Cleveland Park Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Shannon Hait said lately she's seeing more pets at very young ages with chronic respiratory problems and even worse, cancer. She said those health problems could be caused by owners who smoke.
"People tend to hold their pets or have them next to them while they're watching TV and smoking," said Hait.
Hait said in the past she wouldn't see cancers develop until pets were 9 or 10 years old. Now she's seeing it as early as 1 or 2 years old. Hait attributes the change to medical advances in diagnosing and pet owners who are paying more attention to their pet's health problems.
"I think people are becoming more aware and bringing them in on a yearly basis instead of just when they need to," said Hait.
Studies have shown smokers triple the chance cats have at developing cancer.
"The smoke adheres to their fur and then they groom themselves," said Hait. "They are getting secondary ingestion of nicotine and the carcinogens through licking and grooming."
And if diagnosed with cancer it will cost you. Chemotherapy can range from $600-800 dollars per treatment.
Hait said a lot of people don't think about the possible effects of smoking around their pets.
"We encourage people to smoke outdoors," said Hait. "We try not to harp on them to quit smoking or you need to have your pet outdoors when you are smoking."
And those small changes can reap big rewards for the life of your pet.
"You can only give them the information what they do with it is what they decide," said Hait.
The Upstate has one of the few state-of-the-art veterinary oncology centers in the country. The animal hospital for Upstate Veterinary Specialists is located in Greenville. Dr. Hait tells us very few cities have centers like it.
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