Frog escaped, Cat got a hold of it

[Melinda Robins]

I was woken up to someone telling me that my cat had gotten a hold of one of my clawed frogs, I Immediately panicked and couldn't find the little one at first, eventually I heard something inside a paper recycling bag and it had somehow gotten itself into it...I put her back in water and she's alive but really dirty. No obvious injuries but they said the cat had it in it's mouth so is there a bacteria risk here?

[TextualDeath]

If that ever happens again even if the cat doesn't get to it wash it with some bottled water in a pan before you put it back in the tank. Any creature has bacteria in its mouth but if you have a good filtration system it will clean that up in the tank. one of my cats will put its paws on the tank and my African frogs will come to it and try to grab it through the glass its funny really. I have a fix it for you on the escape problem with your frog. Lower the water in your tank the length of the frog fully stretched out and this will keep it from escaping in the future.

[rodsboys]

As long as there are no but marks on the fog bacteria should not be an issue. Cats have very filthy mouths, but if there is no damage I wouldn't worry. You should have kept the frog in a shallow container for a while to make sure it is ok and give it a chance to hydrate without a lot of effort on its part.

[rodsboys]

If that ever happens again even if the cat doesn't get to it wash it with some bottled water in a pan before you put it back in the tank. Any creature has bacteria in its mouth but if you have a good filtration system it will clean that up in the tank. one of my cats will put its paws on the tank and my African frogs will come to it and try to grab it through the glass its funny really. I have a fix it for you on the escape problem with your frog. Lower the water in your tank the length of the frog fully stretched out and this will keep it from escaping in the future.

How is the filter going to take care of cat bacteria? That sounds rediculous.

[mpmistr]

I was woken up to someone telling me that my cat had gotten a hold of one of my clawed frogs, I Immediately panicked and couldn't find the little one at first, eventually I heard something inside a paper recycling bag and it had somehow gotten itself into it...I put her back in water and she's alive but really dirty. No obvious injuries but they said the cat had it in it's mouth so is there a bacteria risk here?

Follow Tony's advice. If the frog is not injured and was not terribly dehydrated it should be fine. I had a clawed frog escape for several hours once and he was not seriously dehydrated and was completely fine once I added him back to the tank.

I think the larger concern here is securing your tank to make absolutely certain this does not happen again. Best options I have found personally are glass lids with the plastic strip on the back cut to accommodate your filter without any gaps (canister filter tubes work great for this) or a sponge/whisper filter with a screen top.

I'm not sure what their rationale is for leaving the tank. Without a 100% secure lid, it's almost certain they will escape again.

[froghugger]

This exact same thing happened to me. Except my 3 cats had it 2 floors up from where the tank was. Miraculously other then a few very small scratches, our frog recovered fully. Your frog will probably just need a few days to recover. P.S. do you know how the cat got a hold of your frog? Make sure there are no big openings

[Melinda Robins]

I'm assuming it jumped out of an opening at the top I forgot to cover and seized the opportunity...the cat probably found it shortly after. I put her in a critter keeper with water and gave her a "bath" before I put her back with her sister. I just a amazed she's perfectly fine.

[froghugger]

So glad that your frog is okay!

[Namio]

I second Michael's suggestion. It is mandatory to have a secured lid, not optional. Cats can often times be a problem/hazard when they have access to your reptile/amphibian enclosures. I'm sure you know that already. Cats/dogs can also knock heat lamps off the cage top by accident and cause fire. Therefore, I would recommend moving the all your tanks to a room where your cats do not have access to.