Is my cat going to die?

Question

Our house gets infested with fleas every summer because we have cats. Well, this year my inside cat Athena got infested and while I was gone for the weekend my Mom bombed the house. We usually lock her in the bathroom with tape around the cracks and whatnot but she got out after Mom set off one bomb and ran right into that room and hid under a computer desk. Mom couldn't get her out...plus she herself was choking because of the fogger and left the house. I got home and, as usual, my cat was crying for me...but she was yowling which is unusual for her. I decided to give her a bath to get the residue off of her and while I was bathing her she started to pee herself (which I've noticed a lot of cats do when you bathe them) but it suddenly got dark...I think she was peeing blood.

What do I do? She's acting alright...for now. I don't have the $ to take her to a vet and don't know whether or not I should give up and put her down myself or wait til she dies. She's my baby...what do I do?

I have to say that a lot of these answers are pretty harsh, especially to a girl who's been crying all evening.

I didn't get this baby on my own free will, I'll go ahead and say that. My sister got her, she had the money to do so, then moved out and left the cat with me. I already was stuck on the poor thing so there was no way I'd do away with her then.

So to those who were more supportive on this issue, thanks. I'll dig out the boxes and see what info I can call about. And to those who weren't, your a$$holes. Don't expect everyone in this world who has a pet to be rich...and no, my Mom didn't do this purposefully...she was choking on the fumes trying to get my cat out.

I want to say thanks to those who were helpful rather than ruthless. Athena made it through the night alright without vomiting or otherwise. After reading the response from -agilecollie- I checked her litterbox every time after she used it; there wasn't any blood in her urine or stool---so it might have been flea poop. She's acting normal today, no more yowling (I think she may have just missed me a lot, she was abandoned when she was a kitten after having her tail cut off some way or another) so I think she was missing me. She's laying on the desk by me right now and has taken in both food and water without problem. No drooling or anything alike. I called the flea bomb people and told them that we only used 4 bombs in my split-level home and that there are many places that she could have buried herself into to hide. They said that with the way she's acting now; she'll be fine.

Thanks to you all. I'll be saving my funds for frontline, I hear it's good. And no more bombs.

Answer 1

So sorry to hear this. It doesn't cost any money to call a vet. Call many of them, tell them that you do not have the money to come in. You may be surprised how much it would cost just for a visit. Different vets will have different prices, plus there are low cost spay and neuter clinics, where someone maybe able to tell You something, or give You some signs to keep an eye out for. Some may let You pay it out, and if it is Your baby, it would be well worth it to know You did everything You could. If You call a Vet, you will know if you are talking to someone who cares. Many of them will not want to give out information over the phone because they are afraid Someone will come back and sue them.

If Your cat is still active, eating on it's own, drinking, and eliminating, those are all good signs. And start praying, I have already said a prayer for you.

Go to the pet category, here on yahoo answers, the top answerer, (it will give his name), He is really educated on animals, you might try to email him.

I just lost My cat of 12 years, He was rescued after Someone threw Him out on a five lane rural road. Before He died, He laid on His side, cried a lot, wailing almost, and kept trying to hide, those are very bad signs. He died 20 minutes before His Vet appointment.

Best of Luck and God Bless You Both

Answer 2

First the bad news - it's likely she is peeing blood. The good news is, it may be only temporary. This can be an effect of the insecticide to overstimulate certain nerve pathways. If this is the case she may also suddenly defecate, start drooling profusely, or vomit repeatedly; so keep the paper towels handy.

Washing off the residue is a good first step because it prevents her from ingesting more when she cleans herself. Unfortunately it can't remove what she already inhaled. What happens next depends on what chemical was involved, how big a dose she got, and how sensitive she is to it.

If you really can't get to a vet, the only thing you can do is try to keep her quiet and keep a close watch. Offer small amounts of water from time to time. No food unless you're sure she's gone several hours without vomiting; then start with a small meal, make sure she keeps it down, and offer a little more in a few hours.

If the cat makes it through the first 24 hours without signs of central nervous system damage, she'll probably recover. But there are no promises, especially with the limited information available.

Lastly:Not to be rude, but if you can afford a house full of bug bombs you can afford a visit to the vet. Bug bombs aren't an effective way to get rid of fleas anyway.

Answer 3

The chemicals in most flea foggers are organophosphates (pyrethrin, permethrin, etc.). The signs that cats show when exposed to them are usually twitching, dilated pupils, and other neurological symptoms. Bloody urine is not a sign that is related to this particular toxin (if it were rat poison, it would be).

Bathing her several times in dishwashing liquid (Dawn or similar) and rinsing well should get the residue off of her coat. An injection of Atropine can reverse the effects if a cat shows signs. She may not have a reaction . . . watch for the "twitching" of her muscles. Some animals may survive without medical treatment, so no drastic measures need be taken on your part.

The dark urine could be because she had not been to the litterbox in a while (concentrated urine) or she may have a bladder infection and you only noticed because she urinated when you were bathing her. The only way to know is to take her to a vet . . . the dark urine is probably not an emergency but should be investigated at your earliest opportunity.

Another thought is that what you saw in the bathtub was really wet flea poop . . . severly infested cats with tons of fleas and flea poop will turn the water a "bloody brown" when you bathe them.

You can avoid future flea infestations by using either Advantage or FrontLine on your kitty every month. Many vets sell the products as single doses and they are pretty affordable. They are both safe and effective and will prevent the need for the more toxic insecticides that you're having to use now.

Severe flea infestations are more than a mere nuisance . . . they can cause severe anemia in small cats and kittens and literally suck all of the blood out of them. I have seen many kittens die of flea anemia.

Answer 4

Ok, I don't mean to be harsh but this is a serious situation. If your cat's urine contains blood she most likely has a severe bladder infection and possibly stones. Get her to a vet as soon as possible. The quicker you start on antibiotics such as Clavamox the quicker you can get this under control. If she already has stones, then the quicker she can be treated (the must be surgically removed becuase they can't pass through the urethra). No treatment will be fatal, but the treatment here should be 100 percent successful. Another cause for dark urine can be kidney function, so your vet should run at the very least a prep profile to check BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and CRE (creatnin) if no infection or stones are found.

As for the fleas, you need to get your cats on flea control ASAP. Start a monthly topical that you get from your vet (anything over the counter will be ineffective) and use capstar (a pill that erradicates the feals on your cat within 30 mintues, bu has no residual effects like frontline or revolution) to jumpstart this. You also should have your house treated for fleas if the infestation is as bad as it sounds.

Now, I do not mean to sound mean here, but it sounds as if you are unable to fully care for your cat. Whether it is financial or time or whatever, you may want to find someone else to take your cat. I know this sounds harsh, but if you can't control the fleas, and your cat is able to develope such a serious bladder infection without your knowlege (I know, you were on vacation, I honestly understand how hard owning cats can be) then you simply need to reassess the situation and ask yourself if you can do better, or if you need to find someone who can. I'm not trying to come down on you, but bottom line, you must put your cat first. Flea infestation and bladder infections/stones are both extremely painful for your cat, and you need to initally get them under control before you make any decisions about what to do later. I hope this has helped.

Answer 5

So your mom left the bomb in the room and closed the door shut?????? That's just crazy. Why didn't she just turn it off? You can do that by pulling the tab back out or put it in the bathroom instead????

Inhaling it is not good since it's poison. And she breathed it for 3 hours or so? I'm shocked she's not dead already. If you can't afford a vet then you should just monitor it and hope it recovers.

But I can't believe your mom would value a $1 fogger over a kitty's life. I think you should lock your mom in a room and set off couple of Raid foggers and see how she likes it.

Answer 6

Check the bomb container label for information or a phone # for poison control. The manufacturer should know the effect on both humans and animals of the flea toxin in the bomb. They may know how to counter-act the poison with something available and inexpensive. Sometimes its as simple as eating a certain foods that attracts the poisons and then flushes them from the body.

Answer 7

I'm sure she is going to be just fine but you should call the people that make the flea fogger and find out info on it and the call your vet sometimes you can get in as an emergency and when that happens you can make payments or just take her in and tell them she needs to be seen and get or make payment plan she might just have a kidney infection and if she does then you will want to get it taken care of real soon because you would not want to have her have a blockage or have her urine have crystals in it that causes blockages....good luck it will be OK but just bring her in it will make you feel better..

Answer 8

Call the company that makes the bomb and ask about effects. You could also call a vet and just ask if you should be worried. I would think she would have respiratory symptoms first, so if she's breathing fine, she may be ok. As far as the urine, it may just have been concentrated because she didn't drink for awhile. I would make some phone calls.

Answer 9

I hope your cat is doing ok now.....it's been awhile since you last posted. I use foggers in my house as well. As for the "crying" your cat was doing....I'm sure it was because you had left her. My cat does the same thing when we go somewhere overnight or for the weekend. Most of the time we take him with us, but sometimes we can't so we have someone stop by to check on him. But he hates to be alone at night....he's used to sleeping on the bed with us. So when we come home he "cries" for 2 or 3 nights in a row.

Please let us know somehow if she is doing ok.

Answer 10

I don't mean to be harsh, but stuff like this makes me mad. If you cannot afford veterinary care for a pet, you shouldn't have gotten one in the first place. Period. Pets require veterinary care and to get a pet when you cannot afford that is irresponsible. I don't know what's wrong with your cat. Peeing blood sounds serious and she needs medical attention. You shouldn't let her suffer or as you put it "wait til she dies." If you can't afford veterinary care, give her to someone who can or take her to a shelter. Sorry if that sounds mean. I hope your cat is okay.