Homeopathy for pets: what it can do, and what it cannot

Owners ask us about homeopathy and herbs constantly, usually in a slightly apologetic voice, as though it is a question they expect to be talked out of. It is a fair question and it deserves a straight answer.

Where we use them

Chronic skin that keeps returning after every course of steroids. Anxiety and travel stress. Slow recovery and poor appetite in older animals. Cases where a dog is already carrying a heavy long term drug load that we would like to reduce rather than add to.

In these situations a gentle, low side effect option sitting alongside the medicine is often worth trying, and the downside of trying is small.

Where we do not, ever

Infection. Trauma. Poisoning. Any animal that is dehydrated, bleeding, struggling to breathe or in pain right now. Parvovirus. Heat stroke. A blocked bladder.

These get conventional medicine, immediately, and we will say so plainly even if you came in hoping for something else. An animal that dies waiting for a gentle option to work was failed twice.

The rule we hold ourselves to

Everything is prescribed inside the veterinary consult, by a registered veterinary surgeon, as part of one written plan. Not as a separate practice running beside the medicine. Not by someone who has not examined the animal.

Diagnosis first, always. A remedy without a diagnosis is a guess with better branding.

Herbs are drugs

Plant based does not mean side effect free. Herbs interact with conventional medicines, some are toxic to cats specifically, and dose matters as much as it does with anything from a pharmacy.

Tell us everything your animal is already taking, including anything bought off a shelf or recommended by a neighbour. Especially that.

Four questions to ask anyone offering this

• Are you a registered veterinary practitioner?
• What is the diagnosis, and what did you examine to reach it?
• What is the conventional option, so I can choose between them?
• What should I see, by when, and when will we stop if I do not see it?

If a practitioner cannot answer the fourth question, walk away. A remedy still on the prescription six months later because nobody reviewed it is not natural care, it is a subscription.

What honest looks like

We charge Rs 250 for a homeopathic prescription inside the consult and Rs 400 to Rs 900 for a herbal course. Both are on the rate card. If we do not think it will help your animal, we will tell you and you will not be charged for it.