alternative healing - homeopathy for cats

hi all!
i was just passing by when i read some very disturbing posts about sick and dying cats. all this at the hands of experienced vets. i had to sign-up and post. years ago when my 18 year old cat was dying from meds he didn't need, i remembered something in the back of my mind about a safe alternative called homeopathy. i went, they took him right away and we had 10 of the most glorious months with him. he wasn't all medicated and acting like another cat, he was himself and happy.

it's hard to describe homeopathy in a few words but it is a 200 year old medical healing practice based on like cures like. it uses substances found in nature that when given to a healthy being produces certain symptoms like onions causing tearing but when given in minute amounts cures that same symptom in an unhealthy being. ie...they take the onion and dilute it and shake it so its energy transfers to the surrounding water and then when given to a being suffering from watery eyes, the body sees the blueprint of the onion and thinks it is poisoned by it and so it cures itself of the watery eyes! pretty cool huh? so unlike regular vets who medicate often for life in increasing dosages, homeopathy prompts the body into curing itself! often for life.

if anyone is having any problems or even just like that...seek a professional homeopath for your cat. it's the most wonderful experience for both you and your cat and the remedies cost about 10 cents a pill and often you only need a few.

homeopathy is holistic meaning it takes your cats personality as a guide to finding the right remedy as opposed to regular vets who don't care if he sleeps with one eye open or not and who only care about physical symptoms. dis-ease begins in the mind and there is where the cure lies. when you feel badly about anything that energy finds a path to expression as energy can neither be created nor destroyed. it is also an energetic medicine much like reiki and acupuncture that works with your cats healing energy.

anyway, as you can see i'm madly in love with homeopathy and for good reason. i am presently trying to treat my manx with bowel problems...one drawback is that because it is so individualized it can take time to find the right remedy whereas regular vets give the same meds for the same problems and often requires little thought. if you have the time...your little guy will thank you for sparing him the suffering.

if anyone has any questions please ask or research it on the net

blessings to all...

I agree holistic and homeopathy arent great but as youll find many areas dont have access to a QUALIFIED Vet with these skills... I too have the LUXURY of having two at my aid ...

Welcome to TCS

hey thanks for the welcome sharky!

one of the incredible things about homeopathy is that in very urgent cases it can be done over the phone especially if there is already a diagnosis from a regular vet. this is of course not the preferred method but if you have little choice, it is a good one. i know of some that do this for the sake of the cats... it can be done this way because the most important thing for a homeopath is to know the personality and habits which can be conveyed via the phone by the guardian under dire circumstances...just in case someone is in this unenviable position.

good for you sharky that you have a homeopath...that makes me smile

oh i should clarify...vets are not usually qualified homeopaths. well not really...what is qualified? i'm going through a 4 year full-time program to become qualified and vets can take a weekend course and call themselves a homeopath....this is not right. a 'real' homeopath will have schooled for no less than a year if they are a vet and no less than 4 if they are not. my animal homeopath schooled for 7 years! ask them how long their training was and how long they have been practicing homeopathy.

the tell-tale sign of a vet who took only a weekend course is one who quickly returns to allopathy (regular veterinary medicine) if the first remedy doesn't work. often you will need to try a few remedies to find the perfect one. homeopathy is not easy, nothing so great can be so easy...stick with it.

did i mention that there are no side effects?

I take homeopathy for humans... My vet actually has been taking classes for over two yrs in accupucture , homeopathy, naturapathy and oriental medicine ... Oh and she is working with a holistic vet ... so best of both world natural first conventional as needed

hey that sounds great! absolutely, conventional if need be. sometimes there is no time. sometimes there is. for setting broken bones and sprains and removal of objects in the eye it's hard to beat regular methods...my heart just poured out for those afflicted with the abuse of unecessary medication...and the side effects...

everything has its place...

I'd be open to homeopathy, but the few clinical double-blind controlled trials that have been done have shown no benefit over placebo.

Plus, I find the basis of it a little odd... okay, so maybe like does cure like, but in such small concentrations (1 part per million or more??)? That leaves practically NO active product left in the vehicle. I've heard that the active ingredients that were once there leave some sort of chemical "signature" or "mirror image" in the water or starch, or whatever else they use to dilute the product. Sounds bogus to me, especially combined with the fact that there aren't any controlled trials out there comparing therapies to placebos.

I'm very open to alternative healing. But I tend more towards herbs that have been proven to have medicinal benefit, and chiropracty and acupuncture, both of which have been proven to be effective for some disorders. I believe even some aspects of Ayurvedic medicine have been shown to have benefit.

I don't mean to be critical, it's just my two cents. The placebo effect is still something, so if you get an effect, that's a good thing whether or not it was due to the power of your own mind over your body or a foreign substance.

Originally Posted by Godiva

I'd be open to homeopathy, but the few clinical double-blind controlled trials that have been done have shown no benefit over placebo.

Plus, I find the basis of it a little odd... okay, so maybe like does cure like, but in such small concentrations (1 part per million or more??)? That leaves practically NO active product left in the vehicle. I've heard that the active ingredients that were once there leave some sort of chemical "signature" or "mirror image" in the water or starch, or whatever else they use to dilute the product. Sounds bogus to me, especially combined with the fact that there aren't any controlled trials out there comparing therapies to placebos.

I'm very open to alternative healing. But I tend more towards herbs that have been proven to have medicinal benefit, and chiropracty and acupuncture, both of which have been proven to be effective for some disorders. I believe even some aspects of Ayurvedic medicine have been shown to have benefit.

I don't mean to be critical, it's just my two cents. The placebo effect is still something, so if you get an effect, that's a good thing whether or not it was due to the power of your own mind over your body or a foreign substance.

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Actually many studies in Europe have validated Homeopathy and it is sactioned as effective by the FDA

How warming to find others that benefit from homeopathy & herb use

I am currently taking a course on Holistic health for companion animals...covers the gammit...herbs, homeopathy, flower essences, massage and of course, proper diet.

Depending on the ailment, my crew of 12, my 14-yr. old son and myself have benefited from the use of herbs and/or homeopathic methods. In my heart of hearts, I truly believe suppressing symptoms and treating the ailment solely is just plain wrong. Holistic methods treat the entire being bringing back the natural balance that we all possess.

Although I adore my allopathic vet.....have been using him for 20+ years, I don't necessarily agree with all of his recommendations. From mites, mange, digestive problems, diarrhea & constipation...all have been treated successfully without one bit of allopathic medicine

Love to hear from others...learning & sharing in this very amazing, effective method of healing.

Tuna, what was the ailment your 18 year old kitty was suffering from when you decided to use homeopathy? I'm also curious as to which allopathic meds he was taking at the time, as well.

Originally Posted by sharky

Actually many studies in Europe have validated Homeopathy and it is sactioned as effective by the FDA

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Could you provide links to some studies or organizations? In all my texts, no double-blind studies were cited for homeopathic remedies (of course, there were plenty of case reports and studies with only one cohort/arm, but nothing else).

I understand and support the idea and desire to treat the whole body as opposed to just suppressing symptoms. I just fail to understand the mechanism of homeopathy... maybe someone else could explain it to me scientifically?

Here is a great site that is very informative...goes into principles & laws of homeopathy, studies, FAQ, etc.

http://www.hpathy.com/

I'll be honest, and admit to not knowing much about homepathy. But I will tell you that there are situations that arise, where I certainly feel comfortable using the services of a regular veterinarian over a homeopathic vet...such as when the need for surgery and post operative pain relief is necessary. There are other situations where I feel comfortable with homeopathy...such as using flower essences to relieve stress, etc., or apple cider vinegar to treat ear infections, and such.

I think it depends on the medical situation...clearly both types of practices have their place in treating our pets.

hi godiva,

i think that some things are difficult to measure. can a thought be measured? yet we all know we have thoughts...

there is no doubt that homeopathy requires a leap of the mind. where allopathy stands in easily measured substance homeopathy floats on air. it has more to do with energy, feeling rather than substance and as far as i know there is no scientific instrument capable of measuring that kind of energy or they would have. i know it works because it works on animals so there is no placebo effect there. i was lucky, i saw it work first and then i believed in it.

it is not mere dilutions but also a shaking of the tincture or succussion whereby the energy transfers from molecule to molecule making the highest energetic potencies the farthest away from the original in substance and the most shaken.

hi ktlynn, my 18yo was hyperthyroid, only 8 points off the normal range which was for healthy young cats. he was given a cream twice a day i think i've blocked out the name but it was probably steroid based and after 2 months he developed non-regenerative anemia which i wasn't told until later by another holistic vet that the cream produced those symptoms in 20% of the cases. then they wanted to start him or finish him rather on prednisone, literally. i gave him a dose and he fell over in his water bowel panting...and it hit me.

hey wookie...homeopathy is unbeatable at pain control and it has no side effects like addiction because it is your own body healing itself. it can also help you heal faster if you had surgery. it can stand on its own but it also works well with other disciplines. it's really worth a fair shake. i think good health is worth the effort...

wookie, i think you might be thinking of natural healing as opposed to homeopathy...

Have to 1000% agree with Tuna's post.
As far as surgery or pain relief, my belief is that homeopathic methods are at their best during those situations. The immune system is vulnerable before, during & after surgery...why compromise it more with allopathic medicine? Homeopathic remedies work with the natural balance of the animal (or person) and the immune system needs to be restored & supported for total recovery.
Look...antibiotics and such DO save lives...that is a fact BUT conventional medicine is given too readily, too long & if there are other methods for total cure...well, why not give it a try? Just a thought.

I think so too.. homeopathy is a specific kind of alternative healthcare therapy that is well established and has a credentialing system with schools and everything comparable to allopathic medicine. It isn't holistic medicine, it isn't Ayurveda, it isn't any number of other things that are considered "natural." It specifically about certain substances diluted to the point where they no longer exist in the prepared medicines to be given to the patients. Supposedly, the energy or chemical signatures are left in the water and this someone provides the benefits seen.

Case reports are wonderful, but unreliable and impossible to control for confounding variables. But I'm still interested in seeing clinical trials that put them head to head with another traditional treatment with a placebo arm in a double-blinded study. These are the gold standard in medical research and usually prove without a doubt the therapy is effective. Hearsay is not good enough for me. I am open-minded, but I need references to studies that have done this.

Originally Posted by Godiva

I think so too.. homeopathy is a specific kind of alternative healthcare therapy that is well established and has a credentialing system with schools and everything comparable to allopathic medicine. It isn't holistic medicine, it isn't Ayurveda, it isn't any number of other things that are considered "natural." It specifically about certain substances diluted to the point where they no longer exist in the prepared medicines to be given to the patients. Supposedly, the energy or chemical signatures are left in the water and this someone provides the benefits seen.

Case reports are wonderful, but unreliable and impossible to control for confounding variables. But I'm still interested in seeing clinical trials that put them head to head with another traditional treatment with a placebo arm in a double-blinded study. These are the gold standard in medical research and usually prove without a doubt the therapy is effective. Hearsay is not good enough for me. I am open-minded, but I need references to studies that have done this.

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No links as I havent researched this in ages ..... but a good start would be European universitys ( vitual library of course) .... Possibley the FDA website since the have signed off on efficacy

Many of the databases I have access to in pharmacy and nursing school include European journals. I'll have to do a search and see what I come up with. It's been a while since I last researched the topic.

here is one I love google
http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/27/homeopathy.htm

http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/13/19/19.html

http://www.holisticonline.com/Homeop...o_clinical.htm

http://www.biomedcomm.com/store/medi...d_studies.html

the one above I need to read further..lol.. it is long