Cat potentially stepping in Terro liquid ant bait??

[jokra]

Hi all,

My 1 year old, 9 lb. cat potentially stepped in Terro liquid ant bait. I had the bait set up on the counter where I didn’t expect her to go. I found the bait spilled. I cleaned it up really well and attempted to wipe her paws (she’s fast). My only concern is that it contains boric acid. I’m being a total helicopter mom and freaking out. Should I watch to see if she’s okay?

 

[Biomehanika]

So, ingesting boric acid/borax is of course not ideal for the kitty but I wouldn’t freak out too much as those Terro traps are very unlikely to kill her or make her dangerously ill, the dosage has to be quite large to be lethal, so if she just potentially ingested a little bit from getting some on her paw she will likely be unaffected.

Borax based ant traps kill ants because they can’t fart, so it might make her a bit more gassy than usual, but she can definitely fart! It might cause some tummy upset, so keep an eye out for vomiting and diarrhea all that, and if she starts acting sick or lethargic definitely get her to a vet to be safe, but I think she should be OK and may not even show any signs of upset if it’s only a small amount via her paw.

 

[Caspers Human]

Like Biomehanika says, it's basically the same as the "20-Mule Team" borax that you buy in the grocery store. People have been using it to do laundry and clean things around the house for decades. It won't kill you unless you ingest a lot of it. By a lot, I mean a LOT! A normal, average, adult human would need to ingest a teaspoon full to get sick. I mean "Doctor Sick." Maybe even "Hospital Sick." It might take two or three teaspoons full to make an average adult sick enough to die. Of course, we'd need to size that down for a cat.

There isn't a teaspoon full of borax in one of those Terro traps. It's been diluted in whatever sugary syrup substance they use as bait. There's really only a small drop of stuff inside one of those things, anyway. Right?

Cats don't have much sense of taste for sweet things and the ant bait is made out of sugar. Borax is an ingredient in laundry detergent. I'd think, if she licked the stuff, it'd probably taste like laundry detergent or something. If I was a cat, I wouldn't like the taste of that! Would you? I can't imagine she'd take more than one or two licks of the stuff before she went, "Yuck!"

Like Biomehanika says, above, the worst I'd expect to see is some nausea and, maybe, some vomiting and diarrhea. I agree. It'd be a long shot if that happened. If she does throw up or get the squirts, keep an eye on her. If it goes away in a day, you're probably good. If it gets worse than that, call the vet.

I don't even think it'll get that far!

 

[di and bob]

It says on teh site that symptoms should show up within an hour if problems were to arise, it also said it is NOT absorbed through the skin, so that is good. I bet she will be fine......