Continuing the topic from the previous post:)
I don't have much experience with dogs, so I'll talk about cats, but I would imagine there isn't much difference...
I think all of us animal lovers will agree it's very unpleasant when your pet gets sick. And the costs of taking him to the vet are often prohibiting, too. Of course, sometimes it's unavoidable, however, through the years I have found out that certain home remedies can help.
For instance, I had a couple of tomcats and as you probably know, one thing they enjoy the most (apart from chasing females) is fighting.So they often come home with all sorts of injuries and some of the wounds tend to get inflamed, too. In this case, if it's not that bad, a simple betadine antiseptic can help. (BTW, I got the idea from the vet himself.)
One of them used to fight all the time before I finally had him neutered. Once he had a rather nasty inflammation on one of his legs. The wound closed, but there was a lot of swelling and it looked scary and caused him trouble. I kept on praying and covering it with a thick betadine lotion (he kept licking it away, of course), and oh wonder! The swelling disappeared in the course of a weekend. Saved me possibly about 150 euros.
Another one kept fighting, too. I had him neutered after his eye got damaged. Not the eye itself really (thank goodness!) but the skin around it, but it often looks red and irritated. The vet gave him drops, which helped somewhat, but the irritation returns regularly. So I went to a store and bought generic eye drops which I use when it gets worse. Appears to help and the cat doesn't mind it much. The cost of the generic drops: 4 or 4.50.
Also, if a cat is particularly fluffy, he can get problems with a hair ball. Typically, he will stop eating and using his litter box, obviously. I had to deal with it once, recently (not with the cat above, as he doesn't shed so much). The cat in question was hiding himself and was in general poorly. Before taking him to the vet, I tried some home remedies. First of all, I fed him some virgin olive oil which didn't work, but since oil is full of calories (and moisture), he started getting more active. At this point, I tried special food (which he ate and it didn't help), and a laxative tea blend from the supermarket. Didn't work, either.
So I moved on to stronger stuff and purchased a laxative which can be used on babies (cost: 6 euros or thereabout, I forget). A cat weighs much less than a grown-up, so naturally, you can't use normal medication because it will be too strong. I started with the minimal dose,which I gave him twice, with the tea in between, and this time, his problem was solved.
I hope this info may be helpful for other cat owners, but please keep in mind: I'm not a vet, I only share my experience and I'm in no way responsible for the health and well-being of your pets. As with any other internet advice, use common sense!
Hello! I wanted to throw in my 2-cents on home animal care. For years we couldn't afford to take the dogs (in our case) to the vet: children and their needs come way above animals to us. I did call the vet's office for a chicken one time and was told there was a $35.00 office visit charge for all animals! WOW! The chicken didn't go the vet, needless to say!
ReplyDeleteWell, last year our schnauzer started having seizures. He was six years old and we were in the process of moving. The Lord brought to mind a conversation I had awhile before that of a lady's dog having seizures and a ranch vet told her to give him a slice of cooked sweet potato everyday. I looked up on the internet what the treatment for animal seizures were, and potassium bromide was suggested. Along with that treatment (by prescription, by the way), were blood tests every so often; all that added up to a lot of vet bills! Well, sweet potatoes are high in potassium so maybe that is the ticket? I gave "Sherlock" the schnauzer a slice and cleared his seizures up immediately. Whenever I get complacent and forget for a few months, back comes his irritable behavior and then the seizures. I also gave a lab we once had penicillin shots (purchased the penicillin from a farm supply store) when he got bit by another dog and it got infected (advice for giving a shot: when you have the needle in the muscle do not let them shift to sitting/standing or they will be sore for a long time!) Cruelty to learn this stuff on your pet? Well, I can't afford the vet bills and he recovered beautifully from his infection even though I didn't give the shot professionally! Just because it is en vogue to take your animal in for EVERYTHING, doesn't mean you have to buy into the modern philosophy. There are countless things you can do at home at negligible cost!
CC, thank you very much for this interesting comment! I hope that some dog owners will find information in it valuable.
ReplyDeleteHere you pay depending on the sort of animal you have. Cats are cheaper than dogs. Hamsters are cheaper than cats:)
This part about sweet potatoes, I wonder if it would work for seizures in people?
Hello! I don't know if it would work for people; Potassium Bromide (again, is it the Potassium that makes it work?) was used in the 1800s to treat seizures in people, but I guess they have better things now with fewer side effects. I sure would try sweet potatoes if I had seizures as I prefer trying natural, God-made things first!
ReplyDeleteOne time I took our dogs to get their shots so I could leave them in a kennel while we went on vacation. I had to argue myself out of the $40.00 per-dog "getting to know your pet fee!" I was aghast! I got out of the fee because they hadn't mentioned it on the phone.
Enjoy your blog! I enjoyed the comment you made on your article on day care abuse when you said, "I agree, children don't belong in day care" or something to that effect. I agree, too!
C. C.
Thanks, C.C., I'm glad you like my blog!
ReplyDeleteModern anti-seizure medication sure works better but as far as I know, it has lots of very unpleasant side effects.
We don't do cat vaccinations outside of the first two (or three, I forget) mandatory shots. It seems to be working. They would need all this for staying in a pet hotel, plus they should be free of fleas which is virtually impossible for any cat walking outside who is also so fluffy. Luckily, we have a sitter, and the neighbours help, too. With dogs, is more difficult. I know a lady who is a dog-sitter for her working neighbour. As the dog got older, he couldn't stay alone any more while she worked.
I mean, even pets suffer when the lady leaves her home...