The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday that rat poison found in pet food is the possible cause of the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs in some countries.

The toxin, which is identified as aminopterin, is used to kill rats in some countries but is not registered for that use in the United States. However, the officials from the manufacturer Menu Foods, which recalled the food some time ago, say it is still not able to find out how it got into the pet foods

The FDA announced the voluntary recall of several brands of pet foods for both dogs and cats made by Menu Foods Inc.

The recall affects all of the "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat foods (both in cans and pouches) that were made at Menu Food's location in Emporia, Kansas. These private-label pet foods were produced by the manufacturer between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007, and they were sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning the public not to purchase or use Wild Kitty Cat Food. Routine monitoring conducted by the FDA detected Salmonella in an analyzed sample of the frozen raw Wild Kitty Cat Food product.

If cats or other pets eat this food, they may become infected with Salmonella. Humans can also be infected by handling or ingesting the food, touching the pets who have consumed the food, or touching surfaces that come into contact with the food or the pet(s)

A University of Missouri-Columbia veterinary ophthalmologist has been developing a microchip implant that restores sight to blind cats and hopefully to humans as well. Preliminary results in clinical human trials have been encouraging, with 30 people implanted so far.

Dr. Kristina Narfstrom is fine-tuning the technique with Abyssinian and Persian cats affected with the hereditary retinal blinding disease similar to retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable genetic disease in humans that usually leads to blindness

Scientists in Britain are conducting research to determine a cause of why a common parasite Toxoplasma is harmless to most people, while causing severe illness in others.

Toxoplasma is a genus of parasitic protozoa whose definitive host is cats but which can be carried by the vast majority of warm-blooded animals, including humans