Oh I am furious...

[Raggs]

I know a few of you are going to tell me certain things, like I should have known or something along those lines... I got Raggs back on Friday... I was trilled about that... They got sick of her. She kept urinating on the floor now matter how many times they would take her outside. So figured she had an infection.. Took her to the vet to get her vaccines updated and to get her urine tested.. Well Saturday the vet called me.. She's in kidney failure. Raggs is 6 yrs old. They have been feeding her cat food for a almost a year. No matter how many times I told them to put the cat food where she can't get to it, because it's bad for her, they would always tell me I was wrong and it wouldn't do any damage... Well the vet got upset when I told her that they had been feeding her cat food. She said, that now they knew the reason a 6 yr old dog had kidney failure.. So I finally got Raggs back and now I need to put her to sleep before they completely shut down and she is miserable. I am so upset I almost blew my top the other day....

[pretty_green_quaker]

I'm so sorry

[baddog]

That's too sad, sorry to hear it.

[redbird]

sorry

My mother in law (God rest her stubborn soul)
Also fed dry cat food to her maltipeke, Crackers, for years.

I begged and begged her not to, but noooooo
she liked it so thats what she got.

She also died of kidney failure at only about 5 years old.
As small as she was you would have thought she would
have lived a lot longer.

Sometimes there is nothing you can do.

[workingchihuahua]

i am really sorry about raggs. i have a dog in kidney failure, but he is not ready to be put down. please explain how cat food can cause kidney damage. i am not being smart, i truly don't understand why and i am sure there are other people here who don't either.

[Raggs]

It's higher in protein and other fatty acids and nutrients. Dogs can turn other nutrients and such into what they need. Cat's can't do that so they get higher doses. It's to much for dogs. It goes both ways.. Because cats require such a high volume of nutrients and fatty acids they will have heart problems and other medical problems if fed only dog food because of the lack of nutrition.

Also same in humans.. That's why there's a food pyramid and how many servings of what people should have... Unless someone has a deficiency, they shouldn't eat more than the recommended amount because it can cause organ failure...

To much of something, even though it's good for you, can have serious effects....

Hope that explains it.. I'm sure Helly would do a much better job..

[ljbrooks]

I'm so sorry to hear about Raggs. Growing up, our poodle would always sneak the cat food too. Get into the bag or knock the dish down. She had kidney failure as well. It's a sad, horrible thing. My dog lived to be quite old, but it was one of the contributing factors in her decline.

Good luck to you. I hope the people that had Raggs understand the depth of their negligence.

[rapuzzled]

Oh my gosh, that's terrible. I'm so sorry that that had to happen. I didn't have any idea that cat food could damage a dog's kidney's.

[Pixie]

Becky, I'm so sorry for your little Raggs. What a terrible thing to happen. Hope the people that had her understand now why you shouldn't let dogs eat cat food.

[Raggs]

I found this on a vet forum... I was reading about kidney failure and this popped up.. So it might not be from the cat food, even though 2 vets now say that it is.

Congenital disorders, which are recognized to occur in the following
breeds, according to Nelson and Couto, in their book "Essentials of Small
Animal Internal Medicine" - Lhasa apso, shih tzus, Norwegian elkhounds,
shar peis, Doberman pinschers, samoyeds, standard poodles,, soft-coated
Wheaton terriers, cocker spaniels, beagles, keeshonds, Bedlington terriers,
cairn terriers, basenjis and Abyssinian cats.

[JJk]

I am so sorry to heard that, must be hard on you.

[Helly]

Because it's important to limit protein intake in dogs (and cats, humans, etc) that are in kidney failure, it used to be believed that high levels of protein in foods would cause kidney failure, or lowering levels would prevent kidney failure. But it's now believed that this is not the case. Many studies just don't support that theory.

The problem with protein is the waste products produced from breaking down proteins in the diet. High levels of these waste products can damage kidneys that are already compromised by other disease processes. But it's not been demonstrated that those high levels will damage healthy kidneys. At least, that's the current thinking on the problem.

The major problem with dogs eating cat food is that it will make them obese. Obesity leads to insulin resistence. Even if the dog doesn't have a full blown case of diabetes, higher blood glucose levels can damage kidneys eventually. And there are problems associated with elevated insulin levels that develop in response to insulin resistence. Like high blood pressure. And high blood pressure can also damage kidneys, along with other organs.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

I'm sorry, Becky. Raggs was such a pretty little dog, hard to believe she was in the shelter when you got her.

I know it's hard but you are doing the right thing. It's too bad the owners didn't take care of her the way they should have. It's just sad.

Tammy in Utah