Caring for your cats involve different modalities than caring for your other pets like dogs, koi and lovebirds. Although conventional veterinary care is also effective in improving an animal’s quality of life, an increasing number of pet owners are looking into alternative styles of which the most popular is holistic cat care.
Definition
Basically, holistic methods used in pet care refer to the natural, alternative and non-invasive modalities of maintenance of health in domestic animals. These modalities are used both in the prevention and treatment of diseases in pet cats.
There are two main differences between holistic methods and conventional means for cat care. First, the former seeks to treat the root cause while the former only suppresses the symptoms of diseases and disorders. Second, holistic methods only apply natural remedies while conventional means rely heavily on medications and surgery.
Benefits
From the abovementioned definition of holistic cat care, we can conclude more than a few benefits to this treatment modality. These include:
• Personalized approach to maintenance of health for both the cat and the owner. The pet owner gets good advice on the best ways to maintain the cat’s health according to its age, physical condition and other special needs.
• Wider range of natural treatment options that can be explored and then combined for best results – all without the use of harsh medications and invasive procedures. In conventional medicine, all of the medications work in just one way – against the body’s natural system, which explains words like antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and antiviral.
The best benefit of holistic cat care, furthermore, is that the root causes of the diseases, disorders and illnesses of the pet feline are addressed. As a result, the symptoms are less likely to return. In contrast, conventional veterinary treatments only address the symptoms, which leave the root cause lurking in the body to strike once again when the opportunity comes.
For example, if your cat has severe allergies, conventional veterinary methods involve the injection of steroids or the administration of antihistamines without necessarily eliminating the cause of the allergies in the first place. With holistic methods, other therapies will be implemented to address both the cause and the symptoms, thus, lessening the likelihood of a recurrence.
Types
And speaking of therapies, holistic cat care uses a wide range of therapies toward the maintenance of health in domestic felines. Holistic practitioners will combine two or more of the following specific therapies depending on the case:
• Chinese traditional medicine
• Homeopathic treatments
• Herbal remedies
• Reiki healing
• Massage and touch therapy
• Veterinary acupuncture
Of course, a healthy diet is part and parcel of holistic care for cats. You must include the age-specific cat food in the daily diet as well as a good protein source rich in taurine, amino acids and essential fatty acids. After all, even the best professional care will be useless when your cat does not enjoy healthy nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
The efficacy of holistic cat care boils down to your willingness to adopt the principles of this modality. If you are ready, then so is the holistic practitioner.