My Cat, My Teacher About Holistic Cat Health
Learning life’s lessons about cat health
It is said that the greatest teacher in life is experience. Sometimes experiences can be good ones; other times they are tough, gut-wrenching trials that wear us out and break our hearts. From which do we usually learn more? If we’re honest, it’s during the darkest, toughest experiences, right?
Are you listening?
If you’re reading this article you probably have some degree of interest in natural health, alternative medicine, or a holistic approach to wellness. Perhaps the traditional allopathic medical model has failed you, either in your own health or in your pet’s. Or perhaps you or your pet have struggled with an illness or disease, and you have felt a tug inside your heart that there is a different, better way out there that will help.
Call it intuition if you’d like. If this is where you are I applaud you and encourage you to listen to that inner voice! Not everyone has awakened to that voice, and they are caught in a medical or health model that keeps them doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Snowbear
Become the student
Pets are our teachers. There is a reason you adopted the cat that you have; there is a reason your cat chose you! Our precious pets have a purpose in our lives, and it is our responsibility to learn what that is and act upon it.
Our cats are smart. They learn our habits, our language, our lifestyles, and even our emotions. Some cats even take on the very diseases we as owners have as they try to share the burden we carry. How many people have you met that were confessed “dog people” and “cat haters” until a special kitty walked into their life and changed it forever?
Snowbear was my teacher
My cat Snowbear was my inspiration for starting Purrrfectly Holistic and writing a blog. His health challenges were an impetus to make me consider a holistic approach to all my cats’ health. After all, I was having success with a holistic approach to my own health, so why not with my cats’ health? That was my reasoning, and it has served me well over the years.
Snowbear faced different health challenges and issues that caused me to open my eyes and start questioning the status quo. Whether it was his food sensitivities, feline herpes virus, kitty bronchitis, or the fact that he started to be bullied by our twin cats later in life, something inside of me was telling me to look outside the box the traditional veterinary model dictated.
After his death I was compelled to learn about animal communication in order to connect to him once again and heal my grief. I love the expression “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Like peeling back layers of an onion, I began to learn that there were many other paths to explore when it came to Snowbear’s health.
“Conformity is the jailor of freedom and the enemy of growth”-John F. Kennedy
I almost felt like a rebel in a way, “going against the grain.” I questioned the knowledge and expertise of vets with years of experience, and I stood up for all my cats’ health whenever I knew in my heart that the veterinary recommendation was not in their best interest. I refused to conform.
There ARE answers out there! There ARE natural remedies to health problems! Don’t check your mind at the door when you walk in to the vet’s clinic. Ask questions, say no when things don’t feel right, and do your research. It will be a mind-blowing experience.
Snowbear loved sitting on the barstools
You don’t know what you don’t know!
Over the past decade I have become a sponge, soaking up information on holistic health not only for my cats but for myself. Talk about a wake up call! It’s a fascinating world that holds treasures beyond your wildest imagination. At first it will feel very foreign and confusing.
I’ll never forget the first time I ever went into a Whole Foods grocery store back in the mid 90’s. None of the brands on the shelves looked familiar to me, and I didn’t have a clue about using supplements or natural medicines. “Why would anyone ever shop here?” is what I thought to myself as I left. (I can’t recall what I went there to buy.) I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Just over a decade later I would come to embrace herbal supplements, homeopathy, nutritional supplements, and non-GMO, organic food, meat and dairy products that weren’t factory-farmed and free of antibiotics and hormones. I now understand that the mind and body are one; that our emotions factor into our health as much as our diet and lifestyle choices; that nutrition and diet are pivotal to long term health.
It is no different with my cats. Their emotional and physical well-being are integral to their diet and lifestyle. Herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine are just as effective for our pets. Using the wisdom of a Naturopath doctor and muscle testing is viable, beneficial, and effective. Energy-based modalities like ECR (energetic cellular release), reiki, color therapy, crystal therapy, and flower essences are powerful tools. Animal communication is real and can play a tremendous role in the health and well-being of our pets. Determining the cause of health issues is much more effective than just treating symptoms.
There ARE options out there
Now I have a treasure chest of resources I pull from as I work with cats. My options are not limited to a vet’s best guess that a particular antibiotic will clear up an infection only to find out later it didn’t. I don’t have to choose a toxic pest control application or submit to a drug with long term, toxic side effects for a health condition. Special food, supplements, and medicine don’t have to be a waste of money when they don’t work.
There are answers and solutions to your cat’s –and your own– health challenges that you may have never heard of. Along with myself there are holistic and integrative vets who want to help you and your cat thrive as naturally as possible. It’s time to get out of the box and get excited because true health and longevity is possible for your cat if you’re ready and willing! Hope is not just a four letter word. 😺
What’s your cat’s purpose?
So think about the reasons why your cat is in your life. It is not by accident you are together. What lessons have you learned? What do you think your cat may be trying to teach you? Perhaps it’s time to become the student.
