Many people love to make the house smell like pumpkin and sugar cookies this time of the year. But have you ever thought about how that impacts your pets and their health?
Dr. Karyn Bischoff, a veterinary toxicologist with Cornell University, has had a sad experience of her own with candles. Her hermit crab died from a citrus candle being used in her home. She says to avoid candles and diffusers if you have exotic pets.
Bischoff says you should only use plug-in diffusers in rooms where pets won’t be.
If you use reed diffusers, make sure they are in a place where pets can’t knock them over. If they do, those chemicals can get onto their paws and in between the pads and they can get chemical burns. Wash immediately with Dawn soap or another dish soap. If it gets on their fur, tongue burns are possible as they clean themselves.
For any ingestion, call your vet right away. Bischoff says in terms of breathing in any scents, she has advice on what to avoid.
"Oddly enough, [you should avoid] wintergreen, which might be coming up for the holidays, and tea tree oil," Bischoff said. "I've actually seen animals lethally poisoned with that. Pennyroyal oil is another one that people are leery of. Citrus oils can be really toxic to dogs and cats as well, and they can cause, any of these can cause allergies."
As for candles, the biggest thing with those is the fire hazard. If not properly placed, they can be knocked over.
Dr. Bischoff says she’s seen other items of concern in terms of oils as well. She’s seen pets lethally poisoned by people putting oils on them to keep fleas and ticks away. Make sure anything you put on your pet is made for pets.
There are also pet-safe diffusers as well, lavender is the most commonly used to help calm pets.
The essential oils that are toxic to dogs are:
- Cinnamon oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Pennyroyal oil
- Pine oils
- Sweet birch
- Tea tree oil
- Wintergreen
The top 10 most toxic essential oils for cats:
- Wintergreen oil
- Peppermint oil
- Pine oil
- Eucalyptus
- Clove oil
- Tea tree/Melaleuca oil
- Citrus oil or those containing d-limonene
- Ylang Ylang
Symptoms to watch out for in your pets include:
- Unsteadiness on the feet
- Depression
- Low body temperature
If your animal ingests any essential oils, you may see vomiting and diarrhea as well.