This blend is based in Geranium – which is highly popular in the bug-repellent-recommendation world. However, many animals are exposed to Geranium in just all of the wrong ways, and in improper concentrations or as a single oil. Oust corrects all of the Geranium “woes” I’ve encountered!
Sometimes it seems – we don’t know WHAT our animals might like.
I saw this fact more and more within the essential oil community – when choosing which essential oils they would apply to an animal, and how they would choose to apply it. So many recommendations start out based on good information but become a bit out of hand when everyone starts recommending its use without a lot of experience or knowledge base behind it. I feel that Geranium essential oil really fell into this situation. Sure, Geranium can repel insects, and many humans use it for many reasons. But it is a really strong-smelling, and floral essential oil. Not always the most “animal-appropriate” scent profile. However, I would see blog after blog, and post after post of people recommending putting a bunch of Geranium oil onto a bandana or dog collar and putting that around your dog’s neck to repel bugs. To see the flaw in this – I just urge any human to do the same for themselves. Soak a bandana in essential oils and put it around your neck for even an hour. I’m pretty sure you will be overwhelmed by the scent fairly quickly. And this mentions nothing of the quality of the essential oil selected for use either. The number of Geranium oils that I have smelled that is absolutely poor quality and give me a headache – is quite staggering.
With all the hype online about the use of Geranium essential oil – I will see daily comments by well-intending animal people recommending its use. “Just put some drops on your dog’s collar.” “Soak a bandana in this solution and put it on your dog.” The problem is – the quality of the essential oil, species of the Geranium, source of the essential oil, or even proper recommendations for amounts to use – are never mentioned. Leaving a person reading the comment to figure it out on their own.
What to do? Create a veterinary Geranium-based blend, that will “tick the boxes” for someone who is determined to use Geranium essential oil – and provide some good sound instructions as well.
Ingredients:
Essential Oils of Geranium (Egypt) (Pelargonium graveolens), Rose Geranium (Pelargonium roseum), Geranium (Bourbon/Reunion Island) (Pelargonium graveolens), Cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana), Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), Rosemary Cineole CT (Rosmarinus officinalis), Basil Linalool CT (Ocimum basilicum), Thyme Geraniol CT (Thymus vulgaris).
Cats: For most cat situations, I would suggest starting with the Away blend when insect repellent actions are needed beyond the basic KittyBoost recommendations. Oust RTU Drops are recommended for use when topical applications are necessary for cats. Oust RTU Drops could be added to shampoos for cats (if they are accepting of bathing) – however we generally recommend the use of Oust (the undiluted blend) for use within Shampoo creations. Please see the Shampoo Instructions page and the Oust product page for more information.
Although it would be safe to mist a cat with a water mist made from the Oust RTU Drops – we find that most cats just don’t appreciate being sprayed. We always attempt to make the applications of essential oils as happy and well accepted as possible. You can certainly use your discretion on if your cat would be accepting of a spray, if you find yourself in need of it – but most of the time, we attempt to select other “cat friendly” products and methods instead. I suggest applications of KittyBoost when general insect repellency is needed. Away RTU Drops will be another excellent option for you to explore, along with the various ways we can use Away.
Oust RTU Drops are being evaluated for use for feline ear mites at this time (end of 2018) – and while this is undergoing clinical evaluations – I suggest the use of Away RTU Drops for any ear mite concerns. Oust RTU Drops has been successfully applied to many of our outdoor farm cats with great acceptance. Several of our cats seem to enjoy the application, while some of our cats are pretty turned off by the scent profile. Now that we have multiple options available – finding the blend best suited to your cat is a great goal when you need more than KittyBoost or Away RTU Drops in your arsenal.
Dogs: Oust RTU Drops can be used for direct topical application to dogs, generally without any further dilution required. Oust RTU Drops carry a mellow and more pleasant, Geranium-like scent – so if you like Geranium – you are sure to love this blend! Oust RTU Drops can be mixed with distilled water to create a water mist – but in general I will suggest creating water mists with the neat (undiluted) version of the blend.
For use directly on a dog – place between 4-10 drops of Oust RTU Drops into your hands – rub them together to distribute a film of oil, and then pet your dogs coat. For insect repellent; rubbing down the legs, neck, shoulders, and back are good locations to concentrate on. I especially focus on the “ankle” area of my dogs, since ticks will often contact this area first, as they start to climb up the legs. You can also pay special attention to ear tips or the rear end where insects often attack most. You can repeat these applications to each region you need to apply to. Put more drops into your hands, rub them around, then massage into your dogs coat. Simple as that!