Bach Flower Remedies For Cats

Homeopathy And Pets

Traditional homeopathic practice for pets is a holistic method that uses natural remedies, that are created from the energy of plants, to stimulate the body’s natural healing process.

Just like in humans, homeopathy can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions in pets. It concentrates on care of the whole animal with methods that are specific, gentle and sympathetic to the body’s needs.

It is based on the utilization of specially prepared, refined dilutions of herbs, minerals and other natural substances and it is a great alternative treatment option for any pet. 

The modern medical system is highly focused on suppressing the symptoms of disease, not curing its cause.

However, the symptoms of disease are simply the body’s way of returning to a state of balance.

Suppressing the symptoms with medicine or surgery may drive a disease deeper, resulting in a different, sometimes more serious, set of symptoms to crop up, while the original underlying imbalance remains.

What Conditions Do Bach Flower Remedies Treat In Cats

Rescues are perfect candidates for flower remedies, because they can often be under significant mental stress, so if you are considering taking a new cat from the shelter, looking into using flower remedies may not be a bad idea. 

But, emotional problems are not only found in rescues, they can be a part of any cat's life depending on their personality and surroundings.

Aggression, fear, situational stress, confidence issues, new surroundings, vet visits, support for taking on owner’s stress are a few of the main reasons that Bach flowers have come up to support cats in my practice.

That being said, each pet's situation is different and cat owners should intuitively look at the list of remedies and tune in to their cat to be able to support them completely.

Bach Flower Remedy treatment will only address the energetic or emotional causes of the behaviors. If there are physical reasons for the behaviours then cat owners should always be aware to support the cats physical well-being simultaneously and talk to the veterinarian.

It is really important to eliminate physical issues at the same time if there is a question and if they are present. Sometimes the energetic and emotional part is 30% of the problem, and sometimes it is the whole problem.

It is also possible that emotional issues have been there so long the stress has created a physical problem or vice versa.

Which Bach Flower Remedies To Use For Cats

Common remedies for cats have been Vine, Vervain, Beech, Cherry Plum for aggression.

Rock Rose, Aspen, Mimulus, Cherry Plum, Rescue Remedy if they feel fear.

Walnut could be added to any combination to support a cat who is showing signs that mimic the owner’s situation.

Honeysuckle could be added to any rescue animal’s treatment.

For an overly excited cat, walnut, beech, chestnut, bud, impatiens could possibly be used. That one may depend on the cat and the particular circumstances.

For fear of loud noises Aspen and possibly Rock Rose, Cherry Plum and Olive would be used.

Wild rose, walnut, rescue remedy and others could support a cat that acts depressed. However, the correct remedy would depend on the reason for the depression. It would depend on the cat's particular circumstances; was there a death, did the kittens get taken away, a move...

Each animal is different but the ones listed above would be some common ones in the cat treatment. Sometimes it is a combination and sometimes it is a singular remedy that supports.

Dosage Of Bach Flower Remedies For Cats

Dosing flower essences works on the premise less is more which is the opposite of traditional medicine. If we are using a remedy directly from the Bach Flower Remedy company then the dosage would be 2 drops per cup of water.

If we are using a dilution which may contain a combination of remedies (2 drops each into a 30ml bottle combined with water also called a treatment bottle) we would use 4 drops per cup of water. This is the standard dilution for all animals including people.

Benefits Of Remedies For Cats

One of the ways that Bach Flower Remedies work is that the behavior just gets less intense over time. The cat gets progressively calmer or more confident in a good way, or they just seem to be unaffected by what affected them previously. 

In some situations, this can happen very quickly, and in other, it is a gradual progression. What creates each outcome is hard to say but if there is an emotional or energetic reason for the reaction the right Bach Flower Remedy or combination can do 'Magic'. 

The idea is that harmony or balance returns to the animal. If they were aggressive, they can be dominant without tipping over into aggressive or violent or they can calm down completely to a cat at ease. 

If they were fearful, they can become more confident or less anxious and more calm to deal with the situation in front of them.

If a cat doesn't like the car or going to the vet, using the remedy a few days before, as well as on the day, can be very beneficial at getting the animal to be more balanced in their response to the circumstances. More at ease. More calm. More confident.

Bach Flower Remedies can literally ground them and make them more present. They also help them release the accumulated emotions that create the unwanted or stressful behaviour. 

Seeing The Results

Daily dosing in their water improves things sometimes very quickly and sometimes over time. 

Cats are empathetic beings and can carrying the emotions of their owner and by addressing both parties for a month to 6 weeks the situation tends to improve if it is strictly emotional and situational. There are situations in animals and people that are like onions and more than one combination come up in a series like addressing the layers of the onion.

Healing is individual and depends on how deeply embedded the issue is.

Can Cats Overdose On Flower Remedies

As mentioned previously, cats need to be given only the best treatment for any stress and anxiety. The creator of Rescue Remedy, Edward Bach, explains that cats can't get overdosed.

Bach Flowers are essences which are derived from plants, trees, and in some cases, minerals. They're completely non-toxic and have little taste or smell and work gently to balance the emotional and physical bodies of animals, cats included.

How To Give Bach Flower Remedies To Cats

The tincture can be administered orally or topically, which depends on the situation.

Stressful Situations

If you are taking your cat into a new environment, such as the vet, and you don’t know if they will drink before the trip, then you should put it on topically before you leave the house, and also when you come home again.

You could also put a few drops in the water bowl for a day or two prior and after the event is over as well. 

If you were expecting a contractor in your house and you know your cat is fearful of loud noises and new people, you could also apply topically before and after the contractor visit to support your cat.

If you have advance notice of any disruption that is going to be stressful for your cat, you can give a few days before and after.

Emotional Problems And Behavioral Issues 

For this type of issues the tinctures should be given over a longer period of time. There is no exact schedule, and if you want to support your animal, a personalized plan should be made.

Where To Buy The Remedies

Healing Vitality, based in Canada, sells treatment bottles with more than one remedy.

We sell them locally or ship them with postage if it makes economic sense to do so with the total postage cost versus buying the tinctures directly for the client.

Otherwise, Bach Flower Remedies are available online through various holistic health supply sellers and through Bach Flower Remedy own website directly.

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