If You Spray Your Clothes With Permethrin, Be Careful Around The Cat

For those who are unfamiliar with the name, permethrin is a synthetic pesticide. To be exact, it is a synthetic pesticide called a pyrethroid, which is an entire family of synthetic compounds that behave in a similar manner to natural compounds extracted from the chrysanthemum. Permethrin is interesting in that it can be used to control insects in a wide range of manners as well as a wide range of forms. For instance, it can be used in homes, in businesses, and even in places where food is handled. Likewise, it can come in the form of a dust, a liquid, a spray, a powder, and more besides. Due to this, interested individuals can come into contact with permethrin under a wide range of circumstances even if they are not necessarily aware of it when it happens.

Effect-wise, permethrin targets the nervous system. As a result, when an insect so much as touches it, it can cause symptoms such as muscle spasms and outright paralysis that culminate in death, thus making it an effective solution for insect control. Of course, the reason that permethrin can see so much use is because it is nowhere near as toxic for humans as it is for insects, which can be attributed in part to the fact that humans can break it down much faster than insects. Based on this, it should come as no surprise to learn that other species can break permethrin down at different rates as well, with examples ranging from how dogs can break it down faster to how cats can break it down slower. As a result, while permethrin is safe for humans as well as for dogs, it can cause some issues when cats when exposed to it.

What Does Permethrin Do to Cats?

First and foremost, it is important to note that cats can survive some exposure to permethrin. This is because whether something is poisonous or not is very much dependent on the dose. As a result, a cat might be fine when exposed to no more than a small amount of permethrin, the same won’t be true when there is more permethrin.

Unfortunately, cats can’t communicate their problems to humans in the same way that other humans can, which is why cat owners will have to make some guesses based on some common symptoms of excessive exposure to permethrin. For instance, cats that have been exposed to too much permethrin might show strange behaviors such as flicking their paws and twitching their ears. In more serious cases, cats might exhibit seizures and muscle tremors, which are serious warning signs that should prompt cat owners to bring their cats to the veterinarian as soon as possible. This is particularly important because a high amount of permethrin can cause death in cats, meaning that cat owners are better off safe than sorry.

What Can You Do to Minimize the Risk?

Of course, there are some things that cat owners can do to mitigate the risk that permethrin can pose to cats. For example, they can pay more attention to the ingredients in the pet products that they use for cats. This is important because one of the leading causes of excessive exposure to permethrin for cats is when a cat owner uses a permethrin-containing product that was formulated for dogs. Some examples with particularly high concentrations can contain 45 percent permethrin or even higher. For comparison, most household sprays won’t have more than 1 percent permethrin, which is a concentration that should be safe for most cats under most circumstances. Suffice to say that 45 percent permethrin is definitely not fine, which is why it is so important for cat owners to pay attention to labels.

With that said, it also helps for cat owners to pay close attention to their cats’ behaviors, particularly since different cats can have different degrees of sensitivity to permethrin. For example, if they notice signs of discomfort on their cat’s skin, they might want to see if they can wash off the offending substance on the affected area of skin with a mild liquid detergent. Likewise, if they notice their cat either drooling at the mouth or pawing at their mouth, they might want to see if they can rinse out the taste. Ultimately, if these solutions don’t work, cat owners should take their cats to the veterinarian. Moreover, if they ever notice problems with their cat’s nervous system such as shaking, twitching, and worse, they should see the veterinarian right away because those are much more serious and thus much more immediately concerning.

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