Holistic Pet Care: The Natural Approach to Pet Health and Wellness
More pet parents are turning to holistic medicine and natural therapies to prevent and treat common physical health conditions as well as nurturing the psychological and emotional health and well-being of their dogs and cats.
Holistic methods of treatment can bring about positive changes by targeting the root cause of the issue and not just the symptoms. Suppose your cat is demonstrating signs of excessive scratching, her fur is falling out, and the skin is red and covered in a rash. Conventional veterinary medicine is usually focused on treating the condition by alleviating the symptoms instead of targeting the deeper causes behind the condition. Your pet may be prescribed an anti-itch medication, and maybe an antibiotic or steroids, to address the skin irritation and scratching, when natural products could be a better approach.
Holistic veterinary care works differently. The holistic approach is to do more than just treat the symptoms of itching - to diagnose the reason behind the condition and eliminate the discomfort at the source. This could range from simple, straightforward reasons such as fleas bothering your pet or it could be something more complex connected to your pet's behavior and their psychological or emotional health. Herbal remedies and all-natural treatments are incorporated into the treatment plan to tackle your pet's health issues.
A seemingly healthy cat might be presenting signs of anxiety or a lack of proper nutrition, even some long-standing undiagnosed disease could be the reason for the excessive scratching, irritated skin, and loss of fur.
Holistic veterinarians will exhaust all of these possibilities in creating a diagnosis and developing an effective treatment plan to restore your pet's health and prevent future flair-ups.
The Advantages of Holistic Veterinary Care
Holistic medicine diagnoses your pet's health in a wide-ranging comprehensive approach that incorporates the symptoms and the cause as one. The root of the problem can only be discovered and treated by taking into account the why of the cause and not just the what and how.
This macro approach helps holistic veterinarians analyze the pet and build an accurate diagnosis. The treatment options for addressing the diagnosis and improving your dog’s or cat’s condition may include alternative treatments beyond pharmaceutical and chemical options.
Holistic treatments can incorporate traditional and alternative therapies that focus on nutrition, massage, acupuncture, and lifestyle changes, among other treatment options, to improve your pet's condition by targeting the root cause and eliminating it at the source. Lab tests and even some prescription medications are not excluded completely from the equation, but they don't need to be the foundation of the treatment protocol for bringing your pet back to optimal health and wellness.
Using holistic therapies means taking a completely natural approach to maintaining the health of your pet. Conventional treatments can be dramatically effective but, in some instances, the cure is almost as bad as the cause. Medications that contain chemicals and strong compounds and substances, whether they are oral, subcutaneous, or topical, can be effective at treating the illness but also pose significant negative side effects. Sometimes you just don't want to expose your pet to harsh medications that may eliminate the illness and the symptoms but won't make your pet feel much better until those side effects wear off. Holistic treatments can both treat and relieve your pet's condition without the potential for negative side effects that may do just as much harm as good.
Examples of Holistic Pet Care Treatments
The natural approach is best for treating some conditions and ailments in our pets. The following are some of the more effective holistic pet care options for addressing common illnesses and afflictions.
Nutritional Therapies
Holistic veterinarians recommend a change in nutrition for eliminating a variety of conditions in dogs and cats, including inflammation and arthritis. A healthy diet plays an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and these specialized diets are high in protein without the fillers and empty calories that can be found in many of the national brands you can find on your supermarket shelves. These holistic diets are intended to cater to your pet's natural instincts as a carnivore and the daily requirements needed for proper nutrition.
Flea and Tick Prevention Therapies
Fleas, ticks, and other parasites that are left unchecked can threaten the safety and comfort of your pet (and the rest of your family) with the spread of disease. A flea infestation on your cat or dog will have everyone in the home itching and scratching while ticks carry Lyme disease. But most of the flea and tick prevention options available on the market rely on poisons and pesticides that are absorbed into the skin and bloodstream of your pet. There are herbal alternatives that rely on essential oils to ward off the pests, but aromatherapy is often better suited for calming your pet instead of parasite prevention.
Using a collar tag embedded with bioresonance technology to create a naturally occurring barrier of bio-energetic frequencies is a safe and pesticide-free alternative for warding off fleas, ticks, and even mosquitoes from bothering your pet.
Acupuncture Therapies
Much like the acupuncture treatments that humans might choose to treat a variety of conditions, there are options for using acupuncture on your pet. This technique has shown efficacy in addressing metabolic diseases, arthritis, anxiety, and chronic inflammation.
Needles are inserted at various sites on the body to pinpoint the muscles and bodily systems that are affected by the pet's condition. Acupuncture can increase blood circulation and improve oxygenation and there are little to no side effects after treatment.
Homeopathy for Your Pet
A natural approach to treating your pet’s health issues could be the answer for cases that are chronic and have yet to be solved using conventional medicines and treatments. With so many choices for addressing common conditions, taking the holistic approach towards our pets' health may prove to be an effective long term strategy for health and wellness.
Most importantly, be sure to consult with your vet before making any significant changes in the diet or medication regimen of your dog or cat.
