Pets and affects of Aromatherapy?

Last night while I was reading in bed I decided to light my little lamp filled with water and a few drops of lavender oil within 15 mins the whole room smelled of lavender then about 20 mins into it my one cat went completely bananas running back and forth from my bed to the floor and meowing very loudly it started to freak me out because she doesn't usually act that way and she wouldn't stop.
I had my boyfriend remove her from the room to play with her but she kept coming back running back and forth like a maniac! I ended up blowing out the lamp in fear of it being the cause of her mania then she stopped and came and laid on me very shortly afterward. The whole incident was strange so I have to wonder...
Is this just a coincidence or can certain oil scents affect pets?

p.s. this was the first time I ever used oils in my home so the cats do not know the scent although they are used to incense which burn for at least 6 hours a day in my house.

[Tobi]

I don't know.
My only thought is that animals have a much stronger sense of smell than humans. A cat's sense of smell, though not as acute as a dog's is still more sensitive than a human's.
What could have happened is that the scent filled the room -for you. For her, it could have been so overpowering she found it hard to breathe....yet you say you regularly burn incense, and that doesn't upset her?
Lavender is supposed to be a calming scent, safe for animals, but maybe the perfume was just too strong?

That is what I find so confusing I light 3 incense sticks in a room thats 12x8 feet it gets very cloudy from the smoke because I have a blanket over the doorway and she stays in there the whole time with me. The bedroom I had the oil lamp in is much bigger plus I had the door open and my boyfriend removed her from the room multiple times brought her downstairs but she kept coming back to run wild in the bedroom. Maybe lavender has different affects on cats I got it to relax and she did the exact opposite!

I believe aromatherapy affects pets. Althouogh I haven't come across a lot of that yet (written material about what smells affect what animals and how). Mind you, i haven't spent a lot of time looking.

I have a nebulizer and when i'm sick i'll put in this "breathe ease" oil that's a mix of eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, cypress and lemon. One of my dogs LOVE it. He'll come and smell the vapors often. The other dog doesn't seem to care either way LOL

[Tobi]

I used to sometimes burn Frankincense in the room (not a joss stick, but the resin, on a charcoal, or sometimes with a hot poker on a large rock) My dog didn't mind a tiny bit but not too much smoke. It made her sneeze. She was an outside kind of fresh-air-dog, so I stopped burning any incense when I was with her in the evenings. When she went to bed upstairs, I would burn it downstairs then.
She didn't mind lavender, but in very very small amounts indeed.
She adored the smell of Echinacea! (which is an anti-microbial herb, not used as incense)

You could maybe try Catnip? If you can get it as an essential oil....try her with a couple of drops of that added to water in a burner. Cats just love Catnip! It seems to excite them and soothe them at the same time!

[Passionforthisearth]

I know my mom uses a certain combination of essential oils on my cat (who she is taking care of at the moment) to keep fleas away (she read about it online). It seems to work well and it doesn't seem to affect the cat at all. It smells really nice when you pet the cat. *shrug*

Originally Posted by bubblecup

I believe aromatherapy affects pets. Althouogh I haven't come across a lot of that yet (written material about what smells affect what animals and how). Mind you, i haven't spent a lot of time looking.

I have a nebulizer and when i'm sick i'll put in this "breathe ease" oil that's a mix of eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, cypress and lemon. One of my dogs LOVE it. He'll come and smell the vapors often. The other dog doesn't seem to care either way LOL

Oh I want to try that oil is it by AromaLand? I have been so sick lately I can't smell ): That's so cute your dog loves it haha I wonder if my cat got a catnip sorta high from the lavender, how strange would that be?!

Originally Posted by Tobi

I used to sometimes burn Frankincense in the room (not a joss stick, but the resin, on a charcoal, or sometimes with a hot poker on a large rock) My dog didn't mind a tiny bit but not too much smoke. It made her sneeze. She was an outside kind of fresh-air-dog, so I stopped burning any incense when I was with her in the evenings. When she went to bed upstairs, I would burn it downstairs then.
She didn't mind lavender, but in very very small amounts indeed.
She adored the smell of Echinacea! (which is an anti-microbial herb, not used as incense)

You could maybe try Catnip? If you can get it as an essential oil....try her with a couple of drops of that added to water in a burner. Cats just love Catnip! It seems to excite them and soothe them at the same time!

Oh yeah she loves her catnip that is actually exactly how she was acting just like she rolled in some catnip haha it was amusing but I get worried and I didn't get the oil for her it was meant for me she just had a reaction to it, I think. My cats are all different one doesn't mind the smoke at all but the other 2 hate smoke it confuses them too, they will come over and look at it for a minute then once they realize they make a funny face and run away! I wonder though do they make essential oil catnip?

Originally Posted by Passionforthisearth

I know my mom uses a certain combination of essential oils on my cat (who she is taking care of at the moment) to keep fleas away (she read about it online). It seems to work well and it doesn't seem to affect the cat at all. It smells really nice when you pet the cat. *shrug*

That is very interesting I have no heard of this, do you know what it's called? I don't have fleas right now but with the summer coming who knows what will happen!

[Passionforthisearth]

I cant post links yet but it says on a site "Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Pennyroyal, Cedarwood, Citronella, Lavender, White Thyme, Basil, Tea Tree, Clove, Lemon" are good insect repellents. My mom is busy right now but next time we talk I will ask her specifically what she uses.