MY PRECIOUS CAT RECENTLY DIED OF A LARYNGEAL TUMOUR.......

My precious cat, April, died three weeks ago from a laryngeal tumour, which I feel could have been caused by my using a carpet cleaning product containing Limonene. According to an article in " The Daily Mail" of 16th January, Limonene mutates with the atmosphere to produce Formaldehyde, which is a known cause of cancer in humans. I have spoken this morning with Professor Alastair Lewis, of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of York, who carried out these tests, on how molecules mutate on contact with air, and he said that, while studies had been done on humans, none had yet been done on animals. However, the symptoms which my beautiful girl suffered are exactly the same as those described in his article, culminating in cancerous tumours of the nose and throat from which April, sadly died. He stated that , where carpets  were concerned, toxins accumulate,  resuting in a slow build-up of same, and leading to a high level of these at ground level- which means that babies may also be at risk when crawling. Has anybody experienced anything like this with their cat, or, indeed any other animal? Professor Lewis feels that awareness should be raised regarding this matter, which requires more than one case. Poor April suffered a horrendous illness, in spite of first class care at the Glasgow Vet Hospital, as a result of which I am now committed to raising awareness of this issue. I should therefore be most grateful for any help with my campaign.

There really is no way to know what caused it, and it's entirely possible that your poor baby was just really unlucky.

You can make yourself crazy trying to find a 'cause', and in the process assign blame to yourself that you don't deserve.

I'm sorry for your loss!

I'm really sorry to hear about April.  It is devastating to lose one of our loved kitties and I think we always wonder "why?"  Unfortunately, there is often no way of knowing, especially with tumors.  You might be right about the carpet cleaner but with only anecdotal evidence, it is impossible to know for sure.  It's definitely worth warning people that this potential danger exists however.  Thank you for mentioning it.  I know I don't think about these things often enough.

I would not be surprised to learn that chemicals in carpet cleaners are potentially harmful to pets and young children crawling on carpets infused with residues from those cleaners. The fact that limonene oxidizes to formaldehyde is certainly troubling. I just think that more research needs to be done before it can all be tied together - animal studies and computer modeling at the very least.   It sounds like the research is still in the beginning stages, so it is probably too soon to definitively associate limonene with cancer.  But to warn people of the possibility?  That is definitely worth doing.

Again, I'm very, very sorry to hear about April.  You might want to write a tribute to her in our Crossing the Bridge forum.  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge   Many members find that very helpful and a comfort. People here know what you are going through.

I am sorry for your loss, RIP April