friends poisoned kitty was put down:(

a friend of mine emailed me today to tell me her cat had to be put down this weekend. She has recently moved to a new home and I think has started to let her cats outside (not sure yet as she hasn't emailed me back about that but they were outside at her previous place so I am assuming for now). She had 4 cats, two were brothers and one of those is the one that died. I want to tell you what the symptoms where that the cat had and if anyone has ever experienced something similar and if it was positively diagnosed. I am concerned that the cat may have been poisoned. The cat, Bailey, started to vomit almost non-stop and the vet had to give him a shot that calms the gag reflex but it did not help at all. It became worse and worse and he had to be put down by recommendation of the vet. Now her email was not very detailed and I don't know if the vet had given her any idea of what could have caused this but the last response I recieved from her she wrote that she did not know what it could have been. If anyone has any knowledge on poisoning or the symptoms, I would greatly appreciate it. I fear that her other cats, if let outside, might have the same fate.

Some info I found for symptoms of poisoning (It really can vary with the different poisons and with the cat):

* Your animal may appear uncomfortable or drowsy.


* Vomiting, voiding of the bowel and/or bladder.


* Salivation or drooling from the mouth.


* Your pet's breathing may appear altered or forced.


* Muscle tremors, twitching through to convulsions.


* Altered mental state. Your pet may appear disorientated, over-reactive to sound or light and may appear to be hallucinating.


* Wobbly gait (ataxia).


* Changes in gum colour to blue, pale or even very red.


* Odours either on the breath or from contamination on the skin.


* Bite marks. Remember a toxin can be induced from a bite or a sting.


* Burns to the mouth or the tongue.

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Sorry to hear about your friends cat, how horrible. It's never easy to lose one, especially if you feel it could have been avoided.

thanks Poohandwendy, I will give her this information. I hope it was not the case, but it seems very unusual to me. the cat was only a few years old, I can't imagine anything else that would cause such a severe reaction.