To those with an open mind and who happily live with an animal or three, it comes as no surprise to appreciate the generosity of cats and dogs, and all other animals who live with them.

There are so many examples of this camaraderie, that books and films have been made about the relationships.

However, not everyone realises just how much our animal companions actually help us. They help us by taking some of our stress on themselves. To their own detriment. 

Anna has a healthy 21 year old cat. This cat rarely visits a vet and is fed a raw diet. She has access to an outside garden, so can sunbathe and roll around in the soil. This means Tilly has a strong, unadulterated immune system, just as wild cats do. Well almost, as Anna is unsure of the first couple of months of Tilly’s life.

And Tilly was sterilised in her first year.

Apart from those aspects, Tilly has been overall healthy, with just the occasional sneeze or cough.

Then Anna lost her job.

It was several months before Anna found another job. As you can imagine, Anna was stressed out to the max, wondering if she would be thrown out of her and Tilly’s home.

Tilly became ill. She developed a UTI; frequent and unproductive efforts to pee. It’s not a nice condition to have.

She had never had this condition before. In all her 21 years.

She was helping Anna by shifting some of her stress onto herself.

This is what I mean by the generosity of cats and dogs, as well as other animals. They know we have a tough job here on Earth. They come to support us, not to be abused by us, as some think.

It is impossible to stop them. The only way to prevent this is to ensure we look after ourselves.

This reminds me of a farm worker who lost his job. It wasn’t just his job he lost, as he had a tied cottage.

His wife became frantic. Yet he was at peace. He KNEW that something would turn up. He had absolute faith in that.

And it did. On the last day they had in the cottage, someone came knocking on the door with a better job and a tied house.

How do these things work?

When you ask for help, be assured it will come. But you have to get out of the way to allow it to happen. And it may not be what you want. Need? - yes. Want? - maybe!

Anna took Tilly to a vet for the UTI. Antibiotics were prescribed.

The UTI cleared up. But some months later, Tilly developed a bad cough.

This is not unusual, although the subsequent problem will vary according to the patient’s achilles heel. Tilly’s was respiratory. When you suppress a condition (with drugs) you don’t cure the problem. All you do is remove the effects of the problem, the symptoms. The problem, or the cause, is still there, but it has now been denied its preferred (least damaging) outlet.

So it finds the next least damaging one, which is generally more serious.

When you use homeopathy, a healthy diet that’s right for the species and you take care of appropriate lifestyle needs in yourself as well as your dependents , illness becomes rare. Illness and disease has little to do with your genes and everything to do with your environment, as it does with all life.

Be appreciative of the generosity of cats and dogs. They help us all they can, even when we make their lives difficult. Learn to recognise the signs. Learn their body language. You will benefit.

This is a topic close to my heart as so few people understand this. When they do, it can change everything for the better. Life is not meant to be difficult!