Tea tree oil
Also appears on labels as: tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia) leaf oil, melaleuca oil
A steam-distilled oil from Melaleuca alternifolia leaves, containing terpinen-4-ol and related terpenes.
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- Where it comes from
- Australian tea tree plantations.
- Why it's in the product
- Antimicrobial and antifungal claims in shampoos and topical treatments.
- Safety and toxicity
- Dose is everything here. At the roughly 0.1 to 1 percent dilution used in pet shampoos it is generally tolerated. Concentrated tea tree oil applied to pets is a documented poisoning: the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has case series of ataxia, tremors, and depression in dogs and cats from undiluted product. Cats are markedly more sensitive because they lack an efficient liver pathway for these compounds.
- Interactions and who should be careful
- Never apply undiluted tea tree oil to a pet, and be extra cautious with cats and small dogs. If your pet is on a shampoo containing it and seems wobbly or lethargic after a bath, call your vet.
General reference, not veterinary advice. Dose, breed, and existing conditions change the answer, so talk to your vet before changing what your pet eats. Think we got this wrong? Tell us and we log it publicly.
Found in 3 scored products
Lowest scores first. Its presence here is not what drove those scores.
