Gracie's Holistic Vet Visit...
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| Tue, 06-28-2005 - 10:30pm |
I'm home from the holistic vet's but am not sure what I think. I had hoped she would have a miracle answer to stimulating Gracie's appetite and/or helping to cure her condition.....I know, wishful thinking. Gracie definitely liked the experience better than going to Dr Sharyn's. We went in this vet's home where she had a small room with a few chairs. Tim held Gracie at first since she was nervous but later she sat on the back of the chair where Tim was sitting. The vet was Australian and said she was moving back to Australia at the end of the summer. (That means no more holistic vets in Nebraska). It wasn't exactly what I expected. She didn't want to read Gracie's records from Dr Sharyn. She just had me tell her a bit of the background of how and when she stopped eating and what we were feeding her and what vitamins I was giving her. She at least looked at her x-rays from last March. She also glanced at the last blood test results Gracie had a few weeks ago and noted her anemia.
It wasn't a very structured visit. She just agreed with me that Science Diet isn't very good quality and that the more natural foods I've been feeding her are an improvement, but she felt the homemade diet is the best. (raw or lightly cooked meats, etc.) She mentioned the Pritcairn book I've seen mentioned on numerous holistic sites. She gave me a few copies of recipes from that book. She then gave me a bottle of Chinese Herbal Gastrigen that's supposed to help cats with chronic diarrhea and/or vomiting. She also gave me some digestive enzymes to put in each meal. She also gave some drops of echinacea/goldenseal for cats to support her immune system and finally (after mentioning our cats not getting along and Misha licking the fur off her tummy from nervousness) she custom made some Bach flower liquid with a variety of essences to help with nervousness, aggression, etc. with the cats. I'm supposed to give 4 drops 4 times a day. I am not sure how effective it is putting it in water since who knows who drinks it and when. I am thinking it would be better on their food? She said I should keep giving her vitamin e and c and b complex. She also liked the Pet Promise Symflora powder I mix in her food daily (it has brewers dried yeast, acidolphilus, etc.) She basically said nutritional support and good food is the best I can do and hopefully she'll feel like eating and will have a longer quality of life. She didn't talk much about FIP or the prognosis. I must say I was disappointed she didn't do an "exam". She just pet Gracie once when she was in her carrier and noted her fur texture and otherwise said she looked fine. The whole visit cost me $125.40 and I left there not feeling I'd gotten many questions answered. I guess I will just try giving Gracie some of these natural things and since no one is willing to say she will recover, I will just keep praying and hope she still has a longer time to live still.
One slightly let down and confused furmom,





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Hi,
Well I'm glad that Gracie is such a little fighter! It sounds like she's really had a rough go of it and a lot of treatment. I hope the new Chinese herb and flower essences will help her out and she'll regain her appetite and put on some weight.
First off I have to say that I have two kitties with IBD. One with just chronic diarrhea and the other with vomiting and diarrhea. However, when it all started we went through a rough patch where they were misdiagnosed with giardia and treated with some powerful meds, shaved, etc. This went on for an entire summer in 2002. We thought it was cleared up and then bam the diarrhea was back again in March for Zachary. Gabe had it a little bit this time but not as bad as Zach, however Gabe is the puker. Only this time a different vet same practice started treating Zach and came to find out that what the others thought was giardia in his stool was actually a combination of clostridium(which Zachary had when he was a kitten) and yeast spores. He suggested that they both be put on IVD diets as he suspected IBD in both of them and to add pumpkin to their diet. They also wanted to do endocopic exams to confirm the diagnosis of IBD even though if comfirmed it doesn't really explain how they got it or where to go from there.
Well they hated IVD food and I wasn't about to put them both through that procedure without doing more research, so that's when I started doing research regarding IBD kitties. What I found was simple a total diet change. No dry food ever! That's when we sought the second opinion from the holistic vet. She agreed with my plan and then gave me a back up list of things to add if needed, like Slippery Elm syrup.
The good news is that on that 2 years ago this weekend 4th of July, I picked up the dry food and never looked back. I started feeding them both premium canned food only with no grains(Petguard, Innova, Wellness and now strictly Nature's Variety.) Within 24 hours of picking up the dry food the diarrhea was gone, never to return. Gabe still does have vomitin issues which we are treating with diet again(strictly Natures Variety rabbit and lamb) and acupuncture. Go figure, just goes to show you how important high quality food really is.
Good luck with Gracie and I hope you see some improvements.
Take care, Lynn
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