16 User Reviews
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How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
EC: Hi Kitty, you can squeeze a saturated cotton ball with diluted ACV (1 part water to 1 part ACV) to the scruff of your cat's neck (top, near skull) once or twice a day instead of trying to put it in your pet's water dish or food. It's a gentle and effective way to get ACV in cats and dogs. The transdermal method is just as effective as giving it to them internally.
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
(Mpls., Mn) on 09/03/2014★★★★★
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
★★★★★
She doesn't love it but it's a good way to get the treatment into her.
Good luck
(Ma.)
11/07/2014
I read some where that ACV diluted can be put on a cats back/ fur, and I am assuming to get the same results, I do it for my cats.
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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(Wayland, NY)
08/15/2014
That is heartbreaking to hear about the rattling cat and how you paid $130.00 to the Vet that was no help. I too have a cat with the same problem and no idea what else to do to help him. I also rescue cats and made my mission in life to pay for spay/neutering for stray/feral cats.
(New York, Ny)
09/21/2014
Syringing fluids down a cats throat is never a great idea. It can easily get into the lungs, which can cause Aspiration Pneumonia. Especially with something "pungent" like Apple Cider Vinegar - which can cause them to gag on it.
I would just add a few drops to a strongly flavored and/or irresistible food - Like Tuna or Tuna Water (Which is not good to feed to cats regularly, but, once in a while, it's OK). Or on a slice of Chicken/Turkey/Roast Beef. Or, maybe in a small amount of Meat Baby Food (Gerber's Stage 1).
(Indiana)
12/04/2022
Okay, here goes! I have a 15 yr old cat, who has had thyroid cancer for at least 4 years, been to two different vets during this time. One vet gave him a thyroid pill, to be given 2 times a day! Problem was, the cat wouldn't keep the meds down, and if I thought I'd succeeded, I'd find it later in a corner or somewhere. Finally stopped the very unpleasant times trying to have him keep it down, but he needed it 2 times a day.
I kept searching for some help, and found a med online, ordered it, but it was in hard pill form, so I had to crush it, them mixed it with a small amt of almond milk, using a small bottle and cut the slim opening to a larger size, shook it well, took him on my lap in the bathroom with closed doors, and got some down him, more on me, but finally we got better at it! When he wouldnt eat very much, I'd even put some of his wet food in the bottle as well.
I guess I should tell you that he is skinny, but still active, and does eat sometime, but I still give him his meds with whatever is needed to supplement his health. It's been over 4 years since, and he's doing okay. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to, without any professional help. Thank you,
(Ma., US)
11/04/2014
When this cat is sick she will not eat any thing at all, I have tried and failed, however she will eat the dry moist and still this is not helping her any at all, she is rapidly losing weight. It's been like a little over a week and all she eats is a small amount of moist cat bits. The vet couldn't help her and neither can I. She eats when ever she can or feels up to it. Also she knows if I put any thing in her food, she is an expert on sniffing her food and knows. :-) When she is feeling better she is some funny little hellion on wheels, I just adopted a rough-tough dog a Wheaten/Terrier mix; My cat gives the dog the evil stare and walks up to him and gives him a Bruce Lee chop; Claws and all. Too funny. I love my mentals.
(Portslade Uk)
11/08/2014
Hi, I would give your cat virgin coconut oil. You can spread it on your cats paws and she/he will eat it that way. Look it up on here. It has many, many health benefits.
(Oregon, US)
12/07/2014
USE milk thistle .. one drop per pound of body weight. over a few days they will begin to eat and gain weight.
(Nyc)
05/20/2017
My 12 y.o.Persian cat has had 2 seizures in the past 6 weeks, the first very violent and physical. After recovering, she began craving my alkaline water. She still drinks her own (filtered Brita her entire life) but when she hears me pour a glass in the evening she is in my face begging to drink from my glass. Since ACV is an alkalyzing agent, I'm sure it's the same difference. So perhaps bottled alkaline water is a good alternative for those whose cats don't take to the ACV. I use Evamor (or Iceland or Eterna) as they are naturally alkalized from spring sources.
The second seizure was less severe (though still frightening) and since we went to the vet and got a clear blood panel showing no metabolic reasons for the seizure, we are tackling this naturally.
Thanks to everyone for their great posts and suggestions! I'll be swapping out her daily olive oil for coconut oil. (I would like to mention it's important for all oils to be organic and expeller pressed as that means no chemicals like hexane were used. I follow the same diet rules for sweetpea as I do for myself! )
(Texas)
02/18/2018
Is the cat having trouble breathing? Are allergies like hayfever or food a possibility? I had a lesson on giving one of my cats a breathing treatment with Himalayan sea salt and water. I put her in a pet carrier and covered it with a towel. I Had a nebulizer and anchored it in the outside of the carrier so it pointed towards the cat under the towel. 2 times a day for 10 to 20 min. Sometimes I would put a drop or two of aburital I had in the solution. The cats breathing became normal in a week. Had to do that in years now the cat is doing great she is almost 12 now
(Vancouver, Washington)
11/10/2021
★★★★★
Buy Apple cider vinegar in pill form. I put one down my cat's throat every day and the next time I took him to the vet about two months later the vet said there are no more signs of crystals They're all gone
(Mesa az)
09/10/2023
With all the reading I've done it sounds if you apply a diluted mixture to the back of her neck she can absorb it that way with no problem and then maybe she'll start eating and drinking easier… as per the rattling when she coughs, get a lotion, Kleenex, like puffs, plus what it with olive oil, and put some eucalyptus on it and tie it to a vent or fan with a twisty tie, so that she cannot reach it, —do Not use Vicks or peppermint, they are drying and will produce more mucus in the long run— eucalyptus will clear up her lungs help clear up her nose and help her lungs not produce more mucus….. we use this on dogs with kennel, cough, cats with sinusitis or bronchitis and I'm pigs it works wonders:)
(Port-elizabeth)
02/10/2024
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
★★★★★
(Hope, Bc Canada)
07/27/2014
How wonderful to read your story of rescue kitty. It is so uplifting. I have done this most of my adult life and have now just six cats, one big dog and a rescue poodle in my care. And there is so much love.
Thank you. Namaste, Om
(Charlestonsc)
09/07/2014
God bless you, I have two cats and feed lots of strays and some of them are in bad shape.
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
★★★★★
Charlie had been to the vet to be "unblocked" (expensive! ) He came home peeing little bits, often and licking his privates immediately after each pee. So he was still very irritted down there and I feared a relapse. So far, 3 days on the ACV and he is peeing less often, a little more each time and doesn't lick himself immediately after each pee.
(Cedar Rapids Iowa)
11/03/2013
What is the recommended time frame for using ACV for cats? It is believed that my cat has a stomach ulcer and a mild upper respiratory infection and after the past research I've done the last few days, his behavior and symptoms match up except with the being finiky of drinking water normally. I can't get my cat into the vet right now due to low funds. Im looking into getting him feeling better on his own if I can. I have him on doxycyclene 1/16 of a teaspoon with 1/4 of L Lysine. He has responded to this so far 4 days of this twice a day very well but If I can get him feeling better the rest of the way using ACV, should I do this twice a day and for how long? Also because he has a couple of small sores in his mouth, he will only drink water from a syringe or if it's mixed into his food to make it like a chili consistency but let me assure you his water intake has NOT stopped completely he just finds it more acceptable to drink from the syringe or have it put into his food. I trust that this will help and I've mixed the applecider vinegar with tuna and he took it very well..This was actually easier than giving him meds. He is much more active than he has in the last 4 days since I've been doing the doxy and L Lysine mix but I'm willing to try a secondary method or replace my current one. So please let me know how long you would recommend trying the ACV when the doxy-l lysine combo has made a huge difference. Also can I continue to use both or 1 and again the biggest thing is since I introduced it to him tonight, how long would be a good time frame to give before setting an appointment. I'd like to see him get a vet appointment, but money is low and won't have any til the end of the week but would like to try and save some money if possible. please help. Any suggestions would be good. Will his drinking go back to normal also?
(Mpls., Mn)
11/04/2013
Hey Catmomma!
Feline herpes is a virus; antibiotics are dosed not to treat the herpes but to prevent secondary bacterial infections, ie pneumonia.
As a general rule, antibiotics given 5 days or less *usually* do not majorly affect the internal flora of the GI tract. Antibiotics given 5+ days tend to remove all the "good" bacteria in the gut and set the body up for yeast overgrowth and yeast related issues down the line. So keep that in mind as you dose the doxy.
The L-lysine is something that is dosed as an ongoing daily supplement in herpes positive cats. For flare ups some dose 500 mg 2x day - so 1/4 tsp and pm. Once the flare up is under control you can reduce to a maintenance dose of 250mg am and pm - so 1/8 tsp am and pm.
Stomach ulcers are not typically associated with feline herpes, however cats treated with certain medications during a herpes flare up may develop them. Why is it you feel your kitty has stomach ulcers?
If this were my cat I would up the dosage of L-lysine to 500 mg 2x day. I would stop the antibiotics if I saw him really improve; I would be on the lookout for respiratory complications that would require the continued use of antibiotics [7-10 days]. I would continue mixing ACV into the wet food, and use the syringe to ensure he is getting hydration. To check for dehydration use your thumb and pointer finger to grasp the skin over his shoulders and pull it up, into a tent shape - then release. In a hydrated cat the skin snaps right back into shape; in a dehydrated cat the skin sinks back slowly: if you can count to three for it to sink back [ one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand] you need to get more hydration into your boy. Consider getting Pedialyte for babies [for electrolytes] and mixing that into some tuna oil from the can and getting him to drink some of that.
The flare up may last weeks or months, depending on the age of your cat; if your boy is a kitten then once the flare up calms switch to the maintenance dose until he is a hale and hearty adult and discuss possible side effects or elimination with your vet.
(New Zealand)
08/13/2014
Hi there, just a tip to offer on rehydrating not only your pets but humans also. A very kind and invested pet shop man saved me a trip to the vet with a very dehydrated 7 year old male cat whom I love. My cat had refused to eat or drink for 3 days and was very pinch skin dehydrated, on contacting the pet shop he suggested I boil up some rice with a lot of extra water. Once it has cooled down keep giving it like I did every 20 mins until they are inclined to drink for themselves. The reason is that rice water is full of electrolytes and costs little. I had to force feed it to my cat approximately 3 times before he started to drink again for himself. Then I added some chicken stock as a natural anti-biotic as I didn't know what had caused his issue and he came right very quickly. Hope this will be useful to someone as dollars aren't always easy to find. Cheers, Averil
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
(Los Angeles, California)
05/11/2013
The usual suggestion by most people seems to be 3 parts (Filtered) water to 1 part Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother).
BTW. If you're going to feed it to your pet in a dropper, then make sure the dropper was not used for medicine, any chemicals, residues of any kind. If you suspect the dropper was used for anything (even non chemicals such as food etc.) then wash inside the bottle & all parts of the items, rinse reallllllllllly well to make sure no soap, chemicals of any kind are left on it before use.
I would not suggest just using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to clean but if you do, then make sure that is also rinsed really well with (filtered) water.
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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However, there are so many opinions of how much to give orally (internally) regardless of the whether the ailment be a UTI, URI or GI etc. As far as how much ACV to dilute with how much water that it hard to figure out. And, topically I have read everything from using it undiluted on back of neck (which gets it into the whole system as the dermis is the largest organ or absorption:-) to a 50/50 mix to apply to wounds, mange, to clean out ear infections, be they a mite problem or bacterial infection, etc.
So, although a lot of what works is by experimenting trial and error as to dose, frequency, mode of application --- what we really need is a thread devoted just to this.
One thing I can share is that aside from maintaining your pet's health be he/she a feline or canine by putting a little ACV in their drinking water or moist food daily, the easiest way to treat a cat who is resistant is to mix what you believe is the proper dilution in a jar with a lid to use later, and suck up some in a needleless syringe with a plunge or an sterilized eyedropper and squirt it in the side of their mouth near jaw hinge --- not too fast as you may cause them to gag or choke, but if you are "calm and assertive" and speak soothingly, it's not hard to do at all --- if you have a really uncooperative large cat, straddle him/her and squat over him/her on your knees.
I have gleaned a few things from all of your posts that everyone seems to agree upon that ACV has:
My situation is that I have a cat with a rare systemic disease, Coccidioidomycosis, aka "Valley Fever" (a type of fungal infection that cats who go outside get from infected soil in SW states). Starts in bronchea with whooping cough type eposides (not fur ball type) and can stay "contained" there. But, once it disemenates, due to a failure of immune system, it is life threatening, often fatal and causes multiple awful symptoms from rapid weight loss, to hair loss in patches, (a lot due to poor cat constantly licking and scratching) whisker loss, GI problems, signs of pain as if arthritis, rapid atrophy of hind quarters, nervous system --- restlessness and actual panic attacks and more with every organ system involved. It is hard to diagnose. (Both Trad. And Alrntv. Vets couldn't in my case and I spent $100s ) It was only ater hours of research online that I finally figured it out myself. Anyway, my search also led to the blessing of finding Earth Clinic and the ACV remedy. I have started to apply a 50/50 solution to Jazz's bare patches as think using it straight may cause some burn --- am guessing at dilution that I am giving her orally AM and PM via method described above. Will keep you all posted, but would very much appreciate any "feedback" or referral to any more specific dosing info as to titre and amounts.
Thank you all, and blessings to my fellow guardians of the creatures who depend on us for care in exchange for the love and pleasure they give unconditionally to us.
Kackie
PS The benefit of administering the ACV dilution orally to your pet via either syringe or meaured dropper is that you know how much they're getting if your trying to treat for a specific thing. A little in drinking water per other posters' suggestion seems fine for "healthy maintenance. "
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
(Picture Butte, Alberta, Canada)
03/12/2010
I'm posting an answer, Re: Pet fountain w/charcoal filter. You probably have found out by now, but you also answered your own question.. Yes, the activated charcoal will indeed neutralize the acid in the vinegar. May I suggest that you add 1/2 teaspoon of the ACV (cultured, kinda cloudy, not clear) put onto wet cat food (canned), once a day will do though I have heard that some give it their pet twice a day.
I have four cats of various shapes and sizes, one of them balks a bit, but will eat in order to keep the others from getting his treat, if you have more than one cat, I suggest that they each get their own plate and that you give them their medicine all at the same time, so that one does not get more than its share.
I also give it to the one with the least manners first, etc. Easy to figure out the first time or so.
I give the ACV right on top and don't even bother to mix it in, if one is fussy, then just blend it a bit. It helps to use a fishy type of cat food, I use a salmon pate' and they can't wait, and even "bark" at me if I'm late... ha ha. I've checked out several web sites, however, this one (Earthclinic) was the first one I checked out and truly believe that my cats appreciate it as much as I do. Thank you so much!!
I also use the 50/50 ACVtoWater on the nape of the neck, using a cottonball to applicate into the fur. One cottonball is approx. one teaspoon, just toss it when thru. Works like a miracle. Hope that this helps.
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
★★★★★
I make an 8oz. glass of warm water with 1/4 tsp. ACV and 1/4 tsp. seasalt...I use this myself, and test on myself before dropping in cats eyes/nose. These amounts aren't caustic enough to cause burning pain. Restraint and medicating are always unpleasant to cats. Mine have grown accustomed to it, although none of us enjoy the process.
Initially they were panicked and struggled...they feel they can't breathe I imagine... but speaking softly/calmly, giving breaks from restraint to pet and comfort between drops they have learned to endure it without a big fight. My cats were infected w/a calici virus outside the scope of their annual vaccines more than a year ago when I helped a friend find homes for kittens, so we have to do this often. My cats are not cured by any means, but the ACV 1 tsp. per can of wet food w/water added, same in water bowel, and the eye/nose drops help to keep the sinuses from becoming full of stringy mucus, and clear the eyes in a matter of 3-4 days when it manifests there.
Just as a warning to other cat lovers, I have always made sure the cats/kittens I've fostered were FIV/FeLeuk negative before allowing them into my home, even in a kitty condo not in direct contact with my babies, NOT GOOD ENOUGH! In this case I wasn't warned the kittens had been sneezing. For those who foster and rescue, I have learned from the heartbreak of having 4 beautiful, healthy cats become chronically ill, never, ever to allow any other cat/kitten into my home without total quarantine, in the kennel and in a room away from mine, with stringent disinfecting...of room and yourself; hands, shoes, even clothes if you hold the visiting cats or they sneeze on you. Even a cat that appears well can be a carrier of herpes/calici/rhino and other diseases. Recently a pet sitter friend had the same thing happen...no sign of illness in the cats she sat, but she carried herpes virus to her three cats, one of them elderly and at risk.
Hope this is helpful, Catherine
How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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How to Administer ACV in Food or Water
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