Forums / Miscellaneous Discussions / My cat has been bitten

My cat has been bitten by a snake or possibly a spider on the neck. She seems half paralized and keeps falling over and stumbling whenever she tries to walk. We found her like this about 4 hours ago and nothing has changed. I called the vet but they just said to bring her in and never gave any helpful advise. I can't afford $1000 or more in vet fees and want to know if there is anything i can get from a chemist or something that can help.

Btw, i've shaved off all the fur around the bite and there's just a red dot and no swelling whatsoever.

Forgot to mention that the reason I think it could be a snake is because where she was bitten was all wet like as if the snake only just got her and most of the venom was sprayed onto the fur

And I can't find anything useful on the internet either

My vet has told me to give my dog children's Benadryl for allergic reactions (he is highly allergic to insect bites).... not sure if it is OK for felines but worth looking into..... I did, google benadryl for cats   500K hits and here is one (you just have to give them your e-mail to read the article but it covers dosage)

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/diphenhydramine-benadryl/page1.aspx

Did some more research. Snake bite will usually have severe swelling. I don't know what it is. Spider doesn't explain the wetness.

Thanks for all the responces guys. And after all these hours she's still alive and there seems to be a slight improvement (she even managed to jump up onto a cubourd which would not have been possible at first) but is still very weak. And well, i'm not american, I live in Queensland, Australia.

I was afraid that would be your answer. There are a number of poisonous things that could have bitten her. But her still being alive and getting a bit better is good news. She may have some permanent nerve damage though.

being from queensland, australia myself (though living in russia now) and an ex paramedic...it is quite possible it is a paralytic tick, particularly in northern queensland.

never EVER go searching for the snake, it is a major risk factor for yourself and extremely bad advice. snake antivenoms work on almost every snake type.

the wetness could be related or it could not, my first recommendation is a vet(despite the cost) and not to look for internet advice and theories.

most of these poisons are slow acting and even with survival can have lasting health effects if not treated but my guess is a tick bite, not spider and not snake.

the wetness is probly where the cat tried to lick it?

Your cat is proberly going to die if you live in Australia.

Sorry to hear that.
I hope it doesn't though, all the best.

whoa man, am I seeing things or did revenge just show a little bit of sympathy??? because if i'm seeing things then that's it, i'm giving up the pot right here and now

btw, I really doubt my cat will die, she's already half better and is just starting to walk around a bit now.

Random shut up. Give the cat a break, it'll get better i'm sure.

Wheres Random I dont see his post anywhere :'( he must be hiding somewhere in this thread......

Nah, cause cats are better.

sry to hear that man, i live in america and our cat was bitten by something and well he didnt turn out so bad. of course we did take him to the vet. in the end he had a lil limp because like someone said, it was nerve damage. however the bite was small and red like someone poked them with a large needle. i recomend the vet if you really are desperate otherwise pray. the fact that she still stands shows willpower, and their aint no medicine more powerful than the mind.

why is everyone hacking me :(

I only just read this thread :S

Your cats in purrrrfect health you say?

Fortunately for you, cats aren't to expensive to replace.

Desol that's kind of heartless you know. That's almost like saying to someone who's kid is about to die "Fortunately for you, kids aren't expensive to replace when you hit the sack and make more babies" lol

You kidding, kids are very expensive!
Yes, that was very heartless of me, that was my intention and my goal, to be as mean as I could.