Indoor Air Quality Results

[krysti]

I wasn't going to post this because of some feedback I got back on my last thread and I'm already upset enough. But, this may be important so I am posting it anyway. After doing more research, I have found out cats MAY BE harmed by propylene glycol. I DO NOT know if they are and can come up with plenty of possible explanations on what happened to my cats, so I am by no means saying that IS what happened. I have read that propylene glycol was taken out of cat food in the 90's because of cats' specific reaction to it. Not dogs and not other animals from what I've read and I do not know of any study of inhalation vs oral intake. I will also say my husband and I vaped around our cats for 2 1/2 years, a lot of that without proper ventilation. Meaning, we did not open our windows a lot and we live in a relatively small place. I have no idea what happened to our cats for sure and I am not "big tobacco" like I have been accused of. Having said that, our cats suffered lung damage (again, I DO NOT know why). I will also say I am a huge vaping fan; I could not imagine and would not go back to cigarettes; can't even stand the smell of them now, and do not want to give up vaping. I am posting this to let you know what our air quality tests were as I know a lot of people were interested. Just so you know, a toxicologist read these and said if they are accurate, he couldn't see it posing a threat. This is a human toxicologist and not an animal toxicologist. Having said that, I have not had a vet say they think vaping would cause an issue or anyone else who has cats either.

Formaldehyde was 47. Average shows 20-50. Elevated 50-100.


TVOC was 1400. Median is 1200.


Top 10 VOCs and amount in ppb (parts per billion):

Ethanol 170

Dipropylene glycol methyl ether 21

Propylene glycol n-propyl ether (PGPE) 13

Acetone 21

Isopropanol 17

Propylene glycol 9

Limonene 5

Isobutane 8

Tripropylene glycol methyl ether (TPGME) 2

Butane (C 4) 7

Please don't attack me. I've been through enough. This is just to post information that some people want to know. If you think it's ridiculous, it's fine, but no need to attack me for posting the results. I understand there is NO evidence of vaping causing a cat's death and I am by no means saying it did. Take it for what it's worth as I have explained.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

krysti, I'm very sorry for the loss of your cats. My wife and I have two now and have had cats in our lives for decades.

I read your last thread and I feel some of the comments crossed a line. Vapers are hypersensitive to anything that might be used as a smoking gun - we (as a community) are under fire as I'm sure you're aware. I think this caused a knee jerk reaction to your OP in that thread and you suffered a reactionary attack of sorts.

I live in Vancouver - a town that has rioted twice after important losses by the local hockey team. Otherwise good people can do bad things in the heat of the moment. Just as this beautiful city did not deserve to be subjected to what happened, you did not deserve to be attacked in your grief.

We are a caring community and stand together. What the science of the toxicology involved in your cats' situation is, is one matter. The awareness you attempted to promote is another. The loss you have suffered is something else entirely. Above all else, take care on this last matter and know that at least some of us wish you well.

 

[DetraMental]

Well said Papa_Lazarou. My sentiments exactly.

 

[Kevin littell]

Krysti,


Did you ever have the place tested for mold?


Having some personal experience with a black mold infestation I have to tell you the symptoms sound very familiar....

The cats and dogs started having respiratory problems long before the headaches and asthma like symptoms surfaced in the humans of the joint.

Ultimately the family had to have the whole house stripped and rebuilt (Insurance covered it.)

 

[krysti]

krysti, I'm very sorry for the loss of your cats. My wife and I have two now and have had cats in our lives for decades.

I read your last thread and I feel some of the comments crossed a line. Vapers are hypersensitive to anything that might be used as a smoking gun - we (as a community) are under fire as I'm sure you're aware. I think this caused a knee jerk reaction to your OP in that thread and you suffered a reactionary attack of sorts.

I live in Vancouver - a town that has rioted twice after important losses by the local hockey team. Otherwise good people can do bad things in the heat of the moment. Just as this beautiful city did not deserve to be subjected to what happened, you did not deserve to be attacked in your grief.

We are a caring community and stand together. What the science of the toxicology involved in your cats' situation is, is one matter. The awareness you attempted to promote is another. The loss you have suffered is something else entirely. Above all else, take care on this last matter and know that at least some of us wish you well.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I feel like I am caught in the middle. No evidence has pointed to the vaping (except oral intake of propylene glycol by cats possibly), but I can't rule it out without conscience. I am as a big proponent of vaping as anyone as it got me and a lot of my family and friends to quit smoking. In fact, I started it and my mom quit hacking a day after she switched. I understand the hypersensitivity about it, but if there is a chance it is not good for cats, I feel the need to talk about it. Again, I have no idea, and I have stated that over and over again, but if there's a chance I cannot ignore it either. Thanks again for your post.

 

[krysti]

Krysti,


Did you ever have the place tested for mold?


Having some personal experience with a black mold infestation I have to tell you the symptoms sound very familiar....

The cats and dogs started having respiratory problems long before the headaches and asthma like symptoms surfaced in the humans of the joint.

Ultimately the family had to have the whole house stripped and rebuilt (Insurance covered it.)

Yes, we did. Our place was only built 10 years ago and ours came up with <3 and the median is <8. There is no visible water damage or otherwise indications of mold. We also had it tested for carbon monoxide by the fire department and gas by Nicor.

I do not want people to read too much into this. Again, we smoked around our pets for years and used chemicals we shouldn't have. I do not want to cause a ruckus like last time. There are other explanations for this. But I do want to let people know the results and the possibility of propylene glycol and possible cat sensitivity just in case. So far, I have NOT found this to be the case which is why I want people to take everything into account with what I said.

 

[Moodyfisherman]

I am sorry for your loss of beloved kitties....I am a cat owner (2) and work in the HVAC business so air quality is what we deal with every day. It is great that you had an air quality test performed in your home and I think that if you want to go further with your testing results I would think (and this is only my opinion) that you wouild only benefit if a qualified vet knowledgable in this area of specifics would give an opinion.

You are doing the right thing and hope that there is nothing in your house that caused this.

 

[krysti]

I am sorry for your loss of beloved kitties....I am a cat owner (2) and work in the HVAC business so air quality is what we deal with every day. It is great that you had an air quality test performed in your home and I think that if you want to go further with your testing results I would think (and this is only my opinion) that you wouild only benefit if a qualified vet knowledgable in this area of specifics would give an opinion.

You are doing the right thing and hope that there is nothing in your house that caused this.

After the 5 vets we have had treating our pets, I have no confidence anymore. Thank you for your post. I really don't think I'll ever figure out what happened. I keep obsessing about this thinking someone will have an answer, but the more and more I do the more I realize I'll never have an answer. I'm sure this post will get closed at some point like my other one. I really didn't mean to upset anyone. Seriously, take it for what it is. I told everyone we used chemicals without airing out the place. I have not had anyone say or even think e-cigs caused this. I'm sorry to upset anyone. Take the whole post for what it is. The more I keep obsessing, the worse off I will be. Again, I haven't had one person, including vets or doctors, who thinks an e-cig or propylene glycol caused this.

 

[Vlad Vapus]

It's best to document everything like you have done in case something is confirmed later on.

If this happens to more people then there may be something to this.

No harm done at all. Nice post and sorry for your loss. My pets are like family to me so I get it. Stay safe.

 

[Nermal]

No need to think this one will be closed. Clearly, something went wrong in the home environment and I would really like to know what it was. I kind of doubt you're going to find out, if you haven't already, but good luck.

 

[Rickajho]

Confused. You keep saying you don't want to draw any connection between vaping and what happened to your cats, but you keep back pedaling and saying ... it still might have happened.

Was the house treated with insecticides on a regular basis?

 

[rolygate]

You are becoming a nuisance because you won't listen to advice, and keep trying to implicate vaping. I have a lot of sympathy for you but that is beginning to evaporate.

We know about the issue of cats and PG: it affects their blood cells. There is a lot of available information on this and many cat-owning vapers are fully aware of it. However in order to affect a cat, the PG would need to be administered in quantities impossibly large for vaping. This is why PG is not used in cat food - ingestion of large quantities of PG causes the issue. Chain vapers with many cats have not reported any issue in eight years.

As far as I can see you already found the source of the problem: a specific type of cat litter dust, inhaled in large quantities when in a confined area. You said yourself that the boiler service technician told you it was choked with dust. What you need to do now, if you want to take this any further, is to research the effects of the specific dust type involved on cat's lungs, by accumulating data, questioning experts on such topics, and asking why this brand of cat litter contained this dust.

Are you following up these dust issues on pet forums? If not, why not?

This thread is being closed - again - and if you start another in a similar vein you will be banned. You need to follow up the almost certain cause of your pet's deaths, somewhere in the pet world such as the forums there, and track down this cat litter dust issue - not here.