It's always something

[Tambrey]

Roo got his first ever bath this afternoon...

I am not one for bathing cats, but this was necessary!

I was in the bathroom, hubby in bedroom waiting for bathroom, and I heard a funny meow in the hall...rushed out and told him the bathroom was clear, but I needed to go find who left these clear droplets of something in the hall and down the stairs and find out what it was!

Hubby came from bedroom and said, "I know what it is! I can smell it!" Someone, a cat (we later found it was Roo) had managed to get into a shelf and knock over a dish with a SMALL amount of pumpkin spice scented oil (one of those things you put a tealight underneath a dish with oil in it and it gives off a scent)...it was not burning at the time, but a spoonful or so was left in the dish

Anyways, Roo managed to jumped up there and got it on his left paw and left side of his face, and broke the holder when he stepped on it...I am guessing the weird meow was when he went to wash himself....

So we immediately read the label and got him into a bathtub with baby shampoo and began to scrub with a washcloth to get it out of his fur...he did not protest like i expected him to...

He spent a good long time in the tub getting especially his face and paw scrubbed....until we could no longer smell pumpkin spice on him...

We sat and curled up in the towel until he was mostly dry with him purrring away, and he spent the rest of the afternoon drying himself in front of a portable space heater by my desk...

I do not think he ingested anything more than that first small lick and it tasted so bad that he did the blechy meow....he has eaten and drank since then, and it happened about 9 hours ago now...but will keep check on him for the next few days and make sure he is okay.

[E's]

Oh my! Always something, isn't it! Roo is one lucky kitty - that his people were home and knew what to do. And he's a good, smart kitty too... I don't like to think about what would happen if anyone tried to bathe either of my cats! Give Roo an ear scritch for me.













1

[momPaws]

Omgosh! So now Roo is one of the Spice 'Girls' - I think you should call him Pumpkin Spice....at least for the fall : )

[Tina B and crew]

Oh wow...glad you were home to catch that Tambrey, and glad Roo seems to have faired no worse than getting a bath.

[Traci]

I'm late coming in, but if I were you, I'd call your vet immediately so he can call the poison control center and find out what to expect.

Essential oils and other scented oils are toxic to cats, and while most things mean the dose makes the poison, these oils can do considerable damage.

You also need to look in his mouth, tongue, roof of mouth, under tongue, gums etc to ensure there is no burn, abrasion from the oil. This is why I strongly advise you to call your vet, most owners can't get a good look inside the mouth.

[slvrwhispr]

As someone who's worked extensively with EOs and know their properties pretty well... peppermint and cinnamon are the two most likely to cause chemical burns in high concentrations. Cinnamon is almost certainly present in a pumpkin spice blend, but shouldn't be in high enough concentration to cause a burn. That said, kitty tongues are sensitive and things that are harmless to us can be fatal to them. Keep an eye on him, and I'd definitely put a call in to the vet just to be on the safe side.

[Tambrey]

I have been keeping an eye on him...he is eating and drinking fine...and Roo is my thumbsucker...he will reach out and grab my thumb to suck on it and if I try to pull it away, he grabs it back to his mouth....so I know his mouth quite well!

He is one that will let me look around and feel in there and I did check right away and throughout the evening and next day.

I have also checked his ear and eye and nose and the leg and paw that got the oil on it