Case History: A Natural Diet Restores a Miserably Ill
Cat
By a
HomeVet Client
It all began
in 1988, when our beloved year-old tortoiseshell Persian,
Dinah, developed what was diagnosed as a "granuloma"
on her lip. Our then veterinarian treated her with the
"accepted" method of dealing with such disorders, a
cortisone injection. The granuloma disappeared and all
was well. She developed a couple of more granulomas
over the next year. We just took her to the vet, she
was given more shots, and she was, ostensibly, healed.
In late 1989
Dinah became very ill and was diagnosed, by a different
vet, with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disease
analogous to Krohn's disease in humans in which perforations
occur in the bowels (NB: The intestines become "leaky"
but not perforated per se.) An endoscopy was performed,
and the lab result came back with the statement, "Prognosis
Poor". As one would expect, we relied on the advice
of our vet at that time and followed his suggestions
to alter her diet and give her only the very bland offerings
of WD Prescription Diet -- dry and canned foods. Additionally
we were told to put Dinah on an ongoing program of prednisone,
another corticosteroid drug.
For four years
we continued this regimen. Dinah occasionally had recurrences
of the disease, and we would increase the dosage of
the prednisone until the symptoms would subside. We
were then told by our new vet, Dr. Jeff Feinman, about
some of the naturopathic treatments available for animals,
and we began reading all we could get our hands on.
Interestingly enough we, as humans, eat very healthily
and take no drugs whatsoever, rarely even aspirin. It
was strange that we had not thought this could also
apply to our pets, but we hadn't known that there were
natural alternatives for animals! After much reading
and with Dr. Feinman's guidance, we decided to take
the plunge and convert to a different, non-drug approach.
We converted
the diets of all four of our cats to a diet of purer
"whole foods". We began to make their food in larger
batches, freezing it in smaller, manageable amounts:
lamb or turkey, with brown rice or potatoes, squash
and some clover sprouts. For Dinah we add additional
herbal remedies such as apple pectin and liquid chlorophyll
to control any bowel irregularities. We also give her
slippery elm syrup before each meal to soothe her stomach.
Well, the results
have been phenomenal!! Before the change in diet, and
herbal treatments, Dinah had always been listless; she
had gained weight and disliked being touched because,
we assume, she was "tender". She would never even jump
into a windowsill. Her coat had a greasy feel, and she
would have dandruff. Within a month of her new diet
and herbal therapy, she had changed unbelievably. Her
weight went down and she became increasingly more playful,
now jumping wherever she wanted. Her coat became as
luxurious as it had been when she was a kitten. What
is so ironic in this was our recent discovery that the
"cure" we were instructed to give her, the corticosteroid
treatments, may have contributed to the long-term worsening
of her disease and her general health.
We suspect that
the disease may have stared as an allergic response
to something (possibly insecticides in a flea shampoo)
and could have been treated herbally or even ignored
if the inciting cause had been found and eliminated!!
Our cats are living wonderful proof that diet is the
most important element of their lives.
Please note:
The information provided here is meant to supplement
that provided by your veterinarian. Nothing can replace
a complete history and physical examination performed
by your veterinarian. - Dr. Jeff
I greatly value your feedback. Please let me know what
you think of this site and what you would like to see
on it. drjeff@homevet.com
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