By Lisa Provost
Is our toxic environment affecting your cat’s health? The answer is YES. I have been saying for years that feline IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and other feline health conditions have as much to do with environmental toxins as they do with the food itself. All I hear day in and day out is “it’s the pet food” causing this. You’re only partially right. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 9,000 synthetic chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products, worldwide, for over 70 years. Known as forever chemicals, they do not break down naturally in the environment. These chemicals are in everything; furniture, flooring, carpeting, building materials, pots and pans, dishes, clothing, shampoos and soaps, among many other things. Most importantly they’re in our food, water, pet food and pet food containers. (Please be careful giving your pets certain kinds of water. Distilled does not have the proper minerals needed for pets, same with some forms of bottled water so research carefully). Studies find these chemicals are affecting the endocrine, neurological and immune systems in humans, pets, domestic animals and wildlife globally.
All links and studies on this page should be read thoroughly so you can get a better understanding of just how bad this really is. I’m not an expert on chemistry, environmental issues, chemicals, etc. So I will be including many quotes and links for you to explore. I highly advise you to read each item and linked article thoroughly, including the links at the very bottom. I promise you these are all very important. While it’s important to understand that this is not something you can always control, there are things you can do to help limit exposure in your home if possible. But at least you will get an idea as to WHY it’s in your pet’s food and in everything else they, and we, come and contact with and ingest.
“A study by scientists at Duke University and North Carolina State University finds that – while using any filter is better than using none – many household filters are only partially effective at removing toxic perfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, from drinking water.”
https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/not-all-home-drinking-water-filters-completely-remove-toxic-pfas#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20by%20scientists,as%20PFAS%2C%20from%20drinking%20water.
This is a very extensive and thorough article about forever chemicals and their effects on cats and dogs. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: using comparative medicine to understand exposure and adverse health outcomes in people and their pets.
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/ajvr/84/7/ajvr.22.12.0221.xml
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS):
https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas.
Forever chemicals have been found in pet food packaging.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/02/pet-food-contamination-forever-chemicals.
Forever chemicals have also been found in flea and tick control products for pets.
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/flea-control-products-found-to-be-infested-with-forever-chemicals-2021-06-07/email_view/.
“Grease-proofing substances are applied on paper and paperboard packaging to prevent the leaking of grease and oil, and for water-resistant properties. The substances containing PFAS were applied to fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers, pet food bags, as well as other similar types of packaging.
https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-announces-pfas-used-grease-proofing-agents-food-packaging-no-longer-being-sold-us?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
“Evidence is mounting on the link between per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and adverse health outcomes in animals, including increased liver weight and size in dogs, reproductive delays in rodents, and possible respiratory disease in cats.”
https://www.avma.org/news/researcher-looking-pfas-exposure-dogs-cats#:~:text=Evidence%20is%20mounting%20on%20the,possible%20respiratory%20disease%20in%20cats.
“Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can act as surfactants and have been suggested to be capable of affecting gut mucosa integrity, a possible factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). So far, only PFOA has been shown to have a positive association with ulcerative colitis.” While this article mainly discusses humans, all of these items listed that contain forever chemicals affect our pets as well, and studies are proving that.
https://www.collinslaw.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-pfas-pfoa-and-pfos.html#:~:text=Perfluoroalkyl%20and%20polyfluoroalkyl%20substances%20(together,most%20studied%20of%20these%20chemicals.
These are studies in humans, but again, pets and animals ARE affected as well: Inflammatory bowel disease and biomarkers of gut inflammation and permeability in a community with high exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances through drinking water.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119307200#:~:text=Perfluoroalkyl%20substances%20(PFAS)%20can%20act,positive%20association%20with%20ulcerative%20colitis.
“Since 2002, the use of PFAS has declined. However, some PFAS studies suggest that at high concentrations, they may increase the risk of cancer, disrupt hormones including thyroid function, and harm the immune system. While PFAS research is still in its infancy, PFAS exposure may also be harmful for pets. In the study, authors cited research that showed that PFAS had toxic effects on animals’ genes, livers, and brains.”
https://bluepearlvet.com/pet-blog/what-owners-need-to-know-about-forever-chemicals-in-pets/.
“Researchers documented serious PFAS-triggered conditions in wildlife, including suppressed immunity, liver damage, developmental and reproductive issues, nervous and endocrine system impacts, gut microbiome/bowel disease and more. PFAS pose yet another threat to already beleaguered global wildlife.” This article is extremely detailed and helpful.
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-harming-wildlife-the-world-over-study/.
“PFAS pollution is not just a problem for humans. It’s a problem for species across the globe. PFAS are ubiquitous, and this first-of-its-kind map clearly captures the extent to which PFAS have contaminated wildlife around the globe,” said Andrews. The new interactive map plots a great variety of wildlife, including many types of fish, birds, reptiles, frogs and other amphibians, large mammals such as horses and polar bears, and small mammals such as cats. Some are already endangered or threatened.
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2023/02/groundbreaking-map-shows-toxic-forever-chemicals-more-330
If you Google PFAS in your state you will most likely find information on state websites about PFAS and how it is affecting you, your pets and livestock. Most states now have that information as some states have higher levels of PFAS than others. Here in the northeast we’ve been experience a very high surge in cancer rates due to a plastics factory that has been leaking forever chemicals for years into our water systems and ground water through several states. In a recent study, residents of several counties in my state are at a significantly higher risk for certain kinds of cancers, (including bladder, renal, thyroid, and kidney), than the rest of the nation. Some recent studies on cancer risk stated that New Hampshire residents exposed to PFAS from Saint Gobain have two times the amount of PFOA in their blood serum levels than the average across the United States.”
https://www.nhtap.com/saint-gobain-water-contamination-map-and-rebate-program/.
“Pets living near a PFAS manufacturing plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina have concerning levels of the toxic chemicals in their blood, and show evidence of health effects linked to exposure, new research finds. One cat repeatedly fell face-first into her food, he said, and another wobbled while it walked, which a vet attributed to unexplained kidney and neurological disorders. Two of his dogs had to drag themselves after losing use of their back legs, and Stokes put them to sleep.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/04/pfas-toxic-forever-chemicals-pets-north-carolina.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c01146
“For decades, chemical companies covered up evidence of PFAS’ health hazards. Today nearly all Americans, including newborn babies, have PFAS in their blood, and more than 200 million people (and millions of pets and wildlife) may be drinking PFAS-tainted water. What began as a “miracle of modern chemistry” is now a national crisis.”
https://www.ewg.org/what-are-pfas-chemicals.
PFAS was originally thought to be affecting mainly well water, but studies have shown it’s in public water as well. “USGS scientists tested water collected directly from people’s kitchen sinks across the nation, providing the most comprehensive study to date on PFAS in tap water from both private wells and public supplies,” said USGS research hydrologist Kelly Smalling, the study’s lead author. “The study estimates that at least one type of PFAS – of those that were monitored – could be present in nearly half of the tap water in the U.S. Furthermore, PFAS concentrations were similar between public supplies and private wells.”
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/tap-water-study-detects-pfas-forever-chemicals-across-us.
PFAS and forever chemicals have caused an epidemic of hyperthyroidism in cats in particular, due to the fact that they lick and bathe themselves many times per day and they’re lay on flooring, carpeting and furniture containing forever chemicals. Studies in Oregon have determined that 1 out of 10 cats will develop hyperthyroidism which is a life threatening condition.
https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/flame-retardant-may-cause-hyperthyroidism-cats.
A proposed standard for this along with a plan to start cleaning up forever chemicals from our environment was on the agenda from the previous administration. We don’t know where this stands with the current administration. (I am not getting political. I’m merely passing on pertinent information about the future of these chemicals).
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-first-ever-national-standard-protect-communities
Further articles on PFAS and microplastics
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31525038/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9999012/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240415163703.htm?
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4672/4/4/33
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/661
https://www.avma.org/news/researcher-looking-pfas-exposure-dogs-cats
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119307200#:~:text=Perfluoroalkyl%20substances%20(PFAS)%20can%20act,positive%20association%20with%20ulcerative%20colitis.
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/ajvr/84/7/ajvr.22.12.0221.xml.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1867999/