The Color of Healing

Judy Smith is a teacher who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and works with rescued cats, cats abandoned in the desert, and cats given to her by the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or rescued by the Humane Society. Currently caring for 23, she plans to open a feline refuge in Colorado.

One came to her by way of her own street. Houdini had been roaming the neighborhood for food. When she adopted him, she took him to her vet to be tested for various illnesses. He tested positive for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Dr. Joanne Stefanatos, DVM, put Houdini on a system that introduces a weakened form of the virus into the body, called nosodes, as well as vitamin C. Homeopathic nosodes are used in the same way as vaccines, to prevent viral infection and sensitize the body to a particular virus, but are considered by homeopathic medicine proponents to be gentler than traditional vaccines.

Dr. Donna Starita Mehan, DVM, of Boring, Oregon, says the lack of side-effects and safety for sick, young or pregnant animals, makes nosodes a preferred alternative to vaccines.

Houdini's treatment took a year, and he's now ready to be vaccinated against FIP. (He couldn't be vaccinated while ill, as most vaccines are only approved for healthy animals.)

He was also treated with color therapy. Dr. Stefanatos uses various kinds of therapy to treat patients including color therapy.

"Color therapy is one of the most important therapies a vet can incorporate into practice," she says. "The vibrational energy of a color, such as red, will vibrate with the animal's molecular system and boost the immune system. If you put several colors of fake fur in a room, cats will automatically go to red. Not that they see the color, but they feel the vibrational energy of it."

Betty Wood, in her book "The Healing Power of Color," cites scientist John Ott's studies with mink. Normally aggressive, mink can be made even more so in pink light, while blue calms them and increases breeding. In his study of mice bathed in various colors of light, Ott was able to control the sex of off-spring with the color used during breeding. Chinchilla farmers routinely use blue lights for breeding, because it appears to make the coat thicker.

Note: as a nurse, I have no personal specific experience with color therapy, however, a wide body of anecdotal evidence has been accumulated on the positive effects of color therapies on animal life of many kinds. Where the human animal might be affected by the placebo effect or preconceived notions of a color's meaning, an animal wouldn't have the same prejudices. At the same time, any subjective effects would be difficult to document due to the inability of the animal to verbally communicate.

The Color Energy Corporation of British Columbia says light is the only energy we can see, and we see it in the form of color. Our body absorbs color energy through the vibration color gives off. All organs are connected to energy centers governed by one of the color energies. The National Institute of Mental Health has done studies that appear to show that our lives can be effected by an imbalance in our color energy.

Color therapy is not a replacement for other more traditional treatments. But as we learn more about new, non-traditional ways to treat humans, we find more ways to treat disease in our pets. No treatment is made to tame a disease by itself, but together, a combination of traditional and alternative methods may be just the lift your pet needs.

Carol Shenold is a registered nurse and freelance writer. She has written for Cats Magazine, Home Life and Oklahoma Today. She is a medical-technical writer and teaches writing for Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech.

Editor's note: While color therapy and some other alternative treatment methods seem a bit "out there" to us, we want to keep you informed of what's available. You make the decision. And always consult your veterinarian before including any non-traditional treatments for your pet.

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