Cat may have licked pvc primer or sewage

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
Post Reply
Simplesam92
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:10 am

Cat may have licked pvc primer or sewage

Post by Simplesam92 »

Sooo I recently redid all the plumbing in my house last night. Copper and PVC

It was immensely late and I had work the next morning so I moved the cleaning up of it until the next morning before work. Overslept and rushed out the door.

My 30+ year old pvc pipes were left in one pile
Used fittings (primed and glued but I made an error so I removed) in one pile
Unused fittings in another
Pvc dust, wood debris and such in another pile

Also my mother in law did not fully understand “don’t run, flush or put anything down the drains” and a decent amount of sewage landed on some rolled up carpets, the concrete floor, insulation, clothing etc...

Once I get back from work my girlfriend tells me one of my two cats have refused to eat,had an issue with movement, diarrhea and vomiting since before she left to work and from when I got home (5:30 am EST - 12:00am EST)

I’m not sure what the effects of all three of toxic substances have on a small cat, I know with humans we can get quite sick. I’m gonna keep watch on him for 30 minutes to hopefully get some advice from this page, if not I’m going to an animal hospital. Going to bathe the cat now.
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: Cat may have licked pvc primer or sewage

Post by Ruth B »

I can only say get them to a vets as soon as you can, if you haven't done so already.

If you have any bottles of things that he might have come in contact with, take those with you so the vet has an idea of what the problem might be.

While I don't know what chemicals you have been using that they might have come in contact with, I would have thought the sewage is actually the least worry, while it is full of bacteria, any infection can be fairly easily dealt with with antibiotics, poisons are the main worry in my opinion (but remember I'm no ver).
Simplesam92
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:10 am

Re: Cat may have licked pvc primer or sewage

Post by Simplesam92 »

That’s the issue, my emergency vet isn’t open, I’ve been up all night scrubbing bleaching and watching him. I recently redid all of my plumbing, as in 2 days a 1250 square foot home. New copper lines and pvc lines. No idea how or what was in the existing pvc so there’s that factor.

I ended up not getting finished until roughly 1am EST and had work in the am. Overslept and didn’t have time to just clean up the fittings I had primed and glued but tossed to the side after they didn’t fit lol. Also there was another stack of several different drain pipes. From tubs sinks and toilets and before I moved in I have no idea if my mother in law used draino, de-greaser etc...

Also primer and glue, flux and solder landed on me, the floor, items laying around the basement. Usually he doesn’t get through the door to get into basement but at some point yesterday morning he did. I have no idea what he could have gotten into. The vomiting and diarrhea seems to have stopped, but he also hasn’t eaten since 8pm last night which he threw up in <5 minutes after.

I’m praying the pvc glue didn’t get too far into his system. And if he got into draino/liquid plumber I’ll be panicking more than I am now ‘-‘. Two hours until vet open. got ideas on how to force feed him? He’s a 6 year old tabby with more than usual personal space issues. I barely made it out of the tub with skin lol
User avatar
fjm
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1675
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:11 pm
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: North West England

Re: Cat may have licked pvc primer or sewage

Post by fjm »

I wouldn't try to feed him - wait until the vet has seen him. Is he showing any signs of poisoning other than d&v? Salivating? Walking strangely? Lethargy? I would make a list of everything he could possibly have ingested and any symptoms to give to the vet, and phone ahead to let them know you are coming. You will probably have to do a car park handover, and having everything written down in advance means things are less likely to be forgotten.
Post Reply