Dusty is a gorgeous, energetic, but mischievous five-month-old Kelpie puppy. Dusty is like most puppies her age, constantly exploring her environment and getting into things she shouldn’t. Unfortunately, this time Dusty decided to raid the pantry and managed to eat around 200-300g of sultanas. Although sultanas are a healthy snack for humans, did you know they are toxic to dogs and cats? Grapes, raisins and sultanas can all cause serious and, in some cases, fatal consequences if ingested by our furry friends.
Lucky for Dusty, her owners called the clinic and brought Dusty to us as quickly as possible. We managed to get Dusty to vomit up a large volume of sultanas, however, she had already started to digest some and was showing early signs of toxicity with some diarrhoea.
It only takes a small number of grapes or sultanas to cause issues. The toxic dose for Dusty’s size was only around 30g, so she had ingested nearly 10 times this! The initial signs of toxicity are vomiting and diarrhoea. However, the more serious cause for concern is the toxic effect on the kidneys; grape/raisin toxicity can cause acute kidney failure and lead to the kidneys shutting down. This effect on the kidneys is usually only seen two to three days after ingestion. Once the kidneys start shutting down, the fatality rate is between 50-75 per cent. Fortunately, as we saw Dusty quickly, we were able to start treatment to prevent her going into kidney failure. Dusty spent two days in hospital on an IV drip to flush out the toxin and support her kidneys. She responded well to treatment and was very happy to go home.
Dusty has had couple of check-ups since then and we are happy to report that she is fighting fit and back to her normal self. If Dusty’s owner had not been so vigilant, however, the outcome could have been very different.
Please keep all grapes and raisins away from your pets. If you are concerned that they may have ingested even a small amount, please call or visit us as soon as possible.