Is coconut oil or tea tree oil safe for my cat's bath or fleas?

I would not recommend bathing Holly in coconut oil. Typically cats do not need baths at all. They are very good at grooming themselves. If you notice she has a dry coat you can try adding fish oils to her food or changing her diet slowly over 1 week.

Hello! Coconut oil may prevent the Frontline from being effective as the active ingredient uses the natural oils and pores in the skin to spread and work properly, and the coconut oil may prevent that from happening. There is no credible research that suggests that coconut oil works as a flea preventative or treatment, however Frontline is a well-tested and safe product for cats. If you would like to continue using Frontline, I suggest giving Clint a bath with a mild soap and water solution (to remove the coconut oil), waiting 24-48 hours for the fur to dry and from natural skin oils to be replaced, then applying the Frontline. Even if Clint had some Frontline applied already, the extra amount should not harm him as it is extremely safe and is not systemic (is not effective through the bloodstream). Good luck, and I hope that Clint becomes and stays flea-free!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think bathing a cat every week is excessive. I do not think bathing him will help much with the hair loss. I would be sure he doesn't have fleas or lice. If he has fleas sue a good product like comfortis, Serest collar or bravecto. If there are no fleas I would have him seen by your Vet to have him tested for mites (skin scrape) and ringworm (fungal culture). If all medical conditions have been ruled out her may be pulling hi hair out for behavioral reasons. Be care with too much coconut oil, since cats groom and Micole is excessively grooming ingesting too much can be a problem. I hope this helps and I wish Micole a speedy recovery!

It is not recommended that you do this. Coconut oil is not a cure-all. It is very high in fat and could cause a deadly pancreatitis if she licks it off and ingests too much. If you would like to post again and tell us what you are attempting to treat then we can maybe help you find an appropriate product.

I am sorry that your pet is having sore skin due to ticks. You really should invest in a good tick preventative such as Bravecto, Nexgard, Seresto collar or the Preventic collar. This will prevent you from having to bath daily, which causes more skin irritation. The best thing for skin irritation is not oils (which often just get licked off and can cause GI upset if ingested), but instead a calming oatmeal based shampoo or hypoallergenic shampoo (i.e. Duoxo calming shampoo). Also daily fish oils is a natural anti-inflammatory that can help also. Try to limit his baths from now on to once every 2-3 weeks, especially if you are giving him a good high quality tick preventative. Also tick removal does not require a bath, but instead just removal of the entire tick with tweezers, making sure to remove the entire head to help avoid transmission of disease.

I'm not sure that you're going to be able to find the information that you are looking for, because we're not quite sure what percentage of essential oils are safe for cats. Peppermint and clove oils are both potentially toxic for cats without an established "safe" amount. I can't recommend applying essential oils directly to the fur/skin of a cat because of the potential safety concerns. I am attaching a website with more information about potential toxicity below. http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/essential-oils-cats/ If you are interested in using essential oils in cats, I would recommend using a product by Dr. Shelton. http://www.oilyvet.com/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Tea tree oil is typically used to treat fungal infections, so it probably wouldn't have much effect on fleas or ticks and it can also be toxic if Holly licks the area you apply it. It would be better to use a topical designed for treating these, such as Frontline or Advantage, and would be much safer for Holly. You can also use a flea comb to remove any dead fleas after giving a bath, as well as make sure to clean the environment such as bedding, baseboards, etc to help prevent reinfestation.