Replied By Mary (Stavanger, Norway) on 04/27/2009
Tea Tree Oil is an absolute no-no for cats. And Pointsettia should be upgraded to extremely dangerous: our cat was on a drip for two days following ingestion of a small bit of dried up leaf. Apparently grapes (and raisins) are also deadly - we once had a cat who was passionate about fruit cake! This last info comes from FAB - the British charity dedicated to Feline welfare (fabcats.co.uk) where you will find lots of useful information on 'cat management' - and poisons.Replied By Jaxomsride (Leeds, England) on 03/04/2010
We have used tea tree oil as a topical application to treat wounds and to bathe our cats in order to treat fleas. The tea tree oil has always been dilute and has never had any harmful effect on them.On the other hand my husband who has been sensitised to it does react badly if he comes in contact with it. It might be the cats who have found it "toxic" have either been given it in its concentrated form, or like my husband have had an extreme allergic reaction.
Replied By Stacey (Pittsburgh, Pa) on 12/22/2011
I find this strange that tea tree oil is toxic. I have a product called Bitter Barrier made with tea tree oil for dogs AND cats that I used to stop the cats from eating our artificial Xmas tree. I used it a lot and they actually got used to it and continued chewing on it and they never had ANY side effects??Replied By Julie (Indianapolis, In Indiana) on 04/11/2012
You may not see any symptoms but the toxicity stays in their system and builds up in their liver over time poisoning your beloved pet and then one day your cat won't eat and has become ill for no apparent reason. Please check the list of poisons before using any essential oil even on yourself. You will find out that all essential oils are poisonous to your cat.