Pet Owners: Be Careful What Cleaners You Use

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I just got this email from one of my pet rescue groups that I belong to. Now I'm a stickler and am very cautious about what kind of cleaners I use since I have pets...my two kitties, Pyewacket and Kissy. I never use anything like Lysol or Pine-sol cleaners cause frankly I'm not a fan of pine-scented cleaners. But this email alerts that ANY cleaner with the word "sol" in it is extremely dangerous...so even the Pine-sol cleaners that are the other scented kind as they all contain phenol. Here's the email: (Quote) .."URGENT WARNING Lysol & Pine-Sol Can Be FATAL to Cats! Anything ending in "sol" contains phenol which can be fatal to cats. (Some symptoms are vomiting & diarrhea or flu-like behavior.) In Europe, there is a warning on products that contain phenol. Phenol is also extremely FLAMMABLE. Most Animal Shelters have banned Lysol & Pine-Sol. A variety of coal-tar derivatives induce acute to chronic disease in animals. Clinical effects are acute to chronic hepatic damage with signs of icterus, ascites, anemia, and death. Coal-tar pitch poisoning has been reported from Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and the USA. Toxicosis in domestic food animals and pets has been reported. .....Phenol is the most important toxicant in coal-tar products. The approximate oral acute LD50 of phenol for most species is 0.5 g/kg, except for cats, which are more susceptible due to their limited ability to conjugate and excrete phenols. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/210600.htm "Cats may inadvertently walk through toxic solutions, which they later ingest when grooming. One household hazard is phenol, a highly toxic compound derived from coal tar, which is sometimes used in a dilute form in disinfectants and antiseptics (in Lysol, for instance)." http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/digestdistcats.html "Disinfectants containing phenols are extremely;toxic to some animals, including cats and reptiles" http://tinyurl.com/2rprh8 (www.animalsheltering.org) Cleaning products that contain phenol are extremely dangerous to cats and even a couple of drops can kill a cat. If you own a cat you should avoid buying cleaning products which contain phenol. http://www.pets-opedia.com/cats/cthcpo01.html " put a cat's life at risk, as can products that contain distilled coal tars, such as certain shampoos and disinfectants such as Lysol". http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=954&S=0&SourceID=28 Pine-Oil Cleaners Scrub your floor with something else the phenol in these products can cause serious liver damage in cats, says Dr. Hohenhaus. And it doesn't take much for a kitty to be exposed: Your fur ball might unknowingly lap up spill — or just lick the wet stuff off her feet says Steven Hansen, D.V.M., of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Animal Poison Control Center. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/pets/pet-dangers-jun07 One household hazard is phenol, a highly toxic compound derived from coal tar, which is sometimes used in a dilute form in disinfectants and antiseptics (in Lysol, for instance). http://www.emersonanimalhospital.com/538169.html "other common household substances that should be used with caution in areas where cats may be exposed to them include mothballs and other naphthalene products,as well as phenol based products often used for cleaning and disinfecting near cats' feeding areas or litter boxes, such as Pine-Sol, Dettol (Lysol), hexachlorophene, etc.which, although they are widely used without problem, have been sometimes seen to be fatal." http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Cats "Lysol and other Phenolic disinfectants are toxic to cats" http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/faq.php?cmd=reset General Information Phenols destroy proteins in cells. They are extremely corrosive and produce lesions that penetrate through layers of skin. These compounds are very caustic to mucous membranes causing visible burns. Severe eye injury including deep ulcerations occur with ocular exposure. In lower doses, these compounds affect the respiratory center in the brain causing hyperventilation and associated problems. Phenols are absorbed rapidly from the GI tract. Liver and kidney damage occurs within 12-24 hours. Toxic levels of hexachlorophene cause damage to the nervous system. Birds, some reptiles, and cats are more sensitive to phenols than other species. Toxic Dose The oral toxic dose of phenol is about 0.22 gram per pound of body weight in the dog; less in the cat. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1938&articleid=2243 (www.peteducation. com) Keep dangerous substances locked away, Phenol can cause serious liver damage in cats. Phenol is found in most cleaning products http://www.pets411care.com/cats.htm So just a warning....READ those labels of any cleaning product you may be using, anything that mentions that it contains phenol..throw it out. And of course a no brainer....if the product says it's hazardous to both humans and domesticate pets don't get it.