Help! Is "Icy Hot" poisonous to my cat???
tco...@erols.com
Hello all,
I would just like to know if anyone can tell me if the ingredients in the topical pain
reliever "IcyHot" is toxic to cats? "IcyHot" is similar to "BenGay" in terms of effect,
however, I've noticed that my cat goes absolutely "bonkers" when I use it! He will come
and try to lick as much of it off me as he can (of course I stop him before he gets too
far). And, when holding an open tube, he will follow me "all around the house" trying
to get at this stuff. The active ingredients in "IcyHot" are Methly Salicylate (30%)
and Menthol (10%) (sorry, don't have the list of inactive ingredients handy). It has a
strong "minty" smell to it (which I though cats didn't go for) (I've just put the tube
out of the way so my cat can't get to it and he's laying the smurgling rather thick
trying to find out where it is). But, from my observations, my cat's more attracted to
this stuff than cat nip!! If someone can let me know what affect this product and/or
its ingredients might have on cats (other than the apparent 'cat nip' affect), I'd sure
appreciate hearing from you. In addition to replying to this posting, could you please
e-mail me your response as I have difficulty accessing news at times. Thanks in
advanced for all your help.
- Terry
tco...@erols.com
P.S. Though this is probably a non-issue for seasoned internet users, my
e-mail address is tco...@erols.com.
8-)
Kay Lancaster
In article <32EF37...@erols.com>, tco...@erols.com wrote:
>Hello all,
>
>I would just like to know if anyone can tell me if the ingredients in the topical pain
>reliever "IcyHot" is toxic to cats? "IcyHot" is similar to "BenGay" in terms of effect,
>however, I've noticed that my cat goes absolutely "bonkers" when I use it! He will come
>and try to lick as much of it off me as he can (of course I stop him before he gets too
>far). And, when holding an open tube, he will follow me "all around the house" trying
>to get at this stuff. The active ingredients in "IcyHot" are Methly Salicylate (30%)
>and Menthol (10%) (sorry, don't have the list of inactive ingredients handy). It has a
>strong "minty" smell to it (which I though cats didn't go for) (I've just put the tube
Methyl salicylate and other salicylates (like aspirin) are toxic to cats.
Don't let him lick it.
(And a word of advise to anyone who uses methyl salicylate ("oil of
wintergreen") containing linaments and rubs: *DO NOT* use a heating
pad or electric blanket with these products. You can give yourself
second degree burns this way all too easily.)
Kay Lancaster k...@fern.com
Caralee Ann Loonat
> I would just like to know if anyone can tell me if the ingredients in the
> topical pain
> reliever "IcyHot" is toxic to cats? "IcyHot" is similar to "BenGay" in terms
> of effect,
> however, I've noticed that my cat goes absolutely "bonkers" when I use it! He
> will come
> and try to lick as much of it off me as he can (of course I stop him before he
> gets too
> far). And, when holding an open tube, he will follow me "all around the house"
> trying
> to get at this stuff.
My cats go crazy with this stuff as well. my mom uses it but we dont let
them lick it.
--
Caralee Ann Loonat
owned by Starla,Cuddles,Marky-pooh, and Star-Fish.
car...@loonat.demon.co.uk
http://www.loonat.demon.co.uk/caralee/
dgabriel
My first cat, Misty, used to go nuts for Ben-Gay, another mint-scented
ointment like Icy Hot. I never understood why she behaved like this until
I found out that catnip is a member of the mint family.
Don't let the cat lick the ointment, because the salicylates in the
ointment are in the aspirin family; ingesting them could be toxic to the
cat.
I hope this helps!
Donna
P.S. I hope that whatever aches and pains are inspiring you to use the Icy
Hot feel better soon! :)
Scott Panzer
In article <slrn5f05l...@hub.fern.com> Kay Lancaster,
k...@hub.fern.com writes:
>>I would just like to know if anyone can tell me if the ingredients in the topical pain
>>reliever "IcyHot" is toxic to cats? "IcyHot" is similar to "BenGay" in terms of effect,
>>however, I've noticed that my cat goes absolutely "bonkers" when I use it!
>> The active ingredients in "IcyHot" are Methly Salicylate (30%)
>>and Menthol (10%) (sorry, don't have the list of inactive ingredients handy). It has a
>>strong "minty" smell to it (which I though cats didn't go for) (I've just put the tube
>
>Methyl salicylate and other salicylates (like aspirin) are toxic to cats.
Probably true.
>(And a word of advise to anyone who uses methyl salicylate ("oil of
>wintergreen")
A bit of trivia here: methyl salicylate is indeed "oil of wintergreen".
I think it is chemically slightly different from "essence of wintergreen"
that you might use as a food flavoring. Methyl salicylate may be
mildly toxic even to humans (whereas the "essence" form isn't), so
don't go using your IcyHot to flavor stuff. Not that you were planning
on this anyway.
I suspect that the menthol is the attractive constituent of IcyHot. I
have
one cat that is fascinated with the smell of Blistex, which includes,
among
other things, menthol. My other cats can't stand it though.
Scott
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BwB
Your cat most likely gets turned on by the minty/menthol smell. I do not
suggest allowing him to lick much of it, it can be irritating to the oral
membranes. Get him catnip instead. Cats are attracted to many things that can
be harmfull to them.
CAT VET
Malinda McCall
BwB (bwb...@frii.com) wrote:
: Get him catnip instead. Cats are attracted to many things that can
: CAT VET
That's true! Like, f'r'instance, antifreeze. :(