The fear of tainted pet foods has been highlighted in the news in recent months due to the large amount of tainted pet food that were shipped from China recently. However, tainted pet food has not been limited to just this occurrence. In fact, there have been several occurrences of tainted pet foods being released throughout the years.
The 2007 Tainted Pet Food Scare
Early on this year there was a huge pet food scare. What started off as an assumption that a few types of pet food had been poisoned, turned into a realization that literally dozens of pet food brands were contaminated by a toxic chemical apparently accidentally included in many name brand and store brand pet food.
Cats in particular seemed sensitive to this toxin. It caused many cats to have kidney failure and die. Although officially there were only 23 deaths initially attributed to this issue, there were likely hundreds of animals that died from it. Of the 23 deaths initially attributed to this situation, 22 of the animals that died were cats.
Why it is Difficult to Tell Your Pet is Sick
Many people have wondered why so many pets died from this situation and why pet owners did not get their pets to the veterinarian faster. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, many pets affected by this became ill and passed away very quickly. Secondly, tainted pet food, like many pet illnesses, can be made difficult for pet owners to diagnose by the pets themselves. This is because pets cannot tell their owners when they are sick and sometimes the signs they are sick are very subtle.
There are a few things pet owners can look for to ascertain if their pet is sick. The pet may seem depressed or less social than usual. Or, rather than being withdrawn the pet may seem to want more attention than normal. They may be essentially all over you when they would normally not be so social. They may whine or cry more than usual.
There may be more obvious signs as well. They may refuse to eat or drink water. A pet that is sick may not urinate or defecate as frequently or may discontinue these activities entirely. They may also vomit or cough. A pet that is ill may start doing things that they normally would not that are inappropriate as well. For example, they may start urinating or defecating on the floor instead of in their litter box or outside.