ACUPUNCTURE: A STICKY SUBJECT
Reprinted from: CAT FANCY, June 1999



When cat owners think of alternative or complementary therapies, acupuncture is by far the most common modality that comes to mind. This could be because it is probably our oldest form of therapy, having been used in Eastern medicine for 5000-10,000 years or more. It could also be that this is the therapy that has received the most press of all of our complementary therapies.

Can acupuncture help your cat? Is it a therapy you should consider?

I should begin by saying that while most pet owners contact me about acupuncture, I really don't use it as much as I thought I would. It's not that acupuncture may not be effective is some cats, it's just that there are often easier therapies to use. Here's why.

First, we must have a cooperative patient. While many dogs will sit still for the acupuncture treatment, a number of cats don't seem to want to be too cooperative for me. Acupuncture is given in sessions, with each session lasting about 15-20 minutes when traditional needle therapy is used (about 5 minutes of time if I use my hand held electrostimulator unit.) And acupuncture usually doesn't just work in one quick and easy section, but rather requires a number of sessions (usually 2 per week for 4 weeks to assess its effectiveness.) For many owners, their cats just don't like going to the doctor that much to allow us to properly judge the effectiveness of acupuncture.

Cost is another issue, with each session costing between $25 -$40 dollars. For a minimum of 8 sessions, this can add up pretty quickly.

Finally, the biggest impediment to using acupuncture is the number of sessions involved in the initial treatment and evaluation. Many clients can't realistically travel a great distance twice weekly for the treatments. For these owners, other complementary therapies (herbs, nutrition, glandulars, etc.) are more appealing.

Still, for those owners willing to try acupuncture, it can be effective. Depending upon the condition, it is as effective as many conventional therapies (and occasionally more effective in those special instances when conventional therapies have failed to produce the desired results, or when there is no effective conventional therapy that can be offered to the owners.)

Here are some of the most common questions I am asked regarding acupuncture.

1.What Is Acupuncture?

In its purest sense, acupuncture involves the placement of tiny needles into various parts of a pet's body. These needles stimulate acupuncture points which can effect a resolution of the clinical signs.

2.How Does Acupuncture Work?

The acupuncturist places tiny needles at various points on the pet's body. These points are chosen based on diagnostic tests and/or traditional recipes. These acupuncture points correspond to areas of the body which contain nerves and blood vessels. By stimulating these points, it is presumed that acupuncture stimulates the release of various chemicals in the body. These chemicals, through inhibition of pain, stimulation of the immune system, and alterations in blood vessels, cause a decrease the clinical signs.

3.How Does Acupuncture Compare With Conventional Therapies?

This of course depends upon the disease. As a rule, acupuncture compares quite favorably with traditional therapies. In some cases, acupuncture may be preferred when the alternative therapy is ineffective or potentially harmful (such as long-term therapy for pain relief with drugs like corticosteroids). Other times, acupuncture may be used when an owner cannot afford traditional therapy (such as back surgery for intervertebral disk disease). It is ideal if a discussion of both acupuncture and conventional therapies occurs to allow the owner to make the best decision for his pet.

4.Are There Any Side Effects With Acupuncture?

There can be but they are rare. Accidental puncture of a vital organ can occur. Infection can occur at the site of needle insertion. Occasionally, the needle can break and surgery may be needed to remove it. Some pets require sedation in order to allow insertion of the acupuncture needles. In some animals, signs may worsen for a few days before they improve.

5.Is Acupuncture Painful?

Usually not. Occasionally, the animal will experience some sensation as the needle passes through the skin. Once in place, most animals will relax and some may become sleepy. Fractious animals may require mild sedation. Due to their nature, cats are often more challenging to treat with acupuncture than dogs.

6.For What Conditions Can Acupuncture Be Used?

Acupuncture can be used for a variety of pet problems, but is most often thought of as a treatment for problems involving pain and inflammation. Conditions including arthritis, disk disease, chronic gastrointestinal disease, and skin problems such as allergies may be helped by acupuncture. Some doctors use acupuncture to strengthen the pet's immune system. Acupuncture is usually not a cure-all, but rather an alternative to drug or surgical therapy. Owners should consider acupuncture when other therapies are not available or for which side effects (chronic drug therapy) or risks (surgery) are too great.

7.How Many Treatments Are Needed?

This varies from pet to pet. Usually, owners are asked to commit to 8 treatments (2-3/wk) to assess if acupuncture will work. On average, treatments last about 15-30 minutes. If the pet improves, acupuncture is done "as needed" to control the pet's signs.

While acupuncture can be effective, like any therapy it is not always effective. I remember a particularly frustrating case that I saw as a third opinion. A sweet male Persian had recently had spinal surgery for an extremely bad case of disk disease where the disk in between the bones of the back had ruptured causing severe paralysis of the rear limbs. Despite a very poor prognosis, the owner attempted surgical therapy for his pet. As predicted, the cat was still paralyzed following surgery. I saw the cat several months after surgery. The cat was on painful but could only occasionally bear weight on his rear legs. Due to the location of the spinal cord trauma from the disk, the cat was unable to urinate and his owner had to express his bladder several times each day.

Due to the chronic nature of the problem, I was not hopeful that acupuncture could help this cat, but still his owner wanted to try everything we could. We used electroacupuncture twice weekly for 4 weeks and saw only minimal and temporary improvement. Even with the addition of antioxidant therapy and herbal formulas the cat still could not walk. Simply too much damage had occurred to the cord and no therapy could make this cat ever walk again. Still he was not in pain and seemed quite content, and his owner was happy to have him around.

While this story did not have a cure, it still had a happy ending. Acupuncture gave us only temporary and short-lived improvement, but the cat's owner was happy we tried everything to help his cat. And sometimes even with "treatment failure," we don't really fail. As long as we try our best using any treatment at our disposal and the pet and owner are content with the outcome, we can still be satisfied with our result. Had we seen this cat sooner, who knows? Acupuncture is a viable option for most diseases if the owners are willing to make the time commitment necessary to allow this modality to work. I encourage owners to consider acupuncture as an alternative to more conventional treatments such as chronic drug therapy that may have potentially serious side effects. By using the pet's own body to heal itself, acupuncture fits perfectly into the title of "holistic therapy."