Re-evaluate the quality of the indoor environment that you create for your full-time indoor Maine Coon cat

I have just written an article about air fresheners which you can read, if you wish, by clicking on this link. Before I wrote the article, I knew that air fresheners were dubious products because their description is misleading. The description strongly indicates that in using them you improve the air quality inside your home. But all you do is mask any odours inside the home and in doing so you inject into the home a myriad of potentially nasty chemicals which can have deleterious health effects upon you and your Maine Coon cat.

Air freshener chemicals. Image: MikeB

The more I dig around and investigate household products, the more I realise that the businesses which create these products and retailers who sell them are not concerned enough about their potential negative health effects. Obviously, businesses prioritise financial profit but they also have an ethical obligation to protect the health of their customers and their companion animals.

There are many household products which contain chemicals which can be bad for health. It isn't just air fresheners which contains lots of nasty chemicals. They smell nice but they aren't nice. I would strongly advise not using them if you care for a Maine Coon. The second major point is that there are many other products such as cleaners which contain nasty chemicals.

But it doesn't stop there because it isn't just the sprays which chuck chemicals into the air, it is solid products such as carpets and furniture which contain chemicals to protect them, to make them longer-lasting and therefore more marketable.

Contented but is she safe? She is not a Maine Coon but she looks sublimely comfortable on a carpet but is the cat exposed to hazardous chemicals which could cause a brain tumor leading to a rare form of diabetes? Image: MikeB

Feline Diabetes caused by fire-retardants in carpets, curtains and upholstery

I'm referring to, for example, fire retardants in sofas. There are now regulations governing the inclusion of fire retardants and some have been banned. But there are still many old items of furniture in homes containing fire retardants which can leach out of these products and into companion animals where they can cause harm. Obviously, the potential to cause harm is increased with respect to domestic cats because they might spend a long time on a sofa; a lot longer than humans.

Cat Lung Ailments Could Be Caused by Deodorants and Cleaners. It is distinctly possible that certain household products based on petroleum could harm domestic cats by giving off VOCs leading to PM2.5 particles which is recognized as a serious global air pollution issue. Image: MikeB

Cat Lung Ailments Could Be Caused by Deodorants and Cleaners

Blue pointed cat in light hard wood floor. Photo in public domain in my view.

Hard floors are better in homes with cats. I'm worried about carpets containing preservative chemicals making them more durable. I'm worried because domestic cats spend a lot of time on carpets and are much closer to chemicals that might be slowly evaporating from the carpet into their airways. We don't know the kind of damage these chemicals do. We do know that domestic cats can suffer from idiopathic diseases; diseases of an unknown cause. We just bracket them as "idiopathic". My theory is that many of these diseases are at least exacerbated by chemicals in the air inside our home.

Air pollution inside our homes can be worse than outside the home if we live in an urban environment. We need to do all we can to improve the air quality inside our homes. This applies both to us and our pets. It's common sense but I don't think many people actually think about this problem. Humans have a habit of ignoring problems if they can't see it and experience it. But perhaps they are slowly experiencing it because their health might be affected negatively by air pollution.

Not a Maine Coon but the same problem exists and even more so. Fire retardants in sofas and FH - feline hyperthyroidism? Image: MikeB

People won't connect their health problems with air fresheners or the new carpet they've just bought but the connection might exist. Further research is required by the experts. There also needs to be a warning of some sort. Hence this article.

Fire Retardants: A Concern for Cat Owners

One problem that the experts and governments have is that this is work in progress. Returning to air fresheners we need more research on the connection between their use and ill-health.

Incidentally wood burners are worse. If you have a wood burner and a Maine Coon cat, I'd get rid of the wood burner unless you really need it to keep warm. Most have them for aesthetic reasons.

Cat in front of wood burning fire. Sublimely comfortable but is it carcinogenic? Image: MikeB

Cats in front of wood burning fires or stoves might expose them to carcinogens

Governments only focus on humans when they talk of the health impact of these products but I am more concerned about our companion animals and in this instance Maine Coon cats who nearly always live inside the home full-time.

There is a special obligation, I feel, of cat caregivers of full-time indoor cats. This is their world. It is a compressed world; an unnatural world to be honest. It is not enough simply to put the cat inside the home think that the job is done. The need to be a focus on, as mentioned, the indoor air quality and an equal focus on enriching environment to ensure that the Maine Coon cat is mentally stimulated and able to express their natural desires and instincts. In this way we can ensure that they are both physically and mentally well.

Insecticides are the most common cat poisons. All the top 10 cat poisons are household products in one way or another. All these poisonings could be prevented with some diligence and care from the cat owner. Most of these poisons are chemicals made for human use in one way or another. The top two are insecticides designed to kill fleas and other parasites and they are used either carelessly or a product design for a dog is used on a cat. It's all preventable with education and a bit of care.