Poison scare with Molly

Molly is usually the first one up and at her food, so this morning when hubby went to get the cats for breakfast, I was surpised when she didn't come. She was all curled up in the cave part of the cat tree, so he coaxed her out and carried her into the kitchen. He set her down in front her dish, but she just turned around and walked over to curl up in my lap. Very strange...

Then I noticed that she felt awfully warm, her face looked puffy and her third eyelid was partially closed. Of course, I immediately thought "fever" and got worried. Here she was with three pretty major symptoms: lethargy, loss of appetite and possible fever. Plus, I had been noticing some loose stools over the last few days, although with three cats who prefer to use the boxes at night, it's hard to tell who was the culprit. Then I remembered that last week I had been given a tulip plant as a gift. I remembered that they were not as toxic as some other bulb plant, so I put it on the kitchen table, thinking the cats were now well-trained enough not to jump up and bother it...I was wrong. Molly found it and chewed on some of the leaves. I put the plant away, watched her for a few days, then forgot about the whole thing...until this morning.

So, first thing I did was call the vet...they said to bring her in right away, not knowing how quickly her symptoms could get worse. So, hubby had to come clear back home and pick up me and the cat to get us the the vet (we only have 1 car). They took her temp, and she does have a bit of a fever (103F), but her other vital signs were good. This vet was a different one than we'd had before, but I liked her alot. She was so gentle, and Molly let her feel all over her body for anything abnormal. The vet said Molly's GI tract felt a little swollen, but everything else felt normal. She also didn't seem to think the tulip was toxic enough to cause major problems, and it may not even be the reason she is having these symptoms. So, we came home with an antibiotic and some pro-biotic as well. Thankfully, it wasn't too expensive, and it sounds like Molly will be back to normal in a few days. But I am going to go throw away all my plants now...even though I keep them locked up in a spare bedroom, I just don't ever want to worry about one of my babies being poisoned again!

for poor Molly! Hope she feels better soon.

Poor little Molly, Prayers and for a speedy recovery.

Update:
Okay, so far, things are not looking any better since we got back from the vet. A couple hours after we came home, Molly walked into the living room and vomitted yellow bile. I was tempted to call the vet right away, but I decided to stay calm and see how she progressed. A few hours later, she came out of her little cozy spot again, went to the little box and had a major "blowout." Then she walked over to me and threw up again. This was more than I could handle, so I called the vet's office again. The vet tech I spoke to told me that since the antibiotic was administered on an empty stomach, this was normal for Molly to have an upset tummy. But she told me to get her to eat before giving her the next dose tonight. So now my problem is: How do I get a cat who has no appetite to eat something so I can give her medicine? I tried tempting her with treats, then wet food with tuna juice on top...no luck. I thought for sure the tuna juice would excite her, but it didn't work. I even tried rubbing some food on her gums to get her interested. So now I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Force it to her. It's the only way she wont get sick after you give her the anibiotic. I am assuming that you do not have a syringe/dropper (if so, water down some wet food and give that to her).

Get a towel and wrap her in to so she can not get any of her feet out, get the can of wet and a small spoon. It will be MESSY, so I would do it in a easy to clean spot like a bathroom. You will probably have to hold her mouth open and put a dab of the food in at a time-not too much at a time though.

You can do it with your hands if wet food doesn't gross you out-I find doing it with my hands instead of a spoon is easier-but my cat's will not bite me on purpose-I have only been bit while doing this when I suck my finger under a tooth while the cat was chewing (lol, duh!)-so watch out. I just get a gob of wet on my index finger and use the other hand to open their mouth-then I put the food on their tounge and hold their mouth closed if they are trying to spit it out.

A great tip is to blow gently on their nose when you put the food in-it causes a sort of uncontrolled reflex where they swallow. Works with meds too!

Good luck, I hope she feels better soon!

Thanks for the advice KatKisses...I do have a couple small syringes, and I guess I'm going to have to force feed her because she still won't eat on her own this morning. She is interested in the smell of food, though, which is an improvement. She also lapped up some water on her own this morning, so that's good, too. I hate to stress her out by forcing food down her, but I'm also worried about not getting the medicine in her. And it's been over 24 hours since she ate, so I know she needs to get some nutrients in her body somehow.

Be very careful when syringe feeding because they can aspirate the wet food and get pneumonia. When I had to feed Riley like that when he was sick, the vet showed me to squeeze just a little onto his tongue from the side, never squirt it at the back of their throat.

I would call the vet again before trying any of this, or just take her back in and ask them to do it.

AlleyGirl, I actually didn't end up using the syringe...it was too small anyway, and would only suck up the liquid. I just used a very small spoon to give her tiny bites of mashed up wet food. She wasn't very happy with me, and I think I got more food on me, the towel and the floor than in her tummy! But she did eat something, anyway, which is good. She also got some food on her, which made her have to clean herself--something she hasn't done since becoming ill. I gave her the morning dose of antibiotic, and 2 hours later she hasn't vomitted at all. Hopefully, this will hold. She even came out of her little cozy spot just to say hi to me in the kitchen earlier! So, even though it's slow, I am seeing improvement.

Well, Molly is improving bit by bit. I had to force feed her a couple more times yesterday, trying to get some of the pro-biotic powder the vet gave us down with her food. I'm glad to report that this morning she actually ate about 1/8 can of wet food all by herself! She is drinking alot of water, maybe because she is not eating as much, as she usually gets most of her water from eating canned food. She also will now eat treats and tuna on her own, so I'm thinking that maybe tonight I'll put the probiotic powder on some tuna and try to get her to eat it herself that way. She is obviously pretty weak right now, and not very active...but her eyes are bright and clear, and she is actually coming out of her little cave to sleep in other places around the house. It's slow going, but it was so encouraging to see her actually taking bites of food today.

This is good.

More get well vibes for Molly.

I'm glad to read Molly is doing better, It is scary when they get sick like that.

Molly ate 1/4 can of food tonight, with the probiotic mixed in! I'm so happy! Thanks for all your warm wishes. I appreciate the thoughts!