Alternative for cat with high blood pressure?
My cat is 13. He has slightly high BP. Otherwise healthy. Does anyone know of a alternative treatment? I’d rather not give him drugs.
Tagged with: alternative treatment • bp • drugs
Filed under: blood pressure treatment
The drugs are perfectly safe, I’ve been giving mine pills twice a day for 2 years and he’s healthy as can be!
You can alter his diet a bit, though. Try adding some Omega-3 fatty acids (found in salmon and fish oil). Also, eliminate some of the sodium. Some cat foods have a lot of sodium in them. I found it most difficult to stop giving ‘Mo "treats" from the table. He likes potato chips, whipped cream, popcorn, and just about anything else people eat.
EDIT for following poster: my cat has a genetic heart disease. Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He’s only 4. The pills keep him alive. If the issue was just high BP, I would probably not give him meds, particularly if it was only slightly high. I was simply trying to share what I’ve learned about the feline heart!
He really needs the drugs. They are the same ones humans take who have high blood pressure and as you know, there is no alternative treatment for people either, and untreated, this can lead to serious illnesses.
I had an older cat with undiagnosed high blood pressure once. She ended up having an accident (a fall) where she hit her head and the high blood pressure caused her retinas to detach, causing her to become partially blind. It also put a strain on her kidneys. I wish the vet had discovered it before the problems emerged.
Don’t mess around with this.
The previous poster’s answer is astonishing – there certainly ARE alternative treatments for human high blood pressure, and many are as effective or more effective than drugs, with fewer or no side effects. Most have been in use FAR longer than drugs.
I’m researching this topic myself, as my cat too has slightly high BP. So far I’m checking into this, because Hawthorn is a good treatment for humans:
http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/heart-circulation-canine-feline-heart-murmer.html
I’ve started my guy on Coenzyme Q10, which I bought in cat dose at a nearby pet store with an alternative bent.
Another possibility is PeptACE, which apparently has tested well with humans. I have a call in to my vet, so can’t answer whether this is appropriate for cats yet. It’s made from bonito fish, which means if your cat is prone to crystals, you shouldn’t try it – any sort of fish (esp. tuna) causes crystals in cats who are prone to that.
In my experience, every condition known to man has an herbal or natural treatment that has a much long track record than drugs, with fewer side effects. It’s harder to find them for pets, as more research centers on humans. If you can find a holistic vet, s/he should have good info, but they are not easy to locate, and are often very expensive. But you can’t just try human remedies on pets; for example, aged garlic is a potent treatment for humans, but causes Heinz anemia in cats. So whatever treatment you find online that looks interesting, check with your vet or a holistic vet if you can find one.