Tales From the Vet Box - An Ill Housecat

Many of you know I worked in vet clinics as a veterinary technician for years.   Some of my best animal stories come from my time spent working with really good vets in Washington State and here in Colorado.

An Ill Housecat

While working at a small animal clinic we had a cat that would come in periodically with its college student owner.  The client took excellent care of his cat, feeding excellent cat food and generally providing a high quality of care.  He was concerned because while otherwise quite healthy, the cat appeared to be having seizure-like activity, with stumbling, weakness, and vocalizing.  During one of these visits the cat appeared to be hallucinating, staring and yowling at the wall.  After conducting a thorough physical exam and not finding any obvious problems other than a slightly slowed heart rate, it occurred to the vet to confidentially ask the owner if there were any, say, illicit substances in the apartment the cat may have gotten into?  At this question the owner paused, slightly embarrassed and said the cat had been licking the bong.