Natural Pet Remedies for Cats

For those of you whose cats are scratching and biting themselves, I'm told the source of the problem is usually the cat food. Find a natural pet food store (they're popping up everywhere these days) and put your cat on some natural pet food WITHOUT GRAINS, CORN OR WHEAT in it. Ask the clerk to make sure the natural pet food you buy doesn't have either of those 3 things. The scratching is due to an allergy to the ingredients in store-bought pet food, or to the grains, corns, or wheat your current pet food contains. I was told this by a knowledgeable source, passed it on to a neighbor whose cat was bleeding because it was scratching itself so much, and she reports the change in food cleared the problem up in the one month she's been doing it. She also commented on how little the natural cat food cost - she had been prepared for a big increase in her pet food bill, but it was negligible.

WARNING!

Please only use shampoo, and flea treatments with neem oil in it for cats. NEVER give your cat a flea dip. The chemicals in this will kill your cat. If you are going to treat for fleas, give a flea bath in warm, cats feel heat more than we do so not too warm, water with some natural soap in the water. You can add neem oil to this soap. If the infestation is bad apply directly to the coat, but rinse well, as the soap film in the fur can cause vomiting.

Hello everyone. Thanks for this great site, I have used many of the remedies posted here with success. My question is regarding the use of DMSO for cats. Has anybody used DMSO internally, if so what dosage would you recommend? My cat has been limping and has a hard time jumping and going up and down the stairs. I would prefer to use DMSO externally, but I don't know exactly where to rub it. He is very overweight (~25-30 lbs.), does not like being held, so if I pick him up I can not "look"/feel for what hurts, I just notice the limping and the discomfort. I was thinking about using a few drops in distilled water, down his throat. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Dear Rachel,

Actually tannic acid is found in tea and more in green teas. The concentration of green teas or ordinary tea contains tannic acid around 1/8 teaspoon per liter of water. So preparing an ordinary tea of one liter will have that same concentration of tannic acid. In certain research studies where the concentration has no effect on healthy cells at all its maximum concentration were around 1/4 teaspoon of tannic acid per one liter of water. However at that concentration it kills microbes and pathogens.

I used tannic acid myself mixed in drinking water at 1/4 per liter of water as a way to remove heavy metals from my body such as the dreaded cadmium and lead. Tannic acid is also a wonderful chelator of the major cause aging - free metal iron, which is a free iron radical known in chemistry as the Fenton Reaction, the primary theory of free radical of aging.

Tannic acid is the major factor of how black inks are made, whenever tannic acid is reacted with any iron salts or iron compounds. Tannic acid in traditional medicine they actually used far more higher dose than those mentioned here to relieved of diarrhea and loose stool. The use of tannic acid in traditional folk medicine has been around for a very long time in the United States.

Athletes used this mixture in foot powder to kill fungus on their feet, so it becomes a drying agent. In fact the 2 tablespoons of tannic acid per gallon on water is relatively too weak to have health effects, except positive ones on removal of cadmium, which is found in lead free gasoline, but is extremely toxic in humans. Parts per billion of cadmium is more then enough to cause serious health effects and may be more toxic then mercury. Cadmium also causes high blood pressure and other problems.

The only effective remedy to remove cadmium I know of in research studies is the tannic acid. So even if people have qualms about the use of tannic acid, then just make a strong green tea in a glass teapot. The problem about this is the cost of green tea is very high, compared to a similar preparation at similar concentrations when preparing tannic acid of same concentration as those of green tea.

Much of the warnings of anything is the extreme uses. You can die from drinking too much water and you can also die from eating too much salt. The key is always moderation.

Ted

Just a question about the reply. Where can I get Tannic Acid? I have looked online and even called stores. One form of the tannic acid I can find is a powder which I am hesitant to buy because of the handeling of it seems a little too much to be around my pets. Scarey!!

There is also some that you can order that is for medicinal perposes. Tannic acid has anti-bacterial, anti-enzymatic and astringent properties. Tannic acid has constringing action upon mucous tissues such as tongue and inside of mouth. The ingestion of tannic acid caused constipation and can be used to treat diarrhoea (in the absence of fever or inflammation). The anti-oxidant and anti-mutagenic properties of tannic acid are beneficial.

However, tannic acid should not be used continuously or in high quantities ad it slows down the absorption of iron and possibly other trace minerals. A study by Afsana K et al entitled Reducing effect of ingesting tannic acid on the absorption of iron, but not of zinc, copper and manganese by rats. published by Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (March 2004) concluded that the usual intake of polyphenols is relatively safe, but that a high intake by supplementation or by dietary habit of tannin affects only the iron level. Tannic acid can also reduce the effectiveness of digestive enzymes.

Also sodium perborate? Is that Borax powder? It is used as a bleaching agent for laundry.

goldenseal, ill try.my 10 year old female cat suffers w phlem build up have to use clavamox 4 x year to relieve her. looking for a natural alternative....thanks!

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.

A long time ago, my parents stumbled across the medicinal properties of Goldenseal. Last year, during the rainy Oregon winter, a 1/2 feral litter of kittens started trying to find shelter on my porch. Not long after they started coming around, the mother left them (went into heat i assume) and came back with a hellish upper respiratory infection. She proceeded to spread it to the whole litter. I had no money to take them to a vet, and they were dying of it. I wasn't sure if the Goldenseal would be poisonous to them, but I figured they were so bad off, it was worth a try. I used the liquid extract, started small, maybe one dropperfull to two cans of wet food, and eventually raised it to 3 droppersfull (between 1 adult and 5 3-4 month old kittens). They improved from even the smaller amounts, and improved drastically from higher dosages. Although for those that couldn't smell the wet food, i had to mix a few drops in canned salmon or tuna juice to get them to eat it. It didn't harm them. I swear by the stuff now, and have used it on my own indoor cats (though I've never gotten them to take it without forcing them.) Everyone should be aware that goldenseal doesn't just work on humans.

A couple years ago my cat had a urinary tract infection (I assumed - he was peeing all around the house right in front of me and there would be little if any urine and blood in it). I took him off of dry food and put some drops of Pau D'Arco Herbal Glycerite Extract into his water bowl. Within a day his behaviour changed and his kitty litter box was put to good use. He went back to being the happy crazy cat he was before - and I no longer get cheap dry food! He's never had another infection in the past couple years and he has a preference for dry food. I probably put about 10 drops or so of the extract (mine was alcohol free and from Herb Pharm) into his bowl and kept him inside to make sure he wouldn't get water from another source.... but that was about 2 years ago so I'm not sure on the exact amount.

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

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.

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!

I wrote in the past that I used coconut oil to treat my cats Rhino Virus and ringworm. For myself I take 1 Tbs orally. I have used in on my hair before I wash it. My hair is so soft afterwards.It's great for dandruff. As for my cats I treated the ringworm topically and the rhino virus was treated orally. My cats seem to really like it. They get about a tsp orally. They like it liquid so I run it under hot water. My dogs get about 1 Tbs and they love it too. It has helped Yeast on the skin and allergies. I work as a groomer so I try it for several skin problems.

Try Betadine or other iodine solution and Cruex on ringworm. Worked very well when my cats had it, and then I caught it.

My tomcat was in a fight and got his ear badly scratched. It started smelling really bad as the puss formed, and the whole scratch was filled with yellow puss. He was in a lot of pain. So to clean the ear i put very warm water in a small bowl and added quite a bit of apple cider vinegar. Then i dunked tissue paper into the water & apple cider mix and squeezed it out into his ear (i had to get another dry tissue to hold into his ear-drum so the water wouldn't run further into his ear and upset him). It cleaned it out very quickly, after a few hours the crust had gone and the puss was dispelling. I repeated this in the morning, and he actually seemed to enjoy the warmth of the water on his painful ear, so he never even flinched when i came close with the apple-cider water. it's worked for him ! It's easy on the skin, not harsh like other medication / antibiotics would be.

Here is how I would do it differently:

I've been including apple cider vinegar in cats diet, which is helping, but am still having the following problems - even with meds from the vet.

This is o.k.

FLEAS - currently on Frontline, ACV dip, and I've flea bombed the house 4 times and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

You will never ever get rid of it doing this old method. Try this. One to Two Tablespoon of Tannic acid per Gallon of water. And spray lightly on the carpet or floor. Leave it then vaccum. The tannic acid will denature the eggs and kill them on contact. Follow this with another sprayer, using one tablespoon of sodium perborate per gallon and spray. The sodium perborate will kill all the eggs and mites in case tannic acid does not. don't mix sodium perborate and tannic acid just yet I haven't done experiments on that yet! However, if you take baths with a cat. Always use this. Get 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water. And wash the ears, and the whole of the cat. DO NOT DRY. The sodium perborate will kill all the eggs. And you will save a ton of money when you finally found out you don't need Frontline at all!

FVR - upper respitory infection that keeps going bacterial and can't shake the viral. Feed cats ACV in soft food and vet put animals on an antibiotic, Clavamox.

Cats seem to like colloidal silver. Perhaps mix that might help too. The best formula to solve the FVR I found is liquid fulvic acid you buy from garden shops, 1 teaspoon per liter of water. Works everytime!

CONJUNCTIVITIS - Cats are on eye drop meds from vet but not getting rid of problem

A weak solution of borax or boric acid (they sell in drugs stores might help. Colloidal silver when sprayed to their eyes seems to work very well.

EAR MITES AND EAR YEAST INFECTIONS - On two ear drop meds from vet for both. The ears are looking better but cats are still trying to scratch way down inside their ears. I've made a wash with ACV, Witch Hazel, Olive Oil and Distilled Water. Is there something else I should be putting in wash to get rid of the problem?

Washing them with sodium perborate should solve the problems. The mix has been mentioned.

We run a foster-care home for cats. We take the animals from a shelters dealing with an overflow population problem. I've been including apple cider vinegar in cats diet, which is helping, but am still having the following problems - even with meds from the vet. Please let me know if you have any ideas on how to get rid of the following:

FLEAS - currently on Frontline, ACV dip, and I've flea bombed the house 4 times and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. FVR - upper respitory infection that keeps going bacterial and can't shake
the viral. Feed cats ACV in soft food and vet put animals on an antibiotic, Clavamox.

CONJUNCTIVITIS - Cats are on eye drop meds from vet but not getting rid of problem

EAR MITES AND EAR YEAST INFECTIONS - On two ear drop meds from vet for both. The ears are looking better but cats are still trying to scratch way down inside their ears. I've made a wash with ACV, Witch Hazel, Olive Oil and Distilled Water. Is there something else I should be putting in wash to get rid of the problem?

RINGWORM - vet is having me pick up another drug from our local pharmacy today. We are having an adoption weekend a month from now and we will be taking in 13 more cats to get them healthy before the event. We are really looking for any kind of guidance. We are really not happy with the amount of drugs we are using and the vet doesn't offer any holistic remedies. Most cats range from 2-4 months in age. If you could even get me pointed in the right direction we'd all really appreciate it. This is a wonderful website and I wanted to thank you for creating it.

We rescued two kittens, just to find out that they were infested with fleas. Since they were so young they could not use the traditional flea baths/powers/creams. This is when I searched (earthclinic) and seen the remedy. I decided to combine a couple of them.

USED:
*Dish soap (Ajax, but any will do).
*Rice Vinegar (this is just what I had)
*Baby shampoo
*tweezers
*Heating pad (optional)

First-what I did was filled up the sink half way with lukewarm (make sure not too hot, because what is comfortable to us is hot to them) I then added the VINEGAR (any vinegar will work!) I put a very good helping.

Second-I dipped the kittens in the vinegar solution (minus their heads) then I began to massage the DISH SOAP on. YOU WILL SEE THE FLEAS RUNNING! They will be running towards the head. This is when you lather the kitten with the BABY SHAMPOO ... try your hardest not to get any in the eyes.

Third-Now dip the kitten back into the solution (making sure not to get the head wet) and use a cup or your hands to make sure that you are saturating the fur entirely.

Fourth-This is where it gets tricky. Using a pair of tweezers, tweeze off all of the fleas that you can. THIS IS TIME CONSUMING! But it is worth it! When done tweezing, redip and then rinse off with lukewarm (not too warm) water, and towel dry.

This is when the heating pad will come in handy. What I did was set it on LOW, and put a towel/small blanket over it and then set the kitten down on top if it (first checking to make sure that it wasn't too hot) this is when I went flea hunting once again. This was about an hour process, with two kittens. Once I was finished, I towel dried them very well, and the kittens went right to sleep. I haven't had any reinfestations and I only did this the one time. I have 10 (all rescued) cats and it would be very hard for me if they became reinfested, but so far so good! THANKS!

Replying to Lynda regarding the eye problems, apparently the amino acid L Lysene is very effective, which is the same used for human cold sore outbreaks. I have used this with much success, also a little ascorbic acid or bio c powder for the immune system. The info on L Lysene is can be confirmed on a site called www.vetinfo4cats.com which I have found extremely useful.

I do foster care for our local humane society.The cat's are always sick and alot die. Right now I have a kitty with herpes of the eyes and was wondering how to get rid of it naturally. The drugs they get from a vet are not working. I started to use borac acid but that doesn't seem to be doing much either. Please if anyone has an idea please let me know. Thank you.

My cat broke her back 10 weeks ago and hasn't walked since. Her spinal cord was not severed but only had limited use of one back leg. I rubbed DMSO mixed with aloe vera 3 times daily and within 3 days, the leg with no nerve responses started twitching and she started moving it. On the 4th day, she stood up twice. Still not walking but getting more use of both legs and making progress. I don't believe it was coincidence. I started rubbing on peroxide over back today to oxygenate her system and help with regeneration. DMSO is miraculous and FDA should not stop it's use.