Cats and Cigarettes

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If you are a chain smoker, you not only harm yourself but your kitty too. Passive smoking is slowly killing your cat. You will find the fur of cats living in a smoker's house reeking of tobacco. If you lack the motivation to quit smoking, do it for your cat's sake.

Cancer-prone cats

You know that smoking causes cancer in humans, but do you know about its ill effects in felines? Like us, kitties are also at risk of being afflicted with cancer. This is more probable as the lungs of cats are much smaller than that of humans and thus more sensitive to all toxins present in the environment. When you smoke a cigarette, you contribute to your kitty's chances of suffering from lung cancer. In fact, your furball will suffer more than you without any fault of the animal.

One of the primary causes of feline asthma is cigarette smoke. The condition of asthma may lead to COPD or emphysema. This happens in humans too, and it is a painful condition to have. People suffocate slowly and suffer the maximum amount of pain. Cigarette smoking not only causes lung cancer in cats; the particles from cigarette smoke increase risks of other kinds of cancer. This happens as cats lick themselves to stay clean. The particulate matter present in cigarette smoke is deposited onto sofa furnishing, bed, and also feline fur. Ingestion of these particles leads to bladder, oral, and gastrointestinal cancers.

Allergies

Allergies in cats may also be caused by second-hand cigarette smoke. The immune systems of felines are much more sensitive when compared to humans. When a cat gets exposed to any cigarette smoke, the consequence will be skin allergies, chronic ear infections, sneezing, and watery eyes. It does not help that nicotine is extremely toxic to cats. This is especially applicable for greedy cats who eat everything they see, including cigarette butts, nicotine gum, and even nicotine patches. The symptoms of nicotine poisoning include rapid breathing, trembling, and drooling. There could be seizures as well. If you want to save your cat while you continue to puff away, then smoke only when you are out of your residence. There is no point in smoking in another room while still inside the house. This is as the air gets circulated within the same living unit. It is essential that you wash your hands before you pet the cat. This will remove most if not all particulate matter, keeping the kitty safe. In case you have made up your mind to quit smoking, then make sure that your cat cannot reach what you have junked. The same rule must be followed for vaping equipment too.