A few weeks ago we engaged in conversation about our various menageries at home. I told you all about my cat Bob--I think. I know I wrote mostly about a cat named Mickey. But today I need to talk about Bob because something very sad has happened. While I've no reason to think he's dying, I am certain that he is gravely sick and the uncertainty of his recovery is a real concern. The irony is, this cat is using up his nine lives "like there is no tomorrow." Fate has a way of exacting cruel judgements on us and I don't know why my poor little cat is the instrument--he never did anything to anybody except be a wonderful cat to me.

Last nite, I saw him standing on his hind legs looking out a kitchen window. Nothing unusual about that. But around midnight, I was watching an HBO movie and he came to sit on my lap. There was a strong odor of cinnamon, which I couldn't figure out where it was coming from because the simmer pot in the room is rose scented. I was petting him when I ran my hand down his tail and felt the sticky stuff at the tip and found the origin of the cinnamon smell. Instantly, I suspected what had happened. While he was looking out the window, he inadvertently dipped the tip of his tail in the sludge of the simmer pot that was on the counter. As a rule, the pot is behind a lamp and there would be no way that a cat could get around the lamp, much less dip his tail in the pot. But there was paper and assorted things strewn on the counter and so Bob must've meandered in a way through the stuff and the simmer pot so that his tail took a dip when he was standing up. It was only a inch of his tail, but in that potent sludge, once a cat could start licking to groom himself, the results may be lethal--as I am finding out as I write.

Between the time he was at the window and the point where he dipped his tail till I discovered what had happened would've been over 4 hours for him to have licked the residue. At 4 in the morning he was gagging, but I was not yet particularly alarmed as I had no reason to think the simmer solution was toxic to animals. Or at least the label on the bottle said it was non-toxic.

I called the ASPCA poison hotline at about 8:45 a.m. today and talked to a vet about what Bob's condition appeared to be and what I suspected had happened. She explained that the potpourri is not as a rule fatal, it is however, caustic to cats. Meaning that I should not induce vomiting or possibly cause the chemical to reflux into his lungs and down his trachea and cause burns to his inner linings of the esophagus and elsewhere in the gastric passageways. She told me to take up all food and water and to call my vet tomorrow for further evaluation and supportive treatment. If I got concerned, I could call back as often as necessary. The initial fee to talk to the ASPCA vet is $50.

A couple of times during the day I thought the worst was behind me and that Bob was actually resting quietly. Then I decided to get out my Cornell Book of Cats and read up on poisoning in the cat. I didn't read anything that particularly alarmed me, but did notice the passage about constant drooling and panting. Two things that Bob was doing. While this may not be a huge concern and maybe normal for a cat that has ingested something distasteful, I didn't like the fact that it was not what he should be doing if indeed he was resting quietly. I called the ASPCA vet again, and this time was advised not to be alarmed, but that respiratory stress in a cat is a big concern--I should take him to my vet immediately or get to an emergency animal hospital. Which I have done by this writing. I wish I could've taken him to his regular vet, but I wasn't going to argue with the vet's advice. So I went north to Woodbridge, VA to the 24-hour hospital. I'm sorry I didn't go the first thing this morning because I could've spared Bob several hours of discomfort. Maybe this is a lesson to anyone--if it's not edible don't even waste time wondering if time is on your's and the cat's side. Assume it's not...

I left the hospital and left Bob there, too. The one thing that is certain, the damage to Bob had been done before I knew what had happened. The drooling and the panting come later, like clockwork, according to the time that has elapsed from the original ingestion of the chemical. Again, I could've just spared Bob several hours of discomfort, but the toxins are already in his bloodstream.

Which is what's discouraging. The intravenous fluids that he will be given won't be able to flush out the toxins. The medication he'll be receiving will be given to alleviate his pain from the chemical burns that I can't see and the other medicine will act as a wound dressing to the burns. And we're not out of the woods, yet. Apparently, within three days of the poisoning, there's the possibility of neurological damage, respiratory distress, seizures, or coma. Each cat reacts differently to a poisoning and who knows how potent the potpourri sludge he licked is to him. It's all bad. It's worse than the surgery he just had in January to reroute his urethra from the strictures that were causing his repeated bladder blockages. When it's a mechanical failure, the repair is easier to see. But when it's physical damage at the organic level, the repairs are costly and at the best prognosis is uncertain.

I don't want to be an alarmist, but I have to be prepared for what could be. If I articulate it now, maybe other CandiChat cats and dogs and goats will not need to suffer. As soon as you see signs of panting a drooling in your pets, don't wonder if it will go away on its own. Get to the vet immediately.