Homeopathy for Kitties
June 2005
Natural Pet Care
By Dianna Medea
When I moved into my Saskatchewan house a few years ago, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the stray cats that happened to my yard, so I began to leave out dry food and water, putting out canned food or raw meat whenever I saw one coming on the deck.
With cold weather fast approaching, I set up both a heat lamp and an insulated box complete with a fleece blanket in the garage, access gained through a hole cut in the door.
A Serious Neck Wound
One male cat, quite thin, white with grey and brown spots with a tabby stripe, visited my deck just a few times that spring. At the end of June, he showed up with a large deep wound on the left side of his neck, about two inches in diameter, obviously a bite of some kind. What to do?
As a nurse, I recognized the seriousness of the wound and doubted the cat’s survival. And if I called the Humane Society, it would be a sure death, being feral and all. So I grabbed my trusted homeopathic Arnica 200C and put a dose in his food.
I know that this isn’t the proper way to administer homeopathic remedies, but I had no other option. A remedy should be dissolved under the tongue, with nothing to eat or drink for a half-hour before and after taking it, but this cat had run when he saw me.
The Cat Came Back
Yes, the very next day, the cat came back, and he got more Arnica; in fact, he got one to two doses a day over the next five days. Arnica is the first-aid remedy that homeopaths turn to for any soft tissue injury where there is pain, swelling, and bleeding with subsequent bruising, along the admonishment of “stay away; don’t touch it.”
Because the cat began to visit more regularly, I took advantage of those opportunities, moving on to homeopathic Hypericum 200C, once a day for three days, after I saw him ever so gingerly trying to scratch his neck, imagining how painful that deep wound must be. Also known as St. John’s Wort, Hypericum is the homeopathic specific for excruciating nerve pain, like when your finger gets crushed in a door or hammered. A few days later, I considered the six inch trail of debris attached to his wound — skin, hair, leaves, who knows what — and gave him one dose of homeopathic Silica 200C, used to help expel foreign bodies; the next time I saw him, half of it had fallen off.
In July, the cat showed up minus all of the debris, and while he ate, I got a good look at what I was working with. The wound was red, raw, and angry, although it looked fairly healthy — moist and without the infection which I had thought was inevitable for such a large wound amidst unsanitary living conditions. I gave him a dose of homeopathic Calendula 200C once a day for five days; one day, he ate the remedy and left the food! On the third day, I thought that the wound looked smaller. Calendula, or marigold, is known for bringing wound edges together. On August 2, the wound was almost closed except for three small areas, and his fur was even growing back. I was astonished, first of all that the cat survived, that the wound did not get infected, and finally that the wound even healed.
The Power of Homeopathic Remedies
The prairie cats that come to visit my deck amaze me. When they are ailing, they get the indicated remedy, and then they start showing up quite regularly – yes for the waiting food and safety of my yard, but also because, I believe, they realize that they feel better when they hang out here. And they become a little less wild and tolerate me a bit closer.
I love homeopathy. As a certified classical homeopathic practitioner, I welcome these little nudges that demonstrate the miracle of homeopathy and reinforce that I have found my calling. Simply translated, homeopathy means “similar suffering” in that a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person will cure those same symptoms in someone who is ill with them. For instance, when we peel an onion, our eyes water and nose runs; Allium Cepa, or homeopathic onion, is often given for the watery eyes and nasal discharge accompanying the common cold. However, classical homeopaths treat the individual and not the disease, matching a person’s unique symptoms to a single remedy originating from nature — from the plant, animal, or mineral kingdoms — and according to this Law of Similars.
Nonetheless, some homeopathic remedies are specific to certain conditions, as in the above story. For instance, Arnica should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet as it is a godsend after a dental procedure, with the single ability to convert the most skeptical to the healing power of homeopathy. Furthermore, with a bit of study, anyone can manage simple self-prescribing at home for the first-aid treatment of wounds, burns, insect bites, bruises, and strains, etc., and perhaps even eliminating a doctor’s visit.
Homeopathic remedies are also an effective adjunct to conventional medical treatment, as with a broken limb, hastening the healing process and with less pain; Symphytum (or Comfrey or bone-knit) is the specific remedy for fractures. But homeopathy has the greatest potential to cure deep-seated chronic ailments for which conventional medicine has little to offer, other than controlling symptoms through drugs, although consultation with a qualified homeopathic practitioner is always recommended for such constitutional prescribing.
Homeopathic remedies are equally as effective for animals as for people, including infants, pregnant women, and the elderly. And pets receive the very same remedies as their humans do, the choice based simply on the totality of presenting symptoms. Interestingly, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, tested, or proved, homeopathic remedies on healthy people to determine their effects, while conventional medicines are tested on sick people and laboratory animals.
Hahnemann’s genius is timeless, his work as relevant today as its inception in 1793, and homeopathy stands firmly on his pillars to truth, the discipline of homeopathy built on its successes. It has been practised for over 200 years, and in its renaissance is emerging as a legitimate, effective, non-toxic, healing approach to health and disease. Often referred to as the “medicine of the 21st century,” its power to help people is as close to miraculous as you can get in medical therapeutics.
Some of my cats didn’t survive the next cruel winter, including the star of this story, while others did with most of their ears still intact. I have a few old faces and several new ones, so I urge everyone to spay and neuter their cats, and show compassion to the homeless among us. May cat hair ever adorn your clothing, and may the vital force be with you.
Dianna Medea practises classical homeopathy in Regina, Saskatchewan. She graduated from the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy in Minneapolis and is certified with the Council for Homeopathic Certification. She also worked as a registered nurse for many years. Call (306) 525-3745 for information or appointments.
When I moved into my Saskatchewan house a few years ago, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the stray cats that happened to my yard, so I began to leave out dry food and water, putting out canned food or raw meat whenever I saw one coming on the deck.
With cold weather fast approaching, I set up both a heat lamp and an insulated box complete with a fleece blanket in the garage, access gained through a hole cut in the door.
A Serious Neck Wound
One male cat, quite thin, white with grey and brown spots with a tabby stripe, visited my deck just a few times that spring. At the end of June, he showed up with a large deep wound on the left side of his neck, about two inches in diameter, obviously a bite of some kind. What to do?
As a nurse, I recognized the seriousness of the wound and doubted the cat’s survival. And if I called the Humane Society, it would be a sure death, being feral and all. So I grabbed my trusted homeopathic Arnica 200C and put a dose in his food.
I know that this isn’t the proper way to administer homeopathic remedies, but I had no other option. A remedy should be dissolved under the tongue, with nothing to eat or drink for a half-hour before and after taking it, but this cat had run when he saw me.
The Cat Came Back
Yes, the very next day, the cat came back, and he got more Arnica; in fact, he got one to two doses a day over the next five days. Arnica is the first-aid remedy that homeopaths turn to for any soft tissue injury where there is pain, swelling, and bleeding with subsequent bruising, along the admonishment of “stay away; don’t touch it.”
Because the cat began to visit more regularly, I took advantage of those opportunities, moving on to homeopathic Hypericum 200C, once a day for three days, after I saw him ever so gingerly trying to scratch his neck, imagining how painful that deep wound must be. Also known as St. John’s Wort, Hypericum is the homeopathic specific for excruciating nerve pain, like when your finger gets crushed in a door or hammered. A few days later, I considered the six inch trail of debris attached to his wound — skin, hair, leaves, who knows what — and gave him one dose of homeopathic Silica 200C, used to help expel foreign bodies; the next time I saw him, half of it had fallen off.
In July, the cat showed up minus all of the debris, and while he ate, I got a good look at what I was working with. The wound was red, raw, and angry, although it looked fairly healthy — moist and without the infection which I had thought was inevitable for such a large wound amidst unsanitary living conditions. I gave him a dose of homeopathic Calendula 200C once a day for five days; one day, he ate the remedy and left the food! On the third day, I thought that the wound looked smaller. Calendula, or marigold, is known for bringing wound edges together. On August 2, the wound was almost closed except for three small areas, and his fur was even growing back. I was astonished, first of all that the cat survived, that the wound did not get infected, and finally that the wound even healed.
The Power of Homeopathic Remedies
The prairie cats that come to visit my deck amaze me. When they are ailing, they get the indicated remedy, and then they start showing up quite regularly – yes for the waiting food and safety of my yard, but also because, I believe, they realize that they feel better when they hang out here. And they become a little less wild and tolerate me a bit closer.
I love homeopathy. As a certified classical homeopathic practitioner, I welcome these little nudges that demonstrate the miracle of homeopathy and reinforce that I have found my calling. Simply translated, homeopathy means “similar suffering” in that a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person will cure those same symptoms in someone who is ill with them. For instance, when we peel an onion, our eyes water and nose runs; Allium Cepa, or homeopathic onion, is often given for the watery eyes and nasal discharge accompanying the common cold. However, classical homeopaths treat the individual and not the disease, matching a person’s unique symptoms to a single remedy originating from nature — from the plant, animal, or mineral kingdoms — and according to this Law of Similars.
Nonetheless, some homeopathic remedies are specific to certain conditions, as in the above story. For instance, Arnica should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet as it is a godsend after a dental procedure, with the single ability to convert the most skeptical to the healing power of homeopathy. Furthermore, with a bit of study, anyone can manage simple self-prescribing at home for the first-aid treatment of wounds, burns, insect bites, bruises, and strains, etc., and perhaps even eliminating a doctor’s visit.
Homeopathic remedies are also an effective adjunct to conventional medical treatment, as with a broken limb, hastening the healing process and with less pain; Symphytum (or Comfrey or bone-knit) is the specific remedy for fractures. But homeopathy has the greatest potential to cure deep-seated chronic ailments for which conventional medicine has little to offer, other than controlling symptoms through drugs, although consultation with a qualified homeopathic practitioner is always recommended for such constitutional prescribing.
Homeopathic remedies are equally as effective for animals as for people, including infants, pregnant women, and the elderly. And pets receive the very same remedies as their humans do, the choice based simply on the totality of presenting symptoms. Interestingly, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, tested, or proved, homeopathic remedies on healthy people to determine their effects, while conventional medicines are tested on sick people and laboratory animals.
Hahnemann’s genius is timeless, his work as relevant today as its inception in 1793, and homeopathy stands firmly on his pillars to truth, the discipline of homeopathy built on its successes. It has been practised for over 200 years, and in its renaissance is emerging as a legitimate, effective, non-toxic, healing approach to health and disease. Often referred to as the “medicine of the 21st century,” its power to help people is as close to miraculous as you can get in medical therapeutics.
Some of my cats didn’t survive the next cruel winter, including the star of this story, while others did with most of their ears still intact. I have a few old faces and several new ones, so I urge everyone to spay and neuter their cats, and show compassion to the homeless among us. May cat hair ever adorn your clothing, and may the vital force be with you.
Dianna Medea practises classical homeopathy in Regina, Saskatchewan. She graduated from the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy in Minneapolis and is certified with the Council for Homeopathic Certification. She also worked as a registered nurse for many years. Call (306) 525-3745 for information or appointments.