Essential Oils and Your Pets

LIVE LIFE NATURALLY

With essentials oils becoming more a part of our daily lives the question has come up about their use on our pets. As with foods or medicines, there are essential oils we should keep away from our pets. I am going to focus on dogs and cats in this blog but will likely discuss other pets in the future. Like medicine, there are essential oils that work on some people and not others.  There are also foods that some people cannot have as well as plants that all people shouldn't ingest or use. The same is true for our pets. 

Cats and dogs have different digestive systems than each other and humans. With our dog Cozmo, if we want to give a certain food I look it up. That's how I've discovered dogs should not eat grapes, onions or garlic, avocado, dairy products, chocolate and so on. Not that I would give him chocolate that just came up when I was looking for something else. Same for when we had our Bubba and Sam cats. They shouldn't have those items, and yes, cats shouldn't have any dairy either. 

The same is going to be true for our essential oils that we love. Now I love my essential oils but would never do anything to hurt my Baby Coz. I'm going to list oils that are not good for dogs and for cats and those that are. These are not all, but I'm going to try to give all that I could find. If you are going to intentionally use them on your pet, ALL essential oils should be diluted with a carrier oil for animals and NOT taken internally. And as with children, keep them up and out of reach. Our sweet babies are curious and unknowing of what can hurt them. 

To start, you should always look for pure therapeutic grade essential oils. If you stick with doTERRA you are good there. Many essential oils contain contaminates or adulterants that can make more serious issues arise. Do NOT put into ear canals which can damage their delicate ear drums and nerves. Of course, nothing near their eyes, genitals and not on their paws as they lick and use them for cleaning themselves. 

Oils NOT Safe for Dogs

-Anise                                             - Garlic
-Tea Tree (Melaluca)                      - Juniper, Rosemary
- Cinnamon                                     - Sweet Birch                             
- Citrus                                            - Pine
- Wintergreen                                  - Ylang Ylang
- Pennyroyal                                   - Clove 
 - Eucalyptus (This has differing opinions with some believing it's good for relief of chest congestion but not to be used with puppies or small dogs.)                                                  

Oils Experts Say Are Safe For Dogs

Lavendar: This is a Universal oil and can help burns, allergies, ulcers, insomnia and car ride anxiety or sickness.
Cardamom: Is anti-bacterial, a diuretic and can help with nausea.
Chamomile: An anti-inflammatory, good for skin irritation, relaxation and allergic reactions.
Clary Sage: Calms nervousness and excitability.  
Spearmint: Helps with weight reductions and good for diarrhea, nausea and helps balance the metabolism. 
Thyme: Good for pain relief, arthritis and is antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral so good for skin issues. 
Frankincense: Ease anxiety, used to help cancer, reducing tumors, external ulcers and strengthening the immune system. 
Geranium: Calming, improves circulation
Helichrysum: Anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory, natural digestive and diuretic, detoxifier

Oils NOT Safe For Cats

- Tea Tree (Melaluca)               - Lemon

- Cassia                                         - Cinnamon

- Clove                                           - Eucalyptus

- Citrus                                          - Peppermint

- Wintergreen                              - Spruce

- Thyme                                         - Oregano

- Eucalyptus                                 

- Any oils that contain phenols

- Lavender (this differs from sources as some say it's safe so please use caution)   

Oils Safe For Cats

Cedarwood: Helps repel pests, promotes healthy skin.

Chamomile: An anti-inflammatory, good for skin irritation, relaxation and allergic reactions.

Myrrh: Can help fight allergies and promote healthy skin.

Clary Sage: Calms nervousness and excitability.  

Frankincense: Ease anxiety, used to help cancer, reducing tumors, external ulcers and strengthening the immune system. 

Rosemary: Benefits hair growth, detoxification of liver and gallbaldder function

Helichrysum: Antifungal and anti-inflammatory, natural digestive and diuretic, detoxifier

Geranium: Calming, improves circulation

Don't forget about those household cleaners, air fresheners and carpet cleaners and how they too affect your pets. They are closer to the source and much smaller. Think about using green cleaning supplies and skip any air fresheners all together. The synthetics in those are not good for anyone, animals and humans alike. 


I'ts our job to keep our sweet babies safe and protected. I hope this helps educate you a little on taking care of your furry family member. If you have any questions please contact me. 

Love and Light,

Elaine

For all your Essential Oil needs give me a call, text, email or check out my website. 

ElainesNaturalLife@gmail.com

(702) 768-4556

WWW.MYDOTERRA.COM/ELAINEHANSEN

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