As my readers may remember, I am a strong believer in coconut oil; I consume it for its health benefits, use for moisturizing my hair and skin, and I even
shine my patent leather shoes with coconut oil! However recently my husband Joe and I discovered that it is also a natural remedy for feline asthma! For years our darling full-bred Flame Point Himalayan cat "Nozomi" has been suffering from feline asthma. At first we thought that she was always trying to cough up a hairball and then one day we took her to our local veterinarian and he diagnosed her with feline asthma. Long ago when we thought that Nozomi was suffering from hairballs we would give her an over-the-counter hairball formula that was a
Since Nozomi is a little overweight she has trouble cleaning herself in hard to reach places. Although she is quite flexible, we like to help her out when she needs it. So one day when we were gently cleaning Nozomi's bottom we decided to apply some coconut oil. This worked wonders compared to the soap and water for cleaning all of the debris from her hair, plus it brought her comfort because coconut oil is a wonderful moisturizer! As Joe and I were petting Nozomi and applying the coconut oil, she discovered the coconut oil that we had sitting in a cup...and then she began to eat it! She loves it! We were absolutely amazed and giggled because she looked like she was really enjoying it. We then did some research to see if coconut oil is safe for cats to ingest (we had a feeling that it would be) and lo and behold it has many
health benefits for cats!
Thereafter our discovery of Nozomi's love for coconut oil and the health benefits for cats, we added it to her diet and immediately noticed a change in Nozomi's long-time asthma symptoms; her wheezing episodes were drastically reduced and her mood greatly improved! She looks happier and more relaxed; we are so very thankful for discovering this natural remedy!
We use
Healthy Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil. We have tried several other brands of coconut oil for our kitties and they prefer Tropical Traditions; in fact, they will completely turn them down over
Healthy Traditions' smooth and creamy coconut oil over the other brands that typically have more of a "coconuty" flavor that they do not like. I'm sure fellow cat-lovers can relate to a picky, finicky cat, and I've heard people say "my cat does not like coconut oil" and "I can not get my cat to eat coconut oil"; please give
Healthy Traditions a try and see if your cat will eat it...ours love it. My mother-in-law has six cats and she also gives them
Healthy Traditions coconut oil; she says they all love it! One of her kitties has a sensitive skin condition, and she says that applying their coconut oil topically to his dry, scaly, and delicate skin is so very soothing for him and it promotes healing...coconut oil is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic! I've also read that coconut oil is a great natural treatment for ear mites in pets!
We have tried natural and homeopathic remedies for feline asthma and we have found
that
Healthy Traditions virgin coconut oil works wonders for our cat's
health and well-being! If you have witnessed health benefits in adding
coconut oil to your cat's diet, please share your experiences in the
comments of this blog article!
Our other natural remedy recommendations to help heal kitty feline asthma are:
- PetAlive brand homeopathic formula called
"AmazaPet"; the front of the bottle indicates that it "reduces
bronchospasm and tight chests, plus opens airways" for cats...and we
have noticed beneficial results from this feline supplement!
- A "Grain Free" cat food, seems to help alleviate Nozomi's asthmatic flare ups as well. Cat food free of
gluten can help with kitties with inflammatory issues such as asthma! Our cats love "I and Love and You" grain-free cat food!
- Aromatherapy Facial Steams: We have also noticed a little relief from doing light eucalyptus pure
essential oil steams for our Nozomi girl cat; this is safe for cats as long as it is
not too concentrated...Although, kitties can get a little stressed from this natural treatment (which could
induce an asthma attack) from the steaming pot and closed an environment
when a towel is placed around them in an effort to keep the steam
enclosed. If your cat stays calm, however, with little stress, this can
be a helpful treatment. Steam alone can also be helpful; like if your
cat is in the bathroom while a hot shower is running. Healthy Traditions also carries high quality pure essential oils which I highly recommend!
- A kitty litter with minimal dust! The most commonly used litter among cat
owners is the clay based kind that can expel dust that flares up
asthmatic cat's attacks and inflammation. We have used been corn cob litter which our cats like; it clumps very
well and produces less dust than most types of litter. Although, our main
concern about it is that it is most likely made from genetically
modified (GMO) corn, and that our asthmatic kitty could possibly have a
corn allergy. Pine based litters seem to be great for minimal dust; our only issues
with it was that our cats didn't seem to like the bulky feel of the
larger granules and these larger chunks didn't fall through our pooper
scooper, making clean up more challenging. However, if you don't have
these issues, the minimal dust of pine litter could be very beneficial
for your kitty. Our conclusion was that a walnut based kitty litter was the best route for us. The granules are smaller, it clumps really well, and it produces little to no dust for our asthmatic kitty. We use Blue Buffalo's Naturally Fresh Cat Litter:
- Lastly, I highly recommend these natural medicine feline books (all are
always handy on my bookshelf):
"The New Natural Cat: A
Complete Guide for Finicky Owners" by Anita Frazier ... We often turn to this wonderful book for advice
(pictured below is our affiliate link of the latest edition of this
book; it details the latest advances in holistic care for cats, updated
statistics, new diet guidelines, and health care recommendations,
including the latest on vaccines, updated resources section with
suggestions for finding a holistic veterinarian and advice on how to
deal with conventional veterinarians).
"Natural Cats" by
Chris Madsen. Natural Cats addresses everything from cats' natural history to behavior and
health care, taking a cat's true nature into consideration. Cat lovers
will learn to how to make their pets happier and more comfortable by
creating cat-friendly environments and activities, feeding all-natural
foods that their pets crave, and treating illness and other conditions
through complementary medicine that draws on a cat's significant powers
of self-healing.
"The Healthy Cat Book" by Alexandra Bastedo. This book is a complete guide to caring for your cat the
natural way. Using Alexandra Bastedo's years of experience looking after
her many cats, this book deals
with every aspect of your cat's life from kittenhood to old age. Brought
to life by Pollyanna Pickering's beautiful cat illustrations, this is
the book is lively,
informative and packed full of facts and healthy hints, this is the
ideal book for every cat owner.
Our Nozomi kitty wishes each of you the best of luck in treating your beloved cat's asthma and other ailments!
Nozomi's Health Update 4 Years Later!... Here we are in September and it has been four years in Nozomi's journey and so much has changed! She has moved from a tiny one bedroom apartment to a much larger 3 bed, 2 bath house and all the extra space has made a positive impact on Nozomi's asthmatic flair ups. Although, she occasionally has a little bout of asthma, she experiences fewer of them and they don't last nearly as long and we attribute her success to two main factors: the change in her environment (not dealing with a cramped space anymore allows for more fresh air, less dust, and my work-from-home inventory for my
Etsy businesses is nicely organized and out of our living space...I actually have my own office now!) and coconut oil! The
Healthy Traditions Coconut Oil (link posted in above article) has been the one dietary supplement that we have continued to keep in Nozomi's diet and it continues to ward off asthmatic episodes. I highly recommend cat owners with beloved felines suffering from asthma to try adding
Healthy Tradition's Coconut Oil to their diets and see if it helps your kitty like it has helped our Nozomi girl!
September 2017 - Nozomi in her big backyard with luxuriously lush green grass and lots of fresh air! She loves her new home!
February 2020 Update: Our darling cat Nozomi has a new friend, Fangmei (both girl cat names are inspired by our favorite video game characters from the Shenmue video game serious). Nozomi is still in great health and Fangmei also loves snacking on
Healthy Traditions Coconut Oil. These girl cat's both have beautiful fur coats and we think the coconut oil in their diets is helping keep them lovely and luscious! Our dear, sweet, Magnum boy has passed away after a long life of 16 years; we smile when we remember how he would beg for coconut oil when he would hear us opening the jar. He gave us lots of love, and we miss him so much!
Do you find luxurious beauty in the toasted marshmallow angora-like
fur that a Flame Point Himalayan cat leaves behind?! Etsy Shop
FloraDavis has created gorgeously stunning wearable art jewelry pieces
with her beloved kitty's puffs of hair! Please check out her feline
friendly Etsy Shop here!
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