We all want our pets to be as happy and healthy as possible. But veterinary bills can be expensive and for smaller ailments, there may not be a lot your vet can do to help.
So sometimes home remedies are more effective for preventing and treating the day-to-day ailments your pet might suffer with.
If you’re looking for some ideas, check out the list below for some top tips on how to keep your pet happy and healthy at home, without having to visit the vet.
You Are What You Eat
Good nutrition is as important for your pet as it is for us, and a dog or cat that eats well will be more healthy in general. Health supplements, medication, everything ingested in healthy proportions in other to cater for your pet’s over-all health, including deworming tablets used to treat parasites, join together to make your pet live very rich lives. Interesting to note that quality cat worming tablets can be bought online in a few clicks and delivered to your doorstep. Investing in quality pet food like Barking Heads will save you on veterinary bills in the long run and helps bolster your pet’s overall physical health.
However, we can’t control what our pets eat all the time. The dog will somehow get in the fridge and eat something it shouldn’t, or the cat will do the rounds at the neighbour’s house and come back with an upset stomach.
When something like this happens, chamomile tea can help soothe your pet’s stomach by decreasing muscle spasms and cramps. It also decreases inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining, and can be added to food or your pet’s water bowl.
Itchy Skin
Camomile tea – when cooled right down in the refrigerator – can also be used to relieve minor rashes and irritations. Just pour the cold tea into a spray bottle and apply liberally to affected areas.
Alternatively, you can use an oatmeal solution to reduce irritation and inflammation. Just grind the oatmeal to a fine powder and mix it with water to apply to inflamed areas.
If your dog tolerates baths, you can also add the oatmeal formula to warm water, and let your dog soak for five to 10 minutes. This is great for itchy feet!
Treating Cuts and Scrapes
Small cuts and scrapes are inevitable if your pet enjoys a bit of outside time. But it’s important to keep even small wounds clean to prevent infections and keep your pet comfortable.
If you need to remove some fur to clean a wound, start by applying a water based lubricant (something like KY jelly – not vaseline) and use electric clippers to carefully shave the surrounding area. The jelly will help keep fur out of the wound and prevent germs getting in.
Wash the area with warm water until any debris is gone and pat dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. Then apply a non-stinging antiseptic solution to the area.
It’s best not to apply a bandage to small cuts and scrapes – instead, let the wound breathe, but try and stop your pet from irritating it. Check it a couple of times a day for debris and reapply the antiseptic when necessary.
As long as no infection develops (evident in discolouration or puss in the wound), it should heal fairly quickly and not cause your pet any further discomfort.
