Homeopathic treatments for mange in feral and stray cats

by Michael Broad · May 26, 2021

As it is not known widely known, I would like to pass on information that I have gathered through personal experience about the treatment of mange, which can affect feral cats. Sarcoptic mange is the most common infection in foxes and foxes can pass it onto cats sometimes. Veterinarians will normally recommend a topical therapy such as weekly lime sulphur dips or medical shampoo and injections. But the treatments are quite involved and relatively unpleasant compared to what I would suggest should be tried. Although I’m not a veterinarian, I do have personal experience of treating foxes with two homeopathic treatments. And they are highly effective although when a fox suffers badly with more than 40% hair loss it is less effective.

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Homeopathic mange cure for foxes but will it work for cats? It is very safe. Picture: MikeB

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I have written about these treatments in relation to foxes which you can read by clicking on this link. The homeopathic mange treatments for foxes that I am using are Psorinum and Arsenicum & Sulphur. The advantage of using these treatments is that you simply put drops on the food. It does not prevent foxes eating the food. I would expect that it would not prevent feral cats eating the food either, for two reasons (1) they are very hungry and are very appreciative of the food provided by volunteers under TNR programs and (2) these are homeopathic remedies with very mild odours and taste.

Cats can catch sarcoptic mange from foxes and dogs with whom they cohabit. Mange is a nasty disease which causes distress as the mite burrow into the skin causing great irritation leading to self-mutilation. This, in turn, leads to secondary health issues requiring antibiotics to kill off a bacterial infection. It’s quite a serious disease and it can be fatal in the worst cases, as I understand it.

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I would expect it to be quite difficult to treat feral cats conventionally for sarcoptic mange (or any other type of mange) for the obvious reason that feral cats are difficult to handle or at least they can be depending upon the degree of their wild nature and therefore these homeopathic treatments will overcome that difficulty.

One non-profit, FixNation, in the US, whose mission is to reduce the population of homeless cats under TNR programs, tell us that mange is a very common issue with feral and stray cats. They often see cats at their clinic with varying degrees of mange. However, sarcoptic mange is relatively rare in cats. The most typical types of mange found in stray and homeless cats are Otodectic mange (ear mites) and notoedric mange. The latter behaves like sarcoptic mange in that the parasitic mites burrow into the cat’s skin. It is highly contagious and they say that in dogs “it will normally show up as sarcoptic mange instead”. It is contagious to people as well but it can’t live for long on a human as humans are not the parasite’s natural host.

TNR program Austin Texas. PHOTO BY SANDY CARSON. TNR program Texas.

So, I think my suggestion has some merit because it may be able to treat notoedric mange in a very effective and safe way. It is a natural treatment. Lots of people don’t believe in homeopathy but I have to say, with conviction, that it works because I have seen it with my own eyes in providing this treatment over many months.

Apparently, it is quite difficult for TNR advocates to treat feral cats and kittens with mange. Mange in cats in southern climates in America is caused by Notoedres cati according to the UCDavis Koret Shelter Medicine Program. They say that there are no easy answers in treating feral cats for this disease and there are no FDA-approved treatments for mange in cats. Topical treatment is often very difficult and although oral treatments are better there are risks in under or overdosing. Notoedric and otodectic mange are generally treated with an Ivermectin based drug. And there are legal issues, apparently, in treating unowned cats depending upon the state in which they reside. That is an interesting topic and I wonder how treating feral cats with homeopathy fits in with those legal issues? I don’t know. I’m raising the issue.

What I’m suggesting is that non-qualified people treat feral cats with a homeopathic treatment. There may be some issues but if it proves effective, I feel that those issues can be overcome. But there appears to be no easy answers in treating mange in stray and feral cats.

I would like to know if anybody is using homeopathy.

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