The Oregon Humane Society Monday confirmed the first known death of an animal adopted from the OHS shelter by contaminated pet food.

Sushi

The six-month-old kitten, named Sushi, left the shelter as a healthy animal on April 16, but about a month later began to show signs of kidney failure.

The pet's owner brought her new kitten to a private veterinarian, but doctors were unable to pinpoint the cause of kidney failure because contaminated pet food was not suspected at the time.

It was later discovered that pet food purchased by the cat's owner, Spa Select Kitten dry food manufactured by the Blue Buffalo Company, was subject to an April 19 recall because it contained a rice protein ingredient that had tested positive for melamine.

"The lab results OHS has just received from Michigan State University confirm that melamine was present in the cat's urine and kidneys," said Dr. Kris Otteman, director of shelter medicine for the Oregon Humane Society.

The owner of Sushi brought her pet to OHS to be euthanized after her doctor made the diagnosis of acute kidney failure with no hope of recovery.

"This case highlights the need for everyone to remain vigilant about their pet's food. At OHS, we have discarded any and all foods that we think might be a candidate for contamination. This is the first confirmed case of melamine poisoning involving an animal adopted from the shelter, but we have no idea how many unconfirmed cases there may be,” said Otteman.

OHS urges all pet owners to monitor the Food and Drug Administration's pet food recall Web site to stay informed of the latest pet food recall news.