Treating cat flu naturally is not something that should be undertaken by a novice to the holistic world. Having said that, there are some things you can do to improve the protection against future bouts and to improve the odds in an established case. Natural cat health is all about ensuring your cat remains naturally healthy, against every disease, not just a handful.
Cat flu is a general name given to cats suffering with upper respiratory tract symptoms. It is a viral infection and is considered to be highly contagious. The symptoms can include:
- eye inflammation and discharge
- sneezing
- nasal discharge
- a fever
- salivation
- mouth ulcers
- throat affections making swallowing difficult and painful with the resulting loss of appetite
A veterinary diagnosis of the type of virus can be made by taking a swab and having this tested.
However, this is of little use, as there is no veterinary treatment of viruses.
Sometimes, cat flu can worsen and go into the lungs. So antibiotics are prescribed in case this bacterial infection results. However, antibiotics, and other veterinary medications, lower the immune system.
It is common for cats at the extremes of life to be more vulnerable – ie young kittens and old cats. These cats are more likely to succumb to this disease, than are others. However, there is much more to this common disease.
A cat with a strong and healthy immune system will not get cat flu, or will only get a mild dose. A healthy mother cat will have healthy kittens, who will not be prone to getting any virus or any disease, whatever is going on around them. Her milk provides the necessary protection as the kittens’ immune systems develop.
So the priority is to ensure your cat’s immune system is at an all time high. The best way to ensure this is to feed a quality, natural diet. Diet is the main maker or breaker of a healthy immune system.
Even if your cat already has cat flu, and may have a depressed appetite, it is still the best thing you can start doing.
Other obvious things to do to ensure your cat’s greatest chance of quick recovery are:
- a warm and comfortable bed in a safe place which is dark and quiet
- little disturbance from other animals or children
- free access to where the cat normally has access to – the rest of the house or outside
- free access to fresh grass
- free access to water
- extra attention and love if this is desired
The homeopathic treatment of cat flu, as with any disease, is highly effective. Results can be staggeringly fast.
Homeopathic treatment works by collecting the total of the personal symptoms the cat is exhibiting, including any emotional differences from normal. For example, if your cat is more sooky during this time, whereas normally she is rather aloof, this must be part of the symptom picture.
A curative remedy can only be prescribed on the totality of the individual (or collective in the case of an epidemic) symptom picture. This will depend on how observant you, or the homeopath you are consulting, are.
The normal veterinary advice to prevent cat flu is to vaccinate against it. Vaccinations have a multitude of problems associated with them. Yes, they do appear to give your cat protection against the targeted disease, but this comes at a price.
Vaccinations don’t improve the immune system. Rather they depress it, leaving your cat more disposed to contract other diseases. Vaccinations don’t kill viruses. These simply mutate to take on a different form. Often these are ‘discovered’ as new diseases, rather than recognised as the mutated form of an old disease.
The best things you can do in treating cat flu naturally, as well as preventing future bouts, is to improve your cat’s immune system. This is best done by feeding a quality, natural diet and by using a natural method of health care which does just that. Homeopathy far out passes probably all other methods of any health care system.
5 replies to "Treating Cat Flu Naturally"
I am surprised you did not mention the best preventative (and cure) for the flu: vitamin D – not oral vitamin D, but natural D made by the body. Cats are not stupid – they love sunning because their body makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun – even though they have fur covering their bodies, they still make vitamin D during sunning – no one really knows how this process works. So to keep your cat healthy and flu free, make sure kitty has access to sun.
My cat got Cat flu from the cat flu vaccine and has been suffering for the last few years. I had to put him in a cattery a few years ago and they wouldn’t take him without the vaccine.
He is 17 now so was about 14 when first vaccinated.
I have tried Homeopathy to no avail and antibiotics which stopped working after a few doses.
He always was and still is a very spirited cat but the almost incessant sneezing with runny nose and coughing is wearing him down and me too.
Any advice would be much appreciated
When you say you have tried homeopathy, what do you mean?
Eibhlín my cat is having the same problem, it’s been four months now, try this website holisticanimalmedicines.com, am using there c-flu and the herbal congestion its a set and once the flu clears up they advised me to use the vaccine detox, so far it seems working, you can ask them and give them all the details about your cat, during the 4 months the vet gave him lots of antibiotics which did not help at all.
What I find to be very strange is that people will spend squillions at a vet for meds that do absolutely nothing other than harm, but then want natural medicines for free. Life doesn’t work that way. Medicines should be specific for the individual and to obtain that, you need a consultation. Not all holistic medicines are safe for cats. Vets don’t individualise which is why their meds don’t work much of the time. When they do work, it suppresses rather than cures.