Happy Holidays from the doctors and staff at AHDC! It’s that special time of year again. Time for family, friends, decorations, and good food. One family member that is important to keep in mind this holiday season is the family cat or dog. With the house being filled with good sights and smells, it is essential to keep in mind the potential dangers that certain delicious temptations can bring to our furry friends. This is the first informative post of many!
Grapes and raisins can be toxic to both cats and dogs. Grapes and raisins can cause acute kidney failure. At this time, the toxic component is not known. Additionally, there is a large range of the “toxic” dose of raisins and grapes. Some animals can be affected after eating just one grape, others more. Signs of raisin/grape toxicity include vomiting, lethargy and diarrhea within hours of ingestion and last for weeks post-ingestion.
- What to do: contact your veterinarian immediately. If it has been a recent ingestion (<4 hours), your veterinarian may need to induce vomiting and protect the GI tract by administered activated charcoal which helps bind toxins. Afterwards, your veterinarian may suggest bloodwork to obtain baseline values of the kidney and the treat aggressively with intravenous fluids for 2-3 days. If kidney failure does not occur, the prognosis for recovery is fairly good.
- Caution: fruitcakes definitely contain raisins and sometimes cranberry sauces contain raisins too, please be sure to keep the holiday treats out of reach.
Next time: turkey and turkey bones
