時差N小時:洋蔥是寵物殺手?

You may already know that chocolate can be lethalto yourpet, but did you know that onions can betoxic to your catsand dogs too?

也許你已經知道巧克力對寵物的殺傷力，但是你知道小貓小狗吃了洋蔥會中毒嗎?

And I'm not just talking about their breath.

我不僅僅說的是他們的呼吸。

You see all forms of onions-cooked, raw, dehydrated-containsulfurcompounds.

要知道，新鮮的、脫水的、烹飪的洋蔥，無一例外含有硫化物。

When your pet ingests onions, thesecompounds are broken down into what are known asdisulphidecompounds;

寵物攝食洋蔥，化合物就分解成二硫化物，紅細胞膜“中毒”，形成海恩茨氏小體的突起小泡。

These bubbles make the red blood cell more rigid, and weaken its outermembrane, whichmeans not only that the cell can't flex and twist as it circulates in the body,but that it is morelikely to rupture.

海恩茨氏小體使紅細胞僵硬，外膜受損。紅細胞在體內循環，無法彎曲和扭轉，更易破裂。

Now, the main function of red blood cells is to circulate oxygen throughout the body.

紅細胞的主要功能是循環體內的氧氣。

Withoutenough of these, the animal becomes anemic, and–if the bone marrow isn't givenenough timeto regenerate new red blood cells-it may even die.

紅細胞的缺失誘發動物貧血;如果骨髓沒有及時更新紅細胞，動物就會喪命。

This also explains why the effects of oniontoxicity can take a few days to show up, and why evenvery small amounts of onions can stillhave a cumulative damaging effect.

這也是洋蔥毒性在數日后才得以顯現的原因，而極少量的洋蔥也能帶來極大的危害。

So what can you do to protect your dog or cat?

那么，你如何保護寵物呢?

Make sure to read labels.

請仔細閱讀標簽。

For example, babyfood, which people use to entice their sick cats to eat, often contains onionpowder.

比如，人們用來喂生病寵物貓的嬰兒食品中就常含有洋蔥粉。

Also, do notfeed your pet table scraps that contain onions in any shape or form.

也不要喂給寵物任何含洋蔥的殘羹剩飯。

And it is always if your cat ordog begins vomiting, acting depressed, or breathes rapidly.

此外，如果你的寵物貓狗出現嘔吐、精神沉郁、呼吁緊促等癥狀。

Don't delay! Take them to the vet.

就趕快送去獸醫診所!