Question about fumes from seasoning carbon steel wok

10 years ago

My kitchen vents to a screened porch. My cat lives on the porch. Yesterday I was seasoning a new carbon steel wok and had the vent on. I went outside to see if my cat needed more food and she stumbled toward me. When I touched her head she had a seizure. She was trying to drink water but kept having fits when she moved her head down to the bowl. I turned off the stove and gave her homeopathic medicine for the seizures. They eased up but then her legs gave out and water came out of her mouth. She was in pretty bad shape for a while so I sat with her and gave her more medicine. A few hours later she got up and went to her food like she was fine. I turned the wok and vent back on and checked on her after 5 or 10 minutes. She was splayed out on the ground next to a fan on the porch and having seizures again. I turned off the pan, vent and fan and gave her homeopathic meds and brought her inside. She perked up enough to walk to the front door when she was ready to go on the porch again but collapsed in her litter box and couldn't get out. She's still in bad shape today. I really think it was the wok fumes that caused the problems because she was fine earlier in the day. Is there any way for consumers to test the content of cookware?

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Comments (4)

mike_kaiser_gw
10 years ago
Can you test the contents of the steel of a wok? Sure, you're going to need to send a piece t to a lab for analysis.

I have no idea what homeopathic seizure medicine or why you would have any around is but maybe you should consult a veterinarian. Does you cat have seizures other times?
catlady4114
Original Author
10 years ago
I did some research, talked with a few friends and realized a non stick cookie sheet I placed over the wok was probably the culprit. I didn't mention it earlier because I thought it was inconsequential. I heated the wok again without the cookie sheet on top and noticed the color and odor of the smoke was considerably different.

The cat was 21 and never had seizures before. I took her to the vet and she was euthanized.

Most homeopathic remedies have multiple uses. People that use homeopathy usually have multiple remedies on hand. I have a ton of remedies accumulated over the years. They keep me, my family, friends and pets pretty healthy and out of the doctor's office except for annual physicals.
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otterkill
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Sorry for your loss catlady. Fumes from non-stick cookware can be toxic/deadly to birds and small animals, especially at high temps. Hopefully your posting of this will save another. Again, sorry.
Gooster
10 years ago
I'm sorry for your loss catlady4114. Those PFOA fumes from older teflon are unfortunately a big hazard. I hopeful your post will help others avoid this issue.