Kitties tail got caught in door and threw her into a cared frenzy with harness on. Is arnica appropriate?

[AnnaH]

Hello,

I had my cat on a harness and we were about to go outside when i accidentally shut the door on her tail. She was hurt and scared. I went to squat down to talk gently to her when I accidentally hit a bag that made noise and scared her to run into the apartment and under the bed. I still had the leash and harness on her and couldn’t let go of the leash handle because it would chase her and scare her even more. I saw she was making a run for the catio window which means I can’t reach her once she’s out on the bridge and I held on to the leash and she freaked out because she was restricted from being able to jump up and out the patio and everything got worse. I had to pull her down with the harness which petrified her, scratched my hand but I managed to get the leash off of her. She ran into the laundry room and is hiding behind the water tanks. I feel so bad because she looked at me like how could I hurt her. I tried really hard to speak softly to her and apologize and offer her treats. I also have offered her stress stopper in a churu treat , but she will not come out. I think I hurt her tail, but I don’t think I did bad damage. I have to assess. I want to give her Arnica. Would this be an appropriate homeopathic medicine for this kind of situation?

I feel so badly. Obviously, she’s feeling stressed out and scared and doesn’t trust me. And she’s also in pain.

@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. Jeff @Dr. Sara @dr

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear about your kitty's reaction to this situation.

It sounds like she may be more freaked out than physically hurt.

I have to assess. I want to give her Arnica. Would this be an appropriate homeopathic medicine for this kind of situation?

Yes. Also consider Aconite (for the fear).

 

[AnnaH]

Oh!! Aconite!! I gave her arnica an hour ago. When can I give her aconite? I left 5 drops of stress stopper in the laundry room where she’s hiding in hopes it helps her. Is it okay to give aconite after arnica and stress stopper? I hope she will trust the harness again. thank you, @Dr. Jeff

 

[Dr. Jeff]

When can I give her aconite?

If she’s still freaked out, you can give it today.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Also Rescue Remedy if you have it. Put a drop in food/water, and spritz it around the house to take the "bad juju" out of the air!

You might do a little EFT for her, too. You can do it without touching her. EFT Tapping for Animals | Little Big Cat - Dr. Jean Hofve

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

BTW Anna, be sure to forgive yourself! I had a very similar thing happen to my cat with him on the leash. I took 2 steps away to grab something (what could POSSIBLY go wrong??), there was a noise, he freaked, the screen door slammed, he flew in 7 directions at once... instant disaster! He was terrified, I felt awful, but we both got over it!

 

[GinnyW]

In my experience - with cats, as I grew up - it seems that overreacting is an automatic response, sort of "just in case it's terrible". A real fear, yes, but not a deep one. Yes, aconite, but only if needed. I'll bet she's getting over it by now