Are Essential Oils with Cats Safe?

Have you heard all the hoopla about essential oils and cats? Some people make it sound like your furry friend will drop dead if they so much as look at a bottle of essential oil.

I don't know about you, but whenever I see something that seems extreme-- I research it. Often I find it has some roots in truth, but there is a whole lot of gray involved too. 

So let's talk! 

Can you really use essential oils around cats? 

Litter Robot Self Cleaning Litter Box Review

I don't know about you, but I love my cats and I hate clean those darn litter boxes. Seriously, what happens in their bodies to get their poop to smell like that?!

Maybe you've tried other "smart" or "self cleaning" litter boxes-- I know I have! What a joke, right?! My favorites were the rake and the sifter which both made me want to vomit when I cleaned the excrement from the teeny gaps and holes! Gross! But there are so many other options like the chemical crap storm washable litter, the cradle of filth box, train your cat to use a toilet nightmare and the topsy-turvy poop mixer. What amazing selections!

For over a decade, I've been searching for the answer to the litter box problem, but time and time again I would just go back to the old fashion scoopable litter box. But when Leo (the lazy) started having urinary problems, my vet told me that making sure he had an "extremely" clean litter box was critical for his health. In fact, the consequences of another urinary problem would be chopping of what remained of his manhood. I don't know about you, but I think he would want to keep that!

So, here I am scooping the litter box 4 times a day so my cat can keep his penis. I'm so generous. And tired. Of Poop.

Bad Breath Busting Biscuit for your Dog (Grain Free)

I have a confession.

My dog likes to eat horrible things like vomit. It's so gross!!! He doesn't care if it's his own or the cat's upchunkings but he wants it. BAD. Needless to say his breath is less than desirable at time.

That's why I created the Puppy Peppermint Bad Breathe Biscuits. They are even grain-free for your paleo or gluten sensitive pup and it helps to clean his teeth and freshen his breath. Not to mention he goes crazy over them!

6 Natural Recipes to Support Your Dog's Health

Since I've started using essential oils I've been researching ways to use them for my dog, Hercules. We've made DIY dog shampoo, flea collars, deodorizers, aging support, itchy spots relief and more.

Today I wanted to share with you some of our recipes that have helped Hercules and his doggie friends, Roma and Rudy. I recommend this brand of essential oil because it is recommended by holistic veterinarians! 

When using essential oils, the amount used should be based upon the dog's weight. All of these recipes are for dogs who weight 60+ pounds. If you have a smaller dog, please use a larger dilution ratio by doubling the amount of carrier oils or water in the recipes. These recipes are not intended for other pets, including cats. Some of these oils can cause liver toxicity in our feline friends if applied directly to their bodies-- so dogs only please! Never use tea tree on a cat-- very small amounts can be fatal.

I recommend ONLY this brand of essential oil! 

DIY Dog Shampoo

This shampoo can be helpful to support the skin and coat.

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoons of castile soap
• ¼ tsp vitamin E
• 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 3 drops of lavender essential oil
• 2 drops of Roman chamomile 
• 2 drops of Purification
• 1 drops of cedar wood 
• optional: 2 drops of citronella 

Mix all of this together in a glass jar (an oil dispenser works fabulously). It is watery, but use it like you would normal doggie shampoo. It doesn't suds very much, but it's gentle and very effective. A big bonus is that your dog will smell absolutely amazing for days! 

Deodorizing Collar for Dogs

• ⅓ cup of purified water
• 2 drops of citronella 
• 2 drops lavender
• 2 drops purification 
• 2 drops peppermint

Mix together the recipe in a small bowl and soak your dog's collar in the liquid. Be careful not to submerge any plastic pieces (essential oils can degrade plastic). Cotton or natural fiber collars are best for this recipe. 

Let the collar dry and then put it on your pooch! Instant awesomeness collar! Yay! And he will also smell wonderful!! I usually save my liquid by putting it into a mason jar and using it to soak his collar about every two weeks. No need to waste, right!?

No Sew Cat Toy with Catnip

I have three cats and one of them is FAT. We call him Fatticus, Fatty McFatterson, Fatty Mcbeal, Chubby Kitty and all sorts of names that if he understood he'd probably hate us and be horribly scarred. Luckily, he doesn't understand English. Well, except "Are you hungry?" He understands that.

Meet Leo, the Lazy. That's his official "on the record" name anyways. 

We've put him on a diet, we've been playing with him more and he lost a little bit of weight, but not enough! So our goal has been to get him to exercise!! We have tried a bunch of toys, but he is fancy and only like the really expensive toys that use batteries and move. Unless it's a string. He looovveesss strings.

We been trying to find something (anything!) to get him moving around to drop some more weight. To help him get a little more interested in play time, I thought I'd reinvent some of his old cat toys. Especially the ones that aren't very popular because maybe I can bring them to life with a little Overthrow Martha pizzazz. So, of course, I started with the lamest toy: those cheap $0.99 little plastic balls with the bell inside that no cat ever likes. 

It's time for a plastic cat ball make over!! 

BarkBox Review: Monthly "Samples" of Dog Treats/Toys

My dog, Hercules, is such a happy dog and he gets sooooo excited when he gets a treat or new toy. When I heard about BarkBox I thought that this would be perfect for him! When you sign up you will receive a box every month that has treats, toys, or chews that are healthy products and they try to make sure the majority of their products are made in the USA. They even make a point to try to send natural or organic products, although not all of the items will fit into this category.

It's a really good deal when you buy a subscription because the amount of things you get in one box would cost more than the box itself.  They even give 10% of their earnings to charities for help pups in need.

This was our June BarkBox-- the cat was even jealous! We received a full back of Natural "Puptato Chips" ($5), Calm K-9 wafers ($13), Organic WholeLife Trail Mix Treats ($6), Bowser Beer ($3), and a huge meaty bone ($7). Total Value: $34, Total Cost: $19.99 with free shipping.

It's definitely a good value... but does it have good quality items my dog would actually like?

Let's take a look...

He was so focused on that bag. He knew that delicious things were inside! He loved it! 

Cat Drama and Kitty Prozac

Leo, the chill new cat

In November I adopted a new kitten my parents rescued. He's pretty darn cute, I named him Leo, but I call him "Little Dude". He's laid back, affectionate, sweet, super lazy and has a huge personality.

The problem is that my other cat, Sadie, has a huge personality as well... and according to the vet--apparently some mental disorders, too.

Yes, mental disorders. I have a crazy kitty! Figures.

Anyways, I took her to the vet today because we have been having some aggression towards towards the new cat which I just couldn't figure out. She would be nice to him sometimes. She would cuddle with him sometimes. She would share food with him sometimes. And other times-- she would just kick his ass. And by kicking his ass I mean attempted murder.

I consulted a behavior specialist and she said, "Oh, put him in a crate and let her walk around him to get use to him." Hahahaha. Ridiculous. In a 5 minute time span she went from "I don't care about you" to "I want to kill you" to "let's play!". Seriously, she has issues.

I tried positive reinforcement around him. When he was around was the only time she got treats, she played with her favorite toys or she got any wet food. She liked that and she was nice to him for those things, but as soon as it was over... bam! bam! bam!

I tried those fancy calming collars and sprays. They helped the cats who were already calm, but Sadie-- it made her more high strung.

Sadie, the bipolar kitty

This is Sadie and she looks mean, right?! The man says she looks like she is debating on killing me for  taking her picture. However, she is actually a really sweet cat. She's playful, affectionate, and extremely loyal. She has always been a bit tense and high strung. She runs away from everything... a lot. She loves to hide if anything different happens. She's a routine kind of girl.

The man thought that maybe she was so mean to Leo because we closed the doors to the bedrooms. Random idea right? That's what I thought, but I'm desperate. I opened all the doors. It worked.

IT WORKED. Opening the doors made her nice. IT WORKED.

Me = shocked

The moment we opened up every door was the moment she started being nicer. She still isn't all hugs and kisses, but she only attacked him once today and they've been out together all day. Major, MAJOR progress. She is still staring at him like she hates him, but hey-- you can't ask for miracles.

Anyways, I took her to the vet today and she was diagnosed with OCD, anxiety and depression. I can call her crazy because I have OCD and anxiety, too and I call myself crazy all the time. They say that owners and their pets resemble each other, right? So true.

So the vet has given me kitty prozac. She said that she thinks that it will benefit Sadie in the long run. I had research this option on the web and there really wasn't that much information about it so I thought I'd write about it for all you cat lovers who have a mentally and emotionally challenged feline.

The kitty prozac took a week to really kick in and then Sadie was all lovey dovey. She was licking the boy's face, cuddling with him on the sofa and they were playing. It was like a miracle.

I kept her on it for a month straight and then slowly weaned her down the following month with no changes. She and Leo are still buddies! Yay!

I LOVE kitty prozac!