2 Cats Died 2 Months Apart From Chemical Inhalation

[krysti]

My husband and I have been vaping for 2 1/2 years. About 6 months ago, one of my cats, Saber, developed a cough. We took him to the vet and was told he had a slightly enlarged heart, asthma and something in his lungs, but they couldn't tell what it was. She said his lungs should show black, but he had all this white showing up. A month later, Saber quit eating and ended up dying from not being able to breathe (we had to rush him to the vet to put him to sleep). Two months later, our second cat, Cougar, quit eating. He ended up not being able to breathe and the emergency vet put him in an oxygen cage overnight. The next day he wasn't getting better and we had to put him to sleep. His x-rays also showed a whole bunch of white stuff, even worse than Saber's. We had an autopsy done and was told he had chronic and acute injury to his lungs due to chemical inhalation. They said he had very little normal lung tissue left. There was diffuse thickening and bloody fluid buildup. There were multiple areas of blood clots. These were both 9 year old indoor cats - never left the house. I have no idea if vaping could have caused this. The only other things I can think of is we partially shampooed our carpets about a year and a half ago using a rug doctor and we got the whole interior of our house painted. I wanted to write this to find out if anyone else has had any lung issues with pets to see if it was possibly due to vaping. We also have a cockatiel and she is fine.

UPDATE: AFTER ALL THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE AND TALKING TO OTHER VAPERS, AS WELL AS VETS, I DO NOT, NOR DOES ANYONE ELSE - VETS INCLUDED, BELIEVE THIS WAS DUE TO VAPING.


2/16/14 Edit by classwife : Added for OP :

I found out D-Limonene, a citrus oil, was in an air freshener we were using. We were also using a plug-in with essential oils. We have a small place and hadn't opened our windows in a long time due to the extremely cold weather. After reading a lot about D-Limonene and essential oils and cats, we believe it was the cause. After starting this thread, our cockatiel started having breathing difficulties after switching the fragrance of the plug-in. Citrus oil is not toxic to birds, but tea tree oil is so we think that might have been in the last fragrance we used. We got her out of here temporarily, aired out the place, brought her back and she has been doing fine ever since.

This is what we believe happened. I understand YMMV.

 

[Dougiestyle]

We have 6 cats. None have shown respiratory issues in the 3 years I've been vaping.

 

[zapped]

Absolute and total B.S

I feel for your loss as I am a pet owner with two cats an two dogs myself but I seriously doubt your intentions as well as your judgement posting something like this on these forums.

NONE of my pets have had any adverse reactions to my vaping in the house and Ive been vaping on and off for nearly 5 years. I have two indoor cats, two dogs and two goldfish. ALL of them are as healthy as they can be.

Are you aware that pg is pumped through the ventilation systems of hospitals and nursing homes as a germicide? You may want to take some time to visit CASAA as well and look at their air quality studies.

You need to pay a professional to see if there arent other chemicals they have access to in the house that could be causing this. The reason you need to bring an outsider in is because they might see something that you overlook in your day-to-day life. For instance, some common house plants can be VERY toxic to your pets.

To say that vaping is the cause of this when youve admitted that you dont really know is irresponsible and also giving the other side ammunition to use against us in their irrational war against vaping.

http://blog.petflow.com/attention-pet-parents-urgent-pet-food-recall-just-issued/

 

[skoony]

i do not think that vaping had anything at all to do with your cats illness.
i would think the cockatiel would have a greater insensitivity because of its higher rate of
metabolism.i also doubt vaping would affect it at all.
did the vet give you any clue to what could have done it?
a little googling didn't turn up much.it could be a virus,mold,fungus,or calcium build up.
were the cats related,perhaps a hereditary ailment.
cleaning compounds can have an adverse affect but i think the cats would have to be snorting it
to have the problems you described. carpet cleaning might have some effect but it would be immediate
and dissipate over time.rug doctor would be very aware of the child and pet safety conditions.
a good place to check is your local pet store.the big box store kind.
they have a lot of customers and usually would have a wealth of knowledge about whats going around.
try finding a cat owners forum and tap them for info.

let me in closing give you my condolences on the loss of your pets.
hopefully you'll find out more about the unfortunate passing.

regards
mike

 

[Julie W]

That was a pretty insensitive post there!!! (Zapped)

Firstly Krysti my sympathies to you,this is really sad news.
Unfortunately cats are just sooo susceptible to all toxins whether environmental or otherwise as they lack the essential enzyme 'tranferase' that break downs toxins in the liver ergo the toxins stay in the body longer creating more damage.
Impossible to say which was the culprit or just a toxic build up of all 3 products that may have contributed

Having said that PG is definitely acknowledged as orally toxic to cats Contribution of propylene glycol-induced ... [J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1989] - PubMed - NCBI

It's something I think ALL cat owners should be made aware of

 

[Sdh]

Sorry for your loss. I have 3 cats. I do vape in the house. I run a air purifier. I know that ingestion of pg and cats can lead to Heinz disease. A quick link http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...kPcSxZqPJHUozJHWwmGhWxA&bvm=bv.60799247,d.aWc

 

[mostlyclassics]

krysti, sorry for your losses.

FWIW, our vet (small-animal practice with about 70% cats) uses one PG fogger in her operating room and another in the recovery and boarding room. (Her building is steam heated, so putting in a ventilating system with ducting would be prohibitively expensive, even if she wanted to.) In close to 40 years, she's never had a problem with all the PG floating in the air. She says that, if anything, the PG helps clear up respiratory infections quicker because of its germicidal properties.

Our previous cats, who expired at 18 and 21 years, never had any kind of health problem with heavy tobacco smoke (cigarettes and pipes) and then none with vaping. One died of nephritis and the other probably died of general breakdown (at age 21, it didn't make sense to do a necropsy).

Our current cats, ages 6 and 4, have been with us for two years. The younger one is healthy as a horse. But the older one came with a case of asthma and a history of frequent respiratory infections. With her inhaling air well laced with vapors, the asthma seems to be reduced somewhat, and her incidence of respiratory infections has decreased by 75-80%.

I'd look somewhere else for the cause of your cats' demise.

 

[krysti]

Thank you for the replies. Zapped - thanks for your compassion. Now instead of just being upset, I am shaking uncontrollably.

I haven't seen anywhere else anyone who's posted anything like this so I don't think all vapor could have this effect, if any. I am wondering if it could be just an ingredient in my particular juice. Could my juice possibly have diacetyl? I asked the vendor for a list of ingredients and they ignored me. I am not trying to cause a panic, I did not say vaping caused this, I don't know what caused it. I am going to have someone come out and test the air inside my home also to see what it shows. By the way, I LOVE vaping and DO NOT in any way want it to have anything to do with it. But I am also not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend like it's not at least a possibility. By the way, we have no plants. From all I've read, I don't think it's PG.

 

[jwoode]

I'm very sorry about your loss of the family cats.

It might have been wise to test and identify the substance found in their lungs to be sure you are not at risk as well. Two animals died in your household of extreme respiratory conditions which caused:
cough
asthma
loss of appetite
bloody discharge in lungs
blood clots
enlarged heart
death
two month delay, repeats in second animal.

note: propylene glycol won't produce those symptoms.. neither will nicotine.. even if ingested.
"chronic and acute injury to his lungs due to chemical inhalation"

Our respiratory physiology is really not all that different from cats. Our lungs function the same.
This begs the question of.. Why aren't you dead?

It seems to me that two possibilities are probable.

These cats had access to an area where chemical exposure to some compound capable of producing the symptoms you described took place. The list of such compounds is quite long.. pesticides, solvents, cleaning agents, etc. Did these cats go outside?

Or.. the condition was viral.

 

[zapped]

Krysti it wasnt my intention to make you shake uncontrollably or upset you further. I even said that I felt for your loss.

Its only natural in a situation like this to want to find something or someone to blame.I would be looking for answers myself right now but I think its premature to say the least, to blame or even suggest that vaping had something to do with this without ruling out all other causes first.

Thats what I took exception to and thats what I called b.s. If that upset you Im sorry but I wish people would stop to consider how harmful statements like "vaping might have killed my cats" or "vaping made me chronically ill" can be.

Its usually found weeks or months later that those claims were unsubstantiated or bogus to begin with but those were fighting against will continue to use them for months and even years later against us. Its also the basis for misinformation as some people will take it for gospel to support their viewpoints.

I developed a lypoma on my right shoulder a few years back and irrationally made the assumption that it was caused by vaping (all else being equal and that being the only major change I'd made in 25 years). I used this excuse to justify going back to smoking. Imagine the uproar it would have caused if I had posted that vaping causes lypomas on this forum. Even suggesting it could have caused someone else to make the same mistake I did.

As it turns out lypomas are quite common in caucasian males over 40. It wasn't vaping, Im just getting old.

Its never a good thing to have to bury a pet or a loved one and I hope you find out whats causing this soon, for your other pets and your own peace of mind.

 

[RosaJ]

I'm sorry for your pet loss.

Do you have your home sprayed for insects? How often? The insecticides used for the inside of homes is odorless and are generally thought to be harmless to pets/children, however, your cats may have been prone to allergies from the ingredients especially if they were siblings.

Also, what kind of household cleaners do you use on a consistent basis that you may not realize is affecting your pets?

Just a thought...

 

[krysti]

Krysti it wasnt my intention to make you shake uncontrollably or upset you further. I even said that I felt for your loss.

Its only natural in a situation like this to want to find something or someone to blame.I would be looking for answers myself right now but I think its premature to say the least, to blame or even suggest that vaping had something to do with this without ruling out all other causes first.

Thats what I took exception to and thats what I called b.s. If that upset you Im sorry but I wish people would stop to consider how harmful statements like "vaping might have killed my cats" or "vaping made me chronically ill" can be.

Its usually found weeks or months later that those claims were unsubstantiated or bogus to begin with but those were fighting against will continue to use them for months and even years later against us. Its also the basis for misinformation as some people will take it for gospel to support their viewpoints.

Its never a good thing to have to bury a pet or a loved one and I hope you find out whats causing this soon, for your other pets and your own peace of mind.

Thank you for your reply. I didn't say vaping killed my cats. I said it was chemical inhalation (which is what the pathologist said). It's only natural to think it's a possibility and to want to hear from other people. It does not seem likely as no one else has had the same experience. I am looking at ALL possibilities. I have an indoor air analyst coming out on Monday who will test for 440 chemicals. I am not taking this lightly and I am not jumping to conclusions.

 

[krysti]

Krysti it wasnt my intention to make you shake uncontrollably or upset you further. I even said that I felt for your loss.

Its only natural in a situation like this to want to find something or someone to blame.I would be looking for answers myself right now but I think its premature to say the least, to blame or even suggest that vaping had something to do with this without ruling out all other causes first.

Thats what I took exception to and thats what I called b.s. If that upset you Im sorry but I wish people would stop to consider how harmful statements like "vaping might have killed my cats" or "vaping made me chronically ill" can be.

Its usually found weeks or months later that those claims were unsubstantiated or bogus to begin with but those were fighting against will continue to use them for months and even years later against us. Its also the basis for misinformation as some people will take it for gospel to support their viewpoints.

I developed a lypoma on my right shoulder a few years back and irrationally made the assumption that it was caused by vaping (all else being equal and that being the only major change I'd made in 25 years). I used this excuse to justify going back to smoking. Imagine the uproar it would have caused if I had posted that vaping causes lypomas on this forum. Even suggesting it could have caused someone else to make the same mistake I did.

As it turns out lypomas are quite common in caucasian males over 40. It wasn't vaping, Im just getting old.

Its never a good thing to have to bury a pet or a loved one and I hope you find out whats causing this soon, for your other pets and your own peace of mind.

Thank you. I am not looking to "blame", I am looking for the cause. Obviously, anyone who reads these posts will see others responses and hopefully have enough sense not to jump to conclusions. The cause is chemical, now I need to find out what chemical. I do not have any other cats and would never dream of bringing another one into my house without knowing what's going on. I will post the results of the air analyst test when I get them. By the way, I would never look for an excuse to go back to smoking. I was extremely addicted to cigarettes, but hated the taste. That's why I love vaping, I can now enjoy the taste as well. I can't stand cigarettes anymore and wouldn't go back no matter what (and I smoked over a pack a day for 25 years).

 

[krysti]

I'm very sorry about your loss of the family cats.

It might have been wise to test and identify the substance found in their lungs to be sure you are not at risk as well. Two animals died in your household of extreme respiratory conditions which caused:
cough
asthma
loss of appetite
bloody discharge in lungs
blood clots
enlarged heart
death
two month delay, repeats in second animal.

note: propylene glycol won't produce those symptoms.. neither will nicotine.. even if ingested.
"chronic and acute injury to his lungs due to chemical inhalation"

Our respiratory physiology is really not all that different from cats. Our lungs function the same.
This begs the question of.. Why aren't you dead?

It seems to me that two possibilities are probable.

These cats had access to an area where chemical exposure to some compound capable of producing the symptoms you described took place. The list of such compounds is quite long.. pesticides, solvents, cleaning agents, etc. Did these cats go outside?

Or.. the condition was viral.

Our cats didn't go outdoors and our place is small. I have no idea why the bird and us have seemingly not been affected. My asthma has been worse on and off, but that is all. I do know what's toxic to us and what's toxic to birds and what's toxic to cats can be different. If you cook with a teflon coated pan and pull it out of the oven with a bird next to it, the fumes will instantly kill it (according to our vet). We haven't used any pesticides for a couple of years. We rarely spray cleaners - we use the "wet wipe cleaners". We have used air fresheners at times - mainly plug-ins.

 

[Chimney34]

So sorry for your loss OP. It's tough to lose 1 of our beloved pets but 2 in such a short time must be heart breaking.

I can only tell you that in the year I've been vaping that both my cat & dog have been doing great. They see the vet regularly & each have a physical exam every 6 months. I discussed my vaping with my vet & she didn't see how it could be harmful unless they managed to get a hold of my liquid & so far all of their checkups have been normal.

I hope you're able to get to the bottom of this.

 

[krysti]

Thank you for all the replies and compassion. I am heartbroken over this. The cats were not biologically related. One also had asthma and a slightly enlarged heart. The other one did not have any other health issues and didn't even seem sick until he stopped eating and we watched his breathing constantly after the first one died. We don't regularly use pesticides and haven't used any in a couple of years. Maybe they spray them outside of our house (we live in a town home)? I'll look into that. It's not like we're clean freaks so I can't imagine it was cleaning chemicals (I'm making it sound as if we're slobs, which we're not either). I did just read about ammonia inhalation and cats and we did use Windex to clean the glass coffee table in the living room and the cats were always on it (not while it was wet though). The only other thing that just popped into my mind is we bought a high efficiency washer and dryer and dishwasher all within the past year. I'm so confused, I don't even know what to think anymore. Thanks again. I'll update everyone on the chemical test results.

 

[Sdh]

Another factor to consider: Is there a possibility that your first cat may have come in contact with something at the vet? In the past I would board my Maine .... (he passed) at the local vet. Every time I would pick him up he had a URI (upper respiratory infection). He was healthy before the boarding occurred.

All vets are not created equal. Just something to think about. I had two different diagnosis related to a URI my kitten had.

 

[Jay-dub]

It wouldn't hurt to check for radon. Scar tissue like you speak of had to build up over time. Minor abrasions healing and re-healing time and time again. You have good reason to be worked up but there's no reason to box at shadows. Eliminate radon as a factor first. That's the easiest since you can find testers at hardware stores.

There are many things in a household that can cause damage so try not to start worrying about the most innocuous things yet. Carpets vent chemicals and concentrations are always highest at the source. Animals and small children can have problems from carpet venting. Carpet cleaning chemicals couldn't be healthy either....

You mentioned that the cats were 9 and that you've vaped for 2 1/2 years. Am I right in assuming that you smoked for the other 6 1/2 years of their lives? If so, do you think it's possible that you'd blame yourself more if it was from the cigarette's? I know I would. Vaping is new so I could see it being easier to accept that the loss was from this new "unknown" product rather than the product that we all should have known better about.

15 or so years ago I found out my dog Nicki had the exact same abnormalities. Plus, an enlarged liver. She survived 8 years with me as a smoker. All of the sudden she was having trouble breathing and the x-rays showed the damage was extensive and the cause was long term. She was fighting for life but could only breath past the fluids in her lungs enough to maintain her consciousness. Dogs are keen to picking up on emotions so I tried my best to feel happy while I consoled her. The doctor got the shot ready and I gave the nod. I put my face right square in front of Nicki's and told her how great she was. I smiled as big as I could so she wouldn't worry. I held her until the warmth was gone then promptly bawled my eyes out. I've thought about Nicki but I try not about that day much. The puppy I got to distract me from Nicki is now 13 and having problems. I've only vaped for the last year and a half so I'm sure to blame for some of her issues. On top of that, some damn Vietnamese virus got into American deer ticks and one of those little .......s got a hold of my Daisy. I'm going to be putting that painfully happy face on before the years up. Animals get to me... why did I enter this thread!

 

[VapieDan]

My husband and I have been vaping for 2 1/2 years. About 6 months ago, one of my cats, Saber, developed a cough. We took him to the vet and was told he had a slightly enlarged heart, asthma and something in his lungs, but they couldn't tell what it was. She said his lungs should show black, but he had all this white showing up. A month later, Saber quit eating and ended up dying from not being able to breathe (we had to rush him to the vet to put him to sleep). Two months later, our second cat, Cougar, quit eating. He ended up not being able to breathe and the emergency vet put him in an oxygen cage overnight. The next day he wasn't getting better and we had to put him to sleep. His x-rays also showed a whole bunch of white stuff, even worse than Saber's. We had an autopsy done and was told he had chronic and acute injury to his lungs due to chemical inhalation. They said he had very little normal lung tissue left. There was diffuse thickening and bloody fluid buildup. There were multiple areas of blood clots. These were both 9 year old indoor cats - never left the house. I have no idea for sure if vaping caused this, but it is my best guess right now. The only other things I can possibly think of is we partially shampooed our carpets about a year and a half ago using a rug doctor and we got the whole interior of our house painted. I wanted to write this as a cautionary warning to other cat owners. It is possible the vapor from e-cigarettes is toxic to cats and obliterates their lungs. I also wanted to know if anyone else has had any lung issues with their pets? We also have a cockatiel and she is fine so far. Before all this, my cats "seemed" fine too.

I have one dog and one cat. No problems. It really sounds like a serious environmental problem. You may wish to have some indoor testing done. I am suspecting Radon gas or a possible furnace problem. This may be a warning for you as well.

 

[Vchick]

My condolences on your loss.... I hope that you are able to find the cause