The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa treated a kitten who had been poisoned last week. According to the organisation, the kitten named Kitty was rushed in when he struggled to breathe, was drooling and becoming visibly weaker by the second.
“By the time Kitty arrived he was experiencing multiple seizures and according to medical staff, was fighting for his life,” AWS said in a Facebook psot. “Kitty was placed in the care of our experienced trauma nurses, who suspected that Kitty had ingested poison.”
The findings were confirmed by resident Veterinarian Dr Stoynova, who prescribed a course of life-saving treatment that included bathing Kitty to ensure that any poison that may be on his fur was washed off. After being dried he was administered a drip and transferred to the clinic’s Feline Critical Care Ward, where his condition was continually monitored.
“The morning after, Kitty stood up and for the first time since his arrival, rubbed-up against the door of his enclosure and began to purr,” the organisation said. “We cannot wait to share his remarkable recovery with his worried owner, who in the meantime has been trying to establish how Kitty managed to ingest an almost lethal dose of poison.”
Here are some tips on how to prevent your pet from ingesting poison:
There is no such thing as an eco-friendly poison. Some are more toxic than others but all cause tremendous pain and suffering, especially rodenticides used to exterminate rats and mice.
Very often, poison is ingested by non-target species as was most likely the case with Kitty.
“Many household cleaners and pest control agents are dangerous and toxic. They should be avoided if at all possible,” AWS said. “Snail and Slug bait, rodent bait, certain weed killers and insect killers are all harmful if ingested. Vehicle anti-freeze is extremely dangerous for our pets who may walk through a puddle of spillage and then groom themselves and in the process ingest the anti-freeze with potentially fatal consequences.”
“What helped save Kitty’s life was timing,” the organisation added.
If you suspect that your pet may have ingested poison, get professional help fast and never attempt home remedies that more often than not, only serve to complicate matters.
Picture/s: Supplied/AWS
