A cat behaviour specialist has urged pet owners to remove five common household items that could harm or even kill their cats. The warning was shared on TikTok by a specialist named Khris, who advised her 94,800 followers to avoid these everyday products.
Essential oils are toxic to cats
Khris said: "So one of the other things that is toxic to cats is essential oils. A lot of people think essential oils are natural, so they're just fine for cats. But, that's actually not the case, and most of them are toxic to cats - including some of the ones that are in our candles, cleaners, and air fresheners."
Most essential oils are toxic to cats because they lack the liver enzymes needed to process plant compounds. The most hazardous essential oils to steer clear of include tea tree, peppermint, and citrus oils, though most varieties could prove toxic to them. Toxicity can occur through direct absorption via the skin, ingestion (commonly when cats groom oil from their fur), or inhalation of concentrated particles from diffusers.
"So anything that has essential oils in it should not be around your cat," Khris added.
Hair growth products and medication
"Number two is medication like minoxidil hair growth medication like Rogaine," she continued. The main human hair growth product that poses a danger to cats is minoxidil, widely recognised by brand names such as Rogaine. Even a tiny, single drop or residual contact from pillows, hands, or clothing can cause severe, life-threatening heart failure, extremely low blood pressure, and fluid in a cat's lungs, the Cats Protection has warned.
"So if you have a cat in the household, you should not be using any kind of hair growth medication. Even having it on your pillow can be toxic to your cat," Khris explained.
Plants and flowers to avoid
While they may be pretty decor to us, Khris cautioned that a wide variety of plants and flowers are harmful to cats, including lilies and many others. She explained: "There are a whole bunch of different kinds of plants and flowers that are toxic to cats. So tulips, hydrangeas, daffodils, palms." Toxins can trigger localised mouth irritation or severe internal organ failure.
The expert therefore advised: "If you're gonna have something growing in your house, the best thing to do is to keep it either up high or behind closed doors so your cat just can't reach it at all. But do your research, because a lot of plants are toxic to cats."
Topical pain creams and other creams
For her final point, Khris said: "So a lot of the topical pain creams that are available are also toxic to our cats." Topical human pain creams pose a serious risk to cats because felines lack certain liver enzymes (glucuronyl transferases) required to safely metabolise these medications. Even tiny amounts absorbed through grooming or skin contact can trigger severe organ failure or prove fatal.
Cats groom themselves regularly, so any product lingering on human skin could be ingested. This encompasses anti-inflammatory gels, such as ibuprofen, Hormone Replacement Therapy gels, and other dermal medications which are highly poisonous to cats. Equally worrying are psoriasis creams or ointments containing powerful forms of vitamin D, and anticancer treatments such as 5-fluorouracil (eg Efudix), all of which can be deadly even in minuscule amounts.
Summing everything up, Khris added: "So make sure that you are doing your research, keeping those things away from your cats."
