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My cat has cancer. Family against chemo. Are natural remedies safe?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 5 years and 3 months old | 12 lbs

Greg is FIV positive, and has had a visceral mast cell tumor mostly removed from a prolapsed anus and colon. It's intestinal. His vet recommended Palladia with Prednisone as treatment, but my family is rather against risking his current content state to chemo treatments. What route should I take? Someone told me herb mixtures would "kill" his cancer (wormwood, black walnut, bitter apricots etc).

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 17th, 2019

Unfortunately herb mixtures will not kill Greg's cancer, and you have to be very careful with some of these "natural" remedies as they may contain ingredients that are toxic to cats. If your family is against chemo, you can do hospice care if he does not have a good prognosis without chemo. That involves keeping him as comfortable as possible, pain medications prescribed by the vet as needed. You can discuss with his vet if that's an option. Best of luck.
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