Cat emergency   

Wow. That's absolutely unbelieveable!! I have no idea, as I'm not the cat-baithing expert in my family. Are there any really good pet-friendly shampoos? If you can't take the cat to the vet, can you call a vet, mention what happened, and see if they will reccomend something to wash her with? I'm glad you got some of it out. I'm going to send this to my husband, also on MyLot, and see if he has any ideas. He has owned a lot more cats than I have. LOL

Oh my gosh, that's terrible! Perhaps you might try applying some baking soda or maybe even some unscented/hypo-alergenic talcum powder on her and then brush it through her coat to help absorb whatever leftover stuff/motor oil remains in her fur. Maybe that might help to remove at least a part of the remaining crud on her. Perhaps you could also find out some other helpful home remedies by searching google & such online. Best of luck to her, as well as to you for help in continuing to remain calm & to be able to help one of your best girls during this crises (sp?). *hugs*

firefox333

Honestly, the washing detergent that you're using, if it's not formulated for animals, may be just as toxic or more toxic than the motor oil. Most detergents contain a wide range of chemicals that can be harmful when ingested. If any of the residue from the detergent is left in her fur, it could be harming her just as much as the oil. Even if not ingested, the detergent will most likely irritate her skin, since cats have more delicate skin than humans do. That's why they make pet shampoos. I would advise getting a pet shampoo, or taking your cat to a professional groomer. A groomer would be a lot less costly than a veterinarian, and they've probably dealt with this problem before.

Hi Jw,

Since you've already bathed her several times I think the most important thing is to call your vet and explain what happened. Explain you've already bathed her several times and got most of the oil off, you're just worried about her licking herself and ingesting the oil that way but she's not showing any signs of illness.
I'm guessing the vet will recommend she have some charcoal to help absorb whatever oil she might have ingested.

Next: Go to wherever you can find one of those cat collars that you can put on to keep her from licking herself for at least a week.

I just googled and found this thread, lots of great suggestions in it.
http://www.otherhealth.co...

I know that when there are oil spills, the animal rescue services used to use Dawn dish soap. I'm not sure if they do anymore but it worked great. They normally say don't make the water any warmer than you would for a baby when bathing your pets, but if you can get it just a teeny bit warmer not much, it will help get the oil off better.

Here's another tip I just read that sounds totally odd, but it does make sense.

Buy some cornflour, and cover kitty with it thoroughly (stand him in a basin first, obviously), The cornflour will stick to the motor oil, then you can wash the cornflour+oil mixture off with ordinary shampoo and water (in the bath this time). You'll need to repeat the cycle about 3 or 4 times, but it should work. The chemistry of it is that shampoo and water alone will just be repelled by oil; you need the cornflour to provide something for the water/soap to bind to.

I got that one from http://www.digitalspy.co....

Last but not least I know we use baking soda to clean many things, and I personally was given a backing soda bath as a child when I came in and had over 100 mosquito bits on me from playing outside to ease the itching. I would imagine if you put a small amount of baking soda in the bath, it will work wonders to get the oil off of her.

Good luck and do keep us updated.

I don't know if you have it available there but Dawn is used to clean up the animals that get covered in oil spills.

A good shampoo is a much better degreaser than laundry detergent. I even use that to get grease stains out of clothing. I would try using shampoo for her next bath. Most motor oil isn't too toxic, but will probably give her diarrhea. She will definitely pass any hairballs she has in her stomach.

Poor Jet! I did a little research online, and you might want to try using DAWN dish detergent...the original blue formula. It contains de-greasers that should get the rest of the oil off. That's frequently what is used for animal/bird rescues where they've been exposed and covered with oil. See this INFORMATION ONLY link: http://www.dawn-dish.com/...
As far as toxicology, you might want to call your vet to see if there's a special diet that Jet should be given, or to ask what you should look for as far as poisoning goes. Cat's digestive systems tend to concentrate what they consume. This helps them to maximize nutrients obtained from food, but can also work the other way for toxins. One site I use when I have unusual questions is the Tufts Veterinary website. Here is the list of faculty, whenever I've emailed them I've gotten pretty fast responses. http://www.tufts.edu/vet/...
There is a Flo Tseng who has a specialty in oil spill damage...she might be able to help (even tho her specialty is birds).
Good luck and please keep us updated!

are you using Dawn dishwashing liquid? that's the ticket...

If you're in the US, the ASPCA has a poison control number you can call. The phone number is (888) 426-4435. You may be charged a $60 consulting fee. You can also get more information on their website http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/ There might be something on the website specifically about motor oil.

I don't know if any other countries have anything similar, but you could try researching it online. Search for words like "animal poison control".

Good luck, and I hope your cat is okay!

DON"T LET HER LICK THE OIL! It is very toxic.
I had this same thing happen to one of my cats more then once. Take out a regular bottle of vegetable oil and work it into her fur to loosen the heavy motor oil. Then shampoo her with baby shampoo or alovera and rinse well. If any oil remains repeat the vegetable oil and shampoo again. Many years ago I had one of my cats come home with oil all over his hind quarters and back legs like he had been dipped in it. At first I tried like you to just bathe him and then I called the vet to see what else to do. That's how I found out about the vegetable oil thing. It happened a second time so instead of trying to wash him I first worked about a quart of vegetable oil in and kept wiping off the mess until most was gone then gave him a good bath in alovera shampoo. He didn't like getting bathed but loved the cuddle in a big fluffy towel after.