Background: I'm not an overly Paranoid Pet Owner (which you can tell from a lot of product reviews, there's a lot of them out there.) I just like to be informed with the REAL facts, not just opinions.
Years ago I switched from real Fir trees for Christmas to artificial. Since then I was on a mission to find a scent that smelled like real Xmas trees. I mean REALLY, like fresh cut, fresh fir sap, smell. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be as everything I tried had a Foresty/Christmasy smell but not just a plain old fresh cut tree smell without smelling artificial.
I hit the jackpot when I tried the pure natural Balsam Fir Oil from Target (under their own brand). Bingo! Smelled like a true real fresh cut tree and nothing else! But it was pain to remember to drip a few drops on the tree everyday and it didn't even last the whole day. So I found the US Company Scent Fill which makes all natural oils that fit in the Airwick plug-in heat diffuser. The set came with the Sycamore Fir and the Fraser Fir+Balsam pine scents. The latter came close but not as true to a tree smell as the Target oil but I figured heck, it's close enough so plugged it in the corner behind the tree on the lowest setting. Makes the scent around the tree noticeable but you don't smell it if you are more than 10 feet from the tree. Even if I leave the house for part of the day and come back, I don't smell it when I walk in from the garage.
To try to make a long story less long, bottom line, does the Airwick with natural fir/pine (no phthalates) oils pose a significant health hazard to cats if the smell isn't that strong throughout your house? The cat does sleep at about the edge (10-12 ft away) of where the Airwick his so I'm sure a tiny tiny amount of oil is problem in his fur (but he doesn't smell like the oil.) I can't imagine how many pet owners use the other artificial scents with the chemicals in their homes to cover up odors. Is having some pine/fir trace oil in the air harmful or is the risk negligible compared to the cat actually ingesting pin needles or drinking from the water bowl of a live tree? Maybe best to ask the Vet but my gut says even they may not have a true idea.
Interesting that this article seems to advocate using the reed diffuser method saying the heat diffusers release more chemicals. I wonder though if that holds true for natural oils without any phthalates?
Essential Oils for Cats: Benefits, Risks, & Considerations
My gut is telling me the real risk is in more direct exposure such as eating/drinking substances/liquids with these oils in them and a diffuser without phthalates set on a low settings may at worst make the cat want to stay out of the immediate area of the diffuser?
Years ago I switched from real Fir trees for Christmas to artificial. Since then I was on a mission to find a scent that smelled like real Xmas trees. I mean REALLY, like fresh cut, fresh fir sap, smell. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be as everything I tried had a Foresty/Christmasy smell but not just a plain old fresh cut tree smell without smelling artificial.
I hit the jackpot when I tried the pure natural Balsam Fir Oil from Target (under their own brand). Bingo! Smelled like a true real fresh cut tree and nothing else! But it was pain to remember to drip a few drops on the tree everyday and it didn't even last the whole day. So I found the US Company Scent Fill which makes all natural oils that fit in the Airwick plug-in heat diffuser. The set came with the Sycamore Fir and the Fraser Fir+Balsam pine scents. The latter came close but not as true to a tree smell as the Target oil but I figured heck, it's close enough so plugged it in the corner behind the tree on the lowest setting. Makes the scent around the tree noticeable but you don't smell it if you are more than 10 feet from the tree. Even if I leave the house for part of the day and come back, I don't smell it when I walk in from the garage.
To try to make a long story less long, bottom line, does the Airwick with natural fir/pine (no phthalates) oils pose a significant health hazard to cats if the smell isn't that strong throughout your house? The cat does sleep at about the edge (10-12 ft away) of where the Airwick his so I'm sure a tiny tiny amount of oil is problem in his fur (but he doesn't smell like the oil.) I can't imagine how many pet owners use the other artificial scents with the chemicals in their homes to cover up odors. Is having some pine/fir trace oil in the air harmful or is the risk negligible compared to the cat actually ingesting pin needles or drinking from the water bowl of a live tree? Maybe best to ask the Vet but my gut says even they may not have a true idea.
Interesting that this article seems to advocate using the reed diffuser method saying the heat diffusers release more chemicals. I wonder though if that holds true for natural oils without any phthalates?
Essential Oils for Cats: Benefits, Risks, & Considerations
My gut is telling me the real risk is in more direct exposure such as eating/drinking substances/liquids with these oils in them and a diffuser without phthalates set on a low settings may at worst make the cat want to stay out of the immediate area of the diffuser?