The root cause of mold is moisture and darkness. Can cat pee cause mold? The answer to this question is undoubtedly yes. The components of urine will attract moisture, and over time, different types of mold can start to grow underneath your carpet or floor.
Cat pee is a catalyst for mold and it is very important to clean up well after your cat. Mold can be very detrimental to your health and is sometimes so well hidden that you may not even know you have it until you pull up the carpet or floor.
What Is Mold?
Mold is a type of fungus that consists of small organisms. Mold can be found almost anywhere where moisture is apparent. Mold comes in many different forms. Mold can be black, orange, white, green, or purple. Mold actually plays a very important role in the outside world. In nature, mold helps break down dead leaves, trees, and plants. That’s all fine and dandy, but its not something you want in your home.
Mold thrives on moisture and is able to reproduce by tiny, lightweight spores that actually travel through the air. You are exposed to mold on a daily basis in very small amounts. These mold spores in small amounts are mostly harmless, but if they land on a damp spot in your home, they can start to grow and reproduce. Leftover cat urine that you forgot to clean can be the perfect catalyst to help this mold grow into a dangerous amount.
When mold starts to grow on a surface, spores are released into the air that is easily inhaled while performing everyday activities. If you are sensitive to mold, you may experience health problems if the mold is inhaled in large amounts.
Can Cat Urine Cause Black Mold?
Black mold is also referred to as toxic black mold. Doesn’t that sound a little scary? Toxic black mold is one of the most infamous molds because it can grow in houses and is extremely dangerous to humans. Another name for black mold is stachybotrys because it produces toxins called mycotoxins. In order to know if cat urine can cause black mold, we must first look at how black mold actually develops in the first place.
Black mold grows the best in warm conditions. Indoor black mold needs materials that are high in cellulose and low in nitrogen to grow in. In English this means that toxic black mold is able to grow on many common indoor building materials.
Toxic black mold grows best in warm conditions and is found in many countries throughout the world. Outdoors, toxic black mold grows in soil and on plant debris. Indoors, toxic black mold needs materials high in cellulose and low in nitrogen to grow on. This means toxic black mold can grow on many common indoor building materials.
In order for black mold to grow, there needs to be an area that is saturated in moisture because it takes a long time for black mold to grow. It is unlikely that your cat’s urine can cause black mold to grow unless they are constantly peeing or spraying in the same area.
Can Mold Kill Pets?
Mold can definitely cause enough health issues to kill your pets. Mold is a slow and silent killer due to it needing to be inhaled. If your cat is exposed to a lot of mold for an extended period of time, health issues will follow. Symptoms won’t be east to spot, but if you know what to look for, you may find these in a pet that is exposed to mold. Frothy blood coming from your cat’s trachea is a tell tale sign that they have a toxic amount of mold buildup in their system.
What Symptoms Does Mold Cause?
Mold shows similar symptoms that occur with upper respiratory allergies. Here are some signs that you or your cat may be suffering from a mold allergy.
- Runny or Stuffy Nose
- Watery Eyes
- Dry, cracked and scaly skin
- Sneezing
- Coughing and postnasal drip
- Itchy Nose, Eyes, and Throat
As you can see, these are very common to upper respiratory allergies so it may be hard to figure out if your symptoms are coming from mold or just allergies in general. A good rule of thumb is if you have never really experience upper respiratory allergies, than the cause of your symptoms can possible be mold.
Mold allergies will vary from person to person and can range from mild to life threatening.
Is Bleach or Vinegar Better to Kill Mold?
Using distilled white vinegar or bleach will both do an effective job at killing mold spores in porous materials. Bleach is only able to kill mold on non-porous surfaces since it doesn’t penetrate porous surfaces.
To kill mold spores, pour bleach into a spray bottle and spray the mold with it. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and scrub the area. You can also add vinegar to the solution to make it even stronger.
Can Smelling Cat Urine Harm You?
Cat urine has a very strong ammonia smell which is an irritant to your lungs. If you smell large amounts of urine, your lungs can actually feel like they are burning. Inhaling a large amount of ammonia can cause your lungs, throat, and respiratory tract to become inflamed which can cause a burning sensation.
The more someone is exposed to a constant large amount of ammonia, they may start to feel faint or lightheaded. Large amounts of ammonia can also cause skin and eye irritation as well. The bad thing about cat urine is that it can become embedded in furniture, carpet, floors, and whatever else your cat decides to spray or pee on. This poses a small risk if cleaned up on a regular basis. The real problem occurs if you don’t regularly clean cat urine from your home. The amount of urine and ammonia can build up to dangerous amounts that can cause health hazards.
Can Cat Urine Make You Sick?
Cat urine can definitely cause health problems and make you sick. I’ve already talked about how prolonged periods of ammonia inhalation can cause health hazards. These health hazards include sick-like symptoms. Some of these symptoms include: red eyes, sneezing, itchiness of the skin/nose, dizziness, headaches, vomiting, nausea, coughing, and other flu-like symptoms.
Highly concentrated ammonia in cat urine can also cause very dangerous diseases like bronchitis and pneumonia. Who would have thought all this could happen from cat pee? Kids are at an even greater risk for all these infections due to having a lower immune system and body weight compared to adults.
Final Thoughts
Cat pee can definitely cause mold if left alone. Cat urine attracts moisture which is the breeding ground for mold. It is very important that you always thoroughly clean after your cats messes to prevent the growth of mold, especially on carpet. Moisture is easily trapped in carpet which can cause mold to grow underneath right before your nose. Before you know it, you could have a mold infestation that could be life threatening.
If you spot mold in your home, you need o take immediate action at cleaning and stopping the growth of the mold before it spreads around your home.
