So, yesterday, my cat threw up. Not usually a big deal w/ cats, but she doesn't do it very often. Then, 2am, she barfed under my bed. At 4am, my DH started feeling sick, and he was in the bathroom throwing up by 5am. My 8mo baby woke up and ate at 5am, and then started throwing up at 5:30am. When I came downstairs at 6am, I found two more cat splats. (Why, oh why, in a house of mostly hard wood, does the cat find the carpet to throw up on??)
Thank goodness, my 11 and 4yo are not sick...yet...fingers crossed...
So, if it was just the people, I would think rotovirus/stomach flu, but it seems weird that the cat is sick at the same time.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!
Oh, and I refuse to be sick. Can't be sick when the baby and DH are sick!
ETA: Charity, I don't think it's the water. We're on city water, and we mostly drink filtered from the fridge. The cat will only drink running water (*rolls eyes*) so she drinks from a kitty fountain w/ a filter too.
Plus, the 2 older girls are not sick (knock on wood!), and they drink the same water.
Well, it was definitely the stomach flu for the peoples. We're all feeling much better now!
I called a vet for advice, and she said that kitties just go through an icky patch sometimes, and that as long as it clears up, and she is still pooping, that she will be fine.
Thanks everyone for your help! Just my luck that even the cat was throwing up. :P
I asked my hubby the veterinarian, and he said possibly campylobacter bacteria, which can be passed between people, dogs and cats through fecal/oral contamination (maybe the cat walked around on the counter?)
Dear M., If your cat has gotten a stomach virus, yes they do get them, and especially if you have a cat box, the germs stay on the paws and then get on you when you pet them or whatever, I have had cats my whole life, the best bet is to quarintine the cat for a couple days, check with the vet to find out if anything is going around you need to be aware of, and then just wait it out. With so many flu's going around this year, you can't be sure they are all sick with the same thing! Sorry not much help!!
It's probably just coincidence. Cats throw up fairly often. AND, there is a nasty cold/flu virus that's going around the human population right now.
The only time I have EVER heard of a feline illness being transmitted to a human is when the human has no immune system (meaning the human has advanced AIDS). So, I'd bet on coincidence!
I know it sounds far fetched, but they are probably totally unrelated and just a coincidence. It is very rare for an illness to cross species, and when they do they generally become very dangerous (bird flu, mad cow disease, etc). The stomach flu is really going around right now! That probably is the cause of the illness in your family. Dogs and cats often vomit because of hairballs, or some garbage they ate. If that is the case, then it should not last long and would probably already be gone by the time you read this. If it does not subside, then keep a very close eye on kitty... you will probably need to go to the vet. Be sure that kitty is pooping (no bowel obstruction). Be sure kitty is drinking (prevent dehydration). Confine kitty to one room (bathroom, kennel) to contain mess. If you are brave enough, you can take kitty's temp.
Hello,
I have read both your postings it must have been a coincidence that your cat got sick at the same time the stomach flu hit the family glad you are all better. Now what are you feeding the cat? If you are feeding he/she your basic purina that you buy in grocery stores then that could be making her/him sick as it has grain and animal bi products ( also known as euthinized cats and dogs) in it. What you might try and do it swich the food Science Diet, Eukenuba, Blue Buffalo, Dick Van Pattens Natures Best are all good foods a bit more expensive but I have swiched my cats to these brands and the throwing up has all but stoped.
It could just be coincedence. The cat may have a fur ball gaging him, or worms sometimes will make them do that, but if he keeps it up, call the vet! Does your child play with the cat? Maybe he fed him something that he too injested. People and animals do not carry the same viruses.
I agree with pretty much everything everybody else has written. And there is a bad flu going around!
On another note... we had an experience when we got a cat that had "giardia"...that is a disease that cats transmit TO humans (kissing them for example...and kids DO kiss and allow pets to kiss them on the mouth all the time!)
Pets can and do get many of the same illnesses people do, too (but that was already said by someone).
The vet can check for worms and parasites too small for the human eye to see (like giardia). YOU can look in litterbox...check diarrhea etc. yourself and MAY see worms or something too. I used to work in a vet clinic and the poo poo is alwyas examined for root causes of illness.
The litterbox is a breeding ground for lots of stuff... make sure it is clean and the kids stay OUT of it.
LOL... cats LOVE to puke on carpet! They will hold it in just to get to a nice piece of CLEAN carpet, too! P.S. My cat has to drink out of a glass too...rolls eyes at the thought of drinking from a bowl on the floor, but he has his OWN glass (in several rooms of the house because there is no HELL like a blocked Tom!!!! Gotta' get the water in whatever it takes!)
Good luck and God Bless! I raised 5 kids and when one got sick and then they passed it around it was always my prayer that I would not get sick too as I had too much work to do for them! I can identify. And I did daycare, too, in my home.
late, but about cats+carpets: when they barf, they want traction (it's a pretty full-body experience for them!). I've had some success moving our cat onto a towel (either on the carpet or on the hardwood) or getting a rag or wad of toilet paper in place to 'catch' the mess when I hear her start to gag. We have a small house, though, so I actually _hear_ her gagging a lot of the time, and I have wipe-up rags stashed everywhere because I have small kids ...
You might want to check on carbon monoxide levels in your home. We once had a car with an exhaust leak which made the entire family throw up and get headaches when we traveled for more than an hour.
I hope you get to the bottom of this.
P.
Hi M.! Sorry to hear about your family sick...and even the CAT! Ouch. Check around the house and see if you have anything that would let off chemical fumes. We all got sick right after we had some guys come clean our carpet...the stuff they used had chemicals in it that let off fumes that made us all sick.
:>) J.
Carbon monoxide can do that to people, I do not know about cats.
I just found out we may have been having that happen. It is worth getting the detector. I got mine at Ace hardware.
1. Mold in the house? You can get this checked.
2. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning... you can get a detector for @ $30 at Home Depot, you should have one on each level of the house. Don't under estimate this one... my mom had CM poisoning from a furnace that was only 3 years old.
3. Have you changed cleaning products in the house? Maybe two that have combined creating a problem?
