Aspen the Yorkie

Humans aren’t the only ones affected by the peanut butter recall that is going on right now because Salmonella has been found in peanut butter products who use peanut butter supplied by a particular peanut butter manufacturer, the Peanut Corporation of America. If you want to find out whether your pet food is safe, there is a searchable listput out by the FDA at this link…click here.

For example, you will find that certain products by the following companies, and maybe other companies, are recalled:

• Carolina Prime
• Grreat Choice
• Happy Tails
• Healthy Hide
• Salix
• Shoppers Valu

Sometimes it seems like the safest thing to do is just avoid products that contain Peanut Butter at all, unfortunately for those who have safe products, but we are just following the list the FDA provides.  It’s a long one!

According to the petcare section of Suite 101, the following symptoms are present in dogs with Salmonella, cats too…hmm, interesting, one of my owners wasn’t feeling well at all after eating a couple of affected NutriSystem Peanut Butter Bars, and then I got what I did a couple days later, and had to go to the vet, wrote about that a few posts back. Look under HGE in the “Categories” list. Okay, here’s the list of symptoms:

A combination of the following symptoms typically arises about 72 hours following exposure. It should be noted that while an array of symptoms can be present in salmonellosis sufferers, digestive upset is virtually always present to some degree.

• Vomiting (often with blood in the vomit)
• Diarrhea (often with blood present)
• Fever
• A refusal to eat
• Gurgling and bubbling sounds in the abdomen
• Lethargy
• Dehydration, often severe
• Drooling and panting (often a sign of nausea and/or pain in dogs and cats)

In a minority of cases, dogs and cats can experience symptoms such as arthritis-like joint pain and stiffness, urinary tract abnormalities that can lead to straining and frequent urination, along with redness and swelling involving the eyes.

“This is an infection that can be very severe and treatment, especially for dehydration, is required if you are to maximize the chances of a good outcome,” explained Dr. Levine.

Notably, a pet with salmonellosis can spread the infection to human family members and other pets in the household, including small mammals, birds and reptiles.

“This is among the few illnesses that can be easily transmitted between species…It’s vital that if your pet is exhibiting symptoms of salmonella that you begin by immediately disposing of any feces to help eliminate the chance of spreading the problem to other household members and pets. Wash your hands after handling fecal material and get your dog to the vet as soon as possible,” Dr. Levine added.