Lac felinum

What is Lac felinum?

Lac felinum is a homeopathic remedy made from cat's milk. Its Latin name is Felis catus (milk). You may also see it sold as Cat's milk.

Homeopaths use it most often for eye trouble. Think sore, tired or burning eyes, or pain around the eye. A few also give it for a one-sided headache or a raw sore throat.

The milk is watered down and shaken again and again. This step-by-step watering down is called serial dilution. At 30C, the usual strength, none of the cat's milk is left in the pill.

Tests in people do not show that it works better than a dummy pill (placebo). Long use by homeopaths is not proof that a remedy works. This page reports both facts side by side.

How does Lac felinum work?

No one has shown how it could work. That is the honest answer.

Homeopathy rests on two old ideas. The first is "like cures like". A thing that causes symptoms in a well person is used to treat the same symptoms in a sick person.

The second idea is that shaking each watered-down step makes the remedy act more strongly. This does not fit what we know about chemistry. At 30C there is nothing of the milk left to act on your body.

So any change people notice is most likely a placebo effect. That means you feel better because you expect to, or because the problem was easing anyway. Time, rest and a caring listener all play a part.

What forms does Lac felinum come in?

It comes in a small number of simple forms.

Most people get tiny sugar pellets or small round pills that melt under the tongue. Liquid drops in alcohol and water are also sold.

Common strengths are 6C, 30C and 200C. Some homeopaths use LM (also written Q) strengths, given as drops in water.

Lac felinum is a rare remedy. Few high-street shops stock it. It is usually ordered from a pharmacy that makes homeopathic remedies, often after a homeopath asks for it.

Where it comes from:

The remedy dates from homeopathy in the United States in the late 1800s.

The homeopath Samuel Swan is credited with the first proving. A proving is when healthy people take a remedy and write down every symptom they notice.

Swan's notes point mostly to the eyes. Later writers copied those notes and added a few symptoms of their own.

It has stayed a small, rarely used remedy. It sits in the group of "milk remedies" that some homeopaths work with, alongside remedies made from dog, horse and human milk.

What does Lac felinum help with?

• Sore, tired or burning eyes: This is the classic use, and it comes from the old proving notes. Swan's testers wrote about eyes that ached, burned and felt strained. No human trial has tested Lac felinum for eye symptoms.
• Pain in or around one eye: Homeopathic texts describe pain above or behind one eye, often the left. This is a picture drawn from provings, not from research. New or bad eye pain needs a doctor, not a remedy.
• Eyes that hurt in bright light: Old notes list photophobia (pain or discomfort in bright light). Homeopaths use this as a matching sign when choosing the remedy. There is no trial evidence that the remedy changes it.
• One-sided headache: Some homeopaths give it for a headache on one side of the head that spreads to the eye. This use is traditional only. Migraine and other headaches have treatments that have been properly tested.
• Raw, scratchy sore throat: The proving notes mention a raw, sore throat that hurts more on swallowing. This is a minor, rarely used part of the picture. No study has looked at it.
• Itchy scalp or dry skin patches: A few later writers added skin and scalp itching to the remedy picture. The record is thin even within homeopathy. There is no research support of any kind.

Which foods are rich in Lac felinum?

1. Cat's milk: the source material only; it is not a human food and you cannot get this remedy from anything you eat

What are the side effects of Lac felinum?

• No physical side effects are expected at 30C, because none of the cat's milk is left
• A short spell of symptoms feeling worse in the first days, which homeopaths call an aggravation; this has not been shown in trials
• Bloating, wind or loose stools from lactose (milk sugar) pellets if your body cannot digest lactose
• Rash, itching, swelling or wheezing, but only as a rare risk with very low strengths such as 1X to 6X that may still hold milk protein
• Delay in getting proper treatment, which is the main real-world risk with any homeopathic product

Good to know:

Direct harm from a 30C pill is very unlikely, because there is nothing in it but sugar. The risks that matter are the sugar itself, milk traces in very low strengths, and the time lost if you use it instead of care that works.

How much Lac felinum should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been shown to do anything, so there is no proven daily amount. In practice, homeopaths suggest 3 to 5 pellets of a 30C strength under the tongue, or about 5 drops of the liquid. They let it melt rather than chewing it. How often varies a lot. Some give it once or twice a day for a few days. Others give a single dose of 200C and then wait weeks. This is not a food supplement and it gives you no nutrition. Follow the label on the pack, and ask a pharmacist if anything is unclear.
• Best time of day: There is no proven best time. Homeopaths usually suggest taking it about 15 to 30 minutes away from food, drink, coffee and mint toothpaste. That advice is tradition, not tested fact, and the timing will not harm you.
• With or without food: Tradition says to take it on a fairly empty mouth, away from food and strong flavours. There is no evidence that food changes anything. Pellets contain sugar, which is worth knowing if you watch your sugar intake.
• Time to effect: There is no reliable answer, because the remedy has not beaten a dummy pill in trials. Homeopaths often say a well-chosen remedy acts within hours to a few days. Any change you notice may be the problem settling on its own.
• How long to take it: Keep any trial short. Most homeopaths look again after 2 to 4 weeks. If nothing has changed by then, stop. Taking it for months "just in case" only delays finding out what is really wrong. Stop sooner and see a doctor if your symptoms get worse.