please let me know if geraniol at a 0.9 percent active ingredient is harmful 😭 all of the sources i found say it would be if they ate a plant but not likely in a flea collar specifically designed for cats
Hi jacatgirl,
It's a very good question. I advise avoiding most essential oil type products in cats, which geraniol is one of. It's an essential oil from the geranium plant. Geraniums are listed on the ASPCA's poison control website as a toxin, with geraniol as the toxic principle. Here is a link to the page itself: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/geranium . Although the most likely toxic principle is due to ingestion, dermatitis is also a potential effect of it as well. With cats, I never trust putting anything on them that it might be remotely possible for a cat to ingest, that could be toxically harmful. That can include flea collars. I've seen cats get out of flea collars as well as getting their lower jaws stuck on them trying to get out of them, so although it's on the neck, it is possible for oral exposure to occur. With topical products (like revolution, frontline, etc.) the product can no longer be ingested once it dries and gets absorbed. But with a flea collar, the risk is constantly there. While it is very appealing to pursue a "natural" product, there is something very important to understand about these products. Essential oils like geraniol, lavender, peppermint oil, etc. are not considered drugs. That means a company can include them in a product with no requirement for inspection or quality control. With careful wording, they can also indicate products are "safe" to use. But as they are not drugs, there is no regulation over these products. And while the collars are of course not designed for the cat to ingest them, making them "safer" perhaps, it's one thing for the product to not be designed for ingestion and another to hold out hope a cat won't find a way to chew on it. Folks understandably have concerns about using drug products on their pets too, but the products do go through quality control trials and testing so there is a better idea in terms of data for levels of safety. While a cat may have a reaction to revolution or frontline or another product like that, a large majority will not. With essential oils, we would expect toxicity and high risk in almost all cases, so it is kind of the reverse.