Acetaminophen Toxicity In Cats Symptoms and Treatments

Cats are particularly inquisitive and will sniff and nose around they think may be of interest. If it smells or tastes interesting they are going to eat it.

Most of the time if your cat eats something that doesn't agree with him he'll either sick it up or he'll just be off color for a short while. However there are some chemicals found in human medical remedies that are potentially lethal to cats and great care must be taken in their storage and safekeeping.

These remedies contain acetaminophens, and are found in over the counter treatments for pain or inflammation, particularly flu, back pain, period pain, osteoarthritis and headaches.

Although they are of great benefit to humans, one tablet can be fatal to a cat. Essentially when a cat eats a tablet containing acetaminophen he is taking a massive overdose of a drug that his body cannot tolerate, and if he is not given emergency treatment as soon as possible he is likely to fail and die within 24 hours.

The signs and symptoms of acetaminophen toxicosis are initially sickness and lethargy. He will not appear to be taking much notice of what is going on around him and he may well be drooling, and instead of being healthy and pink, his gums will look brown. He will look spaced out. These symptoms can occur within the first twelve hours of his eaten the tablet.

If the symptoms are not picked up soon enough, within the next twelve hours he will then develop general swelling around his body. You will notice his face getting puffy as well as his limbs and paws, and he will start to show slight twitching and convulsions. He will not respond to familiar voices.

If he is left for over 24 hours he is very likely to sink into liver failure, which will show as yellow eyes and skin, and his behavior will become erratic and possibly aggressive and irritable and without emergency treatment even at this late stage he is not likely to survive.

It cannot be stressed enough that all medicines should be kept safely where a cat cannot reach them, and great care should be taken not to drop and lose a tablet as it is likely to be found and ingested. Always check the labels for any medications that you need and if they contain acetaminophens take special care to keep them in a room where you can be sure either that your cat does not go or you can store them securely and safely.

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