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Rescue Remedy

merentha

Critical Thinker
merentha
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
496
My mom has been advised by her vet to administer Rescue Remedy to one of her cats who's been having behavioural problems. Reading the information found on the RR site (www.bachflower.com/index.html) [replace "x" with "w" as I'm not allowed URL links yet] and some other homeopathy site, I discover that RR is basically a 5X homeopathic solution in a 27% brandy base. I'm tempted to advise my mom to save the money and give the cat some brandy drops instead. Will brandy poison the cat, or will she just end up with a nicely drunk but well-behaved feline?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am not a vet but...

As I understand it, Alcohol has a similar effect on cats. It's toxic but not in tiny quantities.

On the other hand you never want to have to deal with a cat with a hangover ;)


edited to add....

Oh, and she should change her vet to one who has a clue

What kind of behavioural problems does the cat have ?
 
The Don said:
I am not a vet but...

As I understand it, Alcohol has a similar effect on cats. It's toxic but not in tiny quantities.

On the other hand you never want to have to deal with a cat with a hangover ;)


edited to add....

Oh, and she should change her vet to one who has a clue

What kind of behavioural problems does the cat have ?
Click to expand...

The cat is neutered but it is still having spraying issues. It has also been grooming its abdomen area obsessively so much so that the skin has turned raw and occasionally bleeds. My mom has brought it to the vet several times and skin tests have been done. No sign of any bacterial or fungal infection that might be responsible. The vet says that the problem is likely to be stress. My mom tries her best to keep the area dry. We noticed that whenever the cat is given greater attention, the licking obsession tones down enough for the skin to heal. However, in a multi-cat household, it doesn't always get all the attention it demands. Rehoming is out of the question since nobody would want to take in a cat with spraying and "skin problems". None of my mom's other cats has this behavioural problem. I guess it is just more needy than the average cat.
 
merentha said:
The cat is neutered but it is still having spraying issues. It has also been grooming its abdomen area obsessively so much so that the skin has turned raw and occasionally bleeds. My mom has brought it to the vet several times and skin tests have been done. No sign of any bacterial or fungal infection that might be responsible. The vet says that the problem is likely to be stress. My mom tries her best to keep the area dry. We noticed that whenever the cat is given greater attention, the licking obsession tones down enough for the skin to heal. However, in a multi-cat household, it doesn't always get all the attention it demands. Rehoming is out of the question since nobody would want to take in a cat with spraying and "skin problems". None of my mom's other cats has this behavioural problem. I guess it is just more needy than the average cat.
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My mother swears by Rescue Remedy - when she runs out of benzodiazepines. So far we have not had to rehome her.
 
The skin problem could be due to some pain. In its attempt to get at the painful place, it grooms the skin that happens to be in the line of sight. Neutered cats often have bladder problems. Consult a vet. A VET. Not an idiot.

Hans
 
MRC_Hans said:
The skin problem could be due to some pain. In its attempt to get at the painful place, it grooms the skin that happens to be in the line of sight. Neutered cats often have bladder problems. Consult a vet. A VET. Not an idiot.

Hans
Click to expand...

I just checked with my mom. Apparently, the remedy was recommended to the vet by one of his patients who claimed it worked miracles on her cats. I'm not sure if the vet is aware that the stuff is homeopathic woo, but I'll likely bring up the issue the next time I meet him.

Anyhow, I don't think the cat is having any bladder issues, but I've advised my mom to observe him a lot more carefully. On the other hand, I've told my mom about the brandy content and she's tempted to try a drop on the cat. :p
 
Don't start me on the subject of woo-woo vets! (Oh sorry, I already got started didn't I?) Anyway, this one is obviously a prime example.

Anyway, this isn't a recommendation, and I have no personal experience with it, but it may be worth asking if Feliway is appropriate for this situation.

Rolfe.
 
To be precise, I wouldn't call Rescue Remedy homeopathic. The flower remedies are supposedly made by floating flowers on the surrace of water in a glass bowl. The basic idea is that the water picks up vibrations from the flowers, not actual molecules. The whole story of the flower remedies is amazingly woo from beginning to end; there is no veneer of pseudo-science to confuse things.
The 27% alcohol seems to me like it could have a possible effect. In some cases people do dilute it down or spray it in the air, or they use preparations made with no alcohol, so the alcohol will not be a factor in every case.
 
The Don said:
As I understand it, Alcohol has a similar effect on cats. It's toxic but not in tiny quantities.

On the other hand you never want to have to deal with a cat with a hangover
Click to expand...
I recommend vodka and A1 steak sauce. Dogs love it!
 
I am a newbie when it comes to cat management but I understand that cats are not naturally sociable and can find living in a multi-cat environment incredibly stressful.


<------ Zola for example had a miserable time until she moved into Don Towers as an only cat.

Now she is much calmer.

Perhaps if the Feliway doesn't work it'd be better if the cat was rehomed to a more sympathetic environment
 
flume said:
To be precise, I wouldn't call Rescue Remedy homeopathic. The flower remedies are supposedly made by floating flowers on the surrace of water in a glass bowl. The basic idea is that the water picks up vibrations from the flowers, not actual molecules. The whole story of the flower remedies is amazingly woo from beginning to end; there is no veneer of pseudo-science to confuse things.
The 27% alcohol seems to me like it could have a possible effect. In some cases people do dilute it down or spray it in the air, or they use preparations made with no alcohol, so the alcohol will not be a factor in every case.
Click to expand...

Except that I've come across quite a number of woo sites that advise users to dilute it down with water and...more brandy. Anyhow, the brandy is supposed to be a preservative, but I have to wonder what it's meant to preserve. Vibrations?
 
The Don said:
I am a newbie when it comes to cat management but I understand that cats are not naturally sociable and can find living in a multi-cat environment incredibly stressful.
Click to expand...

how many is multi-cat? I have two and most of the time they do pretty well together. They frequently sleep together. They do play rougher than I expected them to occasionally, but on the whole they seem to like each other. I actually got the 2nd cat so the first would have some company while I was at work. Of course being cats they mostly sleep while I'm gone.
 
kevin said:
how many is multi-cat? I have two and most of the time they do pretty well together. They frequently sleep together. They do play rougher than I expected them to occasionally, but on the whole they seem to like each other. I actually got the 2nd cat so the first would have some company while I was at work. Of course being cats they mostly sleep while I'm gone.
Click to expand...

There's no easy answer for that. It depends on the amount of house space you have, whether or not you allow your cats outdoors and how well they get along. My sis-in-law has 5 cats in a 900 sq. ft. house and four of them don't seem to mind. One of them however, spends her days hiding. She can't stand the other four.

I have three cats and they get along fine for the most part.
 
kevin said:
how many is multi-cat?
Click to expand...
More than one, Zola hated being with one other cat and is completely othercat intolerant
kevin said:
....Of course being cats they mostly sleep while I'm gone.
Click to expand...
Of course they don't, they probably plot to take over the world in your absence, run up huge phone bills and watch kitty pr0n on cable while you're out.
 
It does seem to vary a lot. Cats are social as juveniles, before a litter breaks up with sexual maturity. Neutering cats can keep them in this social pattern, where they're quite happy being part of a group - especially if the group is in fact a litter, as when a pair of littermates are adopted. Entire adults can be less tolerant of this lifestyle.

Large, multicat environments don't suit some cats, though many learn to tolerate them. In fact every individual is different as regards tolerance for company, and you can't always predict who won't like it. I reacall a friend who adopted a pair of littermates so that they would be company for each other, and never suspected that they were anything but happy. However, when one was killed on the road, the other blossomed into twice the cat he had been.

A lot of cats rub along perfectly well, and may even enjoy social stimulation. Nevertheless, if you look at cat behaviour problems, a lot of the time it comes down to an unhappy cat feeling that he doesn't have enough personal space that he can defend.

Rolfe.
 
Substitute "human" for "cat" in Rolfe's last post and see how it reads.
 
To me, it reads "Gowkthrapple". And then "Easterhouse" and "Castlemilk". Your mileage may differ.

(Hell, I remember when Gowkthrapple was a hamlet of 12 detached houses, before they buldozed the lot.)

Rolfe.
 
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