recalled foods may be found at www.menufoods.com.

Question: What should I be looking for in my pets? How will I know if they've been affected by tainted dog food or if they're just a little sick? When should I take them to the vet?

1. If your pet is normal and has not eaten any of the recalled foods, you should not worry.

2. If your pet has eaten a brand of food that has been recalled, but is acting normally, you can catch a urine sample and take it to your veterinarian for testing. A concentrated urine sample indicates the kidneys are fine. A diluted urine sample indicates a blood test should be performed to determine whether there is kidney failure.

3. If your pet is sick and has eaten the recalled foods, you should take him/her to your veterinarian where blood and urine tests will be performed and a determination will be made on whether hospitalization is required.

Question: What are the symptoms of kidney failure?

Decreased appetite, lethargy, vomiting, maybe diarrhea. Increased water consumption, increased or decreased urine production. In cats that use a litter box, you may notice a need to change the box more often than usual. Dogs may ask to go outside more often, or the well-housebroken dog may have accidents.

Question: Experts are still not sure what the cause is. What ingredient do you think is the culprit?

Currently, there is only speculation as to the cause of the renal failure. Although wheat gluten has been implicated, wheat is a common ingredient in pet foods and is likely only associated with the renal failure, not the cause of renal failure.

Question: What do I feed my pups when I get home tonight? I am planning to thaw a package of hamburger and cook it with rice for them, but what about in the future?

The vast majority of commercially prepared pet foods have solid research and science behind their formulation and manufacture. In general they are the best food to feed your pet. Home-cooked diets may be lacking in essential nutrients since they have not undergone extensive nutritional evaluation. Over time, even the best cooks adjust their recipes, and even if you start with a complete and balanced recipe, the product evolves over time to become deficient in certain nutrients. Nutritionists call this "diet drift." However, if you do decide to thaw out and cook a package of hamburger for your pet, be sure it is adequately cooked, since undercooked ground meat has been implicated in human cases of renal failure.

Question: Do you have any suggestions on what "human" food to feed them on a regular basis? I would like to get rid of all commercial dog foods now.

Human foods do not have a perfect safety record either. Poorly cooked hamburger, spinach, scallions, turkey cold cuts, peanut butter and unpasteurized cheese have all been linked to illness and death in humans.

Question: My chocolate lab has been living on a recalled brand of dry food. If the wet food of the brand was recalled, does that mean that the dry food is at risk? If so, what brand should I now buy?

The manufacturing process for dry foods is very different from that of wet foods, so no dry foods have been recalled These two facts make me think that your dry-food-eating dog is safe even if the dry food is from the same company as a recalled wet food.

Question: My two dogs (approximately 16 pounds each) were on a steady diet of one of the recalled brands. They each would consume approximately 2½ ounces of the wet food per day. I switched dog food brands approximately six weeks ago. Are they still in danger or am I being overly concerned?

The time course between eating the recalled food and developing renal failure is currently unknown. Because we are speculating that a toxin may be involved in the renal failure, and most toxins damage the kidneys in a matter of days, not weeks, my guess is that your dogs are OK. If you are concerned, a urine sample evaluated by your veterinarian may be useful to put your mind at ease.