The summer heat and humidity are back—and so are the mosquitoes. These little pests can make it hard to relax or get a good night’s sleep, so it’s natural to want them gone. But here’s something many cat parents don’t realize: most mosquito repellents you find in stores can actually be toxic to cats. Sadly, it’s not rare for cats to get sick after breathing in or licking products meant to keep bugs away.

These kittens are in shock due to mosquito repellent products. Their bodies are curled into balls, occasionally convulsing, with curled paws and drooling… Today, I will take inventory of mosquito repellent products that are toxic to cats and explore alternative methods for repelling mosquitoes in households with cats unable to use these products.

Mosquito repellent products that are harmful to cats

► insecticidal pyrethroids

Common products: mosquito coils, electric mosquito coils, mosquito coils, insecticidal aerosols, etc.

Pyrethrins are low in toxicity to people, are difficult to be absorbed by the skin, and can also be metabolized by the human liver. But for cats, their liver lacks glucose microaronic transferase, metabolism is very weak, may accumulate in the cat’s body, once poisoned, vomiting, drooling, convulsions, and even shock death.

► DEET

Common products: most spray mosquito repellent on the market, such as toilet water.

DEET is toxic to both dogs and cats, but is more toxic to cats. Sprays are mainly an entrance hazard to cats, because cats like to lick their fur and are easily poisoned by accidental ingestion, skin penetration and eye contact. Symptoms of DEET poisoning in cats include vomiting, trembling, ataxia, and epileptic seizures.

How to repel mosquitoes at home when you have cats

► Isolate the cats

When using mosquito repellent products in the bedroom, It’s advisable to first carry the cat out of the bedroom and isolate it. After repelling mosquitoes, be sure to open the windows (close the screens) to provide adequate ventilation to dilute the repellent ingredients in the air.

► Physical mosquito repellent

Install window screens to block outdoor mosquitoes. Regarding the arrangement of electric mosquito swatters, especially the ones with lights, you can turn off the lights in the room before going to bed and turn on the mosquito swatter. Mosquitoes will be attracted by the light and will destroy themselves. Those who are diligent can also manually swat them. Of course, cats You can also help from the side~

► Turn on the air conditioner

When the temperature is relatively low, the activity of mosquitoes is greatly reduced. The body dissipates less heat and sweats less, which can also reduce the probability of being bitten by mosquitoes.

► Clean up standing water

Starting from the source, mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. Rainfall has been very abundant in many places this summer. Pay more attention to checking balconies and window sills to clean up accumulated water, and be careful not to ignore window troughs. There are also bathroom floors, washstands, etc. Also pay attention to changing the water in your cat’s water bowl every day.

► Catnip

A study in “Science Advances” found that catnip contains nepetalactone. In addition to making cats happy, this chemical also has a strong mosquito repellent effect. You can keep some appropriately.

In addition to the mosquito problem in summer, the hair problem should be the biggest headache for poop removers. We learned about the solution to the former, and the editor also has good tools to share with the latter.