If your cat is sick or injured, the first step is to take him to the vet. Once he’s been diagnosed and treated, flower essences can help with the healing process on both a physical and emotional level.

Many people with an interest in holistic health understand that flower essences can help achieve behavioral changes and emotional healing in cats with “issues”. But what some don’t realize is that this therapy can also help cats cope with physical illness. Sometimes these gentle remedies can even be the “missing piece” when standard medical interventions aren’t enough.

What are flower essences?

Flower essences are basically energy patterns contained in water. They are similar to, but not the same as, homeopathy. Many people understandably confuse flower essences with essential oils and aromatherapy, but they are not at all the same thing. Flower essences are energetic in nature, and work on a person or animal’s energy field. There is no way you can overdose on flower essences, and no side effects whatsoever. By contrast, essential oils and aromatherapy are herbal concoctions that affect the body’s biochemistry. Overdosing and side effects are possible, so they must be used with greater caution.

There are literally thousands of flower essences and hundreds of producers. I have about 1,000 essences in my personal repertory. Each addresses a very specific issue. For example, there are hundreds of essences for depression, and each has a distinct energy pattern and slightly different “message”. To be really effective with essences, you need to zero in on what is really going on with the cat. The wrong essence won’t hurt her, but you need to give the right one(s) at the right time – those that will energetically resonate with your cat’s system – in order to get results.

How they can help

Flower essences can help ill or injured cats in several ways, including:

  • Those that are depressed and “giving up the fight” after prolonged illness or pain or stressful medical procedures
  • Cats depleted by illness and medical procedures, who lack the strength to fight back.
  • Cats that can’t recover or heal because of the influence of old trauma or abuse
  • Cats diagnosed with a viral illness

Gito’s story

Gito, a 12-year-old female Siamese, was diagnosed with the colisi virus. It’s a form of stomatitis that affects the cat’s throat because of immune deficiency. The condition was causing a buildup of scar tissue in Gito’s throat that prevented her from eating normally. She was gradually being strangled to death. When Wendy contacted me, she was having to hand-feed and coax Gito to eat. Gito had stopped exercising and grooming even though she had previously been a fastidiously clean cat. She was listless and no longer meowed. Wendy had rightly sought out veterinary care from more than one holistic vet, but Gito continued to suffer.

When I take on a case, I never assume a cat will need certain essences. Instead, I obtain a thorough history and background from his person, as well as a description of his personality and relationships with other family members, including other animals in the home. Only after factoring in all this information do I “tune in” to the cat and energetically test for which essences he is likely to respond to.

Flower essences can help cats depleted by illness and medical procedures, who lack the strength to fight back.

In Gito’s case, the history-taking was especially crucial. A couple of years prior to the onset of the virus, Wendy had brought another cat into the home. George was aggressive toward Gito, eventually biting her on the throat and causing a large abscess. The abscess was medically treated and Wendy found another home for George. Gito recovered – or so it seemed. In reality, the energy of the trauma remained, weakening her throat and rendering it susceptible to illness.

During my session with Gito, she resonated to the flower essence Arnica (FES). This essence applies when there has been a past injury that the animal appears to have recovered from. In reality, though, the shock and trauma remain energetically locked in the body and prevent full recovery.

I addressed Gito’s extreme listlessness by also giving her Pink Fountain Triggerplant (Living Essences of Australia). This essence helps when a cat’s life force has been depleted.

Just a couple of weeks after beginning flower essence therapy, Wendy reported dramatic results. Gito had “a ton more energy”. She was eating good quantities of food by herself, had begun to go up and down stairs, was meowing more and had resumed grooming herself. With the addition of one more essence for vitality, Gito’s energy went “way up”. She started going outside and was “eating like a fiend”.

There are hundreds of essences for depression, and each has a distinct energy pattern and slightly different “message”.

Flower essence therapy did not remove the scar tissue in Gito’s throat, nor did it kill the virus. But it did enable her body to live in better balance with the illness. She survived nearly another two years, and when she died it was from kidney failure, not the virus.

What else you should know

Flower essences are by no means a replacement for qualified veterinary care. However, much can be done on an energetic level to support an ailing cat, and sometimes even turn the tide of an illness.

The key to success with flower essence therapy is using the right ones at the right time. Each cat is different, and yours may well need different essences from the ones I used with Gito, for instance.

If your cat is sick or slow to recover from an injury, you can try flower essences on your own without fear of hurting her. But if your efforts don’t help, contact a professional who is experienced with animals and has a sizeable repertory of essences to choose from. Like Wendy, you may be astonished with the results!