All You Need To Know About Essential Oils for Dogs

In my last post I introduced you to my kitten!  His best friend is my dog, Ellie!

Ellie is a 6 year old Beagle Mix!  She didn’t get much exercise until Nippet (my kitten) came to live with us.  Now they play all morning (and sometimes in the evening) then they both take a nap!  

I want nothing but the best for both of them and want to keep both of them safe.  I already explained in my previous post about cats and essential oils.  Now I’m sharing the info about essential oils and dogs. 

Are essential oils safe to use with your pet? If you look through the internet you’ll find some heated debates and confusing information. 

Each pet is different and it can be hard to predict how a pet will react to an essential oil. Before using essential oils with your pet, talk to your veterinarian. They’ll be able to talk you through whether or not you should use essential oils with your pet, whether that means simply diffusing oils or applying them topically. .

Your veterinarian will have the best advice for you to follow.  I am not a vet and essential oils should not take the place of the advice, treatment, or medication given by your vet.

After you get the okay from your vet, start with an oil that’s generally safe for your dog. 

Here’s a list of oils generally considered safe for pets.

Amyris – Stress Relief, Skincare Angelica Root Balsam Fir  Basil – calms, nausea Bergamont Black Pepper  Blood Orange – soothes anxiety Cajeput Cardamom – helps digestion Cedarwood Chamomile Citronella – insect repellant  Clary Sage – pain relief Coffee Copaiba Frankincense Geranium Ginger Grapefruit – soothes anxiety Ho Wood Helichrysum – skin healing Jasmine Juniper Berry – insect repellent, deodorizes Lavender – calming, pain relief

Lemongrass – pain relief, soothes anxiety Lime Mandarin Marjoram Melissa Myrrh Neroli Lemon – uplifting Lemon Eucalyptus Lemon Myrtle Lavender – calming, pain relief Lemon – uplifting Lemon Eucalyptus Lemon Myrtle Orange Palmarosa Patchouli Peru Balsam Ravensara Sandalwood Tangerine Vetiver – soothes anxiety, skin health, aides sleep

While these oils are generally safe to use, some oils can be dangerous for your pet. Some oils to be especially careful of include Tea Tree, Birch, and Wintergreen. With this in mind, make sure you store your oils out of reach from your pet. Doing so prevents your pet from ingesting any oils, which can cause serious reactions or death. Negative reactions include difficulty breathing, tremors, or vomiting. If this occurs, take your pet outside for some fresh air. If symptoms are serious or don’t subside immediately, take your pet to the vet.

Introduce The Oil to Your Pet

Once you’ve chosen an oil generally considered safe, introduce it to your pet. With the cap on, let your dog smell the oil. Do they seem interested or lick their nose? Those are good signs that your pet is okay with the oil. If they avoid the oil, avoid using it as it will likely cause your pet distress. 

Take It Slow Trying Recipes with Your Pet

Once the oil has been approved by your dog, take it slow. Start by trying the oil in the diffuser with 1-2 drops. Whenever you are using oils, make sure to leave the door open. This will allow your pet to escape the room if the oil bothers them. 

If your pet leaves the room when you’re using a particular oil, that’s another sign that the oil is not a good fit for them. 

Once your pet has shown they are comfortable with a particular oil. You can try it topically. Only use an oil topically if you are using it for a particular purpose, like soothing itchy skin or preventing insect bites.

Here are some tips for using essential oils topically with your pet. 

• If your pet is over 20 pounds, you can use a 0.5% dilution rate or less.

• If your pet is smaller than 20 pounds, use a 0.25% dilution rate or less. You can also choose to use a hydrosol as a safer option for a smaller pet. 

• Avoid applying an oil before your pet enters a confined space, such as a cage or kennel as the aroma could become overwhelming for your pet.

As always, if you have any questions, please comment below and I'll be happy to find you an answer.

Until next time, stay safe!

 How to Use Essential Oils With Cats

Do you have a fur baby that you love like family? BUT you know that they are not humans but cats and they don’t enjoy the smell of certain essential oils and some oils may even be toxic!

Hopefully this post will give you some guidance on how to use essential oils with cats.

Nippet at10 Weeks

Meet Nippet!  He’s my 16 week old gray kitten!  When I first saw him at 4 weeks old I thought he looked like an Ewock from Starwars!  My daughter looked up gray Ewock names and we chose Nippet.  Even though Nippet was a baby girl we loved the name.  He is my ‘baby’ and I love him so much.

Cats are very sensitive to essential oils. But, when used correctly, they can help support your cat’s overall wellness.

Cats lack an enzyme in their liver that causes them to have difficulty metabolizing certain things that humans and dogs can. So whenever you’re using essential oils for cats topically, be sure that you are using either a highly diluted essential oil (I’ll tell you which ones to avoid) at 0.5% dilution rate or less, or use a hydrosol (I’ll talk more about that later). There are also some oils you should not diffuse around them as well (see list below).

Check with Your Vet

While I’m good at giving essential oil advice, I’m not a vet (or doctor). If your cat has any medical condition or special restrictions be sure to check with your vet before trying essential oils or hydrosols with them. Essential oils or hydrosols should not and do not replace the advice or treatment given by a vet.

Should I use Essential Oils Around or with My Cat?

After checking with your vet, use your best judgment. Essential oils are a safer option than using synthetically scented candles, sprays, or plugins.

How to Introduce Essential Oils to Your Cat

Before using a new essential oil topically on your cat or in the diffuser in the room your cat will be in, be sure to introduce the oil to the cat and see how they respond. Allow your cat to smell the oil with the cap on. Look for a positive response like interest or rubbing their face against it. If they’re not a fan, they’ll walk away.

Use Hydrosols

If you don’t feel comfortable using essential oils for cats and still want a natural approach, hydrosols are a good option. Hydrosol is the leftover water in the process of extracting the oil part of the plant. This water contains many benefits and is a lot less potent than essential oils. This is especially a good option for small animals.

You can make a DIY hydrosol with essential oils.  It won’t have as many beneficial properties because it’s coming from the extracted oil, not the original plant, but it still has a lot of great benefits. 

 

To make a hydrosol, pick an oil that you want to try with your pet.

Be sure to let your pet smell it with the cap on to make sure the oil won’t distress him or her.

To make the DIY Hydrosol you’ll need

1 cup boiling water

A heatproof bowl you can cover

Essential oil

Coffee filter

Jar (sterilized) 

In the heat proof bowl or in a pan, bring water to a boil. Take the bowl or pan off the heat, add 8 drops of essential oil, and cover. This will trap the evaporating water and allow it to cool and condense and fall back into the bowl. Let the water and oil sit for 20-30 minutes.  Pour the water mixture through the coffee filter and into a sterile jar to strain out the oil droplets.  Store this hydrosol in the fridge or if you don’t think you’ll use it within 2-4 weeks, pour it into an ice tray or mold and freeze.  You can defrost 1 or more at a time.

You can apply hydrosols directly on the fur or skin of your animals or incorporate them into any other recipes. 

If this sounds like too complicated, you can purchase already made hydrosol at my Simply Earth affiliate page here:  https://bit.ly/40Fgv8g .  Just search ‘hydrosol’.

Diffusing Around Cats

Like I said earlier, cats are sensitive to essential oils, even if they are diffused. When diffusing essential oils, only use 1-2 drops and leave an “escape” or open door so that your cat can leave the room if they don’t like the smell.

Avoid These Essential Oils

Don’t use these oils topically or in a diffuser around cats

• Basil

• Citrus oils (probably won’t harm your cat, but they may not like the smell)

• Birch

• Cinnamon

• Clove

• Dill

• Fennel

• Tea tree

• Oregano

• Peppermint

• Thyme

• Rosemary

• Spearmint

• Wintergreen

Possible Negative Reactions

Keep an eye out for these negative reactions that could occur when using essential oils with your cat.

• Skin irritation (most common)

• Wash the area with dish soap to remove the oil and apply carrier oil to the area

• Distress

• Uncharacteristic drooling

• Squinting

• Rubbing face

• Vocalization

• Shaking

• Vomiting

Most adverse reactions clear up within 24 hours once the area is diluted, but for a serious reaction be sure to take your pet to the vet or emergency vet. Store essential oils out of reach from pets as ingesting them could be toxic.

Safety Tips Summary

• Introduce an oil to your cat before trying it

• Diffuse 1-2 drops with the door open

• Dilute essential oils at 0.5% or less, or better yet, use a hydrosol!

• Avoid the essential oils listed above

• Store oils away from your cat, ingesting them could be toxic

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I’ll try to answer them for you!

I’ll introduce you to my dog, Ellie, in the next post!

See you then!

I really LOVE the Simply Earth June 2024 Monthly Recipe Box!

When I first started using essential oils, I was constantly nervous that I was using them incorrectly.  So, they usually ended up pushed to the back of my shelf, never to be used.

This was the way I felt before I started getting the Simply Earth Monthly Recipe Box!  Along with the subscription I also got their "Hero" Course which taught me so much about essential oils- their uses - their benefits - and many recipes!

Each month I get a recipe box with 4 full-size essential oils, 6 recipes and fun extras to help make the recipes.  Every month has a different theme.  This month's theme was DIFFUSING!

Did you know that there are many ways to enjoy using the blends made with the box?  With this month's box I received an Inhaler, a kit to make a tassel diffuser and a wood car clip diffuser!

The 4 oils were:  Peppermint, Coriander, Blood Orange and the Timber Blend.  

The 1st recipe I made was the Ocean Days Room Fragrance Spray!  I already had the bottle and the distilled water in my stash so I was ready to go!  This was my FAVORITE recipe!  Here's a picture of my 2 oz spray.

I used a 2 oz bottle because this recipe either needed a preservative added or used within 2-3 weeks.  I chose to make a small bottle that would get used up by then and didn't need a preservative.

This is my favorite of the 6 recipes.  I LOVE the smell!  It's so clean!

The other recipes were similar and each was diffused in a different way!  Here's some pictures!  I didn't take pictures of my projects so I used stock images - not the ones I actually

made.

Tassel Diffuser

Roll-On

Inhaler

Diffuser Blend

  

Clip-on Car Diffuser

These were so much fun!  And my house and car smell great!

I would love for you to join me on this adventure!  

If you would like to try the Simply Earth Monthly Recipe Box I would love to offer you some gifts!  If you go to Simply Earth's website using this link Simply Earth  and order your box you will get $15 off the regular price of $44.95!  PLUS you will get a FREE Big Bonus Box which contains 6 Diffuser Bottles, 6 Roll-on Bottles, bottles of Almond Oil and Fractionated Coconut Oil, a 12 oz jar of Coconut Oil, and a package of Bees Wax!  That's enough supplies for 6 months!  

And if you use my code MIMISMARKETFREE at checkout, you will also receive a $45 E-Gift Card by email to use on any future orders on the Simply Earth website!

ALL THIS FOR $29.95!

AND on your 7th box (if you continue your subscription) you get ANOTHER Big Bonus Box and every 6 months as long as you are subscribed!

You can cancel at any time! - No questions asked!

But order soon!  Our boxes usually sell out by the 25th of the month!