Warning to Kitty Owners

If your cat wanders outdoors and runs into foxtails (a kind of grass), be sure to pick them out of his/her fur.

Tonight my kitty was perched on top of my couch licking his fur. As I turned away for a minute to look at CPF, I heard him frantically licking himself. I looked and saw something sticking out of his mouth. At first I thought it was a straw of some sort, but upon closer inspection it was a foxtail in his mouth. I tried getting it out but he fought it.

I set him down on the floor and found the foxtail was lodged between his fang and gumline. He was bleeding and that got me really worried. I was able to successfully pull out the foxtail and he seemed to be ok after that, but if there's one thing I hate to see is my cat injured or in pain.

The moral of the story: Please, please, please look out for foxtails in your kitty's fur!



The foxtails look identical to the ones portrayed here:

http://sandiegodog.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/the-dangers-of-foxtails-to-dogs/

Didn't know that those things can be so dangerous. Thanks for the warning. Will look out for my cat as she always has some kind of seeds in her fur.

rayman

My sister was telling me that those things can cause SEVERE DAMAGE to all sorts of animals.
I was told of how they can get inside a dogs ***** and other parts and REALLY mess them up!!

Excuse my ignorance , but what is a "foxtail" ? Any pictures?I would appreciate.Thank you.

daf3m said:

Excuse my ignorance , but what is a "foxtail" ? Any pictures?I would appreciate.Thank you.

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Link in OP has a picture of the offending seed pod.

LukeA said:

Link in OP has a picture of the offending seed pod.

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Thank very much-I appreciate! Truly pain in the @ss when i have to get them off my "wild"-cats!

Certainly doesn't look like fun, but have you ever seen how cats play with each other? Fangs and claws all over the place. Pain is practically a way of life for them.

That's not to say I wouldn't also remove something like that ASAP, but I wouldn't shed any tears over it either. You're a good pet owner to notice it, though.

fyrstormer said:

Certainly doesn't look like fun, but have you ever seen how cats play with each other? Fangs and claws all over the place. Pain is practically a way of life for them.

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Stoicism is a way of life for them, but pain is a very painful reality (pun intended).

Thankfully my kitty seems to be doing ok now, but I'll look out for signs of infection in his gum.

DaFABRICATA said:

My sister was telling me that those things can cause SEVERE DAMAGE to all sorts of animals.
*clip*

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Yeah, those things are pretty nasty, as are goat heads and sand burrs. I've stepped in a pile of goat heads before, and let me tell you, THAT STUFF HURTS!!!!! I have a high pain tolerance, but when you get about 50-60 stuck in your feet, it hurts like all hell!

Back when my lab was a puppy, she managed to get a foxtail stuck in her nose. She was sneezing blood constantly, and we couldn't figure out what was causing it, because it didn't stop after like 45 minutes, and she wouldnt let us touch her face. Took her to the vet, and found out she had a big foxtail stuck in her nose.

Later that day, the family went on a foxtail hunting spree. We could've easily filled a bathroom trash can full of them.

~Brian

bstrickler said:

Yeah, those things are pretty nasty, as are goat heads and sand burrs. I've stepped in a pile of goat heads before, and let me tell you, THAT STUFF HURTS!!!!! I have a high pain tolerance, but when you get about 50-60 stuck in your feet, it hurts like all hell!

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Had to look that one up - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris. Ow!

I once extracted a foxtail from a cat's eye. I had seen the cat running around on my fences for a while but one day he came right up to me and that's when I noticed the foxtail stuck in the corner of his eye. He was obviously in pain but he never made any attempt to bite or scratch when I pulled it out. Poor cat either didn't have a home or had 'owners' who didn't care.

Where I live, though, foxtails are the least of the worries. I've found too many partial remains of neighbor cats to ever let mine outside.

My dog got one stuck way into his ear, nothing that a $300 5 minute vet visit couldn't fix.
Poor pooch was in dire agony for over an hour while hiking out of the park and driving to vet.

Glad your cat is better,

I was told by my vet that the average life of an outdoor cat is 5-7 years. The average life of an indoor cat is closer to 15-17.

I keep my cats inside.

Bruceter

Ours are indoor also. But I won't ever say anything about cats that go outside because I have had a few. Glad the little guy is doing well now.

Glad kitty is okay. Yeah foxtails are designed by nature to only go one way - IN. Anything they get stuck in just causes them to work their way in deeper from any movement. A good set of forceps can usually get them out of most places but best to keep your pets and foxtails far apart.

there's tons of that stuff everywhere here, now nice and crisp and sharp..fortunately my big cat (he likes that name) doesn't seem to pick them up much..

He has a fine toothed people-comb next to his food dish, and when ever he stops in for a bite, he gets a few strokes; cats love that, it's like their mom is licking them while they feed; a good way to bond.

..also check between your animals toes -- they can get stuck in there too.

Cat owners should also know that over the counter flea meds are pure poison, collars included

The FDA wants to ban all over the counter flea meds

They are pure poison

Check with your vet or do you own research

I had a cat that had a stroke and the first words out of the Vets mouth were his asking about over the counter flea meds.

The cat was combed with the OTC flea med sprayed on the comb and that was enough to kill him

If you cat has one of those collars take it off now

The makers of these products could care less how many animals they kill

Keep in mind also they package the bad stuff to look like the real thing you would get from the vet or online

Use Advantage or frontline -

Again check with the vet please before using that junk

Thanks for reading

When I think of foxtails it brings me back to the cholla garden in Joshua Tree National Park...they bite and those barbs are horrifically painful. luckily for me I just grazed it and it clung mostly on my shirt, unlike this poor fellow:green:

leeholaaho said:

The makers of these products could care less how many animals they kill

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That's probably not the case. If all the pets are dead, then there would be no market for flea collars.

LukeA said:

That's probably not the case. If all the pets are dead, then there would be no market for flea collars.

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Did I say all the pets would be dead??
I try to clue people in and I get a foolish reply like yours, maybe you need a dictionary to look up words like siezures and death.

Read it again

Read this - my statement stands

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm169831.htm

In April 2009, EPA issued an advisory concerning spot-on pesticide products for flea and tick control in cats and dogs. The advisory applies to approximately 70 products registered by EPA.

EPA is intensifying its evaluation of these products due to recent increases in the number of reported bad reactions. The reactions range from mild skin irritation to skin burns, seizures, and, in some cases, death. In May 2009, EPA met with registrants of spot-on pet pesticide products to discuss pet incident reports and EPA's plans for enhanced evaluation of these products. EPA's evaluation may result in actions such as additional label restrictions or cancellation of registration to remove certain spot-on products from the market.