Is rubbing alcohol safe to use for cleaning around or on my cat?

NO!! Methylated spirits are toxic to their skin and often times will "burn" them. Also, cats do not like weird smelling things on them and will often lick off anything you apply - in this case, the spirits would be toxic and could cause oral ulcerations. I'm not sure what exactly you want to disinfect on your cat but it is much better to use dilute betadine/iodine solution or chlorhexidine solution. I hope this answers your question. If you have additional questions please feel free to post again! Take care!

Hi! Callie should be okay but I’d recommend giving her a bath in warm water using a mild soap (or ideally a pet shampoo). Make sure it all washes off well and she dries out. Hope that helps and thanks for using Pet Coach!

Your poor kitty! Yes, alcohol in the eye is dangerous because it can cause severe irritation, discharge, rubbing of the eye, which in turn can lead to a corneal ulcer. I would see if she will allow you to rinse her eye again with cool water, and keep close watch on her eye. If you see any redness, she starts rubbing at it, the eye appears swollen, or there is any discharge, take her into a vet right away. Hopefully, however, she didn't get any in her eye and she is fine. In the future, do not use alcohol on her scratches. Not only does it burn, but it can be harmful to her. It's safe to clean any scratches with warm water and antiseptic soap. I hope this helps, good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If you did not see them drink the alcohol, it is very likely that the small amount that was covering the bottom of the cup just evaporated. Alcohol tends to evaporate quite quickly at room temperature. Alcohols, when ingested, can cause metabolic disturbances and neurological side effects. If you are concerned, you can call ASPCA poison control hotline for more information. If you are unsure as to whether or not they drank the alcohol, you could monitor for symptoms and if you begin to notice them being lethargic, vomiting, acting strange, then I would recommend taking them in to be seen by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Phone Number: (888) 426-4435

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I don't think it is necessary to disinfect toys with 70% Ethanol but there should be no harm in doing so. I don't think Bazzel is at risk of any toxicity from it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I would suspect the citrus oil could be irritating to a cats upper respiratory tract. With sensitive animals around using a vinegar and water solution is always a safe bet. Another suggestion would be to keep Melcho in a different area of the house while cleaning and allow him back in once everything has dried and the fumes have mostly dissipated. A bit depends on what type of allergic reaction he was having, if it's respiratory you want to avoid compounds with strong perfumes or fumes. Cats seem particularly sensitive to the Pine-Sol and Lysol type products. If it was more of a contact reaction to touching the cleaners then typically waiting till the area is completely dry may be safe. But in general vinegar and water solutions are very safe to use around cats and you should not need to remove him from the area you're working in. I hope this helps, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Most household cleaning products are fine to use around your cat. There is no serious harm here if you are using products and then allowing them to airdry. The main concern is that some aerosolized cleaning products can cause irritation of your cats airway in some cases. However, most of these products will also cause you discomfort as well, so use your best judgement here. In most situations if you can handle exposure to the product, then so can your pet. As far as ingesting products go, you just have to make sure not to leave out any buckets of cleaner that your cat could potentially get into, and you are basically covered here as well. If you are still a bit worried about your pet, you can also switch all your household products to more organic cleaning products such as Green Works or the Mrs. Meyers products, which are derived from 98% natural products. I hope that this helps! Best of luck with your kitty and safe cleaning practices. Take care.