On Monday, Pumpkin, miaowing loudly, woke me up at 6 in the morning. I wanted to ignore it as usual (that’s how you train your cat to let you sleep), but then he started retching… I made it just in time to lay out some tissues before he vomited. No big deal, cats spit out hairballs all the time, and he’s losing a lot of fur at the moment, courtesy of the summer heat.
But when he walked away dizzily and fell over his own paws, I got concerned. Even more so when he was panting and drooling heavily. Then he stood completely still for a while, totally spaced out. When I wanted to pick him up and comfort him, he growled at me. That’s when I got seriously worried.
Thankfully, Pumpkin found his bearings after 10 minutes or so, and when he went downstairs to lie in his favourite spot, I followed him and took a quick shower, just in case we’d have to go and see the vet on short notice. But his breathing had calmed and his ears and nose felt cool when I came out of the bathroom. I kept an eye on him all day, but he had no further problems.
I have no idea what might have happened. Pumpkin only gets wet food for breakfast, and the dry food I give him the rest of the day doesn’t spoil (not over night, at least). My only guess is that he might have eaten a bug or a spider, thus the signs of poisoning. The house is old, who knows what kind of critters hide here, only to come out at night.
By now he has fully recovered. And as you can see, he’s back to training for his next performance as contortionist… I just hope he’ll stick to the food I put in his bowl from now on.
Maybe he was too hot? I wonder if those cooling pads for pets actually work… 🤔 I have wanted to try them out, but my cat really isn’t bothered by the heat… it’s 29 °C in my flat, and she is trying to cuddle with me… 💦
Hmmm… I haven’t thought about that possibility. But I’d say it’s quite unlikely – it was 6 am only, and at that time it’s not that hot yet.
He does seem to be bothered by the heat in the afternoon, though, sleeping through most of it in my oshi-ire in the office. Right now, he sleeps on my desk, he never did that in winter. Thankfully, he’s not big on cuddling, and he only sleeps at the foot of my bed now, if at all. A friend of mine promised me such a cooling pad; her dog doesn’t like it. We’ll see what Pumpkin has to say about it.