I’ve had two outbreaks of poison ivy in the last month. Although I’ve been doing some yardwork, I’m pretty sure I haven’t come in direct contact with any. Now I’m wondering if my cats could be getting the poison ivy cooties on their fur, then transferring them to me. For instance, one outbreak was on my thighs – if I’d rubbed up against it directly, it would be more apt to be on my lower legs, but if a cat had cooties on it and curled up on my lap while I was wearing shorts, it would be conveyed to such a spot.
So – is this possible? And if so, is there any way to prevent it?
Yes, it is possible that the poison ivy urushiol oil is coming in on your cats’ fur. The usual advice is to wash your pets but most cats won’t stand for much of that! My best advice would be to get rid of the poison ivy. If your cats roam far and wide this might not be as effective, but if they stay in your yard, you should be able to eradicate the poison ivy.
Nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure. (sorry, couldn’t resist.)
The other thing to consider is that the oils from the ivy can persist on anything that hasn’t been washed.
My dad was baffled by periodic ongoing poison ivy outbreaks on his wrists until he realized that his leather work gloves that he wore for wood cutting were contaminated.
If you garden with gloves on, it would be a good idea to wash them just in case.
Urushiol. It sounds exotic and dangerous, like a wasting disease you’d encounter in the Congo, or a superheated offshore current that boils people alive.
Yes, your cats can give you PI, and the only way I know of to deal with it is to wash whatever skin they come into contact with right after they’re done touching you, using Tecnu. Or keeping your cats inside at all times.
Controlling PI on your property is a great idea for many reasons, but unless you have weird cats or a very tall fence, they’re probably not limiting themselves to your property.
When we lived in Texas and had outdoor cats, I got PI on my neck constantly from snuggling one of them. I invested in a variety of very soft silk scarves.
If you suspect one of your pets is covered in urushiol, do NOT wash this pet without taking precautions! I got the worst case of PI in my life, and had to go to the ER twice, after washing my dog. Hot water and regular soap disperse some (but not all) of the urushiol… freeing it up to get all over you. Urushiol loves bonding to skin and seems to “stick” to skin better than to your pet’s fur or to the water you’re splashing around in. So give yourself a thorough hosedown with Tecnu after any such pet bath.
Good luck. Urushiol, I hates it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.
There’s one poison ivy vine I’m aware of, behind the compost pile – I’ll get rid of that, stat. Other than that, I’ll just have to hope for the best – they do in fact roam beyond the confines of my yard. Part of the problem may be that I now have two young cats, whereas previously I’d had one elderly cat. These guys are a lot more adventurous and active than their predecessor.
Good tip on the gloves, Solfy – I garden bare-handed (as well as barefoot and bare-legged), so it doesn’t apply to me, but I’m sure others are reading along.
And emilyforce – hot water for washing up? I’d always heard to use cold water as being less dispersive (if that’s a word). I’ll definitely swing by the drugstore and pick up some Tecnu, though. Discretion is the better part of valor and all that.
Have they started leaving cat toys at the top of the stairs? Knives dangling precariously from kitchen surfaces? Have you noticed your milk tastes odd in the mornings?
Oh, sorry; that was confusing. You’re right, cold water is less dispersive (and the spellchecker sez that is a real word, BTW). I was using hot water for the dog bath because I didn’t realize he’d been in PI and knew almost nothing about poison ivy or urushiol at the time anyway. So I dispersed a lot of urushiol off of him and on to me. Not, not, not fun.
Maybe you could make them little jumpsuits covering everything but their faces. Then teach them to strip them off when coming home. That should be easy, eh?
Remember not to burn the stuff you pull up. I’ve read the poison can actually get into your lungs that way. Igh.
If you see poison ivy in your neighbors’ yards, they might get rid of it on their own if you casually mention it’s there. Not everybody knows what it looks like.
Jumpsuits? I haven’t even figured out how to get my cats to leave the birds and mice outside (and lizards and moths and grasshoppers and…).
Nah, I do the dog-poop move – start with a plastic bag over my hand and arm then invert it over the poison ivy, ending up with it in the bag and my skin (hopefully) untouched – and thence directly into the trash.
I used to pick it up on the side of my face when I milked goats. It didn’t seem to affect their skin, but their fur retained enough oil to break me out. My dad was the one who told me how I was getting it…it seems that he used to have the same problem when he milked cows.
I was just reading about poison ivy and knew the answer, darnit! Well, if it hasn’t been said enough, yes, the PI doesn’t bother the cats but it can be on their fur and spread to you when you touch them.
Some other poison ivy info.
The reaction is actually an allergy. Some people are not bothered at all and some have extreme reactions to it.
Mangos are related to poison ivy, which is why some people have reactions to mango.
Update: Yesterday I very carefully pulled out what I could of the poison ivy vine behind the compost bin, and sprayed Roundup on what I couldn’t get, then washed thoroughly with cold water.
This morning, I feel a new outbreak of poison ivy coming on – on my right hand and the inside of my right arm.
Cold water and Tecnu with all the fancy directions on the label and all that? or just cold water?
I ask 'cause if just cold water, you may well still be able to wash more urushiol off with Tecnu and make it not get as bad as it could get. if that makes sense.
They didn’t have Tecnu (brand) at my local drugstore – but the “wash off rushinol” products they did have were both around $25/bottle. I’m too cheap even when I’m not unemployed to spend that kind of money.
Your advice was fine – my implementation was the problem.
Definitely find the Tecnu, it’s not expensive and works wonders. I break out bad enough to see a doctor just by being in a closed cab tractor while shredding weeds where some PI exists. Follow the directions and use the Tecnu as soon as possible, you won’t be sorry.
Not, not, not fun.
