Mould and pets: are cats and dogs at risk?
Can mould affect cats and dogs?
It can. Pets share your rooms and your air, so the irritants that mould releases in a damp home reach them as well. Nobody can predict how a particular animal will respond, and a small patch on a window frame is not a reason to panic. But a pet can't choose to avoid the damp corner it likes, so when animals live in the house, mould deserves attention sooner rather than later.
Cats and dogs also spend their lives closer to the floor than we do. They sleep in corners, stretch out behind sofas and curl up under beds, which are the same still, cool places where damp collects and mould starts.
Changes worth mentioning to your vet
Animals can't tell you how they feel, so you are watching for changes: sneezing or coughing that doesn't settle, runny eyes, more scratching or licking than usual, or a pet that seems less lively than normal. None of these points to mould on its own. Dust, pollen, fleas and infections can all look the same, which is exactly why a vet needs to examine your pet rather than anyone guessing.
Tell the vet about the house as well as the animal: whether there's visible mould or a musty smell, where your pet sleeps, and whether things improve when it spends time somewhere else.
We can find and fix the damp in your home, but your pet's health is a question for your vet. If an animal is having trouble breathing, contact a vet straight away. If anyone in the household feels unwell, see a GP, and in an emergency call 112.
Bedding, bowls and the places pets sleep
Pet beds are an easy target for mould: thick, soft and often left on a cold tiled floor or pushed against an outside wall. A dog that comes in wet from a winter walk and goes straight to its basket adds even more moisture. Lift the bed every week or so and check the underside. If it smells musty or shows spots, wash it and dry it completely before it goes back down, or replace it.
Food is the other thing to watch. Don't leave wet food out in a warm, humid room for long, keep dry food in a sealed container, and throw away anything that looks or smells mouldy rather than picking out the bad bits. Wash food and water bowls every day.
Cleaning up with animals in the house
Before you tackle a small patch on a hard surface, shut pets in another room, and remember caged birds and small animals, which are easy to overlook. Open a window, put on gloves and a mask, and wipe the patch with a damp cloth and a mould cleaner instead of brushing it off dry. Never mix cleaning products, keep bottles out of reach, and wait until surfaces are dry and the room has aired before pets come back, so nobody walks through or licks a freshly cleaned area. If you're tempted to reach for the strongest product in the cupboard, read what bleach does and doesn't do to mould first.
Keeping the house dry for everyone
Mould needs moisture, so keeping pets comfortable comes down to keeping the home dry. In a Cyprus winter, animals tend to settle in the one warm room, often heated with a portable gas heater and the windows shut. Those heaters release water vapour as they burn, and the result is condensation on cold walls and glass. Air that room every day, wipe wet windows in the morning, and dry pet towels and washed bedding outdoors where you can; drying things indoors adds more damp than most people expect. In ground-floor flats, move baskets a little away from outside walls.
When a wipe-down isn't enough
If the mould keeps returning, covers more than a small area, or you can smell damp but can't see where it's coming from (here's what a musty smell usually means), cleaning alone won't solve it. Working out why the mould is there comes first; clearing it comes second. A damp check of the rooms your pets use takes moisture readings in every affected room and ends with a room-by-room moisture map sent to your phone, plus a written report with the quote. Surface growth can then be cleared with treatment for the walls and corners they sleep near, usually in one visit with no building work.
Mould at home with pets around? book an inspection from €75 or call +357 99 759144.