May Pet Column

FYI for Furry Friends by Kathy Hanson May, 2009

Xyletol is deadly to dogs. It is found in anything that is sugar free like pudding and gum for example. If a dog eats anything sugar free, it will cause them to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly. Next it causes liver failure. If that happens, even with aggressive medical treatment it can be very difficult to save their lives.

I heard about this from an email I received. The lady who created and sent out this email is named Hattie. She learned about this first hand when her beloved dachshund Chloe got into a friend’s purse and ate sugar free gum. She had read about this and she knew Chloe was in danger. Hattie called her vet who told her to bring Chloe right in. By the time Hattie and Chloe got there the Vet had done her research online as well. The first thing she did was to induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb the toxins and then start an IV with dextrose. She sent Hattie home with the promise to call her as soon as she knew anything. About 2 hours later the vet called and said that Chloe’s stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. Her suggestion was to take Chloe to a 24 hr. critical care unit which she did. First thing they had me do was call the ASAP poison control for a case number and for a donation, and the ASAP doctors would direct the critical care doctor on treatment. They continued the IV, monitored her blood every other hour and then in 2 days they would test her liver function. Chloe ended up with a central line in her Jugular vein since the one in her leg had collapsed, just as our vet had feared. Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. Once her blood sugar was stabilized, she was allowed to come home. They ran all the tests again before they released her and so far there was no sign of liver damage.

If Hattie had not seen Chloe with her head in her friend’s purse and discovered what she had eaten, she probably would have died and no one would have known why. 3 vets told her when this happened, that they were amazed that Hattie knew about Xylitol since they were just learning about it too.

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Foods that are dangerous to your pets:

Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Peaches and Plums –large amounts of stems, seeds, and leaves can be toxic. They contain a cyanide type compound and signs of toxicity include apprehension, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, hyperventilation and shock.

Avocados – the leaves, fruit, bark and seeds are known to be toxic. The toxic compound in avocados is “persin” which is a fatty acid derivative. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart.

Chocolate – besides a high fat content, it contains caffeine and theobromine. These 2 compounds are nervous system stimulants and can be toxic to dogs in high amounts. Depending on how much chocolate they consume, various problems can occur such as vomiting and diarrhea. Once they’ve eaten enough to cause a toxic reaction they may become restless, hyperactive, and develop muscle twitching. It can cause excessive urination, possibly excessive panting. Their heart rate and blood pressure levels may also be increased. Seizure activity may occur in severe cases.

Dairy products – even though they are not highly dangerous, they can cause problems for 2 reasons: 1) high fat content which could cause pancreatitis. 2) pets poorly digest dairy products since they lack the enzyme required to digest lactose. In some pets it can cause gas and diarrhea.

Grapes and raisins – there have been 10 dogs poisoned by grapes and raisins reported to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. The amount eaten has been between 9 oz. to 2 lbs. and the dogs that ate these developed kidney failure.

Nutmeg – high levels of this spice can be toxic and even fatal. Signs of toxicity include tremors, seizures, nervous system abnormalities or death.

Onions or Garlic – dogs and cats lack the enzyme to digest onions. Ingesting onions can cause the red blood cells to possibly become fragile and break apart. This is due to the toxic ingredient called thiosulphate. Signs of a problem can occur immediately or maybe a few days later. As for garlic large quantities need to be eaten before signs of toxicity are seen. Severe anemias and even death can occur if they are eaten and no treatment is received. If you give your cat baby food and this food contains onion powder, toxicity can occur. Some baby foods are seasoned with onion powder.

So to be on the safe side please don’t let your pets consume any of these items.