# Cat may have ingested bleach



## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

Yesterday I cleaned my bathroom with a household spray that contains bleach. I made sure I gave it another wash with water and then dried it with a towel. 
I have two cats and they both sleep in the bathroom. They were both fine this morning. However a few hours after their breakfast, one of my cats has now been sick twice. It appears that the vomit is a regurgitation of his food. 
He has been very docile since and looks uncomfortable and only wants to lie down, often stretching and repositioning himself.
I don't drive and can't get my cat to a vet, or at least I can't at the moment. I have tried to feed him water, but he isn't interested - he doesn't drink much normally. 
I've been told that he was eating something from a bin bag that he maybe shouldn't have been (potentially chicken, maybe chicken bones). 
The other cat is completely fine and hasn't shown any signs of being unwell.
Apart from getting him to a vet when I can, what should I do?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

tomb93 said:


> Yesterday I cleaned my bathroom with a household spray that contains bleach. I made sure I gave it another wash with water and then dried it with a towel.
> I have two cats and they both sleep in the bathroom. They were both fine this morning. However a few hours after their breakfast, one of my cats has now been sick twice. It appears that the vomit is a regurgitation of his food.
> He has been very docile since and looks uncomfortable and only wants to lie down, often stretching and repositioning himself.
> I don't drive and can't get my cat to a vet, or at least I can't at the moment. I have tried to feed him water, but he isn't interested - he doesn't drink much normally.
> ...


See Link below, I seems that he may be showing the signs of bleach ingestion, it can cause burning and damage to the muscos membranes, so really he does need to see a vet.

Bleach Poisoning in Dogs and Cats


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

yeah I have seen that. I will get him to a vet as soon as possible, but this may be an hour or so. Is there anything I can do in the mean time? I've tried giving him water and seeing if he would try to eat some food, but he doesn't want to. Would a tiny amount of dry diluted bleach really cause this much of an issue, could it be fatal?


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

I'd be more concerned about the cooked chicken bones. Either way, kitty needs the vet, and the situation is urgent. And mention both bleach and bones to the vet. All paws crossed for him.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

I'm sorry in advance if this comes across as rude in any way - but if I had any suspicion my cat may have ingested bleach I would be booking a taxi and ringing the vet, not asking advice on a forum. 

Poison = emergency.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

He will be going to the vets very soon. 
The chicken bones are more of a small suspicion rather than what I think may be the issue. 
I just don't understand how he could have ingested the bleach, I was very thorough when cleaning. It seems too coincidental to not have something to do with it. 
He seems a bit perkier now. I will still take him to the vet. But he does seem a bit better than he did an hour ago. i.e. walking around, picking up his tail when stroked, generally happier.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

tomb93 said:


> He will be going to the vets very soon.
> The chicken bones are more of a small suspicion rather than what I think may be the issue.
> I just don't understand how he could have ingested the bleach, I was very thorough when cleaning. It seems too coincidental to not have something to do with it.
> He seems a bit perkier now. I will still take him to the vet. But he does seem a bit better than he did an hour ago. i.e. walking around, picking up his tail when stroked, generally happier.


Let's hope he's just under the weather and it's pure coincidence then but better safe than sorry. Best wishes


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

I hope so. I feel absolutely awful that I could have hurt him, but obviously it is far worse for him. Can a tiny amount like this really have this much of a profound effect?


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

they could inhale the fumes. I personally don't use bleach, I use duck toilet brush heads which I attach to a holder and use one on the toilet, then unclip it with the holder and it gets flushed away.
For washing the floors, I use Flash floor fluid which doesn't have bleach in it.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

he definitely doesn't want me to pick him up, and is very protective of his belly. What are vets likely to do? monitor him? force him to drink water? I struggle to see how fumes could have affected him, but I know that cats are more sensitive. He has now gone to the vets.


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## Mum to Missy (Aug 13, 2013)

I really hope that your cat is fine and hasn't ingested any bleach.

I personally wont have bleach in the house, everything gets steam cleaned and what doesn't or can't gets rubbed over with vinegar, far safer for my furbabies


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

I know this doesn't really mean much, but we have cleaned stuff with straight bleach before and it hasn't been an issue. I made extra sure that I was thorough to clean up any I had used and make sure there wasn't any residue. I just don't understand how this could have happened. If it was only a tiny amount, is it more likely to be a short term problem?


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

tomb93 said:


> he definitely doesn't want me to pick him up, and* is very protective of his belly*. What are vets likely to do? monitor him? force him to drink water? I struggle to see how fumes could have affected him, but I know that cats are more sensitive. He has now gone to the vets.


Again..this sounds like the bones. An x ray will be needed. At the vet they can do many things for him. Give him fluids intravenously, xray his tummy, make him more comfortable, there may be other remedies for bleach poisoning.

I understand your fear and worry, but the important thing now is to get him there.

One more thing..there could be a coincidence going on. His illness may be unrelated to bleach or bones. Have you seen him use the litter box at all? I always worry about urinary tract blockage with male cats showing pain.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

He always uses his litter right after I put new stuff in and has had a wee today. He would have had an empty stomach this morning, which is why I'm particularly worried about bleach because he was sick after eating food, but seemed fairly normal before that.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Okay thank goodness for wees (and poop?). Well, the sooner you get to the vet the better.

By the way I don't clean with bleach either anymore, and it is because of the cats that I don't. I use white vinegar. Just as effective and completely safe, not to mention not as corrosive.

I do miss the smell of a house cleaned with bleach, but I prefer the peace of mind. 

All paws crossed for your boy, keep us posted.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

He has been to vet and apparently has a temperature, but has had his stomach checked and is also fine. I guess we'll just have to wait and monitor him.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

tomb93 said:


> I hope so. I feel absolutely awful that I could have hurt him, but obviously it is far worse for him. Can a tiny amount like this really have this much of a profound effect?


A cat is around one twentieth of one of us in weight so even if something were the same toxicity for us and for them it would only take a tiny dose for them to be ill. Don't know, to be honest from what you describe I'd be leaning more towards a bit of bone, but we'll see what the vet says - keep us posted and try not to worry or feel guilty, those things don't help you or your cat!


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

I've never used bleach, only recently started buying it strictly for the toilet once a week, lid goes down, soak and rinse. Personally I can't stand the smell of the stuff.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

Little Update:
He's been back a while and is much better. He has had a few shots to bring down his temperature. 
He's even had some food and has been playing, but we've kept him on his own to get some rest for now. 
The vet isn't sure how or why he has a high temperature, but has checked his stomach and that is fine. Hopefully it is only minor and he'll be all better in a day or two.


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## loubyfrog (Feb 29, 2012)

Hopefully your boy just has a unsettled tummy and will be back to his normal self soon.

Can you not let your cats sleep somewhere else so there is no risk at all that they could lick or get bleach on their paws in the future?

I bleach my toilet too but the lid goes down after (while it festers) and the door is closed even though Minky doesn't go in there.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

Well they normally always sleep in there because one of them (not the one who is ill) isn't the best at using his litter tray all the time and if left unsupervised might go where he shouldn't. So that is why they normally sleep there. It's a new house with new carpets so we're desperate to make sure he doesn't have any accidents. 

We just won't use any kind of bleach in the future and we'll probably disinfect instead.


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## loubyfrog (Feb 29, 2012)

How about adding more litter trays if one of them has accidents?

Not sure how many trays you have but for 2 cats it really should be more than 1.....maybe thats why one of the boys has toilet accidents,because he doesn't feel comfortable all of the time using the same tray as his brother.


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Just a comment - if you suspect bleach infestation, try to get milk down him rather than water. I know milk isn't the best for cats, but a bit of diarrhoea is much better than a caustic substance sitting in the intestines. Milk coats the stomach area with a fatty cover that prevents the bleach from burning, and also, if he vomits, prevents the oesophagus from suffering damage on the way out as well as the way in.

Sounds like he will be okay though - I'm so pleased he seems to be just off colour, rather than ill.


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## tomb93 (Feb 19, 2014)

We have two in the same area. Three months into the new house and no accidents yet, they both seem happy enough to share their litter trays as long as they are clean.


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