Human foods fatal to pets
Eric Baizer
If by "potato eyes" a poster means the green sections of potatoes, these
are poisonous to both dogs and people because they contain solanine.
Cooking green sections of potatoes does not neutralize the poison,
either for people or for dogs. However, in reality, I would imagine
canine fatalities from solanine poisoning via potatoes is extremely rare.
I have never heard of a case.
As for garlic, does anyone have any scientific documentation
(Merck Manual, etc.) that in any form garlic has toxic properties
for dogs?
Ian A. York
In article <57v13n$8...@orcas.cs.ucsb.edu>,
Eric Baizer <bai...@cs.ucsb.edu> wrote:
>
>As for garlic, does anyone have any scientific documentation
>(Merck Manual, etc.) that in any form garlic has toxic properties
>for dogs?
In large amounts, garlic is bad for humans; thus no doubt it's also bad
for dogs at some dose as well. When thinking about foods which are
potentially toxic for dogs and cats, several things should be kept in
mind:
(1) Dogs especially, but cats as well, tend to gorge much more than humans
do today. They'll take in a much higher per-pound dose of something than
you'd expect a human to. This is particularly relevant for chocolate an d
other tasty toxins - as others in this thread have pointed out, it takes a
moderately large dose of chocolate to be toxic; but dogs will hork back
that large dose without blinking an eye.
(2) Cats especially, and dogs as well, tend to be small. This is
especially relevant for things like aspirin, which come in human-sized
doses. A pill that's designed for a 100-pound human is a 10X-overdose for
the average cat, based merely on size. Imagine trying to break an aspirin
into ten equal pieces, and you can understand how it's essentially
impossible to reliably give a cat an appropriate dose of a human drug.
(It can be done with pediatric drugs, with care, and under a vet's
direction.)
(3) Cats especially have somewhat different metabolisms - particularly
liver function - than do humans. In particular, they detoxify some
substances differently than do humans. That means that a per-pound dose
which would be non-toxic to a human, might be lethal to a cat.
In general, use common sense - don't let your pet eat a ton of anything,
and keep medications out of its way. And be generous in your definition
of "medication" - incldue herbal stuff, eye stuff, whatever in that
category.
Garlic:
German K. Kumar U. Blackford HN.
Garlic and the risk of TURP bleeding.
British Journal of Urology. 76(4):518, 1995
Petry JJ.
Garlic and postoperative bleeding [letter; comment].
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 96(2):483-4, 1995
Burnham BE.
Garlic as a possible risk for postoperative bleeding [letter]
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 95(1):213, 1995
Fedder SL.
Spinal epidural hematoma and garlic ingestion [letter; comment].
Neurosurgery. 27(4):659, 1990
Rose KD. Croissant PD. Parliament CF. Levin MB.
Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma with associated platelet
dysfunction from excessive garlic ingestion: a case report [see comments].
Neurosurgery. 26(5):880-2, 1990
Abstract
The authors report a case of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma
causing paraplegia secondary to a qualitative platelet disorder from
excessive garlic ingestion....
Ruffin J. Hunter SA.
An evaluation of the side effects of garlic as an antihypertensive
agent.
Cytobios. 37(146):85-9, 1983.
Abstract
Eight spontaneously hypertensive rats representative of a diverse
group with regard to age and sex were used to observe possible side
effects from the use of garlic as an antihypertensive agent. Doses were
administered at 6 h intervals daily for 28 days. Blood pressure, pulse
rate and ECG were monitored once every 7 days for 28 days and then again 6
days after the day that the last dose was administered. All of the animals
had erratic pulse rates and abnormal ECG. Weight loss occurred in all of
the animals receiving the extract two and three times a day. All of the
animals tested became lethargic and weak, had soft faeces and showed signs
o dehydration. Also, the skin on the hindlimbs and forelimbs became very
tender and could be easily torn. These effects were more pronounced in the
animals receiving the extract two and three times a day.
--
Ian York (iay...@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England