Customer Reviews

Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals: A Comprehensive Guide to the Use of Essential Oils & Hydrosols with Animals

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As an aromatherapist owned by 5 cats, it is hard for me to enjoy my work and keep the cats out of harm's way. Why, you wonder? Because essential oils can be very unsafe for use around cats. I had briefly read about this but did not realize just how important it was until I had the pleasure of my holistic vet recommending this new book.

Through a series of case studies, toxicology reports and veterinary research, Ms. Bell unravels the mystery of essential oil and hydrosol use with cats, presenting information that is both informative and engaging. After reading the cat section of this book, I felt fully capable of making informed and intelligent decisions about the use of aromatherapy with cats. I found Ms Bell's viewpoint refreshingly candid and well researched- allowing the reader the opportunity to form their own opinion on the topic or to explore it further through more detailed methods of toxicology and bloodwork. Safety is the key message here. I have Ms. Bell to thank for the livelihood of my cats. Before purchasing her book, I bought a Young Living video about using essential oils with animals. The video suggested putting essential oils undiluted on cat's paws, ear tips or stomach. Thank the Lord that I did not do this! I could have caused irreparable harm to my cats.

If you are owned by cats, and love aromatherapy, you must purchase this book- you won't be sorry, and your cats will thank you.

This is an awesome book, that is well written and researched, easy and fun to read and full of recipes that are easy to make (I can't believe I read a review here that said the recipes were hard to make, they are not- very clearly annotated and with simple instructions). I have made numerous recipes- and the canine ear cleaning, tick spray, calming spray and the ointment for cuts and bruises are my favorites. These formulations are very effective and smell wonderful. I am so happy that I can make safe, all natural and effective products at home for my dog instead of spending a lot of money on synthetic products with chemicals.

I like how this book talks about how aromatherapy works with herbs, flower essences, homeopathy and other natural healing. After reading this book I have a real respect for aromatherapy as a way to care for my dog. This book is in my top ten, right up there with "Herbs for Pets" by Tilford and "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats" by Pitcairn.

This is a great book ... very well written and very thoughtfully written. I enjoyed reading it and Kristen Leigh Bell is obviously knowledgeable; I also appreciate that she takes a cautious and conservative approach to usage of EOs in animals. That being said, I bought this book specifically to learn how to use EOs with cats, and learned that you really can not use straight EOs for cats - hydrosols only. So, while that is great to know, had I know that in advance I likely would not have purchased the book. Still a great read.

In the last five years, I have studied with and interviewed aromatherapists from around the world for books and magazine articles. Since our first phone interview, Kristen Leigh Bell has been my favorite authority on the use of essential oils and hydrosols for dogs, cats, and other animals. It was my pleasure to write this book's foreword, which gives me an intellectual (not financial) interest in its success.
I expected this book to be user-friendly, comprehensive, and helpful -- but Kristen's work is a masterpiece. She makes important technical information easy to understand, helping aromatherapy newcomers understand how essential oils are made, how to judge their quality, and how identical sounding oils can have different chemical signatures and very different effects. With her constant emphasis on safety, Kristen's book does more to protect animals from the inappropriate use of aromatherapy products than any other publication. In addition, Kristen generously shares her formulas and recipes, something few manufacturers would consider doing.
The result is a well-organized reference, "how to" guide, and resource -- in short, an aromatherapy crash course devoted to companion animals.<BR Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals by Kristen Leigh Bell is the world's first major book on a subject that is rapidly gaining attention but is poorly understood. Thanks to Kristen Leigh Bell and Findhorn Press, caretakers, groomers, trainers, veterinarians, and pet lovers everywhere finally have an authoritative guide to help them make informed decisions about what aromatherapy products to make or buy and how to use them. The health of our dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and other animals can only improve as a result.

Since I have three beloved little dogs, I am a person devoted to providing the very best for my little furry friends. This book has been a lifesaver in caring for them. It has given me so many options for behavior and/or health disorders. Kristen Leigh Bell is apparently the "expert" in her field and it shows through and through this book. If you are interested in natural provisions for animal care, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. Definitely an authoritative guide.

I found this book to be a nice overview of aromatherapy for the treatment of small animals. It includes a description of the most useful essential oils,case studies, and some very useful recipies that maxamize the benefits of essential oils and hydrosols. The author is very detailed on how the essential oils should be used and applied. She cautions the use of essential oils on cats. Hydrosols should be used instead. This book also highlights the quailty of essential oils and ready made products on the market. I totally agree with her view. It includes a nice list of suppliers, resources and websites that I have found useful. I found this book to be better detailed than other aromatherpy books for small animals.

I have been searching for a book like this for a long time. I use essential oils daily for my own enjoyment, but have always been afraid to use them with my rescued Greyhound, Tweed. Greyhounds are very sensitive and can have reactions to many flea medicines and shampoos.

I thoroughly enjoyed the focus on safety and essential oil purity and quality that this book offered. It is a concise yet enjoyable read. Even the more technical sections (such as essential oil chemistry) were easy for me to understand and I learned a lot.

So far I have made several of the recipes in the book and Tweed is doing very well with them. The natural shampoo recipe is wonderful- and I am happy knowing that there are no synthetic ingredients in it that might cause a reaction for Tweed.

I do not have cats or horses, but found even these chapters very interesting to read, and have passed the info on to a cat-loving friend.

The book has an extensive resource section with lists of recommeneded suppliers, and the case studies are helpful and informative.

I also enjoyed the black and white etchings of each plant found in the essential oil section of the book- it is very nice to be able to picture the plant that the oil comes from.

Overall, I highly recommend- I have many aromatherapy books that offer next to nothing about use with animals- which is why I am so thankful that this book was written.

I recently purchased this book and must say it is a pleasure to have it in my library. Ms. Bell has done an outstanding job of outlining and explaining aromatherapy for our pets. Her succinct writing style as well as comprehensive knowledge was easily imparted to a novice like myself. I was especially happy to find simple recipes that I would be able to mix and use on my dogs. Upon finishing the book, everything that I need to employ aromatherapies is listed and explained in an incredibly well-organized fashion. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in a "natural approach" to pet health.

This book covers many animals that humans have as pets--from the large like horses to the small like fish. Many people think that aromatherapy is safe. This book tells you in detail what can and cannot be used, how strong the mixture, how often and the consequences of over-dose.
So you can use therapeutic aromatherapy with a clear mind, knowing you are benefitting rather than harming your "buddies".
Also a great reference book if you are helping animals

Very informative book with lots of practical information. Detailed recipies for making your own aromatherpay/essential oil blends for anxiety, skin problems, fleas, ticks and more. Has resource guide on where to find quality products and also advice on what to look for in a quality product if shopping elsewhere.