One year old ate cat litter....

May 27, 2019 5:05 AM

Pretty sure, judging from her poop, that my one-year-old ate about a teaspoon or two of cat litter. Now what? My only real worry is toxoplasmosis. But we are in a rural area with extremely poor medical help, what the hell am I supposed to do now?
posted by kitcat to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

You can start by calling poison control if you're in the US.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:11 AM on May 27, 2019 [5 favorites]

Call your local poison control line for information and advice!
posted by fourpotatoes at 5:11 AM on May 27, 2019

You might find the online tool from the US Poison Control center helpful (and a good resource to bookmark in general). They've got a lot of CYA disclaimers associated with it, but it's well-informed. I can see you're not actually US-based but just...pick a zip code, it's fine.
posted by mosst at 5:13 AM on May 27, 2019

Response by poster: I just want to be more clear the cat litter has been passed already and - toxoplasmosis is not a poisoning situation. If she has been exposed - are there diagnostic tests? Is there treatment if she is not immunocompromised? If the answer is no then I will simply watch her for malaise. Google seems to say the answer to those two questions is no. But if you know otherwise please share your knowledge? I'm single momming, I have an older child in school today and I can't spend all day in emerg at a rural hospital unless it's really, very important to do something about this now. Baby seems super fine and happy, just constipated. Thanks!
posted by kitcat at 5:49 AM on May 27, 2019

Best answer: Call your pediatrician's office or health insurance line if you are in the US.

There is a diagnostic test but when I was concerned about toxoplasmosis my doctor suggested we wait until symptoms presented which they never did. But you need to talk to a medical professional who is familiar with your kid and the local services that are available to you.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 5:53 AM on May 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yes: this is an important medical situation, and a fairly urgent one, but it is not a critical one. Call your family doctor or paediatrician today to discuss, and they will be able to schedule any appointment with appropriate urgency to your daughter's circumstances.
posted by howfar at 6:27 AM on May 27, 2019

Best answer: Ok thanks, no ped here and in Canada we just don't have our doctors available by phone generally speaking. Here I am across the country from my usual home. Talked to poison control they said main worries are inability to pass the litter and bacterial infection. I will be monitoring for both obviously. Thank you.
posted by kitcat at 6:40 AM on May 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

You could try calling Health Link (Alberta Health Services)

tel:[phone]

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/Page12630.aspx
posted by Juniper Toast at 6:47 AM on May 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Seeing as you're in Alberta, your doctor's office is probably affiliated with a Primary Care Network. Your PCN may have a multispecialty or urgent care facility that might be able to provide more targeted help than a visit to the family doctor.

(And yes, you can just call your doctor's office for assistance, even in Canada. Your doctor won't just magically be on hand, but they might schedule a callback, get you in for an urgent appointment, or refer you to a Primary Care Network facility in a nearby town.)
posted by blerghamot at 7:18 AM on May 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: The chance of exposure to toxoplasmosis is low. Cats only shed the organism for about 3 weeks after they are first infected. If your cat is indoor only and you don't feed raw meat there is very little chance it's passing the organism. If your card go outdoors, a young kitten would be most likely to just happen to have a new infection. Most human exposure comes from undercooked meat rather from cat poop.
posted by morchella at 8:03 AM on May 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Are you sure you can't call your doctor? I'm in Canada and I call all the time. I mean they don't drop everything and pick up the phone. You tell the receptionist you need to talk to the doc and the doc calls you back. Usually she calls back within a half hour or so (presumably on her next between-patient). If you can't call this is a your-doctor's-policy thing, not a Canada thing.

ANyway, the other place you could call is Telehealth, which is an Ontario phone line. I know you're in ALberta, but I even called Telehealth when I lived in the U.S. The call goes through just fine. 1 866-797-0000

Oh, but it looks like Alberta has its own version. Just dial 811.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:06 AM on May 27, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: My then one year old straight up ate cat poop from the litter box and poison control was only worried about the composition of the litter, not potential diseases. They said she might get a tummy ache or diarrhea (she didn’t) but the dangerous part would have been any chemicals in the litter and luckily ours was just corn, essentially.

Call them and have the brand name of the cat litter on hand.
posted by lydhre at 11:56 AM on May 27, 2019 [1 favorite]