{"id":610084,"date":"2024-06-12T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/?p=610084"},"modified":"2024-06-19T11:55:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T15:55:45","slug":"feline-fine-acupuncture-in-cats-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/feline-fine-acupuncture-in-cats-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Feline Fine: Acupuncture in Cats, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Hi, I\u2019m Dr. Lauren!\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/pancake-tiller-and-dr-lauren-introduction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Read my introduction<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Note: This is part two of a three-part series. Click here to read parts one and three:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/feline-fine-acupuncture-in-cats-part-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Feline Fine: Acupuncture in Cats, Part One<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/feline-fine-how-acupuncture-works-part-three\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Feline Fine: How Acupuncture Works, Part Three<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I first encountered acupuncture in cats while working as a veterinary technician. One of the vets I worked with in Alaska used the technique on multiple species, to help with arthritis issues. I was interested, but never really delved into the process until much later. In vet school, we were very lucky to have the late Dr. Bruce Ferguson, a pioneer in veterinary acupuncture from Chi University in Florida, and I was privileged to spend time learning from him, in great detail.<\/p>\n<p>This led to a few externships where I participated in feline acupuncture. I was amazed to find cats sitting in their bed, in the exam room at a clinic, calmly purring for an acupuncture session. And their owners sat, singing the praises, and how it improved their cat.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s how I found myself, sitting with an acupuncture needle in my own foot at a veterinary conference a few weeks ago, wondering, could I help patients, too? What benefits did acupuncture have?<\/p>\n<p>In this article, I\u2019ll look specifically at that with regard to cats, and how it may help your favorite feline to feel fine (or <i>feline fine<\/i>, to play on the words!).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_607626\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-607626\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-607626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-in-my-foot-it-helped_Dr-Lauren-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"Acupuncture needle in my foot- it helped!\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-in-my-foot-it-helped_Dr-Lauren-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-in-my-foot-it-helped_Dr-Lauren-250x333.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-in-my-foot-it-helped_Dr-Lauren-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-607626\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Acupuncture needle in my foot &#8211; it helped!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The Use of Veterinary Acupuncture<\/h2>\n<p>Acupuncture has a history of originally being used in working or production animals\u2014basically the animals that had a higher monetary value in society. So horses were a common acupuncture patient, far before cats and dogs. Today, things have changed, and even pet chickens have been known to receive acupuncture.<\/p>\n<p>There are lots of reports and publications about the use of acupuncture in humans and animals, and you may be surprised at the variety of medical conditions in which acupuncture treatment may complement traditional Western medicine. They include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Arthritis<\/li>\n<li>Chronic skin issues<\/li>\n<li>Acute respiratory collapse or CPR<\/li>\n<li>Feline hyperesthesia<\/li>\n<li>Gingivostomatitis<\/li>\n<li>Rectal prolapse<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/ask-the-vet\/dental-disease-in-cats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Dental pain<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Anesthesia<\/li>\n<li>Osteochondrodysplasia<\/li>\n<li>Fever<\/li>\n<li>Cryptorchidism<\/li>\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Cancer adjunct<\/li>\n<li>Inflammatory Bowel Disease<\/li>\n<li>Urinary Incontinence<\/li>\n<li>Constipation<\/li>\n<li>Chronic otitis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_607623\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-607623\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-607623 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-circled-compared-to-a-pen-for-size._Dr-Lauren.jpg\" alt=\"Acupuncture needle (circled) compared to a pen for size.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-circled-compared-to-a-pen-for-size._Dr-Lauren.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-circled-compared-to-a-pen-for-size._Dr-Lauren-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-circled-compared-to-a-pen-for-size._Dr-Lauren-250x188.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.catster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Acupuncture-needle-circled-compared-to-a-pen-for-size._Dr-Lauren-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-607623\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">These little needles can potentially make a big difference: Acupuncture needle vs pen for size comparison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So, if you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/ask-the-vet\/cat-acupuncture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">sign your cat up for acupuncture<\/a>, what can you expect?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many acupuncture treatments are around 20 minutes or so, but can vary. Theoretically, even stimulating a point for a very short time may have marked benefits<\/li>\n<li>Generally, expect a first visit to be longer, as it will include history, exam, and planning for the treatment. Treatment may or may not happen on the day.<\/li>\n<li>Most acupuncturists recommend weekly treatments, less commonly twice weekly. Rarely would they occur more often<\/li>\n<li>Expect to see full effects of the treatment after a month; don\u2019t dismay if you don\u2019t see anything immediately after the first one (though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/ask-the-vet\/benefits-of-cat-acupuncture-vet-answer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">some patients will respond very impressively<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Many courses of treatment will enter a maintenance phase once the cat is doing well; this may mean acupuncture every 2-4 weeks, or less.<\/li>\n<li>Check your country&#8217;s laws for who can perform veterinary acupuncture as well; I generally recommend using one of the professional organisations to find members that are certified or approved to practice on animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the final article in this series, we will take a more in depth look on how acupuncture is actually believed to work, in general, and in some of the specific conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi, I\u2019m Dr. Lauren!\u00a0Read my introduction\u00a0to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller. Note: This is part two of a three-part series. Click here to read parts one and three: Feline Fine: Acupuncture in Cats, Part One Feline Fine: How Acupuncture Works, Part Three I first encountered acupuncture in cats [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3870,"featured_media":609599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[448],"tags":[459,449],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - 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