I knew that today was going to be a good day. How did I know? Did I read it in the tea leaves? Did my crystal ball tell me? Did I crack open a promising fortune cookie? Nope, I looked inside the litter box and what greeted me there has made my day. I have no idea what has happened to me, but I am riveted by litter box deposits and have been monitoring them like a hawk for the past month (literally, the whole month). Since Mira developed chronic diarrhea we have been frantically trying to figure out what is wrong and nothing has worked. This past Saturday we took her to the vet (where we stupidly showed up when they were closed, they close for a few hours in the afternoon and I had forgotten so we had to wait for over an hour for it to open. But to burn time Eric picked up a pizza from Domino's, and it was AWESOME!!! Which is amazing since I absolutely hate Domino's in the US, I would rather eat belly-button lint. Either my palette is out of whack or I have actually found something American that is actually better in India. Anyway, I digress). Okay, back to the vet. Again everything seemed okay according to the vet, no temperature, no swelling of any glands or organs, no additional symptoms, still no answers. We had brought in a sample for analysis in the hopes that the results might reveal the problem and we were discussing all possible causes that we could think of. I have done a ton of reading on cat diarrhea in the past month and nothing seemed to fit so I brought up the stress angle again. The vet said it was possible but he had never heard of anything like it, especially since it has lasted so long. Then I had a thought. I asked if maybe we should try to switch her food. She has been on this food for months and months but I knew that food allergies could cause diarrhea, and because this food isn't new to her I always discounted allergies as the cause. And because switching food often causes diarrhea I have not really wanted to compound the problem. But after a month you start to grasp at any straw that is available. The vet said, "Sure, why not? It can't make it any worse I suppose." So we bought the most expensive food available (Royal Canin) and took her home and switched the food immediately. I am happy to report that since that time Mira's diarrhea has reduced to the point that today she was almost completely normal! I am so happy! Poop makes me happy! But only solid poop, not runny poop! I am an idiot, but I don't care because I am so happy! I don't even mind that we have to buy the most expensive food in the universe and that we have a 4 kg (9 lb.) bag of Whiskas that is totally useless! Now if only we could get things sorted out with Smoky........
PS-You should all consider yourself lucky that I didn't post pics this time! ;-)
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Joy in Poopville!
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15 comments:
poop watching! spoken like a doting mum!
re smokey, please try one dose of homeopathic staphysagria 30c. now.. i am not a qualified homeopath, but i tried to do a remedy grid from the little i read about smokey and staphysagria turns up as the right remedy. it cant hurt. yasmine knows the homeopathy shop...i think its near infantry road/close to commercial street..used to go by harish homeopathic or something like that..also, enquire if they sell bach flower remedies...i'll look it up here..bach is awesome for emotional/behaviourial issues.
Hi Suzi,
I stumbled upon your blog while looking for allergy symptoms for my dog. I hope you don't mind me commenting...I live in Bangalore too and have been here for the past two years.
We rescued a dog last year (gosh it seems like only yesterday!)and have had all kinds of issues with her heath but I have managed to find an awesome vet and homeopath for her and she is doing great! I was a complete skeptic when it came to homeopathy but when Snowflake (that's her highness' name)couldn't get up from bed one morning after taking all kinds of allopathic medicines,I reluctantly went the homeopathy way after much coaxing from my vet.
I am so happy that today snowflake can not only get up but is energetic, plays all the time and is much better for it.
If you'd like to know more feel free to get in touch with me :o)
oi nuts! you must know suzi? she is member of the *other* blog (catsofbangalore)
Hi Soulmia (and Jellicles),
I'm so glad that you found my blog and of course I don't mind that you comment, in fact, I love comments! Good job on rescuing a dog, I wish that more people here in Bangalore would just step outside their door and pick up the closest street dog/cat and bring it inside their home. The world would be much better for it. Thank you for the homeopathy suggestion, we have also been reluctant but at Jellicles firm (and repeated) suggestion I will be going this weekend to Harish HomeoHouse on Infantry (I got directions from Yasmine last night Lalitha) to give that a try. Any thoughts on about how long it might take to see results? If it doesn't work I am afraid that we will have to return Smoky to her original owner (see my previous posts concerning a territorial/passive aggressive cat that we have tried to take in for a friend).
hey s, in my opinion...give one single dose of staphysagria 30c. (when you give dry homeopathic pellets, take care not to touch it with your fingers..).
wait and watch for any change. we can adjust dosage/potency later. to be on the safe side, i am going to present the case to a homeopathic vet and ask him to confirm the remedy/dosage/potency etc.
Why should I not touch it with my fingers? Dangerous to me, or preventing mixing of components from my fingers with the medicine? Can I wear surgical gloves to administer the medicine? Maybe a stupid question, I know but this homeopathy stuff is totally new to me. What about mixing with food instead of giving the pill? Thanks for everything Jellicles...
confirmed! one single sugar pellet(maybe 2 or 3 to be on the safer side?..the number doesnt matter) of staphysagria 30c..ONCE only...a single dose. perhaps in the night or before she goes to sleep? wait and watch.
homeopathic dry dose remedies(as you will get them from the pharmacy) are essentially tiny sugar balls. the homeopathic remedy which is a solution coats the empty sugar balls...basically they add several drops to the sugar balls and shake it so that some of the remedy coats the sugar balls and a little may be absorbed. when you touch it with your fingers, the oils in your fingertips may trap the remedy. some people dont believe this is necessarily true, but i dont take chances.
but this is true...the minute smoky tastes the remedy, it gets into her system as the tongue works like a blotting paper. dont mix with food as anything strong smelling isnt recommended. or try crushing the pellets in between the folds of some kind of heavy paper...non absorbent kind...you can fold the paper, drop the sugar balls..close it. tap it with something heavy..like a saucepan....its sweet..show it to smoky so she'd lick it..if she doesnt...just hold her down and slide the powder after you pry her mouth open. tough love, lass.
on another note..re her spraying..she will continue to spray even if you clean the areas because her sense of smell is strong and cats tend to go the same place where they can smell their urine. wipe it down with something strong smelling like a cleaning liquid with mint or orange oil...glenands has a spray for this, if i remember right.
Hi Suzi,
I take Snowflake to(in my opinion)one of the best vets I have ever used - a Dr. Pawan Kumar in Indira Nagar. He is just awesome and I teasingly tell him that he's Dog spelled backwards for our furkids :o)He is so good with animals and I can't thank Sabbah ( another animal lover) for recommending him to me.
When we realized that Snowflake had spondylitis, we panicked..... it's awful to be in constant pain ad Snowflake looked so miserable! Dr Pawan recommended homeopathy to me ad suggested I see a homeopath who has been working very successfully with animals..... I must admit I pooh-pooh'ed the idea. My father is a dentist ad we have been brought up on taking anti-biotics etc....so homeopathy to me was little sugar pills to pop in one's mouth for fun.... :oS
Anyway as Snowflake's condition worsened (she couldn't even get up off her bed and a normally very loving dog was now snarling when she was touched)I began to get desperate.... desperation led me to do things I would NEVER have considered otherwise.... I called a homeopath. This wasn't the homeopath that was recommended by Dr Pawan but someone I got out of the phone book (don't ask me why)She gave Snowflake a generic medicine for pain without really understanding what her symptoms were....it made things worse.... I realised that in homeopathy, it is essential to know the exact dosage to be administered for it to work. Finally I called Dr Pawan's recommended homeopath and after a long session where I gave her Snowflake's entire history, she gave her some medicine....and it worked like a magic wad had been cast over snowflake!
Today Snowflake is healthy and back to being her loving self.
I will be happy to introduce you to both Dr Pawan and Dr Delna(the homeopath) if you want. Feel free to contact me on natasha.diddee@gmail.com
i too would recommend a homeopath for proper casetaking(a zillion questions taking over an hour)...because homeopathy doesnt cure a condition, but the whole person(kitty, in this case).
but it is worth giving smoky a single dose of staphysagria because of the following: 1. she sprays and urinates everywhere(bladder and litter issues)2. aggressive(suppressed anger) 3. past hurts(rejection by pumi's alpha male, females and brood..not to mention her amputation) 4. possibly going into heat because of the remaining ovaries.(sexual dysfunction)...old suppressed anger, revenge and hurt erupting to new situations, old fear of 'aggression' from parental figures...these are all indicative of a staphysagria profile. one dose of staphysagria should *bring* some relief. worse case scenario, it will aggravate..which is good and bad. good because its the right remedy..bad because its the wrong dosage. but aggravations fade and as soon as they do, the remedy will start working.
i remember snowflake's case and her first homeopath gave the right remedy but the wrong dosage..and delna did a casetaking and gave the same remedy..with the right dosage. it was the difference between night and day.
but since, you are not sure you'd want to keep smoky if the situation doesnt improve..and considering there is mira and chhaya too(snowflake was an only pet), lets first see if a single dose of staphysagria works. homeopathy takes a little longer than allopathy medication(but the cure is gentle, fast and permanent usually) because one remedy takes all symptoms into consideration and fixes the 'layers' of illnesses that has led to a current state of disease. i saw snowflake and she was a glowing picture of health. i have personally seen several kittens snatched back from the jaws of death ..usually upper respiratory infections...thanks to homeopathy..and of course, it worked with me..severe allergies when i landed in the bay area and they tortured me with steroids(in the ER, its oral steroids or shots)..this year, i am medicine free. last year..same time, i was on advair and flonase..and nexium(acid reflux was a side effect gift of the steroids).
i have spoken too much..:) i too would strongly recommend you do a case taking session with a proper homeopath and delna's work with snowflake speaks for itself. but there is no harm in trying a single dose of staphysagria 30c. it might give you some breathing space and peace in the home while delna works on smoky.
Okay, I picked up the staphysagria and rescue remedy (though it is not Bach's but rather a local concoction). We gave Smoky 2-3 pills of the staphysagria and put a couple of drops of the rescue remedy behind Mira and Chaya's ears (to hopefully help them get over their stalking and following behaviors toward Smoky). Now we'll watch and wait and hope for the best. Smoky is still having at least one "accident" a day outside of her litter box (and we watch her like hawks) so we need to see some improvement on that front.
Update: Smokey peed on the rug again, the one that we just washed today since she peed on it a few days ago. Yeah, I know we should pick up the rugs, and we did for a month but we put them down last week in the hopes that Smokey would behave. The problem is that we are getting trained, not her...
Anyway,I would be happy to meet with a homeopath but my question is this: am I qualified to answer on Smoky's behalf? Eric and I have only had her a month and Pami has been a little schizophrenic when describing her history to us. We are not even sure how old she is, Pami has mentioned that she is 5, 8, and 10. Ughhhhhh, which one is it? We really don't know any details about her history except that she had one litter of kittens, has had her uterus removed, and lost a leg. And on the details we are mostly in the dark. Would we be able to answer any of the types of questions that the homeopath might pose? Oh, what to do, what to do???
suzi....please call me....!!! 41518861 - any time's fine. I'll help you with your dilemma
pami should furnish all details...perhaps you can ask pami on the phone, the questions delna will pose. pami is the breeder..how can she not know how old smoky is..???? baffling!
i was hoping staphysagria will fix the problem or at least throw some light upon it. try wiping down the places she pees/sprays with something minty or citrusy.
p.s.you are a rock star! and eric too, of course.
Poop pictures rock!!! Remember Amanda's poop pic I sent out ?!?!?! :) HILARIOUS!!!! (she still doesn't think so but the rest of us do!!)
Hope you're well!!!!!
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