Pet Patients Please don't exterminate the cat!
Things in Miami don’t happen the way they do in the rest of the US. Unlicensed usage of dangerous chemicals is my newest example. After being accidentally fumigated with a variety of bug-killing chemicals (whose true provenance we’ll likely never know), this gorgeous kitten suffered a variety of neurologic effects that ultimately rendered him homeless.
I know what you’re going to say. What kind of an idiot fumigates his own cat with an unlicensed purveyor of chemicals then can’t bother to take proper responsibility for the outcome?
But a story is never as straightforward or as two-dimensional as we might like it to be. In this case the elderly owner was taken by an unscrupulous exterminator (these things happen far more often to the elderly, as you probably know). The kitten was supposed to be secluded in one room of the home but, in his confusion, the owner had left the door ajar––or so says the merchant.
The kitten was “fine” the first day. The day after the fumigation he was “quieter than normal.” And by the following morning the ten week-old seal-point was unable to hold his head upright and appeared to have lost his vision entirely.
Though it was difficult to obtain a list of the chemicals employed, the exterminator eventually complied with the ASPCA Poison Control’s investigation via AT&T telephone interpreter.
The upshot? The chemicals listed by the fumigator should not have caused the kind of neurological signs we were observing. An extreme head tilt, blindness (despite a normal pupillary light reflex) and ataxia (off balance-ness and generalized “wobbliness”). According to the list, tremors or seizures should have been the thing, if anything––not this. (A pyrethrin toxin was at the top of the fumigator’s list.)
Conclusion: Either this process had nothing to do with the fumigation (unlikely, given the timing and my previous experience with a well-tested, healthy kitten as recently as of one week before the event), the kitten was experiencing an “adverse” reaction to one of the fumigation ingredients, OR....the unlicensed fumigator was not telling the truth in its entirety.
It’s Miami. I’ll take door number three, please.
Indeed, repeat testing of this kitten found nothing of interest. We bathed him with Dawn (my go-to product for reducing topical poison exposure), soaked his veins with fluids, and plied him with activated charcoal for good measure.
After a couple of days, the kitten regained his sight, despite an inability to focus. Four days later, his head-tilt was still pronounced, but improved. One week after the inadvertent kitten fumigation procedure...and the kitten’s still not quite right, but he’s no longer blind––and sooooo lap-cat sweet. Here he is with one of our staff’s children:
But normality is still a way’s away. That’s why his owner’s agent, his daughter, has rescinded all rights to the kitten. If he can’t be “normal,” it’s not right for her father to keep him. After all, she says, her father is a [very] elderly gentleman who cannot properly care for an invalid kitten. Never mind that the kitten can eat, drink, use the litterbox, play with toys, etc.
Nonetheless, I can’t exactly blame her. Though the kitten is looking better every day, with excellent hopes for a complete recovery given the pace of his improvement, a week was her cutoff date, it seems. Why continue to stress out her father with a sick kitten when there are so many healthy ones out there? (And no, this case is NOT about the money.)
Sad. But understandable, I guess, from a protective daughter’s point of view––more so if you understand her history with neurologic cases.
Still, I have a master plan. I intend to keep little Gaston in my care until he’s 100% (with any luck, he’ll get there in a couple of weeks). I will then approach the owner’s daughter with the fruits of my labor and offer to place him back with Dad.
Except for the fumigation incident, everything else points to a wonderful, loving relationship between the two parties: gentleman and kitten. How can I possibly break that bond over an accident that’s highly unlikely to be repeated? (Yes, he fired the fumigator.)
All I want is that amazing relationship back. So can you blame me for all my “stealth” maneuvers?
March 28th, 2009
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Add Comment48 Comments
Both are photogenic and completely adorable!
I can understand the daughter's protective mechanisms, but I'm betting on your quick treatment preventing long-term issues. Showing improvement rather quickly, and no impairment with normal basics, is a darn good sign!
No more kitty posts for me!
Barbara A./NH
Pocket's Story from NH March 28th, 2009 08:03:04 PM
This story is heartbreaking! I love your maneuvering and your plan - here's to a happy ending. Please keep us posted.
Ingrid March 28th, 2009 09:46:25 PM
This is why I will never use an exterminator, and will not use chemicals in my own home except for bleach and even that I am working to find a way to eliminate...
I recently purchased a UV wand that is designed to kill bacteria, viruses and dust mites. I have imported beneficial insects to my garden such as ladybugs and grow everything organically.
I hope the kitten makes a full recovery and your plans to reunit are successful. He is so quite adorable, I have no doubt you'll find a home for him regardless.
I am very glad you were able to save him.
LorriM March 28th, 2009 10:30:48 PM
What an adorable kitten! If you end up not being able to find a home for him, I can give him a place in West Palm Beach.
Brooke March 28th, 2009 10:46:48 PM
Oh man, this brings back memories...not good ones either. My mother used bug spray in the house for ants and killed one of our 2 week old kittens. It was an accident and she felt horrible and after that she found out that cinnamon keeps out ants so that's all anyone was ever allowed to use. On the upside, our house always smelled like someone was baking. Hubby and some chemist friend of his came up with an orange extract, cinnamon oil blend that I spray around the outside of the house and I've never had an ant inside since I've started using it. Sure hope your plan works.
Donna March 28th, 2009 11:41:14 PM
I like where this conversation is going.
I grew up in a house in Miami with a windows-open, no-AC and no pesticides approach. Yes, we had all manner of insects around but the screens helped a lot, of course.
Though my current home's design isn't suited to the windows-open approach, I still use no pesticides save boric acid (borax) and fly paper. For a while, however, I lived with the toxic flying insect spray by my side until I discovered that borax kills roaches (even the biggies) and fly paper catches most all the small winged critters.
Sure, you're still likely to come across some insects in my house but it's Miami. If you can't handle a few bugs you have no business living here.
Dr. Patty Khuly March 29th, 2009 07:25:34 AM
Aw. That is one sweet kitten. I do have to wonder however, how wise it is for an elderly person to have even a healthy kitten cavorting around the house. This of course depends on how elderly, healthy, and sure and steady on his feet he is. I'm sure there is more than one story out there of an elderly person who has broken a hip trying to avoid stepping on a quick-footed kitten (my aunt was such story). I've seen one kitten with neurological problems due to pyrethrins, and the signs were bizarre to say the least. Not textbook at all. But they resolved very quickly by removal and treatment along the lines you describe.
brebis noire March 29th, 2009 07:27:37 AM
brebis noire: I ask myself the same question all the time. Luckily, this 85 year-old man has a full-time home aid who loves the kitten, too. (And, for the record, I tried to persuade him to adopt an adult.) But it's always an open question: Are the risks of cat keeping (mitigated by adulthood) acceptable given the undeniable health benefits of animals? I think they are as long as the situation is a controlled one and the cat is a calm one. In the case of a kitten I do tend to agree with you.
Dr. Patty Khuly March 29th, 2009 07:46:23 AM
I think you should take a slightly different tack. My concern is that if the daughter is resistant to letting him have the cat back, you may be creating a point of contention between them.
If the caregiver is ameniable, how about you give the caregiver the cat (and that way you know the cat will have someone to look after it if the father dies) with the understanding that the cat will be on permanent holiday at the father's house.
2CatMom March 29th, 2009 10:04:51 AM
The human species can be such . . . (never mind you get the drift.)
Ignorance still remains the greastest threat to humanity.
Evet March 29th, 2009 10:16:09 AM
What kind of an idiot fumigates his own cat with an unlicensed purveyor of chemicals then can’t bother to take proper responsibility for the outcome?
Duhhhhhhhh . . Good question Doc.
Evet March 29th, 2009 10:29:06 AM
Dr. K., I'd also be thinking that the daughter will try to get rid of the cat, because she doesn't like it. If the father has any medical issues that require going to a hospital, that cat's likely to disappear (sadly, I've seen this happen with 2 cats and a dog - two different families), and the caregiver will have no recourse whatsoever. I hope the elderly gentleman is healthy enough to stand up to his daughter, but things can change so quickly, and it's so easy to say "Kitty must have slipped out the door."
KateH March 29th, 2009 10:35:31 AM
Interesting about this case. Daughter was in tears over the entire situation. She had been involved in picking out the kitten, etc. She's an excellent client who had recently suffered a terrible encephalitis with her last dog--a thoroughly depressing neurological condition in a young, otherwise healthy dog.
She had eventually euthanized the dog when it was clear he could no longer get around. Unfortunately, the kitten's head tilt is eerily reminiscent of her dog's situation. I really can't blame her. She was actually near-hysterical over the kitten. I truly believe that were it not for her dog's recent demise this situation would have gone down very differently. I think she just couldn't bear to go through the same situation all over again. She just needs time.
She still wants a cat for her dad, since she knows how much better he does when he has a cat to care for. His last cat, btw, lived to 22. She was euthanized a couple of months ago due to CRF.
Dr. Patty Khuly March 29th, 2009 10:46:04 AM
It's people like you Doc that make this world a better place. Just want you to know.
Evet March 29th, 2009 11:20:29 AM
I'm sorry to have sounded judgemental. I am glad to be wrong on things like this. I'm in the process of trying, for the second time, to find a home for a lovely dog that was given away by the first family because they wouldn't wait another week for a perfect owner to come back from vacation. Thank dog the second family kept my contact info, and I get a secod chance, just like you do. I hope my placement goes as well as yours.
KateH March 29th, 2009 04:25:09 PM
Been "lurking" here for a while and am delurking to say that you totally ROCK, Dr. Patty!
a different Donna March 29th, 2009 06:02:06 PM
It sounds like if you can get the cat into good shape he'll be able to go back. I'm relieved that the daughter understands what the cat means to her father.
What is interesting was his choice, against your advice, to get a kitten. Has he made any arrangements for the kitten if something happens to him? At my much younger age (but into the 2nd 1/2 century of life) I've decided that my present two cats will be my last two young ones (they were about 1.5-2 years when I adopted them). Because given the life expectancy of a cat today, you have to hope that you'll be around in 20 years to take care of them. And all things being equal, his cat will outlive him.
2CatMom March 29th, 2009 06:45:56 PM
The reason that we acquired Miss Kitty (and Miss K. was six years old at the time, definitely an adult cat) was that her escape attempts into the hallway were causing dangerous falls to her previous owner. who was attempting to catch her. After we got her, we found the escape attempts from us consisted of a short walk, followed by a stop to look around. At that point, we could gently approach, pick up the escapee and bring her back. It was apparent that it was a game to get attention. I started using a harness & leash for trips outside. It seems that this particular cat simply needed a larger indoor space for running, stairways to run, and people who put up with her flying wonder kitty stunts (leap from floor to shoulder).
Miss Kitty's Mom March 30th, 2009 11:42:13 PM
Good news! Kitten is looking soooo much better after the weekend. Sight head tilt is all! He may well get his home back this week!
Dr. Patty Khuly March 31st, 2009 07:37:28 AM
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t7b.com April 10th, 2009 06:54:25 AM
Late response due to me only finding this blog today (and happily reading backwards through it) - *I* got poisoned by an unscrupulous exterminator, many years back, so I can totally understand how the poor kitten got sick. If the house was being fogged, even a closed door wouldn't keep him safe. :( So glad to read he's much better!
In my case, I had two arachnophobic housemates and we found a funnelweb spider in the house. A fumigator who guaranteed we wouldn't have any more spiders for at least a year was practically the only way they were ever going to sleep in that house again, and I wasn't too happy about sharing space with funnelwebs myself, so we got it done. We were told to stay out of the house for a few hours; we were gone all day, but the house was still full of white fog when we got home. We went through and opened all the doors and windows, then cleared out until it was gone, but within two weeks we were all dreadfully sick. It took months to get a clear diagnosis, which turned out to be liver damage leading to multiple severe food sensitivities.
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