Antifreeze poisoning

I know what you are all going to say... take him to a vet. I know. but its sunday, the only place open will charge $100 just to walk in and any where from $500-1000 or more to treat him.... I can't afford that.

Is there anything I can do to try to save him?

Remi jumped/fell in a bucket of antifreeze.. and then tried to clean himself off before he could be bathed. He is not acting drunk, just lethargic. We've been giving him water, and its too late to induce vomitting.

I don't know where to find activated charcoal, and I dont know if and how I can administer alcohol to help counter act the poisoning. How much do I give him? when? how often?

My vet opens at 7:30 tomorrow AM and I plan to take him in, but by then it'll've been about 21 hours. Thats too late to do much other than put him down....


please help.

Teni

The main reason you need to see a vet is that aggressive fluid therapy is required to avoid renal failure. Unless you are trained and have the correct equipment, you cannot do this adequately. Cats kidneys are extremely fragile and once they start going, your cat will not live through the night.

i know. i know i know, but i dont have $500, let alone a grand or more...

What i'm wondering is if this is mild enough (seeing as he isnt showing any of the CNS impairment) I can nurse him through it via fluids and perhaps alcohol, activated charcoal, etc.

I even tried my horse vet, for advice on antifreeze poisoning in general ... and they wouldnt even take the call, cuz they don't do cats.

So i'm stuck with the best i can do at home. Ive spent the last hour reading up on this. I know its nearly hopeless. but i have to try.....

I wish I had some advice for you.

I started looking stuff online, but its what you have already written, and without taking him in the outcome doesnt look good.

will the emergency vet let you make payments to them to get him treated? Just a thought.

I will say a prayer for Remi.

I'm sending prayers for Remi, too.

I asked that already, they said no, payment @ time of treatment.

My grandma found activated charcoal so we're gunna give him some of that.

I'd do the alcohol but i have no idea how much to give, and the only dosage i can find is for vets to use via IV. I don't want to give him alcohol poisoning... and giving to little wont be enough to save him from renal damage....

Can you call the poison control line? Its $55.00, they might be able to tell you the correct way to give him the charcoal or offer more advice...I found this online.

The ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center (also called the Animal Poison Hotline) is operated by the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Call 1 (888) 426-4435. There's a $55 flat fee, chargeable to a credit card (have your charge card ready). For more information, contact ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (1717 South Philo Rd., Suite 36, Urbana, Illinois 61802).

do you think that would be worthwhile, or would htey just say "go to the vet"?

I cant honestly say that I know, I am just trying to give you a cheaper alternative to give Remi a chance. I would ASSUME they have to have some sort of help to offer since you would be paying for it. But I dont really know. Ask them if you call.

im looking into it, thank you

Anti-freeze poisoning kills slowly. It can take weeks....once they get beyond a certain point after poisoning, though...nothing can be done but euthanasia. I learned that the hard way. I hope you baby is OK.

I notice you're in NY; surely there must be more than one vet in your area--one that would agree to take payments. I'm not trying to sound rude, but this really isn't an "I have to wait until the vet opens tomorrow" situation. This is an emergency.

Anti-freeze poisoning kills slowly. It can take weeks....once they get beyond a certain point after poisoning, though...nothing can be done but euthanasia. I learned that the hard way

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I learned the hard way, too, after adopting a cat that had been exposed to anti-freeze. Please call around for a co-operative vet. Sending loads of good thoughts to your Remi.

I'm sorry you are in such a tough situation. Do you have any updates?

Sending prayers your way

I know its not something that can wait, but all of the vets in the area refer to the same place- the greater buffalo hospital... which doesnt take payments. It's sunday, i can't just drop in to visit, or i would.


The only update is that he is still acting fine- he never showed any of the symptoms listed, except that he was lazy for a few hours....

We're giving him as much water as he'll take and thats all i can do. i dont have 500-1000 dollars.....

If you called your normal Vet wouldn't he/she see your cat today given that it is an emergency?
Or does it just give the number of the E-Vet?
I know that with my Vet you can call 24/7 365 days a year and if they're not open the answering service takes the call and has one of the Vets call you back ASAP.
The longest I've ever waited for a call back was 15 minutes.
A few years ago my Vet went into the office on Christmas night so I could take Gracie in.

I'll keep your baby in my Prayers.

No.. there's this emergency hospital in the area, and all the local vets i've contacted direct you to contact them. No emergency visits... theres a vet nearly 45 minutes away, where my horses go, that even directs you to call this emergency hospital, which is 15 minutes in the OTHER direction of me- an hour from their office.

Well, it's been 10 hours now, its well beyond the treatment period. He is very tired, a bit lethargic, and i think my siblings got soap in his eyes during his bath, b/c they're all red and irritated. His breathing is just a bit rapid and heavy- his brother an sis are layin on the bed here, and I can notice the difference. He drank some more water (with a few drops of milk in it to tempt him) while laying down, then stretched and went back to sleep.

He doesn't seem to show any of the main symptoms the websites talk about though. He has no pain that i can detect in his back (near the kidneys), he hasn't vomitted, had diarrhea, or become unbalanced and drunken. I wonder if it is possible for him to react to the antifreeze w/o ingesting it?

He was covered in the lower half of his body, but when they caught, inspected, and bathed him there was no green on his chest, chin, front legs, etc. So I wonder if there is some other aspect that could be causing this?

Thanks so much for the thoughts and prayers everyone. I know he should have been at the vet this morning when it happened, but I'm going to do the best I can by him tomorrow AM. If only he had decided to go swimming tomorrow, we could've gone right in.
Teni

PS... he seems comfortable, and is not lethargic in the sense that he isn't alert- he watches me play with my hand, and noticed when I took the bowl of water away... its more like hes just really tired.

I've read that when cleaning up antifreeze, you should always wear gloves, because it can be absorbed through the skin. So I'd say that, yes, he can react to it even if he did not eat any.

I sure hope he ends up okay. My dog got into antifreeze in the neighbor's yard when she was younger, panicked me to death, but we took her straight to the vet, so I don't know what happens long-termly.

poor kitty...emergencies do happen, you need to be prepared for those. I hope this teaches you a lesson, but hopefully not at the expense of your poor cats life. Good luck.

You are playing kitten roulette with your cat's life by waiting. Even if your cat didn't ingest the antifeeze- it did soak through his skin and that can cause as much damage as if he ingested it. Plus, cats are obsessive groomers and because you bathed him (you really can't cut the stuff that got in under his skin, he is going to groom himself.

Your cat needs a vet, he needs blood work done so you have a baseline, and the poison takes days to work it's damage when the cat is exposed in this way.

Years ago, I took a rescue here, a cat who had run off and been found and then just gotten really sick afterward. The owner wanted to "get rid of it" so I said I would take her. She died weeks later, the necropsy showed she died of anti-freeze poison. Her paws were discolored when she arrived, so the vet surmised (after she passed) that she had walked in antifreeze and licked her paws. It was not pleasant in the end for her, not at all.