Cat parenting FAIL

Let me start by saying that both kitties should be perfectly fine and that I will update this post after I pick them up from the emergency vet Friday morning (between 7 and 7:30 am CDT). Or maybe that just freaked everyone out more. Update, 8:10 am CDT: Both kitties are fine! Chaos is alternating between mad at me and grateful that I rescued him. May is a bit subdued, but is also still alert and curious (her usual mode). Apparently Chaos was, um, a handful when the vet had to touch him, with much yowling and growling and biting and scratching (perfectly normal vet visit behavior for Chaos). May was quiet and scared, but partway through the night her curiosity got the best of her and she quit hiding so she could see what was going on.

I am so glad to have them both home! It was very, very odd not having them around last night. Even though they aren’t allowed in the bedroom while I sleep, I knew they weren’t in the condo and did not sleep well.

Anyway! I got home from work Thursday and discovered a gnawed and empty medication capsule on the living room floor. And some perfectly fine and unmolested tablets on the kitchen floor. Crap. Guess who put her meds out on the table this morning to take after breakfast and apparently forgot to take them?! Guilty.

Both kitties seemed fine, so I sat down and emailed Jeanne about it. Jeanne immediately pointed me to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control website, where I discovered that the medication in question was one of the top ten sources of cat poisonings (link opens a pdf file). Eep. I called the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control hotline and upon their suggestion, took Chaos and Mayhem to the emergency vet for activated charcoal and overnight monitoring. The emergency vet thought that the kitties would’ve been showing effects already if they’d ingested more than a miniscule amount, but agreed that the activated charcoal and monitoring were wise, since it was an extended release medication.

Let’s just say that I’ll now leave my meds in their SMTWThFSa container and place that on the table in the morning instead of taking the pills out ahead of time…

“How could you take us to the vet, Mom?!! And leave us there overnight?!!” *sniff* -Mayhem

“Vengeance will be mine.” -Chaos

“I will be much, much, much more cranky than this after I get back from the vet.” -Chaos

56 thoughts on “Cat parenting FAIL”

  1. Oh! Maybe you need a little medicine safe. That Mayhem, you KNOW she likes her some substances to abuse… and even though she’s cute, she’s probably not wily enough to figure out a combination. And then there’s that problem about opposable thumbs. Pobrecitas…

  2. That’s scary! I’m sure they’re fine, but I’ll be waiting for the update to make sure. Give them a hug for me (if they’ll let you):-)

  3. Clearly, Jeanne is a better friend than I. She points you in the direction of HELP, while I relay a story about my mother drugging my cat with Valium.

    FRIEND FAIL.

  4. Back when Neatnik was a wee little lamb, her grandma had foot surgery. We went over to help out a bit. I was in the basement swapping out her wet laundry when I heard a mighty rumpus clattering above me. I raced up the stairs to encounter a chaotic mess in the kitchen. Grandma is in her sixities. She likes easy open medicine bottles. Neatnik is a clever child. Can you see where this is going? Number Guy had been in the living room, talking to grandma, when Neatnik crept into the kitchen, climbed up the chair, crawled onto the table, and opened the interesting vial of Darvocet.

    We spent a very tense afternoon in the emergency room.

    Fortunately, the child did not actually ingest any medication.

    Have I mentioned that I was a licensed pharmacist for ten years? Grandma was subjected to a very stern lecture on the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.

  5. Oh noooes! With the visit to the emergency vet, though, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Keep us posted. (And hide your yarn, in case they are cranky when they come home.)

  6. Poor kitties! I hope everything turns out well! Oh, and in case this incident is just a symptom of a larger problem… I know people think it’s “cute” when cats get into the ‘nip… but everyone knows its just a gateway drug, and soon they’re stealing mom’s pills chasing that next high! So talk to your cats about catnip. Because if you don’t, who will?

    We’re taking Cricket and Abby to the holistic vet/chiropractor (most spoiled pets EVER) on Tuesday – I think we should sell tickets as it will be quite entertaining to watch S and I load up the car with a dog, a cat, and a baby.

  7. Eeeeps!!! Oh no!!! Well, I would have done the same thing – loaded them into the carrier, and taken them to emergency just in case. 🙁 Oh. You will pay. Yes you will.

    Been there – Mae swallowed 2 Colace tablets that were given to me after my surgery. Started foaming at the mouth, and throwing up. She was fine, probably more bummed at me poking my fingers in her mouth.

  8. I’ve had to call poison control a few times, never for the cats. They get to go to the emergency vet enough as it is! As I write this you are probably picking up C&M, hope Chaos forgives you!

  9. Oh, pills are SO much fun, just like little cat toys. I hope C & M are both fine and frisky this morning after their visit to the spa. (That’s what we call it when we take our aging diva Miss Petunia to the emergency vet. She gets these mystery ailments that seem really bad, always on the weekend. After a trip to the emergency vet and a lot of attention from the staff there, she perks up and thinks she’s a kitten again.)

    They probably both felt better being together at the vet, but how did you manage the night without them? A house without cats would be very empty, I would think…

  10. Oh, MAN! I leave my bloglines alone for just a few hours and look what happens when I’m not looking!

    I’m so glad C&M are okay . . . that had to have been heart-stopping to see that empty capsule.

    Give ’em scritches for me, ok?

  11. I’m glad they’re ok! Good thing they didn’t find your Xanax or last night would have been really hard on you too!

  12. Chris- Holy crap.

    It’s weird what they will put in their mouths- you wouldn’t think pills of any kind would be in any way attractive.

    But then, I wouldn’t eat a mouse either.

  13. Glad to read everyone (well the kitties, maybe mom will be better after a glass of wine or three?) is just find and dandy.

    Scares like that are never fun.

  14. Goodness! What a scare! I’m very glad to see that they both are just fine this morning. You more than made up for the FAIL with your quick action to the vet!

  15. I hope Mom’s bp has dropped back down to normal.
    What a scary thing for you all to go thru!

    I’m glad everyone’s okay. Extra snuggles tonight!
    (((hugs)))

  16. *whew*

    It’s not parenting fail if they’re still alive, even if they’re pissed off.

    Funny how it’s practically impossible to get your cat to take pills when they need medication, but when it’s pills they’re NOT supposed to take…

  17. I’m glad the kitties are okay. You did not FAIL at cat parenting. I’ve had something similar happen with a toddler. Shit happens. I’ll bet they’re glad to be home with their devoted and loving kitty mommy.

  18. Awww, poor kitties… And, POOR Mom…

    I’m sure they will be fine Chris. Stuff happens you know? Hell, one of my dogs ate an ant trap once and was just fine.

    Animal parenting is a mine field sometimes..

    ((hugs))
    L

  19. Eep, indeed!

    My best friend was lucky enough to get her stomach pumped when she was little because her mother walked into the room and found her eating aspirin out of a jar. Not wanting to take chances, her mom rushed her to the emergency room … and, while they were there (an experience which my friend remembers VERY clearly), her father took the aspirin bottle and poured the rest of the pills out and started counting. It had been a brand-new bottle with, say, a quantity of 100 pills … and they had 97.

    Sometimes, you overreact because you have to!

  20. Whew! At least they are only cranky and not sick. Our kitty mostly doesn’t think the things that are poisonous to her are food, but that doesn’t stop me from panicking. Once I made shortbread cookies topped with a chocolate matcha ganache (very thin), and apparently the matcha meant that it didn’t smell like chocolate, so she ate some. I was so worried!

    Thankfully your kitties are aOK!

  21. So glad all is well! Chaos, be nice to Chris!

    A couple years ago at Christmas time, I put my meds on my placemat, went to the the kitchen to get a glass of juice, and by the time I got back (less than a minute), my family’s cat had eaten my meds. We made her throw up with hydrogen peroxide as the vet told us to do, and then she was treated with charcoal and all sorts of other stuff. She pulled through, but she was in a daze for about 5 days. She needed to go back to the vet several times during that time for IV fluids, as she didn’t eat or drink. It was scary.

  22. I am glad they are fine. Those kinds of scares are so unsettling, the effects stay with me for DAYS (but I have an enormous capacity for guilt).

    I’m so glad to see that Chaos is honing his social skills! :snort:

  23. Yay, home and cranky! I can imagine Chaos was not pleased.

    Argh. Jeanne offers the poison control link and I send prayers and hugs. As mamatulip says, FRIEND FAIL. Prayers and hugs AFTER the the poison control link. (Also potential PARENT FAIL since the poison control link didn’t even occur to me!!!)

  24. YIKES!!! I’m glad you took them in *just in case*. And they don’t seem any worse the wear. However I would LOCK your bedroom door for the next few nights! They may have plotted your demise while they were at the vets. And give them some cheezburgers!

  25. I’m SO glad they’re both OK. I always worry about Bert cause he’s my little vaccuum cleaner. Anything that hits the floor is fair game in his mind. Fur balls, kitty treats. I’m guessing pills….. it’s scarey sometimes.

  26. EEP! So glad that they are okay ; although I bet Chaos is plotting some kind of secret revenge for taking him to the vet. I’d watch my back this weekend if I were you.

  27. So glad to hear that they are all right. I had a puppy once eat a tube of ointment. Had to spend the night at the emergency vet after a call to Poison Control. Puppy was fine, went on to live to eat the remote control, drapes, a toy, etc.

  28. oh my. I’m so glad I was running a bit late this morning and didn’t get a chance to read your blog this morning as usual. I’d be so worried…

    I’m glad everyone’s ok!

  29. Jetsam enjoys one of my Rx pills that I take in the mornings, and I have finally trained myself not to put it out until he has his food!

    On the other hand, he hasn’t been having hot flashes …

    I’m glad the kitlets are OK – pat them for me!

  30. I am so glad to read this after the fact, and hope they are both well enough now to be giving you a really hard time, til you give with the extra Greenies.

    ((hugs))

  31. Oh no! One of my big fears is that Katie or one of the ferrets will get one of our pills. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control is a good number to keep around.

    I’m glad everyone is home and okay. Hope they forgive you soon.

  32. whew!!! disaster averted. so glad your furry ones are ok, dignity aside. they’ll forgive you.

    ps. thanks for link to the freebooks thingy in post below!

  33. There was no parenting fail here. You took very appropriate steps once you realized what happened. We worry. We freak out. Then we do our best to fix it because we *are* good, responsible caretakers.

    I’m so glad your fur persons are back home and safe.

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