How to Help Cats Exposed to Methamphetamine
I am the director of a small-town animal shelter, and we recently took in a two-year-old Bengal who was living with his owner in a meth house. This poor cat was subjected to his owner’s drug use for most of his life, and he is now suffering the consequences.
He suffers from hallucinations, obsessive grooming and blindness — all the while being an incredibly sweet and affectionate cat when not experiencing the after affects of this terrible drug. He’s been with us for several months now and we assume that he has gone through withdrawal.
Unfortunately, there seems to be very little information out there about how to help an animal that has been affected by an owner’s drug abuse. We currently give him melatonin treats every day, which have helped calm him down, and he also wears a pheromone collar. When he’s in the middle of a hallucination, he cries, stiffens up or stands on his hind legs and runs backwards.
He can’t get himself out of a corner. He obsessively rubs his face against the wall. When he’s experiencing a hallucination, we wrap him up and hold him like a baby, gently stroking him and talking softly until he calms down.
We love him — he’s a favorite of all the volunteers — and he will stay with us forever unless we manage to find a home for him, but we want to help him overcome the terrible things that have been done to him. We are hoping that you have some advice. – DeAnn Abate
A: Dear DeAnn: It is sad to say, but pet exposure to illicit drugs — whether intentional or unintentional — is common. Animal Poison Control hotlines take calls about acute exposure to illicit drugs (ie. what to do if they are currently under the influence of a drug), but little seems to be known about the long-term effects on companion animals of chronic exposure to these drugs.
Cats can be exposed to drugs by inhaling smoke or microparticles, by direct ingestion or licking paws or fur where drug residues might be present, or by malicious, more direct administration methods.
I think it is safe to say that this kitty is not showing signs of addiction because most drugs have fairly short durations in the body. As drugs are eliminated from the body, a truly addicted animal might undergo withdrawal symptoms — and these vary depending on the drug in question.
The signs of methamphetamine withdrawal are fairly mild in humans and research animals (signs of depression or decreased motivation), and the process is reported to be complete within seven to 10 days. More concerning is that the human data show that chronic methamphetamine use can cause changes in cognitive function, psychiatric disorders, immune dysfunction and alter a patient’s response to stress.
Because this cat is demonstrating altered behaviors, and is blind, he could well have long-term damage due to methamphetamine exposure. Alternatively, he may have been negatively impacted by a stressful environment or trauma, which can cause its own long-term behavioral problems.
For that reason, I would suggest that you have him evaluated by a veterinary behaviorist. These specialists will be able to assess his behavior abnormalities and suggest lifestyle adjustments and additional medication options to help him with his disability. It would be remiss of us to prescribe treatments for him without having evaluated him, as much as we want to help.
Alicia M. Karas, DVM, MS, DACVAA
Anesthesiologist, pain management
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
Its hard to believe but I would like to see a recording of this. If the cat acts like that I would hate to know what the owner acts like.
I know a guy who was regular user for about a year. He had 2 cats and for about 3months, both cats had very different abnormalities from one another. But they were all bad and seemed rapidly progressed at the, end. The first had to b, sheltered, at the aggression and, bullying to the older less dominant cat. I’m sure, it was likely euthanized do to its behavioral issues.
Thanks owner thought everything going on with the second cat was because of the bullying of the step brother. Sadly it was not. It did not make a huge difference. The owner tried antibiotics and ear treatment for an ear infection. But after blood work and several solutions that didn’t work it was made aware that the, cars eyesight, was failing. And nothing recovered for very long. The owner spent a small fortune on medications with little effect. He eventually had the cat put to sleep
I looked up this subject,I adopted my kitty from heroin and fentenol users.It seems he does not obey and continues to do all the bad things he shouldn’t even though he is disciplined this a squirt bottle of water and time out He is not neutered and was never disciplined by his owners..I Love him and could use some advice.
Get him fixed. The hormones make them stubborn and do bad things like mark with their urine, chase other cats, fight, bite, etc.
Dude hes a cat.. cats are not dogs and do not take orders like such..
You gotta have the right kind of bond with them and most people do not.
My only unaltered male is the most obedient and hes 3.. sooo..
Um thinking your cat is supposed to obey you and that you should be disciplining a cat is highly problematic and untrue. Also using a water bottle is ineffective, mean and cause cause long term damage as well cause your cat to just not like you, which probably contributes to him doing more of what you don’t what him to do. Research cat behavior and always use positive reinforcement. Cats are not dogs. They do not exist to please you or for you to control them. Neutering him will help him live a safer, longer life. But I guarantee if you treat your cat better (what he deserves) you’ll have a better relationship with him.
Every day AM and PM I perform the Prayer for Blessing of the animals/cats and gently hold craidel Teddybon – Merciful he has been exposed only 4 months as an indoor/outdoor cat rescued and has a permanent home. Now he is an indoor cat. It has not been easy. He is a very brave courageous cat and is responsible caring loving with humans and his indoor cat friends.End
It is mentioned that withdrawl from methamphetamine is relatively mild in humans; how is this guaged? And how is this relative to meth withdrawl in cats, including dosage and administration? I just don’t see how data could be limited when testing of methamphetamine on animals has been active for so many decades (At least 9.)
Yeah ok
I was on meth for 10 years and none of.cats.act like this or were ever sick. That animal.was abused. Nothing to do with meth. Also, meth is foul tasting and smelling and the animals avoid it… so no “accidents”.. sorry to burst your bubble.
Lol ‘bubble’, phrasing… wait, are we still doing that?
sorry to burst your bubble but i am
did you ever smoke around your cats? i’m so paranoid about it when i’m home with my cats i lock myself in a room and stuff a rag under the doors because they always want to come in with me (clingy) cus my ex (mansplainer) always said that’s what you have to do or your cat will get feline schizophrenia. is it safe to keep the door open if i’m blowing out the window? i don’t wanna risk it but sometimes i feel bad because they get so much separation anxiety and can TELL when i’m specifically trying to keep them out of a spot, i think it hurts their feelings. hurt cat feelings is better than busted cat brain tho lol
I agree that my cats never showed any symptoms of withdrawal or bad actions either after being exposed for a long period of years….
shit my cat asking me for a rock here and there he can tell if u have sum in yo pocket my buddy gave his cat sum shrooms. And that will do it Molly’s zanax trust me I’ve seen it all that cat acting like that is because the owners started him when he was a baby trust me it don’t happen over night unless ur a party Boi like me I smoked all my brain cells dead ask me any movie Jaws that’s a great movie I didn’t learn how to walk till I was 14 years old my mama selling her ass never was home
You sound cute lmao
You sound thirsty lmao.
Make sure that your cat always has access to fresh water, and that you as well, you appear to be parched, indeed.
keep on living the dream man
keep on living the dream man
OOPS you didn’t see that last comment!!! 👀👀
lmao
Ok after reading all those replies that’s some funny ass s*** that you guys are all right especially the the net had one 13 years he’s very very honest and he’s very right so what happens if say you have a hit long which is a meth bong and you spill it on your cat and it’s only a tiny tiny tiny bit of water but yet you forget and you wake up the next morning and your cats like tripping like his eyes are blacker than black no blue and and he no doubt cleaned himself of course and the little bit of water probably got into a skin and he’s f****** higher than a tight I don’t know what to do I think you’ll be all right but wow what happens when you drop your bong on your cat nothing than any long I mean f*** this brain going to be okay after he comes down I hope cuz he’s my baby God damn it but there’s only tiny bit of water but f*** man I mean he’s sitting where he can see both doors and he can’t even focus on you I tried to get him to focus on me but his eyes and he’s looking everywhere but at me and he has not wanted to go outside all day I walk my cat on a leash he hasn’t ate nothing he hasn’t meowed and you don’t want nothing to do with going outside that’s your God damn sure but he’s been like this all day so hopefully he’ll be okay in the morning and that won’t happen again f*** how about that story guys
Omg right now my cat is acting very weird I came home from work and his eyes were dialed asf And He was just staying in one place I picked him up and there was this liquid coming out his mouth it was brown and his nose is running like he can’t breath out of it and I asked my brothers what happened to him they said he’s sick so I took him up to my room which I should’ve never cause then he got worse I barely smoke 2 days Before In my room so I guess He got exposed to it. He was walking downstairs but when I took him in my room he couldn’t move he was so stiff Like I tried moving his hands and he was not moving them he wasn’t relaxed at all. Then I put him down on the counter and he kept going to the edge and looking down Until he falls But he does it slowly.. His mouth can’t even open and I’m scared asf Cause now My parents wanna take him to the vet and i don’t want it showing up in his system!! Is there anyway to Get him out of this?
Hope you get caught, that’s the only way that cat will make it. That is not normal, either you or your brother fed him that shit. Give him a fighting chance and confess to your parents so they can get him help! That cat is suffering. SMH.
Wow I also agree these comments are real asf n blunt some hilarious others sad and concerning lol smh so whatever happened to your car how long was he tripping I got on here wondering about if they’ll eat your dope I mean I’ve blown/shotguned pot smoke to my old dog which was like 5’3 on her hind legs and at least 110 lbs no less than 90 n had hip problem as she aged anyway it helped her but dogs are different but my cats enjoy there catnip sparingly n the one hates cig n pot smoke but the yr old one her kitten loves the pot I wonder if they ever eat my stuff when it’s left out lol jw
So I’m a ‘responsible’ user, i smoke speed/Molly, but only in the car. I always try to remember to wash my hands and mouth after a smoke but I still get worried that residue has followed in the house. Recently my cats third eyelid is protruding. I’ve taken him to vet and it’s been a few days now but still not receding. After research I discovered that this happens to cats for many different reasons and in various degrees of severity of potential problems. So what are the odds that he did get exposed to a very small amount like once and developed this problem with eyelid?
Hi, I’m very worried about my cats. I did meth for the first time before yesterday, and i will not to do it again, but I sweated out a little while I was in my bed, my cats slept yesterday there and I wonder if there is any risk of they could have inhaled some meth residues from the sweat.