If your cat or dog ate any of the pet foods recalled last week by Ontario-based Menu Foods and isn’t showing any dramatic symptoms of kidney failure – including vomiting, refusal to eat, lethargy or increased drinking or urination – that doesn’t necessarily mean you are out of the woods, veterinarians warn.

“There are two categories of kidney failure – acute and chronic,” said Dr. Neil Shaw, chief medical officer for NYC Veterinary Specialists & Cancer Treatment Center in Manhattan. “Initially, there was an outburst of acute cases, but now we are beginning to see more chronic cases as well.”

Acute kidney failure is a sudden, major loss of kidney function that the body cannot adjust to, resulting in a very sick animal in a very short period of time.

Dr. Cathy Langston of the Manhattan-based Animal Medical Center’s renal-medicine service, noted that in chronic cases, symptoms can be subtle.

“The cat might go to the food bowl, but may not consume as much. The weight loss might be very gradual, so you don’t notice it on a day-to-day basis. And vomiting may be only occasional and attributed to hair balls.”

Both types of kidney failure require immediate veterinary care, Shaw said.

Veterinarians can use a urine test to screen for kidney failure and might follow it up with blood work or an ultrasound.