I thought I'd write this post about our experiences with cats and bee-stings, because Ava finally got stung today, after going after the bees for the last week! Kato also got stung as a kitten - and carries a bald spot on his chin like a 'Guy Falks' goatee. Thankfully, it hasn't happened again for him, so here's hoping the first sting is lesson learned.
With Kato's sting, we saw the sting in his chin. We googled what to do - and tried scraping the sting off with a credit card. It didn't work too well, so husband-man had better success with grasping the sting with a tissue. Obviously, we don't want to squeeze in more venom, so a flicking/scraping action was the aim, although difficult with a cat who doesn't want to be touched. I think we rang the vet, and went with a 'watch and see' option. Some cats, like humans, will react to the poison and need to see the vet asap. In Kato's case, he was obviously quiet, did have some swelling, but no other alarming signs like respiratory distress.
Today, with Ava's sting, husband-man went with his instincts and took her in to the vet. So I write about what a vet may do - as I really didn't know if they could do anything for an ouchie that wasn't life-threatening.
Ava came out of the bushes scraping at her eye with her paw, and her left eye was weeping profusely. But we couldn't see the sting, so assumed she'd got it out. I gently bathed around her eye with cold water and a little salt, thinking at least this would remove any surface venom smeared on her fur, and possibly bring a little soothing coolness. We noticed her continually licking her nose, and she went and sat very quietly on her chair - too quietly for husband-man's liking. She had also purred under my ministrations (which she didn't really like), so I took that for her own method of pain-relief (cat's may purr to self soothe in times of pain or distress). As I had to leave for work, husband-man made the call and took her into the vet.
We learned at least one thing! Look for the sting while looking down, over the top of their head. You can also better see any swelling from that angle. Lo and behold, the sting was still there - not near Ava's eye, but close to her mouth, in her whiskers. Very camouflaged. Our vet deftly removed the sting, checked Ava's temp (normal), and flushed her eye with a dye to check to see if Ava had inadvertently scratched it when she was pawing at her face (she was fine). Our vet also gave Ava a tiny amount of anti-inflammatory, injected in the usual neck scruff. And that's the end of the story - unless we have a further reaction, but all seems to be travelling smoothly.
With Kato's sting, we saw the sting in his chin. We googled what to do - and tried scraping the sting off with a credit card. It didn't work too well, so husband-man had better success with grasping the sting with a tissue. Obviously, we don't want to squeeze in more venom, so a flicking/scraping action was the aim, although difficult with a cat who doesn't want to be touched. I think we rang the vet, and went with a 'watch and see' option. Some cats, like humans, will react to the poison and need to see the vet asap. In Kato's case, he was obviously quiet, did have some swelling, but no other alarming signs like respiratory distress.
Today, with Ava's sting, husband-man went with his instincts and took her in to the vet. So I write about what a vet may do - as I really didn't know if they could do anything for an ouchie that wasn't life-threatening.
Ava came out of the bushes scraping at her eye with her paw, and her left eye was weeping profusely. But we couldn't see the sting, so assumed she'd got it out. I gently bathed around her eye with cold water and a little salt, thinking at least this would remove any surface venom smeared on her fur, and possibly bring a little soothing coolness. We noticed her continually licking her nose, and she went and sat very quietly on her chair - too quietly for husband-man's liking. She had also purred under my ministrations (which she didn't really like), so I took that for her own method of pain-relief (cat's may purr to self soothe in times of pain or distress). As I had to leave for work, husband-man made the call and took her into the vet.
We learned at least one thing! Look for the sting while looking down, over the top of their head. You can also better see any swelling from that angle. Lo and behold, the sting was still there - not near Ava's eye, but close to her mouth, in her whiskers. Very camouflaged. Our vet deftly removed the sting, checked Ava's temp (normal), and flushed her eye with a dye to check to see if Ava had inadvertently scratched it when she was pawing at her face (she was fine). Our vet also gave Ava a tiny amount of anti-inflammatory, injected in the usual neck scruff. And that's the end of the story - unless we have a further reaction, but all seems to be travelling smoothly.