Why is my cat sick and in pain after a Head & Shoulders bath?

I am sorry to hear about your concern for your kitty! Ingesting a small amount of shampoo (provided it isnt' a medicated kind) would not be likely to cause any poisoning/toxicity in your kitty, but could cause some stomach upset. I would just recommend monitoring her appetite and energy level and watching for vomiting. If you notice changes in these then a visit to your vet is recommended.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ingesting or licking off a small amount of shampoo shouldn't be too worrisome. The vomiting, diarrhea, and decreased appetite may have another medical cause such as an infection from a virus or bacteria or perhaps a parasite. I would recommend Nami see her veterinarian for an exam and evaluation soon. Your veterinarian may want to test Nami's stool or run blood work or x-rays to help determine a cause so she can get appropriately treated. Until you can get to her veterinarian, you feed her a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice to help settle her stomach. I hope this helps and thanks again for posting!

Poor Shadow! She is very young to be fully immersed in water, it is incredibly stressful and dangerous for young animals. Moreover, dish soap is very bad for their skin and coat and not even a truly effective way of killing fleas, when the eggs hatch there will be no residual activity. In future it would be much kinder and more effective to buy a spot on flea treatment such as frontline. Now as for why she is so poorly: best case scenario is that she has gotten very cold and stressed and her body is temporarily reacting to it. But on the same hand she may have got water in her lungs ( her lungs are tiny so it doesn't take much) and this will make her incredibly sick and is potentially life threatening. You need to get her to a vet asap because if something serious is going on it needs to be treated quickly. Hopefully it is just that she is in a bit of shock. In the mean time keep her warm and comfortable. In future if you need any advice regarding pet care please ask your vet or ask us, we will always help. Best of luck.

I'm so sorry that Simba is not going well. You didn't mention how long ago he might have ingested the soap. We will see mostly GI signs (vomiting and diarrhea) with most soap ingestions, but some soaps have ingredients that cause damage to the lining of the GI tract and can require much more intensive treatment. I would recommend contacting a poison control center with the exact ingredients in the soap and see if they can tell you how worried you need to be about the soap ingestion. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control Since Simba is a kitten, he needs to be taken to a vet right away if he isn't eating or drinking. Kittens can get dehydrated very quickly, which can be very dangerous. Good luck!

Please have her assessed urgently by an emergency vet and take the shampoo bottle with you. Small kittens are very sensitive to insecticides and weakness and tremors are common side effects and can progress to seizures

This is enough concerning things to warrant a trip to the veterinarian. The hair loss may be due to allergies, to fleas or food, or environmental contaminants. The vomiting could be related to hair loss or food allergy and the vocalization can certainly indicate pain. She may have a number of conditions, including a urinary tract infection, always suspect when their toilet habits change abruptly. The best first step is going to see the vet for an exam and labwork. based on those results, the vet will be better able to determine the reason for the cat's illness and get her started on the correct treatment.

I would recommend allowing Jasper to eat right away. If he's feeling nauseous he will leave the food alone. If he is continuing to vomit and unable to eat by 24 hours after this all started, I would strongly recommend taking him back to the veterinarian for evaluation. Cats can get very ill with something called hepatic lipidosis from not eating for a prolonged time. I would also worried about toxicity from the shampoo if Jasper ate a lot of it. At the very least after 24 hours he will need some fluid underneath his skin to help rehydrate him and probably some anti-nausea medication. At home provide him lots of opportunities to drink water and eat, and limit his stress. He may want to just hang out by himself or sleep. Reasons to seek help before 24 hours include extreme lethargy, uncontrollable vomiting, and looking pale. Good luck, I hope Jasper feels better soon!