Bug Repellent and Pets: What Dog and Cat Owners Should Know
The short answer
- Don’t put human bug repellent on your dog or cat. That includes plant-based ones like Notch.
- Cats need the most care: they’re sensitive to many essential-oil compounds, and grooming means anything on their fur ends up in their mouth.
- Apply it away from your pets, let it soak in, wash your hands, and ask your vet about a preventive made for their species.
We hear this one a lot, usually from someone holding a cat: “Is this okay around her?” Yes, with a little care. On her, no.
Human repellents are made and labeled for people. Animals groom themselves, so whatever is on their fur gets swallowed, and their bodies handle many ingredients differently than ours do. Here’s where that leaves dogs and cats.
Dogs and cats, separately
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Don’t applyCats
Cats are short on an enzyme they need to break down certain plant compounds, so a small amount can affect them more than you’d expect.1 Keep geraniol off cats, and keep cats from licking or grooming skin you’ve just treated.
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Ask your vetDogs
Not for dogs either. Dogs lick, and they chew tubes. Wearing it around them is fine once it’s soaked in. For their own flea, tick and mosquito protection, ask your vet about a product made and labeled for dogs.
“Natural” describes where an ingredient comes from, not how a pet’s body handles it. Veterinary references list oils like tea tree, cinnamon, wintergreen and eucalyptus among those linked to poisoning in pets,1 and those are some of the most common oils in natural sprays, diffusers and scented repellent pouches. Read the full ingredient list and keep anything with concentrated essential oils out of reach.
One warning for multi-pet homes: some flea and tick products made for dogs contain permethrin, which is highly toxic to cats.2 Never use a dog product on a cat, and ask your vet how to keep a cat away from a freshly treated dog.
Which natural repellents actually work
Wearing repellent around pets
Put it on away from them, outside or in another room. Let it soak in before you pick up the cat or let the dog give you a lick; a lotion like Notch rubs in, so there’s no mist drifting onto fur or bedding. Wash your hands before you pet or feed anyone, and store the tube where a dog can’t chew it.
If a pet does get into it, watch for drooling, vomiting, wobbliness or tremors, and call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 right away, especially if they swallowed more than a lick. Have the product with you so you can read them the ingredients.
Notch and your pets
Notch Nourish + Defend Botanical Insect Repellent is made for people. It’s a lotion, so you can apply it exactly where you want it, with nothing drifting onto your pets, their beds or their bowls. Keep it off your pets, let it soak in before snuggles, and keep the tube out of reach.
References
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Toxicoses from essential oils in animals.
- PetMD. Flea and tick medicine poisoning in cats.
