【英语时差8,16】洋葱对宠物有毒

（单词翻译）

You may already know that chocolate can be lethal¹ to your pet, but did you know that onions can be toxic² to your cats and dogs too? And I’m not just talking about their breath. You say all forms of onions–cooked, raw, dehydrated–contain contain sulfur³ compounds. When your pet ingests onions, these compounds are broken down into what are known as disulphide compounds; these are toxic to red blood cell membranes⁴ and cause them to form small bubble-like projections⁶ that are known as Heinz bodies. These bubbles make the red blood cell more rigid⁷, and weaken its outer membrane⁵, which means not only that the cell can’t flex⁸ and twist as it circulates in the body, but that it is more likely to rupture⁹. Now, the main function of red blood cells is to circulate oxygen throughout the body. Without enough of these, the animal becomes anemic, and–if the bone marrow¹⁰ isn’t given enough time to regenerate¹¹ new red blood cells–it may even die. This also explains why the effects of onion toxicity¹² can take a few days to show up, and why even very small amounts of onions can still have a cumulative¹³ damaging effect. So what can you do to protect your dog or cat? Make sure to read labels. For example, baby food, which people use to entice¹⁴ their sick cats to eat, often contains onion powder. Also, do not feed your pet table scraps¹⁵ that contain onions in any shape or form. And always if your cat or dog begins vomiting¹⁶, acting¹⁷ depressed¹⁸, or breathes rapidly,don't delay and take it to the vet¹⁹.