A Path With Paws

<People often ask, “Should I vaccinate my animal friend? And if so, how often?”

Many holistic veterinarians will tell you not to vaccinate. I disagree, after all vaccination can be a very good thing. After spending many years working and volunteering for shelters and rescue groups I know first hand how devastating some of these diseases can be. We have vaccines which work really well, but we give them way too often and we also vaccinate for things we don’t need to. Vaccines are not benign and not without risks.

Here is my vaccine protocol for cats who are not in kennel or shelter environments

• FVRCP (modified live without chlamydia) one vaccine at 16 weeks of age, booster at 1 year of age
• FeLV only if they go outside, use the same schedule as FVRCP. Use the vectored (recombinant) vaccine if possible. Hopefully there will be more information on how long the recombinant FeLV vaccine lasts soon. Until then, I do not offer an alternative recommendation for the recombinant form of this vaccine.
• Rabies as required by law

In this article I would like to share my thoughts on vaccination and provide some information on the different vaccines we have available for cats. I promise to share some dog vaccination information soon!

In cats we vaccinate mainly for viruses. There are three main types of virus vaccines we use

• The first is a modified live vaccine, which is made from a living virus that has been modified so it cannot cause disease. These modified vaccine viruses replicate in the body just like a normal virus does and have the advantage of creating a very strong immune response and very good protection against the virus. However because they can replicate these vaccines can induce a mild disease in normal animals and occasionally can make a debilitated animal very sick or even cause death. Because of this modified live vaccines should never be given to very sick animals or animals with severely suppressed immune systems. One interesting note on modified live vaccines is that since the vaccine virus replicates in the body it can be shed and passed on to other animals. Many times these vaccinated animals can spread immunity. However on the flip side of this, recently vaccinated animals should not be around very sick animals or animals without intact immune systems.
• The second type is a killed vaccine, which is made from real viruses that have been killed. They stimulate an immune response in the body but not as strong or long lasting a response as a modified live vaccine. The big advantage is that this type of vaccine virus cannot replicate in the body and will not make an animal sick from the killed virus itself. However this type of vaccine usually need to be given in series of two or more shots and killed vaccines are almost always adjuvanted or modified with an agent that causes a stronger immune reaction. These adjuvents can lead to strong vaccine reactions, can cause cancer and can induce autoimmune diseases. So while the virus cannot make your animal sick the adjuvant can. Many times the side effects of the vaccine adjuvant will take years to emerge.
• There is also a third type of vaccine called a vectored vaccine. This uses a virus, that we know is harmless, which has been genetically modified to have the proteins on the surface that are the same as a harmful virus. The animal is given this virus vaccine and gains immunity to the virulent virus that it is being vaccinated against. These vaccines are mainly in the development phase and we know much less about if there are any longterm side effects.

Here is a little information about the different feline vaccines out there.

• FVRCP should be given to every cat, but only once or twice. This is usually a modified live combination vaccine against Feline Panleukopenia (also called Feline Distemper), Calici Virus, and Rhinotracheitis. This combination vaccine sometimes also vaccinates against other diseases such as Chlamydia. Make sure it is just the three above. Chlamydia is something we almost never see in cats and the vaccine for Chlamydia which is added to the FVRCP has a lot of side effects.

  Panleukopenia can be a very deadly disease and cats should be vaccinated against it. It causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and death especially in young cats and brain damage to kittens in utero.

  Calicivirus and Rhinotracheitis are both upper respiratory viruses and are usually not deadly.

  This vaccine has a very high protection rate against panleukopenia approaching 100%, however recently a major problem has emerged with the vaccine. The vaccine virus is made by growing virus on feline kidney cells. The problem with this is that small amounts of kidney cells get in the vaccine and can cause not just an immune response to the vaccine but also to the cat’s own kidneys. In other words it can cause the cat’s immune system to fight against and destroy it’s own kidneys. Many of us believe that the overuse of this vaccine has created the epidemic of kidney disease that we see in cats eight year of age and older. And recent studies have shown that cats do develop antibodies against their kidney cells.

  Here are some good resources for more information on kidney disease and the link to FVRCP vaccination.
  Colorado State University Insight
  Parenteral Administration of FVRCP Vaccines Induces Antibodies Against Feline Renal Tissues

  Given correctly, I believe this vaccine is a very good vaccine. However most cats are over vaccinated, increasing their chances of having kidney related problems. One dose of FVRCP given to a cat over 16 weeks of age will usually last for the cat’s lifetime, yet it is routinely given every one to three years. Why? Because the vaccine companies have not done studies past three years. They would prefer that you buy their vaccines every one to three years and have no incentive to do these studies. Luckily some universities are doing them and so far the results are showing that FVRCP has lifetime immunity.

  I recommend people vaccinate their cats at 16 weeks of age and booster at a year to cover any chance of vaccine failure. This vaccine does not have to be given again. In shelters younger kittens should be vaccinated every couple weeks until 16 weeks of age but ideally an intra-nasal vaccine would be used. This is because of the high risk of deadly panleukopenia in this environment.



• FeLV should never be given to indoor only cats.It is an adjuvanted vaccine and has been linked to deadly fibrosarcomas in cats. FeLV is a real and deadly virus which usually causes death within 2-4 years of catching it. Something to remember however is that it is not a virus we can bring into the house. It is spread through direct contact or sharing drinking water. This virus can not live on dry surfaces. Indoor only cats not only don’t need to be vaccinated for FeLV but they shouldn’t be because the risk of them getting cancer from the vaccine is highly than the risk of them getting outside and catching FeLV. Outdoor cats should probably be vaccinated and given one booster three weeks later for this virus.

  There is a new vectored vaccine for FeLV, which should be a lot safer, however it hasn’t been out long enough for us to know for sure. We also have very little information on how long this vaccine will last.

• Rabies is required by law in most states. Because of this it is the hardest vaccine to make recommendations on because of the public health issue. The vaccine can induce fibrosarcomas like the FeLV vaccine. It also has many side effects especially in older animals and animals prone to seizures. However in many places it is required by law for animals to be vaccinated every one to three years. If your animal is not vaccinated and they bite someone and the person who was bit presses it, in most states they can have your animal killed and tested for rabies. Because of this I usually recommend that people follow the requirements of the law when it comes to this vaccine

  The rabies vaccine used to be a modified live but it was occasionally causing real rabies so now it is a killed vaccine. For some strange reason it is still given like a modified live vaccine without a booster. The recent thought and studies have shown that because of this many animals are never getting full immunity even though it is given every year. It should really be given once and then boostered three weeks later. Currently titers are not accepted as proof of immunity in the continential united states. They should be! Hopefully the laws will change to accept titers soon. This vaccine probably only needs to be given two or three times on a correct booster schedule to induce lifetime immunity.

• The FIP vaccine should never be given. Luckily it is rarely given these days. Please, please never give this vaccine and if your veterinarian recommends it, think about getting a new veterinarian. This vaccine does not protect against FIP and may actually induce it. FIP is a mutation of a corona virus that almost all cats carry. This vaccine only works if the cat has never been exposed to corona virus, which is less than 5% of the feline population. FIP is not a contagious disease. A cat with FIP can not pass FIP to another cat. In addition this vaccine can cause a higher rate of mutation to the deadly FIP in cats who have corona virus in their system. Please see FIP is not a contagious disease



• If you vaccinate your cat for FIV they may be euthanized if they end up in a shelter. I do not recommend this vaccine. FIV is not a highly contagious disease and the vaccine is a killed adjuvented vaccine which holds a risk of fibrosarcoma. Fibrosarcoma is deadly, FIV is usually not. Currently there is no test that can distinguish between a vaccinated cat and a FIV positive cat .Once you vaccine your cat with this vaccine they will always test positive for the FIV virus and if they end up in a shelter will probably be euthanized. Their offspring will also probably test positive for FIV if the mother is vaccinated. If for some reason you give this vaccine always microchip your cat so they will not be euthanized if they get lost and test positive.
  Here is a informative article on FIV written by the American Association of Feline Practitioners.

Here are a couple important last thoughts

• Never vaccinate your animal if they are sick or going under anesthesia. This makes their immune system have to do two things at once, get better from their illness or clear anesthesia and build immunity from the vaccine. It also can lead to a vaccine failure if their immune system can not mount a proper immune response against the vaccine because it is busy with other things. It is better to make a second visit in to the vet for the vaccine when your animal is well.
• Also avoid giving more then two vaccines at a time. Ideally each vaccine would be given separately but with cats because of the stress of the trip to the vet (to both them and their humans:-), sometimes it makes sense to give two and avoid trips. I highly recommend not giving more than two at once because I have seen many animals become extremely ill after getting three vaccines.

Please send me your questions on this subject!

Part 2 Dogs

I found this article today and thought it was fun to see what people are naming their pets. I’ve known many animals with the common names but none with the unusual ones. What’s the most unusually named animal you have met?

Top dog names
1. Max
2. Bailey
3. Bella
4. Molly
5. Lucy
6. Buddy
7. Maggie
8. Daisy
9. Sophie
10. Chloe

Top cat names
1. Max
2. Chloe
3. Tigger
4. Tiger
5. Lucy
6. Smokey
7. Oliver
8. Bella
9. Shadow
10. Charlie

Most unusual dog names
1. Rush Limbark
2. Sirius Lee Handsome
3. Rafikikadiki
4. Low Jack
5. Meatwad
6. Peanut Wigglebutt
7. Scuddles Unterfuss
8. Sophie Touch & Pee
9. Admiral Toot
10. Spatula

Most unusual cat names
1. Edward Scissorpaws
2. Sir Lix-a-lot
3. Optimus Prrrime
4. Buddah Pest
5. Snoop Kitty Kitty
6. Miss Fuzzbutt
7. 80 Bucks
8. Sparklemonkey
9. Rosie Posie Prozac
10. Toot Uncommon

On Mondays, I descend down into the basement to disappear into my world of herbs. Once there I spend a couple hours smelling, touching and tasting, to create formulas to help the animals I work with. As I work I can hear the ancient wisdom of the past herbal masters whispering to me and feel the vibrations of these plants, many which were on this planet before us. To me working with these herbs is like cooking, only I am making up a recipe for healing by harnessing the amazing powers of these living things.

One of my clients is a paralyzed dachshund. Making up a formula for him, I call upon four of my favorite herbs to form a blood tonic. The four are all roots – foxglove, peony, Chinese angelica, and lovage – and are earthy and strong. I love to tea these in the winter and sit on my window seat sipping the strong rich tea they make. I can feel how these herbs work to strengthen me from the inside so that I have the energy to heal. This is what I want for this little dog.

Roots are also very grounding because they come from the earth and they help to hold us to the ground so we do not float away with our thoughts. In China this herbs are cooked up with a chicken soup in the winter to help older people with aches and pains.

Most of these dachshunds have closed channels because of traumatic disc injury. I can tonify the blood all I want but it is like trying to send water down a plugged hose. I add a handful of earthworms into this formula, which the Chinese say get into the blood channels and wiggle them open like a roto rooter opening a clogged drain.

After opening and tonifying, I add a few generous pinches of the light and vibrant orange safflowers to move and lift up these heavy grounding roots. These along with peach seed will help to move the blood down this little guy’s back legs so they can work again.

Finally to work with pain, I add corydalis, which is a powerful mover of blood, and painkiller.

Chinese Herbal Medicine is all about how the herbs work together and most formulas have ten or more herbs. It is an art based on the powers that emerge when these herbs joint forces. No one herb is powerful on its own but together these amazing plants can perform miracles.

Many times I will not know what I am going to put in a formula until I am staying in front of my herbs. Then one herb will just leap out and say, “use me!” Sometimes it will be an herb I am not familiar with but when I rush to my materia medica and look it up turns out to be exactly what I need.

Plants have an energy and a power of their own and often my job is to listen more than to think. When I think too much I come up with a generic formula, which may help, but my most powerful formulas come when the herbs lead the way.

By the end of my day, I am usually covered with herb dust and my nose is full of the many smells and flavors of the herbs I have mingled with. Up the stairs I go once again out to the busy world of traffic and electronics…until next week.

This formula is now available through my etsy store Kingdom of Basil

I can upon this story today, Outlaw Bikers Rescue Orphaned Kittens, about a group of bikers, who had rescued 180 kittens about to end up on the streets. I found the group, Rescue Ink’s, website and learned that these men had committed themselves to rescuing animals and ending animal abuse. Believe me if I was an abused dog this is who I would want to come to my rescue. I don’t think these guys would be afraid of confronting anyone!

In my work I have found that animal people just have a way of coming together. It matters not how we look, our income level, our backgrounds, or our politics. There is just something about the people who speak for those who can not speak for themselves that you have to admire and love.

What do they eat you ask?
My cats like a variety of different foods. Contrary to what many vets will say, I think it is good to mix and match at least flavors, if not brands. It makes it less likely that your pet will develop allergies and gives them something to look forward to. Some animals do need to be on one constant diet and animals who have been on one food for a long time have a harder time with a sudden change.
Here are some brands of cat and dog food I really like
Felidae/Canidae, Wellness, Evo/Innova, Merrick, Evangers, Weruva, California Natural, Honest Kitchen
There are many other good food choices. If you are in the Seattle area, we have wonderful natural pet food stores with great food to choice from. Always read the label before buying anything and make sure meat is the first ingredient for cats and dogs. Home cooked meals and raw diets are also great options for most animals. Darwin’s is a local raw food company with delivery in the Seattle area.
Things to avoid
1. Science Diet. This is not a high quality diet but many vets still recommend it because it is all we were taught in nutrition during veterinary school.
2. Iams/Eukanuba was bought out by Proctor/Gamble many years ago. The quality of this food has gone straight down hill since plus P/G is the worst company when it comes to animal testing.
3. By-products aka beaks, blood, infection, sawdust, fur, etc By-product can be any part of an animal or anything that animal fluids have touched.
4. Animal or Meat by product This is any animal that ends up at rendering including euthanized pets. It doesn’t get any worse than this, not only are you making your animal a cannibal but you are also feeding them small amounts of euthanasia solution. Yuck!
5. BHT/BHA These are nasty preservatives linked to liver problems and cancer. These can also be in human food.
6. ethoxyquin- bad, bad, bad They used this stuff to preserve telephone poles. It is also a rubber stabilizer and a pesticide. Monsanto conducted research years ago, but the results were so inconclusive due to unprofessional conduct and documentation that the FDA demanded another study which was never done. This stuff has been linked to just about every disease you can think of.
7. corn-this is a filler and not a very good one. It also is a common allergen
8. Most foods you buy in a normal grocery store. Almost all of these are poor quality.
Also remember: No onions or chocolate for cats or dogs. No grapes or raisins for dogs.

Rudy paused on my partner Adam’s shorts, looked at me and opened up his bladder. I sat in disbelief for a moment, staring at him, and then jumped off the bed screaming, “stop, stop, stop.” I scooped him up as urine dribbled down my leg and onto the floor. He frantically jumped from my arms and raced down the stairs out of sight. I was so frustrated, why did the cat have to pee on everything?

Ok, so at least the shorts could be washed easily, he had already ruined three meditation cushions, those being his preferred target. For nine years of his life he had never urinated anywhere but in the litter box and then suddenly he was peeing on Adam’s things and most importantly the meditation cushions, leave him alone with one for a minute and it would be ruined.

We had recently moved to a new house but Rudy really liked the house and the urinating hadn’t started right away. I had also done a whole work up on him and nothing was wrong physically that would cause him to urinate.

We had a theory that he was objecting to a new meditation practice that Adam was doing but we weren’t certain. Until we figured it out, Adam had stopped doing that practice, but it was something he really wanted to do and had rearranged his schedule in order to have the time for it. As it turned out he had done a few minutes of that practice when Rudy urinated on his shorts. Our theory had been proven correct, the new practice literally scared the piss out of him.

We often meditate in our household and while this was the most extreme reaction we had seen from one of our cats, it did not surprise me that he had responded so strongly to meditation.

Our other cat Melody had been very timid when Adam first moved in with us. At the time Adam was starting a meditation practice called Werma, which was about confidence among other things. She loved to go into the meditation space when he was practicing and would sit with him every day. Slowly we saw her change and become much more confidant. She no longer would back down to anything or let anyone push her around. Our cat Ziggy, who used to bother her, would now get an ear boxing and she would chase him out of the room if he upset her. She also would come up to anyone who came in our home and gently tap them on the leg while looking up at them with her big blue eyes until they would give her pets. That confidence has stayed with her even though Adam no longer does that practice regularly.

In my own work, I treated a beautiful collie dog a couple years ago who would only let me work with her if I would sit and meditate calmly between needles. If I tried to make her sit still against her will she would get sick from the acupuncture and if I followed after her with needles she would only move faster. However if I only put one needle in at a time and sat quietly between needles she would let me treat her. After all the needles were in place, she would only relax if I would sit and meditate. She taught me more about patience than any other being I have worked with.

My large twenty-pound cat Basil also likes helping with meditation and I have found that on the days I am feeling particularly ungrounded, he will sit in my lap when I meditate. There is nothing to help ground you like twenty pounds of Zen cat.

I think animals like the calm energy that we create when we meditate, if you have ever been in a meditation center you know how calm and good it feels. That being said some meditation practices that are designed to stir up energy can agitate our furry friends as in Rudy’s case.

In the end it took a Shamanic journey with a local Shaman back to another place, for him to stop being afraid of Adam’s practice. However that is story which I will share at another time.

We are always connected to those in our home, including our animals, who pick up on our stress or our calmness and respond to it. Sometimes looking at our animal companion is like looking in a mirror at ourself. My dog Jake is often my emotion detector, if he is stressed often I am and when he is calm I am usually as well.

Last night it looked like we would all be snowed in again, after getting another four inches, but luckily the rain came this morning. Here are the local Chill dogs enjoying the snow. Nicole from Chill is not only a human massage therapist but also does dog and cat massage.

Angus with his dog sled

Armi in full howl

I came across this great story, Night of the Hunter, about Homer the three pound blind wonder kitty. Quite incredible, check it out!

Nick has the most beautiful toes. They are white as snow and super fuzzy and every time I see them I just want to touch them. Of course he hates that. Part of the reason that his toes are so beautiful is that he doesn’t walk on them. Five years ago a car hit Nick and his pelvis was badly broken. After consulting with a surgeon, who was quite certain that there was no permanent nerve damage, his family decided to do the difficult surgery to put his bones back together. As he healed it became apparent that there was something wrong with Nick’s nerves and he was not able to control his legs or support his weight below the knees.

This doesn’t stop Nick from getting around however. He just pulls himself with his front half and bulging biceps and lets the back half come along. If you try to catch him it becomes clear that he can move incredibly fast and can even scale a fence. His litter box is a little shorter than the normal ones but he uses it like a normal cat and is clean and proper. Although he can’t jump he is able to pull himself up on furniture or use stairs to reach where he wants to be.

If you ask Nick, he’ll tell you he’s just fine and wonder why you are looking at him strangely. After a moment though he will decide that you must be admiring his beauty. He is a beautiful cat with perfect stripes and deep big eyes. He wears his confidence well and is clearly the keeper of the house making sure that no other cats are allowed in.

I met Nick while treating the two dogs of the house and we had no intention of treating him initially. He of course thought this to be plain wrong, after all the cat is clearly the most important member of the house. One day while I was there he walked over and grabbed my box of needles between his front feet and stared at me, “excuse me but you seem to be forgetting the cat.” From that point on he started getting acupuncture treatments as well but only if he was given proper notice. If he was not told the day before that I was coming for his treatment he would disappear or hide under the bed.

Shortly before I started coming to his house he started to push off on one of his back legs which was amazing considering how much time had passed since his injury and the fact that he had shown no improvement up until that point. We started off treating him to try to encourage this improvement but also had the added benefit of getting him off of the steroids that he had needed for a very itchy neck. He’s still a little itchy these days but only to the point that he really, really likes it when you rub his neck. Which by the way helps to keep him still while he has needles in.

While most people who don’t know Nick would see him as disabled, in Nick’s mind he sees himself as perfect and whole. He doesn’t dwell on the past when he could use his legs normally and jumps into life with excitement and attitude. Sometimes I wonder if Nick is here to teach us all that being whole has nothing to do with the physical body and all about the way we see life.

Christmas lilies are extremely beautiful but also deadly to cats. Every year cats die from nibbling on lilies and once they become sick it is too late. Just a couple bites of lily will destroy the kidneys of a cat and send them into renal failure. Usually they die within 24 to 72 hours. Please do not bring lilies into your home if you have cats even if you think they will not eat them. It is heartbreaking to have to tell a cat’s person that there is nothing you can do. If your cat does eat a lily call your veterinary clinic or emergency hospital immediately and get instructions to induce vomiting.