Woman Issues Grave Warning When Cat Almost Dies of Sodium Poisoning After Licking Trendy Lamp
Like infants, pets have a particular vulnerability to illnesses caused by ingesting strange substances. They often lack the discernment to know what they should or shouldn’t eat.
And once they’ve eaten something suspicious, they can’t find a way to tell you when they feel bad. A New Zealand woman discovered that sad truth when her kitten got mysteriously sick.
Maddie Smith thought that her brown-and-white cat Ruby simply didn’t like the cold weather, according to the Daily Mail.
The first thing that Smith noticed was Ruby’s carriage. The tiny kitty held her head strangely as she moved about.
Thinking nothing of it, she made sure that her cat was warm and then headed off to work. When she came home, though, Ruby seemed like a different animal — one not far from death.
On its Facebook page, Rose Avenue Vet Hospital posted a plea written by Smith.
“The vets were extremely concerned for her and could see she definitely had neurological problems because she simply could not walk properly, could not hear or see, couldn’t even eat or drink properly because she couldn’t function her tongue the best,” she said.
“Her basic senses and abilities GONE in 12 hours. She was so helpless.”
It didn’t surprise Smith that her kitty had begun experiencing neurological issues. What did shock her was the reason why.
“So the vets ran some tests and they were all good, no worries. Until her bloods arrived back this morning, and she had extremely high sodium levels in her blood,” she said.
“So this severe salt poisoning had caused her brain to swell, and ultimately the neurological problems that followed.”
Feline medical professionals know all about the dangers than an overabundance of sodium can pose to felines.
The condition is called hypernatremia, according to petMD. It can lead to all sorts of terrible side effects.
These include seizures, confusion, increased water intake and even coma. The site read that vomiting or diarrhea often serves as the condition’s cause.
But that wasn’t the case with Ruby. Instead, she fell ill from licking a Himalayan salt lamp.
“This is usually more common in dogs so this was a huge shock, and their first case they [the veterinarians] have seen with a cat. Salt poisoning is EXTREMELY deadly to animals and she is basically a miracle to still be here now,” Smith said.
“These salt lamps are addictive to animals, and if they get a taste it becomes just like potato chips are to us! So please please keep these out of reach from your fur babies.”
Fortunately, Ruby should make a full recovery. Though she needs lots of TLC, with good food and drink, she’ll soon be back to her old frisky self.
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