Second-Hand Smoke and Pets

I have heard a lot about second-hand smoke and its impact on humans; but I hadn't heard anything about the impact on pets.

Recently, I went to visit a friend for several days (we'll call her "Lily").  We hadn't seen each other in 20 years so Lily reminded me that she smokes.  I thought, "no big deal, she doesn't smoke in the side of the house where I'll sleep."  And it wasn't that big of a deal because I was mentally prepared, but it did remind me how much I hate smoking.  The smoke travels around the house, and I would wake up with a smoke taste on the roof of my mouth.  And I always knew when Lily lit up even if I was at the opposite side of the house.

Lily isn't just a smoker.  She's a million other wonderful things.  She's kind-hearted to an extreme, and she rescues animals that otherwise might be put down or die from exposure.  She has 10 cats, two dogs, and a rabbit between two homes.  The stories about their previous lives make me want to cry, and I'm so grateful for people like Lily.  One cat had been shot in the face, and Lily made sure he had all the care he needed to recover as much as possible.  He's now a pretty robust cat--loving and playful.

There were seven cats in the house where I stayed, and I absolutely fell in love with one cat named Ginger Snap.  She's a Siamese kitty with a heart of gold.  Unfortunately Ginger Snap has allergies and trouble breathing sometimes.  It's heartbreaking when she has a sneezing jag.  Ginger Snap was an abandoned or lost kitten that scratched on a motel door when Lily was traveling.  She looked for the owner, but no one seemed to know anything about this kitty.  Ginger Snap has been with my friend for about 8 years now.  This kitty has been on several medications and is now on two--one for allergies and one for high blood pressure. 

Aside from Ginger Snap, a couple other kitties there have more minor wheezing or sneezing.  I thought, this can't be a coincidence.  The smoking is so irritating to my respiratory system, I wondered what could it be doing to small animals who are subjected to it for several hours a day.

According to several sources such as Petside, Science Daily, Petfinder, ASPCA, and the American Journal of Epidemiology, there is a definite link between a pet's health and its exposure to secondhand smoke.  There are 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke, and 43 are known to cause cancer.

Breathe New Hampshire cites the following impacts of secondhand smoke to pets: 

• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke in the home have a higher rate of an oral cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, which may be due to the way cats groom themselves. When cats groom themselves they eat the poisons from secondhand smoke that have settled on their fur.
• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher rate of feline lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer, than cats not exposed to secondhand smoke.
• Cats can develop respiratory problems, lung inflammation, and asthma as a result of secondhand smoke.
• Dogs that inhale secondhand smoke are three times more likely to develop lung or nasal cancer than dogs living in smoke-free homes.
• Dogs can experience allergic reactions to secondhand smoke.  Common symptoms of this allergic reaction are the scratching, biting, and chewing of their skin. Owners often confuse this reaction with fleas or food allergies.
• Cigarette butts can also be deadly. Two butts, if eaten by a puppy, can cause death in a relatively short period of time.
• Birds can react badly to secondhand smoke and may develop eye problems, as well as other respiratory problems like coughing and wheezing.
• Birds that sit on a smoker’s hand can experience contact dermatitis from the nicotine that remains on the smoker’s hand. This can cause them to pull out their feathers.

What Can You Do If You Smoke and Have Pets?

You can quit smoking.  I know this is a tall order.  I am a nonsmoker so I don't fully comprehend the difficulty of quitting smoking.  My Dad quit after a few decades of smoking.  He was hypnotized once, but I think he just really wanted to quit.  My co-worker quit by using nicotine gum, but he's been chewing this type of gum for years now--a better addiction, I guess.  And my niece quit for vanity--she noticed a wrinkle on her face she felt was caused by the cigarette smoke since we know a few women who smoke and their faces look ravaged.

Well, if you can't quit for your own health, maybe considering your innocent pets as well as the humans that live with you might help you to give quitting a good try.  If you fail, don't stop trying.  The road to change is not a straight line.

You could also only smoke out of doors so you're not contaminating the air, furniture, curtains, and carpeting in your home as well as your pet's fur and respiratory system.  Your pets will thank you for it--and it will reduce your vet bills.

Photo source for smoker

Is Your Pet Being Poisoned?

There is a lot of controversy right now about flea and tick protection products for cats and dogs.  I guess it's been going on for a few years, but I have been oblivious until I became the owner of my cat, Heidi.  She entered my life about a year ago when my lovely neighbor, Winona passed away.

Heidi P. Rascal

Heidi is a "special" kitty with lots of emotional and physical issues.  When she first arrived, her fearful behavior and lack of fur in places indicated that Heidi must have been abused before she arrived into Nona's capable and loving care.  Heidi got her name, not for the little Swiss girl in the Johanna Spyri story, but because she is such a good little hider.  She lived in the basement for about three months after arriving at Nona's.  It took a long time for Heidi to learn to trust Nona.  And longer still for Heidi to trust me, though Nona insisted I get well acquainted with Heidi to take care of her if anything happened to Nona--who died at the age of 80.

So, I took my new neurotic charge to the vet to make sure I was doing everything possible to make her safe and healthy.  She's on steroids for irritable bowel (not happy about that, but the alternatives were allowing her to lose weight rapidly), she eats special food, and she has her flea and tick prevention--Frontline Plus--a monthly application.    This chemical brew includes fipronil and (5)-methoprene as the active ingredients.  The inert ingredients make up over 78% of the content-- wonder what those are!  Oh, that's right, I can look at the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) available on-line!  It says Frontline also contains 58-73% (is the recipe whimsical?) Diluent, Viscosity Modifer/Spreading Agent, and Solvation Aids.  My, that was helpful.  There's also 10-15% ethanol, so a great fire starter for the wienies.

At the very end of the MSDS, it states "Final determination of suitability of any materials is the sole responsibility of the user.  All materials may present unknown hazards and should be used with caution.  although certain hazards are described herein, Merial [the product maker] cannot guarantee that these are the only hazards that exist."  Phew, I will sleep much better tonight. 

Clyde, King of the Neighborhood

Ironically, I am trying to eliminate chemicals from my home, and I am applying Frontline Plus to my precious Heidi by instruction of our veterinarian.  I was told it is a better option than allowing fleas and ticks to make her sick.  But then I learned that cats rarely if ever get Lyme Disease from ticks.  I confirmed this with my vet!

I have just begun learning about the pesticides in the flea and tick preparations for pets.  It's frightening actually.  There are websites devoted to people's pets having succumbed to the poisons in the very products supposedly meant to help these pets.    Many of the lethal products are over-the-counter, but it gives me pause to wonder if I should be using one of the "safer" poisons available at the vet's on my precious kitty.  A news report by ABC News Channel 5 is an example of the concern about even the vet-provided products.  I don't want fleas and ticks in my home, but neither do I want to poison Heidi or cause her more pain.  And I don't want to poison myself either.  When we touch our pets, we are transferring the poisons to ourselves--and when our children pet them, they are being exposed to poison as well. 

I am researching other pest control methods, and I found the Tiny Timmy website.  This site began due to a heartbreaking story about a kitten, Timmy, being poisoned by over-the-counter spray and suffering permanent neurological damage.  The good news is that Timmy is in a loving home and is well cared for now.  The operators of this web site offer a nontoxic pest control bath application, but I can't imagine giving Heidi a bath with any product.  Heidi does a "Jekyll and Hyde" thing when confronted by unwanted attention--and I expect a bath would fall into the unwanted category--she changes from Heidi, my precious little muffin to Hell Cat in a flash.  (Seriously, she ripped my shirt once when I just wanted to introduce her to someone--in my apartment.)  Claudia (Under Secretary for Timmy Affairs, Division of the T.O.Y. Army) wrote that they are working on a nontoxic pest spray for cats.  That would be so much appreciated!

Stay tuned, but beware of the pesticides for your pet.  Talk to your vet.  Certainly do NOT assume that if a pet spray, powder, or other application is sold in a store that it is safe.  It is probably not.

Check out the product database for pet pesticide products at the Natural Resource Defense Council's Green Alternatives for Flea Control web page.  Look up your product on their product database to see how safe it is.  Also see their How to Control Fleas and Ticks Without Chemicals page for nontoxic alternatives.  Hmmm...would Heidi let me sponge her with lemon juice.  Well, safer for me than trying to give her a bath!  Ticks are rampant here in Vermont this year due to an oddly mild winter--so I'm feeling flummoxed.  I really don't want those blood-sucking arachnids in my home! Grrrrr........

Note dated July 15, 2012:  I switched Heidi's vet, and I switched from Frontline to Revolution as a monthly application.  In my state of indecision, I'd let the Frontline lapse for 20 days and the new vet found lots of fleas on Heidi.  I hadn't noticed them.  My new vet suggested that Revolution is less toxic than Frontline and since Heidi has a lot of problems, it's not a good thing for her to have a flea infestation.  I put the Revolution on her, and suddenly I was being bitten by fleas at home.  I took all of the bedding and any other fabrics in my bedroom to the laundry and hung them out to dry.  I vacuumed the mattress and flipped it over.  No more flea bites for Heidi or me!