Hello, I’m Dr. Lauren! Learn my introduction to be taught extra about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller.
Acupuncture is historically regarded as a pain-relieving therapy. However is that this its solely use? And what about cats and acupuncture? How do cats tolerate the method? And in case you are trying to discover an acupuncturist to your cat, what are you able to count on?
Let’s discover this extra, on this collection of articles on acupuncture and cats. I’ll talk about instances I’ve seen, how cats tolerate the therapy, what makes use of it could have, and the best way to discover a veterinary acupuncturist close to you.
Wholesome Skepticism?
I’ll be sincere, as a Western-trained vet, I’ve all the time been a bit skeptical when a shopper asks me about different therapies or naturopathic dietary supplements.
We had been all the time taught in vet faculty that the physique and thoughts are separate entities, separate medical disciplines, even. We had been taught to be thorough in questioning the whole lot, to search for the tangible details, the scientific research, the advantage, and search the kind of science that was supported solely by way of a clinically randomized, double-blinded examine.
It wasn’t till not too long ago, that I started to surprise if we had additionally been blinded within the course of.
East vs West
Japanese drugs, because it has come to be recognized, had been round for hundreds of years earlier than the arrival of Western drugs. Far earlier than double-blinded, placebo-controlled analysis existed, the idea of a holistic being, one with thoughts and physique intimately linked, was taught, practiced, and lived. Theories had been examined, confirmed, and the artwork of Japanese drugs grew to become a follow of drugs, taught by means of generations.
Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and the Shaolin Monks could spring to thoughts while you consider Japanese practices. However till not too long ago, I had no concept how profound these teachings might really be.
After attending a convention on using acupuncture in Western veterinary drugs, I used to be floored. Instantly, the physique and the thoughts had been linked, by intricate pathways or channels, as they’re recognized in acupuncture. Channels exist for main organ methods, a lot of which correspond to what Western drugs would outline centuries later.
Acupuncture in Veterinary Medication
Sterile needles are positioned to stimulate numerous components of the channels and the medical points that the affected person is having, to assist in assuaging the problem. Many theories exist as to how, precisely, the therapy helps to enhance the affected person, with one extensively accepted concept being the involvement of the fascia, a largely underrecognized organ system in Western drugs. Regardless, as one in every of our lecturers put it this previous weekend, “Acupuncture will be described because the assembly of neurological, psychological and physiological well being”.
Case histories corresponding to horses with intractable “behavioral points” that led to condemning ultimatums of their care (e.g., repair the problem or euthanasia) had been highlighted as acupuncture success tales. Movies of those sufferers earlier than and after therapy had been astounding: animals that presumably had been in a lot ache, as to be untouchable, had been instantly reworked into fully completely different beings.
Myself, having had excruciating ache in my leg for about six months, I too, know what a burden it may be. It actually could make you…grumpy…even on the most effective day, to say the least. Limping round, day after day…it will get a bit tiring.
Subsequent week, we’ll discuss concerning the instances I’ve seen and the way cats deal with the therapy. See you quickly!
