My kitten has been eating slugs, I've brought him in and cleaned up his mouth and the fur surrounding it as it was covered in slug slime!! Help!
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Unfortunately, kittens seem to like the taste of slugs, which is really kind of gross. Slugs themselves are not toxic to kittens, but the mucous they produce can cause Oliver to vomit or drool. The problems that come in with kittens eating slugs is if the slugs were poisoned with slug bait, and the lungworm parasite they are. I don't imagine you know how much slugs your kitten ate (one slug isn't likely to cause any problems), but I would recommend monitoring him for signs poisoning to be safe. These signs include drooling, increased heart rate, agitation, muscle tremors, increased temperature, and seizures. If you see any of those signs, you need to take Oliver into your vet right away. Toxicity can occur if your kitten eats lots of slugs that have been poisoned, leading to a build up of the toxins in his system. To prevent that, I recommend not letting him outdoors after it rains because that's when slugs like to come out en masse. As for lungworm, if a kitten is infected with lungworm, they show signs of difficulty breathing. Should Oliver begin to have trouble breathing, he will need to see a vet right away.
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If your kitten is acting normal, I wouldn't expect to see any problems except possibly some mild stomach upset - slugs are not generally toxic to dogs or cats :) Yoy can use some Dawn dish soap or Johnson's baby shampoo to clean off the slime. If you notice any problems over the next 24 hours, you can always have him examined by your vet to be safe.
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