Combat Effects of Food Poisoning With Good Nutrition

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Cats and dogs that survived the recent pet-food poisoning may need long-term care if their kidney function remains impaired.

Follow your good vet's advice and discuss using the recipes available on my Web site ( http://www.doctormwfox.org) as a supplement. Or try a similar commercial dietary formulation, ideally one with organically certified ingredients, and with more pasta and rice than animal protein if renal function is very poor.

Unfortunately, many animals, especially cats, do not like these processed dietary formulations, which is why I offer home-prepared alternatives.

Vitamin B complex is very important for animals with kidney disease, as is a potassium gluconate supplement and a daily broad-spectrum multimineral, multivitamin supplement. Offer your pet a low-phosphate and low-protein diet. Your vet may want to prescribe a phosphate binder and a specific diet for chronic renal failure.

Giving dogs safflower oil (about 1 teaspoon daily per 30 pounds of body weight) will help support kidney function. A few drops of fish oil are good for cats with this problem. Herbal tinctures such as dandelion and a little chopped parsley in the food, or made into a tea and added to the animals' drinking water, also will help, but only if they like it. Cats can be more finicky than dogs, and anything that stops them from drinking plenty of water is bad when they have chronic kidney disease.

The sick animal will not feel like eating, and the vitamin B complex will help stimulate appetite. Extra mineral supplements are very much needed when sick animals drink and urinate more than normal. Coax the animal to eat whatever she or he likes, with caution. Animals' nutritional wisdom is not perfect. Some may just want a little pasta and scrambled egg until they feel better and their kidneys (and possibly their challenged livers) repair. Hand feeding, and even injecting replacement fluids and nutrients under the skin, can save many lives.

Complications can develop, such as anemia, which calls for ferrous-sulfate supplements or more costly Procrit injections. Many animals develop hypertension, and that calls for a low-salt diet and medications, like a beta antagonist or a diuretic. Peritoneal dialysis also helps.

For ethical reasons, and because cats with kidney transplants are more prone to developing diabetes mellitus and infections, I do not advise giving cats kidney transplants to prolong their lives -- and their suffering.

Chronic renal failure can bring on a host of complications, including blood clots (thromboembolism), immune-system impairment, pancreatitis and seizures. Regular veterinary checkups are vital.

Dear Dr. Fox:

About a year ago, I read in your column how a reader's switch to no-corn food had helped her dog, which was having seizures. At that time, my Jack Russell terrier was having seizures two to four times a month. Despite extensive testing, my vet was unable to find the cause of the seizures. I immediately changed to rice-and-lamb dog food.

Gus has not had a seizure in the past eight months. I believe the change in diet cured his problem.

-- E.M.

Delano, Minn.

Thanks for sharing your solution. Wheat ingredients also can be problematic in this regard.

I wish more readers would give me feedback on how my advice, their insights and online research helped their animal companions recover from health problems, especially those related to diet. It is shocking how so many pet-food companies load dog and cat foods with cheap cereal byproducts of poor nutritional value that are clearly contributing to a host of health problems, especially in cats.

Dear Dr. Fox:

I'm wondering what you think of cats having teeth cleanings under anesthesia. My vet said I should stop feeding my cats canned food and only give them dry food so teeth cleaning won't be necessary again. It is difficult to believe that canned food could be the cause of cat teeth problems. What do you think?

-- J.K.

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Your question comes up frequently. Some pet-nutrition experts believe that dry food does not help keep cats' teeth clean. My position is that it may, but only give dry food as a treat, because an all-dry diet can contribute to chronic bladder and urinary tract problems. This is because some cats do not drink enough water to properly regulate their fluid balance, resulting in highly concentrated urine that can damage the lower urinary tract.

Giving cats raw, scalded (to kill any bacteria) chicken skin and cartilaginous wing tips to chew on can help keep teeth clean. Cats and dogs can get used to having their teeth brushed regularly, which, for many animals, is necessary. Thorough teeth cleaning under light anesthesia is a lifesaving must for many cats.

Dear Dr. Fox:

We have two 14-year-old cats, Sunny and Slater. They have never been around dogs and are indoor cats. We have a 5-year-old son and have decided to get him a dog. I am worried how the cats might react.

I'd like to save a dog from a shelter, and we were thinking of something like a Boston terrier or any mid-sized dog with somewhat short hair.

Should we get a puppy? Would the cats acclimate to a puppy better, or does it not matter? Can you give some advice on how to introduce the dog to a couple of 14-year-old cats? I don't want our beloved cats to be upset, but we also feel our son needs a dog.

-- K.P.

Bloomington, Minn.

Some cats are less easily spooked and more adaptable to changes in their environment than others, such as the arrival of a human baby or the introduction of a new pet into the home.

If they were not unduly upset by the entry of your son into their lives and did not run off and hide, become unhousebroken or fight each other, chances are they will accept a small pup.

Adopt one about 6 to 8 weeks of age, and first introduce the pup in a cage or crate so the cats and dog can see one another and become habituated. Do not let the pup free in the same room with the cats, and keep the door closed so the cats can't run off and hide if they spook. Expose the cats to the caged pup for about a half-hour, then take the pup into another room to run around and be petted. Repeat such exposures four to five times over a 24-hour period, then let the pup out with the cats. Alternatively, adopt an easygoing older dog who is cool around cats and kids -- the shelter can tell you -- and you won't have the chore of housebreaking.

Dear Dr. Fox:

Ten years ago, a small kitten showed up in our yard. We trapped her in the first six months and had her spayed. We put food out for her every day, and over the past several years, she has allowed us to pet her.

She is black and white -- or was, until recently, when her sides and belly (shoulders to haunches) turned gray. I've never seen a cat turn gray. What happened?

-- L.M.

Fresno, Calif.

Coat color is genetically determined, but there are epigenetic factors, such as nutrition, ambient temperature and light, as well as physical and psychological stress and aging, that can influence hair pigmentation.

Melanin, a stress- and pigment-associated hormone, plays an important role.

As animals age, and sometimes after acute stress, they develop gray (pigment-deficient) hairs. If possible, this cat should be given a full physical checkup to rule out a medical reason for her turning gray. I wonder why you never adopted her and took her into your home.

Michael Fox, author of books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Write to him in care of United Feature Syndicate, 200 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.

Copyright 2007, United Feature Syndicate Inc.