'Dirty' Pet Food More Deadly to Cats

Apr 01, 07:09 PM

Current Headlines: A greater sensitivity to a poisonous chemical found in plastics and pesticides could explain why cats have died in larger numbers than dogs after eating contaminated pet food.

The small number of confirmed reports of pet deaths bolstered by a far larger number of unconfirmed reports suggests cats were more susceptible to poisoning by the chemical melamine that tainted the now recalled pet food, officials with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Testing by the FDA and Cornell University has found melamine in samples of recalled pet food as well as in crystal form in the urine and kidney tissue of dead cats. They have also found the chemical, in apparently raw form in concentrations as high as 6.6 percent, in wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the recalled cat and dog foods, said Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian.

The investigation has traced the melamine to wheat gluten that Menu Foods, Nestle Purina PetCare Co and Hill's Pet Nutrition bought from an unnamed US supplier. The latter two companies have recalled a limited number of products since Friday.

Sundlof and others have not been able to explain why the chemical would have caused the kidney failure seen so far in the confirmed pet deaths, all but one of which were cats.

"It has a very low toxicity, at least in rodents. The problem is, we don't have information in cats, and that seems to be the most susceptible species," Sundlof said of melamine.

Nestle Purina PetCare Co said on Saturday it was recalling all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes. Purina said a limited amount of the food contained contaminated wheat gluten.

Earlier this month, Menu Foods became the first pet food manufacturer to recall its products. It did so after cats began to fall sick and die during routine company taste tests of its wet- style pet foods, sold under nearly 100 store and major-label brands across North America.

Melamine is used to make plastic kitchenware, glues, countertops, fabrics, fertilizers and flame retardants. It also is both a contaminant and byproduct of several pesticides, including cyromazine, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Agencies

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