Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
We got back from vacation Sunday and discovered that one of our cats was inadvertently locked in a closet for 4 days. The cleaning people came; the cat is very shy and hid in the closet, not her usual spot, and they must have closed the door. Since this cat never comes out to see our cat sitter, she didn’t know she was locked in (this cat wouldn’t cry unless she knew we were in the house). She is now eating and drinking normally it seems, and very happy to see us–and I’ve added “check closet” to the cat sitter’s list of things to do.
I’m concerned about possible kidney damage, etc., from her not drinking for four days. She’s an otherwise healthy 5-year-old spayed female. Any thoughts?
~Jon
Siouxsie: Well, Jon, you are right that dehydration can cause kidney failure in cats, so we do recommend that you take your cat to the vet to get her checked out.
Thomas: We cats are descended from desert creatures and our bodies are adapted to survive on minimal amounts of water. Still, it’s not healthy for a cat to go without water for days.
Dahlia: If a cat loses as little as 10 percent of the water in its body, it can have fatal consequences.
Siouxsie: One sign of dehydration is a loss of skin elasticity. You can check for this by pinching up a fold of her skin. If the skin springs right back into place, she’s probably not too dehydrated. If it doesn’t spring right back, however, she needs immediate help to get hydrated again.
Thomas: Another sign of dehydration can be found in your cat’s mouth. If you check her gums and they’re dry and tacky to the touch, she’s dehydrated.
Dahlia: If she’s mildly dehydrated and not vomiting, she can be given fluids by mouth. Make sure your cat always has fresh, clean water to drink, and she may take care of her dehydration on her own.
Siouxsie: A severely dehydrated cat may refuse to drink. It’s possible to get so dehydrated that the idea of drinking anything is repulsive and may even make your cat feel sick.
Thomas: If she refuses to drink, you’ll have to feed her water and possibly an electrolyte solution (the kitty version of Gatorade) by bottle or syringe into her cheek pouch. Take your cat to the vet right away if she’s refusing to drink!
Dahlia: Balanced electrolyte solutions for treating dehydration in children can be appropriate for use in cats–with your vet’s guidance, of course.
Siouxsie: If your cat is severely dehydrated, your vet will treat her by administering subcutaneous or intravenous fluids.
Thomas: A cat can survive without food longer than a person can. In fact, a lot of vets say a cat can lose up to 40 percent of its body weight without severe consequences.
Dahlia: Still, it is possible that not eating for several days can cause liver damage, especially if your cat is overweight to begin with.
Siouxsie: With all that in mind, we’d say a trip to the vet is definitely in order. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Thomas: Thank you for caring so much about your cat’s well-being, Jon. People like you make us purr!
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Dear Sousie, Thomas and Dahlia,
As a cat sitter, I am disappointed to hear the above story. When I Cat sit I check the house over completely every day and *always* check out the cat as well. If I can not find the Cat I keep looking until I do. I make sure to inspect the Cat for physical and emotional well being. Even if the Cat is not to crazy about strangers I find a way to satisfy myself that the Cat is doing as well as expected.
I must not only see the cat. I will give them a nice rub down from nose to tail. I also see that they are moving around normally by playing with them.
I inspect the home to see if there are any signs of illness or stress in the cat. also check for hazards. Has something fallen over or has kitty gotten into anything like the cleaning products cabinet? Are there newly chewed items that are hazardous like plastic bags or electrical cords? Is the home secure from intruders? Are all the appropriate doors and windows shut to keep kitty in where it is safe? Are there puddles of puke anywhere?
I also check the litter box to make sure there is the right amount of waste and it all looks normal. The cat food not being eaten and the water dish being untouched when I come back the next day would be an immediate cause for me to investigate further.
Your normally well behaved cat may engage in all sorts of not normal behaviors while you are away. One of the Cat sitter’s jobs id to make sure these new behaviors are not warning signs or something more than missing you. There is much more to cat sitting than just supplying food and water daily.
Also if your cat is going to get sick it will inevitably be while you are gone and kitty is under stress.
We place cat toys in the door jams to prevent them from closing completely. Its so sad to hear the pitiful “mewing” from behind a closed door. We hope never to hear that again in our home.
Watch out for Liver disease
My outdoor cat I have owned for 12-13 years got locked in a shed for 4 days.. With no food, water, ext. She is now not eatting, drinking, and she walks kind of funny, what is wrong with her? We are taking her to the vet tomorrow…