Himalayan salt lamps are trending big time. These beautiful chunks of the natural pink salt are an excellent option to amp up your home décor game. Himalayan salt lamps are not only chic décor pieces; they work as air ionizers and purifiers.
These lamps are known to be hygroscopic. They attract and trap water molecules along with impurities from the air. They also neutralize the environment by releasing negative ions that help in balancing the positive ions. These positive ions are released because of the excessive use of electronic gadgets around us.
Why are Himalayan salt lamps becoming so popular?
Himalayan salt lamps have become a trend. Everyone is raving about these unique decor pieces. These miracle lamps are known to have a lot of positive effects. They improve sleep, balance blood sugar levels, maintain blood flow and even improve severe respiratory conditions like asthma.
The salt crystals are excavated by hand from the Himalayan salt mines. These mines are located at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains situated in Punjab, a province of Pakistan.
While the salt lamps detoxify and create a sense of balance, did you know they can be very harmful to your cats?
Himalayan salt lamps and cats:
Too much salt can be harmful to humans and animals. If you have pets around your house, you need to be extra careful and yes I am telling you this with experience. Let me tell you my own story. Cotton, my cat felt attracted to the pink Himalayan salt lamp which I used to place on my living room’s table. I, like most pet owners, was unaware of the harmful effects a salt lamp can bring to a cat. I was informed about the how Himalayan pink salt lamp is dangerous for the cat when my cat fell ill and I took her to a vet.
At first, I ignored the symptoms of her illness but soon I started to worry about her. One day, I found her walking around the house in a strange manner. I thought that she might have caught a cold so I tucked her inside a blanket and left the house to run some errands. When I came back, Cotton’s condition was worse than before as she was not responding at all and I felt as if she couldn’t hear me as well.
That’s when I took her to a vet who ran some tests and what he told me was quite frightening for me. Apparently, Cotton had been licking the salt lamp I had placed in the living room for some days which raised the level of salt in her bloodstream to an alarming rate.
This excess of sodium proved to be quite harmful to her and she was facing neurological problems because of it. The vet immediately treated her with an IV so that the excess level of salt in her blood can be put back to a normal level.
After a few days of treatment, she returned home and I have been keeping her away from the salt lamp ever since by putting it in a place where she cannot reach.
Excessive salt intake can cause serious health risks in cats. It can lead to lethargy, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and even death of your cat so you have to keep your pet away from them for their own safety.
Now, cats do need salt intake in their daily diet as salt is essential for the proper functioning of the body, but the dose should not exceed 16.7 mg that has been recommended by the vets.
At this point, you must be wondering how is a decorative lamp unsafe for cats. Let us talk in detail about how a salt lamp can pose a risk to your feline friend, and how you can ensure that the lamp is cat safe.
Are the salt lamps bad for cats?
If you observe a salt lamp physically, it is a harmless decorative piece just like all the other ornaments at your place. A place with cats around it is not an ideal fit for salt lamps because:
- They are made up of salt. This means that if your cat loves to lick things ( they all do as that’s how they explore things), it may consume more than the daily recommended dosage of salt. This can cause salt toxicity in your cat, which can sometimes be fatal.
- They are heavy, unstable, and can be easily damaged. Since the lamps have a positive impact on the environment, they are placed at the obvious places around the house. In order to maximize their positive effects, big-sized salt lamps are preferred. These lamps are heavy because of their size. They are unsymmetrical, which can cause them to fall easily.
Now, if your cat is a curious being, it is bound to jump at places where the salt lamp has been placed. It may trip over and land the salt lamp on the floor; in the worst-case scenario, hurting itself too. This may also damage the salt lamp as salt is not a robust material.
Are the salt lamps toxic?
The answer to this simple question can be yes and no. The salt lamps are as harmless as any other decorative piece in your house. But this cannot rule out the possibility of the Himalayan salt lamp being toxic to cats.
Vets have issued a warning for cat owners about the dangers of the Himalayan salt lamps. These huge pieces of beautiful pink salt are tempting for your cats to lick. This licking can get addictive.
Vets have related the addiction to that of eating potato chips in humans. This salt-licking addiction can lead to sodium poisoning which can result in severe pain, vomiting, seizures, and even death.
Although death due to salt licking is very rare, it is wise to keep a close check at things and alleviate the chances of any such possibility.
Himalayan pink salt health risks for cats:
Himalayan salt toxicity can cause serious consequences. These were experienced first hand by Smith Jones, from Australia.Smith noticed his cat Rosy, walking strangely and holding its head in an odd position. Smith took it as a symptom of the common cold and didn’t pay much attention. Later in the day, Rosy’s condition worsened. It couldn’t hear, see or walk properly. It couldn’t eat or drink as it had lost control over its tongue.
Alarmed by Rosy’s condition, Smith took the cat to the Vet. The vet ran tests and discovered that Rosy had extremely high sodium levels in its blood. It was experiencing salt toxicity which had caused the brain to swell and led to grave neurological problems.