★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
I used a pine cleaner to mop my kitchen floor and my cat walked across the floor before I could get the floor rinsed. I didn't think much about it at the time, but a little later, my cat got very sick! Throwing up, drooling, glazed look in his eyes, crying, unable to walk. I took him to the vet immediately and after the vet questioned me a bit to determine the events prior to his getting sick, the doctor told me it was the pine oil cleaner. Since the cat had walked across the floor while it was wet, he then cleaned (licked) his paws and ingested the substance. The doctor said that pine oils are highly toxic to cats. It attacks their liver mostly, and depending how much they ingested, most cats will die! (I do not know if it is for dogs, but I bet it is. )
The doctor said that if a cat doesn't ingest enough to outright kill it within hours, then their body will slowly work it out over a period of a week to 10 days. BUT. While that is happening, they will refuse to eat or maybe not drink either. So, as a concequence they will get weaker and weaker causing their recovery to slow down further to the point they will die from starvation, lack of water, or general body deterioration.
My cat was a very overweight cat. The doctor said for once that was a "good thing". Because, he had plenty of energy stored in his fat to live off of, while he was recuperating and not eating.
So, I'm happy to say that my cat "Bubby", did in fact survive! He got very, very skinny by the time he was over it and able to eat again. And now, I NEVER will use pine oil products in my home again. And, I make sure my cat does not walk across my wet floors again, either, just in case whatever cleaner I use might be toxic.
