Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is Echinacea safe to give my cat? More specifically, I bought a product with 300MG of vitamin C, with 200MG of Echinacea purpurea(5:1 extract from aerial parts) (which the herbal equivalent is 1000MG, and the third ingredient is Andrographis (15:1 leaf extract, 30% andrographolides)(whic the herbal equivalent for this is actually 1500MG.) The non-medicinal ingredients are magnesium stearate and gelatin. There are no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, sweeteners, dairy, soy, gluton, or wheat. Does this seem like an ok product for cats?

I read that Echinacea is antibacterial, an antibiotic, an antioxidant, an antiviral, anti-microbial and an antiseptic. Would Echinacea be good for cleaning teeth and good for gum disease as well?

Echinacea is safe and effective for cats, as are the other active ingredients. However, it might be difficult to get your cat to take this, as andrographis is extremely bitter. This sounds like a human product, so you can taste it. It is often very difficult to get a cat to take herb based remedies due to the taste. Cats are pure carnivores, and will consume most animal products, but few plant products

As for teeth cleaning, the best way to do it is to give the cat a bone it will chew, such as raw chicken bones, often with a little meat on them. If they will chew them, they scrape their teeth clean.

Thank you for your responce. Have you ever prescribed Echinacea for a cat?

My current holistic vet says that cats can take milk thistle, horsetail, Uva Ursi, hydrangea root, dandelion, and a few others I can't remember. As far as doses go, she said it would be about 1/8 of a human dose for an 8 to 10 pound cat. Does that work for figuring out a dose?

That's a good dosage, and most of the herbs you mentioned are accepted by cats. Let me know if the cat takes the herbs with the Andrographis.

He didn't even notice the taste when I put it in his salmon. . So this vitamin C product made for human consumption says to take 1 capsule, three times a day or as directed by physician. So I have been separating the pill in 8 sections and giving him one or two a day. But would three be ok as well? So it would be 1/8 of a capsule three times a day.

I am going to tell you why I am actually giving him this. I am trying to get an appointment with a holistic vet. I am actually worried about his mouth. Emergency vets do not usually do holistic remedies so I cannot go there so I am trying to fix him until I get the appointment made.

So here is the situation. I have a male cat named Merlin, who is about 4-5 years old who needs to be looked at ASAP. Whether he has cancer in his mouth or stomatitis, his mouth could get worse with every passing day. I have lost a cat before to cancer in her mouth, and it was very traumatic for me.
Here is Merlin’s situation and my diary of it explained in a nutshell;

For about half a month, since Friday, November 13, 2009,
I gave Merlin a synthetic but hypoallergenic Taurine supplement. 325mg some days, even twice the pill for a couple days in the start. Kirkman brand.

On December 1st, I noticed that Merlin’s hair from the tip of his chin was falling out, it was wet from his food, as I added water and the Taurine in his food.

So I immediately stopped giving him the supplement. Friday, December 4, 2009
Merlin’s chin has a very hard bump on it. Kind of whitish.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Chin is almost back to normal.
Gave both my cats cod liver oil and cranberry juice.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Gave both of them cod liver oil this morning.

A week ago, I stopped giving him Taurine. Yesterday I noticed the bump on his chin was almost healed and gone. It is coming back to normal pink color and not hard as a rock as it was from Thursday to Saturday.
But I looked at his teeth which I had not seen in a month, and I noticed that on my left side on the bottom of Merlin’s mouth, I could not see his teeth. He has always had bad inflamed gums, and bad tarter build-up but I could not see the tiny tooth on the bottom.

The gums sort of look eaten away. I am worried that this synthetic Taurine supplement has caused this? I had another cat who I lost to mouth cancer, which I mentioned already, so I am very worried. And it seems like he may be having trouble eating harder (wet food). So I have been giving him softer food.
And his gums seem to have a white film on them and his lips seem to be a bit inflamed.
He is still healthy otherwise. He is active and friendly and playful as usual.
Any other suggestions Dr.Tobin?

Cats need taurine to avoid heart and eye problems, but sufficient taurine is available in fresh meat. Taurine is not anticarcinogenic. While there may be many causes of stomatitis in a cat, one that is fairly common is Bartonella, also known as cat scratch disease. You might ask the vet to check this when you get an appointment. It is always a good idea to feed the cat a diet of fresh meat or chicken.

I will ask the vet about Bartonalla. My appointment is on Monday. But in the meantime, I was wanting to give my cat some Silica to help build some collagen in his gums and to strengthen his teeth, ligaments and gums.
Is is safe to give cats Silica? I assume its ok because Horsetail has silica in it and horsetail is safe for cats according to my holistic vet.

My bottle says for every 100ml, there is 2.8g of Silicic Acid Anhydrate.
It says that the suggested internal use is one tablespoon daily. What do you think is ok for a cat's dose?

Thank you for your comments. They are greatly appreciated.

Use 1/8 tsp daily.

So with this product with vitamin C, Echinacea and the Andrographis you suggest to take the one pill, and take out 1/8 of a teaspoon daily for one cat correct?

I didn't try the 1/8 of a teaspoon yet but I was just curious if there is a possibility that if the dose is too strong for the cat, can he vomit? Yesterday morning I gave him this product in his food and then few minutes later, he puked it up. Once in a blue moon, if he eats too quickly, and too fast, he will vomit. But he did not eat that much.

If the recommended dosage for a cat is 1/8 the recommended human dosage, and the human dosage is one pill once a day, the cat should get 1/8 pill once a day.