July 30, 2026
Updated on July 07, 2026
Background: Clara Juniper Hayes is a 38-year-old herbalist and small business owner based in Asheville, North Carolina, a hub for natural living and holistic wellness. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Clara grew up surrounded by lush forests and developed a deep love for plants and animals from a young age. Her grandmother, a folk herbalist, taught her the basics of foraging and crafting remedies, which sparked her lifelong passion for natural healing.
Profession: Clara is the founder of Herb and Fur, a blog and online shop dedicated to sharing knowledge about herbal remedies, sustainable living, and holistic pet care. She’s a certified herbalist with a degree in ethnobotany from the University of Oregon and has spent over a decade studying the medicinal properties of plants.
Personality: Warm, approachable, and a bit quirky, Clara is known for her down-to-earth writing style and knack for making complex herbal knowledge accessible. She’s an avid hiker, often accompanied by her rescue dog, Sage, and believes in the healing power of nature for both humans and their furry companions. She’s passionate about eco-conscious living and sources all her products ethically.
Hobbies: Foraging for wild herbs, tending her backyard apothecary garden, knitting pet sweaters, and hosting community workshops on herbal medicine. She’s also a self-proclaimed “tea nerd” who experiments with blending her own herbal infusions.
Why She Started Herb and Fur: After years of working in corporate wellness and feeling disconnected from her roots, Clara launched Herb and Fur to share her love for natural remedies and pet care. She wanted to create a space where people could learn to use plants to support their health and their pets’ well-being, all while fostering a deeper connection to the earth.
Fun Fact: Clara once spent a summer living off-grid in a tiny cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she perfected her recipe for a lavender-chamomile calming salve for anxious dogs.
Essential oils are everywhere in modern homes, from diffusers to cleaning products to topical remedies. But many popular oils pose real risks to pets, especially cats, who lack the liver enzymes needed to metabolize many of these compounds safely.
Why Cats Are Especially Vulnerable
Cats lack a liver enzyme called glucuronyl transferase, which most mammals use to break down certain plant compounds, including many found in essential oils. This means oils that are merely irritating to dogs can be seriously toxic to cats, sometimes even from ambient diffusion, not just direct contact or ingestion.
Essential Oils to Avoid Around Pets
- Tea tree oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Peppermint oil
- Pine oil
- Citrus oil (d-limonene)
- Wintergreen oil
- Ylang ylang oil
- Cinnamon oil
- Clove oil
- Pennyroyal oil
We’ve covered several of these individually in more depth, including eucalyptus, clove oil, and pennyroyal.
Symptoms of Essential Oil Toxicity in Pets
- Drooling
- Vomiting
- Difficulty breathing or wheezing
- Wobbliness or lethargy
- Skin irritation or burns at the point of contact
- In cats especially: liver damage with repeated exposure
Is It Safe to Diffuse Any Essential Oils Around Pets?
Some oils are generally considered lower risk in a well-ventilated space with brief, intermittent diffusion, such as lavender in most dogs. However, given how much more sensitive cats are, the safest approach in multi-pet households is to avoid diffusing essential oils altogether, or to keep pets in a separate, well-ventilated room during and after diffusing, with an escape option so they aren’t trapped near concentrated fumes.
Safer Practices
- Never apply undiluted essential oils directly to a pet’s skin or fur.
- Keep diffusers and reed diffusers out of rooms your cat frequents, or avoid them entirely in cat households.
- Store essential oil bottles securely — ingestion of concentrated oil is far more dangerous than ambient exposure.
- If using any pet-specific aromatherapy product, choose one specifically formulated and tested for pet safety rather than a human product.
What to Do If You Suspect Essential Oil Poisoning
- Move your pet to fresh air immediately.
- If oil contacted the skin, wash it off with mild soap and water (not oil-based products, which can worsen absorption).
- Call your veterinarian or a pet poison hotline right away, especially for cats or if you saw ingestion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to diffuse lavender around my cat?
Lavender is generally considered lower risk compared to oils like tea tree or eucalyptus, but because cats are especially sensitive to essential oils overall, many veterinarians recommend caution, good ventilation, and giving your cat the ability to leave the room.
What should I do if essential oil gets on my dog's skin?
Wash the area with mild soap and water promptly, and contact your veterinarian, especially if you notice redness, irritation, or your dog seems unwell.
Why are cats more sensitive to essential oils than dogs?
Cats lack a liver enzyme (glucuronyl transferase) that helps break down many essential oil compounds, so oils that are only mildly irritating to dogs can be significantly more toxic to cats.
Background: Clara Juniper Hayes is a 38-year-old herbalist and small business owner based in Asheville, North Carolina, a hub for natural living and holistic wellness. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Clara grew up surrounded by lush forests and developed a deep love for plants and animals from a young age. Her grandmother, a folk herbalist, taught her the basics of foraging and crafting remedies, which sparked her lifelong passion for natural healing.
Profession: Clara is the founder of Herb and Fur, a blog and online shop dedicated to sharing knowledge about herbal remedies, sustainable living, and holistic pet care. She’s a certified herbalist with a degree in ethnobotany from the University of Oregon and has spent over a decade studying the medicinal properties of plants.
Personality: Warm, approachable, and a bit quirky, Clara is known for her down-to-earth writing style and knack for making complex herbal knowledge accessible. She’s an avid hiker, often accompanied by her rescue dog, Sage, and believes in the healing power of nature for both humans and their furry companions. She’s passionate about eco-conscious living and sources all her products ethically.
Hobbies: Foraging for wild herbs, tending her backyard apothecary garden, knitting pet sweaters, and hosting community workshops on herbal medicine. She’s also a self-proclaimed “tea nerd” who experiments with blending her own herbal infusions.
Why She Started Herb and Fur: After years of working in corporate wellness and feeling disconnected from her roots, Clara launched Herb and Fur to share her love for natural remedies and pet care. She wanted to create a space where people could learn to use plants to support their health and their pets’ well-being, all while fostering a deeper connection to the earth.
Fun Fact: Clara once spent a summer living off-grid in a tiny cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she perfected her recipe for a lavender-chamomile calming salve for anxious dogs.
