On Mar 19, 7:52*am, Cazz A wrote:
What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?

Exactly the same as for you, only cats are much more sensitive than
you are. This is not a flip answer by any means.

Keep in mind that *synthetic-fiber* carpets contain:

Antibacterials, usually triclosan: This type is called "hospital-
grade" carpet as it is meant to prevent infectious materials from
living in a carpet.

Dyes:
a)Surface-dye carpet is dyed as you would at home, the fibers are
soaked in a dye solution which impregnates it leaving color behind.
ALL of these dyes are toxic to one degree or another. Typically the
deeper the color, the more toxic the dye. Most inexpensive carpets are
surface-dyed.
b) Solution-dye carpet has the colorant (NOT a dye) introduced while
the fiber is being mixed and before it is spun. Accordingly, these
fibers are much more resistant to fading and bleaching with age - but
are also, and because of the colorant presence, more prone to
staining. Note that most colorants are solids and of relatively much,
much lower toxicity than dyes. Note that solution-dyed carpet is more
expensive than surface-dyed. But, the stain issue leads to:

Stain repellants: These are a variety of hydrophobic chemicals, most
commonly PTFE (generic for Teflon) and related materials. Commonly
applied to solution-dyed carpet so that it can be kept clean. It wears
off, gets on everything in microscopic amounts - but most of us do not
clean ourselves with our tongues. Ingested PTFE is NOT good for cats
at all.

There are many variations on all of this - depending on the particular
material used, how the carpet is glued to the matting (typically
chemical glues, some using some nasty stuff (although formaldehyde has
not been used in making carpets for sale in the US for nearly 10 years
now)).

For many years now, we have used all-natural-fiber, vegetable-dye rugs
- spending several years in the Middle East helped expand that
collection nicely. Even inexpensive machine-made Turkish or Egyptian
carpets meet this standard over there. And although this is by no
means a suggestion or plug, IKEA sells a number of such carpets at
pretty decent prices. Surprisingly, even analine dyes are reasonably
safe when fully cured but quite toxic when fresh. So, the best
alternative after vegetable dyes. But the modern chemical dyes applied
to synthetic fibers are nasty things.

Too many words, I am sure - but there is no simple answer to that
question.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA