Apartment to be repainted soon. Are paint fumes dangerous for cats? (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

The entire place is to be repainted over a three-day period, possibly starting as soon as next week.

My kitchen is closed off with a glass door. Attila can stay there while the living room is painted. Then I will move him to whichever room the painters are not working in.

After the crew is finished with each section, I plan to leave the windows open. But given how strong the paint smells are from other units being fixed up now, I am concerned about the fumes.

If Attila is another room with the door closed and the window open, will he be safe? Or should I plan on taking him to a kennel? (He would not like that, and I don't want to put him through the stress of it all. But his safety is of paramount concern to me.)

Any advice or input appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Charles J P]

If they are using latex paint the "fumes" may stink, but I am pretty sure they're not toxic. I think as long as a window is open the cat should be fine.

 

[Tom Rhea]

I can only tell you that when our apartment was painted about six years ago, our 3 cats had free run the whole time and suffered no ill effects. The place was completely ventilated. Not exactly scientific evidence, but hey...

 

[Julie K]

Jack,
I'd take Attila to the kennel. I wouldn't be worried about the fumes as long as the window is open, but the upset in his home could be quite traumatic. As you know, cats are very set in their home and routine. No cat likes change and I had one, a very dear calico, who was greatly upset by re-tiling the kitchen. She would hardly come out from under the bed even long after the contractors left. It really traumatized her to have strangers come inside and tear up her house. I think a kennel is less stressing since they don't see the re-arranging and work being done in the home.

 

[Cees Alons]

According to new regulations here, paint that's to be used inside a house (or office) must be on a water basis. This is to protect the painters (who were suffering from dissolving brains in the old days, I'm told).

So if that's true in the US as well, your cat should be safe.

Cees

 

[Jeff Pryor]

Jack, you say you'll leave your cat in another room with the window open. Great, fresh air is what the cat will need. We all know cats love windowsills, and your cat will be absolutely fine. I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Whenever we've had painting done in our homes, our two cats are locked safely in the basement until the paint is dry. With latex-based paints, I do not think there are toxic fumes (as stated in another response). If the fumes are not harmful to humans, your feline friend should be fine.
FYI, our cats are very comfortable in the basement. It's finished, and their food and litter boxes are down there anyway. When we let them back upstairs after the paint's dry, they are always curious about the new odor, but have never been upset over it. They would definitely be more traumatized over being sent to a kennel -- they hate being transported anywhere (vet trips are always a lot of fun :frowning: ).

 

[Jack Briggs]

Thanks, everybody, for the reassuring replies. I feel better now! My discomfort I can deal with, but I can't stand the thought of Attila being inconvenienced.

 

[Mary M S]

Jack,
I know how you feel, its why I have house-sitters to hand feed and coax my dog out of his funk, when I'm out of town. He becomes utterly depressed and withdrawn when he sees the suitcases come out once a year, we spend a lot of time ludicrously trying to hide these from him till the last second.

I did run into to something on latex allergies (in humans when researching a new latex foam mattress. But all in all I think your very safe with the new paint regulations, and being boarded (which I've rarely had to do) seems like the worst misery for my pets.

Being in an apt, I would be sure you NEVER have exterminators who come (though management access) without your knowledge. One of my Brother in Laws had a tragic incident with this situation and his 2 cats many years ago.

If Attila has the personality his name indicates, He'll prob. just find it all sheer entertainment.

 

[Wayne Murphy]

Julie K your first mistake was getting a Calico cat... all that I've met or had were nutbars!!!!(Not a scientific test just 9 or 10 cats and some Vet comments.)
All my other cats love it when you change things around. Thus the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat'.
I wouldn't think a water based or Latex paint with proper ventilation would bother the cat.....unless she's a Calico.:b

 

[Julie K]

Wayne,
But that's the joy of Calicos I must say though, that she was almost normal compared to the Siamese...
Cats like a having a bit of a curiosity in their lives, but major change is not fun. At least that's my observation from a bunch of probably non-normal kitties. Oh, and the experience of moving two kitties. That was completely unfun for the kitties as well as the human involved.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Oh, and the experience of moving two kitties. That was completely unfun for the kitties as well as the human involved.

That's for sure. It's lunchtime, so I will avoid mentioning the details...

- Steve

 

[Jack Briggs]

My beloved Attila is a colorpoint shorthair, which is a recognized breed that is a cross between American shorthair and Siamese. Attila's proportions, however, are more akin to the way Siamese cats looked back when they resembled cats; what the breeders are doing to the Siamese these days borders on the obscene, I think. Look at those muzzels now!

Attila, on the other hand, has the contours of a jungle cat; he is all muscle, fluffy and shiny coat, and high-decibel purring. With deep, deep blue eyes.

Since he has so much Siamese in him, that means only those who are truly committed to the very concept of the cat can handle such a lifestyle. Siamese cats are as catlike as cat gets.

Luckily, I can't get enough cat in my life. The Siamese and I are natural allies. Attila is The Best.

And, yes, I am rambling.

 

[Julie K]

It's ok to ramble, Jack, especially in your own thread. Of course, I never stray off-track in my own threads...
But I agree that what the breeders are doing to Siamese cats is awful. Also, there is apparently some sort of Muzzle Conservation Law going on and so the Persians are getting horribly squished-in faces. Just awful.
I love Siamese too (but then, all cats are nice...). I grew up with a bunch and I am still often surprised by how quiet the meows of other cats are.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Oh, and Julie: One of my all-time favorite vets told me she wishes she could take legal action against what the breeders are doing to the Persians. She says those inverted muzzels are, her words, "respiratory nightmares." She sees no end of problems associated with what the breeders are doing.

What are these insane breeders hoping to achieve? Whose aesthetic judgments are making the calls as to what is attractive? Really now. I prefer my cats to look like cats--not Pekingese dogs.

(I once lived with a heartbreakingly gorgeous Turkish Angora, the most beautiful she-cat I've ever known. To think: Her proportions were more in line with what Persians once looked like. She had, among other things, a muzzel. Yet Sleepy would have been disbarred from an official competition because of one of those arbritrary rules put in place by the very breeders who are ruining what the purebreds look like: Sleepy committed the sin of being born with deep green eyes--instead of the required blue. Go figure.)

 

[Mary M S]

has the contours of a jungle cat; he is all muscle, fluffy and shiny coat, and high-decibel purring. With deep, deep blue eyes.

Can I ramble with you.
Attilia, Sounds much like one of mine. Tailspin (don't ask I have children) I call him 'The Hunter'. He's aging now, but is the toughest guy around. Very much an African Cat imitator in behavior, but has mellowed with age.
Has the exact markings of a White Tiger, with the deep blue eyes.
I lucked out though, he doesn't' 'talk' like a full Siamese. Only when he's about to be sick. Then you could hear him a block away.

I agree wholeheartedly with your vet. The AKC and similar are ruining pure-breds. I believe I have been pushed into the 'mix' camp forever. Too many heartbreaking problems amongst my friends and family, with what the breeders have 'Bred in' and the guarantees are not worth the paper they are written on, when that animal has become a member of your family and your heart is breaking.

I'm thinking of looking up a 'Bengal' cat, because I've loved my tiger so much, and the descriptions of that breed's personalities seems to mirror my guys. Luckily, breeders seem to have not had enough time to ruin this exotic yet, as there generation's are barely past the wild animal.

Have you meet any of this breed in person?

 

[Mark Zimmer]

A word of caution, though: a friend did some repainting and her rabbits decided that the paint smelled interesting....and ate some of it off a paintbrush, and promptly died. So make sure that the painting's done and dried and fully cleaned up before bringing the pets in.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Mary: I have only seen pictures of the Bengals. Lovely. And, yes, you may "ramble." I am appalled at the vanity the breeders are demonstrating. And to what end? Just to score points at a cat show, no matter how much the cat may suffer as a result of this perverse breeding? Siamese cats used to look like cats. Some still do. But the show cats bear so little resemblance to the vintage Siamese cats of only twenty years ago. Angers the hell out of me. JB

 

[Tom Rhea]

Siamese cats are as catlike as cat gets.

One of ours is mostly Siamese -- I couldn't agree more. Shakey is intensely curious (the only pet I've ever known who actually watches television -- either that, or he sure does love to stare at the space where the television is when it's turned on), loves to hunt our other two cats (a regular, run of the mill American short hair and a mancoon) and loves to be scratched but hates to admit it. He also howls like a red alert on the Enterprise when he wants attention.

One thing I'd like to know -- are Siamese cats generally huge? Shakey's built like a (cat football league) linebacker.

 

[Larry Price]

Just had several rooms of my apartment painted(after my kitchen was totally gutted and renovated), and both of my cats had absolutely no health or behavioral problems during or after.

In fact, they slept most of the day when the workers were here. The only time they got a little excited was when the tile cutting machine was in operation for the kitchen floor.
It got pretty loud.