My kitten ingested some cleaner...

hanbag

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Hello.
I'm afraid this might be pretty long. I want to get all the facts out there and get some sound advice.
I should start off by saying that I've already emailed my local veterinarian, but he's not open until 8:00 and hasn't responded yet.
In the meantime, I guess I need someone to tell me whether this sounds like a sick kitten or a very paranoid worrywart human being.

My kitten will be 16 weeks old on Tuesday. This happened between 10-10:30 last night, and its 6:30 my time now.
I had some wipes that I had poured with disinfectant cleaner called Pine Fresh. She got her paws and tail into the wipes and got them wet (not soaked, although part of her tail was wet and the stuff was lathering).
She walked around on her paws for a while, went into the litterbox, etc., so some of it must have gotten off first. But then she thoroughly licked her paws (probably her tail too, but I'm not sure).
Pine Fresh is all natural, green, doesn't contain any bleach, but I still don't think it's necessarily safe for her to ingest, and now I'm worried.
She was smacking her lips last night and this morning. She drank a lot of water last night and then went to her usual place where she sleeps at night.
This morning she's been sleeping a lot, but she does sleep kind of a lot, especially when it's cold in the house, and also she didn't sleep well last night, probably because I in the spirit of paranoia kept waking up and feeling her to see if she was breathing. She's still smacking her lips now and then.

She generally wakes up when my alarm rings at 4.00 am, leaves her bed and goes back to sleep curled up on my chest. She did that this morning too, so that was normal.
I moved her after a little while and she stayed asleep for a while. She woke up about 5.30 am and I shook her food jar (she usually comes running when she hears it, though not always) and she perked up, head and ears up, eyes awake and noticing me. But she didn't get up until I took out some of her toys.
She jumped off my bed and played for a couple of minutes until I put down the toy.
When I showed her her food, she seemed interested, but simply sniffed it, smacked her lips, and walked away. She did eat more of her dinner than usual last night, so maybe she's just not hungry yet.

Then she sat on the rug in various places for a couple minutes. I'm not sure if this is lethargy, as she'll sometimes just sit and seem slower if she's cold, sleepy, bored or simply observing, and it's chilly today.
When I sat down, she jumped onto my lap and went back to sleep and has been here ever since.

The things that concern me most are her not eating and the lip-smacking, which I heard can indicate stomach upset.
She hasn't groomed herself or used the litterbox this morning, but it's quite early and she doesn't seem to have a schedule for those things yet.

I know cats will try to hide the fact that they are ill, but she hasn't thrown up, hasn't been seeking out hiding places, isn't sleeping in a huddled position, or been scratching or biting when I feel or press on her stomach.
She's been curled up comfortably, changing position now and then, and stretching out on her back. Basically sleeping normally. She woke up attentively when somebody walked loudly past my room and then went back to sleep, woke up again when somebody made a loud noise outside the door.
She's also been purring up a storm. I heard cats will purr to comfort themselves when ill, but this kitten constantly purrs as a rule. Basically, when she sees me, she's rubbing against me and purring, and she's a motor whenever she's petted or snuggled. So the fact that she's purring alone, in this particular cat, wouldn't indicate much.

My mother suggested getting some activated charcoal inside of her to absorb the cleaner. I'm going to keep an eye on her at least until the vet is open. Am I being paranoid, or is there something else I can do? If she was acting this way and had not ingested the stuff, I would have attributed it to the cold and the lack of sleep last night. But as things are... any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm so sorry for the long message. Thank you.
 

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LTS3

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I wouldn't use activated charcoal or anything. That's for a vet to do.

Can you call the vet now and ask for advice? Email isn't helpful in a situation like this. If you're in the US give this free 24 hour pet poison control number a call:

Kansas State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
1-785-532-5679

Lip smacking indicates nausea.

I'd throw that cleaner away and use only pet-safe cleaners from now on. A mixture of vinegar and hot water, maybe a little baking soda, works well for general cleaning. Or keep pets out of the area until the cleaner has dried completely. Follow up a cleaner with a good wipe down with plain water to remove any residue. Even brand name cleaners labeled as "pet safe" anf following the label directions exactly can still be harmful if ingested. One of my cats licked some Simple Green cleaner residue and wound up with a very upset tummy and a huge ER bill.
 
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hanbag

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I read that showing interest in food but not eating it is also a a sign of nausea or stomach upset.

She was up and about for a bit: used the litterbox and it was perfectly normal, played a little, rubbed against my ankles, jumped up on furniture, and darted downstairs when I went downstairs. Basically behaving fairly normally aside from the not eating.
 

LTS3

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Cats can act like normal even if they don't feel too good. I'd still get the cat to the vet today if possible. Lots of cleaners that contain pine contain phenols that are toxic to cats.
 

BlackCatOp

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Given the time frame, I would guess it is too late for activated charcoal to have much affect at binding any toxins given that a cat’s digestive system only takes 4ish hours. Definitely call your vet once they are open - a kitten that doesn’t want to eat is not generally a good sign.

She is super cute! Wishing her a speedy recovery.
 
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hanbag

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I can't get her to my vet since he's only taking emergency cases. I called him and he said to get her some canned food and make sure she has enough water, and then just keep an eye on her.

Does that sound safe? She hasn't vomited, stopped smacking her lips, and I watched her leave a very normal feces in the litterbox, not diarrhea or anything. The vet thinks it'll just pass.
 

CatladyJan

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I can't get her to my vet since he's only taking emergency cases. I called him and he said to get her some canned food and make sure she has enough water, and then just keep an eye on her.

Does that sound safe? She hasn't vomited, stopped smacking her lips, and I watched her leave a very normal feces in the litterbox, not diarrhea or anything. The vet thinks it'll just pass.
I don’t think any of us can advise over a veterinarian. Have you checked the list of ingredients on that cleaner?

Hopefully she will be okay.

In the future do try using green products. Also it would have been best to have rinsed her paws and tail.
 
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hanbag

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Thank you all for your help. I'm picking up some canned food this afternoon. In the meantime, she suddenly started eating her dry food and drinking water, and she's been bounding and playing with all of her old energy. Maybe it was just a little bug and I'm a worrywart. (Just wait until I have kids.) 😏
 

Caspers Human

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Go to the company website and download the Material Safety Data Sheet for the cleaning product you have. (MSDS or SDS)

You can’t help your kitty get better until you know exactly what she's gotten into.

Without knowing which product we're dealing with and what its ingredients are, we have know way of knowing what first aid measures to take.

Generally speaking, the first aid measures for most household cleaning products include cleaning up the spill, removing and cleaning contaminated clothing, washing the substance off the body with clean water and drinking water to dilute the substance that has been ingested. However, we don't know the full details until we have read the SDS.

I tried looking up the SDS for "Pine Fresh" but there are several companies that make products by that name so I can't point you to the appropriate documents on line. You need to tell us the exact name of the product and the name/address of the company that made it.

If it's been this long (over 10 hrs.) since the kitten got into the stuff, the water has already gone under the bridge, so to speak.
If she hasn't shown any negative health effects, by now, she's probably going to be all right. The fact that you called a vet but the vet said that they are only taking emergency cases, that tells you something. The vet doesn't think this is an emergency.

Best advice, at this stage of the game, is to monitor your kitten to watch for health effects and call the vet if anything bad happens. Hopefully... fingers crossed... she hasn't gotten enough of the stuff in her system to make her seriously sick. You'll probably see vomiting, diarrhea and general malaise as the main health effects. If any of those things happen and they don't go away in a short time or if they are severe and don't get better, call the vet ASAP. If she seems to be feeling a little bit "icky" but otherwise eats, drinks and goes to the litter box as normal, the symptoms will probably pass.

Suggestion #1: Go around your house, look in all your cupboards and make a list of all the cleaning products you find then go to the manufacturers' websites and look for the Safety Data Sheets. Download them. Read them and follow their precautions. Store them in a place where you won't forget them. In case of another mishap like this one, you'll be prepared.

Suggestion #2: Change cleaners to something less harmful. For general household cleaning, I recommend Dr. Bronner's "Sal Suds."

Sal Suds is less harmful than most cleaners. It's biodegradable. The company publishes the ingredients list and explains them right on the package label.

I use Sal Suds to clean about 90% of everything around the house. It works for most everything I need it for. Check it out! :)

It works great for cleaning up cat puke! ;) ;) ;)
 

fionasmom

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She is adorable....which is not going to help you right now. I agree with changing all cleaning products....I did not have bleach in the house until COVID hit and even green websites were advising having some on hand.

As for your pretty little baby....I am guessing that she is turning the corner, but it is only a guess. Keep watching her and if anything does not seem right call the vet back and say it is an emergency.
 
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