I guess this is also to inform everyone of this possibility. We had outdoor kittens this summer that all ran into a horrible thing. They all ended up with a grub that is the larva of a Rodent Bot Fly. The fly lays its eggs in a type of webbing in the grass. It is meant for rabbits, but if a cat runs through it, they will get it. They inhale the egg and the grub eats its way through the throat to make a breathing hole. It eats the tissue around that area for nutrients, then, when ready, it falls out & turns into a fly. The cat usually survives it naturally, but, sometimes the grub has to be pulled out and the wound has to be taken care of. My kitten was particularly lucky. His went to his nose instead of his throat - it was eating his brain & had destroyed his nasal cavity.The lucky part is that most animals that had the grub in their nose have died. The grub can't fall out b/c the it sucks it back in. Mine was the first that the lab heard of surviving it. Any of these cases where u r?
2007-02-07 04:03:21 · 12 answers · asked by DLM 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
by the way, this was in Ontario, Canada and is fairly wide-spread throughout North America.
2007-02-07 04:24:10 · update #1
As to the Ireland comment.... nobody around here seems to think we have them either. That's why I feel it is important to let people know.
The grub, when not stretched, was approx the width of my baby finger and length from the tip to the first knuckle. He was asleep for the removal. The assistant threw up! He became instantly famous!
2007-02-07 04:32:50 · update #2
Bloodycorinne, that sounds exactly like what happened to my kitten! They told me to watch for signs of brain damage, but we haven't seen any signs. As for his nasal cavity, it is supposed to be a zig zag, but his is straight up, so there is no filtering. We were told that he would most likely have breathing probs for the rest of his life, but, again, no signs.... You would never know anything happened to him! He is my miracle kitty!
2007-02-07 05:27:45 · update #3
Years Ago I owned a farm in Pennsylvania . We, of course, had barn cats because of the feed we had for our farm animals. We had one litter of kittens with this problem and all of them had them come out of the neck. I had never seen this before but my vet said it was fairly common in barn cats. therebwere4 kittens with it and as you said we pulled the grub out and we then put a cream the vet gave us to help the wound heal w/o infection.- They all survived and all lived long lives and we never saw it happen again-I'm glad your little kitten survived also-My vet said it was more common in kittens than adults-Hope you are as lucky as me and never see it again.-best of luck-Mellie
2007-02-11 08:55:05 · answer #1 · answered by Melinda M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This sounds a lot like a story my sis told me about 15 years ago when she got her first job as a vet tech in a local veterinary hospital. Also involved a kitten and the larvae was living in the poor little things neck. My sis said the growth was almost the size of the kitten's head and the larvae of a bot fly was living in it. Had to be surgically removed. (I remember her saying something about the larvae having black spikey hairs on it and something about making a hole through the flesh to breathe. Eww.) At the time, we lived in a small town in Connecticut... Did your kitten sustain any long term brain damage? Did they have to reconstruct the damaged nasal cavity?... Poor little kitty!!!
2007-02-07 05:07:17 · answer #2 · answered by bloodycorinne 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, that's the first time I have ever heard of anything like that, at least in this part og the world. There are cases of blow-flies laying eggs in open sores over in Africa, but those animals don't die from it.
2007-02-07 04:14:27 · answer #3 · answered by golden rider 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Once I was talking to someone then I heard a huge fart then a toilet flush. How does someone pretend they didn't hear that one the phone. Seriously? I know I couldn't. I hung up.
2016-03-29 09:32:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ive heard of it in England not in the states. Who would have guessed. Good for you. They probably wrote you up int Vet. Miracle book!
2007-02-12 18:52:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's why all my cats are indoor cats only!! There are all sorts of horrible things they can catch. I'm glad your kitten is alright!
2007-02-07 04:45:42 · answer #6 · answered by Ambie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We have grubs everywhere in Illinois in our grasses and i never knew this! My cats are indoor cats, but originally oneo f them was a stray, thank goodness this never happend to her! I am sorry to hear what happened to your cat but am glad to hear that it survived! Thanks for sharing this info. :)
2007-02-10 15:42:47 · answer #7 · answered by llisaisme80 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
WOW! That's crazy! Poor kitten! I couldn't even imagine!
F
2007-02-07 04:49:32 · answer #8 · answered by fayra_elm 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Man am I glad I live in Ireland and don't have those bugs
2007-02-07 04:27:26 · answer #9 · answered by Elaine And Manus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
oh that's awful, poor little cat. I'm glad he made it.
2007-02-07 04:12:41 · answer #10 · answered by gerrifriend 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋