Home remedies for humans are increasingly popular, but few people realize that there are many effective home remedies for cats too. If your furry friend is sick, it may be possible to help them without resorting to medications. If your cat has one of these conditions, consider trying a home remedy.
Fleas
Fleas are a common pest that any cat who goes outside or comes into contact with other animals may pick up. Though certain essential oils can repel fleas, it is important not to put them on your cat because a cat may become sick after ingesting the essential oils while licking their fur. Instead, try using a collar made with amber beads. An amber collar is not just a cute accessory, it actually releases aromatic terpines that repel both fleas and ticks. You can also brush your cat’s coat with a diluted mixture of coconut oil every couple of weeks, and this will help to get rid of fleas and prevent them from being attracted to your pet in the first place.
Bladder Inflammation / Cystitis
If your cat is exhibiting some of the symptoms of a bladder inflammation, it is important to take them to the vet to make sure nothing more serious is happening. After your vet visit, you can give your cat apple cider vinegar to treat the urinary tract infection. It works because the acidic pH of the apple cider vinegar prevents bacteria growth, and one study of 43 cats found that 41 cats who were given apple cider vinegar were able to get rid of their bladder inflammation. The sour taste makes cats unlikely to enjoy it, so you can either mix it into canned food or use an eye dropper to squirt it into your cat’s mouth. Once your cat is healed from the bladder inflammation, you can continue to add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to their water to prevent the infection from recurring.
Any signs of blockage need to be treated as an emergency and you should take your cat to a vet immediately as this a serious condition!
Vomiting
Since cats have such delicate digestive systems, they are particularly prone to vomiting. Vomiting can be due to a variety of health conditions, so keep an eye on your cat and take it to the vet if severe vomiting persists. One of the main dangers of vomiting is that it can quickly dehydrate a cat. Since water can trigger more vomiting, try giving your cat ice chips, because it is easier for it to keep down water when ingested in this form. To calm an upset tummy, you can stop giving your cat regular pet food and feed it a diet of boiled chicken or hamburger with the fat drained off and rice. This will give your cat’s stomach a chance to rest while it heals.
Hairballs
There are a few different home remedies that can be useful if your cat is suffering from hairballs. You can mix a half teaspoon of softened butter or coconut oil into your cat’s food to help them expel the hairball without discomfort. Adding a cat-friendly digestive enzyme, such as papaya or slippery elm, to the oil will make it easier for your cat to pass the hairball through the digestive tract. You can also use natural home remedies to prevent the hairball before it starts to form. High fiber sources will keep any bits of hair from sticking together and forming balls. A few great natural options include adding a pinch of psyllium husk powder to water or adding a teaspoon of sugarless, spice-free mashed pumpkin to your cat’s food.
Please note that it is important to keep these to a small amount as too much fibre can counter act the amount of nutritions that can be absorbed by your cat. If in doubt it’s always a good idea to check with your vet first!
Bowel Issues
There are many irregular bowel movements that can affect cats. Though these problems can often be solved with home remedies, your pet may need to see a vet if they persist. Cats who suffer from diarrhea can benefit from having a teaspoon of plain yogurt added to their diet because yoghurt contains healthy bacteria that aid digestion. Some scientific studies have shown that adding probiotics to a cat’s food helps them recover from diarrhea faster. If your cat has constipation, giving them dietary fiber, such as the psyllium husk or pumpkin used for hairball treatment, can help to trigger a bowel movement. You can also give your cat a small amount of milk, because adult cats are often lactose intolerant. However, be careful not to give your cat too much, or it might end up with diarrhea instead of constipation.
Following these tips should help keep your cats healthy and happy!
Cool! Thanks for sharing these!
Really interesting…I don’t suppose you have any advice for over-grooming? My tabby is quite highly strung, there’s a new cat invading the garden and she’s over-grooming again through stress. I don’t want her to keep having steroid injections and collars(soft ones, cone ones) make her hysterical. Any advice would be gratefully received!
Hi Samantha,
I will see if I can get you some tips on this from either @castlevetsreading or @sarahicatcare 🙂
As you’ve said it’s most likely down to the stress caused by the intruder invading your garden.
Will get back to you soon!
Marc
Great, thank you very much, that’s really appreciated!
Hi Samantha,
I am assuming your vet has done a thorough examination of your girl to rule out medical problems, allergies and parasites – If this has not been done it is definitely worth doing as so many problems other than anxiety can cause over grooming.
I am not a qualified behaviourist, but I do have some good first aid tips I always recommend for stressed cats Stress is a huge problem in cats at the moment as the cat population is increasing and more cats have to live together and cross through each other’s territories. We are certainly seeing an increase in stress-related behaviours and problems such as fighting, over grooming, overeating, abscesses and urinary tract problems, to name a few.
There is often very little that you can do about other cats coming into your garden so getting the core home environment right for your cat is so very important for you cat and it will really go a long way to helping alleviate stress, but it can involve quite a bit of work on your part.
1. Make sure your cat has a couple of safe places/sanctuaries in your home. When she is in her safe place, she is completely undisturbed by EVERYONE, including you (sorry!). When she’s out of her place you can talk to her, stroke her, interact etc, but when she’s in her place she is left alone; no talking no touching, no enticing. I know it sounds harsh, but it really does help.
Your cat may already have her favourite go-to places, so you can just make these more cosy, good examples include a space on top of the wardrobe or a high shelf, a space under a bed, a box with a bed in it behind the sofa, etc. Cat’s really benefit from having a total sanctuary like this, where they can escape from everything (I know many people do too) and it can be especially helpful for nervous or reactive kitties. The thing to remember is that even after hundreds of years of domestication, cats are ultimately solitary animals and sometimes desperately need their own space.
2. Make sure vital resources – food, water, litter trays, beds etc are not near windows, doors and cat flaps, particularly where another cat may be able to see her or sneak up on her while she is using them.
3. Make sure litter trays (ideally 1 per cat plus 1 extra) are placed in quiet, secluded areas in your home and not in busy places like the kitchen or hallway. Litter trays should be as big as possible (not those teeny ones!), preferably longer than the cat from nose to base of tail, with at least 3cm of cat litter in them. Trays should be scooped out twice daily and thoroughly cleaned weekly. Avoid using scented cat litter, your cat has a very sensitive nose, and litter tray liners are just horrible for cats. If you don’t have an indoor tray, consider getting one as having to go outside to toilet, may be increasing anxiety.
4. Make sure there is plenty of opportunity for play and predatory stalking (this is often overlooked once our cats reach adulthood) Boredom can intensify ‘stressy behaviours’ “I’ve got nothing else to do, so I’ll sit here and groom or eat”. Remember cats like short but frequent bursts of activity so keep your play sessions to around 3-5 minutes. Make sure that your cat gets the opportunity to ‘win’ at the end by catching the prey – you can also throw in a little treat to help with this. Using cat food dispenser games or make your own – 15 toilet roll inners stuck together in a triangle with a board behind and dry food inside can also be very entertaining for cats (I’m sure if you look back through this blog, there will be some great recommendations).
5. If you have more than one cat make sure they have their own separate resources if possible and check that they really are a bonded pair who get on well with each other – look for signs of sleeping curled up together, head bumping, greeting noises and mutual grooming. If these aren’t happening and one or both of your cats tend to sit and stare at each other, hiss or growl or block access to resources, you may have a slightly harder time sorting things out as the problem may be with the cats in the home as well as outside.
6. The use of pheromone diffusers can help alongside everything else and we recommend Feliway. Make sure that you always leave it switched on to keep the pheromone levels consistent. Remember that Feliway on it’s own won’t really do that much, but when combined with the other changes mentioned above it can help a great deal.
If things don’t improve with those suggestions I would strongly recommend consulting a qualified feline behaviourist (Vickie Halls is fabulous) to get this sorted out for you kitty.
I hope this is helpful to you and I really hope your girl feels better soon 🙂
Feel free to message me if you have any other questions
Thank you very much for your helpful advice. Since we became a multi-cat household I make sure we have plenty of litter trays and access to food and water freely. As Charlie is boss cat, she has her own special beds and first choice on my bed…about the only thing I haven’t tried yet is Feliway. That’s next. Thank you for your help.
To add to the brilliant advice from @castlevetsreading, @sarahicatcare dropped me an email with a useful link to also take a look at http://icatcare.org/advice/problem-behaviour/over-grooming-problems for more details.
Also depending on where you are based she offered she could point you into the direction of an accredited animal behaviourist for further assistance!
Hope this helps and let us know how you get on. 🙂
Thanks,
Marc
Right. Just got back from the vets, where she had a steroid injection and her anal glands squeezed-she didn’t care for that but it can be another possible cause of overgrooming… looked at that link you sent me, just wondering about the possibilty of Feline Hyperaesthesia Syndrome. I’m going to do some more research on this and mention it to the vet next time we go… Thank you for all your help and advice, I have some information to go on now. : )
You are most welcome! And if you have any further question let me know and I’ll check for you with our wonderful @castlevetsreading @sarahicatcare 😀
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Ciao
Sid
Great post, thanks!
cute cats nice advises
lovely pics and wonderful tips
Great tips, but erm, I don’t see anywhere mentioned to give the remedies with a syringe up the poor cats bum as per the photo!
Great information, thanks.=^..^=
Excellent! Thanks for sharing.
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This was really interesting! Thanks so much for sharing! ??
Extremely helpful post. They all sound like top tips for cat owners.
Thank you for sharing. This is very important post. So many good tips.
Very unformative. Thanks for sharing!
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Shared to Facebook. Thanks!
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