Hey y’all! This post is a follow up to our live today 🙂

There are all sorts of horror stories online about pets and essential oils… but when we dig in deeper what we find is overwhelmingly poor quality oils and/or misuse of the oils.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a spike in essential oil brands and sellers. This often happens when people see an opening in a market. Unfortunately, these “oils” are not the best quality and sometimes aren’t even real essential oils.

There is a huge difference between a “natural fragrance” grade oil and a medical grade essential oil.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about animalEO essential oils. I’ve tried other oils in the past, though never on my pets, and the more I learned about the magic of plants and essential oils the more I knew that my pets could benefit as much as I could, in some cases even more.

I found animalEO through a holistic pet group and I’ve never looked back. The education on essential oils put out by holistic veterinarian Dr. Melissa Shelton is quite literally life changing. I don’t use that term much, but in this case I will.

I started with some “all-over” supportive blends created by Dr. Shelton. Kitty Boost for my cats and Boost In A Bottle for my dogs. There is actually an Aroma Boost collection, but for those of you who are starting out, or those who are just too busy most of the time (like me!) the Boost In A Bottle is just what the doctor ordered! 

I’m not telling you about animalEO because I’m being sponsored, or because I’m an affiliate – because I’m not. I don’t make one red cent on anything you buy from them. I’m telling you about animalEO because I believe their products are the absolute best you can get.

animalEO is the only veterinary grade essential oil line available and the only one I trust with my pets.

So, why am I talking so much about quality and grade? Well, because it matters. It matters more than anything else when it comes to essential oils. If you think that you can get 5mL of Lavender oil for $15 and it actually be a good quality oil, you’re mistaken. Lavender is one of the most adulterated fragrances on the market. That’s probably because lavender oil (real lavender oil) has so many valuable uses – plus it smells amazing. 

But let me tell you, before I purchased lavender oil from animalEO, and before I had my very own lavender plant in my home, I didn’t know what lavender actually smelled like. Seriously, I used to think I didn’t like the smell of lavender. Now I know that I didn’t like the synthetic adulterated fake lavender scents.

Are there other brands of essential oils? Sure! Are there any that have been proven effective – and unimpeachably safe for your pets? No.

So, why do we see so many horror stories online about pet – cats mostly – and the use of essential oils? Like I said earlier, for the most part it is due to poor quality oils being used. But theres also misuse of oils. This is another reason I absolutely love animalEO – every single oil every single blend has been used in veterinary practice and Dr. Shelton provides directions for proper use, including form of application and dosage.

I read a few things from the ADR II on the live this morning (The Animal Desk Reference II of Essential Oils) which was written by Dr. Shelton. I read my copy cover to cover and now use it as a reference guide. 

One of the reasons we have to be so much more careful with EO’s – and well, everything else, really! – is because of your pet’s metabolism. Anything introduced to the body (your body, your dog’s body, your cat’s body, etc.) goes through a metabolic process through the liver. 

You and I as humans are much larger creatures than dogs and cats and can withstand poorer quality ingredients and increased exposure to all sorts of things such as drugs, alcohol, synthetic fragrances, chemical cleaners, essentials oils, etc.

Our pets are much smaller and their metabolic processes are a bit different. For example, as Dr. Shelton explains, a dog and a cat can be prescribed the same drug with dosing for their size and while the dog can metabolize that drug in about 9 hours, the cat takes 39 hours to do the same.

So, when we think about poor quality of ingredients, possibly even coupled with misuse of the oil, we can see why cats have become victims far too often when their humans choose cheap, poor quality essential oils (or synthetic fragrances, sometimes even disguised as EO’s). 

It’s heartbreaking to me every time I hear another story about a pet injured or killed due to a pet parent just not knowing, which is why I try so hard to put good information out in the hopes that it will help you – but also that you will pass it along.

I’m always here if you have questions!

You can find animalEO here: https://animaleo.info/

Kitty Boost: https://animaleo.info/shop/kittyboost/

Boost In A Bottle: https://animaleo.info/shop/boost-in-a-bottle/ 

Get your copy of the ADR II: https://amzn.to/3cS85Ct