Mild Stomach Upset
Withhold all food for at least 24 hours, and then reintroduce it slowly in small quantities. Make sure there’s water available or, if vomiting is a symptom, offer one or more ice cubes every couple of hours. (Too much drinking is likely to aggravate stomach irritation.)As a supplementary treatment for mild upsets, brew chamomile tea. Pour a cup of boiling water over a tablespoon of the flowers, steep 15 minutes, strain, and dilute with an equal quantity of water.Many dogs and cats eat grass to make themselves vomit when their stomachs are upset. This is normal, but if it happens daily or several times a week, consult your vet.
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Most dogs need a bath every month or two—more often can dry out their skin. Cats need baths once or twice a year unless they have skin problems; in that case, a monthly bath is in order.Use a castile soap or a natural shampoo made for pets. Avoid any chemical-laden conditioners or shampoos.Shampoo your pet’s entire body and rinse gently, using a spray attachment or a container of lukewarm water. Then shampoo a second time, working the lather well into the skin and letting it stay on for about 5 minutes.Rinse thoroughly with water. You can follow this with a vinegar-water rinse (1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 pint warm water) to remove soap residue and prevent dandruff. Pour on the solution, rubbing it throughout the fur. Rinse your pet again with plain water.To promote a glossy coat and repel fleas, follow the vinegar solution with a rosemary rinse: Combine 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary with 1 pint boiling water, cover, and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and let cool to room temperature. Pour it over your pet. Rub in and towel-dry without rinsing.Absorb excess water with towels. Then let your pet do what comes naturally, shaking and licking off more water.
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Clip away the hair on red or inflamed areas, and bathe your pet with a nonirritating natural organic soap for pets.After your pet is dry, wash the problem areas with black or green tea that has steeped for 10 minutes and cooled. The tea’s tannic acid helps dry the skin and reduce oozing from inflammation.Apply vitamin E oil or aloe vera gel (from the living plant or in a liquid preparation found in health-food stores) to the affected area two or three times a day.Depending on your pet’s size, give: 1/2 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast to provide protein and B vitamins, 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon granular lecithin to help your pet digest fats, improving the condition of her coat, 2 or 3 drops to a full dropper of cod-liver oil to supply vitamins A and D, which are important for keeping skin supple, 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons cold-pressed unsaturated vegetable oil for dogs or 1/2 dropper or 1/4 teaspoon fish oil for cats for essential fatty acids, 1 or 2 drops of a punctured vitamin E capsule (or buy a formula for animals) in one meal daily to protect skin tissue, 15 to 20 mg chelated zinc daily to avoid zinc deficiency, which is linked to itchy skin
Adapted from Dr. Pitcairn’s
