Cat emergency
By jwfarrimond
@jwfarrimond (4473)
July 16, 2009 1:44am CST
Last night one of my cats, the 13 year old Jet, came back in covered on dirty motor oil. I have no idea how this happened, but I think that someone must have left an open container of waste sump oil out, which she's then knocked over, because she is quite covered in it like she had been swimming in the oil.
All of her legs, lower body and tail were heavily oiled and last night I started to wash her at first in the bath, which is now covered in oil as well, then in the kitchen sink. I've just used ordinary washing up detergent which might not be ideal, but which is what I had to hand at the time.
I was up until well past midnight last night and managed to get a lot of the oil off her but by no means all of it. After washing her twice, I decided that was enough trauma for one night, so I shut her downstairs to stop her from getting oil on the other cats, (she'd already got oil all over my bedding so I had to change that last night as well). I was up again this morning very early (4.30) to see how she was, and then I gave her another wash in the kitchen sink. She's now a lot cleaner that she was, but she still has got a lot of the oil on her fur.
I'll give her another wash later on after both she and I have had a rest, I got very little sleep last night due to worrying about her, and I'm still keeping her separate from the other cats. They certainly knew that there was something badly wrong last night, and when I had her in the bath and she was yowling away, one of the other cats was there as well, yowling in counterpoint and trying to see into the bath. Maybe she thought that I was killing Jet, she was certainly making enough noise.
Anyway, I want to ask all you experienced cat people out there for your opinions and advise on the best way of dealing with this and getting her cleaned up properly. Taking her to the vets is not really an option, they charged me more than £100 just to clean one of my cat's teeth, and I'd hate to think what they'd charge me for cleaning an entire cat! Whatever it might be, I can't afford it.
She's also licking herself, so she's certainly ingesting some of the oil and I can't prevent that from happening. Does anyone have any idea about how toxic this oil might be? She is eating OK and showing no signs of reaction to the oil, but since I'm not a vet, I might not recognise the signs of poisoning.
5 people like this
10 responses
@thyst07 (2079)
• United States
16 Jul 09
Honestly, the washing detergent that you're using, if it's not formulated for animals, may be just as toxic or more toxic than the motor oil. Most detergents contain a wide range of chemicals that can be harmful when ingested. If any of the residue from the detergent is left in her fur, it could be harming her just as much as the oil. Even if not ingested, the detergent will most likely irritate her skin, since cats have more delicate skin than humans do. That's why they make pet shampoos. I would advise getting a pet shampoo, or taking your cat to a professional groomer. A groomer would be a lot less costly than a veterinarian, and they've probably dealt with this problem before.
3 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
Thanks for your comment. I'm aware that detergent is not the best thing to use, but it was all that I had on hand at the time, and it was urgent that I did something immediately to get as much of the oil off her as possible.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
16 Jul 09
Wow. That's absolutely unbelieveable!! I have no idea, as I'm not the cat-baithing expert in my family. Are there any really good pet-friendly shampoos? If you can't take the cat to the vet, can you call a vet, mention what happened, and see if they will reccomend something to wash her with? I'm glad you got some of it out. I'm going to send this to my husband, also on MyLot, and see if he has any ideas. He has owned a lot more cats than I have. LOL
2 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
Yes, I phoned the vets an hour ago to ask them for advise. They suggested that I use Swarfega which is a water soluble degreaser and which is usually used for degreasing automotive parts. I specifically asked them as well if it was in any way toxic to the cat in case she ingested any of it and they assured me that it was not so I'll get out and get some as soon as I'm able to.
3 people like this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Jul 09
My brilliant response was going to be "call the vet and ask them" so I'm glad to see that you did that. Hope kitty is doing OK.
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
16 Jul 09
I don't know if you have it available there but Dawn is used to clean up the animals that get covered in oil spills.
1 person likes this
@Vladilyich1 (1454)
• Canada
16 Jul 09
A good shampoo is a much better degreaser than laundry detergent. I even use that to get grease stains out of clothing. I would try using shampoo for her next bath. Most motor oil isn't too toxic, but will probably give her diarrhea. She will definitely pass any hairballs she has in her stomach.
2 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
Her last motion was very soft, so if that's the case, it will at least help to move the oil out of her system. She has plenty of water available of course. Thanks for your response.
2 people like this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
16 Jul 09
Poor Jet! I did a little research online, and you might want to try using DAWN dish detergent...the original blue formula. It contains de-greasers that should get the rest of the oil off. That's frequently what is used for animal/bird rescues where they've been exposed and covered with oil. See this INFORMATION ONLY link: http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/savingwildlife/photogallery.do?page=photogallery
As far as toxicology, you might want to call your vet to see if there's a special diet that Jet should be given, or to ask what you should look for as far as poisoning goes. Cat's digestive systems tend to concentrate what they consume. This helps them to maximize nutrients obtained from food, but can also work the other way for toxins. One site I use when I have unusual questions is the Tufts Veterinary website. Here is the list of faculty, whenever I've emailed them I've gotten pretty fast responses. http://www.tufts.edu/vet/faculty_research/faculindex.html
There is a Flo Tseng who has a specialty in oil spill damage...she might be able to help (even tho her specialty is birds).
Good luck and please keep us updated!
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
Thanks for your response Cat. That Dawn is not available over here, but I did contact the vets to ask for advice and they suggested using Swarfega, which is intended for cleaning oil and grease off the hands. So I'm going to try that. She's had several hours to rest since I last washed her, so I'm going to have another go at her now. I want to try and clean the oil off her paws and front as thats the places that she is licking. She is one unhappy cat that's for sure!
1 person likes this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
Yes, I try to avoid this time of year. 
I'm sensible, I come over in October. 
I'm sensible, I come over in October. @catdla1 (6005)
• United States
16 Jul 09
That's good to hear! And, I'm sure that once she's all cleaned up that she'll be much happier. Besides your vet recommending the Swarfega, his he/she seem very concerned with poisoning? Maybe on your next trip here, you can mail some back to yourself before going home. Dawn is good for getting rid of fleas too, although I hope that messing with oil will not be on Jet's list of priorities in the future.
Too bad you aren't visiting now...you'd be enjoying this 105 deg weather like the rest of us...NOT.
@Elaine77 (315)
• China
20 Jul 09
Hi there,
You should have Jet meeting a vet, cause dirty oil would be poisoning.
About the dirty oil, you could brush the salad oil to the dirty oil, and with shampoo and wash her with warm water, if you just couldnt get rid of them, you might just cut down her fur, it could be more safe for your cat.
Fortunately I live in an apartment, my cats cant go out.
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
20 Jul 09
I have now got the worst of the oil off her and she has started to eat again which is a great relief to me. Rather than subjecting her to more washing, I'm thinking of dealing with the remaining contamination by getting the vet to remove all of the contaminated fur. It will be easier for them to do that now that I have got most of the oil off her.
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
20 Jul 09
Thanks, I took her to the vet this morning, but she just said that they'd have to clip her under anesthetic and due to her age, (she's 13) that might be too stressful for her. The vet said that I'd done fine so far and to just continue washing the last of the oil out of her fur. It will probably grow out though eventually.
Much to my relief, she is now eating normally, so if she has ingested some of the oil, it seems that she has not swallowed enough to have done her any permanent harm.
@ElicBxn (63638)
• United States
16 Jul 09
are you using Dawn dishwashing liquid? that's the ticket...
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
16 Jul 09
I've said abouve Elic, it's not available in the UK. I have just given her another wash, (I think that she's getting used to it) and she's beginning to look more like her usual self. There's still a way to go though. I'll see if I can give her another wash this evening as she seemed to find it less traumatic this time. Not so much screaming and frantic escape attempts.
1 person likes this
@mjhicks (317)
• United States
17 Jul 09
DON"T LET HER LICK THE OIL! It is very toxic.
I had this same thing happen to one of my cats more then once. Take out a regular bottle of vegetable oil and work it into her fur to loosen the heavy motor oil. Then shampoo her with baby shampoo or alovera and rinse well. If any oil remains repeat the vegetable oil and shampoo again. Many years ago I had one of my cats come home with oil all over his hind quarters and back legs like he had been dipped in it. At first I tried like you to just bathe him and then I called the vet to see what else to do. That's how I found out about the vegetable oil thing. It happened a second time so instead of trying to wash him I first worked about a quart of vegetable oil in and kept wiping off the mess until most was gone then gave him a good bath in alovera shampoo. He didn't like getting bathed but loved the cuddle in a big fluffy towel after.
@trickiwoo (2702)
• United States
17 Jul 09
If you're in the US, the ASPCA has a poison control number you can call. The phone number is (888) 426-4435. You may be charged a $60 consulting fee. You can also get more information on their website http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/ There might be something on the website specifically about motor oil.
I don't know if any other countries have anything similar, but you could try researching it online. Search for words like "animal poison control".
Good luck, and I hope your cat is okay!
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
17 Jul 09
I'm in the UK, but I checked out the ASPCA website to see if it has any information about motor oil, but it does not have anything. Thanks for the link though.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
19 Jul 09
Why don't you use Dawn? Don't they use it on the animals that have been in oil spills? You might first want to ask your vet if it's okay to use.
