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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / May 2007Researchers find link between pet food, kidney failure
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/04/27/pet-food.html Fair Use Excerpt: Canadian researchers said Friday they've made a chemical discovery that may explain how contaminated pet food blocked animals' kidney function, sickening hundred of dogs and cats in Canada and the United States. University of Guelph researcher Perry Martos said animals likely developed crystals in their kidneys because of a reaction between cyanuric acid and melamine a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, and found in the recalled pet food. "We knew these two compounds had been implicated, but because neither seemed sufficiently toxic on its own, it was unclear how they might have been involved," Martos said in a statement. (more at the link posted above)  Signatureannoyed@net.spammers Craig, Kathi & "Cat Five" the tabby girl > http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/04/27/pet-food.html > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > sufficiently toxic on its own, it was unclear how they might have been > involved," Martos said in a statement. Anyone else think this has been going on for a very long time and only just triggered the attention it is getting? Either that or cats are really prone to an amazing amount of kidney trouble. Jo >> http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/04/27/pet-food.html >> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Jo Yes, I believe it's been going on for quite some time and was probably hushed up until pet owners and vets started complaining and the news media got hold of the story. Jill > <anno...@net.spammers> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Jo Cats are prone to an amazing amount of kidney trouble. Any individual cat developing kidney failure, even at a comparatively young age, is a horse, not a zebra. It takes a spike in the general rate of kidney failure to attract attention. And dogs, well, the first, second, third questions the owner is going to be asked are "when did your dog find the puddle of anti-freeze?" Again, it takes a spike in the rate. A significant spike in the rate of kidney failure in both species, of course, DOES stand out and get the vets talking to each other. The latest round of recalls pushes the start of the contamination back to at least August 2006. It most likely started earlier than that, but it took the culprits a while to get greedy and careless enough that the increased rate of kidney failure in cats and dogs got high enough to stand out and start the vets talking to each other about it. Lis >> Anyone else think this has been going on for a very long time and only just >> triggered the attention it is getting? >The latest round of recalls pushes the start of the contamination back >to at least August 2006. It most likely started earlier than that, but >it took the culprits a while to get greedy and careless enough that >the increased rate of kidney failure in cats and dogs got high enough >to stand out and start the vets talking to each other about it. A friend just posted this link to an article, stating melamine being used in China to fake protein in foods is an "open secret": http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/business/30food.php Unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me, but I wish it did. The recalls being pushed back bother me so much, because it means there's a chance my older cat Spam was affected by tainted Hill's food. We'll never know, but I'll always wonder if his sudden and rapid decline was brought on by tainted food. Stacia > http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/04/27/pet-food.html > University of Guelph researcher Perry Martos said animals likely developed > crystals in their kidneys because of a reaction between cyanuric acid and > melamine - a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, and found in the > recalled pet food. .....well, that does not tell me much! I wish they wouldn't assume no one has a scientific interest in this stuff. I found an abstract from the 40s which said that cyanuric acid is a planar molecule and tends to lay itself down one on top of another with bonds between the molecules. Cyanuric acid will also make chiral crystals on silver and gold. Wonder if they'd do that on any other metals. A chiral crystal (like a winding staircase) might plug up the tubules pretty fast. I think melamine is a pryamidal crystal, but I'm not sure of the angle of the bonds between C and N. Both tend to move through mammalian systems separately unchanged. I'm not yet convinced it's just melamine and cyanuric acid. An Inchem document showed kidney damage in rats after 2 weeks of oral feeding with melamine with 3% impurities. The most common impurities are cyanuric acid, ammeline and ammelide. Or it could have been melamine cyanurate to begin with, a flame retardant. buglady take out the dog before replying on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:23:47 GMT, "buglady" <buglady99@bigfootdog.com> wrote: > .....well, that does not tell me much! I wish they wouldn't assume no > one has a scientific interest in this stuff. I found an abstract from [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Or it could have been melamine cyanurate to begin with, a flame > retardant. I was making pasta last night and started to stir the pot with a plastic spoon. I have been using thick plastic utensils for cooking for YEARS. How much you wanna bet they have melamine in them and it's leeching into our food? I threw them all out and used a wooden spoon. I'm also chucking the plastic cups the kids have been using for years. What's sad is that I am probably not overreacting. SignatureLynne "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly We are brave enough to bend to cry And sad enough to know We must laugh again" ~ Nikki Giovanni, 4/17/2007, Virginia Tech > I was making pasta last night and started to stir the pot with a plastic > spoon. I have been using thick plastic utensils for cooking for YEARS. > How much you wanna bet they have melamine in them and it's leeching into > our food? I doubt if melamine in the form of a polymerized resin will leach out at all (or maybe a bit if you leave it in the sun for a thousand years). When did you ever see a melamine plate dissolve? ============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ============== Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760 <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975 stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557 on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:51:28 GMT, Jack Campin - bogus address <bogus@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote: > I doubt if melamine in the form of a polymerized resin will leach > out at all (or maybe a bit if you leave it in the sun for a thousand > years). When did you ever see a melamine plate dissolve? Funny you should ask, but the spoon that raised my concerns was peeling in several layers around the edges. That's what incited me to wonder what might be getting into our food. SignatureLynne "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly We are brave enough to bend to cry And sad enough to know We must laugh again" ~ Nikki Giovanni, 4/17/2007, Virginia Tech > on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:51:28 GMT, Jack Campin - bogus address > <bogus@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > several layers around the edges. That's what incited me to wonder what > might be getting into our food. Plastics form fromed from melamine are usually hard and brittle. A 'peeling' one is highly unlikely to be melamine based. Yowie on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 04:16:31 GMT, "Yowie" <yowie9644.DIESPAMDIE@yahoo.com.au> wrote: > Plastics form fromed from melamine are usually hard and brittle. A > 'peeling' one is highly unlikely to be melamine based. I hope you are right! I've been using this type for years, but am paranoid now. SignatureLynne "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly We are brave enough to bend to cry And sad enough to know We must laugh again" ~ Nikki Giovanni, 4/17/2007, Virginia Tech > I doubt if melamine in the form of a polymerized resin will leach > out at all (or maybe a bit if you leave it in the sun for a thousand > years). When did you ever see a melamine plate dissolve? .......it does actually in acidic food like orange juice and coffee. buglady take out the dog before replying on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:48:27 GMT, "buglady" <buglady99@bigfootdog.com> wrote: > .......it does actually in acidic food like orange juice and coffee. so stirring spaghetti sauce with malamine utensils is a Very Bad Idea. SignatureLynne "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly We are brave enough to bend to cry And sad enough to know We must laugh again" ~ Nikki Giovanni, 4/17/2007, Virginia Tech > on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:48:27 GMT, "buglady" <buglady99@bigfootdog.com> > wrote: > >> .......it does actually in acidic food like orange juice and coffee. > > so stirring spaghetti sauce with malamine utensils is a Very Bad Idea. (cross posting snipped) Not necessarily. Melamine hasn't been proven to cause problems in humans. As Karen pointed out, we have a different physiology from cats and dogs. Having said that, I always use wooden spoons to stir sauces or soups of any kind, acidic or not. And for stirring things like eggs for scrambling I have a flat wooden utensil; it couldn't properly be called a spatula but it's not a spoon, either. I really only use a non-stick pan when making scrambled eggs or omelets and wood doesn't scratch the surface. Other than that, there's no particular reason I use wooden utensils; I've simply always done so. Plus they're cheap to replace :) Jill > (cross posting snipped) > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > that, there's no particular reason I use wooden utensils; I've simply always > done so. Plus they're cheap to replace :) And they look nicer than plastic. :) SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. >> (cross posting snipped) >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > And they look nicer than plastic. :) And they're more environmently friendly. ;-) SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart. http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk >on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:23:47 GMT, "buglady" <buglady99@bigfootdog.com> >wrote: [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >plastic cups the kids have been using for years. What's sad is that I am >probably not overreacting. All mammals are not alike physiologically. What is deadly to one species can easily be harmless to others. You don't find garlic and onions causing blood disorders in humans, grapes causing kidney disease, or chocolate doing whatever the heck it does to dogs. Plastic particles from a finished object (like a plate) are inert. If you're concerned about leaching, don't heat them in the microwave or let them melt... I don't think those ubiquitous black spoons represent any health danger to people. To me it would explain SPirit's unexpalined fever and problems he had before the recall was issued. |
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