Cat By Mineral Oil On Cutting Board For A Few Seconds

[Delan05]

I never had a wooden board before. I had put food grade mineral oil on it for the first time, I read that it should soak in the first time. If you ran your hand over it you would get a light coating on your hand. It was in a place he never goes up on normally. I was in the other room and heard him jump up on something. I came right in and he was near the board, facing it, I'm guessing he put his nose down by it for a few seconds to see what it was. I THINK he licked his lips once. I didn't know mineral oil was bad for cats in general but I freaked out when I saw him, shooed him down and then gave him some food that has a lot of gravy and also wiped his nose with warm water. Now I've read that it can hurt their lungs. I've put it in a garbage bag, and the bottle of oil and applicator and put them in the garage and am going to throw them out. I've asked on a vet site where you pay but I don't think anyone is online. I'm worried now! What should I do? Do you think he will be okay? It was honestly seconds but he may have sniffed it or just had his nose by it, he may have touched it with his nose for a few seconds and may have got a tiny (I'm guessing tiny) bit of it on his nose and then licked his nose.

[MarySkater]

I don't know anything about mineral oil and cats, although it sounds as if there may have been no harm done. What I would say is, don't throw away your oil bottle. Keep it, and if your cat does show any symptoms, show the bottle to your vet so that they know exactly what he was exposed to.

[Delan05]

Okay, thank you. That's good advice. I was just in a panic but I'll keep it in the garage so that I can do that. And thanks, he does seem totally fine so far. Happy in fact and he's eaten pate cat food again. I'm still stressed about it but I'll just keep a close watch on him for right now.

[bobbys girl]

First thing I would say is DON'T PANIC! I really think you have nothing to worry about. The fact that he licked his lips (and probably his nose) just means that he was doing the cat equivalent of us saying 'phew, what a pong'. If it had affected him in any other way, he would have been more distressed, sneezing and such.

Keep the mineral oil and use it to oil garden tools NOT kitchen stuff. If I use oil on a chopping board, it's usually olive oil. But I don't usually bother

[Lilith]

Good luck - hopefully no harm done, but you could always ring your vet for advice; vets are usually very helpful and so are their staff; they shouldn't mind a quick phone call and hopefully they can put your mind at rest.

I was once pasting wallpaper and a cat divebombed the table from the top of the stepladder and slid the whole length of the paper

She was more upset about having to have her paws washed - they can survive more than we think sometimes

Please let us know how you go on and if you find out any more about mineral oil from the vet.

[vanilla]

Now I've read that it can hurt their lungs. .

He should be fine. It's only when you give mineral oil straight in to their mouths they can inhale it and cause troubles. From your post, that tiny bit on his nose he licked shouldn't harm him.

You can use mineral oil for constipation and hairballs.

[Delan05]

First thing I would say is DON'T PANIC! I really think you have nothing to worry about. The fact that he licked his lips (and probably his nose) just means that he was doing the cat equivalent of us saying 'phew, what a pong'. If it had affected him in any other way, he would have been more distressed, sneezing and such.

Keep the mineral oil and use it to oil garden tools NOT kitchen stuff. If I use oil on a chopping board, it's usually olive oil. But I don't usually bother

Oh @bobbys girl I wish I'd read this sooner! I do tend to panic about these things!! I finally made a cup of hot tea and probably need some meditation soon! Seriously thank you though. He still seems totally fine, extra happy in fact, probably because I keep following him around and cooing at him & giving him loads of attention. I think you are right too, logically if it was something annoying in any way I would see him such things as you listed. Whew! Okay, just need to breath now.

And that's a great idea about the garden tools! I just recently got into gardening and even bought some vintage tools so I'll save it for that. So you can just use the board in its raw state? I was going to use beewax but I'm allergic to honey so decided not to do that. I might try that, just using nothing. I think I'll just get a new board and start over.

[Delan05]

Good luck - hopefully no harm done, but you could always ring your vet for advice; vets are usually very helpful and so are their staff; they shouldn't mind a quick phone call and hopefully they can put your mind at rest.

I was once pasting wallpaper and a cat divebombed the table from the top of the stepladder and slid the whole length of the paper

She was more upset about having to have her paws washed - they can survive more than we think sometimes

Please let us know how you go on and if you find out any more about mineral oil from the vet.

Oh no! Poor kitty! Thank you for that - I can picture the scene from quiet work mode to cat chaos mode Ah the indignity of having one's paws washed. I'm glad everything was alright in the end! And you are so right about their tenacity. That's a good idea to try phoning the vet, I'll do that and report back. And he seems really happy at the moment and slightly curious what all the fuss is about. Thanks so much.

[Delan05]

Update:
This is what the vet said:
"We do use mineral oil to treat constipation, so ingesting it could cause diarrhea if he got enough, but it does not sound like he got much of it, if any. Mineral can be a problem if aspirated into the lungs, but not just sniffing it will do this. Just sniffing at it would not be the same thing.
I would expect he will be fine. If he is eating and drinking that is a good sign he did not get enough to make him sick."

I think for constipation I'd just stick to pumpkin puree.

Well, he's sleeping now and still seems just fine. Thanks so much everyone for your help, ideas and kindness. I really appreciate it very much.
Warmest wishes and if I do get any more information about mineral oil in general I'll post it here. Hopefully we will have a very quiet peaceful day now.

[bobbys girl]

That's good to know. Thanks for updating us.

I use mineral oil on my garden tools when I have cleaned and sharpened them, so it has it's uses.

[Delan05]

Hi bobbys girl
Well thank you and everyone else for the help! He seems totally fine & it just reminds me that they will go exactly where you don't want them so I must always take that into account. And yes, I've retrieved the oil and now will use it for just garden tools - something I didn't know before.