It is unquestionably comforting to have a cat as your little companion at home. In spite of their occasionally troublesome behavior (like scratching your sofa), cats can soothe your tired mind after one hectic day at your office.
Nevertheless, there might be a time when your pet appears to be weak and unable to wander around the house as she used to. As there is a limitation of communication between the owner and the pet, one often fail to notice any sign of sickness in his furry animal. In addition, cats can be skilled in hiding their illness, since it is common as their mean of survival.
Given the issue, you should be able to perceive any slightest change in their bodily condition or behavior. It would be better if you can signify what is going on in your cat, despite this matter is unfortunately out of your field. If it turns out your cat has contracted a serious disease, you should bring her to a vet. On the contrary, if she suffers a common, mild illness, you can possibly treat your sick cat using remedies available at your home. Therefore, you could prevent your sick cat from harboring further serious issues. Give these home remedies below a try to help you take care of your sick cat.
1. Apple cider vinegar
Besides its appliance in cooking and beauty treatment, apple cider vinegar could be used for treating numerous ailments happening to sick cats. From the urinary infection and upper respiratory issues to ear or skin problems caused by parasites and physical injuries, the high acid this item contains can solve almost all of these problems.
Make sure you dilute the apple cider vinegar first and take an adequate amount of it; otherwise, you will worsen your sick cat’s condition. You can use this remedy either orally or topically. For treating urinary and upper respiratory issues, you should mix the solution with the cat’s meal. You may choose wet food over dry food. It would conceal the vinegar taste and smell—which are quite distasteful for cats.
Just put a ¼ teaspoon into the food and repeat for the next meals until your cat regains its health. You may add one teaspoon of broth to raise the food’s appeal. You could also apply the mixture of 1-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and one cup of water to the back of your cat’s neck using a cotton ball, or you may put the cat’s paw on it. The skin would absorb the liquid and your cat may start licking it.
If your cat has seemingly skin infection or injury, you could rub a clean towel damped by the equal amount of water and apple cider vinegar throughout the cat’s coat and skin or the concerned area. If the problem occurs in her ears, gently press the clean towel that already dipped with the same compound to both ears. Do it twice a day until the problematic signs disappear.
2. Chicken
Along with the essential nutrition it has, chickens could also turn into a home remedy for your sick cat. This item is recommended for treating diarrhea and vomiting in cats. The source of these issues often come from consuming a cat food (mostly canned food) that left out quite a long time and from toxic or food that causes allergy. As the result, an infection may emerge in cat’s stomach or intestine.
If either diarrhea or vomiting occurs, you should fast your cat for 12 hours with the free access to fresh water. Often the case that the problem would not stop after the determined time. Therefore, you should prolong the duration to 24 hours. By doing so, you would make the gastrointestinal tract to relax for the time being.
After the fasting is over, you may cook or boil a skinned chicken meat and serve it alongside the normal diet. Chicken is harmless for the now resting digestive tract as it is generally a lean meat; while it still provides a high protein as the nutrition needed by the sick cat.
The ratio between the chicken and the usual meal is 3:1 on the first day. You may then gradually decrease the portion of the chicken until your cat fully backs to its usual diet. Another method to apply this remedy is by giving it daily in small portions every three to four times for a couple of days. Afterward, you can gradually add the regular food.
3. Vitamin C
The freezing winter season could weaken felines’ nose membrane—which function protects from bacteria entering the body. As the result, they become infected and are likely to catch a cold. It would be an unpleasant experience if you see your furry friend sneezing repeatedly and get a runny nose. Therefore, you should not worry. You just need to take the Vitamin C from your cabinet to treat your sick cat immediately. This remedy stores citric acid that is effective to overcome the infection, boost the healing process and improve cats’ immunity against bacteria that cause the cold. Simply dissolve Vitamin C with ½ teaspoon of water if it comes in tablet and makes your cat swallow it twice a day until the symptoms improve.
4. Tea
A sick cat may develop itching, redness and/or swelling around her eye due to bacteria or viral infection caused by disease or foreign object. The infected eye may produce the slight green colored mucus and might be hardly closed.
If the problem happens to your cat, slowly push a cold teabag that had been brewed 15 minutes early onto the infected eye. You can also put it for 10 minutes, provided that your cat is willing to bear it. Apply it several times a day for a better result. You may also apply other variants of tea such as calendula, chamomile tea, green tea or red clover. You only need to mix a sufficient amount of the specific tea with half a cup of distilled water that has been left warm. Then damp a cotton ball or clean cloth on the liquid and administer it to the infected eye twice a day.
5. Turmeric
In addition to its use as food coloring, turmeric can also be used to overcome infection in the digestive tract. Added to that, it can relieve bowel pain that caused by worms. This yellowish spice holds a property called curcumin. It is known for its capability to eliminate parasites while healing the internal injury around the area affected by them.
If you notice some white-colored worms within your cat’s stool or around her excretion organ, it is likely that your pet has contracted parasite infection. To take care of this problem, add a proper amount of turmeric to the cat’s wet food. Again, use this type of food to hide the smell of turmeric that can discourage cats to eat. Repeat the application once a day to the next ten days. If the issue still occurs, pay an immediate visit to a veterinarian.