Oils that are harmful to cats include, but are not limited to: wintergreen; sweet birch; citronella oils and candles; citrus (d-limonene); pine; ylang-ylang; peppermint; cinnamon; pennyroyal; clove; eucalyptus; tea tree (melaleuca); thyme; oregano; and lavender.
Pets are especially sensitive to these products and depending on the concentration and formulation, just a few drops of tea tree or eucalyptus oil can cause severe illness; clinical signs can range from weakness, to depression, seizures, low body temperature, salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, and even death.
Several essential oil varieties should be avoided if you have pets in your home, as they have been shown to adversely impact your pet's health. These oils include eucalyptus, tea tree oil, wintergreen, pine, peppermint, camphor and clove.
Beeswax, soy wax or vegetable-based wax candles don't contain toxic pollutants, so are generally safer, and also typically burn for longer than paraffin wax. If you're worried your cat may have been poisoned by anything in your home, discover how to spot the signs of poisoning.
You may not realize it, but certain scents and pure essential oils like tea tree, citrus, and eucalyptus oil can be harmful toxic oils to your little feline. Many compounds in these pure essential oils contain toxins that can be fatal if your kitty breathes them in or ingests them.
Toxic to pets
Inhaling or coming into contact with eucalyptus oils can be toxic to animals, including dogs, cats, and horses, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Don't use eucalyptus oil as aromatherapy if there are pets in the home.
While symptoms of eucalyptus poisoning can show up shortly after being exposed, they can also take several hours to develop, so don't assume your cat is OK just because he doesn't have any symptoms. (And in most cases of cat poisoning, early treatment leads to a better outcome.)
Candles, reed diffusers, room sprays and even fragranced cleaning products normally have no adverse effects on cats. The levels of exposure are very low and do not result in any harm.
Note that potpourri and scented candles can also cause asthma and coughing fits in cats and dogs, as highlighted above. Another hazard to keep in mind is if pets decide to chew on a plug-in air freshener.
Many liquid potpourri products and essential oils, including oil of cinnamon, citrus, pennyroyal, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, tea tree (melaleuca), wintergreen, and ylang ylang, are poisonous to cats. Both ingestion and skin exposure can be toxic.
Lugones recommends choosing unscented candles that are ideally soy, beeswax, or vegetable wax-based. Scented candles have the potential to contain chemicals that are harmful to pets.
Absolutely. Your pal's got one powerful sniffer that's five times more sensitive than your own, so chances are if you can sniff it out, so can Spot. But even though your dog can smell eucalyptus — whether it's from the tree itself or through an essential oil diffuser — it doesn't mean they should.
Poisonous candle ingredients
They're often used to give candles strong, delicious scents. Unfortunately, essential oils are very toxic to dogs. VCA Ark Animal Hospital says wintergreen, tea tree, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, cinnamon and citrus essential oils are some of the most harmful.
In short, yes! Because the concentration of oils that gets dispersed into the air is much less from our candles and melts than from diffusing, it is safe to burn our candles with your pets in the room.
Cats are especially sensitive to many essential oils and even just a couple of licks can be harmful. Many essential oils, such as eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, cinnamon, citrus, pennyroyal, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, wintergreen, and ylang ylang are toxic to pets.
Eucalyptus oil poisoning is rare in adults but is not that uncommon in children. The common side effects in children include depression in the level of consciousness, ataxia, seizures, and vomiting.
The best essential oils that are safe for cats are rosemary, copaiba, helichrysum, oregano, frankincense and cedarwood essential oil. Cats can also tolerate chamomile, lavender, thyme and valerian essential oils at very diluted concentrations.
Unfortunately, the lavender plant and essential oils are toxic to cats and can lead to severe symptoms.
If you want some cat-friendly air fresheners, there are certain smells that cats love. “Cats love the smell of catnip, olives, non-citrus fruit for the most part and plants like honeysuckle,” Dr. Evans said. A lot of cats like the scent of valerian root, “which induces a similar euphoria to catnip,” Hudson said.
Onto the bad news. Many essential oils, such as eucalyptus, tea tree, cinnamon, citrus, pennyroyal, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, wintergreen, lily, and ylang-ylang are toxic to pets - birds and cats especially.
Whether applied topically or in oil diffusers, Eucalyptus oil irritates dogs, and you should avoid it.
Burning incense produces smoke, which is not healthy for your cat's respiratory system. The smoke can act as an irritant, which may cause your cat to cough or have an allergic reaction. Increased smoke in the home puts your cat at risk for developing asthma.
As a general rule, cats are sensitive when it comes to smells, but there are a few scents they hate that might just surprise you. They can't stand citrus and as much as you might love the smell of fresh herbs, cats hate rosemary and thyme. Banana and mustard are a big no-no too, as well as lavender and eucalyptus.