Posted by
Anh Tran on Thu, Feb 09, 2012 @ 12:00 PM
Our last two posts about patients have had this in common--animals who have consumed grapes or raisins. So I asked one of our ER doctors to share more about this very delicious, but very toxic food.
A common toxicity seen in our ER is ingestion of grapes and raisins. Grape and raisin ingestion has been shown to cause acute kidney failure in dogs and likely in cats as well. It is unclear at this time what causes these foods to be toxic.
It has been shown, however, that even very small amounts can cause kidney damage and that some pets are more susceptible than others. Once acute kidney failure has developed, the prognosis for a successful recovery may be poor. For this reason, early and aggressive treatment early on (as soon as possible following ingestion!) is recommended. This includes making your pet vomit as much of the grapes or raisins as possible and getting them on IV fluids.
If you think your pet may have ingested grapes or raisins, they should be evaluated by a veterinarian right away or please call VESCONE or a 24 hour emergency veterinary hospital near you.