 |
 |
|
vancouver animal wellness hospital healing as nature intended homeopathy | nutrition | acupuncture | chiropractic | full-service surgery | physiotherapy/rehabilitation |
|
|
 sitemap |
|
|
|
› about us
› site map
› home
|
|
|
› articles by michael goldberg, dvm
Kidney Disease in Cats Dear Dr. Goldberg, We have a 14-year-old Maine Coon cat. We noticed his thirst had increased but his check up was fine. This past summer he lost weight and seemed to sleep more than before. He went from 14 pounds to 10.5 pounds. After a blood test, the vet said he had early stage kidney disease and the only thing we could do is to switch his cat food to a low protein diet. Is there anything else we can do? PAC Niagara Falls, ON Dear PAC, Weight loss is somewhat of a problem with cats who have kidney disease. The problem is that by feeding a reduced protein diet, you may further be limiting the pets' ability to maintain health. The reason for this is that by using a low protein diet, there is less protein for the pet to use in building of muscle and in production of enzymes, which are vital to good health. For this reason (and the fact that cats are carnivorous by nature and rely on much higher protein levels than we do for instance), I recommend a fresh, raw home made diet such as ones found in Richard Pitcairn's book, Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to The Natural Health of Dogs and Cats (Rodale Press). Other raw diets have been mentioned in previous articles. Go to www.amorepetfoods.com or www.felinefuture.com for further information. I also use Standard Process nutritional supplements called Renafood and Arginex, which have helped me in the management of this type of condition. These supplements are available through veterinarians. I recommend constitutional homeopathic treatment, which may help arrest, the degenerating condition. Often times, I will teach the owner how to administer fluids to the cat under the skin (Saline or lactated ringers solution). This often helps reduce the toxins in the blood and it seems to give a real energy boost to cats in this condition. As for herbal mixtures in the treatment of this condition, the following may be attempted: 1 part hawthorn increases the blood flow to the kidney without affecting the blood pressure 1 part ginkgo in creases the tonicity of the vessels in the kidney and aids in the blood flow and the return of the blood from the limbs and congested tissue 1 part echinacea to help keep bacteria or fungi in check (may substitute garlic) 1 part marshmallow which helps reduce inflammation 1 part dandelion leaf, which acts as a diuretic (increases the urine output and reduce the toxic load in the body) (1) These can be made into tea or all combined in tincture form. If used in tea form the dose is 1 teaspoon of cooled tea twice daily on an empty stomach or if the tinctures are combined the dose is 1 milliliter twice daily on an empty stomach. Plenty of fresh filtered water should be available to your cat after the treatment. Parsley can be juiced and used at 1/2 teaspoon per average size cat either on an empty stomach or in water or lastly in food. This also serves as a diuretic, which helps the kidney, remove the toxins. Reference: (1) All You Ever wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets, Wulff-Tilford, Mary L. and Tilford, Gregory L., BowTie Press, 2000 Read more Articles by Michael Goldberg, DVM... |
|
|
vancouver
105 east broadway |
 photo by Heidi Zutter |
|
k9phodography.com fine art pet photography |
|
|
|
vancouver animal wellness hospital Michael Goldberg, DVM; Sue Hughson, DVM 105 e. broadway, vancouver, bc v5t 1w1 / phone: 604.738.4664 / fax: 604.738.4694 Hours of Operation: Monday, Thursday & Friday: 9am - 6pm, Tuesday & Wednesday: 9am - 7pm, Saturday: 9am - 5pm © Copyright 2004-2006. vancouver animal wellness hospital. All rights reserved. › Contact Us › Privacy Policy › Sitemap › Home |