Help! My bird stole cat meds!

[Harpmaker]

I was cutting pills for my cat when Corsair swiped a 25 mg Atenolol tablet. I tried to get it out of her beak but recovered maybe a third of it. My local emergency clinic's Avian vet is on vacation. ASPCA poison control said to get her to a hospital for blood pressure and respiratory support until the meds clear her system. I have spent the last 2 and a half hours on the phone being referred from clinic to clinic where either they don't have an AV, theirs is out, or theirs is there only in the daytime. (it was 5:45 pm when she grabbed the pill. (My fault. If we get through this she will not be out when I fix cat meds)

I have run out of places to call. Referrals are going to places I called an hour ago. Does anyone know anything I can do here?

So far Corsair seems pleased with herself, flying around, singing, eating, preening etc. She was mad at me for prying her beak open to get as much of the pill as I could from her mouth, but is mostly over that now.

[Wolf]

What exactly is your cat being treated for? this drug is used for heart conditions, obesity, high blood pressure, hypertension and a few other things. The listed side effects for overdose seem to be contradictory with the most serious being seizures, erratic heartbeat and liver damage.

[Harpmaker]

Thanks for responding, Wolf.

The atenolol is for the thickened heart muscle common to Maine Coon cats. one-quarter pill. He is also taking amlodipine for it, and phenobarbitol for seizures. He developed epilepsy at the age of 10 a few months ago.

Corsair is still singing and shredding damp paper towels, with no apparent effects. She is staying up well past bed time tonight so I can see if she keels over, not that I can do anything. Maybe shout to raise her blood pressure?

[Wolf]

sounds like she may be feeling a little extra good tonight. I would watch for any yellowing off skin or eyes as that is a sign of liver damage.

[Harpmaker]

Is there anything I can do for her if I do notice something? Aside from getting her to an AV in the morning?

[Wolf]

I would be afraid to recommend anything for fear of causing problems, other than water which would only serve to flush it through her system faster. But together with her high metabolism that might not be a good thing to do. Their liver and kidneys are more efficient than ours so keep your fingers crossed.

[Harpmaker]

Thanks Wolf. It must be really late in your time zone.

[Wolf]

Well yeah it is about 1:14 a.m. But I don't sleep all that well, right now I am watching over an old dog that I am debating on putting down . I just had him in to see the vet but he is not responding well to treatment and has an enlarged heart. He is older than normal for the breed.

[marie83]

Might be too late now but if you really cannot get to an avian vet then go to an ordinary one if your bird looks like it needs help. You can ask the vet just to try and control the situation and then transfer to an avian vet first thing.

[Harpmaker]

It's been just over 13 hour now and the sun is coming up here. She is a little more subdued than usual this morning, but she was up late last night, so I hope she's just sleepy.