Is Our Approach to Healthcare for You?
Our approach to healthcare is common sense. It's based on the principles of observation that we are all familiar with. If you feed your animal well, provide a safe, loving environment for them to freely express themselves in, ensure they exercise regularly, and engage in creative play, then they will, most likely, be their healthiest selves. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? And it may sound easy, but it’s not.
Nutrition for Your Pet
Providing the best nutrition for your animal involves sourcing whole food diets which are either homemade, or made by others, using human grade ingredients, which must be kept frozen until fed. These diets are expensive, and require extra time and resources to purchase, store, and feed.
Not all our patients require strictly whole food diets for optimal health, but we find that the vast majority need to consume some whole foods to keep their physiology in balance.
The Importance of Exercise
Ensuring adequate exercise and creative play is another facet of maintaining health, which sounds easy on the face of it, but is more difficult than it sounds.
An indoor house cat will often be too sedentary in their life to maintain a lean body weight. A dog never allowed to explore a new environment off-leash will develop emotional constraints that adversely affects their health, more subtly at first, then more seriously. An animal that isn’t exercising, isn’t breathing deeply. Deep breathing is as essential as good nutrition in the production of energy (Qi) for the body.
Nurturing Your Pet's Bond
Everyone has a loving relationship with their animal, but is there enough time devoted to this relationship for it to grow and develop? Are there harmonious relationships in the house between the animals? This is extremely important in multiple cat households, but we see tensions between dogs within households, as well. If one cat is unhappily ‘at the bottom of the totem pole,’ this stress will manifest as increased emotional pressure which will harm their digestion and their endocrine systems over time.
Because all systems are linked, stress hormones affect the nervous and circulatory systems, and essentially harm the mind and spirit of the individual. Caretakers’ worries in turn affect the stress and health of their dependent animal companions. Animals feel their caretaker’s distress and internalize it in their own bodies. Of course, some of this is unavoidable, but it should be minimized.
Preventative Care For Your Pet
Proactive healthcare systems are necessary to identify early signs of disease, and correct developing patterns. At Qi Veterinary Clinic, we use the system of Chinese medicine, as it is the best developed holistic system to characterize the energetic properties of foods, herbs, pharmaceuticals, emotions, vaccinations, anti-parasitics, and relationships through the various stages of life.
Because our animal companion’s lives progress faster than our own, we see their inherent tendencies towards disease develop quickly. Semi-annual examinations are recommended for most of our patients, to assess weight, evaluate the pulse, discuss the physical and emotional challenges they may be having, and propose dietary, herbal, and pharmacological solutions.
A Synergistic Relationship
In short, we’re looking to form partnerships with special animal caretakers who want the best for their animal companions. We’re working to meet these individuals halfway in this relationship to promote the best, healthiest lives for those creatures in their care. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
If a holistic approach to pet healthcare sounds like a good fit for you and your companions, please fill out the new client form below.