Cats with gingivitis seem to be so common now. And yet, cats can’t suffer from it in the wild, as they would quickly die. So we need to look in this direction for the cure.
Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums and this can occur at any age in any breed. Not only is this a painful problem, it shows that the health of your cat is not good.
It also means that the teeth may becomes affected later. Perhaps loosen, and then fall out.
However, with the two following measures, you can prevent gingivitis in cats or restore balance if it has already occurred.
The first aspect any natural health professional will always try to address is to restore a healthy immune system. With this back in balance, everything slips back into natural order.
One of the main causes of cats with gingivitis is diet. Diet is critical to everyone’s health, not just your cats. Human diet can be shoddy at the best of times, but at least there are some, pretty basic laws, which govern the manufacturing and marketing of human food.
This is absent in cat food. Anything can, and does, occur. Such as:
- preservatives that are highly toxic, despite the claims on the packet
- high fat content, unusable in human food
- low grade meat by-products (rejects for human consumption, with questionable protein content)
- cheap filler such as melamine, sugar or crushed nutshells
Please don’t think that the processed food recommended by your veterinarian is any better.
Quality raw meat and bones, on the other hand, provide a cat with complete and balanced nutrition. Crunching up on small raw bones keep the teeth clean, the gums healthy and their minds happy. Dry food doesn’t come close to achieving this, despite the claims.
Cats on this diet rarely suffer from gingivitis.
In the interim, between changing over to a quality raw diet, the cat may still need some help with the gingivitis. The homeopathic medicine Mercurius can be used successfully in restoring healthy gums when the cat’s symptoms include”
- gums are red and swollen
- the mouth appears dirty
- there is excess salivation
- ulceration may or may not be present
- symptoms are worse at night
Cats with gingivitis are all too common. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums. One of the main reasons for this in cats, is the lack of raw bones in their diet. A cat who has daily bones, such as chicken necks or chicken wings, to crunch up, rarely has gingivitis.
Raw bones in a healthy cat’s diet serves at least four purposes:
- bones keep the teeth clean, preventing tartar building up
- bones massage the gums, keeping them healthy
- the crunching of bones keeps cats happy - it’s how they evolved
- ingesting bones are a natural, balanced mineral supply for building healthy bones
Sadly, many people don’t feed their cats a raw meat and bones diet, so mouth problems are rife. The normal treatment of antibiotics and teeth removal does nothing to enhance such a cat’s already badly damaged immune system.
Once the problem has started, it seems an endless round of continued and regular damaging treatment.
Is there an alternative? Is it too late to introduce a raw meat and bones diet?
There are always alternatives to everything. And it’s never too late to try anything.
Cats with gingivitis often respond very well to homeopathic treatment. The medicine Mercurius is almost a specific for this condition in both humans and other animals.
But, as with all homeopathic medicines, it’s best to have more than one strong symptom which matches the medicine, for a positive resolution. A homeopathic animal practitioner may be your best option, if you are new to homeopathy. But if you already know a bit about it, you might like to try Mercurius, as long as you can see some of the medicine’s strong keynotes in your cat’s gingivitis.
The strong keynotes of Mercurius are:
- symptoms are worse for heat or cold (so food straight from the refrigerator is likely to be refused)
- symptoms are worse at night
- your cat may have excess saliva which feels slimy to the touch
- your cat’s breath may smell foul, offensive
- a history of repeated antibiotic treatment
Once your cats gingivitis is sorted out and pain is not experienced on eating, then you can start introducing a raw meat and bones diet. In the early stages, it’s best to cut up the necks or wings into bite size pieces. This makes it easier for an older cat, or one entrenched in old ways.
