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Carpet and cats



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 19th 09, 12:52 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cazz A
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Default Carpet and cats

What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?
  #2  
Old March 19th 09, 02:09 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Matthew[_3_]
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Default Carpet and cats


"Cazz A" wrote in message
...
What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?


Right now there is proof that the fire retardant materials found in our
furniture and our carpets is causing hyperthyroidism in our pets. I posted
his awhile ago in another groups


TAMPA - Chemicals in your carpeting could be killing your cat. In August,
the federal government's Environmental Protection Agency shared some scary
news: research scientists had found a link between flame-retardant chemicals
included in carpet-production and feline hyperthyroidism.


FOX 13 in Tampa Bay decided to dig deeper and get more information for
cat-owners locally from Tampa's Florida Veterinary Specialists.


"It's a disease that wasn't diagnosed with any frequency 30 years ago, but
is actually more and more diagnosed now," Dr. Anthony Ishak explained, a
veterinarian and small animal internist at FVS.


Co-worker Cari Sadler seconded, "We see it all the time - all the time."
Government scientists studied whether or not chemicals in carpeting could be
a cause of the disease.


"Some of the flame retardants that have been so pervasive in the carpet
industry and in the furniture industry - for obvious reasons trying to
prevent house fires from getting out control - but those could have a role
in increasing the incidence of this disease," Ishak explained.


Sadler is also 'mom' to several cats at home. In an interview, she said two
of them suffer from the disease, which is the leading cause of death in cats
eight and older. She recalled what it was like when the cats got sick.


"I noticed an overnight weight-loss almost. I was feeling him - and I'm very
particular about watching my animals of course - working here even more so -
and one night I was petting him and I felt his hip bones," Sadler said.


Her cats lost weight from Feline Hyperthyroidism because the disease makes
cats' metabolisms speed up, due to an imbalance in their thyroid glands. The
increased metabolic activity can cause damage to their internal organs and
sometimes death.


But, there is some good news about Feline Hyperthyroidism. If your
veterinarian catches it early enough, it doesn't have to be a fatal disease.
In fact, it can be cured.


"It was probably more fatal before we had effective treatments for it,"
Ishak said. "So now that we do, it's becoming a less fatal disease."


He added that with just a blood test, any vet can diagnose Feline
Hyperthyroidism. The disease can be managed with pills or creams.


And, at Florida Veterinary Specialists, doctors have developed a new
treatment that actually eradicates the disease in most cases. It's a
radioactive Iodine treatment called I-181 treatment.


But to protect your cat in the first place, should you run around the house
pulling up the rug?


The FVS team told FOX 13 no, explaining that this latest research from the
federal government provides just one possible explanation of many.


And, Ishak continued, "They're already taking some steps in the human
population - eliminating some of these flame retardants from production -
from more recent stuff and shifting to other that we think might be safer."


  #3  
Old March 19th 09, 02:14 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Wayne Mitchell
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Default Carpet and cats

Cazz A wrote:

What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?


Mostly the threat is in the opposite direction. :-/

Newly installed carpeting will out-gas for a while, which could be a
problem for a cat with respiratory issues. I worried about that when we
had the upstairs redone a few years ago, but Will's asthma is
well-controlled and he showed no effects.
--

Wayne M.
  #4  
Old March 19th 09, 02:51 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Cazz A
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Posts: 16
Default Carpet and cats

Wayne Mitchell wrote:
Cazz A wrote:

What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?


Mostly the threat is in the opposite direction. :-/

Newly installed carpeting will out-gas for a while, which could be a
problem for a cat with respiratory issues. I worried about that when we
had the upstairs redone a few years ago, but Will's asthma is
well-controlled and he showed no effects.

I heard that because carpet's so hard to clean and it can't be
sanitized, it can harbor any germ or virus...YUCK!

Is this just a nasty rumor?
  #5  
Old March 19th 09, 04:21 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
AZ Nomad[_2_]
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Posts: 280
Default Carpet and cats

On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:51:36 +1100, Cazz A wrote:
Wayne Mitchell wrote:
Cazz A wrote:

What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?


Mostly the threat is in the opposite direction. :-/

Newly installed carpeting will out-gas for a while, which could be a
problem for a cat with respiratory issues. I worried about that when we
had the upstairs redone a few years ago, but Will's asthma is
well-controlled and he showed no effects.

I heard that because carpet's so hard to clean and it can't be
sanitized, it can harbor any germ or virus...YUCK!


Is this just a nasty rumor?


Only if you leave them swamp damp.
  #6  
Old March 19th 09, 02:51 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default Carpet and cats


"Cazz A" wrote in message
...
What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?


For cats allergic to airborne allergens (very likely in itchy cats) not just
the chemicals from cleaning but the dust and most that carpets hold. Same as
for humans. Last time I lived with wall to wall carpet was at home with my
mother and maybe my first roommate. I've had hardwoods ever since. It's the
same with draperies, upholstered walls and such. I didn't have allergies
until recently, just liked the cleaner feel without all that stuff. I still
do.


  #7  
Old March 19th 09, 07:28 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
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Posts: 126
Default Carpet and cats

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
  #9  
Old March 21st 09, 04:52 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
dejablues[_4_]
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Posts: 110
Default Carpet and cats


"Cazz A" wrote in message
...
What kind of threat can carpets cause for cats?



Carpet is a perfect home for flea eggs and larvae.
Carpet is something for you to worry about when the cats vomit and urinate
on it. No cat is perfect and never gets sick, so cats + carpet = soiled
carpet.
Carpets can make you angry at your cat when he/she claws it, because carpets
cost money and cats claw them. That is what cats do.
Carpets need vacuuming. Cats do not like vacuums.


 




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