Clove oil - a warning

[thecatneuterer]

A cat in our clinic had to be put to sleep today as it had been poisoned with clove oil. It had bad teeth and the owners thought it would help.

To be fair I had no idea it was poisonous to cats, but I know enough to never assume that just because something is safe for humans that it will also be safe for cats. I've also known people to give their cats paracetamol when they got cat flu (thankfully I found out about that through a fluke within about 40 minutes and so the cats were saved).

So anyway - if anyone should be tempted to try home remedies - be warned.

Thanks. I knew about paracetamol after stable cat consumed a vast amount (around 20 x 500mg) but not clove oil

I've heard tea tree oil is also toxic to cats? I use it occasionally on cold sores but make sure I scrub my hands afterwards.

That’s awful, but lots of essential oils are toxic to animals because of the levels of turpinols and phenols.

I bet the owners are in bits.

Poor cat . It's not a toxin I'd heard of but I can't bear cloves so would never put myself through that let alone a cat.
There are so many things ok for humans but not cats. Antiseptics e.g. TCP, Savlon etc contain something toxic to cats. We have Hibiscrub at home which can be diluted 1ml to 10ml water then rinsed off. Our lad likes starting fights..... Luckily rarely but the same cat who clearly always wins.