As awareness surrounding chemical use in everyday products grows, more people are opting to take a natural route to tasks such as cleaning, beauty, and health and wellness. Essential oils have become increasingly popular in recent years, as a safe alternative to common ingredients in household products.
Pet owners have been looking at ways to use essential oils with their animals. The problem is that while some essential oils may help their animals, others can be deadly. Here are a few tips for using essential oils safely on pets.
Get Educated
Take some time to learn more about essential oils by reading reliable resources about their uses and applications. For example, this “essential oils guide: types, uses, & benefits” outlines not only information on different oils, but looks at the different suppliers, carrier oils to use, and detailed information about diffusers and product recipes.
To find reliable information, don’t ask someone who sells oils for a particular company, especially if they tend to spout sales figures as facts. Look for a guide that takes a look at all of the suppliers and gives an honest review, like the one linked above.
No Cats
There are a lot of recipes and oil information posted online that promote use on all animals, even cats. However, there are a lot of plants that are deadly to felines, even common house plants like ferns and lilies. Thus, applying an essential oil to a cat– even one that doesn’t appear to have any direct correlation to cat sensitivities– could be devastating.
It’s important to consider your kitty even when you don’t plan on directly applying the oil to your pet. While putting oils in diffusers are generally safe, you need to make sure that the cat stays away from it and that there is ample space for the oil to diffuse. If you use the diffuser in a small room where your cat dwells, make sure that it isn’t left running unsupervised and that the door remains open.
Be Careful with Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is commonly used in cleaning applications, as well as to deter lice in human shampoos and fleas on dogs. Many people have a lot of success without harming their animals while using this product. Others have linked the use of tea tree oil to the death of their canine companion. Here are a few important things to keep in mind when using tea tree oil in the home:
- Dilute the tea tree oil when in use, especially if you’re applying it directly to your pet.
- Know your supplier and get reviews about their product in relation to pet use.
- When using tea tree oil as a cleaning product, rinse with hot water and wipe up the excess residue. Do not let your pet lick areas that have been exposed to tea tree oil.
- Tea tree oil is not to be taken orally, by humans or animals.
Tea tree oil is popular because it’s effectiveness in treating and preventing common health concerns when applied topically. If you opt to use it, use it wisely.
Be Vigilant
Pets are beloved members of a family. Their curiosity and innocence is refreshing and admirable. These wonderful traits make them vulnerable, and they trust their owners to know what’s best for them.
The most important thing you can do when using essential oils is to educate yourself from reliable sources and keep a close eye on your pets when they’re in proximity to oils. Keep undiluted oils stored safely away.
This article is a guest post by Ashley Lipman. I hope you enjoyed it!
We now have an all-natural shampoo for dogs in both bars and liquid form. We used essential oils of lavender and lemongrass in them for gentle cleansing and repelling of insects.
Till the next post,
Susan