Toxic Kidney Disease in Pets
Acute Renal Disease (ARD) can affect dogs and cats with very little warning. The sudden loss of kidney function is extremely dangerous and needs very rapid treatment to prevent catastrophic kidney failure.
There are many causes of ARD, including viruses and other infections, toxins, shock and bladder stones.
Toxins are amongst the most common causes, and are also the most preventable. The most common toxins we see include:
- Radiator Coolants – the contents of car radiators includes ethylene glycol. This is very sweet, and can be ingested by animals if it is spilled or left in an accessible place. If your radiator has a leak at home, make sure you clean it up thoroughly before any pets can have access to it
- Lilies – Lilies are extremely toxic to cats. Cats can be poisoned by even a few grains of pollen. If you have cats you should never have lilies in your house or garden
- Grapes and raisins – The cause of these being toxic to dogs is still unknown. Many dogs seem to be able to eat grapes or raisins safely, while others can be poisoned by just one or two. We don’t know if it is something about individual dogs or possible a fungus or similar on some grapes, but the advice currently is to not let dogs eat grapes or raisins
- Zamia Nuts – the nut from the Zamia palm are very toxic, causing severe liver and kidney damage. Few dogs survive ingesting these so please keep your dog on a lead when in the bush around Zamia palms
- Medications – Some medications can be very dangerous to our pets. Never give an animal human medication unless your vet prescribes the medication specifically for your pet. We occasionally see people give their elderly pets human arthritis medication with disastrous results
Acute Renal Disease is very challenging to treat, and needs rapid, aggressive intervention. Please keep your pets away from these potentially deadly toxins, and if you are concerned your pet may have ingested any of these things please contact us for urgent advice.