can brief exposure to fiberglass insulation case these symptoms?

mauser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 14, 2010
Messages
4
Purraise
0
(dangit, you can't edit the thread title. I meant '...CAUSE these symptoms.'

My friend's cat is doing a bit better after having some scary symptoms, and I wanted to post her description anyway to see if any of you have some of those outside-the-box forum tips.

"For a long time he was bleeding when he went no. 2, so the vet eventually put him on the anti-biotic sulfasalazine. The bleeding stopped. Last Thursday (after being at my mom's cabin for a few days), he seemed kinda tired, and then by late Saturday he seemed really lethargic, stopped eating and drinking, and looked all greasy from not cleaning himself. He also had swollen lymph nodes and was limping, favoring his left front paw. The poor guy! I took him to the vet Monday morning, and they tested his lymph node fluid with no real results. They also gave him Clavomox, the standard antibiotic. They want to do extensive blood tests for FIV/Feline Lukemia/Cat Scratch Fever. He seems better today. He has more energy, has been eating a bit and drinking water. His lymph nodes are still swollen, but they might be smaller, but that could be wishful thinking. I feel so sorry for him, he's such a good kitty. I can't really afford all the tests the vet wants to do either. I have to wait for another paycheck, but hopefully he'll just get better before then."

The swelling has since gone down a bit and the fiberglass insulation theory has surfaced from his days at the cabin:

"I talked to the vet today about Edward, and we had forgotten to mention to her earlier that he has been exposed to fiberglass insulation up at the cabin. Fancy (and every other cat we've ever owned) wasn't affected by it, but Edward might have been due to his medication weakening his immune system. He could have eaten or inhaled the fiberglass, and then it inflamed his lymph nodes. He seems to be doing a lot better and the swelling is going down. I was so worried about him. I'll keep a close eye on him, but fiberglass irritation is a lot better than FIV or leukemia!"

If this sounds like anything any of you have seen, please weigh in with any tips that helped your fuzzy ones!
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
The lymphatic system doesn't work that way. The nodes swell as an immune response - which could be bacterial, virus, parasite, or tumor related. Fiberglass could no more cause an immune response itself than a rock could.


Simply put, the cat is sick and his immune system is trying to fight it off. FIV/FeLV do need to be tested for (a quick snap test that costs $30-40). The friend shouldn't blow the incident off because the cat is looking better, a vet is needed. It's easier to deal with health problems if they're caught early.
 
Top