Serious but Safe Aromatherapy for Animals KKNW (1150 AM) Radio Show, Seattle Talk With Your Animals February 21, 2006 at 5:00–6:00 PM (PDT) Host: Joy Turner with Guest Russell Louie, Optimum Choices, LLC

Introduction

Hi, today we’re talking with Russell Louie. Russell owns a holistic wellness business named Optimum Choices. He believes that if one cannot find time for health now, sooner or later one is obliged to find time for illness. He educates people on healthy choices for themselves and their pets. He shares his experience, knowledge and choices towards optimum health with a line of whole food products including BioPreparation algae for pets, therapeutic essential oils, and subtle energy modalities of Reiki and Bach Flower remedies.

Russell has studied holistic health and spirituality for over 25 years and lived a holistic lifestyle for over 50 years. He specializes in integrating his scientific background with his knowledge of holistic health to create wellness programs that promote optimum health for people and pets. Russell teaches classes in animal nutrition, natural pet care, aromatherapy, and Taoism (pronounced Dow' ism) in Denver. His education includes a degree in geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and he served as executive director, teacher and minister of the Creative Light Center in Golden from 1987-2000.

Optimum Choices specializes in offering optimum health care products and services for pets. Through their combined 75+ years of experience in the holistic health field, Optimum Choices recommends a select group of products they consider to be only the best. Their product offerings include BioPreparation algae for pets, Seacure^®, NingXia Red wolfberry juice, essential oils, and a fruit & vegetable product called Juice Plus. Services offered include aromatherapy treatments, Reiki for both people and pets, and Bach flower remedies. Contact Optimum Choices toll-free at 866-305-2306 or e-mail them at info@OptimumChoices.com or visit their website at www.OptimumChoices.com.

Today, he will be talking about serious aromatherapy and how to safely use essential oils on our companion animals.

Serious but Safe Aromatherapy for Animals

What do you mean by serious aromatherapy?

First , let me explain what serious aromatherapy is not. Serious aromatherapy is not putting essential oils in lamp rings sitting on top of light bulbs. Serious aromatherapy is not burning essential oils in candles. Serious aromatherapy cannot be obtained by using plug-in devices in your electrical outlet. The reason is that 70–90% of the therapeutic properties of essential oils are destroyed by heat and all the above mentioned applications use heat to disperse essential oils. I call the previously mentioned techniques fragrance therapy but not serious aromatherapy.

So, what is serious aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy has been around for over 5,000 years. There are over 175 text references in the Bible noting essential oil usage. During World War I & II, French doctors used essential oils for their antibacterial and wound-healing properties. In Europe today, only a trained and certified aromatherapist can administer essential oil treatments. Some European health insurance policies even pay for aromatherapy treatments. Now that is serious aromatherapy.

OK, now that you got my attention, what are essential oils and how do they work?

Essential oils are the aromatic liquid found within a plant that contains the plant’s DNA codes for healing, reproduction and protection. When a plant gets an infection from bacteria or fungus, it can’t go to the doctor or drugstore but must heal itself. If a leaf or stem should break off, it must cauterize the wound and regenerate new cells to heal. A plant must manufacture scents to attract bees for reproduction and repel predators. For plants, essential oils serve the same role as our human blood. Essential oils are nature’s medicine kit for plants.

So, how is Nature’s medicine kit applicable to our domesticated animals?

Wild animals will instinctually seek out certain plants and eat them for the plant’s healing properties. For instance, when bears exit their hibernation cycle in the spring they eat certain berries and plants to purge their bodies. When wild dogs, wolves, cats and horses are sick they seek out certain plants to eat in order to get well. I am sure you have observed cats eating grass then throwing up. As we domesticated animals, they lost most of this instinct and their access to wild plants. By giving essential oils to our pets when they are ill, we provide them access to nature’s medicine chest.

So, how would I introduce essential oils to my animals?

It is important to introduce animals to essential oils with a positive experience. It is always best to let the animal smell the oil first before using, then watch for signs of acceptance such as wanting to lick the oil, rubbing against you or appearing wide-eye and bushy tailed. Signs the animal dislikes the oil are turning their head away, sneezing or snorting, panting, drooling, pacing and whining. If an animal is already fearful from people, loud noises such as thunderstorms or in pain or shock, that is not a good time to introduce a new essential oils because the connection of the new scent with the fearful experience will be imprinted on the animal. Always introduce the oil first when the animal is calm then later when the fearful event occurs you can bring the oil out again and remind your animal of its first calm experience with that scent.

How would I apply essential oils on my animals?

The easiest and safest application is to apply the essential oils around the animal’s environment not on them. Remember, animals have a sense of smell 50-100 times stronger than humans. I like putting essential oils on cotton balls and leaving them around the room where animals frequent. One can spray essential oils on the animal’s bedding. If one is trained in animal aromatherapy, one can apply the oils directly to their paws and body. Never put essential oils on an animal’s nose or snout. This takes away their freedom of choice and is intrusive in my opinion. If an animal doesn’t like the scent, they can’t wash it off themselves.

Can I use essential oils straight out of the bottle?

Most companion animals have considerably less body mass than an adult human so I always use diluted essential oils. The rule-of-thumb I use for small animals is to start with a 3–4% dilution: that is 1 drop essential oil to 24 drops of carrier oil or 24 drops essential oil to one ounce carrier oil. The carrier oil can be any non-scented nut or vegetable oil used for massage such as sweet almond, sesame, jojoba or hazelnut oil. Of course, olive oil works too. For giant breed dogs, one can use a slightly stronger dilution, say 5-7%. Horses can tolerate a greater strength and sometimes even undiluted essential oils.

What essential oils can I use on my dog?

Essential oils can have a very profound effect on shelter, rescue and adopted dogs. They help the dog bond with the new owner after such a traumatic experience. I like lavender and chamomile oils for their calming effects. Try putting some diluted lavender oil on the back of your hand or a cotton ball in the room. Then affectionately pet or brush your dog to bond with it. Now the next time a stressful situation arises like a vet visit, car trip or thunderstorm, get out the diluted lavender oil and reinforce the bonding and calming experience. Lavender with a blend of valerian, vetiver, petitgrain, sweet marjoram or sweet orange are good for calming and relieving the stress for show dogs.

Like humans, lemongrass is good for cruciate ligaments and joint injuries. For arthritis a diluted anti-inflammatory blend of peppermint, cypress, juniper berry and lavender is good.

Tea tree oil, also known as melaleuca, is excellent for healing sores, insect bites and repelling insects.

For an insect repellent, one can use a mixture of 10 drops each of citronella, eucalyptus globulus and peppermint in an 8 ounce spray bottle with water. Remember to shake the bottle vigorously before each application since essential oils and water do not readily mix.

Another recipe from Sandra Topper, a trained aromatherapists in Canada, is 30 drops lavender, 20 drops geranium, 30 drops Tea Tree oil, and 16 drops of citronella oil with 4 ounces of water and one-half ounce of vodka. Mix this recipe in a spray bottle and shake before using as an insect and mosquito repellant.

Can I use the same essential oils on my cat?

One must be really cautious with cats. Cat’s livers do not have the necessary enzymes to break down and excrete certain chemical compounds in essential oils. The chemical compounds, therefore, accumulate in a cat's body and are sometimes toxic to the point of death. Cats are very sensitive to “hot” spice oils containing phenols, such as oregano, thyme, cinnamon (cassia), clove, and savory. A second compound to avoid would be ketones that are found in sage oil. A third group to avoid are the monoterpene hydrocarbons of pinene and limonene. These compounds are found in the citrus and pine oils, such as lemon, orange, tangerine, mandarin, grapefruit, lime, bergamot, pine, spruce, and any fir oil. That is why many anti-scratching remedies have citrus oils in them because cats instinctually don’t like the scent.

Many household cleaners and even pet products have these latter substances in them to make them smell nice to the owners so be cautious. After using a product with citrus or pine scents it would be best to let the area dry and air out before a cat walks on the surface. Symptoms of a toxic buildup include being despondent, clumsy, uncoordinated, partially paralyzed, vomiting, drooling or in a daze. The diagnosis for toxic poisoning is a blood test that shows elevated liver enzymes. It is best to seek a veterinarian's care if toxic poisoning is suspected.

I like to keeps things simple for cats and use just the gentler essential oils like lavender or chamomile for their calming effects and rose or geranium for their healing effects on the skin. For arthritis and joint problems, I prefer to use homeopaths instead of the stronger essential oils.

It sounds like one really needs to be cautious when using essential oils around cats?

This is certainly a subject for debate amongst aromatherapists. I don’t think there is enough research yet to conclusively prove essential oils are totally safe for cats. So, I would rather err on the side of caution rather than take a chance of causing long-term liver damage to my cat. Many aromatherapist state that they have been using essential oils on their cats for years without any harmful effects. I think a more accurate statement would be they have used essential oils on their cats with many visible short-term benefits but the long-term side effects are still unknown. How does one know if each application of essential oil has decreased a cat’s liver capacity by a minute 1-2% each application? Each person needs to make their own decision.

Do you use essential oils on your cats?

I prefer to use hydrosols on my cats rather than essential oils. Hydrosols are the by-products of essential oil distillation. Hydrosols are the distilled water that is left after the essential oils are filtered out from the distillation process. The safer compounds have an affinity for water and are safe for cats. The caustic compounds, such as the phenols and ketones, do not appear in hydrosols but stay in the essential oils themselves. There are no known case histories of hydrosols causing toxicity in cats. Hydrosols of chamomile and a combination of rose, lavender, geranium and neroli are known to have a claming effect on cats. Wounds can be cleaned with diluted lavender, rose, geranium, and chamomile oil or their hydrosols. Itching can be alleviated using witch hazel, rose, lavender or German chamomile.

If one chooses to use essential oils around cats, what precautions should one take?

We have a chart entitled Essential Oils to Avoid on Cats on our website www.OptimumChoices.com. Here are some rules that I would personally follow when using any of these oils:

1. If I use any of the oils in the charts on myself or around the house, I keep the cats away for at least one hour. I never diffuse in the air any of the oils in the charts or blends containing these oils around cats. This is very important. When using a blend always look on the label for the individual essential oils it contains.

2. I never keep cats in an enclosed area when diffusing oils. I always keep a window open or put the cat in a different part of the house.

3. If I want to use essential oils on cats, I always use a highly diluted formula with essential oils. A 1% dilution would be one drop of essential oil to 99 drops of carrier oil. When in doubt I use hydrosols instead of essential oils on cats. Hydrosols are water-based, gentler and much easier to tolerate.

4. When using cleaning products with the above essential oils, especially citrus or pine, I keep the cats away and off the floor until it dries. I make sure I rinse and dry the surface as thoroughly as possible.

What about birds?

Birds are even more sensitive to essential oils than cats. One owner applied one drop of Tea Tree oil to a bleeding blood feather on her lovebird. Within ten minutes the bird collapsed on the bottom of the cage. Fortunately, the vet was able to revive the lovebird. Another owner applied full strength Tea Tree oil to a minor abrasion on a cockatiel’s foot. The bird became depressed and developed respiratory distress. Despite all efforts by an avian vet the bird died within 24 hours. The best recommendation I have is to use hydrosols only and in highly diluted form in the bird’s water like a homeopathic remedy. Suzanne Catty’s book Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy [see www.OptimumChoices.com\books.htm] has some excellent recipes for common bird ailments. Most of them call for using 2–4 drops of a hydrosol in a bowl of fresh water for the bird.

Can one use all essential oils on our pets?

That’s a really good question. Since the early aromatherapy research was mostly done on horses and dogs there are more case studies for those species. Because of the resurgence in aromatherapy today, our other domestic animals such as cats, birds, hamsters, gerbils, etc. are now being exposed to essential oils and our volume of case histories is accumulating. Through my research I have found many cases of adverse reactions to essential oils among cats, birds and smaller animals. So, I think we need to separate aromatherapy on horses and dogs from aromatherapy on cats, birds and other smaller mammals.

Any other special steps you would take when using essential oils on animals?

In addition to the oils on our chart at our website, I would also avoid stimulating oils of peppermint, rosemary, melaleuca (Tea Tree), spearmint, ravensara and eucalyptus unless in highly diluted form. It is also recommended to avoid rosemary on dogs that are prone to seizures or with epilepsy. It is not recommended to use essential oils on medium to large breed puppies younger than eight weeks. For small or toy breed puppies wait at least until they are older than ten weeks. When in doubt use the gentler hydrosols (by-products of essential oil distillation) on puppies instead of essential oils.

Here are some more general rules for all animals:

1. It is best to avoid the “hot” spice oils such as oregano, thyme, cinnamon (cassia), clove, and savory. I know oil of Oregano is a very beneficial oil for humans to support bacterial infections, fungus, parasites and candida conditions but I would use extreme caution when using oregano essential oil on or around animals.

2. Only use oils of birch and wintergreen in highly diluted form and sparingly due to the fact they have methyl salicylate a compound similar to Aspirin.

3. Only use therapeutic-grade melaleuca or Tea Tree oil that has been certified to meet the Australian standards. Many cheaper melaleuca oils are not tested for their content of cineole and terpinen and can have a caustic effect on the skin.

How do you determine what essential oil to use on animals?

Rather than assume a certain protocol or suggested oil is good for an animal I always test the essential oil first before using it. I introduce the essential oil to the animal by letting them sniff it and watch for signs of acceptance as mentioned before. I also use kinesiology with a human surrogate tester for the animal. I also use a dowsing pendulum or one of the many electronic radionic devices for testing oils safe for animals.

What is unique about essential oils from Optimum Choices versus what I can buy in the store?

Optimum Choices only offers therapeutic-grade essential oils. 98% of all essential oils produced are not therapeutic grade. Most of these essential oils are used in the fragrance or perfume industry. They have not undergone the rigorous growing restrictions and passed a gas chromatograph test to insure the purity and chemical content. Because the FDA does not consider essential oils to be of therapeutic value they are regulated by the perfume laws. A majority of the store-bought oils are not therapeutic-grade but will still say “100% pure essential oil” on the label. This does not guarantee that all the oil in the bottle is pure essential oils by volume. What it means is that the bottle contains anywhere from 5–95% pure essential oils and the other 95–5% can be a non-scented carrier oil and they don’t have to specify this on the label. For therapeutic results, always look for the words “therapeutic” or therapeutic-grade” on the label. Of course, the therapeutic-grade essential oils will be more expensive.

So, we can get the essential oils from you. Do you also supply the hydrosols?

I have a few bottles of the common ones, namely lavender and chamomile, in stock but they are getting harder to get. You see, hydrosols are also used in personal care products like people shampoo and lotions. I can recommend a line of hydrosols for cats from AromaCat.com. They make three hydrosol products specifically for cats called Catnap (calming), Purrfect Ears (waxy ears and ear mites) and Meow Ouch (antibacterial and anti-inflammatory as well as calming formula). You can order directly from the supplier at www.AromaCat.com or www.AromaDog.com and tell them Optimum Choices sent you.
For more information on Optimum Choices and essential oils, you can go to Russell’s website at www.OptimumChoices.com. From their Home page just click on the Products button at the top and then on the Essential Oils button on the left menu. You can also call toll-free 866-305-2306 or email them at info@OptimumChoices.com.

Thank you, Joy, for this opportunity to serve our companion animals.