Acupuncture for Cats – A Gentle, Natural Feline Pain Relief Therapy

Acupuncture for cats as part of a pain management program is nowadays widely accepted. Initially, most cat parents cannot imagine that their feline pet ever would lie down in a relaxed and calm way, when several fine acupuncture needles are inserted into its skin during a treatment session.

Cats suffering from certain health conditions can benefit a lot from this traditional Chinese medicine, and it is worth giving it a try.

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Acupuncture for Cats Helps to Reduce Meds

It is easily integrated and combined with conventional school medicine and can help to avoid side effects that may occur sometimes through the use of allopathic drugs.

The dosage of chemical pain relievers can be kept at a minimum or their usage can be stopped altogether, which is even more beneficial for the sensitive feline metabolism and the detoxifying inner organs.

Acupuncture, as a complementary treatment, may help manage many health problems and conditions.  It helps to control pain, often in cases where arthritis in the joints is an ongoing issue, and to stimulate the body’s self-healing processes.

It will also enhance function of the immune system, which explains why this treatment modality can help to keep certain feline allergies and skin problems controlled.

Skin Conditions

Skin conditions, such as cat “hot spots”, superficial pyodermas, pruritus, otitis externa and psychogenic alopecia in cats, feline acne or immune-mediated skin diseases may be treated with this alternative form of therapy to control itchiness and painful symptoms.

Other forms of illness and disorder that may be managed in-part by acupuncturists include problems with appetite, nerve paralysis and other issues with the central nervous system, gastrointestinal disorders including those that result in vomiting and diarrhea, kidney disease, seizures, and degenerative joint disease.

However, many of the above mentioned conditions and diseases have got underlying causes, which still will require conventional treatment.

How Cats Respond

Cats are usually very good responders to acupuncture therapy. Due to their nature of being a hunter and predator, they possess a very alert and responsive nervous system.

Improvement of a condition that can be treated with acupuncture may be truly amazing sometimes, depending on a cat patient’s individual situation and response.

Acupuncture can work by stimulating oxygenation in the blood flow, helping the oxygen to reach muscles and tissues in greater concentration and therefore aiding with healing and relief.

Feline patients are usually tolerate acupuncture treatment well and the initial doubts of cat parents, whether their pet will be able to relax during a session, will quickly disappear in most cases.

Veterinary Acupuncture Professionals

Veterinary acupuncture should be carried out only by veterinary professionals who are specially trained practitioners – described as a veterinary acupuncturist. This ensures proper assessment and safe adjustments of treatment to the individual case during each session, making sure the correct acupuncture points are chosen for the particular cat.

As a complementary modality can acupuncture for cats help to relief pain and initiate healing processes in a gentle, but powerful way without causing known drug-induced side effects.

A more contemporary option is laser-acupuncture or acupressure. This uses fine lasers instead of needles, and can be used where insertion of needles is something that stresses your cat out. It’s a very modern technique and not available everywhere but it is worth speaking to your veterinarian if you want to know more.

It’s also worth checking your pet insurance policy, as some may cover holistic therapies including acupuncture when carried out alongside conventional veterinary medicine and treatment.  In fact, our Nationwide policy covers acupuncture.

This form of therapy is becoming more and more recognised amongst veterinarians and pet owners, as it is usually very effective and can be integrated well into conventional treatment plans.

Dr. Ellen Schmidt is a veterinarian and webmaster with a special interest in alternative and holistic pet health care and veterinary acupuncture.
Visit her website and claim your free monthly e-zine “Pet Health Tip”.

Jenny Dean

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Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,

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