Poison Cat Food

Neighborhood cat lovers accuse woman of inhumanely poisoning, killing stray cats

SAGINAW — The folded-back flaps of a cardboard box expose the bright blue sky to the orphaned kitten inside.

“She hasn’t been fed since the mommy died,” says Kevin L. Bentley, 52, of Saginaw, who lives on Saginaw’s East Side. “Her first human contact was yesterday.”

With matted hair and a mouth so small it couldn’t fit around a nickel, the kitten tilts her head and hisses, nearly inaudibly, like a toy lion.

“She’s doing good,” said Bentley. “She’s learning how to feed on her own.”

Neighbors along North 13th near Fitzhugh are trading accusations over the stray cats on their street.

Some residents who feed the felines in hopes of controlling the mouse population are accusing a neighbor of poisoning the cats.

Saginaw police have told residents they can’t do anything unless there is proof that the cats are being poisoned, the neighbors said.

Shirley F. Rice, 62, keeps a trap and bowl of leftover table scraps in her yard.

She admits disdain for the stray cats that “mess in her yard” and cause her to “hear all kinds of mating through the night,” but she said Bentley’s accusation that she has poisoned them is “ludicrous” and her accusers “have no evidence.”

Rice said her cat-loving neighbors are retaliating because she called the police on Nancy L. Woods, 66, who lives across the street, last summer.

Woods said police told her she couldn’t put food on the public sidewalk to feed strays.
“There used to be piles of cat food all along the sidewalk,” Rice said.

She points to a white dish visible near Woods’ porch and says at dusk cats — sometimes 10 or more — loiter about eating from the dish.

Saginaw Animal Care Director Valerie McCullough said this is the time of year strays begin giving birth, but because of a late spring, litters are behind schedule.

Though poisoning cats violates state animal cruelty laws, trapping them is within residents’ rights, McCullough said.

Cat traps are available at the Saginaw County Animal Care Center for rent for a $10 refundable deposit plus $5 every seven days. Any cats secured in a live trap may be delivered to the center, 1312 Gratiot in Saginaw. Animal care workers will not collect trapped cats.

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Xylitol, an increasingly popular artificial sweetener, is also the cause of an increasing number of accidental pet poisonings in dogs and ferrets.

"We see xylitol cases at least as often as once a month," said veterinarian Mark Kapolka, medical director of Pet Emergency Treatment Services (PETS), 930 N. Queen St. "This is a treatable situation if it's caught early," he added, but if the pet swallows too large an amount of xylitol or isn't treated quickly enough, "it can result in liver failure and death."

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol used in sugar-free chewing gum, diabetic baked goods and candies and many over-the-counter products including chewable vitamins, throat lozenges, toothpaste and mouthwash. In granulated form, it's used for baking or sweetening foods and beverages at home.

No cases of cat poisoning have been reported. "Usually when something is sweet to us, it's also sweet and appealing to dogs," Kapolka theorized, "but cats are keyed on eating protein, not whatever they find, like dogs."

Symptoms of poisoning can take less than 30 minutes or up to 72 hours to show, depending upon the amount and type of product consumed and the animal's weight. Signs include vomiting, lethargy, staggering, loss of coordination, collapse and seizures. Severe cases can cause coma, liver damage, bleeding disorders and death.

"Just one stick of gum in a 20-pound dog can create a situation requiring hospitalization," Kapolka said, and dogs frequently swallow whole packs of sugar-free gum. "In the last year or two, we're seeing a lot of gums that are not sweetened exclusively with xylitol anymore," he added, which fortunately makes those gums less toxic.

"How serious the poisoning is depends on the size of the dog, how much is ingested and how rapidly it is absorbed," said veterinarian Tina Wismer, medical director of the national ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. She said dogs metabolize xylitol most quickly from mints, candy, vitamins and baked goods.

"With sugar-free gum, it takes a while for the dog's stomach acid to pull the xylitol out," she explained. Gums vary widely in xylitol content, however, from .09 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams of xylitol per stick.

"With a high-content gum, one to three pieces could poison a 60-pound dog," Wismer said. Not all packages specify their amount of xylitol but they do list ingredients in order. "Gums with xylitol in the first three ingredients are high in content," she said, and more dangerous than gums "with xylitol seventh or eighth on the list.

flea meds in food could sicken or kill a cat. ALso bad flea powders. It's poison, so be careful. Frontline ok

Maybe you're right about poison? Years ago my wife's cat was killed by poisoned food left for raccoons :(

Break me off a piece of that snickers bar... grey poupon... hair 4 men... poison gas... nutrisweet... Fancy Feast! Its cat food. NAILED IT.

My dog ate a huge bag of cat food so I called Poison Control & they said the only fix is for me to feed that dog poop to the cat from now on

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