I bought my usual monthly New Scientist today, and was shocked to read, in their "upfront" section, the following:
"We now know why pet food has been killing dogs and cats in the US. A lethal combination of melamine and cynanuric acid is to blame, although neither has a history of toxicity. Melamine is an organic base for plastics and resins, and cyanuric acid is used in swimming pools. Both were legally added in China to wheat and rice gluten to raise nitrogen levels. The consignments were subsequently exported to the US and added to pet food by manufacturers. Now a team led by Birgit Puschner of the University of California, Davis, has found the combination was to blame. Autopsies of cats fed the chemicals revealed kidneys clogged with crystals. 'The crystals seemed to cause an obstruction in the kidney leading to damage and inflammation,' Puschner says. 'It will make any future diagnosis much more straightforward'".
Personally, I would have thought they would have clarified which manufacturers were affected, and stated whether the contaminated batches were recalled. What shocks me most is that such dangerous compounds were "legally added", and that food manufacturers apparently didn't realise this, or if they did, failed to evaluate the potential impact of including the modified gluten in their products.
I know this is from the US, but it just confirms to me how careful you have to be about whats in your cats food, and what manufacturers you trust, and even then, there is no guarantee. I can't imagine how awful this must have been for the pets who suffered and died, and for their grieving owners. I also hate to think just how many animals must have lots their lives as a result of this "error".
