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Lesa (Birmingham, Alabama) on 03/14/2011

This is what I have found by trial and error. Use your own judgment. You know your cat better than anyone. Thanks for all the suggestions about ACV and Dandelion.

My BillyBob (main coon/Manx) is a big, red, bobtailed ball of attitude. He has had cardiomyopthy (sp?) all his life. I was told "he might live to be 5" If he makes it to April 22 he will be 12. He has only been sick 1 time in his life about 5 years ago. He has now got renal failure. Possibly because of the heart meds all this time.

I have been studying and using herbs for 20 years but did not know much about what was safe for cats. Like most of you, I have spent mmaannyy hours on line trying to educate myself so I could do the best by him. TTOOTTAALLY frustrating and confusing.

I found some things on "petwellbeing" Trispy and plantaeris but then the next website said "do not give him anything with parsley in it because it is a diuretic" I agree but don't you want to flush the toxins? Be careful to watch for low potassium due to that. Muscles twitch and jerk. Also puts stress on the heart. Like when we are low on electrolytes due to heat.

I give him 1/4 pill crushed in watr with a syrenge. It works.

I also read that you need to give a lax because the over active kidney system pulls moisture from everywhere and makes the stool hard and dry so they have problems 'going". I use mineral oil to help. 1T or more 2 times a day, any way you can to get it in them.ha

Dandelion root is also good for the liver and digestion.

Throwing up white foam due to stomach acid:

I found one place that said SLIPPERY ELM was good but I did not know how much to give him. IT WORKS. I later found a place where they said that you could give up to 5ts a day. I just cut open ONE cap and (again) mix it in water and squirt it in the side of his mouth.

Important: Be sure to feed them and give the elm before bedtime since it will be a long sleep and the acid will build up overnight.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I am definitely going to try the ACV. I hope this helps some of you and your 4 legged children. This is a great site. Keep up the good articles.

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Replied By Mae (Chicago, Il) on 05/05/2011

Hi Lesa, I've an 11-15 year old? Chartreaux (I'm her 4th owner, no one cared enough pass on her history).

When I got her she was severly overweight, borderline diabetic, and in the process of losing a major canine due to diabetes onset. The vet also found a heart murmur. My baby had no energy, didn't talk or play, and looked perpetually miserable.

After two different vet consultations I was talked into beginning an insulin regimen to manage her diabetes.We tried two different insulins in a 2 month period beginning with ProZinc.
During that time she went from just above borderline diabetes sugar levels (pre-insulin injections) to levels in the high 300 - low 400 levels while the vet was trying to get the insulin type and amount right. She was a mess and went from being lethargic, timid, and docile to being agressive and panicky. She lost all the hair at her injection sites. She was itching like mad all over. It was horrible watching her go through this.

I decided to leave my vet, ditch the insulin and go a holistic route. I did a ton of research during the insulin crisis and settled on a few things that have helped immensely over the last year since.

Raw Food:

When I got her I put her on Innova Evo, weaned her off dry kibble and moved to a 95% protein diet. She went from 21 lbs to 10 and has remained at 10 for 4 years now - obviously her 'healthy' weight as she doesn't budge from here unless she's stressed.

Innova sold out to P & G so I switched to raw. The cost is well worth the amazing changes I've seen in her overall wellness.

Her heart and diabetes are no doubt due to the artery damaging, high carb crud that she was fed for so many years.
The high incidence of diabetes and heart disease in humans due to the Western Diet is now mirrored in the poor health of our pets as a result of corn/carb laden commercial pet foods.

I've had her on a raw food diet for almost 2 years (this prior to the insulin) - I prefer Primal over Nature's Variety as Primal includes Taurine in their feline formulas. People will tell you there's enough naturally occuring taurine in meat, thus it's a non-issue, but feline taurine needs are higher than canine needs, thus I'd rather not take a chance.

I feed her at regular 3 hour intervals to keep her blood sugar steady. I do use both 'Tripsy' (to combat the diabetic impact on her kidneys/UT health) and 'Mellit' for diabetes.
I alternate the drops every other day with a daily herbal regimen to address her heart and blood sugar.
In a small bowl I mix the powder from 2 capsules of Nature's Way 'Blood Sugar Formula' (diabetes and kidney support - chromium polynicotinate is the key), 1 capsule Doctor's Best CoQ10 (Heart support), and 1 capsule of Jarrow's 'Hawthorn' (FABULOUS for both human and pet heart health) 500mg.
These are powerful herbs and I made the mistake of giving her one day's dose in one feeding the first time - MISTAKE!
Her little heart was racing as the hawthorne was that effective at increasing circulation.
I found the best method is to divvy it up over each feeding.
I use a kitchen measuring spoon set, choosing the tiniest spoon labeled 'Smidgen', I put enough of the mix to cover the bottom 1/4 of the spoon and sprinkle it over her defrosted raw food nugget.
Ultimately she gets what amounts to a 1/4 capsule of the herbal mix over a 24 hour feeding cycle.

Every other day I giver her 5 drops of Tripsy and Mellit in the morning and 5 more at night.

Since begining these she's testing/averaging BSL of around 130.
Her energy is through the roof, she's vocal, and so very loving. A 180 degree shift from her demeanor during the nightmare insulin incident.

One last thing to report... Last month I went to a new vet to get her yearly check up done. I did not mention my regimen to the vet, nor did I mention she had a heart murmur (I did tell them she'd been diagnosed diabetic and I was refusing insulin).
The vet did not find a heart murmur and was impressed that her blood sugar was borderline without injections despite having been diagnosed so many years back.

Herbal therapies may not work for all pets as there are many varying factors, but the pharmaceutical alternatives in her case were wrecking what was left of her health.
I took a chance and it is working in her favor.

I hope our story may inspire you to do a little herbal research for your baby. I'd definitely suggest Hawthorne and CoQ10 for the cardomyopathy.
I like to occasionally comb the pet forums to see if anyone else has had similar success with herbs. I'm not finding as much pet experimentation as I thought I would.
I should also add I'd NEVER use an herb that's not been deemed safe for felines.
As an example I considered ALA as there's so much sucess with it in human use, but I found a holistic pet forum that says it's specifically toxic to felines.

Good Luck*

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Replied By Jujucat (North East, Pa, Usa) on 09/10/2011

That's great that you've gone raw, but why are you buying it from a company? You can easily do this yourself and it's so cheap! We buy chicken livers by the tub at Wal-Mart and they also have packages of chicken hearts and gizzards for cheap-our kittens also like skinless, boneless breasts. You just bring it home, wash it in hot water and throw it in ziplocs and freeze. I bring enough down for one day and let it thaw in the fridge and before feeding, I fill a bowl with hot water (not boiled, just hot tap water) and sit the ziploc bag of thawed meat in there and let it get warm. This does not cook the meat-and please, do NOT microwave the meat as this kills all the nutrients. Also, it is essential to let them have raw meaty bones-no, it does not harm them, no they do not choke. Just make sure they are raw bones, not cooked. Cooked bones fragment and are brittle and dangerous. Anyways, when the meat is to room temperature after a few minutes, I put it in their little ceramic dishes and they gobble it up. If there is blood, don't throw it away--my cats love sipping the blood that comes with the meat. The main thing is freezing first, as I've read that this kills any parasites that may be in the meat... Although, we are feeding them human grade meat from our grocery store. I supplement with occasional treats of herring, mackerel, sardines, fresh Lake Erie perch and salmon (bones and all). On occasion I give a can of good quality GRAIN FREE moist food such as Blue Buffalo, Nutro, Avoderm or Wellness. I know feeding raw is best, but adding a can supplementally once or twice a week just makes me feel better, because these are foods with added minerals and whatnot that cats need and that way I know my 3 sweethearts are covered. For water, we use a fountain and also a ceramic dish that I clean and refill daily. It would be easier to just plunk down dry food and let them have at it all day, but I know I'd pay down the road in vet's bills for cystitis, urethritis, bladder crystals, etc. , not to mention obesity. My cats will eat dry kibble-the good stuff, the bad stuff-any of it, they will eat it and this is just useful information for us for when we need to go away for a trip somewhere and our pet sitter will be able to feed the cats without dealing with the raw meat, etc. (plus, I am fastidious about cleaning after handling raw meat, and would prefer not to have anyone else in my kitchen attempting to do it). Cats are obligate carnivores--why anyone would feed them grain is beyond me. But that's the conclusion I came to when I knew I was going to adopt the first 2--I did tons of research about everything, from foods, to bedding, to toys, to cat litter (clay is evil, for cats and for the environment) and by the time we finally brought them home, we were READY and when we rescued #3, we were all prepared and she's taken to the raw meat like a champ and she's only 8 weeks old. Thanks for listening and good luck with your kitties. Sounds like you're a good mama-but you can ditch the raw food company and do it yourself for tons cheaper, just wanted you to know that.

Hugs, Jujucat

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Replied By Frances (Cabarlah, Qld., Australia) on 10/11/2020

Why do you say clay is evil? I use a locally produced bentonite clay.

Replied By Diamond (Salisbury, Usa) on 09/10/2011

I started my dogs on a raw food diet and later found that meat while still alive were injected with many experimental shots to name a few/steroids, antibiotics etc. My dogs in the process were getting sick(breaking out with blisters/boils/ their skin turning red) so I decided to stop them, now they are doing better with just raw veggies, with occasional chicken livers. And even a few doggie treats.
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Replied By Jr (Coloma, Mi) on 09/11/2011

How did you get your cats to eat raw meat? My cats have been on kibble for years. I switched my dog to raw and have tried and tried to get the cats to eat raw and they will NOT touch it. You would think I was trying to poison them.
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Replied By Xanadu1jw (Memphis, Tn) on 09/14/2011

First start adding a little tiny bit of canned food to their Kibble every day, gradually increasing until it is all canned. When you have accomplished this then it is time to start to add tiny bits of raw chicken breast chopped very fine and then gradually increasing that until your cats are all raw. Recipes can be found online in the barf (bones and raw food) cat sites. Their health will be reward enough for all your trouble.
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