Aroma Pets

Holistic Therapy For Pets

Essential Oil Safety For Animals

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Essential Oil Safety For Animals

First and foremost, caution and knowledge are required to safely use essential oils even when using them on people. This is because essential oils are very potent substances and, if used incorrectly, may cause more harm than good. This alone is probably the only safety concern when it comes to using oils on animals and pets.

Always remember this: if used in the wrong way, essential oils can kill cats. There have been many controversies regarding essential oils for pets. Apparently, their body metabolisms work in a very different way than humans. Their lives simply lack the necessary detoxification capabilities to safely process certain chemicals and compounds out of their system. And with, improper use, essential oils  - especially low-quality ones - may induce toxicity.

In the past, the incorrect use of essential oils on house animals was linked to a number of health problems caused by toxicity. But most of these adverse effects arise from the use of undiluted oils, direct contact with the skin, ingestion, prolonged exposure, or the use of poor quality essential oil. With the proper method of application, one can effectively reduce or eliminate the risks of these side effects.

Keep Undiluted Oils Away
As a general rule of thumb, never use undiluted oils - regardless of application - on any living thing. For animals, you should always dilute essential oils with a ratio of 2:50 (50 drops of carrier oil to 2 drops of essential oil), unless stated otherwise in the recipe. Keep in mind that 50 drops is equal to 50ml. Refer to the dilution guide. If you have essential oils for yourself, keep the bottles in a secure location where pets and children cannot access them.

Don't Leave a Diffuse
If you will be using a diffuser, always avoid closing the doors and windows while leaving your cat inside the room. Store your diffuser properly always after using.

keep Cats Away When Cleaning
If you are using essential oils for cleaning products, specifically oils that are unsafe for animals, be sure to let the floor or area dry. It is crucial that cats never come into direct contact with harmful essential oils. 

Use Hydrosols

If you can, you should opt for hydrosols for using essential oils on your cat. Hydrosols are alcohol-free, water-based by products of the distillation of essential oils. But just like when shopping for essential oils, always choose a quality and trusted seller.

Furthermore, there are specific essential oils that should never be used on a cat regardless of the method of application. A lot of these oils ae over oxygenated compounds known as ketones and phenols - to which cats are found to be very sensitive .

List of Essential Oils That Must Never Be Used on Cats

Lemon Orange Lime Bergamot
Tangerine Pine Spruce Sage
Niaouli  Carrot Seed  Tea Tree Oil  Juniper 
Wintergreen  Birch  Grapefruit  Fir 
Mandarin  Thyme  Cardamon  cassia or Cinnamon 
Oregano  Clove  Other Citrus Oils  Other 'Phenol' Oils 
other 'ketone' oils       

Checking the Quality
Aside from the specific method of application, quality is extremely important when using essential oils not only on humans, but on animals as well. So always get your oils from a reliable store. Look for the variant of essential oils known as aromatherapy grade oils, which are usually made with the highest quality ingredients. They are manufactured solely for the purpose of aromatherapy, so they are as safe as you can get. Whether you are going to use them for human or cat use, you should always go for this type of oil whenever you can.

There are also the clinical grade oils which are commonly found in hospitals and in clinical research facilities. However, don't buy into the marketing hype known as therapeutic grade essential oils. In fact, avoid all other products coming from a vendor who supposedly sells therapeutic grade oils. Any respected oil producer will not use an 'unknown' (no health organization or institute ever set the standards for 'therapeutic grade' oils, specifically in the essential oil industry) word just to increase sales.

Reference: Essential Oils For Cats: The BLokehead

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