The Washington Post reports that one in six pet owners are affected by the tained pet food scandal.
http://royalcanin.ca/index_en.php
Saddly, two Devons from our cattery were eating a food that has been recalled, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Sensitivity RD (Rice and Duck) which is purchased only at veterinary clinics.
http://royalcanin.ca/index_en.php
Royal Canin and some other pet food companies are paying for pets who have eaten recalled food to have their blood and/or urine tested for kidney damage. If your cat has eaten tainted food, it is very important to take it to the vet because cats do a great job of hiding symptoms of illness. I don't want to sound overly alarmist, but sometimes, by the time a cat a cts sick, it is dying.
I've been asked by one of our pet owners about the best way to collect a urine sample for these tests.
"Royal Canin is requesting a fresh urine sample along with blood work. I
attempted to collect a sample at home with no luck. I paid almost $8 for a
large pill bottle full of special non- absorbing litter. Well I had three in
total because the receptionist gave me two extra no charge. So I did what
they told me and used one and a half to a box but it didn't even cover the
bottom. I locked their litter boxes up in the evening so they would have to go in the morning. (One cat) tried eating the new litter this morning and (the other) played with it. Since they knew which room I moved their actual litter box in they just sat in front of that door all morning. I caved in after making them hold their pee for 14 hrs and let them use their litter boxes. Sure enough they hopped in and went right away. I know the vet can do an extraction with a needle into their bladder but doesn't that hurt them?"
Honestly, I didn't know the answer on this, so I asked the experts and peers on the Fanciers' Health list. As always, the best information came from Dr. Susan, THE GURU of pedigreed feline heallth.
"The urine samples should be collected in a sterile manner by the
veterinarian and shipped to Royal Canin according to their instructions.
We don't use that method (non-absorbant litter)in my practice. The sample is not sterile, and it is full of debris, which can make analysis difficult. I know it seems an easy way to collect urine, but I believe it has more down sides than benefits. The other issue is that physical and chemical properties of urine start changing as soon as the urine leaves the body, so urine samples should be analysed within 60 minutes of
collection.
Urine can be collected by the veterinarian by manually expressing the
bladder or by cystocentesis (using a needle and syringe). In my practice, cystocentesis is the preferred method as we know the sample is uncontaminated. And no, it does not hurt a cat any more than getting a blood sample drawn."
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Susan Little, DVM, DABVP (Feline)
President, Winn Feline Foundation
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org
VIN Consultant (Feline, Repro/Genetics)
http://www.vin.com
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Never one to trust a doctor to objectively evaluate the pain level inflicted during any procedure, I was happy to receive replies from other fanciers, too, about the needle aspiration process.
Does it hurt the cat?
"Not really. No more (probably even less) than a blood sample does. But
it really does get the highest quality sample."
--Lorraine Shelton, Owner/Moderator of Fanciers Health
"My vet did the needle collection on my last cat with kidney disease, and
unlike having her blood drawn with a needle, she never complained about it. So as far as I can say, it must not have been too painful.'
-- Jane Jenkins
My heart goes out to any pet and family who has been affected by tainted food, not just PrairieDawn families.
...Pam
