The holistic cat, not unlike a wild cat, is a picture of health. All things considered, they live longer, have good energy, are alert and interested in life, don’t suffer with illnesses, have no behavioural issues, don’t suffer with fleas or an overpopulation of worms.

They are a joy to live with and cost very little to maintain.

What are the three area of influence, that go against the holistic cat? 

The common, highly processed, nutritionally inferior, immensely toxic, often addictive commercial cat food is perhaps the main cause of illness in cats.

This diet is a far cry from that of a wild cat’s diet. Yet wild cats are highly successful. They can live in almost any environmental condition as long as there is enough of their prey.

Whilst everyone knows that advertising and industry exaggerates at best and lies at worst, people can still be taken in by it. Especially when their vet recommends it. But the vets have been even more indoctrinated than you have, as the industry is very influential at vet schools.

The poor diet from commercial pet food leads to every illness, from weeping eyes to cancer and everything in between. No one can be healthy on a nutrient poor diet. It lacks logic to consider this.

The perception that people have about the ‘science’ behind commercial cat food is based on a desire to be told what to do. Yet this desire is fraught with potentials, not least of which could be negative, taking advantage of you, fleecing you for an inferior product.

The product may, not always, keep the cat alive, but it doesn’t keep them healthy.

The, often unnoticed by the public, recalls of pet food are almost exclusively the processed commercial pet food, especially the kibble, or dry food.

Once a cat becomes ill, they are generally administered a cocktail of drugs which do nothing to cure the problem and very often lead to serious and debilitating side effects. It is not unusual for treatment to be worse than the condition.

Even before cats become ill, they are usually given a variety of vaccines, often in much too high doses, covering far too many conditions, given at far too young an age, given far too frequently. The effect of these can create illnesses in our highly sensitive cats.

The effect, as we have seen in the last few decades, is an increase in the autoimmune diseases. The wonderful and naturally effective immune system has been badly damaged so it can no longer keep the cat healthy. This is the exact opposite of what you have been told they do.

The cats can even become allergic to their natural food, the food that keeps the wild cats so healthy.

Supporting the holistic cat through a natural approach such as homeopathy, restores the immune system to its rightful and effective ability.

Sexual organs play an enormously important role in health. They are part of the glandular system. Every young animal needs their hormones to grow into a healthy adult. Removing the sexual organs at too early an age can lead to musculo-skeletal and auto-immune issues.

It seems unnecessary to sterilise exclusively indoor cats, unless their behaviour is affected. Entire males may spray urine inappropriately. Entire females may be very noisy during their seasons. However, these are not a given.

And the idea of uterine issues in the older cats is not so much a uterine problem as a poor nutritional and highly toxic one.

Sterilisation is much safer when carried out after the cat has fully matured. This is in the order of nine to 12 months of age. Certainly not before six months of age.

Even then, the male can have a vasectomy and a female just have her uterus removed, leaving the ovaries. Although this may not prevent the spraying urine and noisy seasons.

Every situation is best evaluated on its on merits. There is no ‘one size fits all’. It depends on your circumstances and level of knowledge. Appreciating that there are alternative options to the ones you currently know, gives you much more flexibility. Your cat will be grateful to you for considering a more holistic approach.

The truly holistic veterinarians follow this approach for a truly holistic cat.