Essential oils are more than just a recent trend: They’ve been around since Biblical times, and for good reason. These concentrated plant oils don’t just offer calming or invigorating properties, but have also been used for natural healing for hundreds of years. While they can provide health benefits for humans, however, there is conflicting information on whether essential oils have the potential to help or harm our pets.   Essential oils occur in nature, giving plants their fragrant qualities. They protect plants and play a part in pollination, and for a long time, have helped in natural healing for both humans and animals. It’s important to note, however, that essential oils are volatile compounds that can be toxic to dogs at certain concentrations. Our pets can lick or eat these oils as well as absorb them through their skin, causing harmful or even fatal reactions in some cases. For this reason, using an essential oil diffuser is not recommended when you have a puppy under 10 weeks of age or dog with liver disease, which makes pets more sensitive to environmental factors.   Many practitioners, however, use essential oils as a natural alternative to medications for dogs. Adherents say lavender helps calm anxious pets, for example, and other uses range from boosting the immune system to increasing appetite. From shampoos to soaps, salves and sprays, these natural remedies are widely available for pets. If you’d like to use therapeutic essential oils for your dog, do so only under the guidance of a registered aromatherapist, found at aromatherapycouncil.org, or a member of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, at naha.org. Be sure to research which oils are safe to use with pets before starting any program.   Consuming essential oils or other potpourris can be harmful or deadly to pets. If you notice your dog drooling excessively, pawing at his mouth, experiencing difficulty breathing or walking, having muscle tremors, vomiting or otherwise acting lethargic, he may have eaten something poisonous. If you think your pet has consumed essential oils, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center hotline at 888-426-4435 or the Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680 and contact your veterinarian immediately. The sooner you seek treatment, the better the outcome for your pet. If possible, bring the product your dog ate to your vet to help with diagnosis.   While essential oils have healing properties for you and your pet, keep them out of reach of your four-legged friend at all times. This will help keep curious critters away from the sweet-smelling liquids. Consult your veterinarian before using any essential oils or other herbal products on your pets, and never apply undiluted essential oils to your canine companion or add them to his food or water.

Many people suffer from hair loss, but few know balding is also common in cats. From flea bites and hormonal imbalances to chronic over-grooming, a host of underlying causes can lead to your cat’s retreating hairline. Hair loss can be a symptom of more serious problems in cats, too, but fortunately treatments exist for most of its root causes.   Known as alopecia, balding can be either partial or total in our feline friends. The skin underneath your cat’s receding hairline may look normal or it could show signs of irritation such as redness, bumps, scabs and lesions. With so many variations, it can be hard to diagnose the underlying cause of your cat’s alopecia—especially given the host of potential problems. Some pets are allergic to flea bites, for example, while others lose their coats due to parasites that cause mange or fungal issues such as ringworm. Hormonal imbalances such as hyperthyroidism or increased levels of steroids can play a role in feline balding, and alopecia may also be a sign of a behavioral problem if anxiety is causing your pet to over-groom. Older cats diagnosed with cancer often lose their hair, too, and some cats, like people, simply go bald due to genetics. Whatever the cause of your cat losing his coat, it’s important to identify the problem. Small, red spots usually suggest allergies, while thinning patches of fur on your cat’s tail end can indicate a reaction to mange or fleas. Ringworm, on the other hand, can leave your cat with smaller, red circles with a white center. Whatever the source, most underlying causes of hair loss also cause our pets to itch and scratch, which can lead to more serious infections.   Enlist your veterinarian’s help, if necessary, to diagnose your cat. He can run blood tests to determine whether Kitty’s balding is due to hormonal or thyroid imbalances or take a skin sample to determine whether your cat is losing his fur due to dermatological issues. To rule out cancer or abnormalities in the adrenal glands, your vet may use X-rays and ultrasounds. Depending on the diagnosis, your cat may need a new flea preventative, medication or topical treatment to alleviate his symptoms. Other possible solutions include changing your cats diet or even trying new laundry detergent, cleaning products or other household products to rule out allergies as the source of your pet’s problems. If your cat’s hair loss is due to a behavioral issue, you should work to reduce his stress levels and may need to seek help from a behavioral specialist.   While there are no surefire methods to prevent hair loss in cats, keeping an eye on your pet can help address symptoms before they get worse. If you notice your cat is scratching one area more than the rest, pay attention that area and seek veterinary help, if necessary. You can also provide temporary relief from itching with prescribed topical treatments while getting to the bottom of your cat’s hair-loss problems.

All pet owners need to leave town for a business trip, wedding or well-deserved vacation from time to time, but that begs the question of what to do with their companions. From no-frills boarding facilities to high-end pet hotels and live-in sitters, there are a wide range of options to fit most any pets’ needs and owners’ budgets.   For years, boarding has been the go-to solution for pet owners who need leave town. Fortunately, most boarding facilities have surpassed the concrete runs and separate social spaces of the past by leaps and bounds. Today, options from pet sitting operations run out of individuals’ homes to pet hotels with a veritable smorgasbord of amenities are commonplace in most towns. Pricing for these boarding facilities varies tremendously depending on which options you choose, with huge leaps in price tags for more amenities and attention paid to individual pets.   As an alternative, many pet owners opt to hire a pet sitter while they’re out of town. Sitters can either come to the house at specified times to feed, exercise and otherwise care for your companion or they can live with your pet for the duration of the trip. Like other options, pet sitting prices can vary widely, but are generally priced at basic boarding levels. Because stress is the most common problem for boarded pets being, this can be a great alternative, especially for uneasy animals. With your furry friend staying in his own home, his stress levels are lower, helping ease your own anxieties on the trip, too. As a bonus, pet sitters often collect the mail, water plants and take care of other household duties at no additional cost.   Some pet owners prefer to board their companions at a veterinary facility for easy access to care in case of a medical emergency, but this option is not always all it’s cracked up to be. Because veterinary offices must prioritize surgical and medical cases over boarded pets, your companion may be short-changed on attention during his stay. These facilities tend to be more bare-bones than other boarding options and can be even chaotic or noisy, so do your research before boarding with a vet. This includes asking if someone monitors the pets overnight, as many facilities do not provide 24/7 care. A live-in sitter can be a good alternative to boarding at the vet’s, as he or she is likely to notice any medical problems quickly.   When hiring a pet sitter, ask for referrals from friends, neighbors, family, your veterinarian or your dog trainer. You can also search for sitters online at www.petsitters.org or www.petsit.com. Ask potential sitters about their past experience, what type of pets they have watched, and any issues specific to your pet—and be sure to set up an easy way to communicate while you’re gone, in case any emergencies arise.

From “hovercat” to “cat loaf,” pet owners have come up with a multitude of names for the phenomenon of cats tucking their paws beneath their bodies. While it’s difficult to understand many feline behaviors, scientists have a clear explanation for your pet’s penchant for loafing.   The normal body temperature for cats lies between 100 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit, so a room that feels comfortable to you may still be chilly for your cat. Just like we like to tuck our hands and feet under the covers when we’re cold, so do our feline friends tuck their paws under their bodies for warmth. Fortunately, our pets are highly flexible creatures, making transforming into a heat-preserving loaf an easy task. This helps Kitty stay in his thermo neutral zone—the temperature range in which he’s not expending energy to cool off or to heat up—while relaxing in a comfy position.   Speaking of relaxing, you’re most likely to catch your cat in loaf position in his favorite spots. That’s because a cat with his paws tucked under his body isn’t prepared to defend himself or run anywhere fast. Whether it’s on your bed or in your lap, lying with his paws tucked is a sign your cat is highly relaxed, so you can take the behavior to mean Kitty feels comfortable in his home.   Similar to tucking his paws into a loaf, your pet may also wrap his tail around his front feet to help keeps his toes warm. If he is crouching low to the ground, covering his nose, or otherwise working to be compact, your pet is most likely chilly and trying to stay warm. But beware—if Kitty isn’t trying to stay warm, covering his paws can be a sign he’s comfortable as-is and doesn’t want any attention at the moment. If he appears to be more alert, your pet may be stressed and using his tail to create a physical barrier between his body and whatever environmental factor is creating his anxiety.   Given the prevalence of loafing into the cat kingdom, it’s worth noting that when a cat isn’t  fully tucking his paws while in the position, he may be experiencing some pain. Inspect your pet’s feet regularly to make sure Kitty isn’t hiding any discomfort or injuries. If he remains perched on his paws in an otherwise full-loaf position, it could be a sign something’s wrong.