Australian vets treats cat high on cocaine

A Double Bay man got more than he bargained for when he took his highly agitated kitten to a veterinary clinic after it had been accidentally locked in a cupboard overnight - only to discover it was high on cocaine and benzodiazepines from a wild weekend dinner party.

The eight-month-old Himalayan cat arrived at the Double Bay clinic on a Monday morning with dilated pupils and a racing heart. The owner said it had trouble walking and was easily startled.

The cat was placed in a cage, began pacing incessantly and was too anxious to have a thermometer inserted in its rectum.



The vets, Dominic Barfield and Richard Malik, tried to take some blood but the party puss was in no mood to oblige. With no blood tests and no temperature to guide them, they questioned the owner again, who was adamant the cat had not been exposed to toxic plants, mouldy foods or drugs.

The vets rang the owner's wife, who admitted the cat could have licked "plates of cocaine"", which had been served at a dinner party two days earlier. A drug screen then revealed the cat also had benzodiazepines in its system.

The red-faced owner was "remorseful" but as there is no legal requirement in Australia for vets to report such cases to the police, he was counselled and allowed to take his party animal home.