Zinc Poisoning in my cat

I got Noelia form the shelter about 1-1/2 years ago. She started
throwing
up, maybe once a day. I first thought it might be due to changing her
food,
so I got them Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. When that didn't help,
I took
her to the vet. He thought at first it was furballs (she's a
Lynx-point Birman)
and recommended petromalt type medication. When that didn't help I
took her back. He xrayed and found a round item in her stomach. We
hospitalized her and operated and found she had eaten a penny. It
wasn't anything that I had at home (someone
had drilled holes to make it look like a button), so she has had it in
her for
at least 1-1/2 years. She is now also anemic and may alos have liver
problems. She eats and drinks, but not enough so we are feeding her
with a syringe (no needle) She looks and acts a lot better than she
did and seems to be improving but has no appetite. The doctor said it
was no usual for cats to eat pennies, but it does sometimes happen. I
just want to tell everyone to be careful of leaving change on your
dresser or wherever your cat or dog or kids might get to them.
If anyone else has been thru this and can offer any advice, I would
really appreciate it.
Thanks, Irina

From: (Irina)

I
just want to tell everyone to be careful of leaving change on your
dresser or wherever your cat or dog or kids might get to them.
If anyone else has been thru this and can offer any advice, I would
really appreciate it.
Thanks, Irina

So sorry to hear about your kitty, Irina. I have heard of treatment for lead
poisoning but not for zinc poisoning. I hope your kitty gets well soon.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: (Irina)

I
just want to tell everyone to be careful of leaving change on your
dresser or wherever your cat or dog or kids might get to them.
If anyone else has been thru this and can offer any advice, I would
really appreciate it.
Thanks, Irina

So sorry to hear about your kitty, Irina. I have heard of treatment for lead
poisoning but not for zinc poisoning. I hope your kitty gets well soon.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 01:56:19 +0000, PawsForThought wrote:

So sorry to hear about your kitty, Irina. I have heard of treatment for lead
poisoning but not for zinc poisoning. I hope your kitty gets well soon.

Indeed, poor kitty.

As far as zinc poisoning goes, I'm not terribly sure a full blown
treatment is required. Consider that the primary toxin in rattler venom
is zinc - I can't remember what treatment is for that, but after a fashion
the body will eliminate much of it, while probably metabolizing some of it.

As far as cats, though, it's going to be a different metabolism, granted,
and this is in the digestive tract, so circumstances there are way
different. Nonetheless, I'd suspect that the body would flush it out
after a brief fashion.

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 01:56:19 +0000, PawsForThought wrote:

So sorry to hear about your kitty, Irina. I have heard of treatment for lead
poisoning but not for zinc poisoning. I hope your kitty gets well soon.

Indeed, poor kitty.

As far as zinc poisoning goes, I'm not terribly sure a full blown
treatment is required. Consider that the primary toxin in rattler venom
is zinc - I can't remember what treatment is for that, but after a fashion
the body will eliminate much of it, while probably metabolizing some of it.

As far as cats, though, it's going to be a different metabolism, granted,
and this is in the digestive tract, so circumstances there are way
different. Nonetheless, I'd suspect that the body would flush it out
after a brief fashion.

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

"Irina" wrote in message
om...
I got Noelia form the shelter about 1-1/2 years ago. She started
throwing
up, maybe once a day. I first thought it might be due to changing her
food,
so I got them Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. When that didn't help,
I took
her to the vet. He thought at first it was furballs (she's a
Lynx-point Birman)
and recommended petromalt type medication. When that didn't help I
took her back. He xrayed and found a round item in her stomach. We
hospitalized her and operated and found she had eaten a penny. It
wasn't anything that I had at home (someone
had drilled holes to make it look like a button), so she has had it in
her for
at least 1-1/2 years. She is now also anemic and may alos have liver
problems. She eats and drinks, but not enough so we are feeding her
with a syringe (no needle) She looks and acts a lot better than she
did and seems to be improving but has no appetite. The doctor said it
was no usual for cats to eat pennies, but it does sometimes happen. I
just want to tell everyone to be careful of leaving change on your
dresser or wherever your cat or dog or kids might get to them.
If anyone else has been thru this and can offer any advice, I would
really appreciate it.
Thanks, Irina

I had never heard of this and was interested enough to conduct a brief
search. Here is a short article describing a situation similar to your
cat's experience (click on "penny poisoning" from the list at the top of the
screen):
http://www.westwoodanimalhospital.co...20PET%20OWNERS
Fortunately, the cat described in this article recovered.

I apologize for the line wrap in the long URL. For some reason, TinyURL
would not work with this one -- at least, not this evening.

MaryL

MaryL

"Irina" wrote in message
om...
I got Noelia form the shelter about 1-1/2 years ago. She started
throwing
up, maybe once a day. I first thought it might be due to changing her
food,
so I got them Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. When that didn't help,
I took
her to the vet. He thought at first it was furballs (she's a
Lynx-point Birman)
and recommended petromalt type medication. When that didn't help I
took her back. He xrayed and found a round item in her stomach. We
hospitalized her and operated and found she had eaten a penny. It
wasn't anything that I had at home (someone
had drilled holes to make it look like a button), so she has had it in
her for
at least 1-1/2 years. She is now also anemic and may alos have liver
problems. She eats and drinks, but not enough so we are feeding her
with a syringe (no needle) She looks and acts a lot better than she
did and seems to be improving but has no appetite. The doctor said it
was no usual for cats to eat pennies, but it does sometimes happen. I
just want to tell everyone to be careful of leaving change on your
dresser or wherever your cat or dog or kids might get to them.
If anyone else has been thru this and can offer any advice, I would
really appreciate it.
Thanks, Irina

I had never heard of this and was interested enough to conduct a brief
search. Here is a short article describing a situation similar to your
cat's experience (click on "penny poisoning" from the list at the top of the
screen):
http://www.westwoodanimalhospital.co...20PET%20OWNERS
Fortunately, the cat described in this article recovered.

I apologize for the line wrap in the long URL. For some reason, TinyURL
would not work with this one -- at least, not this evening.

MaryL

MaryL

I would try to look for a vet who knows how to deal with metal
poisoning. Something like EDTA (ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid) can
speed up her recovery by helping her eliminate the excess metal
faster.

I would try to look for a vet who knows how to deal with metal
poisoning. Something like EDTA (ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid) can
speed up her recovery by helping her eliminate the excess metal
faster.