My Cats Drank Mineral Oil

[lavishsqualor]

I keep a bottle of mineral oil in my house because my skin is dry and I put it on my face at night as soon as I get out of the shower. Evidently I didn't screw the top back on it tight enough because my cats knocked the bottle off the bathroom counter top sometime today and it spilled all over the floor.

Then they drank it!

When I walked in my door tonight I thought something had either gone bad or that my partner had left garbage somewhere because my house smelled H O R R I B L E ! ! It completely and utterly reeked, and my house never smells like that. As I began to walk through it I started seeing spots of diarrhea.

Not only did my cats drink mineral oil but they also managed to get into packets of the tuna fish I bought in case the hurricane knocked out the power. I guess I didn't completely shut the cabinet this morning and the cats were able to paw it open.

They didn't drink all of the mineral oil but they certainly managed to make a dent in it. I called my vet's office and one of the techs called me back. She said not to worry too much, just to fast the cats for twenty-four hours and have plenty of water available to them. She said that ingesting oil could trigger Thirteen's pancreatitis but that there was nothing that could be done now.

I get that this has the potential to be funny but (A) my cats are all three sick which stresses me out and (B) my house is covered in cat diarrhea that smells like tuna fish! It's eighty-five degrees in Orlando and I've got every single window raised that can be. My sofas, chairs, beds, rugs, almost everything has poop on it. And as quickly as I can clean it up one of them poops again.

Plus, if they do manage to make it to one of their boxes there's something about the mineral oil that keeps the litter from clumping. It's just awful. And now my cats are going nuts because they're hungry. They last ate at about 7:00 a.m.

I guess I have to fast them though, right? If I feed them it's just going to make it worse, won't it?

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm thinking if you do, use really soft bland food, their systems don't have any of the gut bacteria to help digest things.
Can you contain them, with tarps or old shower curtains on things?

 

[Caspers Human]

We used to feed cats mineral oil for hairballs. Yes, it does give them the runs but it won't hurt them unless they ingest a huge amount. The runs will clear up in a day or so, just like your vet said.

Tuna fish AND mineral oil?! OMFG! I would NOT want to be in your place. Your house must be an unholy mess right now.

I'm sorry you have to go through this.

Just hang in there. It should clear up by itself in a day or two.

 

[Talien]

.....I have no words for what that mess must be like, I'm having a hard time even trying to imagine it. If it was me I would definitely wait to feed them until tomorrow, if you give them something to eat now it will most likely just go right on through and make it worse.

The oil will coat the litter it comes in contact with and prevent it from absorbing any water, which is what makes it clump. Yeah it's going to be a nasty mess for most of the day.

 

[lavishsqualor]

It's so horrible! You honestly can't imagine. My partner and I are actually in a hotel right now. We put the cats in our bathroom (which is really big so they've got plenty of room) with their big sterlite tub that holds about forty pounds of litter, plus they've got two other smaller boxes in there. My better half is right: if we'd stayed at home I would have ended up giving them food which would have done nothing but contribute to the horror. Moreover, when I say my entire house REEKS I mean it. The smell alone was enough to drive us out. They have water, toys, litter boxes and each other. They'll be fine until tomorrow.

It's times like this that I'm so glad I work in apartments. I have numerous commercial cleaning companies that I can call to come deal with the carnage.

 

[Kat0121]

I'm so sorry. There is nothing even slightly funny about it. I feel for all of you. The cats should be fine in a day or 2. Good luck with cleanup.

After hurricanes Frances and Jeanne came through our area, we had no power for a while. One night, DH decided to share a bag of Funyuns with the dog. She ate about a third of it. It didn't go well. She had the runs all over the carpet. Fortunately, the power came on right before the poop apocalypse. We had a carpet shampooer so we were able to clean it up but it wasn't pretty.

 

[fionasmom]

Where to start? I am glad that you are safe from the hurricane, but completely sympathize with you about the condition of your house. As you know from your profession, this will require special cleaning with all the bells and whistles and will be costly. When I have had animal disasters on carpeting I found that companies like Stanley Steemer were able to deal with them effectively. Given the nature of what happened, it possibly has not gotten through to the padding; I assume that some of the damage is on carpeting. I had no clue that mineral oil would attract cats but I do have an outdoor feral who loves tuna in oil.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Thank you, all of you, for your understanding.

I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

My cats are better tonight but still not 100%. They fasted from 7:00 a.m. Thursday morning until about 8:00 p.m. Friday night. Even so, as soon as I fed them tonight (Friday) they began pooping again. It was formed but, well, for lack of a better term, pretty much still "soft serve." But at least their litter is clumping again and they are able to make it to the box.

I had a carpet/upholstery cleaning company at my house today for over four hours and I don't even have that much carpet!

The down comforter on my bed and its cover are a total wash. They will both have to be replaced, and you don't even want to know what it's going to cost to clean the Oriental rugs we have. They were my great-grandmother's and the company I had in today refused to touch them. They had to go to a specialist. And because of the proteins in feces, I wasn't able to wait to clean the rugs until a more financially opportune time. Had I waited, the enzymes could have broken down the wool and dyes. Plus, the cats' poop was so liquid and so plentiful that it may have permanently ruined several leather pieces of furniture we have. The cleaners did everything they could but it's a wait-and-see type of thing as to whether the odor will come back. I find myself sniffing my leather furniture every hour to see if the smell is going to return.

And most importantly, my poor cats! Everyone's butt is raw. I feel so bad for them. I have some Neo Predef powder that I've been using on them but it has tetracaine in it and that freaks me out because the cats are CONSTANTLY licking their butts. Won't it make their mouths and throats numb? They've also been getting metronidazole.

This whole ordeal has been a complete nightmare.

I hope my experience is a cautionary tale to everyone who ever comes onto the Cat Site. Don't ever, ever leave anything out that your cat can ingest. Cats are remarkably resourceful and very smart. They're veritable MacGyvers, every last one of them, and if something they want is within reach they're going to figure out a way to get to it.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Cats can be very expen$ive ...

 

[Maria Bayote]

I am so sorry that you have experienced this. I can understand how it must be in your home right now.

Don't ever, ever leave anything out that your cat can ingest. Cats are remarkably resourceful and very smart. They're veritable MacGyvers, every last one of them, and if something they want is within reach they're going to figure out a way to get to it.

This is so true. Just last night I opened a pint of ice cream and left it for a good few seconds in the living room table to get a spoon, and when i came back almost half of my kitty Graham's small cute head was already inside, licking the ice cream with pure delight!

 

[CL56]

Ohmygosh !
Poor you and kitties !