- Take your cat to the emergency veterinarian immediately to have them examined and treated.
- Assist your veterinarian in inducing vomiting in your cat to purge the nicotine in their system. Do not attempt this alone.
- Keep all tobacco products out of reach, and avoid partaking in tobacco around your pets.
Responding to the Situation
Observe symptoms. Early symptoms of nicotine poisoning are hyperactivity/acting overexcited, agitation/restlessness, disorientation, constricted pupils, excessive drooling/salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, and panting or trouble breathing. This may occur within 15 to 20 minutes of ingesting a tobacco or nicotine product. More advanced symptoms include twitching, tremors, seizures, muscle weakness, coma, collapse, increased heart rate and cardiac arrest. These symptoms can occur within 15 to 90 minutes of ingesting a tobacco product.
Avoid inducing vomiting. Try to avoid doing this, especially if you think the poisoning is due to the ingestion of e-juice from e-cigarettes. Since the e-juice is absorbed through the mucous membranes in your cat’s mouth, inducing vomiting is ineffective.
Take your cat to the vet immediately. Do this once you are aware that your cat has been poisoned. Do not try to treat your cat at home first. The successful recovery of your cat depends on rapid medical treatment. Therefore, the sooner your cat can get professional medical treatment, the better. If you do not have a vet, then take your cat to the nearest veterinary hospital, or call the Pet Poison Helpline at 1-800-213-6680 (U.S.) or 01202-509-000 (UK). If you want, you can bring the suspected source of poisoning with you to the vet.
Treating Your Cat at the Vet
Induce vomiting. If your cat is not vomiting already, then the vet will give it a drug to induce vomiting. The vet may do this if you think your cat has been poisoned by ingesting a tobacco product like cigarette/cigar butts or nicotine gum/candy.
Give your cat activated charcoal. Activated charcoal helps absorb traces of nicotine in your cat’s gastrointestinal tract. This aids in the elimination of nicotine from your cat’s system.
Place your cat on IV fluids. To help flush out the nicotine in your cat’s system, the vet will place your cat on an IV. This is a routine procedure no matter how your cat has been poisoned, whether it was through ingestion or absorption.
Provide your cat with oxygen. If your cat is having trouble breathing, then the vet will give it oxygen. An oxygen mask will be placed on your cat’s face to aid in breathing.
Administer medications. The vet will give your cat medications to decrease its blood pressure and slow its heart rate. If your cat is experiencing tremors or seizures, then medications will be given to help manage and control these as well.
Monitor your cat. The vet will want to monitor your cat for at least four hours. The vet will monitor your cat's blood work to ensure that damage to its internal organs, like its liver, has not occurred. If damage to your cat's internal organs has occurred, it may have to undergo surgery to alleviate the damage. After 16 hours, your cat’s body should be free of nicotine.
Preventing Nicotine Poisoning
Keep tobacco products out of reach. Place e-cigarettes (and vials containing e-juice), nicotine gum and candy, transdermal patches, chewing tobacco, cigars, and cigarette packs up high in a cabinet or on a high shelf. You can also keep your tobacco products in a locked drawer or cabinet. If you keep some of your products in a purse or backpack, then make sure to place your bag out of reach, or take them out of your bag and secure them when you get home.
Discard cigarette butts in the trash. Do this once you are done smoking. Try to avoid leaving cigarette/cigar butts on the ground outside. Additionally, make sure to empty your ashtray in the garbage once you are done smoking, or place it up high and out of reach. If any e-juice has spilled on the floor or other surfaces that your cat can reach, make sure to clean the spills thoroughly. The spilled e-juice can get on their paws and they may lick it off.
Have a designated smoking room. Make one of the rooms in your apartment or house a cat-free zone where you can enjoy your tobacco products in peace. This way you can control your cat’s exposure to tobacco products. Make sure to close the door when entering and leaving the room. You may want to place a lock on the door to prevent your curious cat from entering when you are not home. Alternatively, you can decide to only smoke outside to lower your cat's exposure to tobacco products.
Stop using tobacco products. This is a foolproof way to prevent any type of nicotine poisoning in your cat. There are a variety of methods available to help you quit using tobacco products. You can try commercial products to help you quit, or you can choose to quit the natural way.
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