Is Swiffer WetJet cleaning solution poisonous to cats?

Question

I had a friend tell me that Swiffer Wetjet cleaning solution poisoned his cat. He said that he cleaned the floor with it, and then the cat walked on the floor. He said that after the cat licked it's paws the cat died. I have trouble believing that the Swiffer company is selling a cleaning solution that is poisonous to animals.

Answer 1

No only in high concentration. Its hype and myth, All those stories about death of animals and cleaners, had some sort of issue involved. In most of these stories, the dogs or cats, had already compromised systems (kidney failure, liver failure, or compromised immune systems), Allergic reactions, the owner over used or concentrated the cleaner, or mis-used the cleaner in some way.
If you wash your floor every couple days and dont over use the product then no, the cat and dogs are safe. His cat would have had to had his paws SOAKED litterally SOAKED in the stuff and then licked every little bit off. As a repsonsible owner if your going to clean your house with any kind of strong cleaner you take the precautions your should. Dont let the animal on the floor till dry and to be sure they are not overly concentrated.

Answer 2

Swiffer Wetjet Cleaning Solution

Answer 3

This question was asked about 3 months ago. It's all bull!! The animal can lick the floor right after you get done using it, and it might cough a little, but it'll be fine.

There's alot of products that are harmful to pets, but they put it on the warning label. The swiffer comany isn't stupid. They make animal friendly products. If you're "friend" told you that, then the cat must have been allergic to something. Hell, it could have walked in antifreeze before it went walking on the floor.

Swiffer wetjet is totally safe around your animals, but I wouldn't take the chance if you're going to beleive an internet urban myth. I've used my wetjet for about 4 yrs now, and not once had a problem with my dog, 2 cats, or 2 birds.

Answer 4

I had heard this and was concerned, since I have two, old cats with health problems. So, I did some research. I had almost decided to go out and buy the Swiffer Wet Jet when I came across one last piece of information that made me rethink it. In a Wikipedia article about the ingredient in question- Propylene Glycol, which is even used in food, cosmetics, shampoo, etc., I read about its affect on cats, which can cause a condition which causes protein clumping of the blood. They no longer add it to cat food because of it. Whether or not the amount picked up by a cat walking across the floor would be more than ingested in cat food, I don't know. Amounts were not mentioned. Now, the one catch is that according to the Snopes article, Propylene Glycol is used in many other types of cleaning products, as well, so it would figure that it's possible for a cat to end up ingesting it, regardless! I plan to check labels more closely. If the concentrations aren't any worse than in the other guy's stuff, then I see no reason to NOT purchase Swiffer products! We all want our pets to be healthy and live long lives. If, like my cats, yours has a compromised immune system already, it pays to thoroughly check things before exposing him/her to chemicals. It seems this may be as safe as they claim.

So, how about Clorox Cleanup, and Lysol, Mr. clean, and all the other products? How much of the stuff do they have in theirs?

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Is Swiffer WetJet cleaning solution poisonous to cats?
I had a friend tell me that Swiffer Wetjet cleaning solution poisoned his cat. He said that he cleaned the floor with it, and then the cat walked on the floor. He said that after the cat licked it's paws the cat died. I have trouble believing that the Swiffer company is selling a cleaning...

Answer 6

Swiffer Wet Jet Cleaner

Answer 7

As with any cleaning product, ingesting enough will lead to death. Just by walking on the floor no. I mop my entire house (hard wood floors in all rooms) with a Swiffer wet jet and I have inside cats, they walk all over the place while I am mopping and then lick their paws. They have never even gotten sick from it. Also febreeze is safe to use with pets.

Answer 8

Most household cleaners are toxic to both animals and humans if ingested. C'mon, if you swollowed amouthful of bleach, what do you think will happen? Now, I don't know about the "urban legend" stuff, but I do know that cats, dogs, my kids and me myself should not taste, lick or swalow any household cleaner. I use Swifter to clean my kitchen and bathroom floors. But I do not allow my cats to walk on the floors until the floors are competely dry. This is to avoid any of the liquid cleaner getting on their paws and them licking it off. I confine my cats in a bedroom or in their outdoor kennel whenever I need to mop floors or give counters a thorough clean with powerful household cleaners. Once the surfaces are completey dry, then it is safe for everyone.

Answer 9

He is probably lying since that myth has been around since swiffer came out. My vet says its fine and since I use it at least 2 times a week and my cats (alive for 3 years with use of swiffer) are still here I say something else killed his cat if one did die.

Answer 10

This has been a long debated issue and is even now listed on SNOPES.COM the website that proves or disproves rumors, legends and other interesting folklore

They tested this mop and found out that it does not poison animals. See for yourself on snopes.com