Guest guest Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Hi, I have a cat with painful ears and got her Golden Flower Remedy. Only thing is that now I'm not sure about the safety of giving it to her. Is there anywhere or anyone that knows about whether these ingredients are safe for a cat? For example, I've read that chrysanthemum can be be toxic to a cat. Can someone help me figure this out? The ingredients are: Agastache Huo Xiang 10 % Poria Fu Ling 10 Chrysanthemum Ju Hua 8 Coptis Huang Lian 8 Forsythia Lian Qiao 8 Paeonia Chi Shao 8 Peucedanum Qian Hu 8 Angelica Bai Zhi 7 Bupleurum Chai Hu 7 Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu 7 Pinellia Ban Xia 7 Vitex Man Jing Zi 7 Zingiberis Sheng Jiang 5 I am very grateful for any help with this, Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Joy, I'm sorry that I don't have the time to look up each ingredient for you but wanted to caution you about giving ANY thing meant for people to a cat without thorough checking. And I don't think most people who are trained in TCM, unless they've specifically trained in feline medicine too, would be able to accurately answer you. I know enough about feline physiology to know that their liver works differently from a human liver. In plants, there are thousands of compounds that affect a cat differently than a person. In liver cells are compounds called cytochromes that are also found in other cells but a group of them called P450 enzymes are used in the liver to metabolize or breakdown various compounds that need to be excreted from the body. (It's what most people are referring to when they say the liver 'de-toxifies' harmful toxins. This includes all drugs but also compounds such as various alkaloids found in ordinary everyday plants we eat. Generally, the amounts are of no concern to us or are even beneficial to us but then are excreted. Cats are profoundly different than us. They are obligate carnivores ( absolutely need to eat meat for survival) & rarely eat any plants other than occasionally chewing on grass & a few other greens. Their liver lacks or are woefully deficient in the P450 cytochromes that we use to metabolize plant compounds. Because their liver cannot break down the 'toxins' (good or bad) that we can, dangerously high levels build up quickly & can prove fatal or cause lasting damage to a cat. What's good for a person may be harmful to a cat. And even in treating a person, what works well for one may be counter- productive for another based on the body type from a TCM standpoint. How would anyone know what type a cat is? Whether it's more Yin than Yang as one example? Of the herbs listed, I recognize some of the Latin names but how they affect cats, I have no idea. There's been lots of studies done on animals & how various drugs (mostly) affect them & their liver. These studies, though, have been done on dogs, rats, mice & a few other animals & for the purpose of understanding drug interactions in humans. So the animals used were chosen for having the same P450 as humans. Since cats are so different, drugs & plant compounds have never been tested them on them. The best you could do is seek out a veterinarian who's trained in TCM & either phone or email them for advice. It may take a bit of googling but they can be found through searching. And some offer consultation online this way if you live far from them. Acupuncture has been very useful for all pets but as for herbal remedies, I'd strictly avoid them for cats. I definitely have NOT used them for any of mine ever, nor will I. I also think it's a good idea to find the cause of your cat's painful ears & treat that or eliminate the cause rather than trying to alleviate symptoms. There must be a tangible reason for her experiencing pain with her ears. There are 2 good groups that I'd recommend joining to learn how to help your cat. The first is Holisticat that advocates gentle natural means to help with a cat's health - http://pets.Holisticat/ And the second is sound sensible suggestions & help with varying viewpoints at http://pets.cats-healthandbehavior/ Both are outstanding in the depth of information available, links, charts, etc. Judy On Thursday 17 September 2009 10:11:45 am rainmountainrain wrote: > Hi, > I have a cat with painful ears and got her Golden Flower Remedy. Only thing > is that now I'm not sure about the safety of giving it to her. Is there > anywhere or anyone that knows about whether these ingredients are safe for > a cat? For example, I've read that chrysanthemum can be be toxic to a cat. > Can someone help me figure this out? > > The ingredients are: > > Agastache Huo Xiang 10 % > Poria Fu Ling 10 > Chrysanthemum Ju Hua 8 > Coptis Huang Lian 8 > Forsythia Lian Qiao 8 > Paeonia Chi Shao 8 > Peucedanum Qian Hu 8 > Angelica Bai Zhi 7 > Bupleurum Chai Hu 7 > Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu 7 > Pinellia Ban Xia 7 > Vitex Man Jing Zi 7 > Zingiberis Sheng Jiang 5 > > I am very grateful for any help with this, > Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Hi all, in view of the posts re TCM and animals, do a search for an article associated with Kan herbals catalogue by Steve Mrsden DVM, " Chinese Herbals for Animals " . Hugo ________________________________ Hugo Ramiro http://middlemedicine.wordpress.com http://www.middlemedicine.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Here are some links I found when I searched this info, it might be helpful This looks like a good list of books associated with alternative veterinary care http://shop.easterncurrents.ca/C-81/Veterinary-Titles A book specifically about CM herbal veterinary care http://shop.easterncurrents.ca/P-B4020/Clinical-handbook-of-chinese-veterinary-h\ erbal-medicine Looks like you can buy " Kan Essentials Handbook for Veterinarians " for $20 or free with $100 order. http://shop.easterncurrents.ca/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=138 & title=Kan+\ Essentials+for+Animals Chinese Traditional Medicine , Hugo Ramiro <subincor wrote: > > Hi all, in view of the posts re TCM and animals, do a search for an article associated with Kan herbals catalogue by Steve Mrsden DVM, " Chinese Herbals for Animals " . > Hugo > > ________________________________ > Hugo Ramiro > http://middlemedicine.wordpress.com > http://www.middlemedicine.org > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.