Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
When it comes to common issues in cats, upper respiratory tract infections are known to be prevalent. The good news is the kind of remedies that cats are drawn to actually help with these sorts of issues. It is good to know what these common infections are so that we can stay well informed. These infections include:
- Feline Calicivirus
- Feline Herpesvirus Type 1
- Bordetella Bronchiseptica
- Chlamydophila Felis
During such infections, the common symptoms that a cat tends to experience are:
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Streaming Eyes
- Excessive Mucus
Offering antimicrobial essential oils can be helpful. Be sure to see which they seem to like before you diffuse it throughout their environment. You never want to diffuse anything your animal doesn’t like. This is self-selection and it’s important that we allow them to do so. Check out my blog on how to test them out with your cat here. Allow the scents to flow throughout their space for a prolonged period of time.
These essential oils include:
- Fennel Seed Essential Oil
- Bay Laurel Essential Oil
- Lavender Essential Oil
- Lemon Essential Oil
- Lemongrass Essential Oil
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil
- Lime Essential Oil
- Peppermint Essential Oil
Never apply essential oils neat on a cat, inhalation is best. Either in a diffuser or in a hot bowl of water. Remember to first see if the cat responds well to the oil before diffusing it for them.
When our cats are unwell it is important that we keep their strength up to give them a leg up in fighting off the infection. This is why offering additional nutrients through nutritive remedies is encouraged.
These nutritive remedies include:
- Spirulina
- Barley Grass
- Rosehip Seeds
- Seaweed
Fleas
Another common issue with cats is fleas which affect a cat’s health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, most animal parents believe that applying poisons are the only solution. However, there are a number of natural options that we have at our fingertips. It can be very soothing to your cat to have a selection of remedies that they can rub and roll around in since their skin can become itchy and inflamed. This leads to scratching, making the skin vulnerable to infection.
Allow them to select some fresh or dried herbs and place the chosen herbs in a place where they have plenty of space to roll around in the remedies. Cats will usually be drawn to herbs like lavender, catnip and peppermint. It’s a good idea to scatter these herbs in the cat’s bedding to deter fleas as well. You need to continue the use of these herbs for several weeks because the lifecycle of the flea means that even though you’ve removed the fleas, the eggs will still remain on the cat or bedding. Which means they will hatch several weeks later, and here we go again!
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)
This is considered bladder conditions in the cat which can be addressed with the inhalation of self-selected essential oils. Zoopharmacognosy practitioners use this modality and find it quite effective. This does not mean that you do not take your cat to your holistic veterinarian or practitioner. Be mindful and do what you think is needed for your cat.
In most cases there is inflammation present when it comes to bladder conditions. Which means we will need to include anti-inflammatory essential oils in their array of remedies.
These anti-inflammatory essential oils include:
- German Chamomile Essential Oil
- Lavender Essential Oil
- Yarrow Essential Oil
Be sure to provide regular opportunities throughout the day to smell their chosen oils to support them through their urinary condition. Interestingly, studies have shown that lemon essential oil has been seen to breakdown urinary stones in cats through inhalation. Please consult your zoopharmacognosy practitioner before trying this.
As for herbal remedies, you will probably want to offer some soothing, anti-inflammatory, demulcent herbs such as:
- Couch Grass
- Marshmallow Root
- Cornsilk
- Slippery Elm
You can offer these through a water based infusion if the cat has responded well to one or more of the herbs. They may be willing to drink the infusion, about 1 teaspoon is enough for a cat at any given dose.
These are some ideas of how you can help your cat with common conditions that they can experience in a healthy, natural and toxic free way.
If you are interested holistic services from Maria for your animal feel free to learn more here.
