Melanine long term effects

[mgt818]

Hello everyone,
well I know that there is no certainty of what the long term effects of the consumption of the melamine and all the other compounds they mention, but if indeed most of our pets on commercial feed were consuming these poisons in small amounts, I wish I knew the long term effects.  I am just so frustrated as I look at my babies to think that they could possably be in danger later on in life because of they may have been exposed.  I know all of you feel the same way.  I know that they say that if your pet ate the tainted food that symptoms show up within a day.  I called my vet and she said that with what she has experienced, the symptoms have shown up shortly after the consumption.  What I wonder is if some damage may be done that may not show up or may not have symptoms but may appear later. 
Just feeling down today and overwhelmed over all of this...

[Cindy Nevarez]

I know what you mean mgt818. I've had several days like that myself.

I think about people with diabetes for example and how they got ot that point in their lives and wonder if that could be one of the long term affects. After all, there is a LOT of kitties out there with diabetes...it seems like a record amount to me nowadays.

[Mary K]

Hi, mgt818 and Cindy, I am a nurse and noticed over the years an increase in renal failure patients/dialysis. I always thought it was due to diabetes!! Now I am wondering otherwise...
I do the same thing..look at my 3 cats and wonder how long they will stay healthy. Then I remind myself that all 3 were adopted-one frightened sweetie from a cage in a shelter (with other dogs and cats) who begged me to take her home; one on the roadside weighing 2 lbs and only 9 weeks old, starving, and the 3rd also starving for both food and affection that I found outside my door. I have given them the best love and life I can afford and I am sure they are happier and healthier now than they were. The rest is beyond my control. That's just my story but I am sure you and everyone else can relate and say pretty much the same thing. Keep using your heart and head to make decisions about your pet's care, and give yourself a well deserved pat on the back for being such a wonderful pet-person! The fact that you are here reading and participating for the sake of others speaks volumes!!

PS: Whatever happens in the future, the only thing those pets will know and remember is the love you gave them!!

[Cindy Nevarez]

  Thanks for the boost Mary! 

[mgt818]

Thank you Mary and Cindy for your responses, I am trying to hold back my tears.  You are right, I relate with your story myself.  I have 4 dogs who are my life... one is 12 years old and Ive had him his whole life.  We have gone through everything together.  One is my right arm it seems like as she is always by my side (she was adopted from the pound) and I have 2 brother and sister twins, were fosters who found a home with me.  I love them all so much, I can't imagine loosing them to carelessness and selfishness of insensative people...  I can't imagine what others who have are going through... 

[Cindy Nevarez]

It's bad enough to lose them under 'normal' circumstances. They are just not here with us long enough.

[FranciscoLABS]

Whatever happens in the future, the only thing those pets will know and remember is the love you gave them!!

So true! Hopefully, these and other issues will be solved. 

I like what you said because in the end, the memories and love we gave is what really matters. I still remember my first dog.  I must have been 6 or 7 when my mom brought her home. She lived to be 18 years old! 

[mgt818]

I was reading an article on Itchmo - Magazine Says Melamine May Not Be Culprit when I came accross this paragraph:  “A blood test and urinalysis can assess kidney damage – whatever its cause,” explains veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve, a nutritional expert and former advisor to the American Animal Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). “A few veterinarians tested all their patients who were eating the recalled foods, whether or not they were sick. All of them – even those who seemed perfectly normal – had signs of
kidney damage on the tests.”


That really scares me because maybe our pets will eventualy have Kidney disease due to all of this... maybe it isn't just acute KD, but also chronic KD is what we will face in the future... near or far...  makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it... 
Have any of you tried the Pet Check up Kit?  They are uranalysis strips you can do at home, I got some and found that my dogs had low specific gravity... and traces of protein...  I just about fainted when I did it, I am waiting to do another one in about a week or so, I was giving my dogs a detox at the time and could have scewed the results so I am waiting until it is out of their system, but still VERY scarry!!!!!!!1

[mgt818]

Another website I found : 

Effects of tainted pet food can be long-term

[Mary K]

mgt818,
Thank you for this info about the Pet Check Up Kit. I had not heard about it. Is this something that is easy to find or do we need to order on-line? It sounds immensely helpful to everyone who is being pro-active. I suppose a simple article or book on lab evaluations for pets would be a good accompaniment. Then we can make the diet changes accordingly.

[mgt818]

Yes, I got mine online...  here is the link:
the pet check-up
The kit comes with a step by step instruction booklet and a sheet stating the normal ranges of both cats and dogs for each reagent test... also, an explanation of what a elevated or abnormal result 'could' mean, of course, after the veterenarian does their own tests.

Although I am very nervous as I just sent in a sample to the vet because of my readings...  I will let you know what the vet tells me. 

BTW, both of my dogs test results came exactly the same...  one 11 yr old and one 3 yr old

[Cindy Nevarez]

Hi mgt818,

Thanks for the info on the Pet Check-up kit. Do you by chance have a link to where those kits can be purchased?

[Cindy Nevarez]

Duh!   I should have read the next posts....

[Cindy Nevarez]

Ok...I ordered the kit.

I want to test my 3 oldest animals, and my 2 other rescued cats (who knows how much crappy food they ate before!).

It's going to be a challenge testing the cats I can tell you!

[Mary K]

  Waiting for the results is like doing a home-pregnany test!!
Here is how I collected urine in the past for a cat:

  Make a few indentations in the litter to "hold" puddles. Line the top of the litter box with saran-wrap plastic and secure to sides of litter box.  Press it down against the litter.  Then keep your eye on the one giving the sample. If they need to go bad enough, they will ignore the plastic and think they are urinating directly on the litter. Then get them out of the box before they start scratching. Use a plastic syringe to draw up the urine from the "puddle" on the plastic and deposit it into the specimen cup or jar. Be sure everything is spotlessly clean before you start. Good luck! Hope everything is normal/negative. Thanks for the links, too!