My daughter's 7 week old kitten appeared very healthy and active. Kitten ate from bowl filled with a pouch type of dog food sold by a mass merchandiser under one of their well known labels. I had purchased it as a treat for my 9 year old 5 lb toy poodle who is missing some teeth. The kitten was opportunistic and grabbed herself some...effectively offending the poodle into snorting loudly and walking away. Her great disdain of cats may have saved my poodle's life!
Over the next several hours, the kitten gradually slowed down and became lethargic. My 16 year old daughter observed the kitten's extreme weakness and brought the kitten to me. Its limbs were extremely weak...maybe even paralyzed? It had no control over its neck or limbs. She was limp as a dishrag.
A vitals check showed the kitten's respiration and heart rate were very low. After a few minutes it gasped for breath and died in my hands. The only change in the kitten's routine was the food.
My daughter searched the internet and learned that brand and type of dog food has killed many pets in the past.
I am convinced something was wrong with the dog food. The kitten did not have access to anything else it could have ingested other than its mother's milk. I threw away the rest of the dog food and will never purchase that particular type under any label again.
I am not a vet. I am a hobby farmer who has done 95% of her own vet care and has cared for hundreds of animals over 25+ years. I read the Merck vet manual for fun. While my lack of expertise may mean a lot to some, I call it as I see it. I strongly suspect botulism due to the paralysis and time frame. I will avoid that very big mass merchandiser's brand of pouched foods for my pets. (O R)
In fact, after the reading we have done, I won't be buying ANY pouched foods for my pets or my family.
