Do you have a copy of Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats? Do you pull it out when one of your dogs or cats shows a worrisome symptom? Do you read the reference sections for fun? Do you cook from its recipe section? Do you refuse to lend it out because you might need it all of a sudden? If you say yes, then you and I are on the same page.

If you don’t have it, I’d like to suggest that it is a very worthwhile book for your collection. Admittedly, I am a book lover, but this is the most essential of my whole collection of dog books…

After I wrote that sentence, I walked over to the bookcase to see if anything else could compete. One or two of the training books tried to get my attention, but really they don’t come close to Pitcairn, as we call the book at our house. It’s an excellent gift for any dog or cat owner.

Richard H. Pitcairn is a veterinarian with a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology. That sounds rather scholarly but he was in clinical practice for many years and now teaches homeopathic medicine to veterinarians. You can tell from the book that he is a down-to-earth, hands-on kind of person, with unusually good powers of observation. His experiences with actual dogs and cats shape what’s in the book, which he wrote with Susan Hubble Pitcairn.

The first edition of Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats came out over 25 years ago. I bought it then. (Now the third edition is out and I have it too… somehow I missed the second one.) The book has sold over 400,000 copies, and believe me, that is a LOT for a non-fiction book! It has saved me a lot of stress and provided me with easily-varied recipes I’ve used for years. My dogs and cats are the healthier for it.

What’s in this Book?

Pitcairn has two parts, with a variety of topics covered in each:

• Part One: Natural Health for Pets consists of 15 chapters. A group of chapters discuss what is really in commercial pet food, how to make your own homemade pet food with supplements and how to help your pet make the switch. Next come chapters with titles such as Creating a Healthier Environment, Emotional Connections and Your Pet’s Health, and How to Care for a Sick Animal.
• Part Two: Quick Reference covers over 50 specific conditions in a page or two. From Abscesses and Allergies to West Nile Virus and Worms, this section is extremely useful. There is a particularly thorough coverage of vaccinations, in which he explains his statement “Vaccines are not always effective, and they may cause long-lasting health disturbances” and suggests what you can do.

In the photo, my cat Moonlight looks over my copy of Pitcairn.

You can get it here: Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats