Pop-top canned food bad?

white cat lover

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OK, I've seen several references to pop-top canned food being bad because of whatever they use to preserve it or something like that. However, I cannot find a specific article that states why. This is what I'm looking for:
"Epidemiologic Study of Relationships Between
Consumption of Canned Food and Risk of Hyperthyroidism in Cats"
published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association on March 15, 2004, vol. 224.

I was on the AVMA website & still cannot find that article!


Anybody have any further info. on this? I know all my kits are getting pop-top canned food as well as the dogs. If this is something that could possibly harm them, then there needs to be further research!!
 

sharky

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I can imagine a bit of the metal gets in the food but as for actual issues I am all ears
 

pushylady

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Hmmm, my one gets the Hill's c/d in a pop-top can. It's so convenient, I'd be really annoyed if it turns out to be worse than normal cans!
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

OK, I've seen several references to pop-top canned food being bad because of whatever they use to preserve it or something like that. However, I cannot find a specific article that states why. This is what I'm looking for:
"Epidemiologic Study of Relationships Between
Consumption of Canned Food and Risk of Hyperthyroidism in Cats"
published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association on March 15, 2004, vol. 224.

I was on the AVMA website & still cannot find that article!


Anybody have any further info. on this? I know all my kits are getting pop-top canned food as well as the dogs. If this is something that could possibly harm them, then there needs to be further research!!
Try this...

First , go to this page http://avmajournals.avma.org/toc/javma/224/6

Then near the bottom click the checkbox next to "Epidemiologic study of relationships between consumption of commercial canned food and risk of hyperthyroidism in cats", then click "View highlighted abstracts on one page"

I would link it directly, but it's a goofy link that would take you to a different page. You'll see when you get there.
 
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white cat lover

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It says I cannot see the article without paying for it!!
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

It says I cannot see the article without paying for it!!
Hmmm. Yeah, after that 2nd page are you clicking "pdf" at the bottom? If so that's what happened for me too. I guess what comes up first is just a summary or something??
 
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white cat lover

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Originally Posted by beandip

Hmmm. Yeah, after that 2nd page are you clicking "pdf" at the bottom? If so that's what happened for me too. I guess what comes up first is just a summary or something??
Yeah, I clicked the PDF part. Crimeny! I really want to read that article!!!!
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Yeah, I clicked the PDF part. Crimeny! I really want to read that article!!!!
I wonder if someone at a vet's office could be so kind and print it out for you, or me, or us
They would have access, I bet. Does anyone know a generous person that might do that?

I googled the title and found a lot of results but they were just pretty much the same as that short page on the AVMA site.
 
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white cat lover

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Are all vets member of AVMA(stupid question)? I have to take one of my doggies for a vacc tomorrow...I might ask that vet if I remember....
 

cloud_shade

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These are the abstracts:
http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...Links/018.html
http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...Links/001.html
http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...Links/070.html

There are bunches of other hyperthyroidism-related studies here:
http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...learNotes.html

I'm not sure that I believe that the pop-tops themselves are the cause of the increased hyperthyroidism. Other risk factors identified in these studies included use of litter, which to me implies that cats who spent more time indoors (enough to use litterboxes) were more likely identified with hyperthyroidism--I think their owners were more likely to recognize the signs of the disease and seek treatment. All three studies were based on reviewing medical records, so cats who did not see a vet would not have been included. As for the pop-top cans having an effect, I would want to see someone distinguish between cheap foods (like Friskies) that have a lot of fillers and additives versus the more natural foods with fewer unnatural ingredients. For example, a lot of the grocery brands have soy, which is also known to increase T4 levels (http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperth...inks/068.html).
 

cloud_shade

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This site also discusses some of these studies in a bit more detail:
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00107.htm

"Two recent large studies have looked at possible environmental or dietary factors involved in the patho-genesis of hyperthyroidism. One of the studies with a case controlled design looked at 100 cats with hyper-thyroidism and 163 control cats. The cats medical records were reviewed and the owners were asked to complete a mailed questionnaire. Data included demographic variables, environmental exposures, and diet (including preferred flavors of canned cat food). In this study, housing, exposure to fertilizers, herbicides, regular use of flea products, and the presence of a smoker in the house were not associated with an increased risk, but cats that preferred fish or liver and giblets flavors of canned cat food had an increased risk. The results suggested that cats that prefer to eat certain flavors of canned cat food might have a significantly increased risk of hyperthyroidism.

In the second case controlled study owners of 379 hyperthyroid and 351 control cats were questioned about their cats' exposure to potential risk factors including breed, demographic factors, medical history, indoor environment, chemicals applied to the cat and environment, and diet. The association between these hypothesized risk factors and outcome of disease was evaluated by conditional logistic regression. Two genetically related cat breeds (Siamese and Himalayan) were found to have diminished risk of developing hyperthyroidism. Cats that used litter had higher risk of developing hyperthyroidism than those that did not. Use of topical ectoparasite preparations was associated with increased risk of developing hyperthyroidism. Compared with cats that did not eat canned food, those that ate commercially prepared canned food had an approximate two-fold increase in risk of disease. When these four variables (breed, use of cat litter, consumption of canned cat food, and use of topical ectoparasite preparations) from the univariate analysis were selected for further study as candidate risk factors and analyzed by multivariate conditional logistic regression, a persistent protective effect of breed (Siamese or Himalayan) was found. In addition, results suggested a two- to three-fold increase in risk of developing hyperthyroidism among cats eating a diet composed mostly of canned cat food and a three-fold increase in risk among those using cat litter. In contrast, the use of commercial flea products did not retain a strong association. The results of this study indicate that further research into dietary and other potentially important environmental factors (cat litter) is warranted."
 

jiazzi

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I can get the article on pdf...though it won't be until Monday or Tuesday...PM me if you'd like a copy of it.
 

fanbeltcat

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The most likely culprit is the plasticizer used in the sealant used in pop-top cans: bisphenol-a. It's an endocrine disruptor, so the glands of the hormonal systems are logical victims.

Since Shadow was diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism, I have been feeding everyone from non-pop-top cans and boy are they hard to find!

I fed her that for a few months and her thyroid levels didn't change, so she's on pills now (praise be to the inventor of Pill Pockets!). I guess once the damage is done it's hard to undo it. Maybe I should consider it a success that her levels didn't get worse.
 

jcat

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Originally Posted by FanBeltCat

I have been feeding everyone from non-pop-top cans and boy are they hard to find!
You can say that again! I don't know when I last encountered a cat food can that wasn't a pop-top! There's a Swedish producer (of "Bozita", available in Europe) who uses Tetrapacks. I really hope that starts a trend.
 

fanbeltcat

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Ugh, tetra packs have got to be among the least recyclable packaging I've ever seen. Right down there with pvc plastic. Normal cans are fine with me.

Cat hell: Endless rooms and an intermittant, perpetually far-away sound of a can opener.
 

mzjazz2u

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I have recently heard of this study and don't know what to think of it. The summary states: "These findings suggest that the increasing prevalence of feline hyperthyroidism is not solely the result of aging of the cat population and that canned foods may play a role."

Next week I'm going to have a talk with the vet pathologist at the lab I work for. I want to see what he thinks about this and how strong this study is.
 
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