Q: I’m a smoker. Is it really bad for me to smoke around my pets? It’s not like they’re inhaling.

A: But they are inhaling. Exposure to secondhand smoke – your exhalations – as well as thirdhand smoke from lingering particles has a direct effect on pets. Among other things, they are at increased risk for certain cancers, as well as cell damage and weight gain, according to studies by the University of Glasgow and the University of California, Riverside.

Pets are “passive smokers” in that they are not only exposed to the smoke from cigarettes and pipes, but also because they are much closer to carpets, upholstered furniture and other surfaces where carcinogenic particles cling. They are more likely to lie on or even lick those areas. As cats groom themselves, they increase the amount of smoke and carcinogenic particles that go into their body.

The University of Glasgow studies looked at how much nicotine dogs and cats had in their hair, which shows how much tobacco smoke is entering the pet’s body. Veterinary oncologist Clare Knottenbelt, who led the studies, said in an email: “I was really surprised how much tobacco smoke some pets were taking in. When we looked at cats, we found high levels of smoke exposure even in cats that spent a lot of time outdoors.”

If you can’t give up smoking altogether – the best protection for yourself and your pets – you should stop smoking in any areas pets frequent, including family cars and outdoors. Human studies have shown that smoking by an open window or door doesn’t help, as it is more likely to mean that smoke blows into the room.

“If you are smoking outside, you should change clothes when you come back in to avoid exposing your pet to harmful carcinogenic particles,” Knottenbelt said.

THE BUZZ

• Researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University are seeking DNA samples from healthy cats older than 10 years old to add to their Feline Biobank. By comparing DNA from healthy cats with DNA from cats with one or more common diseases, scientists can better understand the role that genes may play in these conditions. This project could one day assist veterinarians in their ability to diagnose and treat common diseases. If you would like to offer a sample from your cat, email [email protected] for more information.

• Most often pet owners worry about contracting ringworm, a fungal infection, from their dogs or cats, but the condition is zoonotic. That means it can be transmitted by animals to humans but also by humans to animals. Veterinarian Wendy Krebs, a partner at Bend Equine Medical Center in Bend, Oregon, advises that people with active ringworm infections should avoid touching dogs, cats or horses, or their animals’ grooming tools, until the lesions – the areas of infection – have been treated for three to four days with a topical antifungal medication.

• Welcome with open arms any stray torties who show up on your doorstep. Good fortune comes with them if they decide to stay, according to Scottish and Irish folklore. That’s just one of the beliefs associated with the multicolored cats, whose coats are usually a patchwork of black and red. In the United States, tortoiseshells are nicknamed “money cats.” And dreaming about them is said to make the dreamer lucky in love. Not quite as charming, but still lucky, is the English superstition that rubbing a wart with the tail of a tortoiseshell cat – still attached to the cat, of course – will cause the wart to disappear. And in Japan, ghosts and other spirits don’t haunt homes with tortoiseshell cats.

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by veterinarian Marty Becker and journalist Kim Campbell Thornton of Vetstreet.com. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Send pet questions to [email protected].