Our 2¢ on essential oils.
I am sure by now you have all seen the essential oil post that has gone viral from Michigan about how deadly essential oils are (would love to provide a link but the post has either been removed, or I have been blocked. ) In this wide spread post, the owner talks about a group of oils that were purchased from Amazon, diffused over a period of a few days, and had the end result of a severely sick cat. The culprit, stated by the owner and the owners vet, was the newly enjoyed essential oils. A quick peak through both this article, the comments, and the internet would lead you to believe that all oils are unsafe and will cause an issue. HOWEVER, here we are asking you to use them and trust them….so what’s a person to do? Get educated!
The first thing, is know your oils. All oils are not created equally. The process of growing and harvesting the plants is just as important and useful as the distilling and storage process. As many of you have experienced first hand, we DO NOT advise or support the purchase of oils from companies other than YoungLiving . We DO NOT advise or support the purchase of YoungLiving oils from Amazon.
When you buy essential oils from third party companies, you take a risk. You are trusting that the person respected the oils, was diligent with the monitoring of the temperatures in both storage and shipping. You also are trusting that the bottle labeled oil X actually contains oil X, and it has not been tampered with. You have to trust that the sellers goal is not in making money off the oils, but in bettering your pet. In short, you are giving them the same trust you would give your vet or your own doctor. Would you purchase prescription medications from Sally Jones in Arizona who promises you will “just love the smell of these!” We know there are cheaper oils and oil companies out there that offer larger supplies and do promise results. We agonized over the company to pick when we started carrying oils. We smelled, taste tested, diffused and settled on Youngliving. These oils are time tested on both animals and humans alike, and they are medicinal grade oils.
Oils are a medication. It’s easy to forget this statement. When we recommend to use (or avoid) oils, it is under a doctors advice. Ocotea is an oil that can be used to control blood sugar. It also has a pleasant cinnamon like smell much like the candy Red Hots. Using it for its smell without thinking about its ability to lower blood sugar can cause MAJOR issues. Just like you can’t mix many prescription drugs, there are some oils that shouldn’t be mixed. Also, some oils are meant to be topical and not ingested in great quantity, while some are safe in small amounts and aggravating in larger amounts.
Know the lingo. Hot or eugenol oils, neat oils, Phenol and Monoterpene Hydrocarbon oils….These are all words you need to know and understand in order to use essential oils. None of the above listed oils are safe for prolonged or directed use in cats. Their liver is not set up like dogs and people to filter out the toxins. Some common hot oils are oregano, basil, and thyme. While some common phenol and monoterpene oils can be grouped as “Citrus oils”.
Mode of treatment. Is it safe for your pet to lick? This question is asked of all medications before using on our pets. If the answer is no, then we don’t recommend using it at all in your pet (and this includes neosporin!). It is impossible for any of use to think we can stop your pets from licking. It’s their first instinct. Whether it hurts, burns, itches, or is perceived as dirty cats and dogs alike reach with their mouth first. We do use many oils in cats and dogs topically, often they are diluted or used in small quantities. We must know our oils before deciding what goes on them.
When in doubt, ask. We are always here for you. I can’t tell you how many calls, emails, and Facebook messages I received about this most recent post. And I am PROUD of all of you. This is your job. Information changes all the time. You need to stay in the news, you need to question, and you need to make sure you are all stay safe. It’s also our job to answer you. You will probably stump us a few times, and that’s great! Keep asking questions!
There are many unanswered questions from this post. What company or brand were the oils original from? Where they purchased from a third party person, or from the company direct? Was she using diffusor that utilized water or a nebulizing diffusor? When was the last blood work on this cat to make sure he was actually unhealthy for another reason, or being affected by the oils. I messaged the owner, however have not receive a reply back. If you use oils with knowledge and respect you will be OK. Here are some charts to HELP you get started.
Some websites and articles to help:
https://www.youngliving.com/bl...
https://www.youngliving.com/bl...
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care...
And of course our website and facebook:
http://animalsfirstvet.com/blo...
https://www.facebook.com/Anima...