Are humidifiers good for cats?

Cats are the most adoring companions who surely have a great impact on our daily life. You can love your cat a little bit of too much yet that is not a terrible thing. So it's not a surprise that you treat them as one of your own.

Cats appreciate a warm, comfortable spot inside your home as much you do. But the dry air, delivered by your home heating system in the winter can harm you as well as your four-legged fur-ball companion no matter how much they groom.

Furthermore, cats have more issues with nose blockage or congestion than other pets. The chances of respiratory diseases are high. Sources like viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa cause these kinds of infections and harmfully affect your loving cat’s wellbeing.

These microscopic organisms that cause cat congestion aren't deadly in grown-up cats but your cats won't eat if they can’t smell their food, so they would starve if they get a blocked nose or congestion.

How effective the cat vaccines are?

Nowadays, vaccines are available that reduces the chance of a cat’s respiratory problem or a common cold but they have not entirely eliminated the contagious pathogens and your cat may still have these issues.

Your home cares not just to make your cat more comfortable but decides whether your cat may recover or not.

Home remedy for your cat cold problem

Cats can also get colds like humans, and their symptoms are very similar to ours. They get a runny nose, cough, and sneeze, which is why keeping their air moist with a humidifier can be very beneficial.

A humidifier is an extraordinary solution that battles the dry air's terrible reactions. It will relieve their nasal passages, helping them breathe correctly and alleviating other cold symptoms they may be experiencing.

Which humidifier is best?

A great number of people are searching for books or various types of support that can help their cats to get off these unfortunate respiratory problems and to actually pass quality time with their lovely cat. If you visit your neighborhood pet shop or search the internet, you will find lots of different devices and articles that they have.

It can be totally overwhelming things from books to actual devices that make really extreme promises like curing your cat’s congestion right away or understanding your cat problems better. How would you know who you can trust and what are really evidence-based articles that help you decide which makes significant long term improvement of your cat?

Yet, Are any of these humidifiers even dependent on cat health research and which one of these humidifiers has really been able to show valuable improvements to various breed cats?

Furthermore, this is important to consider that the humidifiers that you're purchasing could simply be harmful to your cat rather than help them. You should be careful to choose from. That’s why you need evidence-based guidance, backed by cat health science that can assist you to settle on choices and get past difficult situations with your own knowledge and bring you back the lovely cat into your life again. Let’s walk step by step.

Consider the size of your room

Above all else, you should measure the area or volume of the room where your humidifier is to be set up. If the doors to different rooms are open, then air will also circulate through them and the area or volume of those rooms should be included in the measure as well.

Humidifier producers always specify the suggested room size for their particular humidifier model. You should buy it according to your room size. The room area is calculated by multiplying room’s length, width and volume are by multiplying the room’s length, width, and the ceiling height.

Select a humidifier which at least recommended for your room area or volume. For example, if your room has an area of 30 m² you have to pick a humidifier that is suggested for 30 m² or more.

Why does water hardness so significant while picking a humidifier?

Water hardness is determined by the amount of mineral dissolved in your water specially calcium and magnesium. The higher the amount of those minerals, the harder the water is. A specific humidification system is to be selected as per the hardness of your water because different types of humidifiers respond better or not all that well to a high limescale content.

If you don't have any idea about the hardness of your house water, you can ask your water provider or you can easily find that data on the water provider's site.

There are 4 unique sorts of humidifiers: evaporator, ultrasonic nebulizer, vaporiser, and air washer.

For Soft water (0°–4°dH) and Medium-hard water (5°–13°dH) all types of humidifiers can perform fairly. In case If you have hard water (14°dH<), we suggest that you use evaporators or air washers. If you choose air washers, the anti-calcium cartridge has to change on a regular basis.

Vaporisers and ultrasonic humidifiers don't perform well with water which has high limescale content because a great deal of the limescale will be stored on the heating plate.

If your home system has hard water but you would like an ultrasonic humidifier nevertheless, we suggest that you mix the tap water with distilled water in a 50:50 ratio to reduce the water hardness.

Which humidifier is quiet enough for a cat?

Cats can hear sounds from 55 to 79,000 Hz. Ultrasonic humidifiers work at a frequency past what people or cats can hear – 1.7 million hertz which is 20 times above the cat’s hearing limit.

However, there's a little fan inside the humidifier rotating at a much lower speed and this sound can be sufficient to trigger the cat’s interest. The quietest types are evaporators and air washers. The bottom line is that an ultrasonic humidifier isn't suggested for a very young kitten or extremely curious cat that may push it off the table.

Then again, ultrasonic cat repellent supported humidifiers can keep away your cat and you may find such soft background noises quite calming. Considering noise, ultrasonic humidifiers are quite suitable if it is supported by ultrasonic cat repellent.

Power Consumption of humidifier

If your home air is very dry then you will have to keep your humidifier turned on all the time and it would cost you a lot of electricity bill. However, you can control the power consumption depending on the fact that whether your humidifier has a hygrostat or not.

Whenever your room humidity reached the target level, hygrostat will turn off the humidifier automatically saving lots of your bill. Considering the electricity bill, it’s safe to say that humidifier associated with hygrometer is most preferable.

 Are essential oils safe for cats?

Essential oils may help you with relaxation and de-stress but they probably won't work the same for your cat. Truth be told, essential oils may be irritating or hurtful to the cats. Cats have a sharp feeling of smell – which is about 14 times more than a normal human.

A smell that is barely noticeable by the human may be overwhelmingly rough to cats. Furthermore, essential oil elements like Monoterpene hydrocarbon and Phenols, can be poisonous to the cats. To put it plainly, essential oils can be poisonous for your cat and should not be used in humidifiers!

Cold mist humidifier or hot mist humidifier for a cat?

In case you are going to utilize a humidifier for your cat, a cool-mist humidifier is the best reported by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). What’s more, is that they are more secure to use.

Just run the humidifier in the room where your cat normally hangs out and let them receive the benefits. You will see a huge positive change in their skin and coat within a couple of days.

Does humidifier size matter?

The simplest answer to that question is “Yes”. You might need to place the humidifier at different places before you find the right spot for you and your cat. A small size humidifier would help you a lot with that.

What about programmable and sturdy humidifier?

Who doesn’t want the flexibility to run a device? A programmable humidifier will just give you that. If you need to leave your cat alone at home, programmable humidifiers are the best choice. You can be able to control the running time, amount of humidification and so much more.

Cat is a fun-loving and playful animal. They will most likely have interaction with your humidifier. You have to make sure that your humidifier is quite sturdy too.

Maintenance

Maintenance is another key factor in choosing a humidifier. For hard water supply in your house, it would be more costly than soft water supply. Water minerals like calcium and magnesium are likely to be stored on the heating plate and will need to clean that more often.

So choosing a humidifier that is easy to clean is also bears great importance. For example, air washers have an easy cleaning process, cleaning it would be a child’s play. If you want ultrasonic or evaporators then you should also include the price of anti-calc cartridge or filter as you will need to change them regularly.

Conclusion

The simplest answer is yes to the question “Is humidifier good for cats?” Getting humidifiers in winter for your loving cat will not just help with respiratory problems but also make them feel comfortable. You should be careful to choose a humidifier because a bad choice can be harmful to your lovely companion.

Choose accordingly and set that up in your room and observe the behavior of your cat. If your cat feels threaten or upset, try moving humidifier to a different place. Avoid essential oil mixing. We hope your cat will find humidifier interesting and have a playful moment as well.  We care for your cats and want the best humidifier for them.