<p>When I got home tonight and went into the kitchen, I saw that Ziggy had managed to get inside a cabinet, at about the level of the top of the refrigerator, and had knocked several things out of the cabinet and onto the floor. Among them was a package of light bulbs, one of which exploded when it hit the floor, spraying glass over almost half the kitchen. Including into his dish of dry food that I leave out for him during the day. Obviously I threw all of it out and swept the floor (with Ziggy shut up in my bedroom), and his paws seem to be OK, but I’m very concerned that he might have eaten some of the little shards of glass at some point while munching on his food. Some of them were quite tiny.</p>
<p>My hope is that since he generally eats dry food one piece at a time, he wouldn’t have accidentally taken in any glass in the process.</p>
<p>But you can probably guess the horrible consequences I’m imagining. The thing is, though, how will I know if anything’s wrong? He seems to be himself, but I know that cats can be very stoic.</p>
<p>And I don’t even have a vet in Manhattan yet; it’s a couple of months before he’s due for an annual checkup.</p>
<p>He’s my baby (at least while my first one is away in Vienna!), and I love him so much. And I can’t help being worried.</p>
<p>Donna, if your cat is a picky eater and eats one piece of food at a time, it is unlikely he swallowed any pieces of glass large enough to cause damage to his intestines even if he had any appetite after the “big bang”. If he is anything like my cats, he was probably so terrified by the explosions and falling stuff that he had no desire to eat!</p>
<p>I tried googling “I think my cat ate some broken glass” and surprisingly, there were quite a few hits. It seems as though it isn’t rare for cats to break glass Christmas tree ornaments and lights. </p>
<p>It is a very good sign that you didn’t notice any cuts or bleeding around and inside the cat’s mouth. I’m not a vet (I have a big lovable 110 lb. dog), but I think the next thing I would do after checking your pet’s mouth is to check your pet’s stool (should be easy if your cat uses a litter box). See if you notice any blood. </p>
<p>Your kitty is probably fine. Your cat probably ran into another room right after the explosion of the bulb and wasn’t focused on eating any food. For peace of mind, give your vet a call.</p>
<p>I would feed him something that would coat his intestinal tract- um milk/wet food?
I would also damp mop the floor as well as give him a good brushing cause some glass may be in the fur.</p>
<p>How’s Ziggy this morning? If he seems okay by now, he’s probably fine. Most cats are pretty discriminating about what they eat, so he most likely avoided the glass, or the dish altogether. The worrying never stops, does it? I hope he’s doing well.</p>
<p>Where was he when you got home to find this? I know one of my cats would have been sleeping in the back of the closet after a major noise like that; another would not care a bit. If your cat was showing signs of alarm, it’s unlikely he ate anything.</p>
<p>Did you look at the dry food before you threw it out? Did it look like it was undisturbed after the glass landed on it? Were there pieces on top of the rest? If so, probably untouched.</p>
<p>I’d watch the feces for blood and also watch for any abdominal tenderness, which would be a sign of internal bleeding. If he’s licking his belly a lot, that would be a sign that things aren’t normal.</p>
<p>You might want to make an appointment for a “get acquainted” visit with a vet, just so you have someone to call next time. You could take the cat in and get his claws clipped as a way of seeing if you like them. You also might want to figure out if there’s a 24-hour emergency vet you can use. (Here in Portland, we have a 24-hour animal emergency clinic: [DoveLewis</a> | Emergency Animal Hospital | Portland Oregon](<a href=“http://www.dovelewis.org/]DoveLewis”>http://www.dovelewis.org/).)</p>
<p>I’m very happy to say that Ziggy seemed entirely himself this morning, as lively as always and with a healthy appetite. So much so that he gobbled up most of a small can of Purina Fancy Feast for breakfast in several minutes (he eats 2 cans a day, plus some dry food), and promptly threw up about half of it – not a sign of illness for him; it is, unfortunately, a regular occurrence when he eats too quickly. But at least it gave me the chance to see that there was no sign of blood in what he threw up!</p>
<p>I’m actually a little embarrassed that I was so worried last night, and not thinking very clearly. I should probably have realized that he’s very finicky about eating dry food, that the food looked undisturbed, and that, yes, he’s very much a 'fraidy cat and probably did react like a cartoon cat and zoom away at the speed of light to hide somewhere when the bulb exploded. And I’m sure that if I’d been home at the time, I would have seen that he had on his guilty-face (and he definitely has one – whenever he scratches the sofa, or nibbles on a plant leaf, he keeps looking back over his shoulder to check if I see him, and if I yell “STOP,” he freezes in place!).</p>
<p>But Ziggy is the first pet I’ve ever had in my life, and I had no idea when I adopted him as a kitten 4 1/2 years ago that I would love him so much. I felt so sad for him last night that I carried him around, with his head resting on my shoulder, for close to an hour on and off. (Fortunately, he loves being picked up and carried, and asks for it all the time by standing against me with his paws reaching up as high as possible. Not so different from when J. was a toddler, really. And I love doing it!)</p>
<p>I’ll take all of this as a reminder that I definitely do need to find a local vet, and figure out the location of the nearest 24-hour animal clinic. There was one in New Jersey not so far from where I lived, but I’m sure there must be one closer.</p>
<p>And thanks again to all for being so helpful.</p>
<p>Donna, please don’t feel embarrassed! I have two cats and a dog, and I worry about them more than I worry about our kids! Because kids, I guess, can express themselves with words I keep calling my personal veterinary advisor (my sister’s words :)) every time one of my pets sneezes. She usually tells me that there is nothing to worry about, but a couple of times she diagnosed serious ilnesses just from my description of the symptoms (confirmed by my pets’ vet). I’m glad that Ziggy is OK. Phew…</p>
<p>I’m glad Ziggy is okay! Don’t be embarrassed about being worried; these little beings get into our hearts and of course we worry. Hugs to you and ziggy.</p>
<p>All are on the West Side, one in the 50’s, one in the 80’s, and one on 101st St – not really so far from Washington Heights, at least by taxi, unless I were traveling at, say, 5 pm on a Friday! I’m not sure how I feel about taking Ziggy on the subway; I’ve never done it. I might even try making a regular vet appointment for him at the second or third place, since they seem to have Saturday hours, which is when I’ve always tried to take him to the vet.</p>
<p>There are also a couple of places on the Upper East Side, but Ziggy isn’t really a Park Avenue-type cat, and I’m sure they charge Upper East Side prices! Not to mention that it’s farther away.</p>
<p>My dog ate a glass Christmas tree apple ornament. I had to take her in to vet on christmas eve. Vet was more concerned about the hook getting passed than he was about the glass. She passed blood in the stool and it was scary. So x rays showed where the problems were. The vet recommened high fiber diet for a few weeks to help the hook piece pass. I had to check stools for a whole week for more blood and for the ornaments hook. Dogs are different than cats but I thought I would pass along the info on watching the stools for a while.</p>