Would any diluted essential oil scents in an evaporation cooler be safe for a cat?

[ToruPop]

I have an evaporation cooler and before I adopted my cat I would put drops of essential oil in the water to give the cooled air a nice aroma. I stopped doing it when I adopted my cat after reading that essential oils are too strong for cats. It may not have been an issue in an evap cooler, it's nowhere near as concentrated as an aromatherapy diffuser or whatever you normally use essential oils with. Still I could smell it so it's probably much stronger for a cat.

I recently put a new media pad in the cooler... I'm a little paranoid about mold so I soaked it in a mold blocker first... well seems it backfired as now there's a weird tinny sent coming from the cooler. (at least it's not mold I guess)

So now I'd like to put oils in to mask that scent. But obviously it has to be something that is safe and pleasant for the kitty, and preferably one that relaxes him. There seems to be mixed things about lavender... that was one of my favorites earlier. I definitely won't use peppermint though I liked that before because it almost seemed to make the air feel cooler. I know there's catnip essential oils but I don't want the kitty to go crazy.

I'll probably only use just enough to mask whatever that scent is until it goes away. As long as I don't accidently leave the oil out concentrated I feel pretty sure there's not much issue in diluting it in four gallons of water and putting it through an evap cooler, but I of course I want to err on the side of caution.

 

[suzeanna]

How long has it been smelling weird? Based on everything I have ever read about essential oils, they really aren't safe and healthy for humans or animals, so I would personally recommend against it. I also think it's possible that introducing another substance (essential oils) to the cooler could contribute to mold, despite the mold blocker.

 

[fionasmom]

The Pet Poison Helpline does not recommend the use of essential oils for use around cats, and they do include various types of delivery systems in their analysis.

ASPCA says no lavender. BTW never use tea tree oil around cats. Some people see that as medicinal and and not necessarily an essential oil but it is toxic for cats.

 

[Kflowers]

Wouldn't it make more sense to take the cooler apart and wash it thoroughly with dish washing soap and water and perhaps a white vinegar rinse? Masking the smell of something isn't good, whatever is generating the smell remains sending whatever pollutants it produces into the air. Not good. You don't want to be breathing that, bad for your lungs and can only make you tense.

 

[ToruPop]

Thanks for the responses. I won't use oils. I did clean the inside of the cooler and put a brand new media pad in and what not...

 

[Kflowers]

Then, since it still smells funky, I think I'd write the company and ask about that, or at least, search for name of company unit reviews and complaints. I completely understand, funky is not a good smell.