kitten got bit by a snake!

this morning my 6 month kitten got bit by a snake. we called the vet and he said the only thing we can do is to give her some childrens benedryl (sp?) and so we did... im very nervous for her because shes a petite little kitty. the snake bit her right by her ear, you know that kind of bald spot. the left side of her face is swollen and im scared it will swollen up her throat. when we gave her medicine she obviously didnt like it, but her mouth started foaming. when i rubbed under her neck it calmed her down a bit, but i had to work today so i cant even be at home to watch her. my dad is there, and he said he would keep an eye on her. how likely is it for a 6month kitten to survive a snake bite?

Awww Sending healing vibes for your kitty

I suppose it would depend on what type of snake it was.

yeah i dont know what kind of snake it was. we live out in the country... i just moved back in with my parents. i didnt even want them outside! but they like going in and out that doggy door. thank you for your wishes i will pray she survives. i would be absolutely devastated.

Poor little thing! I hope she gets better. How long ago was she bitten? I don't know much about snakes but if this was a venomous one, and a deadly one, with your kitty being so small she wouldn't have lasted long. I would think that she will be okay and just a bit more wary of the snakes. Sending lots of get better vibes let us know how she is .

well she got bit this morning. its been about 3-5 hours. my dad just called and said that she looks like jack n the box... i guess cause her head is so round. he said he could tell that she was uncomfortable but she was fine, she was just laying around hiding. so i assume if this would have killed her, she would be dead already? its been like 4 hours at least.

I would get the kitten to the vet. Do you have a description of the snake? I may be able to help you identify it and if its poisoneous or not.

Since you live in Texas - the poisoneous ones in your area would be the rattlesnakes and coral snakes. Copperheads and water mocassions (or cottonmouths) are the other 2 poisoneous snakes in USA.

well i didnt see it. we called the vet and he said there was nothing he could do. so he suggested we give her benedryl.

I find that hard to believe that a vet would say that. And Benedryl and aspirin can be fatal to a cat.

Call the vet back up and pretend you have a dog and ask the same question about snake bites!

I pray your kitten will be ok, but I'd have that kitten in the vets office NOW!

I would call a different vet and get a second opinion if possible. Some just don't want to treat cats for snakebite. I have seen many cats, kittens, dogs and even a horse die from snake bite here. This year was particularly bad for rattlesnakes. It can be up to 48 hours before they die even in a small cat.

The benedryl is to slow down the allergic reaction and swelling. If her head is swelling that badly she may need a stronger anti-inflammatory and also pain killers....not metacam, but buprenorphine. Keeping her comfortable and pain free is going to reduce the shock response. Fluids is another thing that may be necessary.

Anti-venom is really expensive $300-600 and it sometimes does nothing or actually makes things worse. It doesn't have a long shelf life and vets don't like to keep it on hand. 4 weeks ago my vet said he couldn't even get any because it was on backorder.

All that being said she is little and odds of survival are not great. Dogs now have a rattlesnake vaccine that works very well at reducing the reactions to snakebite, but even some of them die.

I am sorry to have to be so honest, but I don't want you to have false hope. It is most definitely not certain your kitty will die, with lots and lots of supportive care ( the more you can learn to do at home, like sub-Q fluids and giving shots the less expensive it will be) she can certainly survive. It is just that the odds are stacked heavily against her.

I am sending lots and lots of recovery vibes for your little girl

You need to carefully search around your yard for that snake. It is getting colder and they are looking for places to curl up for the winter.

I know that non venomous snakes bite but I didn't think they gave a reaction like what your kitten is experiencing. My husband used to go out with a hepatology group and they would milk rattlesnakes for venom. This was when he was way younger back in the early 60's. He isn't here or I would ask him about the non venomous snakes such as a bull snake. He got nailed in the thumb by a rattler and the fang went through the part of his thumb by his nail and went clean through thank god!

I thought that venomous snakes could control how much venom they put out. I heard this years ago and it could be a myth. If your kitten got the full load of venom than I think it would have caused death by now. If the snake was a venomous snake maybe getting bit in the ear saved her life and the fangs went through her ear and she didn't take the full load of venom.

I would be at the vet asap.

I am still praying for your little girl

Just a quick question. If you didn't see the snake, how can you be certain that this is indeed a snake bite? Either way I would also take kitty to the vet (a different one) asap.

1, Get a diffrent vet

2. Find the snake and mutilate it, .

Usually the mocassins are more eastern based. And the coral snakes are west and southwest. The rest cross country. I was thinking the main ones are the coral and the rattlesnakes in the area.

If the cat survives the first few hours after the bite, that doesn't mean it is out of the woods. The venom ends up causing long lasting damage to tissue that often gets them in the following days or weeks. We don't have many poisonous snakes in Canada but when I worked at a clinic in southern Alberta we had dogs and cats(and even a horse once) come in occasionally from rattlesnake bites. None that came in when I was there ever survived(except the horse) but we never stocked anti-venom since snake bites are so rare here. Are you one hundred percent sure it was a snake? A friend in BC had a cat bite by a spider and the cats leg swelled and looked like it was gonna pop but he lived. He got an antihistamine and within a day the swelling started to go down and he got better. I have no idea what poisonous spiders you even have there but if you didn't see what bite her it is something to consider. I got bite by a brown recluse spider last year and it was pretty nasty but I lived! I hope she gets better! Good luck!

In Oklahoma, we almost always saw copperheads in the wooded areas and cottonmouths in the creek/water areas so I'm assuming Texas has both as well.

I would take the kitty to another vet if you have one.

well im in the houston area... when i got home lastnight she wasnt acting different that normal. like she was acting like nothing ever happen jumping around and what-not. the swelling has already downsized by at least half the amount. i think she will be okay. im going to get them some shots this weekend to help their immune system.

Since the kitten looks like she will recover, I strongly erge you to keep this kitten INSIDE from now on. Next time she may not be so lucky!

I'm so happy to hear that she is seemingly better. I'll still keep my fingers crossed.

Best of luck and I hope she fully recovers. Let's hope she doesn't 'escape' to the outdoors again..she's so much safer inside.....