Holistic Cat E-Book

Holly Mash

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The Holistic Cat is a comprehensive guide to natural health care for your cat. It explores the complementary treatments available to look after your cat in a range of everyday situations, as well as for first aid and focuses on diet, natural remedies and preventative and integrated health care. Topics covered also include the understanding of the feline mind; kitten care, multiple cat households and indoor cats; care of the elderly cat and the importance of nutrition and how to provide a balance diet. Holistic treatments for common ailments, including abscesses, dental health, and heart and respiratory problems are covered too. There are 104 colour photographs.

Leseprobe

THE HOLISTIC CAT

A Complete Guide to Natural Health Care

Holly Mash

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2014 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

© Holly Mash 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 781 6

Disclaimer

The author and publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it. If in doubt about any aspect of holistic treatment, readers are advised to seek professional advice. For simplicity, throughout this book cats are referred to as ‘she’.

This book is dedicated to my darling husband and our family.

CONTENTS

1Introducing Complementary Therapies

2The Feline Mind

3Multiple-Cat Households

4The Kitten

5The Elderly Cat

6The Indoor Cat

7Diet and Nutrition

8Routine Health Care and Commonly Used Supplements

9Holistic Treatments for Common Ailments

Useful Addresses

Further Reading and Acknowledgements

Index

‘On a Cat, Ageing’by Sir Alexander Gray

He blinks upon the hearth-rug,And yawns in deep content,Accepting all the comfortsThat Providence has sent.

Louder he purrs and louder,In one glad hymn of praiseFor all the night’s adventures,For quiet restful days.

Life will go on for ever,With all that cat can wish;Warmth and the glad processionOf fish and milk and fish.

Only – the thought disturbs him –He’s noticed once or twice,The times are somehow breedingA nimbler race of mice.

1INTRODUCING COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES

‘When the minds of the people are closed and wisdom is locked out, they remain tied to disease.’

The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (220 BC)

HOLISTIC MEDICINE

In holistic veterinary medicine we consider the whole of each patient, not just the symptom or condition they have presented with. This means that an in-depth consultation, usually taking an hour or more, is an important part of most forms of holistic medicine. Your cat’s family background, past and present medical history, as well as diet and daily routine, will all be explored and discussed. The holistic vet will also ask you about your cat’s personality and any individualizing characteristics of the presenting complaint. The details of any diagnostic tests that have been performed may also be of assistance. Finally, as well as observing the cat carefully throughout the consultation, they will also perform a full physical examination of your cat.

‘The whole is more than the sum of its parts,’ said the Greek philosopher Aristotle, neatly describing the general principle of holism.

Mind and body

The strong link between physical and emotional health is understood in holistic medicine. The interrelationship between mind and body has been accepted for centuries in traditional forms of medicine all over the world. In modern veterinary practice it is most easily compared to a branch of medicine called psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (PNEI). This investigates the links between an animal’s mind (psycho), its nervous and hormonal systems (neuro-endocrine), and its immune system. A holistic approach to healing recognizes that the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical elements of each individual comprise a totality, and the aim is to treat the whole patient in this context. It concentrates on the cause of the illness as well as the symptoms.

INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE

Conventional veterinary treatment is, of course, a vital part of our toolbox of treatment options for your cat. How else, apart from with surgery, are we going to fix her broken tail or neuter her? In-deed, antibiotics are often crucial in helping us combat otherwise life-threatening infections. The aim of ‘integrated veterinary medicine’ is to use each form of treatment, whether it is herbal, homeopathic, acupuncture, antibiotics or surgery, where it is most appropriate. Therefore, by widening the scope of possible treatment options for your cat, she will have a greater range of healing possibilities in any given circumstance. With an increasing number of disease-causing organisms becoming resistant to modern drugs, and a growing number of chronic conditions affecting today’s cats, it is little wonder that there is a shift towards holistic and natural treatment. This is indeed the future for health care for your cat in the twenty-first century. The key to integrated medicine is to use complementary and conventional medicine in conjunction, wherever possible. For example, a homeopathic remedy may be used to speed up healing after orthopaedic surgery has been performed to fix a fractured tail, or Bach Flower remedies used alongside behavioural modification techniques. However, don’t forget that each of the complementary therapies outlined here is also a complete healing system in its own right and in many cases will be best suited as a sole form of holistic treatment for your cat.