Help with abused cat

Hi everyone,

I am new to these forums. While I do not own a cat, I am posting on behalf of my mother-in-law, who just yesterday informed me of a horrible thing that has happened to one of her cats. I apologize in advance for the length, and we would be very appreciative if anyone can give us some advice!

Apparently, last weekend, her cat (about 1+ yr old, I think) returned home doused in gasoline. Luckily, she had not been set on fire, but she was obviously in bad shape. My MIL washed the cat with Palmolive dish liquid to get most of the gasoline off, then took her to the vet.

The vet said that the cat would not be likely to die, but that the cat's tongue was probably lascerated from trying to lick herself clean. The vet did not give the cat anything and just told my MIL to keep a close eye on the cat. The last few days she has been looking very sick and sleeping a lot. Today, my MIL reports that the cat is much better, and is drinking more milk, but is still sleeping a great deal.

We'd like to know if anyone has any idea of what else can be done for the poor kitty. (With regards to finding the perpetrator and bringing him/her to justice, we don't know who it is. Also, my MIL lives in the Caribbean, and I have no idea what the animal abuse laws are like there, even if we knew who did it. I don't think the vet suggested anything.)

Many thanks for your help!
Christine

This happened to my cat, Bobbie when I was younger. We lived in a horrible neighborhood at the time, a lot of heathen boys around. We gave him a good bath and kept an eye on him. He was a little mopey for a couple days, but after that he was fine. I hope your moms kitty will be ok. She should be but if she starts acting wierd- not eating, throwing up,... get her back to the vet.

the poor cat, it shocks me (and i guess it shouldn't really) that there are people like that out there. I hope she's ok.

Theres some evil, wicked people around! Poor baby i hope she's a lot better soon

How awful for the poor cat. Just one more reason to have indoor cats. There are just too many sicko's out there.

I am glad that your cat got better from the same kind of ordeal! I'll pass on the info to my MIL, she'll be very happy to hear it.

Thanks to you and everyone else for your support!

Tell her to keep the cat inside from now on. I can't imagine having my cats outside, and I don't get why anyone who loves their cats would allow them to just run around freely with all the psychos out there.

Christine, it would depend on how much the cat ingested, how long the cat was away from your MIL and how quickly the cat got a bath. Although not "poison" per se, exposure to gasoline in cats can cause illness and long-term problems with liver, and kidneys. The burning of the mouth and lacerations of the tongue mean that the cat was trying desperately to get rid of the gasoline because it burns madly. It cause inflammation both on the skin and inside the cat can start vomiting, drooling, or have problems breathing. If you see the cat shaking its head, pawing at the mouth, or if the cat suddenly smells like gasoline, get her to the vet quickly. Also look for a feline only vet in your area to help you support the liver and kidneys. I would ask for a CBC and also a kidney panel and ask the vet to monitor the heart as well.

I deal with abused kitties, and some of them can survive the exposure- again it depends on how much they ingested, how long before intervention started.


Best of luck-


MA

Poor kitty-cat - I am glad that she wasn't doused. I hope that your MIL can take MA's recommendations & get the cat's kidneys checked out thoroughly. As for her lacerated tongue, your MIL can try a Vitamin E capsule (intended for internal human use), snip the end off it & put a dab or two on the cat's tongue - it may be soothing. Also, if the cat seems to be failing, please realize that cats disguise their discomfort & will not be obvious about how much they are really suffering - don't be hestitant about returning to the vet & if the cat is suffering, please remember that a kind, easy passing is sometimes the greatest gift of love that an owner can give their pet. But, my prayers & thoughts are for the cat to make a complete recovery & find happiness & contentment being an indoor companion for your MIL. Please keep us posted!

Originally Posted by catsknowme

Poor kitty-cat - I am glad that she wasn't doused.

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I believe she said the cat WAS doused.

Originally Posted by christine_to

We'd like to know if anyone has any idea of what else can be done for the poor kitty. (With regards to finding the perpetrator and bringing him/her to justice, we don't know who it is. Also, my MIL lives in the Caribbean, and I have no idea what the animal abuse laws are like there, even if we knew who did it. I don't think the vet suggested anything.)

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I would suggest asking around and posting flyers offering a reward for information. Also get parents to talk to their children to see if they know anything.

Welcome to TCS!

Poor thing, I'm glad she's seeming ok and I really hope she hasn't ingested enough to harm her.

First, thank you to everyone who replied - it is wonderful to have so much help so quickly! I am forwarding your collective advice to my MIL, particularly the bits on the kidney damage and the vitamin E treatment.

With regards to keeping the cat indoors, I am not sure it's possible. Where she lives, the houses are all constructed very openly so there are windows which are not paned, just barred, and a cat can get through. The garden is surrounded by a tall (~10 ft), solid wall, but the front gate is bars. Add to that the acrobatic talents of cats...I think they could probably find a way over that wall!

But, hopefully the cat will learn to stay within the garden from now on. The second cat (they're sisters) is her polar opposite - she never roams, just stays in the house and garden.

Thanks again to everyone! All the help and kindness is much appreciated. I will try to keep you posted.
C

Hopefully your mil's kitty knew she was in trouble and came home straightaway. Too bad you can't keep the cats inside. Please warn neighbors about what happened so they can keep an eye out. Maybe someone saw and thought it was a stray so didn't know what to do? It seems like whatever jerk did that to the cat was interrupted mid-act because well, why would they pour gasoline on her and then not do anything else? Although, nothing these people do makes much sense!


(totally off-topic--- cow's milk isn't very good for cats)

It's amazing how many sick people there are out there who think something like this is funny. May what goes around come back around to them!!!

Hope the poor cat is doing well by now.

Thanks again for all the kind words. Just wanted to update the story. The cat is very active now, and is playing with her sister a lot, although she's still sleeping a fair bit. We think she is well on the road to recovery and should be fine!

Zissou's Mom - Re: cow's milk - yeah, when the MIL's family first got the cats, they didn't feed them any milk because it was said to cause cats diarrhea. I'm not sure why they're getting milk now (?).

Many thanks!!
C

I just saw this and althought I cant offer any advise (sorry) I am glad to hear that your MIL's cat seems to be on the road to recovery.

stay strong little one