Monday, October 22, 2012

Could this be the culprit?

Yesterday after coming home, I did suspect that the source of the poison could be from the toads in the garden. I have seen these toads come out after dark and a day before Bosco fell ill, I remember seeing a small one hopping in the porch. At that time, it did not strike me how toxic they could be.

Toad toxicity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVPnkKO6ELY

This morning, I saw a tiny one again when I let Raven out to play in the garden.


You see that speck on the tiles?




 


That's a tiny toad.


Apparently, according to the youtube link above, they secrete a poison from their skin as a defense mechanism when they are frightened. Dogs and cats have been known to be afflicted with toad poisoning due to this. It says what we must do is to rinse the mouth of the animal with water and take the animal to the vet's. I think by the time I saw Bosco salivating, it must have happened many hours already as he did not feel like eating breakfast in the morning but I only detected the salivation at noon.



 So tiny, yet so toxic. But the one I saw was much bigger, about one-third of the size of my palm.


 I had to shoo this one away as Raven and Rosie were in the porch.


Still, it is only a conjecture. Bosco could have been afflicted with a severe sudden, acute infection as he had very high fever. That is the puzzling part. Sigh...we would never know, so the important thing is to move on more carefully now.



 Back into the house, Raven.

10 comments:

Hazwani said...

Me and my feline-friends are praying and waiting for the good news...
Be strong Dr. KY

Wong Yoke Mei said...

goodness that little fella is so tiny...

SharonF said...

The same happened to my cat. One evening I saw him salivating & frothing from mouth and eventually vomiting after returning from the garden. My brother informed me he saw the cat released a frog from the mouth earlier. I immediately gave him a good wash by hosing his mouth with water. He continues to salivate for a while. Fortunate no serious harm was incurred.

Yen Ling said...

Morning Dr. Chan,

If you suspect that this could be the culprit, catch it and bring it to the doctor to do a test.

By knowing the toxicity of this toad, it could safe the victim's life by giving the right antidote to the victim.

This is how it is done for snake bites. We must identify which snake species and the level of venom is measured and right antidote is given to the victim. I am not sure if this will work for Bosco + toad (suspect), but is a worth a try.

My thoughts are with Bosco. hugs. Positive Qi!

Maggie Hui said...

Hello Dr. Chan, any news on Bosco? I am in the office and pretty anxious for some good news. Really hope your dear kitty will pull through and recover.

Bern said...

Hi Dr. Chan....How is Bosco today?

Billy said...

Here is an ancient chinese remedy. Suplhur. Used in ancient times by chinese warriors camping in the wild to ward off snakes, they spread the perimeter with sulphur powder. Not sure what is the scientific explanation, but snakes will never crawl over "sulphurized" ground. Also known to ward off most reptiles and amphibians. Spread your garden perimeter with sulphur and the little amphibians will not infiltrate. Suplhur does not kill these little beings, just turns them away. No effects on your pets. Worth a try. First precept still intact.

Wil said...

Still praying for Bosco. Hope he can go back home asap to be with u n raven.

Connie said...

Oh my dear little toad! Such a tiny creature can be so deadly. Now I understand why my dog,Ben barked profusely whenever there is a toad and insisted us to remove the toad outside the house compound. Thank you Dr Chan for blogging this & I pray that Bosco recuperated from his illness & be at home again with little Raven.

chankahyein said...

I've heard of this sulphur remedy but...it doesn't work sometimes. Many years ago, a viper tried to get into my house. I sprinkled sulphur all over - it crawled all over the sulphur. Then a friend told me over at his school, there were snakes too. Sulphur doesn't work at all, he said. Use Chlorox. The smell scares them away - that's what he said.