To Carla Almaraz concerning onions and avocados:
 
     Yes, Carla, if taken AT THE APROPRIATE DOSES, both onions and avocados
can be lethal (but even a ferret would have to eat a lot).
 
     Onions have the ability to denature hemoglobin and render blood cells
unable to carry oxygen.  Avocados have caused deaths primarily in caged birds
due to heart failure, but toxicity has also been seen in goats, rabbits, and
mice.
 
      Remember, though, that these compounds are nt highly toxic.  Did you
know that if you breathed 100% oxygen for several hours, you might also do
severe permanent damage to your lungs?
 
      I'm not going to recommend giving up "Avoderm" - I'm assuming it is a
skin care product.  Nor am I going to say no onions or avocados, ever.
Remember, moderation is the key - these are ttreats - a taste will not hurt
anyone (chocolate, too - a common compound people get all upset over.)  But
just a taste....
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1157]