A Queensland tomcat poisoned with antifreeze was miraculously cured by the wonders of Absolut vodka this weekend.
The cat – dubbed Tipsy by the RSPCA – was found near a tyre store in Lowood, 66 kilometres west of Brissy, and taken to the RSPCA animal hospital in Wacol.
As antifreeze is such a fast-acting toxin, vet Sarah Kanther predicted the cat had only an hour to live if they did not find an antidote for the poison – the intravenous injection of ethanol: “He couldn’t stand, he couldn’t lift his head, he was hypothermic, he was having convulsions and really having trouble breathing.”
Blood tests showed that Tipsy was suffering from acute renal failure.
Luckily, a nurse had a bottle of vodka on hand. “Basically once you put the alcohol into his blood it metabolises that instead, and gives the antifreeze time to pass in a less toxic form.”
Tipsy was said to improve within hours of being hooked up to a diluted Absolut drip: “He was off his rocker, he was having a jolly good time.”
SAVED BY A WHISKER: A Brisbane vet has mixed an unusual cocktail to save a cat poisoned by anti-freeze. #TenNews pic.twitter.com/XHPdvASkkb
— TEN News Queensland (@tennewsqld) July 17, 2017
Tipsy is not microchipped, so the RSPCA are currently looking for Tipsy’s owners. If not found, our hero, booze kitty will be put up for adoption. They do not yet know if he was purposefully baited and are seeking information from the public.
If you do adopt Tipsy though, the RSPCA’s Michael Beatty does not advise having shots, shots, shots together: “Don’t be feeding your pet vodka. Leave that decision up to the vet.”
Vodka, is there anything it can’t do?
Source: ABC.
Photo: Ten News.
