Is my cat being poisoned?

I have a 3 y/o shorthair. Originally I wanted her to be an indoor cat, but found it impossible to keep her inside, so when she almost a year old I started letting her out for a few hours if the weather was ok. For 2 years this has worked just fine - she goes out, runs around, and comes back when I call her - so obviously she doesn't go far.

For the past week she has had goopy and squinty eyes and itchy ears. She is sometimes hoarse and in general seems very agitated. She will suddenly spaz out and start running and jumping around for a few seconds before settling down. I have also noticed that water makes her very nervous, which led me to speculate whether someone was squirting her with someone. I live in a townhouse with many neighbors, so it really could be anyone.

So I'm thinking it's either:
-someone deliberately squirting her with something
-she has allergies (can cats have pollen allergies?)
-she's getting in to something

I don't mean to freak you out...but get her to a vet right now for testing. It may just be a bit of a cold or allergies, but the thing about water, and the hoarseness, makes me worry about rabies.

She is UTD on all shots, including rabies. Could she still get it?

Because you are letting her out without any supervision, it could be many things. I would advise you to have a vet check her out, have her shots up to date (including rabies) and start restricting her to SUPERVISED time outside.

This means either a harness/leash or a cat enclosure but no more outside time without you there to watch her.

If she is current on her rabies vaccination, she shouldn't get it. As I said, I didn't want to overly frighten you, but when the description of the symptoms is limited, even the best vet (and we're not vets at all) would want to eliminate the worst possibilities first.

Most likely she won't have rabies if she has her rabies vaccine up to date. They can't test for it anyway if she's still alive.

I would worry most about her drinking water with antifreeze in it. Or, another type of poison. Try keeping her in for a week and see if the symptoms disappear. I know that it is hard to put up with the whining and what-not....but what's worse.....having her die? She doesn't know any better...you're her guardian and protector and right now....she needs you to protect her.

When her meowing gets too bad...put on headphones and play the music or tv really loud. Believe it or not...she'll stop when she knows it won't work. Be tough...be a good meowy parent....

I hope she's feeling better soon!

Hoarseness and discharge... sounds like a virus or infection to me. Could be any number of conditions, but it does seem that she's sick with something. You should take her to the vet.

Another vote for a vet visit. I wouldn't freak out about rabies, especially if she's up to date on her shots.

I would take her to the vet. I was just writing a post the other day about how frantic I was for this poor outdoor cat in my area.

I had seen him/her rolling around on my lawn after getting a big dose of insecticide sprayed on it. The cat was rolling around in the grass about 30min after it was sprayed.

With outdoor cats its hard. I bet there is an owner wondering why the cat is so ill not knowing my lawn poisoned her.

The vet is the best bet.

Originally Posted by silvionc

I would take her to the vet. I was just writing a post the other day about how frantic I was for this poor outdoor cat in my area.

I had seen him/her rolling around on my lawn after getting a big dose of insecticide sprayed on it. The cat was rolling around in the grass about 30min after it was sprayed.

With outdoor cats its hard. I bet there is an owner wondering why the cat is so ill not knowing my lawn poisoned her.

The vet is the best bet.

Click to expand...

Another good reason to use natural products rather than deadly insecticides. We treat our lawn with nematodes rather than chemical pesticides.

Any update?

In addition to nematodes, we also have an organic pest control company come out and treat our lawn quarterly.