Posted on 04/01/2007 4:49:58 PM PDT by Milwaukee_Guy
Please let us know how it turns out - and tell your son we are praying for his doggie...
__________________________________________________—
Thank you for your concern and prayers, it is much appreciated.
Sorry for taking so long to answerr.
The dog is stayed ovenight and is still at the vets receivng anti-biotics and something to get his glucose level up, the vet says it looks like liver failure or cancer, white cells are up also, even though the dog was drinking more water and urinating more often.
When he heard from the vet this morning she said he had improved just a very little, not interested in food or any activity. Son is going to keep him there maybe overnight again to see if he improves any more, if not, he will have to put him down. So sad after losing our dog last week.
I did some searching and found this that we all might check out for our pets food. Son is at work and hasn’t checked it out yet on the food he was feeding him.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione
His dog has always had the allergies and the excema problems, but who knows anymore.
Just to much of this stuff in their food and ours also.
Too many preservatives. I am thinking if you cannot read what is in something or cannot pronounce it, forget that product.
Will keep you posted.
The dog is a shepard mix and about 12 years old.
Thank you for your concern, please check post 241.
Thanks for the update. I’m sorry the prognosis doesn’t sound very good.
And not to second-guess the Vet, but I just want to be sure the Vet considered whether it might be kidney failure rather than liver failure, in case the treatments are different. I’m not a Vet, so it may be perfectly obvious to a Vet that liver-related symptoms are nothing like kidney-related symptoms... but given that Vets all over the country were stumped by the cases related to the recalled-food, it probably doesn’t hurt to ask the question, “Is there any chance this could be acute renal failure or in any way related to the symptoms attributed to the recalled foods?”
Whether or not the dog was eating one of the recalled foods... As we have seen, the recall has expanded several times, so just because a food isn’t on a current recall list doesn’t mean it might not be the same symptoms. Don’t let the Vet tell him “if he wasn’t eating one of the recalled foods, then it can’t be the same illness.” The recall may continue to expand.
When he wasn’t eating his Kirkland food, that is when my son gave him the can of alpo and later that night, those were recalled.
He asked her about the kidney thing but she seems sure.
I’m trying to grow most of my *organic* food. The more I can do myself, the better I feel. That’s why I do my own canning and freezing, also.
A friend of mine used to make his own dog food out of scrap beef and cornmeal. He swore by it; said his dogs were always healthy and had good coats. And it was cheap.
I’m joining you. Recently I’ve bought strawberry plants, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry bushes. We cut down a tree and more than doubled the size of our vegetable garden. I do as much canning and freezing of local farm grown produce as I can. Sadly, about the only thing I can’t do myself is the grain!
We’re lucky to live near New Hope Mills, a local grain mill that deals a lot with local products. I just called them and was told that they do not buy grain from China but do have other items from there. I was the second call this morning on the issue and now they’re going to start looking into it more closely.
So many people have asked me for our catfood recipe and links, I’m posting it on the thread for posterity:
Here ya go, I sent out a few freepmails yesterday. Note that we add a little salt, a pinch of dried onion and a small pinch of garlic to the food. Been doing that for two/three years without any problem. But I read on the thread some people are saying that those things are bad for cats and dogs. So use your own discretion for those ingredients. Any more questions, freepmail me or post on the thread.
The taurine is in the cat supplement, link noted below. Also, if your cats go outside they may be cathcing things and getting amino acids that way.
First a little background:
We live in the woods, and didn’t used to have pets since mrs lj has asthma and can’t have animals in the house. Also our house is really small and outside is woods - dirt, and all kinds of animal scat (deer, fox, bear, cougar, possum, raccoon, squirrel, coyote, etc), so pets would be tracking in who knows what all the time.
Then, about 4 years ago (or was it 5?), feral cats started gnawing out of our compost pile, so out of compassion we started feeding them, mostly leftovers. They gradually got eaten (note above animals around) until there were two left, who gradually got tamer. Unfortunately they were a matched pair and produced a litter of 4 kittens, who we tamed. Mr. and Mrs. were harder to tame, and had another litter before we managed to neuter all surviving cats. After giving a few away and some more getting eaten, we now have 4 neutered cats, all tame.
Okay, next: we are vegetarians, and although it is perfectly normal and natural for cats to be carnivores, we don’t want to purchase meat. So mrs lj investigated how to feed them adequate nutrition, and here is her recipe with a couple of links. She varies the recipe, and adds extra things they like when we have them, such as bits of green beans, zucchini, brocolli, corn on the cob (a big favorite - lots of growling), sweet potatoes, winter squash, and, of course, cheese. And they LOVE fresh home made bread.
The following recipe makes about 4 days’ worth for 4 good sized cats.
2 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup lentils
wash well, put in a large pot, and add:
1/2 cup TVP
1/2 cup bulgur wheat (we recently found they love this cooked by itself with the other “added” ingredients)
4 T oil
1/2 t. salt
4 T. kelp (available at feed stores around here, or natural food stores)
a sprinkle of garlic powder (not much, but it’s good for parasites)
a teaspoon of dried onion
about 2 T of Cat Amino Supplement as described below
about 4 T of Cat Yeast Supplement as described below
About 10 cups of water
Bring to a boil, then turn way down to low (like cooking rice or even a little less) and stir every now and then. The bottom has a tendency to cook faster than the top. When the water is absorbed and the lentils are tender, it’s done. Sometimes she has to add more water. She doesn’t always measure accurately (to put it mildly...) Let it cool completely, and then store in the fridge in containers. If they aren’t super enthusiastic, sprinkle some nutritional yeast on it.
I’ve read that when changing your pet’s food, change it bit by bit - like 1/8 amount a day, that way they and their digestion gets used to the new food.
Here’s a link to the place she got the pet supplements (they have both cat and dog and I think horse, the website isn’t the easiest in the world, apparently there will be a new one up soon):
http://www.vegancats.com/ This website has recipes on it.
The website below had really good animal health products; we’ve used several to restore cats to health, and the woman who runs the place loves animals and will always return calls if you have questions about anything. We recently ordered food grade diatomaceous earth; it’s apparently good at curing and preventing parasite infestations as well as taking care of fleas.
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/
If you have any questions about any of this, freepmail me! I hope it’s of use. We have pounds and pounds of brown rice, lentils and all the other ingredients on hand. We are thankful we took this route instead of purchasing cat food - our cats are very healthy and we love them. They go on walks with us and are very affectionate. (Except Mr. Big Fuzz - he still remembers the day we took him to the vet for fixing, the welding gloves etc...he was a wild one to begin with... But even he rubs and purrs now. He lets mrs lj pick him up, but she wasn’t the one with the welding gloves.)
;-)
That is why the law exists. Sadly, it is abused by many companies.
Much cheaper when falmed with srave rabor, lound eyes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.