Press Release

Pretty Packs a Painful Punch: The Danger of Liquid Potpourri To Pets

Exposures To Popular Home Air Freshener Products May Cause Serious Harm

December 12, 2006

ASPCA Media Contact

Urbana, Ill., December 12, 2006—All of us love our homes smelling fresh and fragrant, and go to great lengths to ensure that they do so. But before setting out that lovely potpourri simmer pot, pet owners should take heed: many liquid potpourri formulations contain ingredients such as essential oils and detergents that could be quite hazardous to our furry companions, as an analysis of calls to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) has shown.

“The major share of our cases has involved cats,” says Dr. Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist and senior vice president of the APCC, “most likely because cats have greater access to the simmer pots which are usually kept on countertops or other high-level surfaces.”  Of the more than 330 liquid potpourri cases the APCC has managed since 2001, 87 percent involved felines, while the remaining 13 percent involved dogs. 

Most exposures occur when cats lap up the heated liquid from the simmer pot, or when liquid spills on their fur from a leaky container or bumped pot, and they ingest the substance while subsequently grooming themselves. The essential oils that many of these products may contain could possibly cause skin, mucous membrane or gastrointestinal irritation as well as central nervous system depression. For reasons that are not entirely clear, cats also appear to be more sensitive to the effects of such exposure than are dogs.

According to Dr Hansen, the more significant injuries are typically a result of thermal burns or from exposure to a specific type of detergent.  “Thermal burns can occur from contact with the hot liquid, while a class of detergents known as ‘cationics’ are usually responsible for severe ulceration of the membranes of the mouth, throat and gastrointestinal tract with ingestions.  Where there is contact with skin, redness, swelling and extremely painful lesions can appear.”

Symptoms of these exposures include drooling, vomiting, depression, a drop in blood pressure, difficulty breathing from fluid on the lungs and metabolic disturbances, depending on the circumstances of exposure.  Of the cases managed by the APCC since 2001, close to 90 percent involved clinical signs deemed to have been related to liquid potpourri exposure—10 percent of which included life-threatening effects or, in rare cases, even death. “Fortunately, if treated promptly, most animals make a full recovery,” says Dr. Hansen.  “However, it is important to note that treating these exposures can be very extensive and may involve a lengthy hospitalization.”

Because of the risk for serious illness, pet owners should place potpourri simmer pots and unused liquid in rooms where pets cannot gain access. Also consider using relatively safer alternatives, such as plug-in or solid air fresheners used in out-of-reach locations, not in close proximity to pets with sensitive respiratory tracts such as birds. For more information about potentially dangerous substances in the home, or for a free hotline magnet visit www.aspca.org/apcc.

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