PSA For Cat Lovers

adorshki

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OK, this is the kind of stuff I've been on about for years: those "Air Fresheners" that diffuse chemicals into the air that are in fact bad or our health. Turns out they're even worse for your cat, according to this Quora poster Tom Grimshaw:

"Caution To Cat Owners

I wanted to share the horrors we went through for the past 3 weeks.

We first noticed drainage coming out of her right nostril. It was mostly clear in nature and she was sneezing quite a bit. We took her to our vet and they thought she had an upper respiratory infection. We gave her antibiotics and went on our way.

One week later, the drainage had increased and turned bloody and her appetite was starting to decrease. We called the vet again and they had us come in an pick up another antibiotic/immune boost to add to her food.

That Sunday, she stopped eating, stopped drinking, was isolating herself and I noticed she wasn’t going to the bathroom as much.

At this point, nothing was helping. She was dying and we knew it. All day Friday I cried and kept thinking about what we had done differently around the house and that’s when it hit me. About a month ago Adam found these really good smelling plug in fragrance wall diffusers. I immediately unplugged them, opened windows and turned on fans. By Friday evening Mit Meow was able to walk to us. Saturday morning she woke me up at 4:45 am meowing and hungry. Her nasal drainage had stopped, she was eating, her balance was improving and she wanted attention.

After further investigation we learned that several of these diffusers are toxic to animals and that they have more severe reactions to cats because they are at nose level to them.

Audrey Van Dyne Tucker & Adam Scott Tucker.

September 18 2023"


A lot of times that's how I've figured out a "cause" for a problem, just asking myself what I started doing differently that might explain it. SO glad it saved at least one cat and know there's many cat lovers here, too.

Maybe one of these days a cat'll adopt me too.
 

davismanLV

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We had someone stay with us once that wanted to plug those God-awful things in!! I said, "Does our house smell bad?" He said, "No your house doesn't smell like anything." Which, to me, is the goal. They give me a headache and make me sick. I'm with Jeff.... open a window or two!! (y)(y)
 

adorshki

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The best air freshner is opening some windows! 😸

walrus
Should I tell the one about the overhead fan on my stove not venting outside but into the kitchen? Where new municipal codes require installation of smoke alarms.

With enhanced sensitivity that can be activated by excessive fumes from microwaving. Even in winter with the doors open.
Smoke alarm avoids death by sledgehammer so as to be available for installation at time of annual inspections.

Where they also ensure I'm using the company-mandated LED light bulbs (which have all the warm glow of shop lights) and shower heads which ensure nobody has too much fun in the shower. All of which immediately return to storage after inspection. (Except for that f---ing fan)
 

Opsimath

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We had someone stay with us once that wanted to plug those God-awful things in!! I said, "Does our house smell bad?" He said, "No your house doesn't smell like anything." Which, to me, is the goal. They give me a headache and make me sick. I'm with Jeff.... open a window or two!! (y)(y)

They give me a headache, too. I've figured for a long time there's some noxious chemical in cheap fragrances, something like MSG for smells.
 

Opsimath

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OK, this is the kind of stuff I've been on about for years: those "Air Fresheners" that diffuse chemicals into the air that are in fact bad or our health. Turns out they're even worse for your cat, according to this Quora poster Tom Grimshaw:

"Caution To Cat Owners

I wanted to share the horrors we went through for the past 3 weeks.

We first noticed drainage coming out of her right nostril. It was mostly clear in nature and she was sneezing quite a bit. We took her to our vet and they thought she had an upper respiratory infection. We gave her antibiotics and went on our way.

One week later, the drainage had increased and turned bloody and her appetite was starting to decrease. We called the vet again and they had us come in an pick up another antibiotic/immune boost to add to her food.

That Sunday, she stopped eating, stopped drinking, was isolating herself and I noticed she wasn’t going to the bathroom as much.

At this point, nothing was helping. She was dying and we knew it. All day Friday I cried and kept thinking about what we had done differently around the house and that’s when it hit me. About a month ago Adam found these really good smelling plug in fragrance wall diffusers. I immediately unplugged them, opened windows and turned on fans. By Friday evening Mit Meow was able to walk to us. Saturday morning she woke me up at 4:45 am meowing and hungry. Her nasal drainage had stopped, she was eating, her balance was improving and she wanted attention.

After further investigation we learned that several of these diffusers are toxic to animals and that they have more severe reactions to cats because they are at nose level to them.

Audrey Van Dyne Tucker & Adam Scott Tucker.

September 18 2023"


A lot of times that's how I've figured out a "cause" for a problem, just asking myself what I started doing differently that might explain it. SO glad it saved at least one cat and know there's many cat lovers here, too.

Maybe one of these days a cat'll adopt me too.

Thanks for the info.

I hope your cat will find you soon.
 

Guildedagain

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Iris getting some real fresh air.

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