Many essential oils, such as eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, cinnamon, citrus, peppermint, pine, wintergreen, and ylang ylang are straight up toxic to pets. These are toxic whether they are applied to the skin, used in diffusers or licked up in the case of a spill.
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.
Toxicity to pets
Small ingestions of a few leaves or low concentration eucalyptus oil leads to mild gastrointestinal distress, but ingestion of highly concentrated eucalyptus oil has been associated with severe signs including seizure, tremor, and, rarely, acute renal injury.
Since eucalyptus is toxic to cats and dogs, though, you'll want to avoid the shower plant if you have pets at home.
When ingested in sufficient amounts this oil, eucalyptol, is an irritant to the gastrointestinal system, causing discomfort, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is also a neurotoxin and can cause neurological symptoms as well, such as depression, confusion, and seizures.
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.
Cats have 40 times the number of odor-sensitive cells in their noses as humans, according to PetPlace. Because of their superior smelling abilities, they are sensitive to citrus-based products and Eucalyptus oil.
While you might like the smell, eucalyptus isn't safe to keep around cats — whether it's dried or fresh. “Eucalyptus is poisonous to cats,” Dr. Bustamante told The Dodo. “Cats are not able to metabolize chemicals found in the plant; therefore, those chemicals can damage your cat's internal organs.”
Dried or fresh, eucalyptus is dangerous for your cat. Your cat can experience salivation, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion and other concerning symptoms after consuming this potent houseplant. To keep your cats safe, use eucalyptus essential oil in a sealed container instead of fresh or dried plants.
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.
If you believe that your cat has ingested or come in contact with essential oils or liquid potpourri, call your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline (800-213-6680), a 24/7 animal poison control center, immediately. The sooner you seek treatment, the better the prognosis and outcome for your cat.
If your cat ingests a eucalyptus plant or product containing eucalyptus oil, your first step should be to contact your veterinarian as well as an animal poison control hotline such as the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline.
Is Eucalyptus a great cat deterrent? Eucalyptus oil can, in reality, deter cats. We love this oil for its refreshing smell, which is precisely why cats dislike it. Cats have a heightened sense of smell.
If you have a bird, you should avoid using an essential oil diffuser in your home. The ASPCA says essential oils and cats are not friends. This is because cats are especially susceptible to toxicity build up as their livers do not contain an enzyme needed to break down the oils.
A great deterrent for not only mice but insects to. They don't like the smell! You do need to do it regularly as Eucalyptus Oil does evaporate over time. Mice are generally looking for food or a place to nest, so make sure you don't have anything in your garage or home to tempt them.
While it is not deadly, lavender is toxic for cats. Lavender contains linalool and linalyl acetate, which cats cannot process in their livers. This means that consuming too much lavender can lead to liver damage.
Both catnip and catmint are types of mint that are safe to cats. Garden mint may cause gastrointestinal upset if too much is eaten. The essential oils specific to garden mint have also been known to relax the esophageal valve, making vomiting more likely in a cat who may already be ill.
Inhaling the oil is not dangerous, but one should be very careful in young children and babies, as it could be dangerous to expose them to high dosages of eucalyptus oil, even when inhaled. You should not suffer any side effects from the eucalyptus oil that you inhaled, but just be careful next time.
Keep dried flower arrangements containing eucalyptus away from dogs, and pets in general. Eucalyptus contains an essential oil called eucalyptol that can cause stomach upset and harm the nervous system of dogs and other pets.
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.
Catnip and More.
Many herbs we use in cooking are safe and fun for cats to sniff, and some are known to be feline favorites. Catnip, part of the mint family, affects many cats with a scent-induced kitty “high.” Silver vine has a similar effect. And valerian can energize cats.
Eucalyptus essential oil is also toxic to dogs. Steer clear of using any in your home, whether in a diffuser or rubbed on your dog's skin. The oils may also cause contact dermatitis on the skin, and the diffused oils may cause adverse effects if your dog breathes it in or ends up ingesting it somehow.
Cats can also tolerate German chamomile and Roman chamomile oil, lavender essential oil, thyme essential oil and valerian essential oil at diluted concentrations. Lavender seems to be the best researched essential oil for use with cats when diffused.
Surprisingly, eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals and humans.