Case File

Charlie the 8-year-old cat visited the Practice when his owner noticed he was not his usual sociable self and became withdrawn. Charlie was checked over by the vet and was given an anti-sickness injection to try and get him eating again as he was throwing up some grassy vomit. When he was still not right the following, day despite his anti-sickness injection, his owner brought him back into us to check him over again. Luckily for Charlie this saved his life.

Following a consultation with a Vet, Charlie had some blood testing done when it was discovered that he had been exposed to a toxin - most likely anti-freeze. Charlies’ kidneys were under a lot of stress and his electrotypes in his blood were elevated. The team worked to flush Charlie’s kidneys with fluid via an intravenous catheter and tried to establish if he could urinate on his own. With anti-freeze poisoning, sometimes the kidney damage is so severe that the patient has anuria (the inability to urinate) which can become fatal. In Charlies case, after a few hours he finally urinated meaning his prognosis had improved but he was still not out of the woods yet.

After a few days of fluids and round the clock care, Charlie had his bloods retaken and his kidney values had finally decreased meaning he was out of the woods and free to go home with his family.

With any toxicity it is always important to contact your vet asap for advice, In Charlies case, his owners fast acting managed to save his life. Charlie is now completely back to normal and living his life happily as a very sociable and friendly boy and comes to visit us every now and again for nice routine appointments (luckily!!).