How long does it take for cancer to develop after being exposed to powerful pesticides?

[myfamily]

My cat Sweetums passed away two nights ago. I am still reeling, and don't know how I will get over it. She was about 10-12 years old. She experienced very rapid weight loss and projectile vomiting. She was never diagnosed with it, but more than likely she had some type of cancer. The extend of her testing was an ultrasound. It found fattening in the stomach lining. She was given predisnolone and chrorambucil, but neither made a dent in her quick decline. Last summer a new neighbor moved into the apartment next to me. Our apartment units back up to a man-made canal. He said he saw hemlock along the bank of the canal, and called the management company. When they didn't respond he became calling other people such as politicians. So the management company showed up and sprayed down the bank with a solution. It killed everything. The bank of the canal which had been full of green grass and weeds had now become a barren brown wasteland. I did not know this situation had been developing til I looked out one day and saw that everything had turned brown. My cats often went into that area to sit before, and after the treatment. It made me nervous to see them going into the brown weeds but there was nothing I could do except lock them in the house. I go to work and they are free to go where they please when i am not here. Now I am wondering if my cat died from cancer due to the pesticides. I do not know what type of pesticides they sprayed. I intend to find out as soon as I can. But I am devastated to think I lost my cat because of a neighbor. He doesn't have any pets, he has a small son. I don't know why he was so concerned about hemlock. I had three cats. So I still have two left. They both appear healthy. What do you think? Thank you.

 

[foxxycat]

I am so sorry for your loss. It's hard to say if it's that. Is there a way to keep the cats enclosed and not go into that area anymore? What did your vet say? It's hard to say if the chemicals caused it. It is something I always get angry about. I don't use pesticides and don't understand why people insist on using these very same chemicals that are known to cause damage to humans if touched etc. and not to mention what it's doing to our bee population. I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with killing plants-why don't they just dig them up? And then those chemicals leech into our ground-that is something I never understood why they are still in use knowing what we know now.

I am so sorry you lost your baby. Sometimes it's inherited and sometimes we just never know why. I am sending you hugs and prayers that your good memories will comfort you in the days to come. So very sorry and hard to understand why they leave us when they do.

 

[Kieka]

I am so sorry for your loss. 

The chemical to kill the plants is a herbicide not a pesticide but either way they have been linked to cancer. However, it usually takes a lot of exposure over a long period of time to cause cancer. You will usually see signs of toxicity before you see cancer (vomiting, nausea, confusion, unbalanced, breathing problems, etc). Cats are notoriously sensitive to chemicals. So it is possible that the herbicide did contribute but since the other two aren't showing signs I wouldn't take it as "the" cause of death. It would probably help ease your mind if you take the other two to the vet and explain that you are concerned about herbicide exposure. Maybe a thorough exam and blood tests to make sure nothing is wrong with them?

There are so many reasons out there for cats to start losing weight and vomiting. Please don't hold onto disdain for your neighbor for his actions. I agree it was over done and it sounds like the management company used a long action heavy duty herbicide. But hemlock is very dangerous itself and he likely was concerned about his son being harmed by the hemlock. Can you talk to the management company and find out what they used? There are pet safe versions out there and with its proximity to the canal they might have used one that wouldn't be harmful getting into the water. Knowing what they used might also help ease your mind about that (or if it turns out to be a non-safe version you will know to keep the cats in until it rains if they do it again). 

I would urge you to let go of the questions and cherish the memories you have. I know how hard it is to question if you could have changed it or done something different. The never ending unanswerable questions and regret. But the simple fact it comes down to is you don't know and will never know the answers. Dwelling on it tarnishes the good memories you have. Sharing the story of her life and some photos on the Crossing the Bridge forum so that we can all celebrate her life with you might help.  I wish you all the best and hope that you find peace.

 

[margd]

I am so, so very sorry about Sweetums.  It's really hard to know if an herbicide had anything to do with it or not, however, you are certainly justified in wondering about it. 

It sounds a lot like the management company sprayed Round-Up, which is an herbicide, a non-specific weed killer that's very widely used.  Non-specific means it kills everything - which is what happened back on that bank.  Monsanto, the makers of Round-Up insist it does not cause cancer but there is a great deal of controversy over that and I know there have been efforts made to label it as a carcinogen. 

If it was Round-Up, it would have broken down in the soil and no longer be dangerous to your cats.  Round-Up is said to break down "within days,"  "within two weeks" and "within a few weeks" depending on the source but should definitely be broken down several months later.   Still, you should call the Management Company and ask them what they sprayed.  Then google that pesticide and find out how long it takes to break down in the soil and air.   That will tell you if it's safe to allow your cats back in that area.

As to why your neighbor made such a fuss over Hemlock, it's probably because it's extremely poisonous and he has a 10-year-old son who might go down to the bank of the canal at times.  However, there were certainly alternatives to a scorched earth solution, such as the neighbor going down there and digging them up himself or spraying each one individually to minimize destroying the rest of the vegetation. 

Herbicides, as a rule, don't cause cancer as quickly as you noticed in Sweetums but if she had a preexisting condition, perhaps it lowered her defenses - I'm just speculating here.  Either way, you lost your dear girl and nothing can make up for that.  Again, I am so very sorry for your loss.