Most diets assessed in this study were not compliant with AAFCO labeling regulations, and there were concerns regarding adequacy of AA content. Manufacturers should ensure regulatory compliance and nutritional adequacy of all diets, and pets fed commercially available vegetarian diets should be monitored and assessed routinely.

BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with high mortality rates in dogs, which may be a consequence of late recognition using traditional diagnostic tests. Neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a protein‐induced during kidney injury that may identify AKI earlier than traditional tests.Objectives/HypothesisTo evaluate urinary NGAL (uNGAL) and uNGAL‐to‐urinary creatinine ratio (UNCR) as early markers of kidney injury and recovery in an AKI model in dogs. It was hypothesized that these markers would document AKI earlier than serum creatinine concentration.AnimalsFive purpose‐bred dogs.MethodsProspective study. Acute kidney injury, defined as a > 50% increase in serum creatinine concentration above baseline, was induced in dogs by gentamicin administration (8–10 mg/kg SC q8h). Blood and urine collected for biochemical analyses and uNGAL and urinary creatinine concentrations, respectively, during AKI induction and recovery.ResultsAcute kidney injury was diagnosed significantly earlier based on a 7‐fold increase in UNCR compared to a > 50% increase in serum creatinine concentration (day 8; range, 2–10 mg/dl vs day 16; range, 14–19 mg/dl; P = .009). During recovery, the initial decrease in UNCR preceded the decrease in serum creatinine concentration by a median of 2 days. The uNGAL changes paralleled UNCR changes, but the increase in uNGAL was triphasic; the initial peak occurred earlier than UNCR (median, day 11 versus median, day 19).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThe UNCR was early marker of gentamicin‐induced AKI and its decrease documented onset of renal recovery. Additional studies are needed to validate this marker in dogs with naturally occurring renal injury.

Total urine output following s.c. administration of furosemide in healthy dogs was similar when compared to the i.v. and p.o. route. Subcutaneous route may be an effective means for administration of furosemide in dogs, particularly when i.v. access is difficult.

Clinical findings in lung-digit syndrome in five cats-Hiroki Sugiyama et al. Introduction Lung tumors in cats are reported to be rare［2］. Indeed, during the period from April 1985 through March 2008 at Oncology Department, Azabu University Veterinary Teaching Hospital(AUVTH) , we diagnosed a total of 1,070 cases of tumors in cats, which included 59 cases of respiratory system tumors, but only 10 of these were pulmonary tumors. Histopathologically, adenocarcinomas are reported to be the most common type of pulmonary tumor in cats［10］ , followed by squamous cell carcinomas and carcinosarcomas［7］. The etiological factors involved in pulmonary tumors in cats remain unclear, but a case of apparent bacterial involvement has been reported［6］. Metastasis to the bronchial lymph nodes and to other lobes of the lung is common［1］ , and the prognosis of undifferentiated carcinomas is considered to be worse than that of highly differentiated lesions［9］. In humans and dogs, the cause of death in cases with pulmonary tumors is often respiratory failure brought on by pneumonia or retention of pleural effusion due to pleural infiltration. In pulmonary tumors in cats, a condition known as lung-digit syndrome has been described, and is characterized by disseminated metastasis of the primary pulmonary tumor to the digits［8］. Only a few reports have been published on the lung-digit syndrome in cats, but it has been reported that the prognosis is very poor, with a median survival of 34 to 104 days ［8,15,16］. It is possible reportedly that this syndrome could be associated with various tumors, including adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas［4,12,14］ , and that the sites of metastasis include not only the digits but also the skin, kidneys and muscles［4,5,12］. In humans, a possible same pathophysiology is also known in which primary pulmonary tumors show disseminated metastasis to the digits, but much remains unclear regarding this disease condition, and there