Chocolate, everyone is not unfamiliar, it belongs to a delicate taste, with a strong aroma of sweets, in modern society, it is sometimes used to express "love".
Dieting chocolate in moderation has many benefits for people, such as: releasing feel-good hormones to relieve stress; helping to reduce and regulate high blood pressure; good for heart health; lowering cholesterol...
But this beautiful food is not so good for cats, on the contrary, it is a kind of "poison"!
Never give your cat the idea of feeding chocolate, as a certain amount of chocolate can cause the cat to die.
This article details the impact of chocolate on cats, and what we should do if cats eat chocolate by mistake.
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<h1>Theobromine and caffeine</h1>
Chocolate is toxic to cats because chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which is the main toxic ingredient and has a much lower caffeine concentration.
Theobromine is a drug class methyl xanthine, caffeine is xanthine alkaloid compound, they have the effect of stimulating the central nervous system, excitation of the heart muscle and so on.
After the cat eats chocolate, theobromine and caffeine are digested and absorbed through the stomach and intestines, and flow with the blood to various organs of the body. It takes a long time for the cat's body to metabolize these components, during which time theobromine and caffeine constantly stimulate the central nervous system, causing the cat to develop symptoms of poisoning and even death.
<h1>Toxic doses</h1>
"Don't talk about the toxicity of the dose is a hooligan", for everyone to popularize the poisoning dose of cat theobromine and caffeine.
Data from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals records that doses that can produce mild symptoms are 20 mg/kg and doses that produce severe symptoms are 40-50 mg/kg.
These doses do not need to be remembered, just remember that once the cat has eaten the chocolate, no matter how much we need to be vigilant, observe, and consult the veterinarian.
Data on the composition of theobromine and caffeine in various types of chocolate (table below):
Source ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
As can be seen from the table, the ingredients in chocolate that are toxic to cats are related to the form in which chocolate exists. White chocolate has the lowest content and baked sugar-free chocolate has the highest content.
<h1>What are the symptoms of chocolate poisoning in cats? </h1>
Clinical symptoms in cats are usually within 12 hours of chocolate ingestion.
Initial clinical symptoms include:
Wheezing, hyperactivity, restlessness, shortness of breath, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, excessive urination, etc.
Mid- to late-stage symptoms include:
Hypokalemia, severe vomiting or diarrhea, ataxia, muscle tremor, increase or decrease in heart rate, increased body temperature, respiratory failure, arrhythmias, death.
Less common symptoms include abdominal pain and hematuria.
Death is usually due to arrhythmias or respiratory failure.
<h1>What should we do if a cat eats chocolate by mistake? </h1>
If a cat eats chocolate by mistake, there are three things we need to do immediately: call the vet, induce vomiting, and take the cat to the vet, time is of the essence.
1. Call the veterinarian and tell the veterinarian all the actual situation, including what kind of chocolate was eaten by mistake, how much chocolate was eaten by mistake, how long it has been since the cat ate the chocolate, and the basic situation of the cat (weight, age, etc.), according to the veterinarian's method.
2, vomiting, this is to reduce the chocolate in the stomach as much as possible, thereby reducing the cat's absorption of chocolate, so as not to further develop the disease. 3% hydrogen peroxide, activated charcoal, and dehydrated morphine can be considered. It is necessary to follow the instructions of the veterinarian.
3, non-stop to take the cat to see the veterinarian.
At the hospital, the veterinarian will continue to induce vomiting and treat symptomatically, also perform gastric lavage, and may intubate the bladder to prevent toxins from reabsorption.
After the treatment, we need to carefully check the cat's hair for residual chocolate. If so, it needs to be cleaned up in time to prevent re-poisoning.
Prognosis: If cat chocolate poisoning is treated correctly, promptly and aggressively, the prognosis is good. If the delay is prolonged, enough methylxanthine is absorbed into the body, which can be fatal.
Never voluntarily feed cats chocolate, no matter how pitiful their begging eyes may be.
When we eat chocolate, we need to put away the remaining chocolate and chocolate packaging bags, so as not to leave a safety hazard.
The most important point: cats eat chocolate by mistake, and they must not take chances and do not treat it because they eat less. For some weaker cats, a little chocolate is enough to be deadly!
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