Catty1,

I've read about those urban legends many times.

When I was in Michigan, I volunteered at the Grosse Ile Animal Shelter. They had an article about the Swiffer Wet Jet on the bulletin board. It did say that the whole thing about the Swiffer Wet Jet was false.

However, there are certain cleaners that should be used with extreme caution. Any cleaner that has "Sol", such as Pinesol, Lysol, etc., does have a chemical in it that will cause liver failure in animals if ingest (by the way you described - walking on the floor then licking their paws). They say to make sure you wash and rinse the area very carefully and let it dry.