Home remedies for your pets

We all love our pets, and hate when they have health issues, but sometimes we just don't have the money for vet visits for the simple issues. With the ever rising vet prices and today's economy it's hard on the wallet and bank account to make those trips to the vet. I definitely believe you must be able to afford your pets to own them, but sometimes the extra cash just isn't there for a minor issues. Do you seek out home remedies for this issues first, in order to help your pet?

Well, that kind of depends on what you mean by home remedies. There are many things, especially with reptiles, that I will do myself, instead of going to the vet. Almost all of the medications a vet will give you are readily available. And, I'm really not trying to sound conceited, but there are three vets near me that I know of, that actually know more about general and specific reptile health issues than I do. The main need for a vet in most cases is lab work/blood tests/fecal exams, etc. So I know what I am actually treating in certain situations.

I do use what you could call home remedies I guess, as well. It would be an extremely rare case that I would ever take a reptile to a vet because of impaction, which can be a common problem.

All that said, there are certainly instances where a vets treatment cannot be replaced most times. Personally, I think the most important thing is being your, and your animals, own advocate, and having the knowledge, and eventually experience, to know when its a problem you can deal with, and when you need veterinary treatment.

Absolutely there are certain conditions that a visit to the vet is a must. I follow the rule if I would take my child to the doctor, then I will take my pets. My pets have become my children since they have grown and moved on with their lives and I am a good mother.

I'm talking about the less serious issues, hot spots minor abrasions and cuts. Things that can be easily monitored and treated.

I would agree with that logic. But, even as a diabetic (which I am), I an still less prone to go to a doctor than some. And the main reason I go to the doctor is the same I stated for the animals, lab & bloodwork. Unfortunately, I need regular labwork.

I'm also a little more likely to take one of the cats to a vet, add it is nowhere near as hard to find a good vet properly educated in that area.

I seek home remedies first, not only because of the cost, but because it is healthier for them. I look for home remedies before going to the vet and do the same for my entire family. However, if it is bad enough, then I will go into the doctor or the vet to get a prescription.

I do use home remedies sometimes, but usually under the advice of a veterinarian. My bird had recurrent yeast problems in his crop thanks to the conditions he used to live in (he's a rescue) and the antibiotics he needed when I first adopted him. His avian veterinarian told me to add apple cider vinegar to his water occasionally as a preventative. If I ever see even the slightest sign that the yeast is coming back, I'll use the vinegar every day for a week or so. The vet also recommended some supplements to use if I ever notice Buzzy seems a little "off." Of course, I take Buzzy in to see the doctor if it's anything more serious, or if things don't improve with the vinegar or supplements.

As for my cat, I couple months ago, I noticed he'd been clumsy, and I remembered the vet once telling me about a joint supplement for older cats. I found the supplement online and ordered it, and now the Monster cat has improved dramatically.

Hi,

I don't give anything to my cat without asking the vet first, not that I don't trust natural medicine, but I don't trust myself , the only thing I do is cleaning my cats' eyes with Camomilla infusion (when it's not warm anymore of course). It helps, especially with my kitten (well she's a big girl now) with her gummy eyes

It's amazing. We went to the vet a couple of months ago just to give one of our cats a check-up and the vet was very kind and informative. She provided home remedies to his minor pimples on his chin, how to brush the cats' teeth at home and other interesting tidbits.

If it's something catastrophic and there are no home remedies, then we will have to fork out the money.

Andrew, you have a good vet there. That kind of vet is worth an office fee, and them some.

I never use home remedies on my cat, except if the vet himself recommended it. The reason for that is, well, from my experience, home remedies recommended for humans often turn out not to be very helpful, or they're recommended for the wrong condition on accident. I've had a really hard time finding a good vet, so I have an even harder time trusting home remedies of the internet for my cats, even though they are well-meaning, they can be harmful and I just don't want to take the risk. I have also noticed that people use trusted human home remedies on their pets, which can be very harmful, since what's good for us often isn't good for them. If the home remedies have proved to be harmless and helpful, I have nothing against using them. I can imagine it can be hard to be a guardian for a less common pet, since normal veterinarians aren't trained to handle them. In that case, home remedies might even be an only solution.

My mini schnauzer has an intestinal issue and gets constipated frequently. After trying various vet recommended medication I decided to try something simpler and less harmful to his body. After some simple internet research and talking to a holistic vet I decided to try putting a little olive oil in his food three to four times a week. It works wonderfully and he hardly has any problems now. It was a simple and cheap way to help his issues, and make him more comfortable.

I think that this is a decision that each person must decide for their self, according to their beliefs. When I was growing up, back in the 1950s, life was very different. We did not go to a doctor unless it was a serious situation, like a broken arm or leg.
Most kids never even had shots for things like measles or mumps, we were expected to go through those "childhood illnesses" when we were little. Dogs and cats didn't go to a vet unless they were hurt, or being neutered, and even that was fairly rare back then.

So I grew up , learning to treat minor medical issues, both human and animal at home, and using home remedies. I always do that first, and only go to the vet if it is something serious that can't be treated at home, and I look online to see what other people have done to treat a similar issue, if I don't know what to do.
I am very skeptical about giving either myself or my pets any kind of chemicals. Now it is coming out that many kids that received the polio vaccine years ago are getting cancer from something that was in the vaccine, so you never know what something will do, even years down the road.

Home remedies are actually not what I am posting about exactly. Home remedies can be great. I do love the question and thread. That said, they can also kind of a 'watered down' way of saying what I'm going to say, so heck, I like to wade in the water first, , but I'll just jump in instead.

I most certainly do use 'home remedies' and more. I am a wellness adviser with an international essential oil company. Before that, I was doing holistic things and working with 'alternative' formats for over 30 years.

It does take some education within the various modalities you want to use. Homeopathy especially can be tricky. So does herbal care. The thing about knowledge tho, is that it just has a natural tendency to keep growing. It also takes learning about the animal's body, at the very least something about how it works. You have to get past the phrase, knowing just enough to get yourself into trouble.

Holistically is how I think, so when things happen, natural things are naturally how I think. I do this for serious care such as their health with food, and basic body functions when they get sick. I also do for other things, such as I make up their flea powder myself.

When it's something I don't know, such as how to set a broken bone, or if they need an xray, if there are questions about just what it is, or if it's truly an emergency, or if they are in such pain that nothing works, etc, then obviously I take them in. Even in situations where I had to have a diagnosis, after bringing home, I used holistic means back to their wellness.