Pet Safety Tips and Warnings

I've been getting lots of tips and warnings I'd like to pass on. I'll check them through snopes.com before listing any.

http://www.itchmo.com/expertox-finds-lead-other-toxins-in-wal-mart-pet-toys-2877

Expertox, a Texas lab, has found elevated levels of lead, chromium, and cadmium in two Chinese-made pet toys sold at Wal-Mart. But two veterinarians said the levels found by the lab are not a health risk to cats and dogs.

The lab was hired by ConsumerAffairs.com to test two dog toys and two cat toys for heavy metals and other toxins.

A dog chew toy, a green monster, tested positive for what the lab categorizes as high levels of lead and chromium. The lab detected lead levels of 907.4 micrograms per kilogram (almost one part per million). Chromium was found at levels of 334.9 micrograms per kilogram. Levels of cadmium, arsenic and mercury were also found in the green monster toy.

The lab said with that kind of concentration, if a dog puts the toy in his mouth and chews or licks it, he is being exposed to a good amount of lead and runs the risk of metal toxicity that may shorten his life.

Expertox said a cloth catnip toy also tested positive for a “tremendous amount” of the toxic metal cadmium. The levels of cadmium found were 236 micrograms per kilogram.

Two other Wal-Mart pet toys were analyzed, a cloth hedgehog for dogs and a plastic dumbbell toy for cats. Expertox found cadmium in those two pet toys, but the lab toxicologist said the levels found were similar to the amount in one cigarette and not considered significant.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.itchmo.com/expertox-finds-lead-other-toxins-in-wal-mart-pet-toys-2877