on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 22:02:49 GMT, Dale Atkin
wrote:

Things tend to go in phases in veterinary practice. You'll go months
without seeing a case of x, and then all of a sudden 5 will walk
through your door. Its not surprising that at least some of the vets
were experiencing an upturn in cases of renal failure. Looking back
its easy to 'tie' it to the problems we see now, but is it? Do they
have any data as far as what food these dogs/cats were eating?

I'm sure the owners know what they were eating. Are you a lawyer for
Menu Foods?

Now that the FDA has determined that the tainted wheat gluten contains
melamine, it can potentially be used as a marker to determine if animals
have consumed the affected food. Unfortunately, there is no way of
looking for malamine in animals who have already died and been cremated
or buried (maybe?). I also wonder how long it is excreted in the urine
and present in tissue and therefore just how useful of a marker it will
be for animals who were sick and are recovering and who are no longer
eating the poison food...

As an aside, from everything I have read, melamine probably is NOT the
cause of the kidney problems. If that's true, there's got to be
something else, yet to be identified.

I'm not saying its not caused by the food, but just trying to point
out that there are other possibilities.

Of course there are other possibilities, but the reports I read about
"dramatic increases in kidney failure" in young animals are pretty
friggen suspicious... It's not like any of those cases are going to be
able to be tied to the food anyway, so what's your point?

I feel horrible for people whose pets died suddenly from renal failure
and will never know if it's because of the food they fed them.

--
Lynne