Should you use vape devices, also generally known as e-cigarettes, chances are you’ll wonder if vaping around your cat is secure. Regardless that vape devices should not actual cigarettes, are they secure to make use of around your cat? While vape devices are potentially not quite as harmful to bystanders as actual cigarettes, they’re unsafe to make use of around your cat. Vape devices contain nicotine and other toxic chemicals, resembling formaldehyde, that are severe dangers to your precious feline.
Should you use vaping devices or know someone who does, read on to learn more concerning the dangers of vaping if pets are nearby.
What Is Vaping?
Vape devices are battery-operated and work by creating an aerosol that appears much like water vapor but comprises nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. For individuals who smoke or try to quit cigarettes, vaping may also help kick the habit for good, while others feel vaping shouldn’t be as harmful as cigarettes and would slightly vape than smoke an actual cigarette. While the jury continues to be out on the long run effects of vaping, e-cigarettes definitely contain harmful chemicals which might be toxic to you and your cat.
Vaping devices operate by utilizing cartridges stuffed with liquid nicotine, with nicotine levels similar to two to a few cigarettes. Yikes! Nicotine is incredibly toxic to cats, and unnecessary to say, in case your cat ingests some (some cats are interested in the scent), the event may cause catastrophic health issues on your cat.
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Is Secondhand Vape Smoke Harmful to Cats and Other Pets?
While using vaping devices could seem less harmful than actual cigarettes, they should not without dangers. Nicotine in itself shouldn’t be a danger to humans; it’s the chemicals utilized in cigarettes and vape devices that cause health issues, and the best way they deliver nicotine to the body. Nevertheless, nicotine is extremely toxic for pets, even in small doses.
In case your cat inhales secondhand smoke from cigarettes, you expose your kitty to harmful toxins that could make your cat sick. As for vaping devices, smoke inhalation isn’t the one hazard; aerosolized vape juices can land in your cat’s fur once you exhale, which may be ingested when your cat grooms itself, and it is a real danger to cats. One must treat vaping devices with the identical cautions as cigarettes when you select to make use of them.
What Negative Signs Can Cats Experience When Exposed to Secondhand Smoke?
In case your cat is exposed to secondhand smoke, an array of signs could arise, at which period you need to seek veterinary treatment immediately. Signs to search for are:
- Coughing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Drooling
- Depression
- Tremors
- Seizures
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Are THC Vape Devices Harmful to Cats?
Nicotine isn’t the one chemical utilized in vape devices; people also use them to smoke marijuana, which has a psychoactive compound generally known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that provides you the “high.” Nevertheless, the hazards are the identical, and you need to use the identical caution while smoking vapes with THC.
Further, in case your cat ingests a THC cartridge, don’t wait for signs of toxicity before seeing a veterinarian, which might involve:
Suggestions for Stopping Pet Exposure to Vaping
In keeping with the U.S. Surgeon General, smoking, whether cigarettes or vape devices, is hazardous to your health. Nevertheless, when you decide to smoke and you will have a cat, it’s imperative to take steps to reduce your cat’s exposure. Some extra precautions to exercise are:
- Store all vaping devices and accessories (cartridges, liquids, batteries, etc.) in a spot your cat and other pets cannot gain access.
- Eliminate used batteries and containers safely.
- Charge your vape pin in a spot unreachable out of your cat and other pets.
- Smoke your vape device outdoors, away out of your cat and other animals.
- Clean vaping accessories thoroughly to maintain your cat from investigating resulting from the smells.
- Keep your guests’ items, resembling purses, coats, etc., out of reach of your cat and other pets in the event that they use vapes.
- If you will have guests over who vape, kindly ask them to smoke outdoors and keep their vape devices put away and out of reach.
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Final Thoughts
As a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to maintain your pets, no matter what pet you will have, and a part of being a responsible pet owner is to maintain harmful items away out of your pets, resembling vaping devices. Smoke inhalation and droplets of liquids from these devices are an actual threat to cats, especially if the droplets land on the fur or in case your cat gets a hold of a cartridge. By implementing the protection suggestions mentioned above, you may keep your cat from being exposed to harmful substances from vape devices.
Featured Image Credit: DedMityay, Shutterstock