Does anyone know about phenol poisoning from dettol/lysol?

[emet-ana]

Hi everyone,

I've been using dettol (lysol), anti-viral hand foam and bleach like there's no tomorrow. Now I'm very worried because one of my cats (my favourite pet) is very lethargic, refusing food and drink, is sleeping a lot and feels like she's empty/lacking energy.

I just read that these cleaning fluids are toxic for pets and am very worried that my cat has got phenol poisoning from them. It's 1am in the morning and she's only been ill for about 12 hours but I'm really worried about it.

Does anyone know about phenol poisoning? my parents say she doesn't seem ill enough to take to the vet at night when it's expensive and that the vet wouldn't come out because it's not a crisis (no fitting, vomiting, coma).

What should I do?

I'm considering using a safer cleaning product from now on and not using any on my hands

[jennjt]

Oh no! I never knew about that! I'm so sorry I don't have any experience with it, but it makes me think... one of my dogs has been sick since, like, Oct. Started as a rash / lots of redness on his belly, then spread to his back, and his hair started falling out. He is also very tired and lazy-acting. We have taken him to the vet twice, and he is convinced it is an allergy and that he's basically depressed because he feels so icky. We are trying everything-- medications, different flea treatments (no visible fleas, however, and other dog doesn't have them-- we treat them monthly?), allergy shampoo, different food, etc! At first we were afraid it was from a cleaning solution I used in the steam vacuum, so I have ordered some special allergy stuff, free of basically everything, to re-do the carpets with-- hopefully to "cover it up." I'm just super worried now, because he has not been eating for a few days. Looks like another trip to the vet is in order. We were thinking it was because he didn't like his new food, but I mixed it up with peanut butter tonight, and he still wouldn't eat! Now I'm thinking it's Lysol! I'm gonna look that up now!

[jennjt]

http://www.natural-dog-health-remedi...ubstances.html

[emet-ana]

Aw sorry I didn't mean to scare you. If it is phenol poisoning then it's definitely better the vets know about it because they can treat it (there's no antidote but they can take measures to help him).

It might be that your dog has something else wrong with him- have they taken blood? my dog had a skin condition that made her skin red, patchy and her fur fall out when she was quite young and hypo-allergenic veterinary dog food worked to clear it up but she couldn't be given anything with wheat in it (she loved bread!). I would definitely mention the lysol but it probably is something else.

Are you ok?

[jennjt]

I'm all good . Just made me think. After looking it up, I think it is the allergy thing. He's been acting weird for too long for it to be from Lysol. Hope your kitty gets better!

[AoD]

Oh God, stop using all those cleaners right away. You better call the vet for emergency anyway as some poisonings won't cause vomiting and the cat can be in trouble with just being lethargic. Never, EVER, use those cleaning products where a pet might touch them. You need to rinse like crazy if you use them in an area they frequent. This isn't something you should wait and see about, you have that animal's life in the balance here.

[emet-ana]

Hi AoD,

I know that's how I feel but I can't physically get my cat to the vets as it's far away and I can't drive. I didn't actually use any on the surface where the cat food is but it's so worrying

[Cynna]

Hope your kitty is doing better and it is nothing serious.

[AoD]

Well, can you get him there first thing tomorrow? The thing is with a cat it doesn't have to be near food for them to be contaminated. If you had some on your hands and touched him, it can be absorbed through the skin or he can lick it off. Same thing if he walks on surfaces that have products on them or rubs against them, he will lick it off the fur and that's how a lot of poisonings from household products occur. Keep watch on him until you can go there, make sure he's breathing properly and if he is responsive. If he is non-responsive, you will have to convince someone to drive you there or take a taxi if possible.

[emet-ana]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your caring replies!

Fia (cat) is very poorly with an infection and has been at the vet surgery on IV/drips all day and will be kept there tonight. I still had to convince my Dad to take her and find all the vet insurance forms. We're waiting for a phonecall to see how she's doing but I'm glad it's not phenol poisoning or anti-freeze poisoning (we don't use it but others in the neighbourhood do).

I hope you're all ok!

[Cynna]

Hugs and prayers for Fia's recovery.

[AoD]

Awww the poor thing As for antifreeze poisoning, well, I strongly advise to keep all cats indoor only so they run a much smaller risk of diseases, accidents and poisoning in general. There are evil people out there who would hurt animals for fun. Hope she gets better soon and fully recovers.

[sdfl]

Oh wow. I use lysol, not anywhere near my cats dishes and stuff but how frightening! I have birds too who are okay. This is definitely worrisome. Is there anyway we can do it safely without it harming our pets? I have noticed no changes in my pets but it's still a concern.

[emet-ana]

Hi sdfl,

I think there are some Eco-safe type cleaning products and sprays that don't contain phenols- dettol/lysol is supposed to be particularly risky.

Thanks Cynna and AoD, I'm very worried about her because she's still not well enough to come home and is being kept on IV antibiotics. I'm scared she has an infection on top of cancer or that she has a very bad infection. She's quite young and I lost my golden retriever recently so it feels quite crap and my OCD is worse when I'm anxious!

xxx

[AoD]

Sorry to hear that about the dog, it's always awful to lose pets I lost my old cat a few years ago (he had a stroke, was 17 years old) and it was as bad as losing a family member. Antibiotics can take a while to work, so it's normal she doesn't get better right away, it could take a few days. When you can bring her home, make sure she stays indoors only from now on so she doesn't get sick again (cats do quite well by living indoors only, it's a myth that they need to be outside and aren't happy otherwise). When our previous cat had health issues, we switched his diet to a holistic cat food that was made with whole meat and no corn (most commercial cat food is made with ground up carcasses..not cool) and it helped him get better even though the vet had pretty much given up on him. You might want to try to offer her some of that type of food when she gets home (don't remove her old food though, offer both at the same time so you don't stress her). Some good brands are Oven-Baked Tradition and Orijen.

[jotini]

Phenol compounds become airborne too so keep your rooms well ventilated, even though it is super cold in some places. Just a quick air change will do.
On a side not, phenol is also the antibacterial component in Listerine mouthwash, so if you wouldn't spray it on your counters, don't put it in your mouth

[emet-ana]

Sorry to hear that about the dog, it's always awful to lose pets I lost my old cat a few years ago (he had a stroke, was 17 years old) and it was as bad as losing a family member. Antibiotics can take a while to work, so it's normal she doesn't get better right away, it could take a few days. When you can bring her home, make sure she stays indoors only from now on so she doesn't get sick again (cats do quite well by living indoors only, it's a myth that they need to be outside and aren't happy otherwise). When our previous cat had health issues, we switched his diet to a holistic cat food that was made with whole meat and no corn (most commercial cat food is made with ground up carcasses..not cool) and it helped him get better even though the vet had pretty much given up on him. You might want to try to offer her some of that type of food when she gets home (don't remove her old food though, offer both at the same time so you don't stress her). Some good brands are Oven-Baked Tradition and Orijen.

Aw sorry to hear about your cat AoD. I hope you're okay now, it's such a shock when that happens.

I'd love to keep them in but our cats make a huge fuss if you don't let them outside. We live in a small-ish (normal for England) house and they just meow incessantly at the door until you let them out! I think the infection is just something she would have got even if she was inside all the time but I will ask the vet. My cat is being kept at the vets overnight again and still on fluids and antibiotics.

They eat food that we buy from the veterinary practice so I'll check it's good quality