Abstract
Three series of severe pet food associated toxicoses were diagnosed during 2009 in Western Australia. Five cases of clinical hepatotoxicity were diagnosed in dogs fed a commercial elimination diet of camel meat and sweet potato for atopic skin disease. These dogs all had detectable blood levels of indospicine, a toxic non-protein amino acid, isolated from Indigofera linnaei, a plant grazed by camels. Histological lesions in these dogs were consistent with previously reported lesions in dogs fed horse meat concentrated with indospicine. Four dogs exclusively fed a commercial pet diet available at supermarkets presented with marked neurological signs and were diagnosed with thiamine deficiency due to sulphur preservatives in the food. Two cats exclusively fed a commercial cat food diet available at supermarkets, were diagnosed with hypercalcaemia due to excessive vitamin D. The pet food was tested, and found to have high vitamin D concentrations. This diet was exclusively fed to the cats, with no other potential source of toxicity.
Conclusion: These cases highlight that not all animals’ fed a diet will develop clinical disease and that an accurate description of an animal’s diet and feeding plan are a mandatory component of disease investigation. It is also possible that a significant number of pet food toxicities go unrecognized. Pet food should be considered as a potential source of toxins and a cause of clinical disease, and these cases support tighter regulation of the pet food industry.