A Path With Paws

Today I read another story about a women thinking of giving up her cat because she was pregnant. It makes me so sad then our loyal companions are thrown away especially when there are many ways to have a safe pregnancy and keep the cat.

Please read this before considering giving up your furry friend just because you are pregnant and worried about toxoplasmosis.

We have all hear about the risk from toxoplasmosis to unborn fetuses and that pregnant woman should not get near cat boxes. But from there the facts often morph into fiction until suddenly pet cats are praying on your unborn baby’s soul and women are running to the shelter to turn in their fuzzy friends.

So here are the facts! I am not a MD so please bring this sheet to your doctor to discuss.

So what should you do if you are pregnant? Because toxoplasmosis is a very serious problem to fetal babies, this is a very important concern. There are many ways to be protected and keep your cat.

Here is another good article on toxoplasmosis transmission, Take These Precautions to Prevent Toxoplasmosis During Pregnancy.

Please pass this on to your friends and family and as always I am happy to answer any questions.

If you have ever been owned by a cat before, you have to check out Simon’s cat. This little guy makes me laugh and Simon Tofield who writes these videos has an amazing knowledge of cat behavior and sounds. Below is one of Simon’s videos.

Here is a link to the other Simon’s cat videos. And Simon’s Cat, the book also comes out in a few days.

Death is difficult…….

for those who are left behind. It is amazing to me how the passing of one small creature can make the world seem so empty.

This is a time of year I love. The way the light filters through the trees. The magnificent beauty of the colors and the crunch of the leaves under my feet. Fall is a time of transition and change. A reminder that nothing stays the same, and although quantum physics can’t explain it, that time moves in only one direction. To me fall also means losing many of the older animals I work with. Each life gone, a small hole in my universe.

I have an amazing job. How else to describe getting to work with these beautiful, kind and fuzzy beings. I am invited into people’s families and into their animal’s circle of care, to comfort and help. Many of these animals I work with for years. Seeing them age, seeing their people grow and change, seeing children grow up around them. It warms my heart to be part of this. And then seeing them die from this life.

In animals we get the opportunity to see all of life. When we first meet our animals they are like our young children and by the time they leave us, like our grandparents. This is a hard, we are not used to our children aging before us, and most of the animals I care for are like children. My clients carry few photos of people but they can pull out their phone or wallet and show you all their animals in a second.

I so appreciate the amazing being I have known and gotten to work with and while each passing is very sad I know that my life has been made fuller by being touched by all of them. The gentle noses, the wagging tails, the kind eyes and the gentle purrs. None are forgotten.

Sometimes I think I must have more guardian angels than the average person, however I think mine are mostly fuzzy. Thank you for touching my life.

My friend Rose just emailed to let me know that she still has openings in her Level 1 Reiki class offered on September 11 and 12th. Rose is an incredible reiki practitioner and has worked on three of my cats, one of my dogs and me. I always was a little skeptical about reiki before meeting Rose, not because I didn’t believe in energy work but because I had meet some practitioners who I wouldn’t want anywhere near me or my patients. Rose changed my mind about all of that.

When my cat, Ziggy, was dying last year her treatments were the only thing that made him feel better and she got us through a very difficult time with him. My animals love her work and it makes a large difference in how they feel. I could not recommend anyone better to learn this art from. Reiki is an incredible gift to be able to give your loved ones, both animal and human.

Here is the link to the class description, Reiki level 1.

Did you know that one out of seven dachshunds will become paralyzed in their lifetime? That many older dogs and cats suffer from strokes and vestibular disease in their old age? That seizures are so common in some breeds that they can affect 15-20% of the breed?

Neurologic problems are quite common in our companion animals and are some of the most expensive and frustrating problems to deal with. Often times the only way to diagnose these problems is with a MRI, which can cost $1000 and requires your animal to be under anesthesia. Many times in older animals the risk of anesthesia to too great and these problems go undiagnosed.

I am often surprised that veterinarians do not offer alternative options for working with these neurologic problems. Many times the only things western medicine can offer are expensive surgeries, a lifetime of drugs, or steroids with their many side effects.

For example, traditionally a course of treatment for paralysis, back pain or paresis in a dachshund would include steroids, months of cage only confinement and possibly an expensive surgery. While surgery is a good option in some cases, especially if there is no deep pain, it has it’s own set of risks including that sometimes it does not solve the problem and can actually make things worse.

But there are other options out there!

Let’s talk about the dachshunds first! I love working with dachshunds!

They are some of the best responders to acupuncture out there. In fact I have never worked with a dachshund who did not respond to acupuncture. And they really seem to understand that you are helping them. I have been able to work with dachshunds who were completely paralyzed and with acupuncture and herbs have had them back to walking in as little as three acupuncture treatments! Wow!

OK just to be realistic, most take longer than that but the majority can be gotten back on there feet as long as they still have deep pain. Meaning that if you squeeze a back toe really hard with a surgical hemostat they can feel it. On average I would say it takes four to six months of weekly treatments.

Of course it’s not all dachshunds and I have worked with other animals with paralysis including cats and all breeds of dogs. Of these others, I would say about 90% have had a positive response. That’s still pretty good!

Most of these dogs I also put on a herbal I use called Back Support Formula.

Even better is if I can get these animals with paralysis to hydrotherapy. Swimming helps keep the muscles working well while we are getting the nerves to work again and helps keep the muscle mass from wasting away. Dachshunds and other dogs can be amazing little swimmers and it gives these animals a way to move on there own if they can’t support their weight on land.

Unfortunately for cats this is not an option as you can well imagine!

I often work with Wellsprings in Seattle, Washington but there are more and more hydrotherapy clinics opening up around the world.

I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to be able to work with these amazing creatures to help their body to heal and to see them be able to walk again.

Here are some wonderful resources on disabled pets

• Handicapped Pets is a great site for disabled pet supplies and runs the best forums for people with special needs animals. I have had some time to hang out and participate on these forums and these folks not only are super educated on the options out there for working with these animals but have amazing stories about their own very loved handicapped companions. It is a great place to go for education and for support from others going through the same thing.
• One of the dogs I treat has his own blog. Buddy’s blog is a great place to check out the story of a very cool little dachshund and one of my favorite patients.

Soon to come neurologic problems in older animals and seizure disorder.

My good friend Pamela made the news while I was away. Here is the story and news clip, Seattle woman helping feral cats.

Pamela does more to help these feral animals than anyone I know.

It is so nice to see real people doing good work make the news!

By the way Pamela is looking for translators in the Seattle area to help her work with some of the immigrant communities and can always use help socializing and fostering feral kittens. If you can help contact her at feraltrapping (at) gmail (dot) com .

Why do some many of our domesticated animals have floppy ears and spots? Have you ever stopped to wonder why you almost never see these traits in wild animals yet if you look at domesticated cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, cows, and pigs they are very common?

It turns out that these are some of the physical changes that are brought out when animals are selected for domestication in any species. Not only that, but in two or three generations animals can radically change their physical traits and appearance when humans select in this way.

Here is a fascinating article, Clever as a fox, on the domestication of animals and the Dmitri Belyaev fox experiments on domestication.

It’s sad to see our animal companions no longer be able to do the things they once could do as they age and grow older. All older animals have some amount of arthritis, although some have many more problems with it.

Unfortunately, Western medicine has very few options for treating arthritis and uses mostly drugs, to treat the pain. This is starting to change with some veterinarians doing stem cell and plasma rich platelet injections. However these treatments can still be expensive. Ask your vet about if these treatments are right for your dog. Some animals are not able to tolerate these drugs and many times animals are on three different drugs and it still isn’t enough.

In some animals arthritis manifests as weakness caused by the inflammation pushes on the nerves. Many dogs walk around like their feet are asleep, tripping over things, stumbling and no longer having the strength to jump into the car or onto the bed. Unfortunately because they can no longer walk as far or do as much as they used to, their muscles start to atrophy or waste away, causing a vicious cycle. As the weakness increased, they do less, which causes more atrophy from disuse, leading to more weakness and more atrophy and less activity. In the end many of these animals can no longer get up on their own or even take a short walk.

In other animals arthritis will manifest as pain, which can also prevent movement and cause the weakness/atrophy cycle. Many of these animals will become moody and withdrawn and may even snap and bite at their people out of fear of pain. It is so hard to see our friends have so much pain that they no longer want our affection.

In most animals there is a combination of pain and weakness.

Usually dogs suffer more than cats because they carry more weight and are used to daily activity. Also people often don’t notice that their cats are painful because they spend so much time sitting and sleeping

So what do we do for our friends to help them live out their old years happy and pain free?

• Acupuncture Being an acupuncturist, I always recommend acupuncture first. Of course, this is also because I have seen how well it works in the animals I treat. I often find that if I can work with animals when they first have problems, they do so well, I only need to treat them every one to three months. Unfortunately most of the animals I see have had problems for a while and their people only learned about acupuncture when they had tried everything that western medicine had to offer. In these animals, acupuncture can still work and work well but usually treatments need to be closer together.

  It is so nice to see these animals happy and able to enjoy life again!



• Hydrotherapy is a great option especially in dogs who have muscle atrophy. Unfortunately it cannot be done with cats, although Sheila Wells at Wellspings has told me they have worked with rabbits before. Hydrotherapy is done in a small swimming pool and involves massage and physical therapy in the water. I have seen excellent results with hydrotherapy especially combined with acupuncture. Hydrotherapy helps to rebuild muscles, increase range of motion and work out sore and sensitive areas of the body without the impact on the body of exercise on land. My favorite pool is Wellsprings in Seattle Washington. They have a great website with lots of information and photos that I love to refer people to. Click on the link to check it out!



• Herbs
  I have worked with Chinese herbs with many of these arthritic dogs and some cats. The combination of acupuncture and herbs usually helps with pain and movement and helps animals maintain between treatments. I rarely use Chinese herbs in cats because they are very sensitive to them and it is hard to medicate cats. I sell an senior dog herbal formula called Senior Dog Support, through my etsy shop, that helps with arthritis pain and improves blood circulation into the joints. Your holistic veterinarian may have something else they recommend.



• Fish oil/ Omega oils
  The Omega 3 Fatty Acids in fish and cod liver oil actually helps decrease arthritic inflammation in dogs (not true for cats although it helps with other things). Adding a little fish oil to the diet can help many animals.My favorite brand is Nordic Naturals – Pet Cod Liver Oil . Nordic Naturals is one of the best brands for quality and they test for heavy metals and contaminants.
• Glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin
  These supplements help to decrease inflammation and rebuild damaged cartilage. They are often sold in combination. The nice thing about these supplements is that they have few side effects and are very safe. Some animals have a wonderful response to them and some have almost no response. It usually takes a month to six weeks to see if your animal will have a positive response. Adequan, similar to glucosamine is also available in an injectable form and works better in some animals. It is also a lot easier to give to cats who are hard to medicate daily. After the initial series of injections it usually only needs to be given once a month. Adequan can only be purchased through your veterinarian. My favorite glucosamine product is Sea Mobility Beef Joint Rescue jerk treats, they work well and are very tasty. There are other good ones out there.

Infra-red light therapy – Infrared light helps ease the pain of arthritis in joints and increase blood circulation to the area. It is very cheap to do and can be done at home. See my article Infrared Light Therapy for kidney failure, incontinence and arthritis.
Chiropractics
Many animals have subluxations of their spine especially as they age. A good chiropractor can often help with mobility and pain. I have found that chiropractic adjustments work best in animals with a very tight back and more pain then weakness. For my own cat, chiropractic adjustments have worked better than anything else we have tried and have made his life much better. Make sure you find a chiropractor who is used to working with animals and knows animal anatomy.
• Massage/Acupressure
  Massage can help to loosen tight muscles and increase blood circulation. It also can help with pain.We know it works for us, why not for our animal friends. Once again make sure you find a massage practitioner who is certified to work with animals. I have two amazing massage therapists I work with in Seattle, Kim Rogers and Jen Streit. Kim also does humans!

  Acupressure works with the acupuncture points and helps decrease pain and relax muscles.

  There are many great books on acupressure and massage for animals. Here are a few
  The Well-Connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure
  Acu-Cat: A Guide to Feline Acupressure
  The Healing Touch for Dogs: The Proven Massage Program for Dogs, Revised Edition
  The Healing Touch for Cats: The Proven Massage Program for Cats, Revised Edition
  Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs



• Reiki/Bowen/Polarity/Craniosacral and other energy therapies These therapies help stimulate the body to heal and can decrease pain and improve quality of life. Since there is little regulation of these therapies it is important to get a referral before seeing someone. This is especially true of Reiki since there are so many people who practice it. A good practitioner can make a huge difference in an animal’s quality of life.

It is better to do one thing and stick with it than to jump around between therapies. Often times animals will began with me doing acupuncture and herbs and then we will add in other therapies as needed. If I can’t help an animal with acupuncture I will refer them to another practitioner to try something else. Don’t make too many changes all at once in an old animal’s life. Go slowly instead.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

My friend Pamela who traps feral cats in the Seattle area sent me this story. She was contacted by a woman in New York who manages a small feral colony that she was having to move. There was one cat left who she just could not trap. The poor kitty, Patches, was also very sick and suffering. Pamela suggested bringing Patches’ buddy, Checkers, back to the site so she would come to him. Through Pamela’s advise, she was able to catch her and humanely end her suffering. Checkers and the other cat from the feral site are happily in a new home.

Many people like Pamela have dedicated their lives to helping feral cats with TNR (trap/neuter/release) and food. TNR is the best method of reducing the number of unwanted kittens that end up in the shelters each year and it works! Here is some good information on feral cats and TNR from the ASPCA, Feral Cat FAQ. Also check out Ally Cat Allies’s informative website on feral cats.

Below is the letter Marilyn, the feral trapper from New York, wrote to Pamela:

Thank you so very much for the suggestion about taking Checkers back to Patches in a carrier. I was so upset thinking about it – woke up in middle of night with an asthma attack, but by this morning, just tried to function on “auto pilot”. It looked like rain too, and I had to hurry…. just asked for and starting feeling the guidance from God….what i usually do, but lost sight of it for awhile lately.

Love and Hugs, Marilyn