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Complementary Medicine and Treatment
Many owners like to use complementary
(alternative) treatments and some vets are
qualified in certain alternative therapies. Speak
to your vet before giving homeopathic or herbal
remedies as these may interact with prescription
drugs, making them less effective or making your
cat ill due to their combined action. Non-drug
complementary treatments such as acupuncture,
massage, Bach Flower Remedies, crystal therapy,
faith-healing, prayer etc are usually safe. I have
never known a cat suffer prayer-allergy. Some vets
can refer you to acupuncturists or other
complementary therapy practitioners. If you seek
the practitioners yourself, it is still common
courtesy to tell your vet. Some conventional
treatments have complementary alternatives, some
do not. I have successfully used Evening Primrose
Oil long-term instead of corticosteroid treatment
for feline skin problems.
Be careful about Nutritional
Supplements as
these can unbalance a balanced diet. Certain
vitamins are toxic in large quantities or may
accumulate to toxic levels in the liver or fatty
tissues.
Insurance
Most serious injuries and diseases can be
treated but surgery and medication may be
expensive. Some may be prohibitively expensive if
you don't have a high income or plenty of savings.
For this reason, a growing number of owners take
out pet insurance. Policies differ, but most cover
courses of treatment or one-off treatments (e.g.
emergency surgery). Many insurance firms will not
allow you to take out a policy on a cat aged over
10 years unless it has been insured previously.
This deters some people from adopting older cats
from shelters. Despite the apparently scary list
of things which can go wrong, older cats are
generally robust and healthy and the benefits of
companionship outweigh any additional costs.
An alternative to pet insurance for veterinary
bills is to arrange installment plans for paying
veterinary bills. This must be arranged in advance
will only be granted if you are already a good
client (i.e. you always pay your bills) at that
clinic.
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