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Old Mac-n-cheese is just about ripe? Give it to Spot! Green Chili that really is, well…, green? Give it to Fido! If these are thoughts that generally pass through your head when cleaning out the ol' refrigerator, think again! According to Veterinary Medicine Magazine, April 2000, over 25 cases of suspected mycotoxin intoxication has occurred in dogs! Tremorgenic mycotoxins are by-products of fungus that tends to grow on foods and can cause varying degrees of muscle tremors and seizures that can last for several hours even days! Typical sources of food causing tremors and seizures are moldy dairy products, moldy peanuts or walnuts, moldy spaghetti, stored grains, etc. There are over 20 mycotoxins that have been identified to cause muscle tremors and seizures if ingested, some varying in severity of disease based upon how much of the toxin was actually ingested and the type.

Affected animals, according to the article by Mary M. Schell, D.V.M., affected dogs may have a history of digging through garbage, eating from a compost pile, or ingesting moldy foods within two hours before the onset of symptoms. Some tremors may be mild or severe resulting in seizures, even death. These muscle tremors or seizures may last several days, which are usually preceded by vomiting. Many other toxins can show similar signs to tremorgenic mycotoxin intoxication such as antifreeze, pseuphedrine hydrochloride, amphetamines, strychnine, etc., and these toxins must also be ruled out. In order to accurately diagnose this problem, owners should bring in samples of anything they feel the dog may have eaten should it be experiencing vomiting, muscle tremors, and/or seizures. Keeping animals from free roaming will also decrease the amount of exposure to this type of toxicity, along with careful storage of refuse and containers.