Are essential oils in my skin lotion safe for my pet's health?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Essential oils tend to be toxic to pets, especially cats. If you use it for yourself just be sure your skin is covered when Firecracker is around and she doesn't get it on her fur or lick it off your skin. If you are careful I am sure you and still use it and she'll be fine! I hope this helps!

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.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Our pets are very sensitive to the chemicals in essential oils (think how much more sensitive their sense of smell is!), and exposure to diffused essential oils can be dangerous. Cats are particularly sensitive, but it's best to avoid diffusing oils around dogs as well. If you must use diffused oils, do so in an enclosed room and keep the pets out to minimize their exposure. Hope this helps!

I would avoid using essential oils directly on your dog as it could cause skin irritation, or be toxic, depending on the oil. If you use diffusers in your home, making sure Hudson is in a well-ventilated area away from it can help prevent inhalation that could cause irritation or illness.

Peppermint essential oil is toxic to dogs, so do not use that. As for lavender, while it isn't toxic, dogs can have negative or allergic reactions to it, so use only small amounts initially. If you have a cat, do not use any essential oils as many are highly toxic to cats. 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!

You're right that cats can be very sensitive to essential oils, so it's always recommended to be very cautious when using these oils around them. If Odie is acting normal (eating and drinking, active, etc.), it's unlikely that he would have been negatively affected by any essential oils that you may have used in the past. You could take him to your vet for a check-up and blood work to check his liver and kidney function, if you want to be absolutely sure - but if he's clinically doing fine, he's probably okay :) In the future, it would be best to double-check the safety of any oil you are considering for use in your home to avoid problems.