To Susie and Ken concerning Casper:
 
>From my understanding of the Path Valley lawsuit story, Casper was born
>during the time that they were having problems. If this is the case, is
>Casper going to have a propensity toward related problems later in life and
>if so, what should we watch for?
 
>I apologize if this sounds foolish...
 
Susie and Ken - No this doesn't sound foolish, and it is a legitimate concern.
Now I don't claim to know all about the Path Valley suit, but from what I
heard, there was a problem in the calcium/phosphorus ration of the food that
Agway made for Path Valley.
 
        Usually in cases like this, the presenting signs will be rickets -
because the body does not have enough calcium to put in the bones, and must
additionally, take more calcium out of the already brittle bones for normal
daily needs.  In young animals this is called rickets - ain adults, it is
called osteoporosis.
 
        Usually, a growing animal with rickets will hae bowed bones in the legs
and rib cases, occasionally will have fractures.  You will see flaring at the
ends of the leg bones and small swellings along the ribs (known as a "rachitic
rosary".)
 
        Chances are, if Casper doesn't show any obvious signs of skeltal or
dental deformities, he received adequate calcium during this time.  Once you
change to an adequate diet - the body has the ability to put things to right
again with two exceptions - it cannot correct gross deformities obtained during
growth as a result of rickets, and when the Ca:P is really screwed up, you can
have death in various organs, including the kidney and stomach, which will
persist as scar tissue.
 
        If Casper is healthy and active, chances are everything is OK.
 
 
--
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 1158]