Cats again!

[drummergirl410]

But he doesn't seem to like the pur sleep scents so I guess I do not have to worry about him ingesting them.

It is not just a matter of the cat ingesting the oils, having them in the air around the cat and the cat breathing them still accumulates in the cat's liver. I make my cats sleep outside my room now when I'm using my pursleep. I've also stopped using my plug in essential oil burner for that reason.

I've never tried the Pur sleep, but I wonder if the same is true for dogs!

[SleepingBeauty]

People are safe with EOs when used appropriately, but cats cannot metabolize them.

Here is a paste from one of the websites that discuss the issue:

The liver is most often the organ which is affected by essential oils. Cats' livers are simply not the same as humans' livers, and they lack the ability to properly metabolize the various compounds in essential oils.

I have not researched dogs, but I would imagine the article would mention them if they were similarly affected.

[Jirel]

I did some research on the essential oils danger to cats and found that the about.com article seems to be based on one article by one person on a site called lavendercat. She quotes a vetrinarian who has a lot of "MAY" in his speach (this is why I did more research).

It seems that the problem is that some essential oils are not pure and it is the byproducts that can cause toxicity to cats. I do not know how pure or not pure that the purrsleep oils are so they do remain a concern, however I saw at least one article on essential oil treatment on a cat with an enlarged heart, congestive heart failure and blood clots where the cat lived 2 years. Having had a cat who died from an enlarged heart and congestive heart failure I know that 2 years is a fantastic amount of time and obviously something was helping him more than just normal vetrinary care. But they used specially purified essential oils.

So the end result is that if you are using the oils in an enclosed room with cats you probably want to stop. If you are not using them in an enclosed room you probably want to cut down the use, one vetrinarian said that the cats would probably clear the oils out of their system in 48 hours and that you want to be very careful not use more than the recommended one drop in the diffuser.

Unfortunately, I close my bedroom door at night and have 3 cats. I may have to totally quit using the purrsleep that I just got which would be a shame as I really liked it. In the end, it is probably each individual's call. But you may want to watch your cats.

[Outlawswife]

Not our cats!!!! They LOVE their carrier -- it means we're going somewhere! All we do is tap the carrier and they both come running to get in. My problem isn't the machine anymore (one cat learned to turn it off!) my problem is the hose from the machine to me....can't see how the carrier will keep the cats from chewing on it at night!

[Organplayer]

You have talented cats Outlawswife. My cat sleeps and scratches at me when ready to eat. That is the extent of her talent.

[oceanpearl]

Wehnt out and got our cat a 6' tall, four story condo. She has been ignoring it for a month. My wife picked up a wooden cat, put it on top of the condo and now every time we go past the condo we play with the wooden cat, our cat "Sugar" is pissed and we are getting the evil eye.

[Babette]

DANG! So you're telling me my mom can sprinkle some EO's around her flowerbed and the neighbor's cats who dig there might croak? Oh dear... She tried leaving out dishes of antifreeze. Dad substituted "Safer" on her. She never could figure out why they didn't croak...

Yes, my mother loathes cats... Go ahead, turn her in! Isn't killing small animals how most serial killers start out?

LOL,
B.

[goose]

Babs -- that's terrible!!!!!! Thank goodness for your dad!!!!!

I don't use my pur-sleep in a closed room -- the whole house (windows, doors etc.) are open. I don't notice any behavior in the cats that would cause me alarm, but I guess I'll have to keep an eye on them (all 4 of them)......

I'm not totally convinced by the research, but it's always good to be cautious....

cheers
goose