My cat, Kit, is a year and a half. He has been sick the past three days and has done nothing but sleep. I refuse to take him to the vet only because I believe there are more natural ways of healing. I know he is strong but it pains me to see him so weak. I want to help but I'm not even sure it is a physical illness. It feels to me as though he is emotionally sick and I was wondering if you had any advice for me. I love him so deeply and I want to help. Thank you. Kathryn
Dear Kathryn, while I appreciate your desire to let nature take its course, that is not necessarily what is meant by natural healing, which uses various methods to support the healing process. My suggested approach for nurturing Kit's healing process would be different.
My long-standing policy for my practice has been to require that the potential client has explored finding answers through a veterinary diagnosis. Until they have done so I will not do a session with their animal companion.
And I follow the same policy with my own animals, I keep a close eye on any changes in eating and other behaviors and if they do not return to normal within two meals I start considering my options, and one of those is definitely a vet visit.
My reasoning is quite simple--I believe in the best of both worlds. Western or allopathic medicine, whether for animals or people, has some very important features, such as trained observation, testing and diagnosis by process of elimination.
It is important to understand what you are dealing with, or what you are not, such as whether a change in behavior indicates a physical or emotional issue (most often it is physical). When you have a diagnosis you can support your companion with the best approaches, which could involve combinations from both worlds.
For example, sometimes the only answer, when there is deep infection, is the administration of an antibiotic. There are few remedies in nature whether energetic or herbal that can equal the infection-fighting benefits of antibiotics when they are truly needed, and none that I know of that can do it as quickly. And speed spares needless suffering.
Continuing with the example of infection as the diagnosis and antibiotics as the chosen western remedy, you can then offer additional support with appropriate complementary modalities such as Reiki or acupuncture to boost the immune system, and supplements such as probiotics to support the digestive system (antibiotics tend to eliminate the good, the bad, and the ugly bacteria).
Many vets are okay with the client asking questions--wanting to learn and to make the best choices possible--and if yours isn't I would suggest a new one. I have found that most non-holistic vets are usually open to the client's use of holistic supportive measures since they truly care about the well-being of their furry (or not so furry) patients, and simply want them to get well. Vets and western medicine are not the enemy, what is causing the illness, is.
By law I cannot diagnose nor offer remedies, but I can say that if Kit were my cat I would not wait any longer to take him in to the vet. Three days is a long time, especially at his young age, to be doing nothing but sleeping. And if he is not eating or drinking, is vomiting or having diarrhea, he may be seriously dehydrated. The longer you wait the more the risk increases that if it is something serious it may be more difficult to turn around.
Best wishes to you both for a positive outcome.
Rose De Dan,
Animal Reiki Shaman
Disclaimer: Rose De Dan shares insights derived from spirit and through animal communication. Any advice she offers is not meant as a substitute for veterinary care.
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Great reply Rose!
As a holistic vet, I often send the animals I see back to their western vet to get blood work or X-rays done to make sure we are not dealing with something that needs immediate attention. Holistic and alternative medicine has many great things it can do for animals, is some cases it has more to offer than western medicine. However there are certain things that need immediate action with drugs such as many infections.
A young cat being sick for many days could very well be from a systemic bacterial infection, especially if they have access to the outdoors. Cats can get an illness from birds called songbird fever which may need an antibiotic to treat and it is also possible that he got in a cat fight and has a small abscess somewhere on his body.
In my practice, I work with a number of animals with serious conditions like cancer, IBD, and autoimmune illnesses. I have found that the best care comes from my clients having a good and open working relationship with both me and their western vet.
Most of the western vets I work with are very open to what I have to offer and open to clients trying holistic methods of healing first or in combination with their western treatments.
You should be able to find a western vet who is open to you wanting to work with holistic healing. Many vets will even offer referrals to holistic vets and other holistic practitioners they trust.
best wishes,
Lena McCullough, DVM, CVA
Seattle, WA
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