A Michael Broad Blog
Before I discuss bufotoxin, a particularly virulent poison otherwise known as ‘bufotalin’ carried by the humble toad (genus Bufo), I would like to quote a very brief extract from Dr. Desmond Morris’s book Catlore about substances poisonous to cats. A lot of poisons are inside the home because “we have thoughtlessly introduced [them] into …
The Times reports today, March 21, 2023, that a popular cat, dog, rabbit flea treatment containing imidacloprid could kill millions of bees when the toxin is washed into waterways according to researchers at Imperial College London, UK. The pesticide is used in 138 pet treatment sold in the UK alone. God only knows how …
This is a story about the danger of using medicines for humans on domestic cats. My personal belief is that a cat caregiver should never use human medicines on their cat without first consulting their veterinarian or at the very least doing a thorough search on the Internet. There are many household products and …
A Bengal cat living in the state of Victoria, Australia has been bitten by snakes three times and survived. The story reported by ABC News doesn’t tell us the species of snake but my research indicates that the eastern brown snake is responsible for an estimated 76% of reported snake bites on companion animals …
NEWS AND COMMENT-SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: The first point to make is that although huntsman spiders use venom to immobilise prey and can reach up to 5 inches across, based upon my careful research they do not cause harm to domestic cats who kill them and perhaps sometimes devour them. If a cat devours a huntsman …
Alcohol is toxic to cats as you might expect. The main component of alcohol is ethanol. It’s toxic to people as well so it is logical to conclude that it is toxic to domestic cats. My research on Google Scholar didn’t bring up anything of real interest except there was one study which indicated …
A chemical reaction takes place inside the cat. Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine which is toxic to cats and dogs. Unlike in humans, theobromine is not metabolised (broken down) by cats or dogs. This leads to a toxic build-up of the chemical. This then leads to problems with the cat’s heart, bowels, nervous …
According to a small study of six cats carried out in Hungary and published in the journal Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, xylitol is not poisonous to cats (the study is listed at the base of the page with comment). The study was published in June 2018 and up to that point it wasn’t clear …
