My kitten got dish soap in mouth, now sneezing. Is she okay?

In small amounts, ingestion of Dawn dish soap may cause some mild vomiting or diarrhea. If some of it were inhaled, it could cause some respiratory signs such as rapid breathing and coughing. I would monitor her closely at this point. If she's breathing normally, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you do see her start to breathe quickly or breathe with her mouth open, I would take her to a veterinarian right away. Open-mouth breathing in a cat is a sign of severe respiratory distress and needs to be treated right away. I hope this helps and that she feels better soon!

That shampoo is labeled for kittens that are over 12 weeks of age. She is really too young to shampoo her with a flea product. I am a little bit confused when you say "she is NOT sneezing and breathing funny" and I am assuming you meant to say she is NOW. If she is sneezing and breathing funny, you could re-wash to try and get any remaining flea shampoo off of her. You could use a small amount of regular dawn dish soap or a mild cat shampoo that is safe to use on kittens. She should also be examined by a vet as soon as possible as those products can be toxic to cats, especially if not used correctly. Please call your vet and have her seen, especially if she is having difficulty breathing!!

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.

Dish soap is not recommended for delicate kitten skin and I recommend you start her on a course of omega fatty acid supplements as soon as possible (such as viacutan) to try to replenish the natural oils and moisture in her skin. I recommend using a fipronil based flea spray 48hours after the last wash to help reduce the fleas and also spray all bedding and sleeping areas with an insecticidal flea spray alongside daily, gentle flea combing

If the solution you used was a dish soap (such as Dawn here in the US), she should be fine until you can get to her again. It may cause mild GI upset if she grooms it or mild skin irritation. If you notice redness, sores, or hives, then she may need to be seen by a veterinarian. Good luck!

This should not lead to any severe intoxication or noticeable side effect. Possibly an episode or vomiting or diarrhoea may occur but they should be all self limiting and resolving. I would recommend to monitor her for the next 12hours but no further actions are needed at this stage.

Hello and Greetings. Thanks for your question and using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If she is having upper respiratory signs associated with the inhalation of the water and the milk such as changes in breathing, difficulty swallowing, nasal discharge, weakness, loss of appetite or other changes, please take her into see her veterinarian soon as she may have developed pneumonia from aspirating the liquids. She may need a chest x-ray to confirm this and may need to be on antibiotics for a while. If she appears normal otherwise, just keep an eye on herald take her in if any of the above signs are witnessed.