Holistic Vet

msserena

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
764
Purraise
206
Location
Sacramento
I've never been to a holistic vet before but for my health I've always seen a naturopathic doctor. I am highly considering going to a holistic vet. I would love to hear about some of your experiences & if you would recommend seeing an alternative practitioner compared to a traditional one.

thanks
 

Furballsmom

Cat Devotee
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
39,271
Purraise
53,930
Location
Colorado US
Hi
My vet advertises being a holistic vet but my experience has been typical compared to nonholisic vets.
 

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,368
Location
Los Angeles
My previous GSD did see a holistic vet, but he also had a regular DVM. I am not going to take up space with his story here, but I was never sure that the holistic vet (and I don't lean in that direction myself) did anything to substantially help him. He received acupuncture (a respected therapy in general), chiropractic (never sure it did anything and I don't consult one myself), and Chinese herbs. TBH, he did not receive the Chinese herbs because once I opened the bottle and got a good look at them and realized that just about anything could be in those capsules from who know where, I did not give them to him. He had a fatal genetic condition which afflicts GSDs and what I believe really did prolong his life was the fact that his DVM worked with an experimental program (medical) through the U of FL at Gainesville.

Going to any alternative practitioner can turn into the Wild West. Some are probably excellent (and you said that you see a naturopath successfully yourself), and some are probably marginally qualified and selling snake oil.

I agree with Joelle and the kittens Joelle and the kittens that you absolutely do not want to abandon keeping a traditional DVM in the lineup for your cat. The other point to consider, as in the other thread, is that this is not cheap, or even cheaper than regular veterinary care. In fact, you might be very surprised at how much it will cost you.

Final option is that you find a DVM who is also an holistic vet or has that additional training, so that all the bases are covered if you want to pursue this.
 

Joelle and the kittens

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 4, 2021
Messages
190
Purraise
250
Location
New Jersey
Modern, evidence-based medicine is continuously improving on itself as we gain better scientific understanding, resulting in more and more specific treatments that have to demonstrate mechanistic tractability, biochemical functionality, in vitro and in vivo validation, and eventually prove efficacy and safety in large clinical trials. Alternative medicines have no such empirical support (and often are based on a prescientific system that can never be empirically verified because its underlying principles have been soundly rejected by modern science), there is no substantial regulatory oversight of quality, consistency, ingredients, sourcing, etc. (this is how headlines like "Study reveals that nearly 90% of traditional Chinese medicines contain trace amounts of disturbing and toxic substances" and "FDA: Homeopathic teething gels may have killed 10 babies, sickened 400" can show up regularly), and practitioners have wildly variable levels of training due to lack of legal recognition and governance.

I want to feel confident a treatment is grounded in peer-reviewed evidence showing efficacy against a specific target, and that its effects have been proven not to be an artifact of regression to the mean or spontaneous recovery or placebo or any human bias.
 
Last edited:
Top