Are Essential Oils Dangerous for Pets?

Essential oils have gained widespread popularity in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why. They bring an air of positivity to your living spaces and may boost your physical and mental wellness. Even if their health benefits tend to be anecdotal rather than scientific, it is hard to argue against their positive influence on humans and ability to treat issues like anxiety. As a loving pet owner, then, you may be wondering whether essential oils are dangerous for pets. Here’s all you need to know.

Are Essential Oils Safe for Pets?

If you’ve conducted even the smallest level of research into this subject, you’ve probably heard that essential oils are toxic for pets. However, it is often hard to separate fact from fiction – especially online.

But it is true. Essential oils can cause serious health problems for cats and dogs. In fact, there was a case in America where a woman’s use of eucalyptus oil made her cat ill. It highlights that they aren’t only dangerous when applied orally or topically. Even diffusers can pose a threat as some essential oils can be toxic to cats when inhaled.

The list of some of the main toxic substances for cats includes; cinnamon oil, citrus oil, eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, and tea tree oil. For dogs, pennyroyal oil, pine oils, and wintergreen must be avoided.

So, Should All Essential Oils Be Avoided?

No. Some essential oils are not considered dangerous to pets. Even so, they should never be applied directly to the animal unless advised by a vet.

After confirming that your essential oils are not on the list of dangerous essential oils, you must still look to use them carefully. It is advised that you use low concentrations of essential oils in your diffusers. Moreover, you should opt for natural ingredients to prevent the risk of further irritations.

Essential Oils Safe for Cats

We all want our home to smell wonderful and you can still achieve this even when cats rule the roost at home! By avoiding the use of dangerous essential oils around your pets and selecting from a safe list. You can have a freshly scented home and happy healthy felines. Let’s have a look at safe essential oils for cats and dogs:-

• Cardamom
• Cedarwood
• Chamomile
• Frankincense
• Ginger
• Lavender
• Marjoram
• Neem
• Valerian

Essential Oils Safe for Dogs

As you can see from the above list there are a few oils suitable for both cats and dogs. Lavender oil is considered safe to use around pets, although, some believe otherwise. This is partly due to lavender oil containing linalool which can cause allergic reactions in both humans and pets. Linalool is a naturally derived ingredient found in some essential oils. As it is found in such small concentrations it can not normally cause toxicity issues. Which therefore means once diluted lavender oil is safe to use when pets are in the home.

How to Safely use Essential Oils Around Pets

This leads back to only using highly diluted essential oils around your pets. As cats and dogs sense of smell is far greater than ours it’s always best to use smaller quantities of essential oils and allow fresh air to circulate. If you’re tempted to use oils topically on your pet always consult with your vet or a holistic vet to make sure this is safe to do so. Never use neat always dilute with a safe carrier oil this is also true for people. Essential oils should always be mixed with a carrier oil when applied to the skin.

Whether you use reed diffusers or a home diffuser always consider if the essential oils may be dangerous to diffuse around your pets. As diffuser oils are considerably diluted the risks are somewhat reduced. You should always allow free access for pets to leave the room, after all, you may love the smell your pets may not be too partial to your fragrance of choice!

If you are concerned about using essential oils around pets, it may be better to opt for topically applied oils that you can use on yourself without impacting your pets. However, for further advice on whether the essential oils are safe or dangerous to your pets always consult with an expert. This could be your local vet, holistic vet, or a qualified aromatherapist.

We hope you found this article helpful if you want to choose suitable essential oils for your home and pets you can see the full range on our website.

About Snooty Catz

Are you new to Snooty Catz? We are a small UK independent business that loves to live ethically for both ourselves and our pets. This is why we stock a fabulous range of natural wellbeing products for both people and their pets. As well as ethically sourced homewares and eco gifts.

Snooty Catz is an ethical business, and deeply cares about the environment. So each order is sent in eco-friendly, plastic free packaging. We have also partnered with Ecologi and will plant one tree for every order placed. There’s a lot of good happening over here!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!