Anyone know anything about cats and poisonous plants?

[Bambiagain]

Specifically Gardenias. I'm speculating here, but... My fourteen year old cat has been unwell for some time. She vomits, sometimes daily. She is very fussy about her food and although she tells me she is hungry she doesn't eat well and has lost a lot of weight. I am currently feeding her on turkey breast and some dried food, which is about all she will consent to eat. She has been to and fro to the vets, who have tested her blood and found nothing wrong and inject her which makes her eat a bit more and put on some weight for a while then she eats less and less again. So this evening I've been doing a bit of looking in the internet and found that Gardenias are poisonous to cats. She spends a lot of time sitting on the window ledge by my Gardenia plant (which I have now removed from her reach). I have never seen her eating it, although I have seen her playing with the odd fallen leaf. Before we make the next trip to the vets, does anyone have any experience of this sort of poisoning - would it explain her symptoms? Would proximity to the plant be bad for her? Could she recover from long-term exposure if it is the source and it has now been removed? Or am I putting two and two together and making five?

[Mosaic]

I'm guessing you are describing a very old cat whose digestion is shot. This comes with age and might be made worse if they had an earlier phase of scavenging. I don't know about gardenias, but I've seen a few old cats.

[Bambiagain]

She's a lot younger than my last two were! I'm concerned that the vets just keep pumping her full of medicine, suggesting that it's some sort of infection, but she's not getting any better. Clutching at straws, maybe.

[boxtops]

Have they tested her kidney function, bambi? Our Rover had those symptoms and they found his kidneys were failing - medication brought him right back to normal again. He's the same age as your cat. The bile from the kidneys was making him vomit every time he ate. He was ravenous but couldn't keep it in.

[wolf63]

I don't know the answer but here is a link to a good (and reliable) site where you might find something that points you in the right direction

http://www.fabcats.or...ers/poisons/index.php

[flump1]

I have not heard about gardenias but lilies are fatal to cats.

[furrypusscat]

My last cat when she was 11 years old was vomiting almost immediately after eating meals. We took her to the vets and they suspected she had got what they described as a 'pouch' at the top of her gullet which when she ate the pouch would become full and the excess would be vomited back up. They suggested to put her meal bowl on a pile of books so she was sat up more and not crouched down when eating. It did work. The cat we have now has always had his bowl on a table to avoid similar happening to him. Not suggesting that your cat has the same but something to try maybe.

[Bambiagain]

Wolf63 - interstingly that list does not contain Gardenias, although they are mentioned elsewhere.

Yes, Flump1, I've always kept lilies away from her, that's one of the ones that is commonly mentioned.

Boxtops - her bloods all came back normal, including kidney function. My last cat had a tumour on her kidney which towards the end I could actually feel. As I say, the vets mention an infection but I'm sure it's more than that. Mosaic could, sadly, well be right.

[jomifl]

Bile does not come from the kydneys, it comes from the gall bladder via the bile duct and thence into the small intestine

[Bambiagain]

Furrypussycat, thank you. Definitely worth trying. It certainly can'T do any harm.

[furrypusscat]

Hope she gets better, it is a worry, unfortunately animals can't say what the problem is. My cat survived a further 2 years but lost her under anaesthetic for dental treatment although the vet found that there was a problem with her lungs. If you do try the books, try a couple to start with and then increase the height as she gets used to it.

[Bambiagain]

I shall do that. Sorry to hear about your cat. It is always so sad to lose one however old they are.

[furrypusscat]

I wasn't going to have another because of the upset, but we had our first male a year after, a ginger, my avatar but husband has played with photoshop hence the silly ears and tail. He is now 9. I am really glad we had him but I will be beside myself whenever he has to have an anaesthetic.

[Bambiagain]

Update. I've just come back from the vets. The cat has a tumour in her stomach - nothing to do with poisoning (I was clutching at straws). He gave her an infusion and a few injections. I have various drops to give her several times a day and we'll see how it goes, but it's really a matter of seeing how she is and making the big decision before she starts to really suffer. I'll be talking to the vet again on Monday.

[furrypusscat]

I really hope the medication works. Please keep us updated. I will be thinking of you and your cat. Fingers crossed. x

[wolf63]

Even if the steroids only give a few months of good health in the life of a cat that is quite a long time. Best wishes to both of you - spoil her like mad, she deserves it. :-)

[Bambiagain]

Thank you both. Regretably I think the vet is talking a couple of weeks at the most, but she has been eating this evening better than she has for quite a while. I just hope she perks up.

[boxtops]

Sorry to hear this. bambi - at least you know what it is now :-( Best wishes to you and Puss ♥

I must admit when Rover was first diagnosed with his kidney trouble and the vet wanted us to feed him disgusting kidney food - we decided not to - better a happy cat for a short while, than a miserable but longer life.

Is there any chance they can operate? 14's not so old for a cat, these days....

[Bambiagain]

Sadly, no. The tumour is quite large and he reckons it's in the lymph glands as well. Better to give her a short time while she's well enough than put her through too much stress. She's not a cat who likes being messed around anyway and the vet knows her well enough. I must say that any vet who thinks they can do something would try and he didn't even suggest it.

[furrypusscat]

Really sorry to hear your latest news. Lots of cuddles and treats then for the next few weeks.

[Bambiagain]

Update - whatever the vet did helped for about 24 hours, since when she has refused to eat at all and is obviously very unhappy. I don't want to put her through the trauma of repreated attempts to keep her going when it has so little effect, so sadly I think I'm going to have to take her back tomorrow to be put to sleep. I always feel like a murderer when I do it, but I know it's the right thing in the circumstances. I can't look her in the face at the moment, but she's hiding under the bed and doesn't want to even look out of the window. She's gone downhill so fast it's unbelievable.