My cat used dog shampoo with tea tree. Why is she aggressive and sick?

Hello, thank you for your question about Sylvester. It is possible that the tea tree oil has a significant odor that your cat may be able to smell easily and may like which leads him to lick your hair. I would discourage Sylvester from doing this as tea tree oil is toxic to cats even in small quantities. If Sylvester develops any symptoms such as vomiting, weakness, unstable walking, or tremoring please have him evaluated by a veterinarian promptly. Hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. As long as your cat doesn't eat/drink an excessive amount of this shampoo, she should be just fine. And as long as you didn't get any into her eyes, she should be OK. In the future, it is not recommended to use human shampoos on animals - there are special animal shampoos that are not as irritating if gotten into the eyes, and nontoxic if consumed. I recommend monitoring for any vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, or any neurologic signs such as tremors or seizures. These could indicate a toxicity. If she is squinting her eyes, this could mean you got shampoo in her eyes and caused damage to her corneas. If you see any of these signs, she should be seen by a veterinarian right away. I hope this is helpful!

HI, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Honey! Tea tree oil is toxic at high concentrations. If you washed it off and she hasn't licked it and is acting fine she will be ok. Watch her for lethargy or neurologic signs. if she isn't showing symptoms there is nothing to do preventatively. I would try a triple antibiotic on the wound and an antihistamine. If it doesn't heal you should have her seen by a Vet. Good luck! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/

You are right that tea tree oil is toxic to dogs. You need to bathe Lucy immediately. Wash her thoroughly with dog shampoo or baby shampoo, wash it out, and bathe her again. As long as you get it all off of her before it has a chance to soaking into her skin, she should be fine. I hope this helps!

Tea tree oil is toxic to dogs and should never be used on them unless significantly diluted. Tremors are a sign of poisoning, and even though Lil bit seems ok now, I would still have her seen by a vet right away for a health check.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Alice. You did the right thing by washing her right away. Try to dry her off further to see if that helps with the twitching. Keep her as quiet and comfortable as possible. If by when the vet opens she is still shaking, take her into one right away to get checked out. I hope this helps!

I did research the name, and I could not find any information about it being toxic to cats. I suspect that if it was causing problems, it would have come up on my veterinary database. However, I am not a big fan of essential oils in cats. They do not tolerate them as well as dogs do. So, I would not use it again in my cats to be on the safe side. I think that they are going to be just fine. If they did start to show irritation - you will need to bathe in Dawn dish soap to get the oil off. I don't expect it at all, but just wanted to let you know what to use if they did get irritated. Good luck! Thanks for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!