Does your vet tell you that it is ok to put a small amount of dog flea product on your cat in order to save money? Do you know that some flea products for dogs should never be put on cats? Do you know the signs of chemical toxicity in your cat?
For many years, while I had working guide dogs in my home, I was warned regularly not to allow my cats to come in contact with the flea and tick product that I used on my dogs. I was judicious about following these warnings, medicating the dog first and then putting her in a crate overnight while the medication dried.
I have not had a dog in the home since September, 2014. It did not occur to me or to anyone else who assisted me in corraling and medicating my cats that I might have any dog flea product in the house.
But I did.
In August, 2015, it came time to apply flea medication to my cats. This is a two-person job. I enlisted the help of a family member. Jade, my 11-lb black cat, and Kira, my 10.5-lb multi-color cat, received the dosage for adult cats. Angel, my 8.5-lb black cat, received the kitten dose.
Several hours after administration, Kira, who is normally docile, became highly aggressive and panicky. I took her to the vet, which is located about 20 minutes from my home. By the time we arrived she had begun having tremors. She was admitted and started on a course of Methocarbamol.
I hoped that Kira was just having a bad reaction to the product. She had been attempting to groom herself aggressively.
No such luck. A couple of hours after I arrived home from admitting Kira, Jade began behaving erratically. I lifted her up to check for tremors; and she had a full seizure in my arms.
At that hour of the night, I still did not know what product had been applied to the cats. But I did know seizures–one of my guide dogs had them and they were very familiar. So off Jade went to the vet.
Jade was also put on Methocarbamol. The vet asked whether they might have received a dog flea and tick product. I began to wonder whether a very bad accident had happened.
I went home from admitting Jade, and my family and I went about determining what happened. Fortunately, we were able to determine that yes, indeed, a very serious accident had happened. I had not gotten rid of all of the dog flea product, and it had been stored right next to the cat flea product.
Thanks to the vets at the animal hospital being persistent and extremely good to my cats, both cats were able to recover. The road to recovery was very difficult and emotional. Jade and Kira were hospitalized for 36 hours. Recovery continued for several days after we brought them home.
During the course of Jade and Kira’s recovery, I communicated frequently with both the animal hospital where they were treated and with their regular vet. I asked numerous questions. Some of those questions had no answers. I found little information online about the practical aspects of coping with pyrethroid poisoning.
It is important to fill the information gap regarding what to expect during recovery from this scenario. One of the first things my vet said to me was that this is a commonly treated accident. If one good thing can come from this experience, it would be that someone else has the resources and strength they need to cope if they find they are facing this.
In the next two posts I will be talking about various things that I have learned from this experience. I will share our experiences as well as facts and links about pyrethroid poisoning and how to recognize it and get help.
Both Jade and Kira are home and doing well. Neither seem to show any signs of long-term impact from the injury. At one point I was very concerned about this, particularly with Jade. I will talk more about this in future posts.
Kevin and I feel very blessed that both cats are alive and doing so well. We hope that this series will be helpful to others.
In this series
- Learning From My Younger Self - February 10, 2024
- more reflections on ITD - June 30, 2023
- On travel while at ITD: reflections after day 1 - June 27, 2023
- ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
- ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
- Job Descriptions, Inclusivity, and Equity for People with Disabilities - October 15, 2022
- Traveling without a Guide Dog: Experience with Cane and Walker - October 14, 2022
- Disability and Church, Intersection - June 11, 2022
- Review: When Chronic Pain and Illness Take Everything Away - June 11, 2022
- Grammar and Style Resources for Writers - June 9, 2022
