The cat was poisoned - how to treat it at home

Poisoning in domestic cats is not uncommon. No one is insured - neither a cat who constantly walks on the street, nor a pet who has never seen what is happening behind the doors of the apartment. Poisoning in a cat is accompanied by obvious symptoms, and treatment should be started immediately as soon as they appear. You need to know what and how to do in case of poisoning - provide first aid at home or urgently contact a veterinary clinic.

Food poisoning in cats

There are many reasons why a cat can get poisoned, and they are all different. Sometimes poisoning in a cat can occur due to its curiosity, and sometimes due to the inattention, inexperience or negligence of the owner.

The most common food poisoning in cats is:

spoiled food that has been sitting in a bowl for a long time, especially in a warm room;
food scraps that the cat may have stolen from the trash can;
food that people throw on the street;
feeding with low-quality ready-made food, which is sold by weight, and it is unknown who made it and when;
food that was not stored under the necessary conditions;
human food containing dyes, food additives and spices.

The idea that cats love slightly spoiled food is wrong. Cats that eat waste from garbage cans often die from poisoning.

1. Poisoning when poison gets on the body.

Paint, resin, motor oil, solvents and many other chemicals can cause more than just chemical irritation or skin burns. By licking itself, a cat can become poisoned.

Symptoms: vomiting, lethargy, loss of consciousness, respiratory arrest, convulsions.

First aid: remove unabsorbed poison as quickly as possible, induce vomiting, rinse the stomach with potassium permanganate, give the cat polysorb or activated carbon.

Prevention: If you see that your cat is soiled with one of the substances listed above, do not try to scrape or clean it mechanically, and also do not use household detergents under any circumstances. Wipe the contaminated area with vegetable oil, and then wash with warm water and soap, or even regular baby shampoo, until the stain is completely removed. Make sure that cats, especially kittens, do not have access to such substances.

Unusual poisonings in cats

Other causes of poisoning may be:

incorrect dosage of medication when treating any disease or self-medication with drugs that are contraindicated for animals;
poisons, most often rat poisons. Both baits with poison and rodents that swallow this bait are dangerous for cats;
poisonous plants;
chemicals, especially those that emit fumes. These are paints and varnishes, household chemicals, pesticides that are used to treat plants. Poisoning occurs through the respiratory system or mucous membranes;
overdose of medications against fleas, ticks or helminths;
insect or snake bites.

Sometimes the effect of toxic chemicals on the body occurs gradually, in which case intoxication is difficult to notice immediately. In a cat poisoned by chemicals, characteristic manifestations may occur when the consequences become irreversible, and in this situation it is not always possible to save the animal.

If a cat has been poisoned by chemicals, then it is necessary, without waiting for symptoms to appear, to contact a veterinary clinic as quickly as possible. In some cases, it may be necessary to give the cat an antidote, and which one can only be determined in the clinic.

There are cases where cat poisoning occurs due to alcohol or chocolate, when people give them for fun. Spending a long time in a room where there is frequent smoking is also dangerous for animals.

How can a cat be poisoned?

Cats are very curious animals that love to poke their noses into all sorts of places.
So they explore the world around them, but at the same time expose themselves to danger. About 25% of all possible incidents with cats are poisoning. The causes of poisoning can be different, but most often they are:

spoiled cat food,
stale kitchen waste,
medical drugs,
indoor and outdoor plants (buttercups, lilies, cornflowers, cyclamen, etc.),
chemicals (detergents, bleaches, flea and tick gels, etc.),
pesticide,
household items (dental floss, tinsel, glitter, etc.).

Many “human” foods can cause poisoning: alcohol, garlic and onions, dough (especially yeast), sweeteners, raisins and grapes.

Signs of poisoning

The symptoms of poisoning in cats are varied, but only a few of them may appear. Common signs of poisoning in cats:

nausea, which is expressed by the pet licking its nose very often, while smacking its lips;
salivation;
vomit. It may be mixed with bile or blood, or it may be without impurities;
diarrhea;
lack of appetite;
rapid breathing, often shallow;
abdominal pain, which may be accompanied by meowing, or may only be noticeable when pressing on the abdomen;
temperature increase;
pupil dilation. Sometimes the third eyelid becomes noticeable in poisoned animals.

In addition, the behavior and general condition of the pet changes. There may be lethargy or, conversely, overexcitation. Coordination of movement may be impaired. In severe cases, tremors, seizures, and paralysis may occur.

If symptoms are detected and the cat may have been poisoned, then before you start doing anything at home, you need to make sure of this. Such symptoms may indicate not only poisoning, but also other serious diseases. It is important to find out whether the cat has been poisoned or not as quickly as possible. It is necessary to analyze what could have caused it. If the cause is not found, it is better to immediately contact a veterinary clinic for diagnosis and treatment.

Treatment for poisoning in cats differs from treatment for other diseases with similar symptoms. If you draw the wrong conclusion, you can do harm and waste time. Particular attention should be paid to kittens, especially when the kitten has been poisoned by a large dose of poison.

Diagnostics

The symptoms of poisoning in domestic cats largely depend on the toxic substance. Before you figure out what to give your cat if he is poisoned, it is worth determining the type of poison. Some specific clinical signs may indicate a particular toxic substance:

When rat poison enters the body, a cat experiences vomiting mixed with blood and bile, cyanosis (blue discoloration of the mucous membranes).

If your pet has had contact with poisonous plants, you may notice increased salivation, foam at the mouth, and nervous system disorders are common.

Poisoning with organophosphate poisons is characterized by severe agitation, increased blood pressure, convulsions and paralysis.

Food intoxication usually occurs with disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. The cat has vomiting, diarrhea, and severe thirst. The pet is depressed and refuses food.

Signs of drug poisoning are: weakness, vomiting, depression, constriction of the pupils.

What makes poisoning worse?

A cat can only be cured when measures are taken on time. In some cases, intoxication of the body occurs rapidly. This is facilitated by:

Exhaustion of the body;
Weak immunity;
Presence of chronic diseases;
Age of the animal. Small kittens tolerate poisoning very hard. If the kitten has been poisoned, you should immediately go to the veterinary clinic. The likelihood of death is high, do not self-medicate and waste time. The treatment of a kitten should be entrusted to a specialist.

In addition, the condition of the animal depends on what kind of poison entered the body and in what quantity. The more dangerous the substance, the more of it in the body, the more difficult it is to treat a cat if it is poisoned.

Plants that are dangerous to your cat's health

Try to remember that of the most common plants (including ornamental ones), the following pose the greatest threat to cats.

Indoor, garden, and also used in bouquets: amaryllis (hypeastrum, clivia, bloodflower, etc.) - when ingested, they cause damage to the nervous system, some cause allergic dermatitis; arum (Dieffenbachia, etc.) – juice contains oxalic acid, causes burns, can lead to collapse; Sprenger's asparagus – causes vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps; geranium – indigestion; wisteria - causes diarrhea and vomiting; delphinium - causes diarrhea and vomiting; jasmine (some types) - systemic toxic effect; iris - causes diarrhea and vomiting; calendula (marigold); calla lilies - contain oxalic acid, cause swelling of the oral mucosa, and can lead to collapse; clematis - causes diarrhea and vomiting; castor bean – causes diarrhea and vomiting; Cannabis is a hallucinogen; crocus - causes diarrhea and vomiting; lily of the valley - causes diarrhea and vomiting; swallowworts (stapelia, waxy ivy, fleshy hoya, etc.) - a variety of manifestations; lilies (colchicum autumn, hyacinth, lily, etc.) – contact can cause allergic dermatitis; lupine - systemic toxic effect; some types of poppy are hallucinogenic; Euphorbiaceae (all types), including poinsettia - cause contact dermatitis in the mouth or at the site of contact; Monstera – irritates eyes and skin; daffodils – cause diarrhea and vomiting; oleander - systemic toxic effect; primroses, including primrose - juice can cause burns and allergic dermatitis; nightshades (pepper, physalis, green potato tubers, etc.) - systemic toxic effect; petunias - cause diarrhea and vomiting rhubarb - systemic toxic effect; rhododendron - causes cardiovascular disorders, diarrhea and vomiting; Sansevieria (pike tail) - causes allergic dermatitis; tulips - cause allergic dermatitis; violets – cause diarrhea and vomiting; physalis – cause diarrhea and vomiting; different types of ficus - cause burns, if ingested - kidney damage; contact dermatitis at the site of contact; philodendron (other species related to Monstera) – juice contains oxalic acid, can cause burns, kidney and central nervous system damage; chlorophytum - causes allergic dermatitis, but not in all cats; chrysanthemums - cause allergic dermatitis, vomiting, convulsions; hellebore – diarrhea, vomiting, even death; cyclamen – causes cardiovascular disorders; Cyperus - causes cardiovascular disorders, seizures, kidney failure;

Wild growing: aconite – systemic toxic effect; amaranth - systemic toxic effect; periwinkle is a hallucinogen; henbane - systemic toxic effect; hemlock - systemic toxic effect; wolf's bast - systemic toxic effect; lily of the valley - diarrhea and vomiting; buttercups – systemic toxic effect; digitalis – systemic toxic effect, disruption of the heart; mistletoe – when ingested, it contributes to disorders of the cardiovascular system and central nervous system; ferns – diarrhea, vomiting; shepherd's purse - various poisonous effects; ivy - causes cardiovascular disorders, seizures, kidney failure; evergreen boxwood or buxus - systemic poisoning effect, up to death; yew berry – causes diarrhea and vomiting; hemlock (veh poisonous) - causes convulsions ending in death.

Prevention is to ensure that cats kept strictly at home never have a lack of vitamins (it is these that they, as a rule, try to replenish by eating indoor plants), and on out-of-town trips you should exclude contact of your pets with plants that represent a threat to their health (at least, do not grow them on your plots or remove them as weeds). In early spring, it is useful to sow oats at home, the sprouts of which contain a whole storehouse of vitamins and other useful substances. Cats readily eat these fresh sprouts. It is good to add finely chopped lettuce, dill and parsley to your food. In addition, plants such as tradescantia, chlorophytum and cacti (with spines removed) are considered completely edible and safe.

How to help a cat at home with food poisoning

Regardless of what caused the intoxication of the body, a veterinarian should assist the cat in case of poisoning. If possible, you should contact a veterinary clinic as soon as possible. If visiting a doctor is possible only after some time, it is necessary to take measures aimed at reducing the absorption of poison into the blood.

What to do if your cat is poisoned:

Find out the cause of poisoning;
Remove the source of poisoning from the pet’s access area;
Rinse the stomach. To do this, use clean water, which is poured into the cat’s throat using a large syringe without a needle. It is allowed to pour in 250-500 ml of liquid at a time. After this, vomiting is induced by pressing on the far part of the tongue;
Before washing the stomach, you need to give a sorbent - activated carbon is suitable for this purpose. It prevents toxic substances from being absorbed into the walls of the stomach, taking them onto itself. No more than half of one tablet should be given at a time. It must be crushed, diluted with a small amount of water and poured deep into the throat. Vomiting can only be induced after a few minutes. It is necessary to wait for the sorbent to absorb toxic substances;
If several hours have passed since the poisoning, you can do an enema to remove toxic substances from the intestines. The volume of liquid introduced into the rectum should not exceed 50 ml;
To avoid dehydration, your cat needs to be given water. If you refuse water, you should force drink, using a syringe without a needle. You need to drink little by little, with an interval of 15-20 minutes. If vomiting occurs frequently, it will be good if, instead of plain water, you give your pet a saline solution, which helps restore the water-salt balance.

If you are vomiting, you should not use antiemetic drugs. Vomiting is a natural reaction of the body in which harmful substances are removed from the stomach.

Treatment

Try to find out how and what your cat could have been poisoned with. Carefully inspect the room and apartment. Most likely, your pet left behind traces: chewed packs of medications, scattered contents from the table, trash can, etc.

If you manage to find out what poisoned the animal, then take a sample (for example, a pack of tablets) with you to the veterinarian. Additionally, bring a sample of vomit (if available) to quickly obtain laboratory results. Don't ignore this recommendation! In case of particularly severe poisoning, this will allow you to quickly help your pet and save his life.

First aid for a cat in case of non-standard poisoning

Poisonings other than food poisoning often require medical intervention and the administration of an antidote. Only a qualified specialist can find out which antidote to administer and correctly calculate the dose.

What to do if a cat is poisoned and what first aid to provide:

When bitten by insects or snakes, apply ice to the bite site. This will narrow the blood vessels and prevent the poison from spreading further throughout the body.
If the poison gets on the skin, the pet must be washed under running water.
If an animal has inhaled harmful substances, immediately take it out into fresh air.
If acid enters the stomach, vomiting should not be caused.
In case of poisoning by rat poison, it is necessary to find out its composition, and only after that can an antidote be used. If the venom contains an anticoagulant, vitamin K is prescribed intramuscularly; if the venom contains vitamin D3, diuretics are prescribed. If the composition of the poison is unknown, then vitamin K and diuretics are used in combination. Only a veterinarian can prescribe the dosage and treatment regimen, depending on the weight and condition of the animal.
In case of poisoning with isoniazid (a drug for tuberculosis), which is used by dog hunters, vitamin B6 is used as an antidote.

If the cause of intoxication is rat poison or isoniazid, it is necessary to rinse the stomach and give a laxative, just as for food poisoning.

If a cat is poisoned, then before treating it at home and providing first aid, it is advisable to contact a qualified specialist and clarify what can be used and in what doses in case of poisoning with a specific chemical.

After providing first aid for any poisoning, it is necessary to examine the animal in a veterinary clinic. Your pet may require additional therapy to recover.

FAQ

What should you do if your cat accidentally ate a human pill?

It is best if you immediately take her to a veterinary clinic or call a doctor at home. The health and life of a cat depend on the speed of professional assistance. If it is not possible to immediately show your pet to a doctor, you need to induce vomiting in the cat and give it adsorbents. But, these first aid measures do not cancel a visit to the veterinarian!

How to help a cat that has been poisoned by dog hunters?

If you have established that the cat was poisoned from eating bait scattered by dog hunters with the poison isoniazid, take the animal to the clinic. There, the pet will be given gastric lavage, injections of vitamin B6 and given adsorbent, anticonvulsant and cardiac stimulating drugs.

The cat ate a poisoned mouse. What to do?

If an animal has eaten a rodent poisoned by rat poison, it must be taken to a veterinarian immediately. Rat poison causes multiple bleeding - this is life-threatening for the pet. The doctor will administer an antidote (vitamin K) and prescribe detoxification measures.

Diet for a cat who has suffered poisoning

After medical procedures, you need to take care of what to feed your cat after poisoning. The cat's diet should be gentle and fractional. There is no need to feed the first 1-2 days, you can only give it water. If your pet previously drank milk, it should be excluded for a long time. This should be especially remembered if the question arises about how to feed a kitten that has weakened after poisoning. For babies, milk is replaced with fermented milk products.

What to feed a cat after poisoning:

dairy products;
chicken bouillon;
minced chicken;
liquid boiled porridge of rolled oats or rice, boiled in water;
boiled chicken protein.

If your pet previously ate ready-made food, you can buy premium dietary food.

To improve the digestive process, the veterinarian may prescribe special enzymes for the cat.

Intoxication with toxic agents used in agriculture

Insecticides (that is, means for destroying harmful and dangerous insects). Organophosphates and pyrethroids are especially dangerous. In case of poisoning with them, Atoxil in loading doses helps quite well (6-7 ml of the diluted drug orally every two to three hours).
Molluscicides (preparations for the destruction of harmful snails and slugs). The most common representatives are metacetaldehyde and methiocarb. In some cases, these products are produced in the form of balls, which must be scattered near the plants being protected. If a curious cat decides to chew them, this will not end well for his health.
Fungicides (used in homes where mold poisoning is common). Typical representatives are thiophane-methyl (contains, by the way, phenols that are fatal to cats) and foundationazole (benomyl).
Rodenticides (remedies against mice and rats). We have already written about their action above, so we will not dwell on this point further.

Note that modern pesticides, provided they are completely dry on the surfaces being treated, are relatively safe for warm-blooded animals. If you use them at home, be sure to store the products in separate rooms where pets and small children cannot enter. In ideal cases, all such products should be stored in “tightly” locked cabinets. If you carry out any “chemical” work in the garden or garden, lock the cat at home and warn your neighbors so that they also do not let their pets out for a walk.

How to prevent poisoning

If the cat is domestic and does not walk outside, then preventing poisoning is not difficult:

All chemicals, medications, household chemicals, cosmetics and perfumes must be removed from its access zone. Cabinet doors must have a reliable lock, because some pets can easily open them with their paws.
You need to pay close attention to your diet and avoid purchasing food that is of questionable production or has expired. If your pet is fed natural food, then you need to be selective in your choice of food, and do not leave food in a bowl for a long time;
remove indoor flowers from the house whose leaves and stems are poisonous;
observe the dosage of flea and helminth medications;
Do not self-medicate for any disease.

If your pet is walking outside, it is more difficult to keep track of him. It is advisable to purchase and keep on hand first aid supplies - laxatives, diuretics, vitamins K and D3, activated carbon. You should remember the veterinarian's phone number so that you can contact him immediately.

Prevention

The best prevention of poisoning in a cat is to store all potentially dangerous substances in hard-to-reach places. Every cat owner should know what can pose a danger to the animal in order to prevent the pet from accessing these dangerous things and substances.

What is dangerous for a cat?

Potentially hazardous substances, drugs and products that are found in every home:

medications from the human medicine cabinet: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen), diet pills, antidepressants, aspirin, paracetamol, acetaminophen, methylphenidate, vitamins, anti-cancer drugs, muscle relaxants;
human food and drinks: alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, grapes, green onions, raisins, xylitol (found in sweeteners, chewing gum and candy), yeast;
antifreeze, bleach, whiteness, fertilizers, herbicides, poisons for rats and insects, bait for snails and slugs;
insecticides (remedies for fleas, ticks, lice, lice);
chemical fertilizers;
veterinary drugs;
glow sticks and jewelry contain the dangerous substance dibutyl phthalate.
garden and indoor plants.

Tips for preventing poisoning

Do not buy expired food or loose food.
Wash food and water bowls after every meal.
Ensure that all substances that can poison your cat are stored safely.
Keep your cat away from the trash can and garbage dump.
Avoid walking your pet on your own.
Do not bring bouquets of poisonous plants into your home or grow poisonous indoor plants.
Keep all human and veterinary drugs in tightly closed containers. Do not leave them on tables or other surfaces where they could fall onto the floor.
Do not allow household members to give cats food from the human table. Do not leave food on tables unattended.
Keep medical thermometers out of reach of the animal.
Strictly follow the instructions for use when treating your cat for external and internal parasites.
Do not exceed the dosage of veterinary medications prescribed by your doctor. Do not prescribe any medications yourself.

Drinking regimen during intoxication

During the recovery period after poisoning, it is important to control the cat’s drinking regime. Water relieves symptoms of dehydration and helps normalize fluid and salt balance. The pet must have free access to a container of clean water.

It is allowed to place bowls with liquid throughout the room so that a weakened animal is able to reach them. The owner is advised to keep an eye on the cat; excessive drinking often provokes vomiting.

If the cat is not able to drink on its own, then water is given using a syringe or syringe. It is allowed to use different decoctions of medicinal herbs, but first you must consult a medical professional.