Skin Moisturizers

[thefiresidecat]

anyone know of any skin moisturizers are safe to use around kitties. so many of them have things like essential oils and what not which are toxic for kitties. and pretty much anything you use on you is getting used on kitties too by default. I'm afraid to use anything at this point. lol. bonus points for answers from vets and vet techs.

maybe it would just be helpful to get some ingredients to look for that are definitely bad to use around cats. other than all essential oils and grapeseed oil.

this is the ingredients of what I am currently using.
Colloidal Oatmeal (Oat Kernel Flour), Purified water, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dicetylphoshate, Ceteth-10 Phosphate, Isopropyl Myristate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Glucono Delta Lactone, Glyceryl Monolaurate, D-Panthenol, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA, Hydroxyethyl Behenamidopropyl Dimonium Chloride, Palmitic Acid, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Cholesterol, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Allantoin, Feruloyl Soy Glycerides, Glycyrrhizic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hydroxide, Menthol, Disodium EDTA

I am super paranoid when I do use it though and try to use gloves so none is on my hands. and try not to pet the cats or let them sit on me for a few hours after use. I just want to find something or get some kind of assurance that I'm not accidentally poisoning the cats by using moisturizers lol

 

[Columbine]

I think you're being a little over cautious here. I've never even thought about moisturisers being harmful to my cats, and they've always been just fine (other than sometimes taking offence to the smell ). So long as you've rubbed it in well (as in no visible streaks on your skin) they'll be just fine

Of course, if they decided to lick the moisturiser straight from the pack, that would be another matter. I can't imagine any cat doing that by choice though!

If you want to be extra careful, coconut oil is fantastic for your skin, and is totally safe for kitties, as is olive oil. Shea butter is too. There are loads of diy body butter recipes online which will work with a mix of those three as a base. It won't be scented, but it will be 100% safe

 

[thefiresidecat]

I know from pain creams cats have died even when it was rubbed in well. there are still residues that get in your cats fur. some things have a cumulative affect. this is one I really don't feel I'm being too cautious on. especially when it comes to essential oils.

ty for the tips though! and no scent is a good thing as far as I am concerned lol

 

[jtbo]

Olive oil works wonders, it can't be very harmful as it can be digested

 

[Columbine]

I know from pain creams cats have died even when it was rubbed in well. there are still residues that get in your cats fur. some things have a cumulative affect. this is one I really don't feel I'm being too cautious on. especially when it comes to essential oils.

ty for the tips though! and no scent is a good thing as far as I am concerned lol

Medicated pain creams and regular moisturisers are totally different things. The active ingredients in pain creams could easily be toxic, even in tiny amounts. There are many medications that are safe for us humans but lethal to cats. BIG difference.

Just trying to set your mind at rest here

 

[thefiresidecat]

they may be different but it highlights the the fact that we do need to be aware of what we are putting in our pets environment (as well as our own) there are a lot of things that are toxic in things we wear to cats. essential oils ARE super toxic for them. I know people who have had pets that died from them.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I do think you are worrying a bit more than necessary. Not that you shouldn't consider things; but I don't know that you have to make this a top concern unless one of your babies likes to say lick your freshly lotion covered legs.

I'm not a fan of essential oil use really. Having said that; I do not think it's very common that commercially prepared moisturizers are potent enough to harm our pets. It's more likely when people are diluting things themselves and/or making homemade products that you see issues.

It's a bit different; but when my cousin was pregnant with her baby she became almost obsessively concerned with each and every product she used. It's good to be aware of what is toxic to babies and pets (and ourselves); but at the same time we need to find a balance for our own sanity. (And I added a gentle reminder that "natural" isn't always so natural either. And natural doesn't equal safe.) I had to gently try to convince my cousin that the mental stress she was putting herself through agonizing over choices and ingredients wasn't any better for her baby than using a less-perfect lotion or shampoo. I don't use products with tea tree oil; but I do have some with lavender (like my deodorant) and I have some foot lotions with peppermint. I usually wash my hands after applying those anyway.

But my other moisturizers I do not overly worry. I use Bag Balm on my hands when they crack in the winter and the girls won't let me pet them. I don't blame them; it stinks! Otherwise I've used coconut oil and Udder Butter on my hands. I use Aveno as a body lotion. Eucerin in the colder months and my kids both get slathered in CeraVe. All of those were approved by my kid's Pediatrician while we've tried to sort through their eczema issues over the years.

 

[Draco]

I wouldn't worry too much either.

One of my cats love my moisturizer. She'd lick me clean after i use it. She'll even lick the bottle nozzle if I am not careful. Been years and no harm done.

Now if she ate the entire bottle, then I'd worry.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

thefiresidecat - I think it is perfectly reasonable to be concerned about the ingredients in cosmetics you use, and if any immediate or cumulative effect can become toxic to your cat if ingested.

There are all kinds of ingredients I wouldn't want to expose my cat to. You can search the web and find out if some which you list in your OP might affect your cat or pet.

Menthol, zinc (zinc oxide), salicylates and phenols, -- et cetera -- (yes, you can go nuts looking up things and adding them to your "No" List). But sometimes, better safe than sorry. Some ingredients are fine for humans, or even for humans and dogs, but cats can react badly to them. You just never know until you research it.

You can also use certain, less ideal products for your hair or face if your cat doesn't tend to lick those areas... but you can use a safer lotion or cream for your hands and body (if your cat licks your hands or arms a lot, for example). That's what I do. I buy unscented lotion and cream bulk bases from Welcome to Denham's Natural - The Finest Gift in Skin Care (they sell small jars or bottles, too).

 

[Mother Dragon]

This is an excellent list of plants that are or are not toxic to cats. I think we should all keep it handy because there are a lot of plants we'd never think of.

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats

Pet Poisons From A to Z: 26 Common Items That Are Dangerous to ...

 

[arouetta]

If you're really that concerned over skin moisturizer, go with baby stuff. Everything ends up in a baby's mouth so whatever's in the moisturizers is safe to ingest in small amounts.