Anyone experienced with homeopathy?

Hi
I'm wondering about homeopathy for my itchy cat. It might be from an allergy but not sure yet so I'm considering homeopathy for liver support.
I was just looking at this: http://www.holisticpetinfo.com/LiverAid-by-PetAlive.html#tab-4

Anyone experienced with homeopathy for cats? Anything I should be aware of? Am I better off sticking to a liver support supplement? Thanks!

This site does not support homeopathy. The latest research shows that it has never been proved to work, in humans or cats. There is no scientific base for any homeopathic practices. So I would continue with whatever normal treatment you are giving him, and consult with your vet regularly.

Hi and welcome to the forums! 

Sorry to hear your kitty isn't well but I'm not sure why you think he/she needs liver support? The liver usually does quite well on its own, so IMO anything you give your cat will be redundant at best and possibly dangerous. If your cat is itchy, he/she should be examined by your vet who can try and assess the cause. It could be anything from fleas to a food allergy. Impossible to tell without a vet check.

Homeopathy is basically taking some "bad stuff", usually poisons, and diluting them to the point that nothing of the original substance remains. Water or alcohol serves as the base in liquid remedies. Sugar and sometimes salt, are the base of the pill form. Thousands of studies showed that it has no effect other than placebo, which is not surprising considering the remedy contains water/alcohol/sugar/salt and nothing else. 

That product you linked to, contains in the list of ingredients things that I would never give a cat. None of them would support the liver but some of them will hurt it. However, if you trust the company to have diluted them all properly it *should* be fairly harmless. They don't mention if the product contains alcohol, salt or sugar, so that's something you may want to contact them and ask about before ordering.  

Generally, if you choose to try homeopathy at any point - 

1. Make sure it contains no alcohol, sugar or salt (yes, salt, I've recently heard from a vet about a cat who nearly died from a homeopathic remedy that had a lot of salt in the pills). And make sure it's sterile as well. 

2. It should never ever replace proper veterinary care. Ever.

As for supplements - only use one that was specifically recommended by your veterinarian. They can be more dangerous than homeopathy as they can contain anything, basically. So many plants are toxic to cats, I would be very careful with those. 

I have a cat that throws up her food at least every other day (whole unchewed chunks of kibble after she eats).  At LEAST every other day. 
Same cat also has snotty sneezing fits quite often. (vet says upper respiratory infection)
Same cat gets urinary tract infections about once a year.
   Other than that (and that's a lot)...she's fat and happy.
Several trips to several vets gets her antibiotics which "seem" to help for about a month.  Then right back to throwing up and snotty sneezing fits.

I started feeding her out of an ice cube tray and that seemed to slow down the puking a little bit.
I bought some "Tinkle Tonic" hoping it would help prevent UTI's. 
Two years of "Tinkle Tonic" and she hasn't had a UTI, and she very seldom pukes up her food.

So, a few months ago, I got her some PetAlive "Sinu-Rite".  So far, the snotty sneezing fits have stopped and there has been no incidents of little fits where she acts like she can't catch her breath.  (had some of those before and they are scary).

I always assumed she had allergies, but, I could never figure out what though.
As of right now, her food gets a few drops of Tinkle Tonic on it, and she gets one "sinu-rite" pill each day. (less than what's recommended on the bottle).
And, it works for her.

Had another cat that got "Bobcat Fever".  We used everything the vet gave us, and very high doses of Monolaurin. 
Very few cats survive.  This one made it though and is doing great now.

NOTE:  I'm not big on stuff like this.  If it was one OR the other, I'd go with a vets prescription/medication designed to combat the problem. 
BUT, if that has been tried and is not working.  I then look elsewhere.   Or if past results of medications have not been very successful and there's little hope?  I look elsewhere.
AND, most importantly.  Always ask your Vets advice.   (I did that before trying any of the above) 

If I were looking to implement a homeopathic remedy, I would either buy or get this book from the library:


I have used a homeopathic vet with great success before. Pitcairn addresses a lot of issues in that book, including allergies, with recommended remedies.

BassCat said:

 
I have a cat that throws up her food at least every other day (whole unchewed chunks of kibble after she eats).  At LEAST every other day. 
Same cat also has snotty sneezing fits quite often. (vet says upper respiratory infection)
Same cat gets urinary tract infections about once a year.
   Other than that (and that's a lot)...she's fat and happy.
Several trips to several vets gets her antibiotics which "seem" to help for about a month.  Then right back to throwing up and snotty sneezing fits.

I started feeding her out of an ice cube tray and that seemed to slow down the puking a little bit.
I bought some "Tinkle Tonic" hoping it would help prevent UTI's. 
Two years of "Tinkle Tonic" and she hasn't had a UTI, and she very seldom pukes up her food.

So, a few months ago, I got her some PetAlive "Sinu-Rite".  So far, the snotty sneezing fits have stopped and there has been no incidents of little fits where she acts like she can't catch her breath.  (had some of those before and they are scary).

I always assumed she had allergies, but, I could never figure out what though.
As of right now, her food gets a few drops of Tinkle Tonic on it, and she gets one "sinu-rite" pill each day. (less than what's recommended on the bottle).
And, it works for her.

Had another cat that got "Bobcat Fever".  We used everything the vet gave us, and very high doses of Monolaurin. 
Very few cats survive.  This one made it though and is doing great now.

NOTE:  I'm not big on stuff like this.  If it was one OR the other, I'd go with a vets prescription/medication designed to combat the problem. 
BUT, if that has been tried and is not working.  I then look elsewhere.   Or if past results of medications have not been very successful and there's little hope?  I look elsewhere.
AND, most importantly.  Always ask your Vets advice.   (I did that before trying any of the above) 

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Get her off the kibble ASAP. Kibble is loaded with things that can trigger an allergy. Put her on a limited ingredients wet food or one with simple to digest ingredients like Merrick LID, Ziwipeak, Feline Naturals, Tikicat, or even Weruva. 

Thank you very much for the tips! I've seen two vets already and they're both suggesting that my cat goes on a hypoallergenic food trial. Hypoallergenic food ingredients don't seem very healthy and I'm still trying to find a way around it... not totally convinced on the food allergy either, she's an indoor cat and suddenly got itchy chin, upper lip (whiskers) and ears after a visit to the vet. next week I will go see another vet to check her ears and teeth again.

vhsjl said:

Thank you very much for the tips! I've seen two vets already and they're both suggesting that my cat goes on a hypoallergenic food trial. Hypoallergenic food ingredients don't seem very healthy and I'm still trying to find a way around it... not totally convinced on the food allergy either, she's an indoor cat and suddenly got itchy chin, upper lip (whiskers) and ears after a visit to the vet. next week I will go see another vet to check her ears and teeth again.

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Getting a second - and even third - opinion is wise. However if food allergies are suspected, an elimination diet is key to verify (and treat) the issue. I wouldn't worry about the extra ingredients - as long as you're going with foods that are manufactured by known brands that your veterinarian approves. There are many things in cat food that we may not like the names of but are entirely safe (I wish I could say the same for alternative medications...) 

I also disagree that you have to stop kibble. For one thing, it's always a bad idea to switch between any kinds of food immediately. Secondly, hypoallergenic dry food is, well, hypoallergenic. Your cat may or may not benefit from switching to wet food (if she even agrees to eat it, not all cats do) and it may or may not be a good choice for your home and your lifestyle.

I think at this point, seeking professional advice from trusted veterinarians is key. IMO, if you want to switch foods and don't feel comfortable with what your vet suggests, you can turn to a professional certified pet nutritionist for an evaluation. You can find one in this directory and some of them offer phone/email consultations.

missmimz said:

 
Get her off the kibble ASAP. Kibble is loaded with things that can trigger an allergy. Put her on a limited ingredients wet food or one with simple to digest ingredients like Merrick LID, Ziwipeak, Feline Naturals, Tikicat, or even Weruva. 

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Can't stop kibble.  Cat is only around people (to feed her) 5 days a week.  She is not food motivated either. She just nibbles a little here and there whenever she wants. 
Have tried several different "expensive and very good for cat" brands of kibble and she flat out won't touch them.   

BassCat said:

 
Can't stop kibble.  Cat is only around people (to feed her) 5 days a week.  She is not food motivated either. She just nibbles a little here and there whenever she wants. 
Have tried several different "expensive and very good for cat" brands of kibble and she flat out won't touch them.   

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You'll likely never be able to control or narrow down that allergy if you keep feeding kibble. 

missmimz said:

 
You'll likely never be able to control or narrow down that allergy if you keep feeding kibble. 

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It's under control now.  But, I doubt I ever figure out the source.
 

vhsjl said:

Thank you very much for the tips! I've seen two vets already and they're both suggesting that my cat goes on a hypoallergenic food trial. Hypoallergenic food ingredients don't seem very healthy and I'm still trying to find a way around it... not totally convinced on the food allergy either, she's an indoor cat and suddenly got itchy chin, upper lip (whiskers) and ears after a visit to the vet. next week I will go see another vet to check her ears and teeth again.

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I went through a long period of one of my cats having a bad food allergy. She would get bloody diarrhea and inflamed red patches on her skin (eosinophilic granuloma), where she would lose the fur on large patches and start chewing at it because it was itchy. I did an elimination diet- I needed to start her on a single protein that she had never had before to clear it up- she got nothing but rabbit for six weeks (Natures Variety canned and Primal raw nuggets). It cleared up, at which point I started adding one ingredient at a time for a couple of weeks until I saw a reaction. It turned out to be fish. 

Homeopathy, as someone mentioned, has absolutely no value. It is a pseudoscience, and a complete waste of time and money that could be better used helping your cat. There has never been a single documented case of homeopathy curing anything that could not be attributed to time or the placebo effect. It's a nice idea if it worked, but it does nothing.

C christyp I'm definitely looking into the book. Thanks

catdaddy007 actually just cut all fish out of my cat's diet. I've given her hypoallergenic food for two days with pea proteins which seemed to make her slightly itchier so I thought I would just try cutting something out. Would you say 2-3weeks on an ingredient is enough to figure it out?

basscat so was the puking mainly due to eating too fast? My cat does throw up whole kibbles time to time as well... maybe I should mention that to the vet next week. glad to hear you got it under control with supplements, gives me hope!

vhsjl said:

@CatDaddy007 actually just cut all fish out of my cat's diet. I've given her hypoallergenic food for two days with pea proteins which seemed to make her slightly itchier so I thought I would just try cutting something out. Would you say 2-3weeks on an ingredient is enough to figure it out?

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It took about that long for me to see her really improve. Pea protein is not a natural cat diet; I would personally use a single protein like rabbit, venison, chicken, duck, something she has not had before and stick to ONLY that one food for a few weeks- no treats, no dry kibble. It was tough for me because mine with the allergy is also extremely picky. Not only did I have to feed her only one protein, but I had to find a brand she would eat. I got lucky with Natures Variety Instinct and Primal raw nuggets- no fillers, no other meat besides what the flavour is (rabbit, chicken, etc.).

vhsjl said:

@BassCat so was the puking mainly due to eating too fast? My cat does throw up whole kibbles time to time as well... maybe I should mention that to the vet next week. glad to hear you got it under control with supplements, gives me hope!

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I thought that at first. It was whole chunks of food.  As if she ate without chewing, drank some water, then "blatt".
 I then started feeding her out of an ice tray and putting two drops of Tinkle Tonic on her food.  
As of right now, it's pretty much under control.
 I gave her the Tinkle Tonic trying to help prevent another urinary tract infection.   A week later, I noticed she wasn't puking up her food.

So, I just keep feeding her out of the ice cube tray with the Tinkle Tonic drops on her food.   (not sure which is working, but, I continue because she doesn't vomit)