These are a few of AVMC’s cat patients. More examples will be added later. While some of the described responses may seem surprising, they are genuine, they can be repeatable and the explanation is purely pragmatic. It is true to say, of course, that these results are NOT achievable in every case but they do show the possibilities. We have the full records of each of these cases.
In the interests of transparency, we have also uploaded the results of ongoing case outcome monitoring, for interest. Click the link: Outcome Study.
N.B.: This study includes only cats, dogs and horses.
The cases have been treated holistically, in some cases with an integrated program of different therapies (e.g. herbal medicine (herbs), homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic). Holistic vet work involves working on the whole patient, taking into account environment, diet and lifestyle factors that may impinge on healing capability. The holistic vet cannot draw lines around a particular problem or issue. He or she must widen horizons to take in the whole picture.
The recurring theme is recovery, apparently against the odds. However, it is a fact that three factors (and only three) affect the chances of cure (or improvement).
They are:
- The body must have a relevant capability or mechanism for cure (or improvement).
- We must be able to find an effective medical stimulus for that mechanism (e.g. correct homeopathic medication).
- We must identify and remove any possible obstacles to recovery.
The name of the disease is not in that list, meaning that the disease name does not define the chances of positive outcome. This fact may explain the apparently ‘unlikely' outcomes, in so many cases. A few are shown here, to illustrate the capability of the body to heal itself, when given guidance and appropriate stimulus and when the constraints are removed.
We also have a small collection of ‘testimonial' letters, for interest. There are, of course, many of these that throw light on possible outcomes for certain diseases. We therefore recommend that you take a look.
Daisy – 18 w.o. female tabby kitten – Chronic Diarrhoea
Jo-Jo – 10 y.o. male Birman – Kidney problems
Milo – 14 y.o. male semi-feral DSH cat – Diabetes
Ruckus and Rumpus – two litter sisters – 9½ y.o. female Burmese – Fits/Seizures
Jet – 5 y.o. female – Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
Bianca – 11 y.o. female DSH cat – general immune problem
Big Boy – male neuter – severe skin problem with photographs
Sambo – 14 y.o. Burmese male neuter – feline asthma
Daisy – 18 w.o. female tabby kitten – Chronic Diarrhoea
Table of Contents
- 1 Daisy – 18 w.o. female tabby kitten – Chronic Diarrhoea
- 2 Jo-Jo – 10 y.o. male Birman – Kidney problems
- 3 Milo – 14 y.o. male semi-feral DSH cat – Diabetes
- 4 Ruckus and Rumpus – two litter sisters – 9½ y.o. female Burmese – Fits/Seizures
- 5 Jet – 5 y.o. female – Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
- 6 Bianca – 11 y.o. female DSH cat – general immune problem
- 7 Big Boy – male neuter – severe skin problem
- 8 Sambo – 14 y.o. Burmese male neuter – feline asthma
First seen 28th July 2003 – constant diarrhoea (bloody) since May! (worse for protein food but OK on baby food).
Vet letter stated that Daisy's problem was very refractory to all sorts of therapy – histology: jejunum immunologically reactive – negative for parasites, negative for campylobacter – neutropaenia, lymphopaenia, monocytosis.
Blood tests FIV/FeLV/FIP all returned negative.
Full vaccination, incl. Leukaemia, just before she came to current home ex. Rescue (Blue Cross) & again soon after.
Diarrhoea started first, then salivation one week later. This appeared to be a possible case of vaccine-induced immune malfunction.
Case notes: prefers warm – athletic – loves high places – skinny – spiky coat – no real fears.
Prescribed: homeopathic Merc. sol. & Gaertner, Protexin & Lactosym.
Report 5th August 2003 – regurgitates small amount of food an hour after eating (once or twice daily) then swallows & licks up – belches 1 hr after eating – actually vomited food twice this week – has gained weight (now 1.85 kg & had been 1.6 kg for a few weeks).
Prescription: added homeopathic Phosphorus.
Report 18th August 2003 – eating bigger portions – swallows 1 hr after eating – regurgitated a little liquid only twice this week – sloshing-around sound stopped for a few days, now returned – eating more – less regurgitation (worse at first meal of day) – weight increasing.
Report 22nd August 2003 – yesterday started licking lips then vomited all breakfast 1½ hrs after eating – lost bit of her spark last two days – motions like bullets – some mucus – only change is from Lactosym to Protexin 5 days ago. Advise change back to Lactosym – if fails to help, consider homeopathic Nux vom.
Report 26th August 2003 – improved but didn’t eat all that day – had been on Protexin from before coming to this home – clear watery discharge from nose – glands up.
Advised stop current remedies – new remedy homeopathic Natrum mur.
Report 9th September 2003 – slightly runny nose, glands up, bad gingivitis, problems eating – some swallowing/regurgitation 1 hour after eating (first meal of day) – slight constipation.
Advised change to homeopathic Phosphorus 200 & Nit. ac. 6c.
Report 15th September 2003 – had Phosphorus 200 for 4 days only – lots better – nose stopped running – gums much improved – eating bigger meals – still tends to be sick first thing but not bad – very pleased.
Advised Phosphorus 200 reduce to twice weekly and continue Nit. ac.
Report 3rd October 2003 – improving – only eating baby food chicken – some days regurgitates/swallows 1 hour after eating first meal of day.
Report 31st October 2003 – No problems! Having some cooked chicken now incl. skin, giblets, mashed potato – sick or diarrhoea if alters feeding.
Report 17th December (Christmas Card) – now able to add cooked lamb, turkey or white fish – passed a thick red elastic band in November – incredibly it didn’t upset her!
Report 27th January 2004 – now able to tolerate all kinds of food.
Reported 17th July 2004 – She’s been spayed, recovered well and now able to go out – caught first mouse – all took a long time, had expected to need special diet forever but now absolutely normal – all started to come right after Phosphorus 200. No different in health to our other cats – in fact, she’s the liveliest of them all.
Reported 20th August 2004 – exhaustingly fit & well.
Annual Christmas Card since then (i.e. 2003 (see above), 2004, 2005, 2006) to say fine in every way:
Christmas Card 2005:
“It’s hard to remember Daisy as the very poorly kitten I brought to see you in 2003 – I wish you could see her now – fitter and livelier than all our other cats put together!”
Christmas Card 2006:
“Daisy, whom you treated in 2003, continues to be our fittest and liveliest cat and a tremendous character!”
At the AVMC we have to treat many cases of feline chronic diarrhoea. Some cases can be very difficult to sort but we have been encouraged by the overall results.
Jo-Jo – 10 y.o. male Birman – Kidney problems
First seen 12th April 2001 – Diagnosed CRF (Chronic Renal Failure) by Vets
Vets recommend Fortekor & anabolic steroids
Given homeopathic Nat. mur. 1M & Mega B 50
November 2001 – given homeopathic Kali chlor.
November 2002 given homeopathic Carbamide
March 2003 given homeopathic DCV (Digitalis compound remedy) & Merc. sol.
Reported 21st December 2005 (Christmas Card) thanks for the improvement shown by the b/s – seems unbelievable – vet putting it down to Fortekor tablets – ‘owner' convinced he wouldn’t have kept going all these years without homeopathy – maybe giving Merc. sol. has made a difference – seemed to go off food on it after a while – eating well without it now – will restart if has a ‘dip' – seems perky enough but coat isn’t good – it was lovely on Merc. sol. – better to eat than have a fluffy coat – will continue and report changes – Happy Christmas.
17th March 2006 – breath quite smelly – not so good in self – homeopathic Arsenicum.
Not so good April/May 2006 – picky with food – added homeopathic Lycopodium – helped a bit – changed to homeopathic Phosphorus – await report.
25th May 2006 – better last few days – appetite gradually returned – no sickness since Monday – now eating quite well.
12th June 2006 – eating quite well – little incontinent, when sleeping – homeopathic Clematis and Equisetum.
23rd June 2006 – since started latest remedies, no more wet patches found.
13th July 2006 – only one patch since – seems well in self – eating well.
31st July 2006 – off food in hot weather – lost some weight – suggest new blood test.
4th August 2006 – Urea risen to 31 and Creatinine to 328 – nonetheless eating quite well again – quite chirpy – four days on drip.
8th August 2006 – back home and eaten well – very thirsty (but was he given his medicines at the hospital?) – stop Carbamide and revert to Merc. sol.
11th August 2006 – gradually downhill – taking to vets again – was quite perky when got to vets – steroid injection.
14th August 2006 – eating better but some diarrhoea and vomited white froth.
17th August 2006 – going on OK – no more sickness.
24th August 2006 – not eating brilliantly – still bright – no diarrhoea.
5th October 2006 – still ticking along.
30th October 2006 – slipping back a bit – coat not as good – appetite variable – more vomiting – suggest stop Arsenicum, for now.
6th November 2006 – some improvement – more enthusiasm – better appetite – less thirst.
20th November 2006 – had a ‘blip’ with appetite – one dose Arsenicum seemed to sort it – OK at moment.
1st December 2006 – quite bright and sociable – bit ‘sicky’ though.
4th December 2006 – off food and sick – hunched up by water bowl – advised increase frequency of Merc. sol.
7th December 2006 – seems OK again – will reduce Merc. sol. again and keep in touch.
16th January 2007 – ticking along OK.
16th February 2007 – still quite well.
15th March 2007 – been quite well until last few days – increasing Merc. sol. always helps – will do so more consistently.
19th March 2007 – definitely helped.
30th March 2007 – latest blood test improved (Urea 32.6, Creatinine 213).
3rd April 2007 – seems back on course.
26th April 2007 – keeps pretty well on Merc. sol. every other day – eating reasonably well and bright in himself.
16th May 2007 – Not bad at all, at the moment – eats reasonably well most days and weight is not bad.
26th June 2007 – Ticking along OK
27th July 2007 – Doing quite well at the moment – seems pretty stable – hardly dares to say anything – the fact that he's still here and coping is wonderful (now over 16 years-old).
4th September 2007 – Still ticking along quite well. Stable and eating pretty well, most of the time.
15th October 2007 – Still OK – only needing occasional doses of Merc. sol. if appetite wanes.
25th October 2007 – Still good.
12th December 2007 – Had a spell in hospital (Creatinine : 314) – five teeth removed and a drip. Home again now.
2nd January 2008 – Still on antibiotics as mouth not healed – had steroid injection on 24th December but not working so well. Overall, for 16 year-old ticking along pretty well and doing all his normal ‘cat things'.
14th January 2008 – Mouth now healed – pawing at mouth – vet put on phenobarbitone – has increased his appetite.
25th February 2008 – Reduced phenobarbitone and started ‘nodding' a bit – put on homeopathic Spigelia.
31st March 2008 – Some incontinence and homeopathic Clematis not worked on him as has in past – homeopathic Causticum.
7th April 2008 – Only one incontinence incident since Causticum but ‘quiet' – stop Causticum.
14th April 2008 – Perked up well.
22nd April 2008 – Suspicious of arthritis – vet prescribed Metacam.
14th July 2008 – Not bad.
31st July 2008 – Incontinence again – restarted Causticum.
14th August 2008 – Still leaking urine and having trouble sitting down – arranged chiropractic/acupuncture check.
21st August 2008 – Seen again, as per above report – Manipulate (pelvis and lumbar) and Acupuncture.
5th September 2008 – No more leaking and better on legs.
3rd December 2008 – Saw local chiropractor, as legs not good again.
19th December 2008 – not eating well so took to local vet – creatinine 430 – drip and dental surgery.
22nd January 2009 – frailer since ‘dental' but ‘OK'.
3rd March 2009 – vet put on Myotonin – creatinine 320.
2nd June 2009 – various reports in interim – has had acupuncture locally and myotonin on and off – still leaking urine but Mytonin seems to help – reasonably stable.
October 2009 – vet found tumour found in mouth.
November 2009 – Still eating well and tumour less red.
Although there is no possibility of a real ‘cure’ of kidney failure, constantly repeated homeopathy can ‘hold’ the patient. Jo-Jo has been holding on pretty well, for just over 8 years since diagnosis, despite high readings for Urea and Creatinine and despite now being 18 years old.
Milo – 14 y.o. male semi-feral DSH cat – Diabetes
First seen on 27th October 2005, with diabetes mellitus (& renal insufficiency).
After much oscillation of insulin requirement, over the ensuing 6 months, his levels stabilised at a much reduced level. Remedies were stopped.
In July 2006, his own vet diagnosed a renal (kidney) problem. He was given homeopathic Mercurius solubilis.
Reports:
Good reports followed and, by 29th January 2007, he was missing some insulin injections, without penalty.
26th June 2007 – reported been off insulin altogether for four months.
18th October 2007 – reported moved to Australia – relapsed since the journey and necessary medication.
N.B.: It is important to note that some diabetic cats can go into spontaneous remission. This case took much longer than would be expected, for a spontaneous remission but one cannot rule out that possibility. We take the following quote from Intervet’s website: “The time to remission is variable and likely depends on how long the hyperglycaemia, and glucose toxicity, has been present and if there are remaining functional beta cells in the pancreatic islets. In diabetic cats it may be shortly after the start of treatment (e.g. around 2 weeks) in cats that have not been diabetic for long or take up to 3-4 months or longer after starting treatment in cats that have been diabetic for longer.”
Ruckus and Rumpus – two litter sisters – 9½ y.o. female Burmese – Fits/Seizures
These two cats were first seen at AVMC on 23rd August 2004.
History:
Rumpus exhibits fitting at least daily – started Autumn 2002
Ruckus less often, only recently started.
Both had ‘flu’ as kittens.
Rumpus's eyes still run, nose runs, can crust and scab, almost blocking nose.
Rumpus's skin ‘flaky'.
One of them at least frequently vomits, 4 days per week (suspects it’s Ruckus).
Vaccination annually in September, despite health issues.
Rumpus on phenobarbitone – helps frequency and severity but doesn’t stop the fits.
No liver function tests performed to date.
Remarked how calm cats were, in consulting room (not normally, at vets).
Fits manifest as “erratic behaviour, hunkers down on paws, bursts into action, obviously distressed, stops suddenly, sits down, starts sticking tongue in and out and shaking head, as if something in mouth and ears, then blood from mouth and lies onto back, against wall, chewing at mouth” – takes 20 – 30 minutes to pass.
Rumpus has a tiny lump on her neck. This, along with the disease pattern, suggested vaccination involvement.
Prescribed:
Ruckus – homeopathic Causticum
Rumpus – homeopathic Cicuta and a dose of homeopathic Belladonna when has a fit.
Reports:
8th September 2004: Stopped phenobarbitone, changed diet, administered medicines – results almost immediate – both cats returned to ‘healthy’ and ‘normal’ behaviour – not seen for years. Rumpus: skin improved – no longer flaky, nose and eyes improved, nostrils free and open, sneezes freely – only one minor fit since seen. Booster due now – wonders how to handle the politics of that – real test will come in October, when the normal worsening occurs (not discovered at consultation but confirms fear that vaccination probably involved).
Subsequent reports all fine – no more fits.
Post script:
Same family as Rema, a GSD bitch who came to AVMC on 15th March 2007.
Report at Rema’s visit:
Rumpus has lost weight recently – asked ref. thirst – yes, increased lately – all very recent – suspect kidney problem and advise blood sample.
26th March 2007 – reported blood sample confirmed kidney problem.
29th March 2007 – see again Rumpus – Causticum, Plumbum and Merc. sol. Asked for report in ten days.
Interim reports were very good but, in April 2009, a consultation was arranged, because Rumpus had recently lost a lot of weight, become emaciated and, at 17 years-old, was looking very old. Also, Ruckus had started fitting again. However, the visit to the surgery fell through, as a result of other commitments so, with vet notes supplied, we sent homeopathic Carbamide for both cats. The Fortekor and Prescription Diet prescribed by the vet were not given.
6th July 2009 – Reported both doing well – tremendous improvement since started the new medicine – transformed!
7th August 2009 – Astonished by Rumpus's recovery from her emaciated state. Now her ‘old self' and even putting on some weight.
Jet – 5 y.o. female – Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
First seen at AVMC on 4th April 1996 – positive FeLV
Jet had been given 3 months to live.
She actually survived very well for 6 years! Then succumbed to mouth cancer 2002.
Her treatment history:
4th April (first appointment) prescribed homeopathic Arsenicum 30 and a Nosode (& for the in-contacts in the household)
8th April 1998 – lots of little scabs on back – prescribed a mixed glandular Sarcode.
10th March 2000 – reported very well.
4th April 2001 – brilliant.
11th July 2001 – doing well.
22nd November 2001 – doing well.
22nd January 2002 – report that Jet had died from mouth cancer.
Bianca – 11 y.o. female DSH cat – general immune problem
First seen at AVMC on 12th March 2007, with greasy coat, ‘lip smacking’, splutters, wheezes and ‘throat clearing’.
History:
Not seen vet.
Examination:
Signs and symptoms discernible: as above.
Some throat sensitivity to pressure.
Prescribed: homeopathic Natrum mur. and Merc. sol.
Reports:
26.04.07 – improving – greasiness in fur 50% improved – spluttering in throat completely stopped – very pleased with progress.
09.05.07 – still improving – almost 100% back to normal – coat not as white/fluffy as used to be but getting there – very well & bright in self.
29.05.07 – started wheezing again but very well in self – like a healthy person with a bit of a snuffle – stop remedies.
01.06.07 – definite improvement after stopping remedies – stopped wheezing/sneezing & no greasiness in coat – coat almost 100% now.
06.06.07 – stretching neck & coughing again – coat going greasy again – will repeat remedies.
25.06.07 – continuing to do well – coat much better again – no spluttering at all now – very pleased with progress.
It is not uncommon to find symptoms that had improved becoming worse as a result of continuing a homeopathic medicine for too long. This case illustrates that point and shows how it can then be necessary to restart later. The case also illustrates the concept that apparently unrelated signs and symptoms can often have a common origin.
Big Boy – male neuter – severe skin problem
Photographs show the condition before treatment (5th October 2007), during treatment (17th October 2007) and after treatment (16th November 2007). The treatment was homeopathic Carbo animalis and Hirudo. The positive change in demeanour is clear from the photographs.
Although no histology or blood test was performed to ascertain this, the appearance of the skin resembles eosinophilic dermatitis.
Sambo – 14 y.o. Burmese male neuter – feline asthma
First seen 20th March 2006 – been troubled with asthma for nine years – had steroids but now been taken off – as older, things can become difficult for him – coughs – has episodes when breathing very bad and very distressed by it. He was given homeopathic Aconitum and Natrum muriaticum.
5th April 2006 – reported: going on very well – transformed – hardly coughing at all, even in damp/wet weather.
On the strength of the outcome of this case, we were asked to visit Z—-, a head shaking horse.
