28/09/2023
🐍Vets4Pets had a number of snake bite patients already this season.
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🐍🐱Snake bites in cats🐱🐍
Snake bites are more likely to occur from now until the end of summer, as snakes are inactive during cooler weather. Australia has a large number of venomous snakes but the eastern brown snake and tiger snake account for the majority of the snake bites in domestic pets around Adelaide. Cats are bitten slightly more often than dogs (52% compared to 44%) but their rates of survival are 91% with antivenom and rapid veterinary attention. Cat are naturally born to hunt and will stalk anything that moves, as well as tending to wander further from home, making it hard to track down the exact location or type of snakebite. If you live in the outer suburbs or semi-rural areas, keep your backyard clear of long grass, and remove any piles of rubbish. This will help to reduce the number of hiding spots for snakes to reside in.
The signs of snake bite can be varied and cats tends to mask their symptoms until they may be almost life threatening, some not showing signs of being envenomated for up to 24 hours. Cats are most often bitten around the head and limbs, though it is often impossible to locate the actual bite site. Bites to the body can be even more dangerous, as they allow the venom to reach the heart faster. Two stages of snakebite are recognised: pre-paralytic and paralytic.
Pre-paralytic usually occurs 10-15 minutes after the bite and may involve the following:
- Swelling at the location of the bite
- Drooling
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Weakness
- Urination
- Trembling
- Dilated pupils
- Drooping eyelids
- Sensitivity to light
- Increased respiration (breathing)
The paralytic syndrome may also occur immediately or several hours after being bitten. Paralysis generally starts in the back legs and moves towards the heads and includes:
- Dilated and fixed pupils that don’t respond to light
- Muscle weakness
- Change in meow
- Lack of coordination/drunken gait
- Rapid pulse and heartbeat
- Difficulty breathing or increased/shallow breaths
- Blue-tinged gums from lack of oxygen
- Blood or tea-coloured urine
- Coma
If you suspect your cat has been bitten by a snake you should immobilise your pet and try to keep them as quiet as possible. It is vital that you take them to a veterinarian as soon as possible. The sooner your pet is treated, the better their chances of survival. Please take care handling your cat, as they may be very painful and try to lash out. It is important NOT to do any of the following:
- Allow your cat to walk around
- Cut the bitten area
- Attempt to suck the venom out of the bite (this will actually increase blood flow to the area)
- Apply a tourniquet
- Attempt to catch or kill the snake (along with being dangerous, snakes are a protected species)
- Apply ice
- Delay treatment
Veterinary treatment varies with each individual case, depending on how severe the symptoms are and how rapidly the symptoms progress.
Treatment usually consists of intravenous fluids and the administration of antivenom to neutralise the snake venom circulating in the cat’s body. Some animals require multiple vials of antivenom.
Other supportive care may be required – including heating/warming the patient to maintain their body temperature, pain relief, feeding tubes to provide nutrition, or even oxygen supplementation. Cats that are paralysed will need to have their bladder manually expressed until they are able to urinate on their own. All hospital care needs to continue until the circulating antivenom has been neutralised and any bound venom has worn off.
If your pet is given antivenene for snakebite, it is important to remember that it is only being used to neutralise the snake venom in your pet’s system at that time. It does not protect your pet from further envenomation from a snake; it is not a preventative medication.
The majority of cats survive snakebite if treated quickly. The survival rate is much lower however for pets that left untreated, and death can occur.
Recovery from snakebite usually takes 24-48 hours if the pet receives prompt veterinary attention and the snakebite is not too severe. However, some pets will take substantially longer to make a full recovery due to tissue damage to internal organs and will require intensive and prolonged nursing care.
