Traditional Chinese Medicine Offers a Holistic Treatment for Arthritis in Cats

By :Becki Baumgartner, Certified Master Herbalist 0 comments

We are so sorry for the challenges you are facing with your cat's arthritis!

It's a sad but true fact. Cats experience debilitating arthritis pain the same way people do.

In this article, we're sharing the holistic treatment for arthritis in cats our founding veterinarians, Dr. Marc Smith and Dr. Casey Damron, recommend in their Tennessee clinics.

What Does Arthritis in Cats Look Like?

You probably don't need your vet to tell you your cat has arthritis. Intuitively, most pet parents can spot the signs.

Telltale signs of cat arthritis include:

Limping, lameness, stiff legs
Yelping when touched
Change in behavior or irritability
Not wanting to move
Difficulty rising after resting or sleeping
Overall tiredness
Muscle atrophy

However, the most distressing thing about the situation is cats are very stoic. In other words, they most likely feel more pain that you think they do.

Luckily, there are many quick and easy changes you can make at home to help you give your cat an edge on easing cat arthritis pain.

Feed Your Cat Wet Food

According to Dr. Smith and Dr. Damron, the best thing a person can do for their cat is feed a wet diet.

And, the only thing better than a wet diet is a home-cooked wet diet.

Freeze-dried raw is also a good choice. Just make sure to rehydrate properly prior to feeding.

Home-cooked diets and wet food help keep your pet from gaining too much weight. In turn, less weight means less stress on your cat’s bones and joints.

Have you ever tried cooking for your cat? It's really not as hard as it sounds!

Just visit PET | TAO Holistic Pet Products recipe page. Scroll down a bit and you will see the cat slow cooker recipes. Simply read the descriptions, and choose the recipe that most fits your cat's behavior. The recipe page provides food lists and tells you how to make your cat's food in the slow cooker.

In addition, feeding a wet or home-cooked diet helps you keep your cat hydrated.

Hydration is a especially important for all older cats. With age, everything tends to dry out.

Provide Joint Support

As cats age, the cartilage surfaces in their joints start thinning and deteriorating.

Then, as the cartilage cells die off, they release enzymes causing inflammation in the joint capsule.

Inflammation, in turn, creates excessive fluid within the joint. In addition, extra bony growths called osteocytes may develop, causing even more discomfort.

Later on, as the cartilage thins, the space between the bones and the joint narrows and the bones start deteriorating.

However, if you step in with the right supplements, you can slow the painful progress and help your cat feel better.

Drs. Smith and Damron both recommend a holistic product called Harmonize Joint.

Harmonize Joint contains glucosamine, vitamin C, green-lipped mussel, MSM, sea cucumber, polygonum, angelica sinesis, rehmannia, alfalfa, manganese and vitamin E.

The ingredients all work together synergistically for lubrication and repair.

This product is labeled for dogs because the tablets are large, but it's safe for cats. We recommend crushing the tablets and mixing the resulting powder into your cat's wet food.

Learn more about Harmonize Joint

Feed Your Cat Kidney

Yep! You read that right. Strange as it may sound, eating kidney helps arthritis.

The vets explained it to me as follows.

According to Traditional Chinese medicine, "Kidney governs the bones and joints."

So, by feeding kidney, you'll be supplementing in a "like treats like" manner. Kind of similar to the way homeopathics and glandulars work.

Drs. Smith and Damron swear by it in their clinics and have great results.

If you aren't friends with a butcher, you can easily find freeze dried kidney in the form of treats.

Learn More About Freeze Dried Kidney Treats

Acupuncture and TCVM Herbal Formulas

For both vets, TCVM herbal formulas and acupuncture are the foundation of their success in helping cats with arthritis. And, the two treatments work very well together.

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine. It corrects imbalances of energy, or “Chi,” in the body.

To correct these imbalances, acupuncturists use very fine stainless-steel needles to stimulate the body's major energy-carrying channels.

In addition, acupuncture may help curb pain by boosting endorphins.

Acupuncture is even more powerful when combined with the appropriate TCVM herbal formula.

Some good examples of herbs to aid cat arthritis challenges are:

We can help you get TCVM herbs.

However, TCVM herbs require a veterinary authorization from your veterinarian or a consultation with one of our veterinarians.

If you can't find a vet in your area, or need a little extra help or a second opinion for your pet, Dr. Smith and Dr. Damron are happy to help.

Both vets offer TCVM telemedicine consultations and will work with your vet to help you give your pet the best integrative care available.

If you get a TCVM telemedicine consultation with either vet ($125), you'll get personalized TCVM recommendations specific to your pet, including: