CombinedNSP Site Admin
Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 1406 Location: Cleveland, OH
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Posted: Dec Sat 16, 2006 4:33 pm Post subject: Cat - Herbs - Oils Used |
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Cat - Herbs - Oils Used
Can anyone tell me where I might find information on herbal & essential oil products to use on cats & kittens specifically for upper respiratory problems and building their immune systems? I'm fostering a litter for the humane society and they need more help than just antibiotics. -Natalie
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I don't have a written reference. I have personal experience. Cats do well with many essential oils. Stay away from cheap cat food. A niece did a science project in school using Max Cat, Iams, Science Diet and some stuff she found called Blue Mountain. All of the first three foods did well, some cats responding better than others to a particular one consistently. All did poorly on the cheap stuff.
She used a group of four litter mates from healthy alley-cat parents. She weighted them daily, weighed how much food they had eaten, how much they had defecated or urinated, how much water they drank. All four kittens learned to distinguish between faucet (chlorinated, fluoridated) and filtered, all liked filtered water. She always gave them their choice of water.
Each group of two kittens was given a specified food for a specified time and then switched. The Store Brand vs. Science Diet, or the really cheap stuff against Max Cat, etc. At the end of her experiment the cats on the vet approved foods all gained more and resisted disease more than the cats on the other stuff – no matter which cat, when. So use good quality cat food if you have to make it yourself.
Next, from experience with a cross eyed, strong willed, asthmatic, energetic Siamese cat we found that she responded well to Breathe Free. She also took to breathing in our daughter's nebulizer treatments (we use several different meds plus NSP products for her breathing problems) and lo and behold – that cat is asthma free for over three years now! She takes about two or three good heavy sniffs of the treatment chemicals and then curls up in a ball and goes to sleep. She does the same with Breathe Free – left on a sampler stick near her bed she sniffs heavily for about three breaths, then apparently ignores it. So you might experiment.
Cats think Ultimate Echinacea and Golden Seal need to be buried, so don't try those! The best way to build a cat's immune system is to build their ego with lots of cuddly love – as much as they will take! Give them good food. Let them choose which Essential Oils to love – Lavender is good for the upper respiratory area and some cats just love it.
One other thought – upper respiratory infections are sometimes a sign of parasites. Garlic is a great treatment for that – put a wee bit of Garlic Oil (from the capsules) on their foot pads. It will absorb through the skin. Some cats just love Garlic – others think it stinks! If they like it get it into their food. Since our cat is addicted to yogurt you might try sprinkling the contents of Acidophilus on their food to encourage good bacteria to eat up the bad ones. -Marilyn N. |
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