Lavender is one of the most prominent things one can find in every house, herbal cures, oils, skincare products, and wellness therapies. Even you will find it in the kitchen cabinet. This shows how useful and aromatic this plant is, the major concern any cat parent would have, is lavender toxic to cats?
This question must have been raised by almost 80% of feline parents! And that’s why we are here to give you all the answers. One thing is for sure, lavender is toxic to cats. Now lets us know how why and what can you do!
Is Lavender Safe for Cats?
The short answer is no, lavender is not safe for cats. In fact, lavender can be lethal for cats.it contains linalool and linalyl acetate, both of which are harmful to cats. Lavender in any form, fresh or dried lavender sprigs, is harmful to cats. It can cause dizzy spells, nausea, a low heart rate, or respiratory distress.
This might make you quite sad! That how can flower which is proven to decrease anxiety in humans can have such a negative effect on the health of cats. Unfortunately, lavender is toxic for cats.
Lavender in any form, either its plants or even as an essential oil, is dangerous for cats. So you need to think twice before even assuming It.
Clinical Signs of Lavender Toxicity in Cats
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has stated that lavender is toxic to cats due to the contains, linlool and linalyl.
Now, you might just think that there are various forms of lavender, so are all of them toxic to cats? Well sadly yes lavender of almost all types is unsafe for cats!
Though, the level of toxicity differs. Since lavender is so popular for its calming and relaxing vibes, you will find this in oils, soaps, kitchen cabinets, soaps and sachets, herb gardens, diffusers, and even medicine chests.it will be difficult to find out from where your cat will come in contact!
But if you find the following symptoms in your cat, then it means she has consumed lavender, let’s have a deep look at it:
- Drooling
- Difficulty in breathing
- Vomiting
- Lethargy
- Lack of appetite
- Muscle tremors
- Pawing along face and mouth
- Redness on skin, lips, and tongue
If you notice that your cat is suddenly facing such symptoms, majorly drooling, difficulty in breathing lethargy you need to take her to the vet ASAP! Your cat’s vet will give her IV fluids and anti-vomiting medication, most of the time this works and there is less to be worried about.
The other physical signs your cat might show are dizzy spells, nausea, respiratory distress, and a low heart rate this can be not so prominent in cats, and you can get confused.
However, it might get difficult in such a case to detect that what is wrongs with your cat and if it’s only because of lavender poisoning!
Don’t you worry, dear cat parents! We have an effective way for you to identify this dilemma! If your cat is drooling excessively or licking her mouth too much, it’s a red flag for you that something is wrong, an indication of lavender poisoning.
Diagnosis & Treatment: Lavender Toxicity in Cats
Once you come to the conclusion that your cat has accidentally eaten lavender and the symptoms of lavender poisoning in cats are pretty clear.
You need to contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). They will guide you if you can treat her with home remedies, or she needs to be taken to the vet.
If you notice that your cat has eaten a lavender plant, the only appropriate thing for poison control that needs to be done is to induce vomit, but we would suggest you not do it.
The only case where you can rely on home treatment is if lavender oil or in any such liquid form drops onto your cat’s fur/skin. What you should do is: give a good bath to your cat with a mild cat or cat-friendly shampoo in warm water. You need to give her a bath as soon as possible, don’t delay even for seconds.
How to Keep Your Cat Away from Lavender?
Our cats are very skittish in nature, always ready to be on an invisible mission to explore each and every corner of the house, not just that they will sniff even around the neighbors’ house!
That’s cats for you! We agree that it’s in their blood to act as lord of the house, and no one can stop them from doing so!
Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry! Being a responsible cat parent, you need to make sure that your house is cat-proof! If we talk specifically about plants such as lavender, it might be a pain for you to accept the facts that lavender is toxic to cats!
What you need to do to keep your cats away from lavender:
Keep lavender out of your home: is lavender toxic to cats? The relationship between cats and lavender is not so good!
Yes, it is! Once you know this fact, it’s your responsibility to keep this plant out of your home or not even in your backyard, as cats spend half of their time around such places.
Avoid growing it in your backyard, skip using any forms of lavender in shampoos, soaps, oil form, perfumes, air fresheners.
If you are someone who loves to grow stuff in their garden but also owns a cat, we have some cat-friendly plant options for you, Keep cat-friendly plants that cats love like catnip, oat grass (cat grass), and grow herbs like valerian, Cat’s Claw, and licorice root.
Lavender-based skin products: if you use soaps, shampoos, or lavender-based essential oils, we won’t ask you to quit them because it is one of the best beauty elements industries love to add to beauty products! But we can’t even ignore the fact that lavender is toxic to cats!
Learn to hide such products in cupboards that are strictly unreachable by our cats!
Avoid lavender essential oils and sprays: This is something which you really need to quit if you love your cats because definitely one of the major reasons for using essential oils and sprays is their mesmerizing fragrance.
And even if you will use it in other parts of your home, it won’t be possible to keep the smell away from your cat’s nose! So we would suggest you all strictly avoid using such elements in your home.
Conclusion
Is lavender toxic to cats? Yes, without any second thought, it’s true. This truth can be hard to digest, but the two that contain lavender are linlool and linalyl acetate, which is lethal for cats. So the bottom line is you need to avoid it, not keeping lavender in your home is the best option.
If your cat comes in contact with lavender oil, you might save a trip to the vet by bathing your cat with mild or cat-friendly shampoo! Rest in case of consumption, you need to contact the vet!
References
- Essential Oils for Pets – Medicine or Toxin? — PetMD
- Lavender Poisoning in Cats — Wag Walking
- Household Hazards — AVMA