Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Primary Actions
• Part 2 of 3: Providing First Aid
• Part 3 of 3: Follow-up
• Tips

According to statistics, about 10% of phone calls to veterinarians are associated with suspected poisoning in cats. Because of their own curiosity and love to constantly lick their fur, cats sometimes find themselves in very dangerous situations. The most common causes of poisoning are insecticides, human medications and food with chemicals that cats cannot digest. To cure your cat of poisoning, read the recommendations in this article.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Primary Actions

1. 1 Check your cat for symptoms of poisoning. Poisoning can occur if the cat has any of the following symptoms:
   • labored breathing;
   • blue tongue and gums;
   • dyspnea;
   • vomiting and / or diarrhea;
   • stomach irritation;
   • coughing and sneezing;
   • depressed state;
   • increased salivation;
   • seizures, cramps, or involuntary muscle twitching;
   • weakness and loss of consciousness;
   • dilated pupils;
   • frequent urination;
   • dark urine;
   • shiver.
2. 2 Move the cat to a well-ventilated area. If your cat is weak or unconscious and you suspect poisoning, immediately move it to a well-ventilated and well-lit area.
   • Put on long sleeves and / or gloves beforehand. to protect your hands from contact with poison. In addition, sick and injured cats tend to bite and scratch because they are upset and scared.
   • When a cat is not feeling well or is nervous, it instinctively tends to hide. If your cat has been poisoned, you should carefully monitor its symptoms so that they do not force it to hide somewhere inaccessible. Gently but confidently take the cat in your arms and take it to a safe room. A kitchen or bathroom is best suited for this purpose, as there you will have access to the water you need.
   • If the source of the poisoning is located in a certain area, prudently isolate this area from the access of other pets and people.
3. 3 Call your veterinarian immediately. An experienced veterinarian will help you calm down and provide clear instructions on what to do or what antidote to give your poisoned pet. Remember that by calling your veterinarian right away, you will increase your cat's chances of survival. The phone call should be your first step after you stabilize her condition.
   • In some cities of Russia there are special telephones of veterinary clinics for oral consultations, so look on the Internet if such services are available in your city.
   • Please note that a telephone call to veterinarians can be both free and paid, when you are charged a certain amount for the call. It all depends on the conditions for the provision of services by a particular veterinary clinic.

Part 2 of 3: Providing First Aid

1. 1 Make sure your cat is really poisoned, if at all possible. This will help you understand if you need to make her vomit or if you shouldn't do it in your situation. If you know what substance the cat was poisoned with, and you have a package of it, pay attention to the following points: the name of the brand name of the substance, the active ingredients and their concentration. Also, try to determine how much of the substance the cat has consumed (if it was a new pack of medication, see how many tablets are missing).
   • First of all, you should call your veterinarian, and also try to contact the manufacturer of the potential poisoning agent if a contact phone number is indicated on its package.
   • If you have internet access, look for the active ingredients of the substance. It is also helpful to ask a search query that looks like "Is [name of product] toxic to cats?"
   • Certain foods may be completely safe when taken internally; after confirming this, do nothing else. But if the substance turns out to be poisonous, you need to find out if you should induce the cat to vomit or not.
2. 2 Try not to resort to home remedies for poisoning without veterinarian advice. Do not give your cat food, water, milk, salt, oil, or other home remedies until you figure out what poisonous substance she has used and what kind of antidote or first aid should be. If you give your cat any of these remedies without the veterinarian's instructions, you may aggravate the condition.
   • The veterinarian has more knowledge and experience, so he has a better understanding of how you should proceed and what to give to a poisoned cat.
3. 3 Ask your veterinarian if you should vomit your cat. Do not do anything on your own without instructions from your veterinarian.Some poisonous substances (especially corrosive acids) can cause even more harm if the affected pet is vomited. Induce vomiting only if the following conditions are met:
   • if the cat was poisoned no more than two hours ago (otherwise the poisonous substance will already be digested, so vomiting will be useless);
   • if the cat is conscious and able to swallow (never give the cat anything by mouth if it is unconscious, in a semi-conscious or deranged state);
   • if the cat is poisoned NOT by acid, concentrated alkali or petroleum products;
   • if you are 100% sure that she ate a poisonous substance.
4. 4 Learn what to do for acid, alkali and oil poisoning. Acids, alkalis and petroleum products cause tissue burns. Regardless of when the cat used them, do not call she is vomiting, as this will cause additional damage to the esophagus, throat, and mouth as the vomit is released.
   • Corrosive acids and alkalis are found in rust removers, glass etchers, and cleaning agents such as bleach. Oil products include liquefied gas for lighters, gasoline and kerosene.
   • As mentioned, in such cases, you should not induce the cat to vomit, but instead encourage it to drink whole milk or eat raw eggs. If she refuses to drink, use a dosing syringe to give the cat 100 ml of milk. This will help dilute the acid or alkali and neutralize it. Raw eggs work in a similar way.
5. 5 Induce the cat to vomit if told to do so. You will need a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (do not use the more concentrated solution that sometimes comes with hair dyes or perms) and a teaspoon or baby syringe. Be aware that it is easier to feed your cat with hydrogen peroxide through a syringe than with a spoon. Follow the steps below.
   • The dosage of 3% hydrogen peroxide for oral administration is 5 ml (one teaspoon) per 2.5 kg of the cat's weight. On average, cats weigh about 5 kg, so you will need about 10 ml (two teaspoons) of peroxide per dose. The same dose of peroxide is given every 10 minutes until the cat has swallowed a maximum of three doses.
   • To give your cat the hydrogen peroxide, hold the cat firmly in your arms and carefully insert the syringe into the mouth behind the fangs. Press down on the plunger to pour about 1 ml of peroxide onto the cat's tongue. Give your cat time to swallow after every milliliter, and never pour everything into its mouth at once, otherwise it may choke and the peroxide will enter its lungs.
6. 6 Use activated charcoal. After vomiting, it is necessary to reduce the assimilation of the poisonous substance, which has managed to pass further along the digestive tract. To do this, you will need activated charcoal. The dosage of charcoal is 1 g per 0.5 kg of the cat's weight. On average, one cat needs about 10 g of activated charcoal.
   • Crush the charcoal into a powder and dissolve it in a minimum amount of water to form a thick mass that you use with a syringe to put in your cat's mouth. Re-feed the charcoal every 2-3 hours until the cat has consumed a total of 4 doses.

Part 3 of 3: Follow-up

1. 1 Check if the cat's fur is stained with a poisonous substance. If there is poison on its fur, then the cat can lick it off when it is licked, which will aggravate the poisoning. If the poison is in the form of a powder, simply comb it out of the wool. If the venom is sticky enough, such as tar or oil, you may need a specialized hand cleaner (often used by auto mechanics) to clean the cat's hair. After that, the cat should have a 10-minute bath in lukewarm water to rinse off the remaining cleaning agent, and then rinse the animal with clean water.
   • As a last resort, you can simply cut off the stained wool with scissors or wire cutters. Better to keep the animal safe than sorry!
2. 2 Get your cat to drink water. Many toxins are harmful to the liver, kidneys, or both. To reduce the risk of damage to these organs due to the poison that has already been absorbed, ensure that the cat is able to drink freely. If she doesn't drink of her own accord, use a syringe to put water into her mouth. Do this slowly in milliliters so that she can swallow.
   • On average, a cat needs about 250 ml of water per day, so don't be afraid to fill the dosing syringe with water many times!
3. 3 Collect a sample of the potential source of poisoning. Be sure to bring labels, packages or bottles to convey to your veterinarian all important information about the substance that the cat has consumed. In addition, your action history will help other cat owners (and the cats themselves) in similar situations.
4. 4 Show your cat to the vet. It is very important to take a poisoned cat to a veterinarian to make sure that the condition is not a concern. The veterinarian will confirm that you have removed all the poison from her body and will also make sure that you do not have to worry about the long-term consequences of the incident.

Tips

• In case of severe poisoning, the dosage of activated charcoal is 2-8 g per kilogram of the cat's weight every 6-8 hours for 3-5 days. This dose can be diluted with water and given through a syringe or food tube.
• Dosage of kaolin / pectin: 1-2 g per kilogram of cat's weight every 6 hours for 5-7 days.
• Dosage of 3% hydrogen peroxide: 2-4 ml per kilogram of animal weight immediately after poisoning with certain substances.
• Milk can be diluted with water in a one-to-one ratio or given in whole form to extinguish the effect of certain toxic substances mentioned earlier. A dosage of 10-15 ml of milk per kilogram of animal weight or the volume that the cat can physically consume is acceptable.
• In any situation, it is best to call your veterinarian right away.