Companion Animals

Indoor Air Quality and Feline Welfare

Cats spend the majority of their time indoors. Indoor air quality — including cigarette smoke, cleaning chemicals and plug-in fragrances — directly affects feline respiratory and general welfare.

Key Facts

Welfare Considerations

Cats are particularly sensitive to airborne toxins because they groom themselves, concentrating surface deposits on their fur into oral ingestion. Cleaning chemicals left on surfaces that cats walk on are then ingested during grooming. Phenol-based disinfectants are acutely toxic to cats. Creating a home environment with non-toxic cleaning products, no tobacco smoke and careful plant selection directly protects feline welfare.

What You Can Do