Saturday, I went into work my shift at The Big Bad Woof, the two kittens (Sterling and Silver) who were left outside the front door a week before were there. They were in a crate and up for adoption. Sterling and Silver were guesstimated to be around eight weeks old. When I first saw them on Monday they were sick with an upper respiratory infection (very common in kittens).
Observing them again on Saturday, Sterling (now Isis Angel) was clearly not doing well, and I just couldn’t ignore how much care she needed, so I bought a sling-pouch, out her in it and carried her while I worked. She was ever so grateful and sweet. I then took her home with me. She most definitely needed a mother and a nurse.
Isis was tiny. She weighed one and half pounds, was lethargic and sleepy with copious amounts of pus in her eyes. Silver’s brother (now Samson) was rowdy, playful, three to four times her size and playing way too rough with her. Isis was completely unable to respond or defend herself, as she could barely stand up. Sam was ill too with pus in his eyes, but his constitution was stronger, and his symptoms expressed differently. Though he was sweet, he had some frustration from being handled unconsciously by locals, which led him to begin patterning the same aggressive tendencies, thus he was unaware of the impact he was having on Isis. I am glad I intervened–he shifted quickly.
In early stages of life the immune system is developing. Kittens that have well-balanced environments (still with their mothers or with a nurturing substitute that encourages homeostatis), who are fed wholesome food, and have limited exposure to the outer stresses of modern life, have a better chance at building strong immune forces. Thus when they are exposed to the common air-borne upper respiratory virus, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, they usually are strong enough to fend it off.
If they do get the virus their immune systems work diligently to recover, which is not such a bad thing, because in essence the virus is helping to develop their immune system. Kittens whose basic survival is threatened and are ill right off the bat have more difficultly gaining immunity, especially when they are given a vaccine while they are too young and ill. Thus, if they get a virus and can’t ward it off medical intervention is clearly necessary.
The type of medicine is important though, and of course is based on one’s beliefs and understanding that a) there are alternatives and b) comprehensive approaches to health and healing, outside of the convention model. I personally am committed to the holistic path, for many reasons. This article or blog entry begins to explain why.
The standard protocol to treat upper respiratory infections (FVR) is antibiotics, but the holistic approach is much more gentle on little bodies and souls, and more effective in both the short and long term, in many cases.
Whatever is suppressed in the immune system in the beginning stages of life continually shows up in the animal or persons health, many times in a serious manner. Here’s where homeopathy is ideal.
In the case of Isis and Samson, they were given a distemper vaccine just after they were found abandoned, at the same time they were sick. This is not a smart or caring thing to do. Vets and owners can learn a great deal from avoiding this tactic. While the immune system is busy building antibodies to ward off an illness, it can’t handle an immune suppressant to boot!
My experience with my own cats (my cat Clea almost died from FVR as a kitten and was put in ICU for ten days on antibiotics and was given a vaccine at the shelter prior to my adopting her–she had health issues her whole life), educating myself about natural holistic medicine from reading the most up-to-date holistic books, from working with and for homeopathic veterinarians over the years and being a professional animal intuitive and empath gave me direct insight into what was going on with the kittens.
I am not suggesting antibiotics and vaccines are not appropriate, though I do have strong opinions about them, but what I am suggesting is making educated choices based in integrative and mindful approaches. Our culture, is generally so disconnected, disembodied from feeling and understand how important, valid, and loving it is to utilize healthcare approaches that are inclusive of the mind, body, spirit and soul, that we follow, many times blindly, the advice of “authorities” without ever tuning into the message of the moment, listening to what our little friends truly need. Even if we feel we don’t have the ability to hear what our animals are saying, if we have the willingness to educate ourselves about alternatives, we are well on our way.
During my time working with Dr. Carol Lundquist and Dr. Monique Maniet, I saw over and over how a homeopathic approach cured cases that traditional medicine was unable to address. In Dr. Pitcairn’s book, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, there are several homeopathic remedies to use to treat the Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis. With Isis and Samson, I followed Dr. Pitcairn’s homeopathic protocol, in his book…, and gave Isis Pulsatilla 30C, one pellet every four hours, three times. She did improve, but still had pus. I then gave Thuja 30C to clear the vaccine. She improved again, but this still didn’t clear up her eyes all the way. I used eyes drops. Now the pus was mostly gone, but not fully and her eyes continued to weep with clear fluid–constantly.
I began to add Colostrum and Astragulus into their food, but this did not clear up their eyes. They needed a stronger and more specific remedy for their eyes. I ordered Calcarea Carbonia 10M.
CC is specific to eye problems. I used it in the past, when Gem my fourteen year old cat, had gotten a scratch many years before in his eyes. We tried the homeopathic approach and another alternative and it was not working, so we put him on a steroid, which still didn’t clear it up. Then we went to an eye specialist. He prescribed the same steroid to be given in a more frequent rate. The next day, after our vet visit, I put the steroid cream in his eye and he turned to me and said if you do that again I will leave!
We went back to the holistic vet and chose another remedy, Silica, and his eye improved immediately.
Nourishing Kitty is inspired by my four lovely cats and our journey together. The intention of our blog is to share our stories and easy creative holistic tips, which enhance the livelihood of cats and their unique natures.
