Fever Remedies

| Modified on Oct 18, 2013
Natural Remedies to Lower or Break a Fever in Your Pet

Just like humans, it is quite common for our pets to suffer from a fever when they are feeling a bit under the weather. There are many factors that could contribute to your pet's sudden onset of fever. Perhaps they have caught a little flu bug, eaten something that didn't agree with them, endured some type of trauma or been exposed to an infection of some sort.

There are a few signs that might indicate to you that your pet could be suffering from a higher than normal temperature.  The animal may be acting somewhat cranky, may avoid eating or drinking, might appear lethargic or perhaps might even be found hiding in a quiet area. However the only definite way to determine if your pet has a fever is to take its temperature. 

You will need to take the animals temperature rectally, and it is for this reason that you should use a digital thermometer rather than a glass, mercury one.  (You don't want to take a chance the that thermometer will break and injure the pet.)  Use some petroleum jelly to lubricate the thermometer and while lifting the pet's tail, carefully and gently insert it about half way into the rectum. Wait until the digital thermometer beeps and then remove it. The normal temperature of a cat or dog ranges between 101F and 102.5F, therefore anything above 103F should be considered abnormal.

A great homeopathic remedy for a fever in your pet is to use a treatment of Aconite.




Low Grade Fever Remedies

Posted by Jane (Portland) on 10/17/2013

My golden retriever was hiding under our dining room table this morning when I got up instead of on her bed in our bedroom. Last night she was fine. She did her business in the yard, but refused breakfast. I made her some boiled chicken, which she ate. I decided to take her to the vet, who told me she has a low grade fever (103. 1) and ran a blood panel on her and found nothing out of the ordinary. She is still panting and lethargic this afternoon. Anything I can do to help her? Does this sound like a virus? The only thing different is that I opened a new bag of dog food 2 days ago. Otherwise, nothing... She normally goes on 2 walks a day. Thank you in advance!!

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
10/17/2013

Hey Jane!

Unless your dog is very old, very young or very skinny, no need to boil chicken - you are OK to let your dog fast if she feels the need. Just keep fresh water available to her.

Monitor her temp; normal temp is 101 and temps of 105 and over = emergency in my book.

Panting can be an indication of pain. But your vet checked her out, so I will assume no clenched belly/impaction/bloat.

You might try Rescue Remedy for now - it is helpful in many situations and is easy to administer for pets who aren't feeling like taking any food.

Please report back!

Replied by Jane
(Portland)
10/18/2013

Hi Theresa, thank you so much for your advise. I will do that today. She was interested in breakfast this morning and a half hour later threw it up so you are right, she really needs to fast on just water today. I am going to buy an anal digital thermometer at the pharmacy to keep an eye on her temperature. Do you think she could have picked up a virus on one of our walks? Wish I knew what was going on with her! Thanks again.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
10/18/2013

Hey Jane!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

I ask because if its been rainy lately, its entirely possible your girl has picked up giardia- simply by stepping into her own back yard. Giardia can be present and NOT show up in a stool sample. This would cause tummy pain, vomiting and loose stools.

How old is your girl? The very young and very old can be quite susceptible to giardia.

For sure try the Rescue Remedy to start. If this were my dog I would try tempting her to eat a tablespoon or two of canned tuna and in that tuna have mixed:

2 raw baby carrots [avoid Bunny Luv Brand] grated and shredded

1 table spoon sunflower seeds [raw or cooked]

1 teaspoon C&H Brown sugar

Get the 3 ingredients of a consistency and texture so they integrate well into the tuna. If she takes the tuna, monitor the results. Either you will see her noticably perk up - which for me would indicate giardia is the culprit, or she won't - which means its probably not giardia giving her the tummy upset. If she perks up and the appetite improves, continue with the tuna - up to 1 can 2x day for 2 days. Make up the carrot/sunflower/brown sugar for each meal so its fresh each feeding. If she seems like her old self again after 2 days on loaded tuna, you can then switch back to her old diet and include the carrot/sunflower/brown sugar in the old diet for a total of 8 days.

Replied by Jane
(Portland)
10/18/2013

Hi Theresa,

Thank you for your advice! I did have all the ingredients you listed (except used regular organic carrots intead of baby carrots) and fed it to my goldie about an hour ago. So far so good. She's lying on her bed sleeping right now. She's 8, by the way. We've had rain on and off for the past week but people certainly have been planting grass seeds and spraying fertilizers in the neighborhoods lately too. She does like to put her nose in the grass a lot on our walks. I will let you know how she is doing. Many thanks again!