Homeopathy for Cats - Tips and Advice

Homeopathy is enjoying a revival in both North America and Europe. The American Veterinary Medical Association says: "Clinical and anecdotal evidence exists to indicate that veterinary homeopathy may be beneficial." About 60 per cent of the 2,500 homeopathic remedies come from plants. Current understanding of biology cannot yet explain how homeopathy works.

History of Cat Homeopathy

The idea that "like cures like" is found in many forms of traditional medicine and was revived in the late 18th century by the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann. Critical of the invasive treatments, such as leeches and violent purges, used by his contemporaries, he developed "homeopathy" from the Greek homoios (same) and pathos (suffering). Homeopathic treatment of animals was later introduced by Baron von Boenninghausen in the early 19th century.

Homeopathy for Cats - How It Works

The body is in a constant state of self-repair, with all organs and cells constantly renewing themselves. Homeopaths believe that a "vital force" regulates the body, and maintains health. Clinical signs of disease are seen as indications that the body is fighting illness or injury. The homeopath determines how the body is trying to defend itself, before prescribing, according to the principle of "like cures like", a remedy that stimulates self-healing rather than suppresses the signs of disease. The result may be that symptoms work their way along the body from head to tail; or they move from inside to outside the body; or they move from the more important organs to the least important. Historically, "like cures like" has been called the "law of similars". This was and remains the central principle of homeopathy. The remedies consist of substances that, if taken undiluted by a healthy person, would cause symptoms similar to those of the disease being treated. For example, poison ivy, Rhus toxicodendron, naturally causes local irritation of the skin, so diluted Rhus tox. is used to treat a skin irritation, caused, for example, by flea bites. All substances used in homeopathic remedies are diluted many times.

When used preventatively, homeopathic remedies are called nosodes. Nosodes are available to prevent infectious diseases such as respiratory infection and viral enteritis. Diluting doses repeatedly limits possible harmful side effects and is believed to increase the potency of the solution. This is called the "law of potentization".

Modern Explanations

Chaos theory, which proposes that minute changes lead to huge differences, has been used to explain how homeopathy works. So too has resonance theory, which says that all matter consists of and radiates energy. Some homeopaths believe that water, the substance in which homeopathic medicines are made, is capable of storing energy. Others argue that diluting and shaking homeopathic remedies creates an electromagnetic state, and magnetite, an electromagnetic substance found in cats' and other mammals' brains, is hypersensitive to the resulting mixture.

Homeopathy for Cats - Veterinary Opinion

An extensive review, published in the British Medical Journal in 1991, analyzed 107 controlled studies involving homeopathic medicines. It concluded that, although the studies were not well designed, 81 showed homeopathic medicines to be effective, 24 showed they were ineffective, and 2 were inconclusive. In 1994, a double-blind study published in the medical journal The Lancet reported that homeopathy was more useful than a placebo in treating hay fever. No high-calibre studies of homeopathic medicines have been carried out on cats.

The number of veterinarians who include homeopathic remedies such as Arnica 6c, Aconite 6c, and Hypericum 6c in their medical arsenals is increasing in Europe, North America, and Australasia. Although they find it difficult to accept homeopathic theories, many vets are willing to accept evidence from owners that homeopathic remedies work. Most vets feel that, because homeopathic treatments are administered in such minute amounts, they can do no harm and will not upset any therapies directed at returning the body to homeostatic levels, for example, through intravenous fluid therapy. They do not consider remedies to be therapeutic.

Homeopathy for Cats - Where It Is Available

Most homeopathic remedies are available in liquid and in pill form. Cats sometimes resent the alcohol in liquids. Pills are more suitable for cats because, unlike those used in conventional medicine, homeopathic pills are intended to be dissolved in the mouth rather than swallowed. My nurses give Arnica 6c to all surgical cases while animals are anaesthetized, placing the tiny pills under the tongue. Unfortunately, because a cat's mouth often becomes dry during anaesthesia, these pills may take a long time to dissolve.