What Cat Owners Should Know About Chamomile Oil
Cats are small, they groom everything that touches their fur, and their bodies handle some chemicals differently from ours. That is the short version of why we cannot call chamomile essential oil safe for cats, and why no source we found says it is. There is no study of chamomile oil in cats at all, so the honest answer is "unstudied, with reasons for caution."
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Our own Roman Chamomile Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
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Shop Now →What the evidence does cover
The ASPCA lists the chamomile plant, Anthemis nobilis, as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Its entry names a volatile oil, bisabolol, chamazulene, anthemic acid and tannic acid as toxic principles, and lists contact dermatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and allergic reactions as clinical signs (ASPCA). That is an entry about the plant, not a dose or a route for the oil, but bisabolol and chamazulene are also components of the oil itself.
The best-documented cat poisonings from oils involve other oils. A veterinary report on melaleuca (tea tree) oil put on the skin of dogs and cats described depression, weakness, incoordination and muscle tremors, usually after owners applied too much for a skin complaint, with recovery over two to three days under supportive care (Villar et al., 1994). Tea tree is not chamomile, so this shows the route and the kind of harm, not that chamomile does the same.
Why cats get extra caution
Veterinary pharmacologists have documented that cats clear some drugs differently from dogs and people (Court, 2013). In one laboratory comparison, cat liver tissue cleared an immunosuppressant drug through the phenol glucuronidation pathway at only 15% to 17% of the rate of dog or human tissue (Slovak et al., 2017). Those studies are about drugs, not chamomile. Our reasoning is that a small animal with a documented difference in one clearance pathway, plus a concentrated oil, is a combination that veterinary sources are cautious about. That is an inference from physiology, not a finding about chamomile.
How a cat might meet the oil
On the coat. We would rule this one out first. Do not put chamomile oil on a cat, diluted or not, and remember that anything on fur ends up swallowed.
From you. If you wear a diluted blend and then stroke a cat who grooms that spot, the cat is exposed. Wash your hands first, or apply it somewhere the cat will not go.
By swallowing. Tisserand labels neat Roman chamomile as a flammable liquid that may be fatal if swallowed and enters the airways (Tisserand). That wording is written for people, but a small animal knocking over a bottle is a reason to keep it capped and out of reach.
From the air. We have found no study of chamomile oil diffused near cats, so we will not invent a room size or run time. If you diffuse at all, our own judgment is to give the cat a door it can use to leave, never diffuse in a closed room with a cat inside, and stop if you see drooling, vomiting, lethargy, wobbling or open-mouth breathing. Our posts on humidifiers and inhalation have more on the air side.
If a cat has been exposed
Move the cat away from the source and call a veterinarian or poison control line at once, without inducing vomiting. The ASPCA animal poison control number is (888) 426-4435, and a consultation fee may apply. Take the bottle or a photo of its label, since the vet will want to know which oil and how concentrated.
Roman or German?
We sell both, and we cannot say either is safer for cats. The ASPCA entry uses the botanical name we list for our Roman oil. We found nothing on German chamomile oil in cats, and no listing is not the same as a safe verdict.
The right person to ask
A veterinarian who knows your cat's age, weight, kidney and liver health and any medicines. If you want chamomile scent for yourself, keep it to rooms your cat does not use, keep the bottle capped and high, and see our safety overview for the human side. Our dog guide covers the other household favorite.
If it comes down to a choice between a scent and the cat, the cat wins every time.
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
From $32.99
Shop Now →