Iron in the Diet of our Pets. Is it important?

I was notified during the week about a Cat Food which has been re-called in the UK because of too much Iron.

Nothing to worry about here in Australia I am led to believe, however I was curious as to why this is important enough to re-call and what Iron is needed for?

So I did a bit of digging and this is what I came up with.

Iron is important in all mammal’s diets for a number of really important reasons.

Firstly, it is necessary for the production of red blood cells. This is kind of important as it is these very cells which bind with the oxygen in our blood and carry this oxygen around our bodies.

Secondly, after the oxygen is delivered to the cells around the body, these cells then bind the carbon dioxide and carry this back to the lungs to get exhaled……

Thirdly, Iron is also important in the conversion of blood sugar to energy.

Fourth, it is required for the production of certain enzymes essential for normal body function.

The list goes on…..

As Red Blood cells only have a short life cycle (approx. 110 days) the Iron is lost as these cells are excreted from the body; and our pets don’t make Iron themselves, they need to keep absorbing Iron from the outside……..Obviously the do this by getting their Iron requirements via the food they eat.

In fact cats and dogs need about 36.4mg or Iron for every 450 g of food they eat……

Luckily, they get their iron from a number of food sources such as fresh meat, whole grains vegetables and so on…….plus most dry foods have Iron included.

So getting enough Iron shouldn’t be a problem if they are on a healthy diet.

Getting too much however is quite serious.

The signs of Iron Toxicity include:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (may be bloody)
• Drowsiness
• Corrosive effect on the gut lining.
  • Bleeding
  • Ulcers
• Urine might be very dark. This is iron being passed through the system
• Kidney Failure
• Liver failure.

The main way of getting too much Iron into the diet would be is if such a thing happened as per the re-call of the cat food in the UK where too much Iron was added to the food by mistake.

Or if you were also giving you dog or cat a supplement which included high levels of Iron,

The other ways your puppy can get too much iron is, if for some reason, got it’s nose into some plant fertilizer lying around home……….OR they found some human multivitamins lying around which smelled too good to leave alone……..

Remember, many vitamins designed for us humans are covered in a sugary coating which makes it palatable to us…….but irresistible to a puppy with a nose 100 times stronger than us!!!!

Unlikely on these two fronts however it does happen!!!!

If an overdose of Iron does occur, it happens in 4 distinct stages as discussed in dvm360.com.

• 1.Occurs 6 hours after overdose.
  • This is where you get the Vomiting, diarrhea and stomach bleeding.
  • Most animals don’t go onto the next stage…….unless it is a severe case!
• 2.Occurs about 24 hours after Over dose.
  • Looks like they are improving somewhat and they are recovering.
  • If it is severe, this stage won’t last long.
• 3.Occurs up to 96 hours after Overdose.
  • Your pet will get very drowsy.
  • They will start vomiting and diarrhea again.
  • Other vital systems will start shutting down.
  • Shock will set in.
  • Death may occur in this stage
• 4.This may occur 2 – 6 weeks after the Overdose.
  • Those animals which obviously make it through the third stage might experience some scarring where the ulcers are healing.
    • This can cause the formation of strictures to develop.

So….. as you can see, Iron toxicity is quite serious………AND YES, that does answer my question about the cat food recall in the UK and why too much Iron is concerning.

I know this article isn’t about Pet Treats or even about Pet Products however I truly hope it is useful in understanding this element in our pets’ food.

Hope this helps in some way…… Just some of my thoughts that’s all.

Have a great week.

From the Team here @ Huds and Toke. #hudsandtokefamily