Lavender is well known for its calming and sedative effects in humans. You can also use this oil to induce calm and relaxation in your cat. If your cat gets anxious before or during travel, for instance, you could treat the anxiety with some lavender essential oil. Geranium essential oil is a nice alternative to lavender for calming your cat during stressful events and situations, such as car rides. If your cat is prone to nausea during long car rides, for instance, you could try cardamom. Cardamom is one of the few safe and effective essential oils for cats. Remember to reduce the concentration of cardamom essential oil by mixing it with a carrier oil, such as vegetable oil. If your cat is anxious or experiencing stress because of stomach problems, you might try spearmint. Dilute the spearmint oil in a carrier oil, such as vegetable oil, and give your cat the opportunity to smell it. Frankincense oil has a calming and centering effect. It is one of the few essential oils that are definitely safe to use with cats, alongside cedarwood, geranium, helichrysum, lavender, cardamom and spearmint. Like any essential oil, it must be properly diluted prior to application. You can use it to calm your cat during long car rides or other stressful situations. Since any pesticides on the plant used for the oil will end up being highly concentrated in a non-organic essential oil, it makes sense to find organic or unsprayed essential oil products. Look at the label to see if there is any organic certification. If you are unsure, ask the retailer about the purity of the oil and whether it is organic. Find a reputable dealer who knows the business and specializes in essential oils, since they are mostly likely to offer you good advice on the quality and purity of essential oil products. Unfortunately, there are no standards of quality or purity for essential oils. You need to do your research on the brand and find a reputable dealer. The terms 'therapeutic' or 'clinical grade' are unregulated in the essential oil business. You should be skeptical of marketing that contains these kinds of terms. Since your cat's liver is unable to handle polyphenolic compounds or 'phenols', you should avoid essential oils with this substance. For instance, you should avoid giving your cat cinnamon, oregano, clove, wintergreen, thyme, savory and birch oils, which contain this substance and are nicknamed 'hot' oils. If you do not know whether an essential oil contains phenols, you could ask an aromatherapist or consult with your veterinarian. Although tea tree oil is safe to use on humans when applied topically and is often used in cleaning products, it is very dangerous for your cat. In fact, tea tree oil contains terpenes, a substance that is toxic to both humans and pets when ingested orally. Whereas humans can use tea trea oil topically, cats are very sensitive to the topical application of tea tree oil. You should avoid applying it topically to your cat's skin or fur. If you use tea tree oil for health or cleaning, you should make sure it is inaccessible to your cat. In some cases, topical application of tea tree oil has resulted in cat fatalities. If your cat accidentally ingests tea tree oil, you should take them to the veterinarian. It may take up to 72 hours to treat poisoning from tea tree oil. Symptoms of ingesting tea tree oil in toxic amounts may include vomiting, seizures and muscle tremors. Citrus-based oils should be avoided, since cats are often allergic or sensitive to these oils. You should neither apply citrus based oils directly to your cat's body nor diffuse them in a room that is accessible to your cat. For instance, you should not leave a cat in a locked room with citrus based oils diffused in the air. Avoid the following essential oils, which are toxic for your cat: Lemon Orange Tangerine Mandarin Grapefruit Lime Bergamot Pine Spruce Fir

Summary: Use lavender to calm your cat. Use cardamom to reduce nausea. Try spearmint for gastrointestinal issues. Use frankincense essential oil. Find organic and unsprayed essential oils. Verify the quality of essential oils. Avoid any essential oils with polyphenolic compounds. Don't let your cat access tea tree or melaleuca oil. Avoid peppermint and lemon oils.

It's best to focus on training one canary at a time, with one canary in a single cage in a room. Canaries are prone to getting nervous about possible predators around them, so be patient and let your canary get familiar with the area around her cage. Avoid making sudden movements and loud noises when you enter the room so you don't startle your bird. Spend time sitting in the room with your canary for the first several days. When you enter the room, make a low sound or whistle and then repeat the same sound or whistle every time you enter the room. This will become your "special noise" for your canary, which will signal her of your presence. Hang your bird's cage so it sits eye level with you, as she can become stressed from having to make too many movements with her head. Place her cage in a room with some household activity so she can watch you and become comfortable with your presence. At night, cover her cage with a dark cloth so she knows when it's night and time for bed. Take the covering off in the morning so she can recognize that it is day and time for activity. Avoid direct eye contact when you first enter and sit in the room, as many birds associate direct eye contact with danger. Instead, watch your canary in her cage from a safe distance. As you watch your canary during the first few days, you may note she is flitting around the cage as well as feeding, bathing and preening in your presence. Once she stops flitting around and grooming herself, you can begin to make closer contact with her. This will help your canary get familiar with you over a period of time, and build your relationship. Sit near her cage, whistle to her, and talk in a quiet tone. Over time, she will recognize your voice and come to see you as a friend. Stress can kill canaries so focus on acting calm and soothing around her. Some canary owners create a certain low noise, like a humming or shushing, that they then repeat when they move close to the canary's cage. The canary will get used to the "special noise" and come to associate it with their owner and with comfort.
Summary: Let your canary get used to her surroundings. Keep her cage at eye level. Observe your canary. Talk quietly to your canary for 10 to 15 minutes, twice a day.