Contaminated Cat Food Symptoms

Many cats have been affected by the consumption of contaminated food. As a species, cats are particularly sensitive, which makes them even more prone to experience issues related to the contaminated food. If your cat has ingested contaminated food, it will likely display symptoms of doing so.

  1. Changes in Drinking and Urination

    • According to the Healthy Happy Dogs website, cats that have eaten contaminated food may show changes in their drinking and urination habits. Cats may drink more, and a result, urinate more. Contrarily, the cat may drink less and urinate less. According to MSNBC, most contaminated food cases cause liver damage in affected cats. The drinking and urination changes that these cats experience after eating contaminated food go along with symptoms of liver disease.

    Behavioral Changes

    • Cats that have eaten contaminated food might show changes in their behavior. Such changes can include lethargy and depression. Cats naturally sleep quite a bit, but if the sleepiness has increased suddenly or the cat doesn’t want to even move, these could be symptoms of the ingestion of contaminated food. In addition, if the cat doesn’t want to participate in its normal activities or seems particularly down in its behavior, it could have ingested contaminated food.

    Gastrointestinal Problems

    • The Healthy Happy Dogs website also states that animals that have eaten contaminated food may also vomit or experience diarrhea. Such gastrointestinal problems also go along with liver disease symptoms. If the vomiting and diarrhea are severe, the cat can become dehydrated--another symptom of eating contaminated food. To check your cat’s dehydration level, lift up a handful of its skin around its shoulder blades. Hydrated skin should fall quickly back into place. If the skin stays up or takes a while to return to its position, the cat may be dehydrated.

    Mouth Ulcers and Pain

    • Other symptoms of ingesting contaminated cat food are mouth pain and sores. Such symptoms are likely caused by sensitive mouth tissue coming in contact with a toxic component in the food. The cat may become sensitive in its mouth or refuse to eat because of the pain. In addition, the cat may drool excessively as a result of the ulcers.