Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (77 page)

A couple of homeopathic remedies useful for this are:

Homeopathic
—
Lachesis
(bushmaster snake venom) 30C: When the cough is brought on by touching the throat or by the pressure of a leash. Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Pulsatilla
(windflower) 30C: Dog wants attention, to be held, seeks out cool areas, no desire to drink water. Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

After recovery, your dog should be relatively immune for some time, perhaps a year or two. However, a different but similar virus could re-create the “same” condition. Remember, stress seems to be the necessary factor to allow the virus to get established.

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR)

This viral disease primarily affects the eyes and upper respiratory tract of cats. Symptoms include sneezing attacks, coughing, drooling of thick saliva, fever, and a watery discharge from the eyes. The condition ranges from mild and barely noticeable to severe and persistent. In the latter, the nose becomes plugged up with a thick discharge, ulcers form on the eye surface (cornea), and the eyelids stick together with heavy discharges. The cat becomes thoroughly miserable, refusing to eat and unable to care for itself.

There is no allopathic treatment which shortens the duration of the disease, but usually antibiotics, fluid therapy, forced feeding, eye ointments, and other measures are used to provide the best possible support for the ailing body. These cats are so out of sorts, however, that they often resist handling and treatments. It can be a real challenge to provide adequate care.

T
REATMENT

If you catch the condition early, this regimen may avert the more serious stage: Give no solid food the first two to three days, or until the temperature is back to normal (less than 101.5°F). The cat usually will not eat anyway. Instead, provide liquids as described in the section on fasting in chapter 15. Give vitamin C (⅛ teaspoon sodium ascorbate powder dissolved in pure water, every four hours), vitamin E (50 IU twice a day), and vitamin A (¼ teaspoon cod-liver oil or 2,000 to 2,500 IU vitamin A from fish-liver oil sources, once a day). Treat with vitamin A for a total of five days only (too much vitamin A can be a problem).

Homeopathic
—
Aconitum napellus
(monkshood) 30C: This remedy corresponds to the early stages of illness, which are marked by fever and a general sense of not feeling well. If given when these symptoms first appear, it may avert any further development of the illness. Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

If the cold condition is already established, one of these remedies may help.

Homeopathic
—
Nux vomica
(poison nut) 30C: A remedy commonly suited to this condition,
Nux vomica
is a good choice for the cat that is grouchy and averse to being held or touched. Often it will retire to a quiet room so as not to be disturbed. Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Natrum muriaticum
6C: This remedy is most helpful when the cold starts with much sneezing. As it develops, there may be thirstiness and a white discharge from the nose. Use Homeopathic Schedule 1 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Pulsatilla
(windflower) 30C: Cats needing this medicine are sleepy, sluggish, and have a thick discharge from the nose or eyes. Often the discharge is greenish in color. Such a cat may want to be held or comforted. Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

Generally, at this stage it helps to clean the eyes and nose with a saline solution, which is similar to natural tears. Stir ¼ teaspoon of sea salt into one cup of pure water (without chlorine). Warm this to body temperature. Using a cotton ball, drip several drops into each nostril to stimulate sneezing and flushing of the nose. Also put some into each eye and carefully clean the discharge away with a tissue.

If the condition is very advanced when you start treatment, you’ll need to take a different approach. Blend raw beef liver with enough water to make a soupy mix. Add two teaspoons of sodium ascorbate powder to every cup of this blend. Feed one teaspoon of this mixture every hour to provide health-boosting nutrients, including B vitamins (from the liver) and about 150 milligrams of vitamin C with each dose.

Clean the eyes and nose with a warm saline solution (as described above). If necessary, saturate a cloth with the solution and hold it against the nostrils briefly to soften and loosen the dried nasal discharge. Then carefully remove the discharge and continue with the saline nose flush. Put a drop of castor oil, almond oil, or cod-liver oil (especially if there are ulcers in the eye) in each eye; apply some to the nose, too (twice a day).

If your cat is not eating at this stage, you may need to force-feed it. Use the force-feeding recipe in chapter 15.

Useful treatments are:

Homeopathic
—
Pulsatilla
(windflower) 6C: This is useful for the cat with thick greenish or yellow discharge, an obstructed nose, loss of appetite, bad breath, and a sleepy, sluggish demeanor. Often these cats will be attacked by other cats in the family when they are ill. Somehow the other cats sense a weakness. Use Homeopathic Schedule 6(c) (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Silicea
(silicon dioxide, quartz) 30C: This remedy often follows
Pulsatilla
to complete a treatment. These cats will by chilly (seeking out warm places) and lose their appetites (but may drink more water than usual). The eyes will be very inflamed, the lids stuck together with discharge and even ulcers of the cornea (surface of the eye). Use Homeopathic Schedule 2 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Thuya
(or
Thuja
) (arborvitae) 30C: This remedy is sometimes needed if there is no response to other treatments or if the cold symptoms have come on within 3 to 4 weeks after receiving a vaccination. The nasal discharge can look very much like that described for
Pulsatilla
(above). Use Homeopathic Schedule 3 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Sulphur
(the element) 30C: If nothing else has helped, give this remedy. Use Homeopathic Schedule 3 (
view
).

Herbal
—Goldenseal (
Hydrastis canadensis
): This herb is very helpful if the nasal discharge (or discharge at the back of the throat) is very yellow and stringy. There may also be considerable loss of weight, even if the cat is still eating sufficiently. Use Herbal Schedule 2 (
view
).

Once the cat is eating, encourage a variety of fresh and raw foods, especially meats, grated vegetables, and brewer’s yeast. Continue the vitamin C and eye treatment until recovery is complete.

Feline Calicivirus (FCV)

Sometimes FCV cannot be distinguished from FVR (above), but generally the nose and the eyes are not as involved. Typical signs include pneumonia and ulcers of the tongue, the roof of the mouth, and the end of the nose (above the lip). This condition is very difficult to treat because the mouth is so sore that the cat resists having anything put in it. You may need to wrap the cat up in a towel during treatment to keep from getting scratched (see chapter 15).

T
REATMENT

Use the same early treatment as described above for FVR. In practical terms, at this stage you may not really know which of these viruses your cat has, so don’t worry about making any distinction; the treatments we are discussing are suitable for either disease.

If it is clear from the presence of the pneumonia or ulcers that you are dealing with feline calicivirus, there are a couple of other remedies that may be more suitable for this problem.

Homeopathic
—
Phosphorus
(the element) 30C: Use this remedy if there is pneumonia (fever, rapid breathing, gasping, perhaps coughing). It’s especially indicated if your cat desires cold water and vomits about 15 minutes after drinking or, with the pneumonia, prefers to lie on her right side. Use Homeopathic Schedule 3 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Nitricum acidum
(nitric acid) 30C: This remedy is indicated if the focus of the illness is ulcers in the mouth. The mouth odor is very bad, the saliva blood-tinged, and the tongue red and “clean” looking (instead of heavily coated). These cats usually become very cranky and are difficult to handle or medicate. Use Homeopathic Schedule 3 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Mercurius solubilis
(or
vivus
) (quicksilver) 30C: Cats needing this medicine are very similar to those described above for
Nitricum acidum
. The difference is that they are not so irritable, they produce more saliva, and their tongues are coated with a yellow film and are often swollen, so that you can see indentations of the teeth on the edges. Use Homeopathic Schedule 3 (
view
).

Your cat is recovering from this illness once her appetite returns and she is eating well. This is the major turning point.

UREMIA

See “Kidney Failure.”

VACCINATIONS

The prevention of communicable diseases by administering “weakened” forms of the germs that cause them is a very popular and strongly supported method of disease prevention.
If a “live” vaccine is injected into the body, the organism will grow in the tissues and produce a sort of mini-disease that stimulates the immune response. This response is intended to protect the body against the real thing for a variable period of time—months or years. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

I must point out, however, that there are some problems with vaccinations that should be understood by anyone interested in a holistic health approach. Vaccines are not always effective, and they may cause long-lasting health disturbances.

Vaccine Ineffectiveness

Many people assume that vaccines are 100 percent effective. This belief can be so strong that even a veterinarian may tell you, “Your dog can’t have distemper (or parvovirus, hepatitis, or whatever, et cetera) because he was vaccinated for that disease. It must be something else.” But one thing I learned from my doctoral studies in immunology is that vaccines are far from 100 percent effective. It is not just the injection of the vaccine that confers immunity; the response of the individual animal is the critical and necessary factor.

Several things can interfere with an ideal response (production of antibodies and immunity). These include vaccinating when the animal is too young; vaccinating when it is sick, weak, or malnourished; using the wrong route or schedule of administration, or, most importantly, giving the vaccine to an animal whose immune system has been depressed because of genetics, a previous disease, or drug therapy.

For example, the routine practice of giving vaccinations at the same time a pet is undergoing anesthesia or surgery (for example, a spay operation) can introduce the vaccine organism at a time when the immune system is depressed for several weeks. It is equally unwise to use corticosteroids (to control skin itching, for instance) at the time of vaccination. The steroid acts to depress the immune response and disease resistance, at the same time the vaccine challenges the body to respond vigorously to an introduced organism.

Even if your animal does have a good vaccine response and develops antibodies, there is no guarantee the disease will not occur. The immunity may be more against the vaccine organism than the natural disease. Or it may be that a mutant germ comes along that will not be susceptible to the antibodies formed. Or if something weakens the animal’s immune system later, that system may lack the ability to respond fully, and the natural disease may be able to get a foothold. Such weakening factors include the kinds of things we’ve been discussing throughout this book—stress, malnutrition, lack of vitamins, toxicity, drug effects, and so on.

So we see that the effectiveness of vaccination is a complex phenomenon depending on many factors, not the least of which is the overall level of health as determined by the total lifestyle.

It is interesting that retrospective studies of human vaccination practices now show
that the actual protective effect falls far below previous estimates. At the same time, there is emerging evidence of much harm done—especially to children.

Harmful Effects of Vaccination

Besides the possibility that they may not work, vaccines might also cause an acute disease or a chronic health problem. I have often noticed certain animals getting ill a few days to a few weeks after receiving vaccinations. Often the explanation given is that the dog or cat was already incubating the disease and was going to get it anyway. Granted that this may occasionally happen, in my opinion most of these instances are illness from the vaccine itself.

It is likely that the animal was in a weakened state and the vaccine virus therefore caused a more severe reaction than the “mini-disease” intended. Whatever the reason, I have seen this problem occur most often after canine distemper, canine parvovirus, feline rhinotracheitis, or feline calicivirus vaccines were given (sometimes these latter two also cause a low-grade nose or eye inflammation in cats, which may last for months). Other vaccines, like the feline leukemia vaccine, do not seem to induce the illness they are supposed to prevent, but instead create conditions for another equally serious illness. The most frequent example of this, in my experience, is the occurrence of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) a few weeks after administration of the feline leukemia vaccine. Sometimes the second virus was already in the cat, but the immune system was strong enough to withstand it until weakened by the vaccine disease (that is, the immune system was not able to cope with both diseases at the same time).