Last updated Apr 17, 2023
Just like humans, cats can come into contact with toxic substances that are hazardous to their health.
Cats encounter poisonous substances by swallowing them, chewing on them, inhaling them, or coming into physical contact by brushing against or walking through them. When dealing with suspected poisoning in cats, it is important to recognize the signs of poisoning and know what to do if you see them.
Quick Overview: Poisoning In Cats
Common Symptoms: Vomiting, drooling, difficulty breathing, tremors, seizures, poor appetite, lethargy, drinking and urinating excessively.
Diagnosis: History of toxin ingestion or application, bloodwork, urinalysis.
Requires Ongoing Medication: No
Treatment Options: Depends on the toxin. Ingested toxins may need inudction of vomiting, activated charcoal to bind a toxin, and intravenous fluid therapy. Topical toxins may also require bathing to remove the substance. Some specific medications are needed to counteract the effects of certain toxins.
Home Remedies: Bathing wtih dishsoap if something topical was applied. Immediate veterinary care is best for any ingested toxin as most have time limitations for treatment.
What Causes Poisoning in Cats?
Many substances can cause poisoning in cats. Some of the most common causes of cat poisoning include:
- Poisonous plants such as lilies (day, tiger, japanese show), tulips, and rhododendrons, azaleas
- Ingesting or physical contact with common household products like bleach, disinfectants, and other cleaning products, antifreeze, insecticides, pesticides, and rodenticides (rat poison)
- Common drugs like Ibuprofen, acetaminophen (also called paracetamol), antidepressants, cannabis products, and over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers
- Topical insecticides designed to kill fleas and ticks and all products containing permethrin
- Ingestion of human foods, especially anything that contains xylitol, garlic, onions, alcohol, chocolate, black tea, coffee, excessive levels of fat, raw fish, grapes, and raisins, or any other dried fruit
Poisoning in cats is a serious problem.
While poisoning in cats is no more common than poisoning in dogs, it can often result in more severe symptoms.
This is due to several factors, including:
- Their relatively small size. Even small doses of toxins can be poisonous in small animals. Kittens are at even higher risk because they are so small.
- Cats metabolize chemicals differently than dogs, which can make it more difficult or even impossible to eliminate the toxic substance from their body.
- Many cats live unsupervised and outdoors, where they can come into contact with toxic substances. Many pet parents don’t even realize their cat has been poisoned because they didn’t see their cat come into contact with the toxic substance.
- Cats lick themselves to groom, and accidentally ingesting a substance while grooming is a common cause of poisoning in cats.
Symptoms of Poisoning in Cats
The symptoms of poisoning in cats differ depending on the substance that caused the poisoning, but there are a few key signs to look for.
The signs of poisoning in cats vary dramatically depending on what toxin the cat has been exposed to, the overall health of the cat, how the cat was exposed (ingestion, inhalation, etc.), how long ago the exposure happened, and the amount of poison exposed to the cat.
Cats are masters at hiding illness, and in mild cases, you may not notice any symptoms at all. Poisoning affects the whole body, but the most common body systems affected include the gastrointestinal system, the skin, the kidneys, the liver, and the nervous system.
Typically, if signs of poisoning are going to show up they tend to occur all of a sudden, i.e. the cat was fine and now he is not, however, in some cases, the response can be delayed 24 hours or longer.
The most common signs of poisoning in cats include:
- Vomiting
- Drooling
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty breathing
- Lethargy or weakness, wobbly gait
- Unresponsive
- Tremors, seizures, or twitching
- Appetite loss
- Drinking more than normal or excessive urination
- Red or raw skin or paw pads due to a chemical burn
- Bloody vomit, saliva, and/or stools
- Pale gums
- Excessive sneezing
- Hiding or decreased social behavior
- Yellowish tint to skin and whites of eyes (jaundice)
- Racing heartrate or excessively slow heartrate (resting normal heartrate in cats is 130-150 beats per minute)
What Should I Do if I Suspect My Cat Has Been Poisoned?
If you suspect that your cat has been poisoned do not wait: call your local veterinarian during normal business hours or your local emergency veterinary hospital.
Many people will wait until their cat shows signs of sickness, but if you know your cat has been exposed to a toxin, or if your cat is showing any signs of poisoning, the best thing you can do is call your vet immediately.
The reason for this is your vet may be able to safely remove the toxic substance from your cat’s body, thus avoiding the signs of poisoning altogether. If you don’t have access to a local veterinarian, call the pet poison helpline or your local poison control.
If you know what your cat has been exposed to, bring a sample of it or a picture of it with you to the vet. Make sure to include the ingredient label if applicable. This is important because it will give your vet the information she needs to possibly save your cat’s life.
Even if you have googled and know how to induce vomiting in your cat, never induce vomiting in a cat without the supervision of a veterinarian or poison expert, either in person or over the phone. Some substances, such as bleach, can burn the esophagus in a cat that has been induced to vomit, and inducing vomiting is not the right choice in all cases of poisoning.
Can Cats Recover From the Signs of Poisoning?
With the right treatment, most cats can recover from poisoning and go on to lead healthy lives.
In most cases, cats can recover without incident from poisoning and go on to live long, normal, healthy lives. In other cases, such as cats that develop kidney failure from ingesting lilies or ethylene glycol in antifreeze, there may be permanent damage to internal organs from the poisoning.
If your cat ever comes into contact with a poison, seeking prompt veterinary attention is your best bet and helping your cat recover quickly without long-term problems.
How To Prevent Poisoning in Cats
The best medicine is preventive medicine. Here are some tips on how to keep your cat safe:
- Keep your cat indoors. If your cat likes the outdoors, take your cat out on a leash or keep your cat secured in a safe space, like a Catio.
- Make sure your cat is protected from toxic substances by keeping all potentially toxic substances in your home, including chemical, insecticides, pesticides, locked away out of reach of animals.
- Check your yard for toxic plants, and bar your cat’s access to these plants.
- Keep all over-the-counter and prescription medicine and supplements in a closed cabinet.
- Avoid using over-the-counter flea treatments, flea collars, and sprays that contain permethrins on your cat. Permethrins are extremely toxic to cats.
By educating yourself about what is not safe for your cat, and making mindful changes in your environment to keep your cat away from these substances, you and will protect your cat from accidental poisoning. Who knows – you may even save a friend’s cat’s life as well.
Also Read: Plants Poisonous to Cats: Toxic Plants to Avoid
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my cat has been poisoned?
The signs of poisoning in cats vary dramatically depending on what toxin the cat has been exposed to, the overall health of the cat, how the cat was exposed (ingestion, inhalation, etc.), how long ago the exposure happened, and the amount of poison ingested or otherwise exposed. Cats are masters at hiding illness, and in mild cases, you may not notice any symptoms at all. Poisoning affects the whole body, but the most common body systems affected include the gastrointestinal system, the skin, the kidneys, the liver, and the neurological system.
Typically, if signs of poisoning are going to show up they tend to occur all of a sudden, i.e. the cat was fine and now he is not, however, in some cases, the response can be delayed 24 hours or longer. The most common signs of poisoning in cats include:
- Vomiting
- Drooling
- Diarrhoea
- Difficulty breathing
- Lethargy or weakness, wobbly gait
- Unresponsive
- Tremors, seizures, or twitching
- Appetite loss
- Drinking more than normal or excessive urination
- Red or raw skin or paw pads due to a chemical burn
- Bloody vomit, saliva, and/or stools
- Pale gums
- Excessive sneezing
- Hiding or decreased social behavior
- Yellowish tint to skin and whites of eyes (jaundice)
- Racing heartrate or excessively slow heartrate (resting normal heartrate in cats is 130-150 beats per minute)
If you notice any of these symptoms, call your veterinarian, a veterinary emergency clinic, or if neither are available, the ASPCA 24 hour poison hotline.
Can cats recover from poisoning on their own?
Whether or not a cat can recover from poisoning without veterinary treatment depends on the overall health of the cat, the amount of toxic substance the the cat was exposed to, and the type of poison. Most of the time, it is still a very good idea to call your vet for advice. If your cat is showing any signs of poisoning, then call your vet immediately.
How do you save a poisoned cat?
The best thing to do if your suspect your cat has been poisoned is to call your local veterinarian, a local veterinary emergency clinic, or the pet poison hotline at (888) 426-4435 immediately.
Make sure your cat is in a safe place, and remove any access to toxins. Save the toxic substance or make a note of what you think your cat was exposed to so that you can relay that information to your veterinarian.
Do not induce vomiting or start any other at home medical treatment in your cat without the supervision of a veterinarian.
What can I do if my cat got sick from eating on a rat that she has killed? She is more lethargic than normal and she is twitching also. What can I do at home for her?
I’m afraid there’s no one appropriate treatment for suspected poisoning. I’d advise contacting the Animal Poison Control Center for personalized assistance. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control
My cat are lilly leaves 7 days ago.. I have been giving her lots of fluids via a syringe. Is she safe after 7 days?
Hi Tania, I know this reply is quite late, and I apologize for the wait! It’s been another week now. Is your cat doing well? I would imagine so—kidney failure usually occurs within 72 hours of ingestion, so if your cat was doing fine a week after the incident, she should be safe. Wishing you both all the best!
Yes shes still doing fine. Slightly sicker than her normal self but shes pregnant. Her appetite is fine and shes drinking and weeing normally. No more lillies allowed in my house lol
Yay! Happy to hear it. Hope the pregnancy goes well, too. 🙂
Hi my cat is sick but she is missing and she may have poisoning from rat poison but she has been gone for 4days and now it’s the 5th day and I’m worried sick. She showed up yesterday and disappeared again and we can’t find her. I went to look around the neighborhood but nothing and I have been calling our for her. She didn’t want any food or water and she was very lethargic. Please help me I don’t know what to do 😓
Awww, Natasha…I’m sorry you’re going through this. It sounds like you’re doing the best you can, but it’s just an overwhelming situation, and there may not be any entirely positive solution. If you do see her again, I would be very careful to make sure that she’s kept safely in the home and is able to get the care she needs. Wishing you all the best.
I hear you pain, Natasha! My cat, Grayson, died two days ago. The day she died, I placed a Yip Tracker around her neck which helped me to find her body. I had been calling out to her for hours, knowing she had to be hungry because she skipped breakfast in her hurry to go out. She loved to be outside. From the very day he completed his vaccinations and was nuetered she basically skipped town preferring to be outside. The day before she died, we scolded her for urinating and defacating behind the sofa. It was an unusual mess, extremely funky and slimy.
I was up all night waiting for her to come in. The tracker indicated that she was on the property, but he never came. Finally, yesterday my mate went to look for him. He remembered to check his phone for a location and hit the Ring icon on the tracker and there he was, under the trailer, stiff and unresponsive. He was dead. I miss Grayson! Mama loves you!
I suspect I may have accidentally poisoned a stray living on my patio (there are a few community cats living together). I sprinkled coffee grinds and Shake-Away Coyote/Fox Urine Granules in my garden so she won’t use it. This was on April 24th. A few days later, I noticed she hasn’t been coming for food 2 days in a row (very unusual since she never missed a meal in two years). Took her to see a vet on May 1, and got antibiotics and a rabies shot. She hasn’t been eating much, licking some gravy, and eating a few treats. Some days she appears to have a good appetite but mostly not. I have been syringe-feeding wet food/baby food with Epakitin + giving her fluids (feline electrolytes). (i never saw her vomit, she had diarrhea initially, wobbly, pale gums, appetite loss, and racing heart rate. Yesterday her stools are really hard -no blood). Just today that I’m realizing about the potential poisoning, what can I do at this point? Thank you in advance.😿
Hi Kay, thanks for reaching out. It’s hard to say exactly what happened, as you know. The continued symptoms over two weeks don’t quite sound like poisoning, but your symptoms do have some overlap with the signs of caffeine poisoning in cats, so I can see why you’d suspect this as a culprit. The urine deterrent should be completely safe, but I would try to get rid of the coffee grounds in the garden as much as you can, and take the cat to the vet with this information. They may be able to rule out other causes of illness and then potentially give her activated carbon to detoxify.
According to the panel test. and the cat has been diagnosed as being poisoned. Tinker has damaged kidneys and the vet suggested euthanizing her. He claims she is in pain, which is the most humane thing to do. I have Tinker at home she is eating and drinking water but, is very thin. She still goes outside and responds to petting and some playing indoors. I am watching her, and if she shows that it is time, I will have her put down. Until then, I am hoping against hope that Tinker will be with me a little while longer.
I’m so sorry to hear that. Wishing you and Tinker all the best. <3
We live in a feral cat neighborhood. We have been feeding a litter of 4 kittens. We recently had the mother spayed. 5 days ago we noticed 2 of the kittens and the mother started acting weird. They laid down with their legs tucked under them and had a strange look to their faces. Then we found a dead cat under our truck and both of our neighbors had dead cats in their yards. 1 of the kittens is back to normal and the other is still sick. The mother has run off and we can’t find her. We are worried that she has died. The kitten is now are biggest concern. Do you think she can survive and be healthy again?
Hi there, I’m sorry about the late reply. It’s entirely possible that the kittens can survive, but this is a high-risk, delicate situation that’s best done with careful veterinary supervision. I hope you’re able to figure out what has been happening to all of these cats—it sounds very sad.
The symptoms of the cats are vomiting and diarrhea. Blood from their nose and eyes, and a change in the way they walk.
My cat Tigger is 10 , after bring out of town overnight.whrn returning home she was fed at fine .s few hours later she vomited yellow liquid.sfter that she was ok then about half hour later I found her vomiting a watery red substance I assumed was blood .she’s resting. Now .is there anything I can do at home to help her .I have no reason to believe there was poisoning involved .
Hi Sandra, I’m sorry about the late reply. How is Tigger doing now? I would recommend bringing her in to see a vet immediately.