By Dr. Gary Pusillo ©2011

The sudden horror of instant flames engulfing   most of the area around my friend Blaze (yes, that is his real name) when he poured gasoline from a container onto our campfire, was a lesson well learned without much pain and suffering. I will never use gasoline to start a fire.

Dogs and cats that make it through the stressors associated with the floods, wind, power outages and changes in daily activities are prime subjects for opportunistic pathogens. One that will likely show up is CP (clostridium perfringens).  CP will light a “small campfire” in your pet’s belly that can grow out of control if you unknowingly pour gasoline on it.

When your dog or cat contracts CP and the CP organisms are given the right environmental circumstances to proliferate and cause problems, the most common signs you might notice are

1. diarrhea  with lots of fecal mucus,
2. small amounts of fresh blood,
3. small scant stools, straining to defecate (known as “tenesmus”)  and
4. a very noticeable anxious behavior associated with the urge to poop, frequently and without warning.
5. Dogs may have signs of small-bowel diarrhea characterized by a large volume of watery stool.

There is a high probability that both cats and dogs with show one or more of the following signs in addition the ones previously mentioned:

• vomiting,
• passing gas (flatulence),
• abdominal discomfort,
• or a generalized unthriftiness (lack of thriving) in chronic cases.

The flooding and destruction of a pets normal food supply will more likely than not force sudden dietary changes onto an already stressed out pet. If your pet has enough CP in its system, and it is exposed to various stressors; some diet changes can act like gasoline on a campfire.

Any dietary inputs (including water) that will cause your pet to have a higher pH (known as being alkaline) within the intestinal tract promote the CP bacteria to produce spores (sporulation) and toxins (enterotoxin production. Do not give you pets any water source that has an alkaline pH.

In times of emergency it is OK to use some human foods as temporary pet foods. However, using human food as emergency diets for your pets that may have some CP in their gut can result in disaster if you do not take some simple precautions.

The higher the amount of overly processed starch and sugars in a snack, treat or food, the more gasoline you will pour on the campfire. As a rule of thumb do not feed any “stand alone” human food with a glycemic index above 50.

NOTE: The glycemic index for pets is different than humans and it largely depends on the rate of digestion and rapidity of absorption of carbohydrates. I will be referencing only human glycemic values since they are readily available and accurate for this discussion

Harmful Bread for dogs and cats.

A. A. Do not resort to giving breads (note: each individual glycemic index is in a parentheses); whole wheat bread (69), white wheat bread (70), whole wheat pita bread (57) or similar baked goods; bagel (72), donuts (76), rice cakes (82) pretzels (83), waffles (76). Ask a professional for help to decide what is appropriate for you emergency needs since starvation is never an option.

B. B. Make sure to avoid any starchy vegetables (note: each individual glycemic index is in a parentheses), baked potatoes (83), carrots (71), mashed potatoes (73), instant white rice (87). Blending the high glycemic index foods with fresh whole meat can result in an acceptable diet if properly fortified and blended according to accepted dietary standards.

C. C. Combining cooked pasta with a legume can be blended into an emergency diet; for example plain fettuccine and chick peas; glycemic index 32 and 33 respectively. Note: Consult a dog and cat nutrition professional for advice. I prefer to use pasta’s made with legume flours rather than highly processed wheat based pasta’s. Most varieties of legumes are a great ingredient for emergency diets, but you will need to make sure they are right for your pet.

D. D. Fruits you should not give to the stressed out vulnerable pets are the following (glycemic index is in parenthesis for each): watermelon (72), pineapple (66), raisins (64), grapes (52), and cantaloupe (65).

If your cat or dog has been exposed to flood waters or the residue left behind, chances are it has ingested some opportunistic pathogens. This is not a good time to use dog foods that are high in starches from wheat, corn, rice and potatoes.

I highly recommend using mannan oligosaccharides and specific pet approved direct fed microbial in all pets that have been exposed to the types of stressors experienced during and after Hurricane Irene. The products I recommend for anyone with a pet in the storm damaged areas are Crisis Care G.I and Crisis Care Paste.

I also recommend using Enviro-Shield in those areas where it can be properly applied such as all outside areas in and around where your pet will be living, playing, and sleeping. Enviro-sheild is also excellent for litter boxes.