Cats, especially kittens and young cats, sometimes chew electrical cords. The result may be oral burns, cardiac or neurological effects, and noncardiogenic pulmonary edema that can become life-threatening. MSD states that chewing electrical cords is the most common cause of electrical injury in small animals.
Key facts
Electric cord bite at a glance- Species and system: cat; mouth, heart, nervous system and lungs.
- Cause: chewing a live cord (holiday lights, charger or lamp cords).
- Classic presentation: a young cat with drooling, a grey or charred lesion on the tongue or palate, singed whiskers, and tachypnea with crackles.
- Complications: cardiac or respiratory arrest, ventricular fibrillation, neurogenic (noncardiogenic) pulmonary edema, facial or nasopharyngeal edema, oronasal fistula.
- Treatment: cut power, stabilise, oxygen, judicious fluids, analgesia, burn care.
- Not zoonotic or reportable. See the feline burns guide for general burn care.
What's inside
14 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Working through a case
- Common pitfalls
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 3 self-test questions and 3 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.