时差N小时:洋葱是宠物杀手?

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

也许你已经知道巧克力对宠物的杀伤力，但是你知道小猫小狗吃了洋葱会中毒吗?

And I'm not just talking about their breath.

我不仅仅说的是他们的呼吸。

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

要知道，新鲜的、脱水的、烹饪的洋葱，无一例外含有硫化物。

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

宠物摄食洋葱，化合物就分解成二硫化物，红细胞膜“中毒”，形成海恩茨氏小体的突起小泡。

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.

海恩茨氏小体使红细胞僵硬，外膜受损。红细胞在体内循环，无法弯曲和扭转，更易破裂。

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

红细胞的主要功能是循环体内的氧气。

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.

红细胞的缺失诱发动物贫血;如果骨髓没有及时更新红细胞，动物就会丧命。

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.

这也是洋葱毒性在数日后才得以显现的原因，而极少量的洋葱也能带来极大的危害。

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

那么，你如何保护宠物呢?

Make sure to read labels.

请仔细阅读标签。

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

比如，人们用来喂生病宠物猫的婴儿食品中就常含有洋葱粉。

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

也不要喂给宠物任何含洋葱的残羹剩饭。

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

此外，如果你的宠物猫狗出现呕吐、精神沉郁、呼吁紧促等症状。

Don't delay! Take them to the vet.

就赶快送去兽医诊所!