Our beloved domestic cats all originated from the North African Wild Cat that still exists today. The two look identical except that the North African Wild Cat is larger than our domestic cats. Because the North African Wild Cat evolved in extreme temperatures with little water they developed physiological systems that don't require a lot of water. They drink less water pound for pound compared to many other mammals, and their urine is quite concentrated as a result. Also, their coats are not water resistant like most dogs--there really wasn't much need in the desert for that. Just thought I would offer a couple of cool facts about kitties.
Days after my beautiful dog, Spirit, died suddenly on February 5th of this year from unknown causes, my cat, Angel, became deathly ill and was in renal failure. We had no idea why. She got down to less than half of her weight, and she was so anemic(would not eat or drink), that her tongue and gums were a deathly whitish grey. She laid in one spot for three weeks. She got down to less than half of her ideal body weight.
When my Vet could do no more, and she could not hold down more than a 1/2 teaspoon of soft food, I tried one last thing. I set a timer to go off every 1 1/2 hours for 18 hours out of the day. I force fed her 1/2 teaspoon of Hills Science Diet A/D mixed with water every 1 1/2 hours for 18 hours out of the the day. That she could handle without vomiting. She was so close to death, so sick, and so weak, that she didn't even resist for the first three weeks of force feeding her. Her recovery has taken many weeks, and she still has not yet gained back all of her weight. I am so very happy that my lovely Angel kitty is doing so well now.
Spirit didn't have renal failure or kidney disease of any kind according to her necropsy, and she seemed to be the picture of health until her sudden death. So, I don't believe at this point that tainted dog food with ingredients from Menu Foods was a factor in her death. When I initially heard about the recall of canned and moist pet foods, I wasn't too concerned for my pets because we only feed dry kibble and cooked chicken and veggies. Then I remembered that I bought several cans of both Science Diet and Iams' brand cat food back in January.
We were so upset and overwhelmed when Angel became so sick just days after Spirit died, and we couldn't figure out why it was happening to her. I don't think that I mentioned it on WS because I didn't want to burden all of you with another tragic death of another of my creatures so soon after Spirit. I did tell a couple of friends via email, though. Because of Angel's symptoms, the timing, that she has never been sick prior to this, and because we could never figure it out, it looks like she may have had some of that tainted food.
If one out six tested pets died from the food, that is huge. News reports still state that 15 cats and 1 dog have died so far. I doubt that if 1 out of 6 pets died during the experiment that there have only been 16 deaths nation wide. There are no doubt countless deaths or severe illnesses that have not yet and may never be connected. I feel so very sad for all of the pets that have died, and I hope that Menu Foods does the next right thing--what ever that may be.
Lion
I think cats are more susceptible to kidney failure than dogs. Have you ever noticed that cats don't seem to drink very much? Their urine is very concentrated. At least that's what I've heard. Plus, when a cat is sick, they rarely show signs until they are half dead. I lost my kitty to CRF (chronic renal failure) when he was 9 years old. He got checkups regularly, got his shots, ate normally, but I noticed that he seemed to be drinking more than usual (this was about 8 years ago). Not a ton of water, but he would get on the counter and drink out of the sink, etc. Within a few days he was sick, I took him to the vet and they said he had CRF. He lived for 8 1/2 months after that. He was great for about 7 1/2 of those months, then his one kidney shut down completely and the "good" kidney was functioning at 25%. We even thought about doing a transplant, but he was too far gone. Breaks my heart to think of him. His name was Herbie. Kidney failure is a horrible way to go. My heart just breaks for these animals and their poor owners.
:furious: 
He was a good boy 
