Minoxidil and Cat Safety

[holdhotter]

Hi everyone.

I just started using Minoxidil 5% today after debating it for a long time because I am deathly worried about the potential risks to my cats.

For the cat owners out there, what kind of precautions do you take?

My plan is to only apply it immediately before leaving the house and washing my hair immediately after coming back. I also think I should be extra careful in making sure that the sink/bathtub have been thoroughly rinsed, in case some minute amount of the solution got splashed around while I was cleaning my hands or my hair. I've seen my cat lick the drain of the tub before when there is some water left around it.

Is Minoxidil still dangerous once it dries up? For example, if I splashed some on my clothes by accident and it dried up, would my cat be at risk if he slept on my clothes (he likes to sleep in the laundry hamper)? I read that they can get intoxicated just by walking on it.

How easily does Minoxidil wash off? It's oil-based iirc, so water alone won't do the job, is that correct?

Do you guys feel its safe to snuggle with the cats after having washed my hair? Obviously I won't be rubbing my head on them but I'm afraid some trace amounts might still get transferred from me to them.

Do any of you cat owners use the product at night? I don't close my bedroom door so I think that is quite dangerous as they can come sleep on my pillow sometimes.

Sorry for being so paranoid, it's probably a bigger problem for me than balding. However, I'd really appreciate it if you could share your experiences and advice. If something terrible happens to my cat because of my carelessness, I'll be sure to lose all my hair within days.

Thanks,
Will

 

[holdhotter]

bump
I'm sure some people here have experience with this...

 

[Cassin]

My GF has two cats...I don't worry about it.

Minoxidil is mainly water, PPG and alcohol. Minoxidil is only small part of it.

IMO your cat is in just as much more danger from clothes detergent than minoxidil. Floor cleaner and houseplant dirt is probably more of an issue. Stuff like that...

 

[holdhotter]

My GF has two cats...I don't worry about it.

Minoxidil is mainly water, PPG and alcohol. Minoxidil is only small part of it.

IMO your cat is in just as much more danger from clothes detergent than minoxidil. Floor cleaner and houseplant dirt is probably more of an issue. Stuff like that...

Thanks for your feedback.

Do you put it on before you sleep and do you let the cats sleep with you too? I wonder if it's not dangerous once it dries up.

What brand/type do you use?

 

[zephyr31]

your cats arnt going to die with minoxidil mate.

yeah maybe if they drink it, but most deffo not from your hair, unless ur cats lick your hair but thats a little odd?.

 

[gfunkdave]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I wanted to share my experience. Minoxidil killed my cat.

I bought the 5% solution from my local pharmacy and started using it. I'd heard it was dangerous to cats, so I kept the bottle tightly closed and in a drawer when not using, and washed my hands thoroughly after using.

My cat sometimes liked to sleep on my pillow during the day. Either he walked across the dried solution that had gotten on my pillow or licked the pillow. One night before bed, a couple days into starting Minoxidil, I noticed he was acting kind of lethargic - just lying on the bed and not his usual playful self. Didn't think much of it at the time.

The next day I happened to go home around 2pm to get my suitcase for a work trip and found him gasping for air and making really scary sounding short meows - kind of like yelps. I put him in his carrier and ran down the street to the vet. They found his lungs were full of fluid. He didn't respond to treatment, and they found his kidneys were starting to fail, so we had to euthanize him. The vet told me that he COULD have had some preexisting cardiac condition, but he had recently had his annual checkup and they had said he was fine. I'm sure she was just trying to make me feel better for inadvertently poisoning my cat.

Be really, really careful with minoxidil and cats.

 

[Cassin]

Sorry to hear that but what in he world makes you think minoxidil did it?

Cats are very hardy animals.

 

[gfunkdave]

Sorry to hear that but what in he world makes you think minoxidil did it?

1. He had recently had a checkup with no problems.
2. He slept on my pillow the night/day after I first used minoxidil.
3. I found him dying on my bed the next day when I came home.

His symptoms matched exactly what I'd found online for minoxidil poisoning, and the vet said it was a possible cause. As I said, I think she was trying to make me feel better by saying that it could have been something else.

Google "minoxidil cats" and you will see a slew of info saying that minoxidil is toxic to cats even in minute quantities, and that they don't usually survive minoxidil exposure.

Cats are very hardy animals.

True, but any animal can still be poisoned.

 

[Cassin]

How odd...never heard of this the entire time I have been on this site.

 

[staples]

Minoxidil is known to be particularly toxic to cats. I'm a little worried about starting minoxidil, too, as we have a new cat.

 

[Tom1985]

I have 2 cats and have been using minoxidil for years.

If you're worried, just don't let your cats sleep on your pillow, though to be honest you shouldn't really let them do that anyways.

 

[hairhoper]

I remember the Regaine booklet certainly warns about it, just checked my bottle of Rogaine foam and it isn't mentioned on there though.

But yeah given that my pillows end up absolutely soaked in minoxidil I'm glad I don't live with my parents anymore. I'd be paranoid as hell to make sure the cat didn't get into my bedroom.

 

[rcom440]

gfunkdave,
I'm sorry to hear what happened to you cat.

I will be probably buying Norfolk Terrier at some point. It's a small/medium size dog.
http://dogsofsf.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... G_2407.jpg

I know minoxidil is not at dangerous for dogs as it is for cats. Buy there is still a risk.
Did anyone have any problems with their dogs while on minoxidil.

 

[Ktop79]

I have been using minoxidil for only 2 days now. I just read about the side effects, and the toxicity to cats. I have 2 and I just cant take that risk.
Now I feel like im back where i started.
Fins mess u up sexually
minoxidil kills cats
What to do now???

 

[holdhotter]

I'm really sorry about your cat gfunkdave.

I'm extremely careful with minoxidil and my cats. First of all, I don't put it on before sleeping and I don't even lie down when I have it on.

After I put it on, I wash my hands 3 times, then I wipe down the sink. When I shower, I try to minimize water splash and I rinse all the shower walls before I finish.

Despite all this, I'm still pretty nervous about it and somehow I hope I get bald faster so I can just shave it all off and forget about this poison and the hole it burns in my wallet.

I think it's highly irresponsible of companies that do not have a warning in their instruction booklets regarding the toxicity to cats. I know Spectral DNC has no such warning, because that's what I use. I wonder how many cats have died without ever having found out that it was because of minoxidil.

 

[Rabid]

I applied minoxidil in the same room as cats (probably splattering them occasionally) and they would sleep on my pillow and walk all over me and never had any issues with the cats.

 

[Ktop79]

:stupid: Well Rabid, remember it's not too late to kill them. Keep it up and im sure you will get them eventually. It really does only take a drop.
It is your choice to do it. You AND them deal with it..

Careful...

uke:

 

[Rabid]

:mrgreen: Well it got me first! Had to come off it for good before it killed me. :laugh: Half a ml can make a man's heart pound, so I don't doubt it could potentially harm a small animal. But I do think this is getting blown out of proportion. Do you really have to go to these extremes?

I'm extremely careful with minoxidil and my cats. First of all, I don't put it on before sleeping and I don't even lie down when I have it on.

After I put it on, I wash my hands 3 times, then I wipe down the sink. When I shower, I try to minimize water splash and I rinse all the shower walls before I finish.

I agree with Cassin, cats are very hardy, and intelligent. They didn't earn their "nine lives" for nothing. This all probably started when someone tried to treat fur loss by pouring minoxidil on their cat.

 

[megaman82]

I read about this awhile back. i made sure to be extra careful and wash my hands thoroughly after using the product and keep it sealed up.

as far as residue, i haven't gone that overboard in monitoring it on my pillow or sheets or anything but i generally never lay down and i primarily it on the front of my hairline and vertex, while sleeping on my side/stomach.

i feel terrible for the person who lost his cat, but it's difficult to say that the minoxidil was the culprit. to have a minute amount go from your scalp, to your pillow then to the cat seems unlikely as far as absorption rates go, especially when time has passed and the solution has dried.

i think as long as you maintain common sense protocol (i.e. keep it stored safely, thoroughly wash your hands, let it dry, etc) you should be fine.

my cat sleeps with me every night and follows me around the house all day, and i've never had any issues.

obviously if you have a kitten or an older cat, you might need to be even more careful. but i think given the thickness of most cat's fur, a microscopic amount coudn't really absorb.

i think direct oral ingestion is where things can be fatal and you really need to be careful.

 

[megaman82]

:mrgreen: Well it got me first! Had to come off it for good before it killed me. :laugh: Half a ml can make a man's heart pound, so I don't doubt it could potentially harm a small animal. But I do think this is getting blown out of proportion. Do you really have to go to these extremes?

I'm extremely careful with minoxidil and my cats. First of all, I don't put it on before sleeping and I don't even lie down when I have it on.

After I put it on, I wash my hands 3 times, then I wipe down the sink. When I shower, I try to minimize water splash and I rinse all the shower walls before I finish.

I agree with Cassin, cats are very hardy, and intelligent. They didn't earn their "nine lives" for nothing. This all probably started when someone tried to treat fur loss by pouring minoxidil on their cat.

sadly, you're right. if you google minoxidil cats it says that out of the 6 cases reported to animal poison control in a 4 year span (seems pretty rare, to be honest), several of those were exactly what you described.

sad that people are so stupid