Lice is very prevalent in North Carolina and we learned quickly after moving to this state that one of the best remedies for keeping lice away is to add a few drops of tea tree oil to your bottle of shampoo. It has worked perfectly and this bug freak is super happy about that!!

Tea tree oil is a natural antifungal, antiseptic, and antibacterial all wrapped up into one. Because you only use a few drops at a time in the shampoo as a lice preventative, even with 3 different bottles of shampoo's for my picky family, a typical bottle of tea tree oil will last a long time. One bottle has lasted us over a year so that makes the initial shock of the price a little easier to bear ;-)

I don't like over using chemicals and drugs with my family if I can help it, especially when it is something taken internally. This goes for the pets as well. Harley, our youngest dog, is a dachshund and terrier mix. He has long, floppy ears and is always scratching at them, which means he easily gives himself open sores. He even bit a hole in the bottom of his ear a few years back! We call him our "emo"dog. Our friends call him our itchy-weenie. Either name you prefer, they are a perfect fit!

Harley always has to fight off ear mites and yeast infections but, like I said, I don't like putting drops in his ears on a regular basis that contain a lot of weird stuff I can't pronounce (and I was a pharmacy tech... so its bad if I can't even say it...).

Well, I have to tell ya, I have found my miracle drug!I usually keep a bottle of natural pet stuff on hand to use with Harley but I had run out and failed to purchase a new bottle before he start shaking his head and scratching all the time again a few weeks ago. I looked online for an alternative natural ear mite treatment and/or yeast infection treatment because, frankly, I didn't have the money for a vet appointment. I was very pleased to find that tea tree oil is recommended for both ailments! It was nice to know I could try something I already had in the house without having to go buy something new.

I doused a cotton ball with tea tree oil, and squeezed it into Harley's ear. I then massaged the outside of his ear to work the oil down inside the canal. I did this to both ears and then our boys would take him for a walk outside so he could shake his ears to get the excess oil out plus work the oil around inside his ear a bit. I did this for several days in a row, twice a day. His ears are perfect!! There isn't any redness. He hasn't been scratching. He smells good, too! It's awesome!!

Do you prefer natural remedies, even for your pets? Feel free to share tips and tricks in the comments...

Sallie

Our son Caleb has always loved cats. His favorite pet is anything of the feline variety. His favorite musical is Cats. He owns art books about cats. He even owns cat tchochkes. He just likes cats VERY much!

We already have two dogs, Grace and Harley, and we really didn't want anymore pets but we also wanted to do something special for Caleb. A friend at church had a cat give birth to kittens (quite unexpectedly, I might add) back in April and so they were begging for takers. Mike immediately said we would take one and we picked Oliver up in late May!  His quick response was much to my chagrin and a bit astonishing at the same time. We have enjoyed the added "playmate" though and are glad to have Oliver aka Colonel North (c'mon, you know there has to be some sort of military add-on to his name...lol) as part of our family.

Oliver was teeny tiny when we got him; he came home in a baseball cap. He continues to grow and I think he might even end up being the size of one of those monster cats you see and wonder how they ever got that big. He passes the day by either sitting in front of the window people watching, play fighting with our oldest dog Grace, or swiping at the screen on the laptop whenever people are playing FarmTown on Facebook. He's weird like that. But we love him anyway!!

Sallie