Bee sting

lunidoo

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Hi everyone,

One of my kitties Luna was stung by a bee and her whole leg and paw have swollen up to at least 4 times regular size. I thought Id could still feel the sting just below her "elbow" but the leg is so swollen I cant get a good grip and I am concerned I have pushed it in further. I have been really lucky that none of my cats have ever had a sting except for Luna (she is a chronic bug chaser - she is still at it now post sting!) once before but the swelling was not this bad. Is this amount of inflammation normal? I am confident she is not having an allergic reaction, she is otherwise fine, no breathing problems, appetite is fine and she is running around as normal, I think this is bothering me a lot more than her. There are no vets open for me to take her to as its the middle of the night here but after 4 hours the swelling is not decreasing and her once little paw is about the size of an orange and growing!! It does look kind of cute though in a very odd way though - this little kitty with her huge elephant foot. Is the swelling so bad because the sting is still inside her skin? Is there anything apart from ice that can help reduce the swelling? Thanks in advance!
 

hissy

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Please get your kitty to a vet and quickly. She has had a reaction to the sting and this could get ugly before you know it! Please go NOW!!!
 
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lunidoo

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Am going!! I called the emergency centre who said it could take a few hours for the swlling to dissapate and not to worry but I am. I am taking her to the emergency centre now, she needs an anti imflammatory at the very least.
 
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lunidoo

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Sorry its taken so long to get back to this - Luna is fine. What a relief. We went to the emergency centre last night and she had a cortisone shot and some pain relief. They checked all her vitals as I did which were all fine so while she did have an extreme local reaction to the sting she was otherwise fine. The vet there was a little suprised I had brought her in. He was like "So your a vet nurse, hmmm??" How rude. I worry, I cant help it.. I cant imagine what Id do if I went to sleep and she went in to anaphylactic shock or something. Id never forgive myself. Anyway, her paw is still a little enlarged but her leg is back to normal so all is good. The warmer weather is just starting here so I can see this is going to be a problem - Luna LIVES to catch bugs, it is her most favourite thing to do in the world. Anyway, thanks so much for asking about us, luckily its good news


Natx
 

sicycat

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I keep forgetting you work at the vets!! I'm so glad she's going to be ok
Did you take any pics of her elephant leg?
 
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lunidoo

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Nah, no pics of the elephant foot but I was so tempted. I felt a bit mean taking her photo while she was in pain but considering thst was the first day of warm weather we have had and the first time there have been bees around all year and luna managed to get stung I suspect I will have another "opportunity". Her foot is black except for her dainty white "painted" toes - they really do look like elephant feet even when they aren't swollen up so you can imagine how much it looked like one when it was. It was kind of cute though - I swear I could hear it thump as she walked. It would have been funny if not so serious.

Seriously though I am worried. Summer hasnt even started yet and she is already getting stung, what happens when I am not home and she gets stung?? If she had such a reaction this time and it could be even worse next time does this mean I have to keep her locked in all summer? She would hate that and become so depressed I dont think I could do that to her but the alternative is pretty scary too. I have a dilemma I think.
 

hissy

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Did your rude vet give you a bee sting kit at least?

Sorry but with that swelling, it sounded a bit more serious than just a bee sting. I don't know what you can do to stop her from catching bees. I know our shepherd dives after yellow jackets, and when they sting her she just get ticked and goes after more! I wish we could reason with them and tell them these are dangerous toys.
 
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lunidoo

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No I didnt get a bee sting kit from the emergency centre - am not impressed with the service there one bit. But I was told about these today by an e-mail from a friend in the US. Unless I am living under a rock whilst at work I dont know that we routinely keep them in Australia, though we must...I think. Does it just include the usual stuff for stings ie: corticosteroid injections etc? Either way, I will organise to have the necessities on hand in case something like this happens again. You are rightabout the swelling not being normal, it was definitely not. I mean it was definitely a bee that stung her - found the bee pretty much straight away but the reaction was severe.

I feel really naive and awful now that I have realised how serious this was - am kicking myself for letting her go more than a few hours before i took her to the vet. My poor baby, i am a bad mum! I wish I could tell her to stop but she was already at it again today but with moths - much safer at least.....she likes the taste of them a lot better too
, she had at least 3 for dessert tonight Nice.
 
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