Adult cats suffer from poisoning less often than kittens - with age, animals learn to recognize harmful substances or poor-quality food and bypass them, and fluffy fools out of curiosity can taste both a poisonous plant and household chemicals. Also, the kitten can get poisoned by getting dirty in a toxic substance and trying to lick it off the fur or breathing poisonous fumes, for example, during repairs in the house or when treating premises from insect pests.
Poisoning symptoms
Poisoning in kittens due to their low body weight occurs faster than in adult cats - the first signs are usually noticeable almost immediately. Frequent symptoms of poisoning are sudden lethargy, depression, lack of reaction to external stimuli, unusual excitement and coordination disorders are less common. Possible diarrhea and vomiting, salivation, trembling and twitching of muscles, in severe cases - convulsions. Touching the belly can hurt the animal.
Poisoning may also be indicated by dilated pupils, tremors, muscle twitching, and in severe cases, convulsions. Another sign is unusual breathing - rapid or, on the contrary, very rare. A poisoned kitten refuses to eat, does not drink, or has an increased thirst. A symptom of some types of poisoning is frothy discharge from the nose and mouth.
What to do?
The first thing that needs to be done is to stop the effect of the poisonous substance on the animal's body and call the veterinarian at home or deliver the injured pet to the clinic. If the kitten is in a room where paintwork or pest control is being carried out, you need to take it out to fresh air as soon as possible.
If the animal's fur is stained with a poisonous substance and it tries to lick it off, wash it off with clean warm water, without using any detergents, except for ordinary soap or baby or cat shampoo. You can try to wipe off sticky substances with vegetable oil.
You can remove poison from the gastrointestinal tract by inducing vomiting or gastric lavage. Be careful - in case of poisoning with oil products or caustic substances, it is dangerous to induce vomiting, this can worsen the condition of the animal. Using an ordinary enema or a syringe without a needle, pour a very weak solution of potassium permanganate, table salt or baking soda into the kitten's mouth, after vomiting it, you can try to flush the stomach again.
Dissolve the sorbent powder (activated carbon, "Polysorb") in water and pour it into the animal's mouth as well - this will help neutralize the remains of the poison. If the poisoning occurred more than an hour ago, gastric lavage may be ineffective - give the kitten an enema with clean water, it is possible with a solution of "Polysorb" or table salt.
First aid is provided before the arrival of the doctor or before the departure to the veterinary clinic. Do not rely on your own strength - the body of a small kitten is very vulnerable, many poisonous substances require the use of special antidotes. Trying to cure your pet on your own, you run the risk of wasting precious time.
