Poisoned

Barney got into antifreeze.  We don't know where.  He doesn't usually go far but he must have went far enough to get himself into trouble.  I noticed he was sick monday night but looked him over and it didn't seem like an emergency (little did I know) so I just let him hang out in the barn like usual overnight.  Tuesday morning he was worse and I took him to work with me.  He was dehydrated, lethargic and wobbly, but without fever or obvious injury.  Bloodwork pointed toward kidney damage so we ran the ethylene glycol test-it turned positive almost right away.

Prognosis is poor in cats who are not treated within 3 hours but we decided to try anyway.  So far he's beating the odds but it's still a long shot.  Tomorrow we will run more bloodwork and reassess his condition.  Cross your fingers.  He's a fighter!

The sad thing is, this doesn't have to happen.  I know there are risks to having an outdoor cat but this is a preventable accident.  They make a pet safe product, people don't need to leave it sitting out, or let a car continue to leak.  It's not safe and it's not responsible-how would they feel if their cat was poisoned?  I can understand rat poison or snail bait-at least that is serving a purpose, but there is no reason for someone to leave antifreeze out where animals can reach it, even if they are not your own.