Pets Deserve Natural Alternatives Too!

Many people prefer to eat organic food, limit processed foods, avoid toxic chemicals and seek alternative treatment to ensure their well-being. So don’t their furred and feathered friends deserve natural alternatives too?

Natural therapy looks beyond ailments, treating the whole animal to ensure optimum health. Animals, from cats, dogs and birds, to reptiles, goats, fish and guinea pigs, can benefit from natural therapy.

Food
Providing your pet with a wholesome diet will mean a healthier pet, and a healthy pet will have a strong immune system that will help fight disease and other ailments.

In a natural environment, animals only have access to raw foods, which contain enzymes necessary for proper digestion. Yet processed foods, often predominant in the diets of pets, lack these essential digestive enzymes. Processed foods are often preferred due to concerns about the bacteria found in raw meat. However, these concerns are unfounded because the digestive systems of carnivorous animals are designed to handle these bacteria.

Research into processed pet foods sold in America, found that some brands contained hidden ‘ingredients’ such as hair, feathers, joints, hooves, and even growth hormone implants from cattle. In his article ‘Pet Health Alternative Can Help Your Pet’, John Anderson states that, "It’s the substances you don’t know about in that can of pet food that may sicken or even kill your pet".

Much of the offal, such as liver and kidneys, used in pet food is unfit for human consumption. According to Anderson, even the cereals included in many pet foods are either mouldy or the less nutritious leftovers from food production for humans. Additives, such as preservatives flavours and colours, are nearly always synthetic.

Some pet owners prefer to feed their pets a more natural diet, with whole ingredients that are of a grade suitable for human consumption. There are a number of commercial products to choose from, or food may be prepared from using suitable recipes.

Prepared or processed pet food should contain ingredients of a grade fit for humans, contain natural additives, and preferably be organic. If you include prepared or processed food in your pet’s diet, ask the manufacturer for a comprehensive list of all ingredients, along with their quality and origins.

For pet owners who prefer to make their own pet food, there a number of recipes available on the internet, however consult your veterinarian or natural pet therapist to ensure your pet is receiving a balanced diet. Meat, raw or cooked, lacks all the necessary nutritional requirements, therefore, you will need to add vitamins, minerals, vegetables, cereals and raw bones, to your pet’s diet, depending on the type of animal.

Most meat sold as pet meat is from carcasses considered unfit for human consumption, so you should give your pet meat of a grade suitable for humans, and possibly organic.

Flea control
Flea control is necessary for your pet’s health and comfort, but if your pet does not have fleas, treatment is unnecessary. Monitor the fleas on your pet by combing with a flea comb, looking for both fleas and droppings. Only treat your pets if fleas are present.

Conventional insecticide-based treatments include powders, shampoos, oral drops and tablets, flea collars, sprays, as well as liquid solutions that work by spreading through the oily layer of skin.

Christine Makowski, in ‘Natural Flea Control’, states that many of these synthetic insecticides, like organophosphates and carbamares, have their origins "in the development of chemical warfare agents", and cause numerous short and long term health problems.

Poisoning sometimes occurs, often from but not always due to incorrect use, possibly resulting in nausea, convulsions, respiratory arrest, and sometimes death. Long-term use of these chemicals can cause complications, like kidney failure or cancer, or other complications such as liver toxicity, itchiness or ear infections.

Alternative flea-control products come in similar choices to conventional ones, but the active ingredients include essential oils, like citronella eucalyptus, pennyroyal, and tea-tree, or herbs such as pyrethrin and d-Limonene (a by-product of the citrus industry). Extracts from the Neem tree are also useful for controlling fleas, as are homeopathic treatments.

Follow directions carefully, so as not to poison your pet, keeping in mind the grooming habits of animals, like licking. Even natural flea controls can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

Adding garlic to your dog or cat’s food may also help in controlling fleas, but use no more than half a clove of garlic a day as too much garlic causes anaemia in some animals.

Fleas often breed in dusty areas, so vacuum and clean your house regularly, and keep your pet’s bedding clean, adding eucalyptus of tea tree oil to the final rinse, then let drip dry. If spraying your house for fleas and other insects, ensure that the products are safe for your pet, and preferably natural.

Massage and Acupuncture
Massage and acupuncture are becoming more popular for treating pets, with courses available for animal practitioners.

Sandra Rogers, Director of the National College of Traditional Medicine, claims that massage has a number of direct and indirect benefits for animals. "The direct benefits are relaxation, improved circulation, lymphatic flow and improved range of motion. Indirectly the entire body benefits as all systems of the body are reliant on the circulatory system to nourish and rejuvenate."

Massage is excellent in assisting animals to recover from injury or surgery, and is a helpful component of pain management for common ailments, such as hip dysplasia in dogs. Swelling reduction and easing of tension throughout areas directly affected, as well as for areas that endure the weight of compensation, are two benefits of massage, according to Canine Massage Therapist, Julie Gordon.

Others benefits of massage include injury prevention and performance improvement in working or show dogs, relaxing and stretching muscles to help with optimum performance. Massage may also slow down degenerative process in older animals.

Equine Muscle Release Therapy offers similar benefits to horses, promoting health and balance by working on the connective tissues that entrap the nerves affecting the central nervous system. This system controls functions like heart rate, digestion, as well as bladder and bowel functions, explains practitioner Nadine Marshall.

Acupuncture and chiropractic therapies are beneficial in pain management and rejuvenation of animals suffering from injuries or wear and tear. Some vets use these therapies in conjunction with anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications.

Dr Ian Bidstrup claims anti-inflammatory medications are often ineffective, especially in the longer-term, for neck and spinal injuries in dogs. On the other hand, acupuncture and chiropractic treatment, with periodic maintenance, will often give dogs ‘a new lease of life’.

Herbs and Homeopathy
Herbal and homeopathic approaches are increasing in popularity to manage ailments in animals, either in conjunction with, or as an alternative to conventional veterinary treatment.

Skin conditions, liver complaints, allergies, ear and skin infections, and even behaviour problems respond to herbal and homeopathic treatment. Some steroid-based medications used to treat arthritis, can have serious side effects such as tissue degeneration. However, incorporating a lower dose of steroids, with homeopathic remedies and dietary changes can return an animal to optimum health.

Herbs, like goldenseal and antioxidant supplements are valuable as part of a cancer treatment plan. Kidney disease responds well to herbs, including dandelion leaf and Echinacea, while homeopathic remedies, including Silicea, Thuja Hawthorn and Adonis vernalis, assist in strengthening the heart, for some animals with heart disease.

Never diagnose or treat your pet yourself; many conditions are serious, requiring expert diagnosis and treatment.

Conclusion
Pets give their owners many intangible benefits, such as companionship, friendship, comfort, and laughter, so should be repaid with a wholesome diet and the safest treatments or therapies available. Your pet deserves the best!

References Available