Articulate Animals Blog, Kelly Krueger, Animal Communicator

Animal Communicator Kelly Krueger puts voice to your pet's thoughts, needs, and emotions.

Posts Tagged pine

Household Dangers for Pets

Aug 4

Posted by Kelly Krueger in Frequently Asked Animal Questions, Health & Well Being for Pets | No Comments

I have a few posts discussing dangers for our pets: snakes, poisonous mushrooms, and hazards around the holidays with ribbons, ornaments, Halloween candy, and toxic seasonal plants. These kinds of dangers are fairly well known but I, for one, get in a routine and can let my guard down.

I won’t attempt to mention all the various household dangers in this one post, but there are a few hazards which I think are worthy of a mention. Please talk with your veterinarian and do some research on what may pose dangers to your beloved animal companions.

Foods – there are several foods which are toxic to some species. Chocolate is one of those food items found in many homes and it is imperative that we keep chocolate and candy out of the reach of pets. Other common household foods and cooking ingredients include garlic, onions, raisins, grapes, alcohol, coffee and coffee beans, some nuts, and the stems and leaves on garden tomatoes.

Cleaning products - in addition to obvious cleaning products such as detergents, bleach, and disinfectants, cleaning products may contain other chemicals that can harm our pets. Check the label for warnings and lock them up. Better yet, don’t use them if a *poison* label is present. A floor cleaner, for example, may leave a residue on the floor which your pet will walk through and then may lick their paws. Use caution if a product lists ammonia, acids, calcium hypochlorite, turpentine, and phenols in their ingredients list.

Medications – all human medications should be kept well out of the reach of children AND animals. Basic over-the-counter pain relievers can cause serious kidney problems if ingested by an animal and can even be fatal, according to a list of the 10 most poisonous meds for pets complied by the ASPCA, and decongestants can elevate heart rates and cause seizures. Keep medications locked up and out of reach, especially if you have a particularly curious cat or a dog that loves to counter-surf your nightstand or bathroom counters!

Use common sense and “pet proof” your home. It will save much heartache later!

See more household dangers in part two, More Household Dangers for Pets.

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Danger for Cats: Essential Oils

Oct 29

Posted by Kelly Krueger in Health & Well Being for Pets | 4 Comments

A previous post discussed pine oil and the possible safety issues of the use of pine in cat litter and other common household products. Pine is just one of several essential oils which can be toxic to cats and small house pets.

carrieroilheaderEssential oils are quite common in many forms throughout our homes including some common household products. In fact, several essential oils such as orange, lemon, and pine are well known as powerful cleaning agents, and therefore these scents are quite common in cleaning products. Many of us enjoy aromatherapy and use various essential oils in potpourri or a diffuser to enjoy the healing properties of the oils. Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, Orange or Lemon Oil, and Eucalyptus are all pleasant and useful to humans for their various medicinal properties. Unfortunately, these same oils pose danger for cats and other small house pets.

Cats are unable to properly metabolize essential oils and over time the toxins build up and can damage the liver. Cats in toxic overload may exhibit symptoms such as dizziness, lack of appetite, vomiting, lack of balance, lethargy, and extreme cases of toxicity may lead to death.

While many of us know not to apply essential oils directly – either via mouth or by spraying or rubbing the oils on our cats – it is important to realize that simply inhaling essential oils also poses a danger to cats. Whether absorbed through the skin or inhaled, repeated exposure to essential oils can build toxic levels to the danger point.

Hydrosols, a distilled by-product of essential oils, are considered by most to be safe for cats. If you are a big fan of aromatherapy for yourself or your animals, hydrosols may be an alternative to consider, and some household products are now using hydrosols in place of essential oils.

CatsCats are extremely sensitive to scent, and animals in general have an innate sense of danger. If your cat is showing signs of avoidance – of a room or area of the house, or even of their litter box – check to see if there might be essential oil scents which concern your cat. Some strong-smelling candles, for example, are scented with an essential oil, and just the candle in a room may be enough to turn your cat away. If your cat is having litter box issues, check the ingredient list on the litter to see if an essential oil is being used for odor control.

There are many essential oils and I can’t list them all here, but I will list those considered to be the most dangerous to cats based on several different resources and in no particular order:  Oregano, Bay Leaf, Parsley and Savory, Cedar Leaf, Sage, Hyssop, Cyprus, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Mint ,Caraway, Citronella, Clove, Ginger, Chamomile, Thyme and Rosemary, Pine, Peppermint, Lemon, Melaleuca and Tea Tree Oil, Cinnamon Bark Oil, Wintergreen, and other oils containing phenol (see “Danger for Cats: Pine and Essental Oils” for more on phenols).

There is myriad of information, some of it conflicting, available. As a start, I recommend the Lavender Cat website for more in depth explanations than what I’ve been able to provide. Note: essential oils should not be confused with flower essence remedies. Flower essences are generally considered very safe for animals.

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Danger for Cats: Pine and Other Essential Oils

Oct 23

Posted by Kelly Krueger in Health & Well Being for Pets | 2 Comments

Recently I had occasion to visit a pet store with an animal loving friend who is always in search of environmentally friendly products which her three cats will accept. She happened upon a bio-degradable pine scented kitty litter which, for all intents and purposes, seemed ideal for her family. In the back of my mind, however, I knew that pine in certain forms is toxic to cats.

pineneedlesIt has always perplexed me that so many litters these days contain the pine scent for odor control, and yet a part of me wants to believe that no manufacturer would purposefully use toxic substances in their litter products. I shared all this with Alyson and her reaction was one of a responsible pet guardian: “If there is even a small question about toxicity, I’m not buying it!”  That put me to researching…

Interestingly, when I did a basic Internet search using keywords “pine” and “feline” the first several results were a myriad of pine-scented cat litter products. There are so many! When I got to the real information, however, I found a number of resources which confirm that in fact pine oil and many derivatives of pine and the scent of pine are toxic to cats. Several veterinary blogs and Q&A forums answer the question of pine scented litter, and the common answer is “we DO NOT recommend using any form of pine or pine scent near your cats at all. The reason for this is pine oil can cause upper respiratory infections. We can recommend an alternative litter product …”

Then there was this exchange regarding a particular type of bio-degradable pine pellet litter:

David says:

August 17, 2009 at 7:55 am

As a researcher I can tell you that pine pellets are indeed toxic to cats. Phenols in particular are poisonous to the cats’ neurological system. You cannot eliminate phenols from those pellets. The first sign of toxicity is facial tics and abnormal whisker and ear movements.

Abby says:

August 18, 2009 at 12:57 pm

David, I was concerned about your comment and so I called [the manufacturer of a particular product], and the woman I spoke to reassured me that they have eliminated phenols from the pellets.

David says:

August 19, 2009 at 1:50 pm

Abby:
If you can smell the pine then the phenols are still present.

Several other resources further discuss pine oil and pine scent in an equally cautionary way. The primary culprit in pine and other essential oils (part two will discuss other essential oils) is, as the exchange above states, phenols. There is no debate that in their original form phenols are toxic to cats. Hydrosols, the diluted form of essential oils, are what is left after the oils are distilled to a seemingly non-toxic state. I say “seemingly” because there is controversy. Many of the research sites discuss hydrosols as a safe alternative, however some animal advocates insist that hydrosols have not been tested, and therefore unknown risks may exist.

cleaning productsIf you are currently using a pine-scented litter, I encourage you to check the label carefully. If “oils” or phenols are listed, there is a good chance the product is unsafe for your kitty. While you are reading labels, review your household products as well. Furniture polish, common floor and counter cleaners, paint removers and solvents with pine scent may contain undiluted/undistilled oils which may be toxic for your cats.

Pine oil is just one of several essential oils which can be dangerous to cats and small house pets. Part two will further explore common essential oils and their relationship to our pets.

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