Vapes and Pets: What to Do?

I have a very curious cat. If there is a place I don't want him to go, or something I don't want him to bite, he will.

So when I started keeping vape juice in my house, I knew I had to be very careful. The unfortunate story of a puppy who died after accidentally ingesting some e-juice made the point very clear: if you’re not careful, the consequences can be dire.

As expected, the cat was oblivious to the danger and climbed onto the shelf filled with vapes and half-used e-liquids. So I had to muster up all my strength to shoo it down again.

Luckily it understood and jumped down.

But what if I’m not there? What if the cat accidentally plays with the tanks and touches the essential oils with its tongue while I’m away? So I put all the equipment and oils on a higher shelf when not in use.

However, that is not the whole picture. Is vaping dangerous for pets? Can pets who inhale vaping smoke get lung disease or other related problems?

And here's what you need to know to keep your pet safe while you vape.

Pets and Essential Oils: Why Are Essential Oils a Major Issue?

The issue with pets and e-cigarettes largely revolves around the e-liquid. The reason for this is simple: nicotine is a chemical, and ingesting e-liquid is definitely not a good idea.

To understand why pets (and children) are the main problem when it comes to essential oil poisoning, you have to know a few things about poisoning risks. As you know, the dose of nicotine needed to kill an ant is less than the dose needed to kill an elephant. The older you are, the more toxic it takes to have an effect.

This advice also applies to humans. A child cannot absorb the same amount of nicotine as an adult. This is why the toxic dose, the LD50 value, which is the dose that will harm more than half of the people who accidentally ingest it, is measured in mg/kg of body weight. If you weigh twice as much, the amount of nicotine needed to harm you would be twice as much.

For small animals like dogs and cats, the amount of nicotine needed to cause harm is not so much. For dogs, for example, the toxic dose is 9.2 mg/kg, so for a Collie weighing about 17 kg, that is equivalent to 156 mg of nicotine or just 9 ml of e-liquid from an 18 ml bottle. For smaller dogs, like a Yorkshire Terrier weighing 2.7 kg, just 24.3 mg or 1.4 ml of an 18 ml bottle is enough to kill.

Just a small amount of essential oil can be fatal to cats and dogs.

While e-liquids with less nicotine may be less dangerous, just one vial can have serious consequences for your pet if it accidentally ingests them.

It’s important to note that nicotine isn’t the only ingredient in e-liquids. Food coloring is edible, and PG and VG are also used in pet foods. If you have nicotine-free e-liquids, this concern is greatly reduced.

Store essential oils carefully and pay attention to pets

The best way to protect your pet while you vape is to store your e-liquid properly. It’s simple.

First and foremost, keep essential oils out of reach of children and pets. To do this, simply store them on a high shelf or in a locked box. If your cat or dog gets their hands on your essential oils, they won’t accidentally drink them.

However, if you use a small RDA or RTA that needs to be refilled frequently, you will definitely need to carry a bottle of e-juice with you at all times. This means you will always have to pay attention to where you keep your e-juice and whether your pets are nearby.

This is the situation I encounter most often, but I always keep essential oils close to me and pay attention to my cat. In my experience, cats are not very interested in essential oils, so it is not a problem.

Dogs, on the other hand, seem to really enjoy the smell of e-liquids or vapes. They’re bigger and harder to handle than cats, so you have to be more careful. But as always: keep an eye on your dogs, keep your e-liquids up high, or if you carry them with you, keep them in your pocket or bag.

Vape smoke and pets

The biggest dangers to pets with e-cigarettes are easy to spot. Really, as long as you understand that there are dangers, being prepared will ensure you don’t run into any problems. But what about the other issues? Does the vape itself affect your pet?

This question may seem more difficult to answer, but in short, simple terms, “probably not.”

It’s impossible to ignore the widespread information that e-cigarettes contain toxic chemicals, but what most people don’t know is that the dose really matters. This is a basic principle of chemistry, and it really reduces a lot of the concerns about vaping.

A little bit of something bad isn't necessarily dangerous, which is true because you're exposed to it all the time. Your breath contains formaldehyde, which is produced by your own body.

When people talk about the chemicals in vape smoke, they don’t talk about the dosage. If they paid attention, they would realize that the toxic chemicals in vape smoke are very small, more than a thousand times less than in cigarette smoke.

So it’s no surprise that most studies of vape smoke have found no traces of toxic chemicals in the room after vaping. The problem isn’t that they’re there, it’s that they’re present at such low levels that they’re virtually undetectable, with the exception of PG, VG, and nicotine.

So it’s safe to say that passive vaping isn’t something to worry about. People are understandably concerned after years of hearing about avoiding what looks like cigarette smoke, but based on what we know, vaping isn’t all that dangerous.

As for pets, with the amount of harmful substances almost non-existent, you will feel more secure when vaping with pets in the house, because they almost do not affect your pets. That said, you still should not blow vape smoke directly into your pets' faces.