Oils For Cats

LET’S CHAT CATS • I have a funny relationship with cats 🐈‍⬛ They love me, I’m allergic to most of them, I haven’t lived with one since college, but I’ve considered adopting one recently 😹

Since I get a lot of questions about using essential oils with cats, let me give you a few tips!

• Not all brands of essential oils are created equal, so go with a trusted source so you know exactly what you’re getting. (You’d be surprised that most oils on the shelf are full of synthetics even if the label says otherwise 🙄)
• There’s some essential oil options that are helpful to use for cats. See a Top 10 list below!
• Cats lack the enzyme glucuronidase and are not able to break down the phenolic compounds in essential oils, so cats should NOT be given essential oils orally/internally.
• High-phenol essential oils and citrus oils should be especially avoided with cats. (High-phenol oils include Clove, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Cinnamon, and Cassia.)
• If you’re going to diffuse around any animal make sure they can leave the room if they’re not found of the aroma. (I was once teaching an oils class in someone’s living room and their cat was purring and snuggled up near the diffuser lol. Clearly she loved it!)
• Just like human babies, you’ve got to heavily dilute your essential oils with a carrier oil (like fractionated coconut oil) before using them topically. Avoid using oils topically on kittens.
• And just like human babies, less is more in terms of drops of essential oil. Start out small, heavily dilute, use it sparingly 🐈

Did you see my Oils for Dogs post?

🐈‍⬛Cat Art by @meowmeowbycat