Using Hydrosols With Your Cats
Bodie interacting with a bowl of hydrosol water.
What is a hydrosol and how can it benefit your cat? A hydrosol is the water part of the distillation of essential oils. Because hydrosols are already diluted, it is a safer and easier way to provide your cat with the benefits of an essential oil. I know you are probably thinking that essential oils are dangerous for cats. You are not completely wrong. It really depends on the way you use them. You can read about using essential oils with your cats here. By using hydrosols with your cats, you are giving them the opportunity to self-select which hydrosol they need and how to interact with it.
How to Use Hydrosols
Using hydrosols with your cats is extremely easy. Be sure to use hydrosols that are from a reputable source and organic. Hydrosols, unlike essential oils, will dissolve in water. The best way to provide your cat with hydrosols is to add a couple of drops to a bowl of purified water. Don’t mix it in. Just let the drops mix with the water on their own. Then place the bowl of water down and let them decide how to interact with it. Most hydrosols come in a spray bottle, so you can spritz the water’s surface instead of adding drops. Be sure to have a bowl of fresh water for them to drink as well.
My cats love hydrosols and they each interact differently with them. Some choose to lap at the water. Others choose to lie near the bowl. That is the great thing about hydrosols. They are safe for your cats to ingest and powerful enough to work on your cats just by being in the general area. Diluted hydrosols can be used topically for skin irritations. The versatility and benefits of hydrosols are amazing. My go-to reference on which hydrosols to use and when is The Aromatic Cat book.
Why Use Hydrosols?
The benefits of essential oils are many. they can help lift your mood, ease sickness and discomfort, or calm tension and anxiety. All of this is the same with your cats. After Zazzles had his rabies vaccine, his belly was a little upset. No surprise that he went right to the peppermint hydrosol to ease his upset tummy. Bodie will always use the chamomile hydrosol when he is feeling anxious. I have hydrosol bowls placed in our general population areas to keep tensions down. It makes me very happy to be able to provide my babies with another way to keep them happy and healthy.
“Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.”
Slow Blinks,
