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The UFI (Unidentified Flying Insects) are irresistible for playful kittens or hunters like us : butterflies, mosquitoes, flies, wasps, bees, bumblebees, hornets, horseflies…
In time, we learnt to identify dangerous insects ; however, many kittens and young cats risk get stung. The unpleasant experience arrives generally only once. Most of the time, an insect sting will ache but be harmless for the cat. It can be dangerous if the cat is stung on the face, in particular in the mouth, in the throat, or down on the nose.
What to do if your cat is stung by an insect ?
Wasps and hornets
The venom of wasps and hornets is released under the skin ; it contains among others histamine, which causes inflammation, oedema, and pain at the place of the sting. The cat shows that it hurts and licks constantly the spot of the sting. An anaphylactic shock is possible if the cat is allergic, or if he is victim of multiple stings. The venom of wasps is alkaline, you can dab the location of the sting with some cold water with vinegar to neutralize it.
Bees and bumblebees
Their venom is similar to that of wasps, and causes the same symptoms. Contrary to wasps and to hornets which have a smooth sting, bees have a barbed sting which stays in the wound. As possible, remove the sting with a tweezers without touching the bag poison which is hung on it. Bumblebees, them, have a smooth sting. You can then dab the location of the sting with some cold water added by sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the venom, because the venom of bees is rather acid.
Gadflies and stable flies
Their bite aches, and they can pass on viruses, bacteria, and parasites. It is important to disinfect the location of the bite.
Mosquitoes
Mosquito bites are irritating but harmless under our latitudes, and go unnoticed most of the time.
Any insect bite in the mouth, the throat, or the nose of your cat is a veterinary emergency !
For any sting in another zone, watch closely your cat. In case of doubt, contact immediately your veterinarian : he can advise you and give you if needed antihistamines or corticoids to treat your cat.
Great advice – I Tweeted!
Thank you for sharing ! Purrs
That is pawsome advice!
We purr we never get stung. You two either!
Purrs Georgia and Julie,
Treasure and JJ
Pawsome………I’ll make sure that Mom reads this…………so she’ll know what to do in case i’m attacked!
Hugs, Sammy
This is all such great information! None of my kitties have ever been stung by an insect, thank goodness. However, last year my pup Astrid got into a brawl with a bee. She got stung on the nose several times. We immediately gave her a full dose of benadryl, which helped keep the swelling to a minimum. Luckily, she’s not allergic and didn’t even seem to notice her enlarged nose. She was back to normal by the next morning.
Excellent post. My cats are indoors, but you never know when an insect is going to get inside.
This is great advice, which we’ve shared 🙂
That was really good information, thanks!
Great info! Syssiknyfe was bit by something and had a huge “abscess” which TW successfully lanced on the back porch. She didn’t seem bothered by the limp but TW knew it must have hurt. Lots of stuff came out of it and TW put Bacitracin on it. She didn’t need medical care and was fine.
It is GREAT advice! I will share! 🙂 xxx
Thank you for sharing ! Purrs
Very innerestin’, but mosquito bites are far from harmless. They can pass on heartworms which are deadly in cats as there’s no treatment, only purrvention.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
You’re right, and that’s the reason why we specified “under our latitudes” in our post : mosquitoes do be harmless in Switzerland, but we know that it’s another story in other areas. Purrs
thanx for sharin thiz post pixie & zorro…..we hafta bee care full oh moe skeetoez round heer… tho knock on wood…. ther haz knot been manee round…yet ~~~~~~ ♥♥♥
Very helpful advice! We’ve never been stung or bitten here, and hadn’t even really thought about it until now! It’s very smart to be prepared so we don’t panic if something happens.
Super useful. Thank you! We carry Benadryl in case of an allergic reaction… but the dosage is really small for me (as a mini doxie). Do cats ever use it?
xo
Toots
We don’t know Benadryl, but after some search, we saw that cat owners have to be careful if using Benadryl because of some side effects. Purrs.
I have had bees and wasps make their way into our apartment before. When it happens, I am always terrified that the cats will try to chase the insect and end up getting stung. Being the sensitive kitty mom that I am, I would probably be frantic if they did get stung. Luckily, I’ve been able to shoo them out of the window before anything came of their visits.
Excellent information. One of my kitties was once stung by a bee. Luckily, we got the stinger out quickly and he did not have a bad reaction. Unfortunately, mosquitoes here can transmit heartworms. ;-(
We’ve used benedryl in our dog. Benedryl can be used in cats, but it is NOT a very effective antihistamines for them (there are better antihistamines for cats such as cetirizine and Chlorpheniramine maleate but check with your vet if you think you need to use them )
Thanks for these great tips. My cat is an indoor cat and so usually he doesn’t come across other insects than flies or mosquito. But it’s good to be prepared if he gets stung by an insect.
Great information! This is one of those things you don’t think about until it happens…and then panic sets in!
Used to get a lot of wasps in here every year. This is first year of peace. Jan is always terrified we’ll catch one in the house and the dogs try to catch anything that flies outside.
That is great advice! We only go outside in our stroller, so the chance of being bitten is pretty small, but it is good to be reminded what to do in the case of an insect bite!
I never knew ’bout that vinegar thing and stings. I’ve never been stung but Peep #1 was, last year. Not good. You think it works for peeps, too?
Purrs,
Seville
Yes, it works fine for peeps as well. Purrs
Thanks for a very informative post. One of our angel kitties was stung on her paw when she was a kitten, and it swelled up huge. Mom didn’t know about any of these remedies and held her paw to an ice cube wrapped in a wash cloth. Mom was more upset than the cat. Zorro, C.J. says that you are looking quite handsome and dapper today. She sends a sweet kiss for your nose. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Mee-you Pixie an Zorro what a timelee bloggie post…..mee gotted stung by a hone bee over thee weekend an LadyMum did not know what to do……
Shee tried to get stinger out butt mee not co-opurr-ate….so shee managed to put on sum Aunty-bye-otick oinmint…..
Mee gotted thee stinger out an mee iss OK now……LadyMum was havin 6 fitss wurryin about mee! Mee will not do that again!! Swat a bee; what WAS mee finkin?????
***paw patsss*** Siddhartha Henry xxxx
Oh no ! We’re so sorry to read this ! We’re glad you’re OK ! Be careful with UFI (Unidentified Flying Insects) now. Purrs
TBT gets nervous when we whap at a bee on our Nip flowers, but none of us have ever been stung. But it is good that he read this “just in case”! Fortunately, while we seem ta sit around where there are wasps they never bother us.
My first cat was stung by a hornet she was playing with. One side of her face swelled up. I called the vet at the time and they told me to give her half a Benadryl mixed with her food. I remember she avoided eating the powder but eventually got her to ingest some. The swelling went down within a few hours and she was back to normal.