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Cat Remedies

Updated: 09/28/2009

DISCLAIMER
* Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional veterinary prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your veterinarian before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your Veterinarian can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your pet's unique needs or diagnose your pet's particular medical history.

RESPIRATORY INFECTION

2 YEA

[YEA]  06/03/2008: Rathmussen from Montreal, Canada writes: "I took the tip from someone on this site to put ACV on the scruff of my cat to help with a respiratory infection, and not only did it help her condition a bit, her whole coat has become magically lush. I don't know if it was spread everywhere from us petting her or brushing her with a baby brush, or if it was absorbed through her skin and spread from there, but wow. She was always a scruffy runt, but now she's downright regal looking!"

06/18/2008: Amber from Houston, TX replies: "I was just wondering how long it took for your cat to get over the infection once you used the ACV? My kitten has conjunctivitis and a URI, the vet was going to charge me $200 for his visit. After reading this site I decided to try it on him. I'm hoping it clears up soon."

06/19/2008: Joy from Addy, WA replies: "Hi Amber,

We have 15 cats which are up to at least 16 years old. We have not had to take them to a vet for a long time. (I would definitely take any of them that needed to go- in case of emergency to a natural vet near us.) Many of our cats were very sick when we got them (one was diagnosed with FIV 10 years ago), and several were dying from distemper, etc. Today, they are healthy and fluffy, with shiny coats and eyes. Some look like show cats.

For any eye infections, we have homemade Colloidal Silver that is dropped into the eyes several times a day with a dropper.(I also use it for pinkeye on myself and the results are almost instant.) I buy Colloidal Silver online for any other illnesses. It works quickly.

For nutrition, we switched to a raw, homemade diet for our cats, and that made all the difference. We use a basic recipe, and then add some beneficial herbs to it.

Along with the CS, any of our seriously ill cats recieved a mixture given by dropperfuls at intervals daily.

Two of our cats were dying from a URI years ago (They got it at the vet's office when being fixed, and nothing he gave them later helped. Blood was coming out of their noses, and they hadn't eaten in 4 days.) I was new to natural cures and gave them several drops of echinacea straight after looking up the amount in a book. This was so powerful they were sputtering, but both were eating within a half hour. I had to continue with the echinacea for about a month until they were completely recovered.

Giving echinacea and vitamin c is much easier (and safer in the case of a kitten or very weak cat) on the patient when mixed in the drops, though. You just measure how much they can have a day, and then put that in your dropper bottle along with other ingredients. Give a little every hour or couple hours or so around the clock if the illness is serious.

A tiny kitten would of course, take much less than a cat. But you would want to give enough to get rid of the infection.

In conclusion, i would give Colloidal Silver on an empty stomach several times a day. A small squirt from a dropper in the side of the mouth. With a different bottle, i would put a few drops of CS in each eye several times a day.

Next, i would put about 8 drops of echinacea in a dropper bottle, 1/8 tsp fish oil, 500 mg Vitamin C Powder. (If possible, i would also put a drop Vitamin E, 1/8 tsp nutrional yeast flakes, 1/8 tsp. barley grass powder, 1/8 tsp. liver powder, 1/4 tsp. colostrum, all available inexpensively in bulk online from a single place.) Mix the ingredients with a little chicken broth for flavor and to liquify. With experience you can gauge how much broth to put with the ingredients to enable you to finish all the drops in a day. Wrap your kitten gently in a towel before giving him the drops. Slowly squeeze part of a dropper into the side of his mouth so he doesn't choke and can breathe well. Give this entire amount during a day. Next day fix it again. Continue daily for a while even after the kitten has appeared to recover, gradually reducing the amounts of Vitamin C and echinacea.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if you want any more specifics.

I hope your kitten recovers well,

Joy"

08/12/2008: Liana from Mississauga, Canada replies: "To Joy:

Please, tell us what ingredients you feed daily to your cats, and also what beneficial herbs you used.

I am looking after a stray cat that lives in my neighbourhood (including my house). He seems to have a bad cold. I fed him chicken broth with many pieces of chicken. For the last 2 days I have fed him cod liver oil. These 2 remedies seem to help somewhat. I have also put ACV his scruff as recommended by a contributor to this website.

If anybody else has suggestions on what to do with a cat that is otherwise very healthy, I would appreciate it so much."

06/06/2009: Angela from Federal Way, WA replies: "I would love it if you would clarify what it was that you call a "basic" homemade cat food. I could guess as to the perfect mix, but I really don't know what a cat needs. Do you or anyone else out there?"

RINGWORM

1 YEA

[YEA]  09/24/2008: Kyrie from New York, NY writes: "A cat's skin is much more sensitive than human skin so please consider this when using anything on them that stings.

Also, I have read in numerous places that essential oils, even on flea collars, can be lethal to cats. Putting motor oil, which is a carcinogen (as is petroleum jelly), on an animal that cleans itself with its mouth, I would think that could be dangerous. While I still wouldn't put it on a horse, they are different than cats and dogs and will not likely ingest it.

Now onto ringworm:
Both my cat and I are sick - we were both exposed to large doses of a pesticide, in an enclosed area, and now both of our immune systems are having issues. Add to that, we both caught ringworm, from a stray kitten, on a cross country trip. I have found, being that I have a compromised immune system (isn't working at all) that getting rid of ringworm has been difficult as I am having to get to the underlying causes in order to really get rid of it (in chinese medicine - dampness). Ringworm is related to all the things you hear about that start with the word tinea - such as athlete's foot, nail fungus, scalp itch, jock itch (pardon my bluntness). And as any one who has had any of these knows, it's really difficult to treat. So even when you treat the raised sore, you have often not gotten rid of it (I think it is systemic but I might be wrong). So, if you are ready to take it out completely, you will have to address not only the lesions but clothing, bedding, floors, etc. You may not show sores but you may have it (itchy scalp? White soft buildup? Crusty ears? Itching anywhere?).

Cleaning:
So even tho it is caustic, I use bleach if I have to wash floors. And where I can't, I use plain old salt. For my kitty's ears, I took a damp washcloth soaked in a high saline solution (kosher sea salt) and just applied it directly to the ringworm. This kills it within a short period of time (10 minutes should be plenty). It stings while the fungus is alive and stops when it is dead. I have found one application to be sufficient if you treat the other areas. For humans, swimming in the ocean is a way to alleviate it on the skin, scalp, etc. What you have to be careful of is when you put your clothes back on - or your kitty goes and lays down where he usually does - he and you are probably reinfecting yourselves.

When not near the ocean, I like to take kosher sea salt baths - 1.5 lbs in bath water (this is a very heavy concentration but I like it). After I am done with the bath - I throw my clothes in the water and soak them before washing them. Unlike when I swim in the ocean which leaves a residue and dries out my hair, the kosher salt leaves my hair really wonderful. I don't use shampoo on those days and my hair has been stripped of all the impurities that build up (yeast/fungus in your hair makes it slightly gooey).

Supposedly dry cleaning kills it as well.

Now this is a lot of work. I'm pretty sick so its been hard clearing it and you might not be as susceptible, but your cat or dog who is scratching and you don't see anything, or their ears are red and sensitive might be harboring more of the fungus.

I once went to a health food store and the woman behind the counter told me that she had had it a while back and had successfully treated it. I did not have it at the time. I caught it again from her - and it was a particularly virulent strain - it took a lot to cleanse that one out. She had simply suppressed the lesions.

The other thing to do is treat yourself and animal on a nutritional basis. Good food, pure water, etc is a great help. Fungus loves sugar (see candida - it's a fungus as well), so out went all the junk.

I am being treated by a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and he is helping me on a constitutional level so I don't self prescribe - I let him do his work. But I do take the baths whenever I know i've come into contact with a fungus (I am sens to it now and know - I sometimes pick it up outdoors or on my own keyboard). My cat gets homeopathic remedies which clear it out of his system. Berberis is a great acute for ringworm. In a pinch (and not in true homeopathic prescribing, ringworm is a remedy as well as well that can be ordered from Helios, and that also knocks it out).

My kitty lets me put the damp cloth on his sensitive ears without much of a fuss and its a good holdover until the remedy kicks in (can take up to 4 weeks or so to be fully cleared and may need to be repeated every 3 months depending on how deep a level it affected the animal). You'll know. He still gets it but it is getting weaker and weaker in him.

I am also going to start him on hydrogen peroxide therapy as well after reading this wonderful site!

Sorry this isn't incredibly simple but it works! I hope this can help someone."

12/19/2008: Martina from Vancouver, BC, Canada replies: "I had ringworm once and I immediately sprayed the circle with Lysol antiseptic because Lysol kills fungus. It worked after one application!"

12/21/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn. replies: "Hi Kyrie, My suggestion won't be much help for you and your kitty's ringworms now but make a mental note for next year. Do you recognize a black walnut tree when you see it? Next year gather some of those black walnuts with the green hulls still on them. They will dry up a ringworm faster than anything I know of - worked much better than the expensive meds prescribed by 2 dermatologists. You could see a big difference after slicing a little of it off and rubbing it on his "cat ringworm" of the scalp after just rubbing it twice with it. That ringworm that had progressed to a kerion after several weeks of treatment was cured by the green hulls of black walnuts gathered free from the woods.

Of course you can probably find an extract or tincture of black walnut hulls at a health food store now, and it would probably do the same and wouldn't harm your kitty if it licked it off while bathing.

Next year, if you want to make your own, the rule of thumb for preparing your own herbals is l part herb to l part diluent when using fresh herbs. If using dried herbs, its l part herb to 2 parts diluent. The diluent is usually alcohol or vinegar. If it is to be used internally or might be licked off by a pet, make sure you use the alcohol from the liquor store, not wood or rubbing alcohol.

You will find many good books on how to recognize, gather and prepare herbals and what they are used for, as well as lots of information on line."

SKIN ISSUES

2 QUESTIONS

[QUESTION]  04/28/2009: Betty from Berryville, Arkansas writes: "I have a cat that has lost all his hair on both sides. There is no red skin or sores. He does have a lot of burrs matted up in his fur. He is a long hair cat and he stays outdoors. Is this mange? If not, can anyone tell me what it is? Thank you, Betty"

[QUESTION]  01/30/2009: Timothy from Chattanooga, Tennessee writes: "HELP Please I have a ernest hemmingway cat who is suffering from severe dry skin and dandruff I am too poor to take her to the vet but I love her very much and need to know if there are any home remidies I might use to help her."

02/01/2009: Andree from Phoenix, AZ replies: "Go to the grocery store and get her some pet vitamines. They are cheap and will help her skin."

02/01/2009: Rosy from Orlando, Fl replies: "The dry skin is probably an allergy to something. I would add some organic apple cider vinegar to her water. I get it for $3.99 a bottle at the vitamin shoppe.

After that make sure you are feeding her foods with out grains. This can be a bit costly, but worth it. My cats are picky and only eat kibble, I like to get a big, 25lb bag and separate it into smaller gallon size bags and freeze them to prevent it from going stale. I get my food from Petco, they have a great program were you can get one bag for free after buying ten within a year.

If you give her baths use only organic soaps, and use only neem oil to prevent fleas. I like to bathe my kitties once every 6 months and I mix 1/8 cup Dr Bronner's liquid soap with a dropper full of neem oil. I then add it to lukewarm water, then dunk the kitties, scrub good and rinse with lots of clean water.

If you bathe to often her skin could be drying out from the sls in most soap. If she is eating food with grain she could be suffering from food allergies, and the same with Organic ACV. It seems to help out the ph in you kitties body and heal some skin issues along with it.

I hope that helps, I know how it feels when you are feeling helpless with your fur babies!"

TEA TREE OIL WARNING

1 WARNING!

[WARNING!]  12/26/2008: Sherry from Columbus, Ohio writes: "While researching tea tree oil as a skin healer, I noted that tea tree oil can be very toxic to cats. A couple of comments here mention tea tree oil use for cats to help prevent fleas. Thought I should just mention it."

12/29/2008: Beth from Marshall, Missouri replies: "I have used tea tree oil shampoo on my cats multiple times, however I use it sparingly and only on one of them. My cat Brok will sometimes rub himself raw on a spot on his back. He is overweight so he cannot groom certain areas on his back properly. I will give him a bath with regular cat shampoo, then treat the balding area with a dime size of tea tree shampoo. He never got sick or showed any symptoms that I read about over the internet. I believe as long as you use it sparingly, and make sure to completly rinse the area you used it on, you won't have a problem. Don't use straight oil either, you can pick up tea tree shampoo from a health food store. I have also used this to prevent a mange break out on three previous cats of mine with no ill effects. I think as long as you use it sparingly (ie. bald spots or mange) then it will be fine. but do keep the other health warnings in mind, such as not using it on open sores, or on a cat that was recently shaved."

TED'S MANGE REMEDY

2 YEA

[YEA]  05/26/2008: Jen from Toronto, Canada writes: "Just wanted to say that I tried the borax treatment on my cats tail (he's got what is called a 'stud tail) and it worked wonders. He always had an oily tail and I tried everything even professional grooming and nothing helped before! So at least that problem is out of the way for now. But he has another problem - a hernia. Does anyone know of any treatment methods for a cat hernia? I really don't want to opt for surgery."

[YEA]  03/23/2008: Marsha from Nashville, TN writes: "Cat mange cure with hydrogen peroxide, borax, and warm water. My 10 year old lynx/siamese /himalayan cat developed intense itching with loss of hair and redness around the neck recently. I thought it was hair mats at first. I called to schedule a shave for her but the vet said they would have to sedate her and get blood work first to see if it was safe to sedate her. Total price, $300! I said "never mind". I began to feel that her condition was more than hair mats. I thought it resembled the mange in dogs I'd seen. I research the net for cat mange and the symptoms matched perfectly. I found Ted's peroxide,borax,water concoction and immediately fixed up a small amount. About 3TBS borax, 2 cups warm water, and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide. I took a small rag and soaked it and rubbed it around her neck. She was suspcious at first of the wet rag but she was enjoying the rub to much to care for long. Before I started the application her neck was red and hairless. Within 1 hour her skin color on her neck was a light pink. I checked her the next day and the area was flesh colored and she wasn't scratching so much. I did another treatment that day for a added kill of the mites and let it rest the 3rd day. On the 4th day her hair is regrowing about an inch and she has more energy. I treated her again and rewarded her with fresh catnip. My cat never goes outside and there are no more animals around. Although on pretty days I open her window so she can perch there and watch the outside. I was thinking maybe bird mites blew on her if thats possible. Anyway the remedy works on cats too! Thankyou for saving me lots of $$$ and the unknown chemicals and added stress of going to the vet on her. Her name by the way, is Whisper and she says "Meow meow" (thats thankyou Ted)"

URINARY BLOCKAGE IN MALE CAT

1 YEA

[YEA]  02/01/2008: Camille from Pleasant Valley, New YorK writes: "I'm seeking a cure, as well as preventative measures for urinary blockage in male cats. My cat was eating a wet food that has been discontinued along with his dry food. He refuses to eat any other brand of wet food. He developed urinary blockage from lack of wet food. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated."

02/07/2008: Diana Goode from Wantage, NJ replies: "In response to Camille from Pleasant Valley, New York It's very important to know WHAT kind of crystals are causing the blockage. My cat had Struvite crystals from being to alkaline. I stoped all free choice dry food - this causes the body to become alkaline. I now feed him a quality GRAIN FREE cat food. I hide one 250mg vitC and add a spoonfull of turkey and sweet potatoe babyfood (for extra moisture) to the top of all of it. 3 days a week I add an 1/8 of a teaspoon of a cranberry supplement.Any time I notice a lack of pee in his litter box I drain a can of tuna or chicken into a cup and mix with filtered or bottled water (He LOVES this!!) to up his water intake. Knock on wood he has been crystal free now for 2 years!! But you have to know what his Ph is and what kind of crystals he has before you try this! Good Luck!!"

08/05/2008: Jay from Florissant, Missouri replies: "I used apple cider vinegar to cure my cat's urinary blockage after a 1500 dollar visit to the vet the first time this occured. A neighbor suggested trying a home remedy. I found this web site and learned about apple cider vinegar to cure cat's of urinary blockage.I had a syringe from the vet for giving my cat water to help him swallow his medicine I used this 6 militer syringe to give my cat ACV BY MIXING IT WITH ONE CUP OF WATER AND GIVING HIM 1FULL syringe in the morning and 1 at night the 1st 3 days then 1/2 a teespoon of ACV to his water dish which holds 2 cups.

I am pleased to report that MAX my male cat is doing fine and is urinating normally now will keep him on this for the rest of his life. my thanks to Earth clinic"

09/23/2008: Leta from Sierra Madre, CA replies: "I am fortunate to have a vet who respects my dislike of anti-bio-tics. She ran tests on my 18 year old cat's urine to find which specific bacteria/crystals caused his distress. She suggested I buy Trader Joe's Cranberry extract, and give my cat a half a tablet crushed up food mornings and a half in evenings. One week later, his urinary pH was back to normal, without bacteria, and no crystals. I'm assuming this would work only for certain kinds of distress, and DEFINATELY not if there's already a blockage....I also would not continue the cranberry full time, as it affects acid-alkaline balance."

URINARY CRYSTALS

1 YEA

[YEA]  05/04/2008: Tonya from Houston, TX, USA writes: "Outstanding information on this site.

Why isn't Apple Cider Vinegar a staple in every household? Truly a life changing remedy the doctors sure don't tell you about. Thanks a million to everyone who took the time to provide VALUABLE information on this site. I'm using it now for my cat who almost died from crystals...a urinary blockage. The vet wanted to perform a painful $1,500 surgery, but the ACV is doing the trick to regulate his PH levels. Unbelievable..."

05/27/2008: Aynne from Liverpool, NY replies: "I am reading about the ACV helping kitties with crystals. I've spent thousands of dollars on my kitty, usually rushing him to the vets and having him stay about 3 days. This is tough on all of us. He only eats specially ordered wet vet food, yet he still gets sick and I have to watch him all the time. What is the dosage for the kitties who have crystals? It would be a relief to finally get this under control. He has lost alot of weight since he can no longer eat grains. I am now retired and now longer have the financial resources I did, so I need better solutions."

06/09/2008: Cindy from Mount Shasta, CA replies: "Apple Cider Vinegar Regarding ACV and urinary blockage in cats, how do you administer it to kitty?"

07/19/2009: Kyle from Jacksonville, Florida replies: "We have a male cat who developed urinary crystals and after a $1,000 vet bill, I was forced to look for a homeopathic, inexpensive alternative. When he developed it again, I started giving him about 1/2 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) in some warm water with his dry food every morning and the urinary crystals completely disappeared in a day or two. If your cat won't eat the food, try putting less ACV in the warm water at first and gradually build up the amount. I also try to give him some wet food a few times a week (I wish I could only give him wet food, but it is far more expensive). Now I give this to each of my cats daily and they are completely healthy."

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