Minutus

Hoping for some quick advice. My cat, Harvey, may have ingested leaves or flowers from a Rhododendron plant and I'm in a panic.
He was fine and happy at breakfast and ate very well. Went out into the fenced cat yard for a little while. Returned to house. (In and out is what he does all the time.) When he had gone back out I noticed areas of vomit on the floor near the cat door. It was thin/watery and had some remnants of his breakfast. Not a large amount of vomit and was in several places going toward the cat door. Harvey will vomit at times after eating grass but not this type of vomit.
Went out to check on him and he was hiding. Not usual. Came in and went off by himself. Somewhat lethargic. Not interested in his favorite treats which he loves. No other symptoms.
When I went into the cat yard, I was surprised to see a newly planted, small Red blossomed Rhododendron.

I knew my daughter had planted a few for me in the regular yard but had no idea she had planted one in the cat yard. It was late when she left and the cats were all in for the night, cat door closed. I couldn't see the Rhododendron from the house when opening the cat door this morning.
I have been trying (shaking like a leaf and can't focus) to research what to do. And whether to do something now or wait to see if he shows more symptoms. My hope is Harvey benefitted by vomiting soon after he may have eaten any of the plant. There was no evidence of green plant/leaves or red flower in the vomit, though.
Rhododendron is of the Ericacae family. Common names: Rosebay and Azalea. The toxin is Grayantoxin. It seems it may take 6 or so hours for the toxin to show effects.
I have the remedy Rhododendron Chrysanthum in 30 X and C, 200C 1M and 10M but am very hesitant to give it without advice from someone far more informed than I am! Only found (so far) one reference for Rhod in actual Rhododendron poisoning and I'm not sure how knowledgeable the person may be.
If anyone has any advice they might offer, I'd be very grateful for the kindness of sharing it with me.

Thank you,

Georgianna

Give arsenic in as soon as you can. First line of defense for poisoning. Try a 30 c.

Then take he remaining schedule.

Hi Maria!
So good of you! And so speedy! I reached for the Ars first and then got wallowing in Rhod and totally lost all capacity to think at all...........Thank you so much!
Georgianna

Yes, we cannot think clearly with those we love.

When my husband was ill, I did the best I could with palliative care. He did well until the very end and passed gently.

I would have loved a constitutional remedy for him. During the preparations at the funeral home, I was laying out memorabilia of things he did. He was an artist so on one table were art kinda things; he was a Freemason and past Master that was there; his work with the DAV, VFW; Knights of Columbus; Elks; etc, etc were represented. As I laid out all his hats it hit me ! Good G-d, he was a Thuja!

No, we cannot be an unpredjudiced observer with our own.

Large amounts of ascorbic acid can couter toxins.
Mix witih water and sugar to taste adn assist feed by dropper.
It can also be used intravenously for a severe poisoning.
.....Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.Furryboots.info
(Info on Feline health, genetics, nutrition & homeopathy)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."

Dear Maria,
Your husband was a fascinating man......with many hats, not the least of all was his hat of *knowing how to live a most interesting and fruitful life*. And he was wise. He chose well when he married.
Immediately gave Harvey Ars 30 after your kind (and quick!) suggestion. No change so far but no actual symptoms of poisoning. Just the lethargy, lack of appetite. Will keep close watch on him. I know you know how much I love that cat! (Told him you said he should have that remedy and he said *well, if that crazy woman crawling around on the floor with me that time.......says I need to take it, I guess I better!)
Dug up the Rhododendron!
Thank you, Maria!
Georgianna

Hi Irene..........I read every post on your wonderful list! It's a true gift.......what you do. I always appreciate the good intentions of all members on your list and have learned a lot from your posts and from the files. Just used your abscess protocol with good results!
You are certainly right about Vit C! Harvey was getting IV C for almost 2 years as part of a plan I put together to avoid allopathic treatment for presumed intestinal small cell lymphoma. Presumed, because I never allowed even a needle aspiration nor biopsy but after several ultrasounds the board certified vet that performed them was confident of the diagnosis and was very critical of me for not *at least starting him on pred*. I am so grateful to all that I've learned from people like you that I did not *at least start pred*!
Still give him (and all the cats) oral Vit C daily but know IV is much more effective than oral could ever be. Have been trying to persuade local vet to Rx injectable sodium ascorbate that I could give subQ with fluids as Bellfield wrote about.
Thank you so much for suggesting C because in my spinning brain state, I actually didn't even think to at least increase his oral dose! Shameful of me. If he does develop symptoms I have relationships with the two vets who did the IV C and will get him to one immediately.
Thank you very much,
Georgianna

Not much change since Ars. Still withdrawn/lethargic and complete lack of appetite but no other symptoms as described Rhododendron poisoning can produce. I am unable to properly listen to heart rate even with a good stethoscope as am almost deaf. Harvey shows no incoordination. He hasn't slipped backward but has not moved forward. This is good.........? It's now beyond the time poison control sites say there could be progression of poisoning symptoms so I'm hopeful.
Gave him about 3 grams oral Vit C and spoon fed him about 3 ounces of food as he has not eaten since this morning. He doesn't show any pain or discomfort, just very quiet and distant, which is unusual. Thus far no vomiting of food spooned into him.
If Harvey seems worse or even the same in the morning should I re-dose with Ars, same potency or higher, do you think? I believe his constitutional to be Puls and have used it before with good results. Had started daily dosing of LM1 Puls 3 days ago. Did not give today as frightened he had been poisoned by that darn new bush in his cat yard. (Daughter meant well. I should have been more attentive. It is of no one's fault but my own a poisonous plant was put in the Cat yard.) Do you think that I should (if all is static) give another dose of Ars or Puls.......or ?
Thank you,

Georgianna

Hello all,
11:00 AM No changes thus far. Harvey passed very soft stool twice through the night but all else is unchanged.
He is extremely lethargic, sleeping all the time.

No desire to be outside (very odd for him as he generally demands to go outside)

No appetite at all (have been assist feeding and he has been compliant with that)
Drinking lots of water (he never drank water at all for years but has been drinking moderately lately)

No reaction to petting or holding (normally very appreciative of affection)

He is steady on his feet, not showing any of the symptoms such as vertigo, etc. of Rhododendron poisoning.

Most info says symptoms generally begin within 6 hours of poisoning.

Not hiding but staying by himself.

Facial expression is as if he's very depressed,

Body somewhat tight as if in pain (gave him Traumeel about 4 hours ago with no improvement)
Harvey has a history of frequent urination of small volume but has much improved lately. He had a number of events involving struvite crystals and cystitis over the years.

His urine tests always had high protein results and I've thought he had Glomerulonephritis but vets never responded to my thoughts. His rather frequent urinalysis sensitivity/culture tests were always negative for bacteria However, a few times AB's were prescribed and given while waiting for test results. Those AB's never influenced the urinary issue. I finally stopped beginning AB's until the test results arrived as they seemed always to be negative and hated giving AB's unnecessarily.
His frequent/low volume urination changed late last summer when he had extensive dental surgery and was Rx's Clindamycin, an aggressive antibiotic that some cats have difficulty handling. Harvey did well with it and his urinary problem was dramatically improved. That brought me to investigate why Clindamycin, prescribed for anaerobic bacteria often found in the mouth and used for cats following dental surgery worked well for his urinary issues.
Read a number papers about FLUTD and found an article about bacterial cystitis that said " rarely, post-strep Glomerulonephritis (kidney inflammation) can occur after a Group C (strep) infection" but did not say which strain/species or organism in the Group C it was and I was never able to figure it out.
So, since I believe Harvey's constitutional to be Puls .........after beginning this post hours and hours ago and what I was saying started me thinking he looked more like a kidney case than a poisoning case.....at noon, in desperation, gave him a dose of Puls LM1. Puls is mentioned in rubrics for Proteinuria, albuminuria and Glomerulonephritis but certainly not near the top results but felt it best suits his well self.
And, within 30 minutes, Harvey ate a normal size portion of food on his own and with gusto!!! Started to respond to petting. Purred. Depressed expression gone. Stiffed body relaxed. Still drinking water a bit too much but I am so happy I can't find the words!
Know this post is poorly done but I firmly believe that without this list to write to, I would not have come to the thought of Puls. Sorry it's so long. For those who offered advice and those that read this whole mess...........
Thank you!
Georgianna

Does he seem gelsimium like? What else?

Irene is much better with animals, particularily cats.

Maria