Please help! I didn't know where else to ask at this time of night

Italian_Buju · February 2015

I know this is way off topic but hoping someone can help me out cuz I am scared and freaking out, this is the only message board I use and knew it would be active in this category right now.

I have an eight month old kitten she weighs about 8 lbs and she just ate half a large onion ring! I am so stupid, I saw her take it, but didn't put two and two together until it was too late and she ate it! It has been about an hour now and I have been looking online and freaking myself out.

I called the ER vet, but they are in the next city over and \I do not drive, on top of that, they want almost $200 just to walk in the door and I just do not have that kind of money, I do not even have a credit card or anything to pay online for advice or anything.

I am going to call my vet first thing in the AM but am super stressed and upset right now....does anyone have a cat that has eaten onion before? I do not know what to do, if something happens to her I will never forgive myself. I did not have a cat for almost two decades and a friend found this little angel outside nearly dead from starvation and dehydration and she has stolen my heart (and cleaned out my bank account!).

Please, if anyone has any experience, advice or anything, I would appreciate it....I am looking at a long sleepless night I am sure.....by 8am I will be calling the vet, so no need to reply if you are seeing this after that.....thanks in advance.....

kinkyslinky16 · February 2015

ummmm... is this serious?

stephanieluvspb · February 2015

I have no hands on experience but I do know that onions can cause red blood cell damage and anemia but it takes a few days, so she should be ok for the night. I'm sorry $:\$ I have a dog and cat and I love them. I hope everything works out.

kinkyslinky16 · February 2015

Yeah, my cats eat all kinds of crap and never die. They are 12 years old now. Their favorite is cheese and then they just vomit it back up, so they never get cheese. But my fatty boy cat will eat anything and everything if given the chance. Except cat treats. .. he hates cat treats. I'm 99.9% sure everything is fine, but if I'm wrong. ... sorry $:\$

luv2fly11 · February 2015

Hi... I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I am not a Vet, but I did a bit a reading on-line and I came across this post. I thought I'd share.. I hope it helps.

This is a topic that most pet owners are likely unaware of, and an event today reminded me of that.

My receptionist came back from lunch, and almost in passing asked me if onions are dangerous to cats. She had taken an onion off her hamburger and laid it on the counter since she doesn't like onions. Her cat jumped up and quickly ate it. She didn't think anything about it at the time, and almost didn't ask me. I had her immediately go back home, get her cat, and bring him in.

As soon as she arrived back at the hospital, I placed a feeding tube down his esophagus and gave him about 48cc of hydrogen peroxide. This is what we commonly give to induce vomiting, which he did within a few minutes. When a toxin is ingested, if you can get to the pet within about 60 minutes, you can often get them to throw it up and prevent absorption. You should never do this with caustic substances, but for many poisons and objects it works well.

Goober (yes, that's his name) threw up the food he had eaten, as well as several large pieces of onions. He was acting perfectly normal, though he was VERY unappreciative about having a rubber tube forced down his throat. We were able to get what appeared to be all of the onion out of his stomach before it passed, and I think he will be fine. If she hadn't brought him in quickly, we could have been dealing with a serious or fatal situation in a few days.

Why the big worry? Onions are very toxic to cats. Potentially fatally toxic, in fact. They cause abnormalities in the red blood cells leading to their destruction and severe anemia (called Heinz body anemia due to the structure created within the blood cells), and can also cause kidney failure. This can happen relatively quickly, and with only a small amount of onion. It has been known to happen after cats ate baby food with onion powder as an ingredient. Garlic is in the same plant family, and can cause the same toxicity. Cats have died from people giving them garlic tablets as a way to prevent fleas (which garlic does NOT do, and has been studied scientifically). These plants are also potentially toxic to some dogs, but the risk is nowhere nearly as serious as with cats.

So keep all of this in mind. NEVER give your cats anything with any onions or garlic in them. This is a very serious toxicity, and requires intense hospitalization and even blood transfusions once symptoms begin.

kinkyslinky16 · February 2015

luv2fly11 wrote: »

Hi... I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I am not a Vet, but I did a bit a reading on-line and I came across this post. I thought I'd share.. I hope it helps.

This is a topic that most pet owners are likely unaware of, and an event today reminded me of that.

My receptionist came back from lunch, and almost in passing asked me if onions are dangerous to cats. She had taken an onion off her hamburger and laid it on the counter since she doesn't like onions. Her cat jumped up and quickly ate it. She didn't think anything about it at the time, and almost didn't ask me. I had her immediately go back home, get her cat, and bring him in.

As soon as she arrived back at the hospital, I placed a feeding tube down his esophagus and gave him about 48cc of hydrogen peroxide. This is what we commonly give to induce vomiting, which he did within a few minutes. When a toxin is ingested, if you can get to the pet within about 60 minutes, you can often get them to throw it up and prevent absorption. You should never do this with caustic substances, but for many poisons and objects it works well.

Goober (yes, that's his name) threw up the food he had eaten, as well as several large pieces of onions. He was acting perfectly normal, though he was VERY unappreciative about having a rubber tube forced down his throat. We were able to get what appeared to be all of the onion out of his stomach before it passed, and I think he will be fine. If she hadn't brought him in quickly, we could have been dealing with a serious or fatal situation in a few days.

Why the big worry? Onions are very toxic to cats. Potentially fatally toxic, in fact. They cause abnormalities in the red blood cells leading to their destruction and severe anemia (called Heinz body anemia due to the structure created within the blood cells), and can also cause kidney failure. This can happen relatively quickly, and with only a small amount of onion. It has been known to happen after cats ate baby food with onion powder as an ingredient. Garlic is in the same plant family, and can cause the same toxicity. Cats have died from people giving them garlic tablets as a way to prevent fleas (which garlic does NOT do, and has been studied scientifically). These plants are also potentially toxic to some dogs, but the risk is nowhere nearly as serious as with cats.

So keep all of this in mind. NEVER give your cats anything with any onions or garlic in them. This is a very serious toxicity, and requires intense hospitalization and even blood transfusions once symptoms begin.

$:\$

Alatariel75 · February 2015

Keep an eye on her, be prepared for her to puke on your carpet, but otherwise I'm sure she's fine. My cats eat all sorts of things.

Yes, onion is toxic to cats and dogs, but only in largish amounts (minimum 5g per kg of animal to maybe cause symptoms but a lot more than that to make them really sick) and half an onion ring would have had not even 5g.

Baseline is, unless your cat starts showing signs of getting sick, there is NOTHING a vet can do so there is no point in taking her.

SnuggleSmacks · February 2015

I've had to induce vomiting in my dog before when he found a maggoty dead animal in my backyard and tried to eat it. I used hydrogen peroxide in a hypodermic without a needle. I know it was very, very unpleasant for him, and not much fun for me either, but there was no emergency vet in my area at the time, and my own vet recommended this over the phone.

If you have something you can use to get hydrogen peroxide down your cat's throat, you can try it. It can be very difficult, but that's better than waiting and hoping. You might also look up any other vomit inducing substances that are safe for cats to see if something else might be a little easier.

Italian_Buju · February 2015

She can puke anywhere she wants right now! I feel so guilty and scared....she seems fine now,, I just went and got her out of bed. By morning my vet can talk to me or see her....I am on a pet plan so visits to my own vet are free, I only pay for treatments.....someone left this little girl out in the woods at only five weeks old and less than a pound, if my friend didn't find her, the vet said she would not have lasted another 24hrs. I have pumped about $2000 fixing her up and have payments until July/15.....if something happened to her now I would die! She is so hard to watch because she eats everything, food or not....tons of paper, the vine off my tomatoes, hay from my rodents cage....even his kibble....I never thought anything of it until a minute too late

Italian_Buju · February 2015

Now that 90 minutes has passed, would she still vomit it up?

Has anyone had a cat eat onion like this and be ok??

luv2fly11 · February 2015

Onions and Garlic

All members of the onion family (shallots, onions, garlic, scallions, etc.) contain compounds that can damage cats’ red blood cells if eaten in sufficient quantities. Garlic tends to be more toxic than onions on an ounce-for-ounce basis, and cooking does not destroy the toxin. While it’s uncommon for cats to eat enough raw onions and garlic to cause serious problems, exposure to concentrated forms of onion or garlic, such as dehydrated onions, onion soup mix or garlic powder, can put cats at risk of toxicosis (poisoning). For example, some sick cats who are fed baby food containing onion powder develop anemia. The damage to red blood cells caused by onions and garlic generally doesn’t become apparent until three to five days after ingestion. Affected cats might seem weak or reluctant to move, or they might have pale gums. Their urine can be orange-tinged to dark red. Cats with any of these symptoms should be examined by a veterinarian immediately. In severe cases, blood transfusions may be necessary.

Alatariel75 · February 2015

Italian_Buju wrote: »

Now that 90 minutes has passed, would she still vomit it up?

Has anyone had a cat eat onion like this and be ok??

My cat ate half a pizza (onion and all) and she's fine. She also eats plastic bags, then does little plastic wrapped poops. I can't blame her deficient mental state on her food intake but physically she's fine.

Gypsywort · February 2015

That is not a large amount. Keep eye on her, does she act ok, drink ok. You can also go online to http://www.petmd.com/, its a good place to get info.

Italian_Buju · February 2015

I am gonna be up freaking out all night.....I feel so helpless

Please help! I didn't know where else to ask at this time of night

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