Symptoms of Food Poisoning in a Cat

Food poisoning in cats stems from ingesting some sort of toxin in food, water or another substance. Symptoms typically begin about three hours after ingestion. It is important to keep a close watch on symptoms and report them to your veterinarian, as according to Peteducation.com, severe food poisoning can cause permanent damage to your feline's organs and even death.

  1. Appetite and Digestive Changes

    • Cats affected with food poisoning often will change eating habits drastically, eating too much or too little. This includes drinking. Your cat also may be vomiting and experiencing diarrhea (which may be bloody), excess saliva, abdominal pain, coughing and panting. Your feline may also exhibit fever, dehydration and signs of endotoxic shock, including hypotension, hyperthermia, hypothermia, decreased urine and capillary collapse.

    Behavioral Changes

    • Accompanied by some or all of the above symptoms, your cat may also exhibit depression, fatigue, anxiety, overstimulation (often shown through pacing back and forth) and agitation. Since you know your cat better than anyone else, you should always take note of changes in behavior and consult your veterinarian about them, as they are also symptoms of other ailments.

    Botulism Symptoms

    • Though cats are fairly resistant to botulism, it is still important to know its symptoms, as it does occur. Cats come in contact with this bacteria most often when ingesting dead animals. Several hours after ingestion, your cat may exhibit rear limb weakness along with vomiting, excess saliva, dry eyes and abdominal pain. Occasionally you will witness spasms in the tendons, throat or eyes.

    Penitrem Symptoms

    • This fungal infection causes nerves to misfire, causing muscle spasms. It shows itself through symptoms like excess salivating, restless behavior, panting, tremors beginning in the head and neck and migrating to the entire body, loss of coordination, hyperthermia, seizures and eventually, death. As always, if your cat exhibits any of these symptoms, call your veterinarian immediately.

    Foods to Avoid

    • To prevent your feline from experiencing the above symptoms and other ailments, avoid giving him these foods: alcoholic beverages, baby food, canned tuna (for humans), chocolate, coffee, tea, dog food, citrus oil, macadamia nuts, grapes, raisins, too much liver, spoiled food, raw fish or eggs, string, onions, garlic, foods high in sugar, tobacco and yeast dough. These foods either contain toxins that are harmful or deadly to cats or will cause a nutritional imbalance.