The medical articles on this site are for informational purposes only, and are not meant to be used to diagnose or treat your pet, or to replace the recommendations of a qualified veterinarian that has examined your pet.

Integrative Therapy (IT) combines the most appropriate treatments from conventional veterinary medicine and surgery with acupuncture (AP) and herbal medicine, which are derived from much older, holistic disciplines. Utilizing the very best therapies available from different major medical systems optimizes quality of life, and can extend lifespan by months to years.

Acupuncture (AP) and herbal medicines can have a powerful influence on digestive function by enhancing nutrient absorption while ensuring that the food isn't taking too much (or too little) time to move along through the system. These treatments are also able to significantly decrease or eliminate the inflammation and pain that can occur with many digestive disorders. They are often extremely helpful for resolving or managing a wide variety of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), vomiting, diarrhea, malabsorption, constipation, ulcers, colitis, and some types of chronic liver disease, including hepatitis.

Strong immune suppressants and other drugs are often required to get control of IBD or colitis. Unfortunately, sometimes these medicines can cause serious side effects. AP and/or herbal therapy can often significantly improve or resolve IBD symptoms, so the use of pharmaceutical medications can be decreased to a more tolerable level, or even discontinued entirely in many cases.

Acupuncture is often very effective for stimulating appetite in cats and dogs that are stressed due to illness, hospitalization, or surgery. Many will start eating before the AP treatment is even finished if they are offered food. In addition, AP can hasten recovery of digestive function after surgery or other procedures requiring general anesthesia.

Chronic constipation due to feline megacolon can be extremely debilitating for the cat and frustrating for the family. This can be very difficult to treat, and there aren't any medical therapies that are able to successfully resolve the condition. However, some cats can be significantly helped with AP therapy, including the use of electroacupuncture.