Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Helping your cat
• Part 2 of 3: Providing first aid
• Part 3 of 3: Taking care of your cat
• Tips

Because cats are very curious and obsessively wash their coats, they can sometimes ingest toxins and end up in serious situations. The most common toxins in cats are insecticides, human medicines, poisonous plants, and human foods that contain chemicals that cats cannot digest. To treat a poisoned cat, start with Step 1 below.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Helping your cat

1. Recognize the symptoms of poisoning. A cat can be poisoned if it has one or more of the following symptoms:
   • Difficulty breathing
   • Blue tongue and gums
   • Panting
   • Vomiting and / or diarrhea
   • Stomach irritation
   • Covers and sneezing
   • Being depressed
   • Salivating
   • Seizures, tremors or involuntary muscle tremors
   • Weakness and possible loss of consciousness
   • Dilated pupils
   • Urinating often
   • Dark urine
   • Shivering
2. Bring your cat to a well-ventilated area. If you think your cat has been poisoned and is lying down, unconscious, or faint, immediately remove it from the area and take it to a well-ventilated and well-lit area.
   • Wear a long-sleeved shirt and / or gloves to protect yourself from the poison. A sick and injured cat is likely to bite and scratch you because it is upset and scared.
   • When a cat is unwell or scared, its first instinct is to hide. If the cat has been poisoned, you will need to keep an eye on its symptoms and you cannot let it hide. Grab the cat gently but firmly and take it to a safe room. The kitchen and bathroom are ideal places, because you need water.
   • If the poison is nearby, remove it so that it is out of the reach of pets and people.
3. Call a vet right away. An experienced veterinarian or Animal Ambulance representative can help you calm down and will give you clear instructions on what to do and what antidote to give your poisoned cat. Keep in mind that your cat is more likely to survive if you call a vet right away. This should be the first thing you do after stabilizing your cat.
   • You can also call the Animal Ambulance. The national number is 0900-0245.
   • You can also call a Animal Ambulance department near you directly.

Part 2 of 3: Providing first aid

1. Find out what toxic substance is involved, if possible. This will help you determine whether it is okay to make your cat throw up or if you shouldn't. If you have the packaging of the substance in question, look at the following information: brand name, active ingredients and strength. Also try to estimate how much your cat has eaten. (Was it new packaging? How much is missing?)
   • Be the first to contact your veterinarian or the Animal Ambulance Service, as well as the manufacturer of the product.
   • If you have access to the internet, look for information about the active substance. It helps to phrase your query like this: is [product name] toxic to cats?
   • Some products are safe to swallow. You don't have to do anything when you find out. If the substance is poisonous, the next step is to determine whether to make your cat throw up.
2. Don't give your cat a home remedy unless directed to do so. Do not give your cat food, water, milk, salt, oil, or any other home remedy unless you know what your cat has ingested, what medicine to give, and how to provide first aid. Giving your cat these remedies without advice or instructions from a veterinarian or Animal Ambulance staff can worsen your cat's condition.
   • The veterinarian and staff of the Animal Ambulance have more knowledge and skills and are therefore better able to determine what to do and what to give your poisoned cat.
3. Seek advice from your veterinarian or the Animal Ambulance Service before allowing your cat to vomit. Do not attempt to get your cat to do anything without instructions from a veterinarian or Animal Ambulance staff. Some toxins (especially caustic acids) can do more damage if you make your cat throw up. Only induce vomiting if:
   • Your cat has eaten the poison in the last two hours. If your cat ate the poison more than two hours ago, it has already been absorbed by the body and vomiting is useless.
   • Your cat is conscious and can swallow. Never put anything in the mouth of an unconscious or semi-unconscious cat, a cat that has a fit, or a cat that is behaving differently than usual.
   • The poison is NOT an acid, strong base, or a petroleum based product.
   • You are 100% sure that your cat has ingested the poison.
4. Know how to handle acids, bases and petroleum-based products. Acids, bases and petroleum-based products cause chemical burns. Whether your cat ate them or not, induce vomiting not as the substances are likely to damage the esophagus, throat, and mouth as they rise.
   • Household rust removers, glass etching liquids, and cleaning products such as bleach can contain strong acids and bases. Petroleum-based products include lighter fluid, gasoline, and kerosene.
   • As mentioned above, don't make your cat throw up, but instead encourage him to drink whole milk or eat a raw egg. If your cat does not want to drink, use a pediatric syringe to drip up to 100ml of milk into your cat's mouth. This helps to dilute and neutralize the acid or base. A raw egg works in a similar way.
5. Induce vomiting in your cat if you are told to do so. You need 3% strength hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon or a dosing syringe for children. Some perms and hair dyes will give you a more concentrated form of hydrogen peroxide, but you CANNOT use that. It will be easier to drip into the mouth than to spoon it. This is what you need to know:
   • The correct dose of hydrogen peroxide with a strength of 3% is 5 ml (one teaspoon) per 2.5 kilograms of body weight. You administer this orally. The average cat weighs about 5 pounds, so you will need about 10 ml (two teaspoons). Repeat this every ten minutes and give your cat a dose up to three times.
   • To give the cat the drug, hold it firmly and insert the dosing syringe into the cat's mouth behind the upper teeth. Depress the plunger and drop approximately one milliliter onto the cat's tongue at a time. Always give the cat time to swallow the liquid and never squirt the full dose quickly into its mouth. The mouth can fill up, causing the cat to inhale the peroxide and get it into the lungs.
6. Use activated charcoal. After vomiting, your goal is to prevent the body from absorbing as little as possible of the toxins that have already entered the gut. For this you need activated carbon. The dose is 1 gram of dry powder per 500 grams of body weight. A cat of average weight needs about 10 grams.
   • Dissolve the powder in as little water as possible to get a thick paste and squirt the paste into the cat's mouth. Give your cat this dose every 2 to 3 hours, and give him a maximum of 4 doses.

Part 3 of 3: Taking care of your cat

1. Check his coat for contamination. If there is poison on the cat's fur, it will ingest it when it washes itself and there is a chance it will poison itself again. If the poison is a powder, wipe it away. If it is sticky, such as a tar or oil, it may be necessary to use a specialist hand cleaner such as Swarfega Hand Cleaner and massage it into the coat. Wash the cat with warm water for 10 minutes to remove any residue, then rinse well with water.
   • As a last resort, trim the most affected areas of hair with scissors or shave away with clippers. Prevention is better than cure!
2. Make sure your cat drinks water. Many toxins are harmful to the liver, kidneys, or both. To reduce the risk of organ damage from the poison already ingested, get the cat to drink. If your cat isn't going to drink on its own, squirt the water into its mouth. Slowly squirt a milliliter of water into the mouth and make sure you let your cat swallow the water.
   • The average cat drinks 250ml of water per day, so don't be afraid to refill the dosing syringe very often.
3. Collect a sample of the suspected toxicant. Collect all labels, packaging and bottles so that you can pass all the information on to a vet or an employee of the Animal Ambulance Service. Your efforts can help other cat owners (and cats!) If they find themselves in a similar situation.
4. Take your cat to the vet. It is important to get your cat examined by the vet to make sure it is well. The vet can check if all the poison has come out of the cat's body and determine if there are any long-term problems to be concerned about.

Tips

• Seeking medical attention by calling a vet or animal rescue is always the best thing to do.
• You can mix a mixture of 1 part milk and 1 part water, or you can just give your cat milk to dilute some of the toxins listed above. The correct dose is 10 to 15 ml per kilogram of body weight, or as much as the animal can drink.
• Kaoling / pectin: 1 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight, every 6 hours for 5 to 7 days.
• In acute poisoning, the correct dose of activated charcoal is 2 to 8 grams per kilogram of body weight, every 6 to 8 hours for 3 to 5 days. The dose can be mixed with water and administered with a syringe or tube.
• Hydrogen peroxide with a strength of 3%: 2 to 4 ml per kilogram of body weight immediately after ingestion of certain toxins.