A Path With Paws

I am lucky to work with some of the most amazing animals and their people and get to be part of their lives. I love those I work with, they grace my life with their presence.

However there is also great sadness in my work. Most of the animals I work with are old and they reach a time that they need to pass on. We are blessed to be able to help them with this passing. Mixed with the sadness of their passing is joy for who these incredible animals have helped us become and the love they have shared with us which we hold in our hearts forever.

Over the years I have received a wonderful collection of beautiful photos and reminders of animals I have loved and worked with. Many of these animals had great lives and many have stories to tell. People often times sent me photographs of their animals when they were young and I am able to see a glimpse of these stories.

This week I learned that a sweet little dog I treated named Tyler passed away. Tyler was one of those amazing older dogs who still seemed like a puppy to me. He had this soft curly hair like a puppy and a sparkle in his eyes when he would come in. I’m not sure exactly what his mix was but he also had a face that just made him look young. We weren’t completely sure about his age but he was at least sixteen, possibly older when he passed away. It was clear that Tyler was loved from seeing him with his mom Jen. You could see the love that would pass between the two of them when they looked into each others eyes.

With Tyler’s passing Jen and her husband Alex put together a beautiful slide show of Tyler’s life. I have never seen something so moving and that so shows the bond between a dog and his people. It is clear in these pictures who Tyler was and how important he was to Jen and those who surrounded her. Jen shared with me that as Tyler got older one of her wishes was for him to see their first child be born, as Jen put it, “having our two kids meet one another, even if only briefly..” Tyler fulfilled that wish and then passed on. The last photograph in the slide show is labeled Complete Family.

Life is a journey and that journey is made richer by those we share our lives with. It is clear everyone who Tyler touched had a richer life because of him.

Jen gave me permission to share her photographs and Tyler’s journey with you. There are almost 130 photographs here, all of them amazing. You can see them on the slideshow below or if you want to see larger photos with captions you can click on the photo of Tyler below the slideshow to go to the flickr page and arrow through.

I hope that you are as touched as I am by these.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/manzanabaum/6088441764/in/set-72157627535789268/

Much of the year I am so booked up that I am not able to take new patients but my assistant Diane knows just the right thing to say to make me sneak in an extra special one. “Lena, there is this amazing dog I meet at the clinic who was just diagnosed with cancer, is there any way you think we can work them into the schedule?”

I can’t say enough about the power of acupuncture for animals with cancer! Of all the work I have done with this disease I am still amazed at how well acupuncture can help these wonderful animals live with cancer.

I love being able to make animals feel better and it brings tears to my eyes to be able to help the people I work with have their beloved animals for longer. Currently I have a number of animals who are living, and living well, more then a year out, with cancer that should have taken them in a matter of months.

When I first became an acupuncturist I took over doing acupuncture for an amazing dog named Rooney. Rooney had been diagnosed with bladder cancer about 4 months before I meet her and she was supposed to be gone within three months of her diagnosis, even with the chemotherapy she was getting. I started treating her every week and over that time was blessed to get to work with one of the most amazing dogs I would ever meet and her wonderful moms. Rooney was not supposed to live but she made it almost three years with chemotherapy and acupuncture. She was rarely sick during that time and she lived a very normal dog life up until her last month. See Rooney’s Wisdom.

Rooney is unusual in that I only worked with acupuncture with her and not herbs. For most of the animals I treat I recommend an integrated approach that combined acupuncture, herbs and often times some western treatments as well.

The wonderful thing about acupuncture is that there are not major side effects like with chemotherapy, surgery and even some of the herbs I use. Because of this, it can be used in some of the most sick and old animals. Although I find it works best if it can be started before an animal is severely debilitated.

So what are the main benefits of acupuncture?

• • Increased longevity – almost all the animals I treat for cancer end up living much longer than the normal prognosis, usually at least double prognosis time. In some animals this ends up being years beyond prognosis. For a treatment with no major side effects this is pretty amazing.
  • Increased well being and energy – acupuncture can increase energy and help to regulate the hormones in the body. Cancer can make animals feel sick – acupuncture helps to reverse this. This is the most important benefit I see with acupuncture treatments. Animals are happy again and people feel like they have had their beloved companion returned to them.
  • Decreased pain – cancer can be painful. Acupuncture can significantly reduce that pain and help to reduce side effects to some of the pain drugs. I had a dear little bunny I treated who had a very painful spinal tumor. With acupuncture every two weeks we were able to keep him happy for about six months.

• Immune system support – cancer is a failure of the immune system. Acupuncture stimulates the immune system so that it can fight the cancer better.In some animals, I have actually seen tumors shrink with just acupuncture alone.
• Increased blood circulation – to the cells you want to get blood. There is some thought that acupuncture can help to pull blood away from cancer cells and give it to the parts of the body that need it. Often times with cancer the body ends up without enough nutrients and energy because the cancer takes it all. Acupuncture helps to reverse this.
• Increased appetite – some animals with cancer feel so sick that they don’t want to eat. Acupuncture can help to stimulate appetite.
• Chemotherapy and radiation support – both these therapies are very hard on the immune system and body. Acupuncture helps to keep white blood cell numbers up during these therapies and helps decrease the side effects. If white blood cells drop too low, chemotherapy needs to be stopped. Acupuncture can usually raise blood cell numbers within a week.

How often should an animal with cancer be treated?

I recommend scheduling acupuncture treatments at least every two weeks. In some very sick animals I will recommend weekly treatments and I usually start with weekly treatments for a few weeks. I have a few animals I have treated every three weeks and I had one dog who did very well with monthly treatments but over all I have found animals do much better with weekly or every other week treatments. The acupuncturist you work with may have different experiences.

Where do I find a veterinary acupuncturist to treat my animals?

The best tool I have found is through the International Veterinary acupuncture Society’s website. Find a veterinary acupuncturist in your area.

I should note that all good veterinary acupuncturists are not on this list. I’m not because the certification program I went through is not recognized by IVAS. In addition someone being listed just means they are certified by IVAS or one of its recognized programs, not how experienced or good they are. Ask around in your area to see if there is someone that is highly recommended. Ask your vet, at the local pet store, at the dog park, at the local groomer or among friends and co-workers or search the Internet.

When is the best time to start acupuncture?

Now! Really as soon as possible is best. It is much easier for me to keep an animal from getting sick then try to make them better after they are very ill.

My normal vet or oncologist says I should not do acupuncture or alternative medicine with my animal? What should I do?

Most vets I have worked with are very open to what I do. In my state and in most states you need to be a veterinarian to do acupuncture on animals. I think that helps us have more support from the mainstream vet community. Since most vets don’t have training in acupuncture or herbal medicine sometimes they just need a little communication. I am always happy to talk to someone’s regular vet or oncologist if there is a conflict when I am working with their animal. Hopefully your veterinary acupuncturist will be willing to also. While I am not always as current on western treatments for cancer, I am usually much more current on the herbal studies and the studies about combining western and alternative medicine.

Should I use acupuncture with chemotherapy?

Yes! I have found that animals getting acupuncture with chemotherapy not only do better with fewer side effects, but also live longer.

But I don’t want my animal to suffer longer? What if acupuncture helps then to live longer but they are miserable during that time?

I have found that the animals I treat with acupuncture live well and die fast when it is their time. The quality of life while they are alive is usually quite good and they are happy. I have found that when it is time to go they tend to get sick quickly and the passing seems to be easier for both the people involved and the animals because it is so obviously time for them to pass on.

What if I can’t find a veterinary acupuncturist in my area?

While I do think acupuncture works better than acupressure, I think there is a lot of benefit to acupressure and it really can make a large difference in an animal’s health. See if you can find someone who does acupressure treatments or learn yourself. I will publish an article in the near future about how to do acupressure for cancer.

Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute has a tool to find a practitioner and offer classes in acupressure.
Find an animal acupressure practitioner.
There are also many good books out there on acupressure. Focus with stimulating the immune system and working with lung, kidneys and spleen. Here are some of my favorites:
Four Paws, Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs
Acu-Cat: A Guide to Feline Acupressure
The Well-Connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure

I think there will come a time in my life where we will look back on some of the harsher treatments we use for cancer as being somewhat barbaric. Many of the new treatments emerging work by getting the body to fight cancer itself. There was an amazing article I just read about using modified white blood cells to get rid of leukemia. Acupuncture fits nicely in with some of these emerging new therapies.

Acupuncture supports the body and helps it to do what it should have been able to in the first place, fight cancer. Most importantly it helps to support our animal friends in their journey through cancer treatment. It helps them to live and love living and gives us more time with them. For me there is no greater joy than seeing that sparkle come back into a dog’s eyes that says I choose life!

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs.

I’ll be away on vacation the next couple weeks, returning the week of August 23rd. While I am away comments will not get approved and I will not be checking email.

I’ll catch up as soon as I can after I return. Thanks for visiting!

Over the years of practicing holistic medicine I was gone from thinking I could help control the symptoms of Cushings disease in dogs to now having dogs in my care who are completely controlled with diet, herbs and acupuncture.

What do you do if your dog has Cushings disease?

1. Pull all grains and most of the carbohydrates out of their diet. Feed them the least processed diet that they can tolerate. Raw high protein diets are best. If raw is not possible feed them a grain free, potato free, high protein, high quality canned food such as Instinct. Home cooked diets like the diet I use for animals with cancer are also great. See Diets for cancer in cats and dogs. The same dietary approach to cancer is also good for Cushings disease. Do not feed these dogs dry food!

   I have found that changing diet alone can make a huge difference in these dogs so if you can only work with diet you can still help your animal friend.

2. Treat the dampness and inflammation. This is the best way to get their endocrine system back to normal regulation. In most dogs, the best Chinese herbal formula for this is called Si Miao San. This formula helps to decrease inflammation in the body, regulates insulin, and improves digestion. I sometimes add corn silk to this formula to help with problems with insulin resistance. Not surprisingly this is also one of the main formulas I use for diabetes. Si Miao San is not always the best formula for all dogs with Cushings. Si Miao San works best for the hot, panting, overweight Cushings dog. When I work with thin, weak dogs there are other herbals that work better. If at all possible find a veterinary herbalist to help you with this.
3. Acupuncture. I have so much more success in those dogs I can treat with needles. Acupuncture helps to regulate the endocrine system and reduce inflammation in the body. I have found that many dogs will only need acupuncture about every two months once we get them stable unless we are treating other health issues as well.



4. Ginkgo biloba can be helpful in treating Cushings. Ginkgo slows the release adrenal hormone and can help to control Cushings disease. I do not use this herb with all the dogs I treat as I have found it not to be as effective as Si Miao San, acupuncture and diet change. However it does seem to be the herb that can be added to the protocol if you are not getting as much symptom control as you think you should be. It is very much my tipping point herb and sometimes it makes the difference between good control and mediocre control of this disease.

   Ginkgo is also a great herb for helping with dementia, high blood pressure, and protecting against heart disease and stroke. Because of this I often recommend it in my older animals. One of my favorite ginkgo product is made my Animal Apawthecary and also contains hawthorn. It is called Animals’ Apawthecary Hawthorn Plus
   . I also make a powder version of this formula called Heart and Brain Support through my etsy shop.

5. Be aware that a natural approach can change the amount of Trilostane and other drugs that are needed to control this disease. Work with your vet to monitor signs of drug overdose if your dog is already on Trilostane or Lysodren, when they are being treated naturally. If your dog stops eating, becomes lethargic, or has sleep disturbance or vomiting and diarrhea contact your vet immediately. This could be a sign of overdose.

I have had a number of dogs who we have gotten completely off of Trilostane (the main drug to treat Cushings disease) or significantly reduced the dosage. If I can catch it early many dogs never need to use the western drugs.

One of my favorite dogs with Cushings disease is a cute little Cairn Terrier I treat named Clancy. He’s a fun little guy with a lot of spunk. We were able to catch his Cushings disease very early about a year and a half ago, just after he was diagnosed. His main symptoms were increase in weight, panting and that he was much more jumpy when touched and startled easily. He also drunk a lot of water and was always hungry. Through acupuncture, herbs and diet we have been able to keep Clancy happy and symptom free. Occasionally he will have a little flare up of symptoms but so far we have been able to treat those flare ups with acupuncture and some herbal and dietary changes. I’m hopeful that Clancy will never need Trilostane or other western drugs.

So what is Cushings disease?

If you have found this article you may already know about Cushings. For those of you that don’t here is a short explanation.

Cushings disease is caused by an overactive adrenal gland which produces too much adrenal hormone. Most of the time this is caused by a benign pituitary tumor in the brain which signals the adrenal to produce more hormone than it needs. Occasionally this is caused by an adrenal tumor in the actual gland. Usually with an adrenal tumor, removal is recommended. However with pituitary tumors removal is too difficult and the treatment of choice is to use a drug such as Lysodren or Trilostane which stop the production of adrenal hormone through destroying the cells that make it or blocking its release. This can be risky because if too much gland is destroyed or if too much hormone is blocked the animal can die, become seriously ill, or develop Addison’s disease (not enough adrenal hormone) which is much more dangerous. Both these drugs can permanently damage the adrenal glands.

The main symptoms of Cushings disease are a pot bellied appearance, excess hunger and water consumption, and hair loss on the sides. Many dogs have a tragic look to them. In addition Cushings disease can cause weakness and panting. These dogs have a weakened immune system and are prone to infections and cancers. People will often times describe their dogs with Cushings as more agitated and some dogs will have issues with sleeping through the night.

Here are a couple other good articles about Cushings disease and it’s treatment
Cushing disease
FDA cushings disease and Trilostane

An amazing things I recently learned about Cushings disease is that it appears to be closely related to type 2 diabetes. In fact there are those that believe that both diseases are the same syndrome, just manifesting differently. When brain scans were done of cats with insulin resistant type 2 diabetes, it was found that in those cats with insulin resistance had pituitary tumors characteristic of Cushings disease. Wow!
Prevelant of pituitary tumors among diabetic cats with insulin resistance

Both diseases seem to be induced by an overload of nutrients of the carbohydrate variety. Animals with Cushings disease and diabetes develop what is called metabolic syndrome. There body can not handle the amount of carbohydrates and high glycemic index ingredients in many of the processed diets we feed them. These high glycemic index diets cause high levels of inflammation in their bodies, which lead to problems in the endocrine system. This can lead to insulin resistance, development of pituitary tumors, or other inflammatory diseases.

You can pull up a great lecture on the subject of inflammation, diet and the endocrine system by one of my herbal teachers, Dr. Steve Marsden by following this link (brings up a PDF).
Management of inflammation using chinese herbs and diet

While I have not been able to get all dogs controlled without western drugs, usually we are at least able to significantly reduce clinical signs and/or reduce the dose of drugs needed to regulate this illness. In a disease with not many good safe options for treatment, I love having effective natural options to offer the animals I work with.

As with all advice offered on this website please check with your animal’s veterinarian before changing your animal’s medications or adding any herbals.

Si Miao San or Four Marvels Powder is truly one of the workhorses of Chinese medicine. It is probably the most common formula I use. You see, Si Miao San is very good at treating inflammation and our animal companions have a lot of inflammatory disorders. This is my top formula for inflammatory bowel disease, allergic dermatitis, Cushings disease, and diabetes.

Please follow this link to buy Si Miao San from my etsy store Kingdom of Basil Si Miao San powder.

For more information on Cushings disease see my article Managing Cushings Disease in Dogs Holistically.

In Chinese medicine it treats damp heat and is a simple yet powerful little formula of four ingredients.

• Huang Bai (phellodendron bark)
• Yi Yi Ren (coix seed)
• Cang Zhu (atractylodes rhizome)
• Huai Niu Xi (achyranthes root)

These ingredients are highly anti-inflammatory and often this formula can take the place of prednisone for inflammatory disorders but without the side effects.

So how does this formula work for cancer?

It’s two main ingredients, Huang Bai and Yi Yi Ren, both have anticancer actions. Huang Bai contains berberine, which has been shown in a number of studies to slow down tumor growth and induce apoptosis or cell death. If you search pub med you will find a large list of studies on berberine and its anti-cancer activities.
Here is a good one – Apoptosis of human leukemia cells and murine leukemia cells induced by berberine through activation of caspase

Coix seed also inhibits growth of cancer cells and can induce apoptosis. Here is a great article on coix seed and its cancer actions –
Healthy Doses Job’s tears

This formula can enhance the action of chemotherapy drugs and anti-microbials in a good way. So it can safely be used with chemotherapy. However often times I focus more on the herbals that have strong immune stimulant effects for animals who are receiving chemo.

The main cancer I use Si Miao San for is lymphoma and some of the leukemias. I also often use this formula if animals can not handle Hoxsey-like formula. Animals needing this formula will run hot and often times have a history of past inflammatory diseases.

The Cang Zhu in this formula helps to support good digestion, which can often be a large issue in animals with cancer. While most of this formula is very cold in nature, the atractylodes is warm and makes sure this formula is well tolerated by most animals. It also does not cool them down too much.

For the animals I treat I make my own Si Miao San from whole dried herbs and dose at 1/8 twice a day for cats and small dogs, ¼ teaspoon twice a day for dogs 15-25 lbs, ½ twice a day for dogs 25-50 lbs, 1 teaspoon twice a day for dogs 50-90lb and 1 ½ teaspoons twice a day for dogs greater than 90lbs.

With tinctures I use .2 ml per 5 lbs of animal twice a day. For tea pills and granules, use the human dose for dogs greater than 50lbs and dose down by weight for smaller animals.

If you are working with a holistic vet or Chinese herbalist, get this formula from them. I am now selling powdered Si Miao San out of my herbal shop Kingdom of Basil on etsy. Amazon does sell the Kan Herbs – Four Marvels pills

As with all supplements and herbals, please check with your animal’s regular vet before using this herbal.

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

As gunshots rang out, he fell from his horse bleeding from where the bullet had entered his chest. As blood ran from the wound, he could feel his life slowly slipping away. Images of his small daughter and wife, who were both far away, ran through his mind.

Quickly he reached for the vial, opening it to swallow the small red pill within and then taking the powder beneath it he quickly poured it in to the fresh wound. His breathing started to return to normal and he felt like he would be able to make it off the battlefield to find help. There was still some bleeding from the wound but no longer enough to take his life.

Sound like something from a fantasy movie? Surprisingly it isn’t.

Yunnan Baiyao, also known as Yunnan Paiyao, is a special formula know to every Chinese herbalist. It was developed in 1902 in China and has been an important remedy ever since. The formula is owned by the Chinese government and the secret of what exactly is in the magic red pill is highly guarded. It is rumored that it is made from gallstones cultivated in very special cows among other things but even the workers in the factories do not know exactly what is in it. We do know that pseudoginseng is probably the most important component of it. When pseudoginseng has been studied alone it has been shown to reduce bleeding times in half.

I use Yunnan Paiyao often in my patients and have been highly impressed with how well it works.

When my husband first moved in with me his cat, Sabutai, was suffering from horrible mouth cancer. One day which he was eating, the tumor in his mouth began to hemorrhage. In a matter of seconds there was blood all over the bathroom and he was just a small cat. Not knowing exactly what to do, I rushed to the medicine cabinet and grabbed one of the little red pills and pushed it down his throat. Within 60 seconds the bleeding had almost completely stopped and he did not hemorrhage again for the rest of his illness.

Another time I was at the vet clinic I used to work at and saw one of my old clients in the waiting room with their older dog, Alki. They quickly explained that they had just found out that Alki had a large tumor on her spleen that was bleeding into her abdomen and that she needed emergency surgery and most likely a blood transfusion. I quickly ran home and grabbed a vial of Yunnan Baiyao and brought it back. We administered the small red pill before she went into surgery and not only did she get through the surgery well and not need a blood transfusion but the surgeon was surprised at how little bleeding there was considering what was happening.

Also see Cosmo – star dog who was a wonderful dog I worked with who lived an extra year because of this herbal.

So why don’t we all have a vial of Yunnan Paiyao sitting around for emergencies? I’m not sure. I know I do! And the western vets I work with do as well.

In our family we often use the powder for any kind of cut or wound. It is not only good at stopping the bleeding but helps keep wounds from getting infected and is not painful to apply like many of the wound cleaning agents. It is safe and can be licked and eaten by cats and dogs without worry.

But isn’t it expensive you ask? Guarded by the Chinese government and that effective!

No! Usually you can buy Yunnan Baiyao for about $10 for a vial or a package of 16 pills of powder. You can even buy this on Amazon.com often.

Currently it has been a little harder to find Yunnan Baiyao. I recommend The Modern Herb Shop .

When are the best times to use it?

If an animal is going into surgery, especially if there is concern about excessive bleeding, I recommend giving the powder or capsules of powder for three days before and after the surgery. The little red pill can be given right before surgery but while the animal is still awake. Dosage depends on the size of your animal (except the red pill). Cats usually do better with the powder mixed with a little water in a syringe because the capsules are too larger for them to swallow where dogs usually do better with the capsules unless they are very small.

Nasal bleeding can be a very hard problem to control especially if there is a tumor or chronic condition which causes it. Yunnan Paiyao can be used to control nasal bleeding.

Yunnan Baiyao can also be used in many of the end stage diseases where surgery is not an option but there is bleeding in the body which can not be controlled. This is a great herbal to use with hemangiosarcoma and any other bleeding cancer or tumor. The powder capsules can be used daily for this and the red pill once again only for emergency.

There are also many reports of it clearing up existing infections and can be safely poured directly into wounds. Although if a wound is infected I usually reach for the antibiotics.

Yunnan Paiyao can safely be used in any cut or wound although deep wounds should be evaluated to see if sutures are needed. Yunnan Paiyao will actually promote healing and help a wound to close faster.

In addition pseudoginseng helps sensitive tumor cells to radiation treatments and can be used in animals with cancer that are undergoing radiation to make these therapies more effective.

With Yunnan Bai Yao in most dogs I dose at one pill twice a day unless they are very large and then I double that. In cats and very small dogs the pills can be opened and half the powder can be used. In hard to medicate animals the powder can also be mixed with water and syringed into the mouth.

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

Lymphoma is one of the fastest moving cancers out there. Because it is so fast moving, it is also the most responsive cancer to chemotherapy.

The prognosis with this disease can be very bad, especially if no treatment is used.

However the good news is, with chemotherapy and holistic medicine we can often get 18-24 months and occasionally ongoing remission. Integrative medicine clearly is the best way to go with this disease.

With no treatment I have seen animals die within one week of diagnosis. The average is 4 weeks with no treatment. With using natural medicine, I have found usually I can move that out to 2-4 months. Chemotherapy alone pushes that even further with average survival at around a year.

When a dog or cat comes to me with lymphoma, I highly recommend they consult with an oncologist or a vet who does a lot of chemotherapy work. If you want remission with this cancer you need to do chemotherapy.

The most widely used chemotherapy protocol for this cancer consisted of a multiple drug approach and is given over approximately six months for dogs. In cats the protocol is shorter and the main vet I work with believes that one to three chemo treatments can significantly slow down this disease in felines.

Full chemotherapy for dogs can also be quite expensive, around $4000. Shorter durations can be given for this cancer as well if cost or tolerance of chemotherapy is a concern.

Because so many people choice to do chemotherapy for this cancer I divided this article into four sections.

• Treatments I recommend regardless of western treatment
• Treatments I use with chemo
• Treatments to give if no chemotherapy is used
• Cats

So first what do I recommend for all cats and dogs with lymphoma? (Follow the links for more information on the supplements and dosing information.)

1. Weekly or every other week acupuncture. I have seen this make a large difference in survival times and in keeping white blood cell levels within normal range during chemotherapy. Usually just with acupuncture alone I can double any prognosis. Please see Acupuncture for animals with cancer – stoking the healing power within
2. Artemisinin can reduce node size and make animals feel better.
3. A good cancer diet without grains. If you are using chemo do not feed raw food, make sure it is cooked. For more information on the diets I recommend seeDiets for cancer in cats and dogs.
4. Xiao Chai Hu Tang – Sometimes I add indigo and others herbs to this formula for dogs I see in person to customize it but the straight formula works well also. If you are working with a holistic vet ask them about additions.

In addition to this protocol if no chemo is used I often recommend –

1. Prednisone. Yes it is a western drug, but it will work as a chemotherapy drug and shrink the nodes. Every animal I have treated for lymphoma has been on prednisone and I highly recommend it. If you are considering chemo do not start the prednisone before consulting with an oncologist or vet who knows chemo. If given before chemo the prednisone can significantly reduce the outcome of the chemo.
2. SanSheDan ChuanBeiYe is great at slowing this cancer down and keeping it out of the lungs.



3. Hoxsey-like formula or Cancer Detox Support Hoxsey can make some dogs sick, I usually only recommend using it if you are working directly with a holistic vet who thinks it is appropriate. I also use a similar formula I call cancer detox which is less toxic but still has some great anti-cancer properties.
Si Miao San I use a lot less of this these days but still sometimes if the lymphoma is mostly in the nodes or gastrointestinal system.

If chemotherapy is given I add to my main protocol:

1. Mushrooms – I give a mushroom combo with shiitake, maitaki, reishi and cordyceps There are many of these products. Mushrooms not only have effects directly against cancer but stimulate the immune system and help keep white blood cell counts up.
2. Milk thistle – improves the outcome of chemotherapy and decreases side effects
3. Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang – there is a great study out there at shows this herbal improves outcomes and reduces side effects during chemotherapy.

In cats

Cats have a hard time with multiple drugs and supplements. With cats I start them on my main protocol and then wait a week. If they are still eating well I will then add in one Chinese herbal formula in addition to my main protocol.

How do I decide which one?

The best I can tell you is usually this will either be Xiao Chai Hu Tang if this cancer is intestinal or centered in the spleen or liver, Hoxsey-like formula if the cancer is in the nodes, or Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang if they are getting chemotherapy.

If at all possible find a good holistic practitioner to work with your cat. Cats generally do really well with acupuncture so if at all possible find someone who also does acupuncture.

Cats can get a disease called small cell lymphoma which is very slow moving. I treat this differently and will try to put up another article on it.

As with all advice offered on this website please check in with your animal’s primary veterinarian before using any of these herbals and supplements.

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

As I write this, my cat Raven is zipping around the living room playing and talking to himself. I know cats often do that, but Raven hasn’t been lately. This is made even more remarkable when you consider that he had a major surgery to remove all his molars and premolars and the connecting periodontal ligaments a little over a week ago. Raven feels good, better than he has felt in over a year. It warms my heart to see him happy again.

Feline stomatitis is the most painful disease in cats. Cats with stomatitis have severe inflammation in their mouths and sometimes back into their throats, far beyond normal dental disease. What makes it even worse is that because it effects the mouth, many cats with stomatitis don’t want to eat.

There are three main types of stomatitis.

1. Juvenile stomatitis effects kittens and very young (less than a year and a half) cats. It is usually inflammation around the molars and premolars. This form of stomatitis can usually be cleared up by daily brushing and care of your cat’s teeth. It often times can be resolved by the time they are two years old with good care and never come back again.



2. Rostral stomatitis effects mostly the front of the mouth and teeth. There is severe inflammation in this form of the disease, which seems to be more of a reaction to the bacteria and plaque on the teeth. This form of disease can be quite painful and lead to secondary infections as well. Rostral stomatitis can be completely cleared up if all the teeth are pulled. I have another cat, Melody, who had this form of disease. I had all her teeth pulled ten years ago when she was two and she has done great. She has no pain or inflammation. Rostral stomatitis can also be managed with very good dental care and antibiotics. This usually involves professional dental cleanings every six months, daily brushing and occasional antibiotics. In many of these cats it makes more sense to pull the teeth.
3. Caudal stomatitis is the last type of this disease and the most severe. This is the form Raven has. It involves severe inflammation and ulceration around the molars, premolars and usually the oropharynx and throat behind the teeth. This form of stomatitis is chronic and usually impossible to completely resolve. With no treatment many cats will stop eating and die from the severe pain and inflammation.

Here is a link to an article with some great photos of stomatitis (warning – somewhat graphic)
Feline Stomatitis

So how do you treat caudal feline stomatitis?

I tried to treat this disease just holistically in Raven and while I feel like I bought some time I do believe that this disease needs to be treated with extraction. By the time I scheduled Raven to have his teeth pulled, he would often scream while eating if he was not on pain meds. He did better once I started making my own cat food for him but clearly he needed something that would permanently remove the pain. The best prognosis is in pulling the teeth early in the disease process.

1. The best thing you can do is to see a veterinary dentist. These professionals really know what they are doing. The procedure being done by most of these dentists is to remove all the premolars and molars and the periodontal ligaments. I know it sounds like a big surgery but these poor cats are in so much pain and they immediately feel better. Raven went home the day of surgery on pain meds and was already playing again. It is very important to make sure that no roots are left when the teeth are pulled. If you go to a dentist they will make sure that no roots are left and remove the ligaments as well. This gives the best prognosis for a pain free life. Raven’s dentist, Dr. DuPont, gave a 80% chance that once Raven recovered he would be able to live a normal life with no medication even though he would still have some inflammation in the mouth. This can vary on the severity of disease, how long it has been going on and if steroids have been given or not.
2. Get the teeth pulled as soon as possible. The sooner the teeth are removed, the better the prognosis. Really! They do so much better without the teeth.
3. Avoid giving steroids. Many vets recommend steroid injections for this disease and the steroid will clear up the symptoms for awhile. However Dr. DuPont told me he has found that the prognosis gets worse for every steroid injection that is given. It may be that cats with more severe disease get more steroid injections so it is hard to put a direct cause and effect on this. The cats with the best prognosis have not had steroids. Raven had only had one steroid injection so his prognosis was still pretty good but it would have been even better without that one shot.
4. Follow the protocol given by the dentist after the teeth are removed. This often is a few weeks of antibiotics. I know it is hard to get drugs down a cat but it is important to get proper healing and clear up any infection



5. Get your cat on a grain free canned food diet. This helps to decrease the inflammation in their body and can help to reduce the inflammation in the mouth. I have Raven on a mix of mostly my homemade cat food – see Making Crazy Awesome Homemade Cat Food, and occasional Instinct canned cat food, and Rad Cat raw food. Avoid anything with bone bits as they can irritate the tissue in the mouth of these cats.
6. Consider herbal treatments if there is still severe inflammation after the teeth are pulled. I was able to control the inflammation in Raven’s mouth successfully with Hoxsey like formula with Agrimony and Yellow Dock Root for about six months. This formula helps to pull blood away from inflammation, decreasing the inflammation, and heal mouth ulcerations. I hope I do not need to use it now that Raven’s teeth are gone but I am hopeful that if he has any flare ups I can get it under control with these herbs.
7. Use pain medication if needed. The most common pain medication given is buprenorphine. Some vets use Metacam but usually given long term it will start to destroy the kidneys and is not a good choice for long term use.

Why does this disease occur?

We don’t know. It is more common in certain breeds of cats like the Siamese and Abbyssinians. It is more common in cats who had rough starts to life as kittens.

There may be viral factors involved but we don’t know for sure. Cats with FIV and FeLV have more problems with it. Cats with stomatitis are more likely to test positive to herpes and calici viruses then normal cats.

It does seem to have an autoimmune component. The immune system is overreacting to the plaque and bacteria or fighting against the teeth or ligaments holding the teeth themselves. Is there an allergy component to it? Maybe. I found Raven’s inflammation would flare up with any grain in his diet.

Someday we may have the answers and in finding them a better way to treat this disease. In the meantime, pulling the teeth is the best we have and well worth it for our cat companions’ comfort.

Update 11/16/13 – A reader recently asked me how Raven was doing and I realized it would be good to add an update. Raven is now five years old – it has been about 2 1/2 years since his teeth were pulled. His mouth looks great and he has shown no symptoms of any pain ever. He is a happy, energetic boy! We are lucky.

My friends Jenn and Jeff made this awesome feeding box for their new cat Pascal. He is 15 years old and needs to eat in the middle of the night but they have another cat who would eat all the food if they left it out.

Jeff bought a large rubbermaid box and a cat door with a magnetic collar and put them together. I think this is genius and I wish he would start marketing these. I know so many households with one very large hungry cat and one very small cat. Jeff has some great photos on his blog of the resulting box and more about Pascal. Here is Pascal’s story.

Pascal also recently became a patient of mine and gets acupuncture and herbs for his recently diagnosed renal failure and for night time yowling. Jenn and Jeff have reported back that Pascal’s yowling is much less and he is playing more and seems happier.

Yowling can be a problem in older cats. In Chinese medicine we say it is often from the water of the kidneys being deficient and not controlling the fire of the heart. Because of this, yowling is common in cats with renal disease. Acupuncture and herbs can be a great tool for treating this in many cats. Although unfortunately I had another cat I treated recently where the acupuncture did not help.

Night time yowling can also be a sign of thyroid issues which needs to be treated with western medicine. So if your cat is yowling at night the first step is to get blood work run to rule out a thyroid issue. There is a great western treatment for thyroid disorder which involves injecting radioactive iodine which destroys the benign thyroid tumor that causes this disorder. Sounds strange but it is a safe and effective treatment. I have been through it with two of my cats and a number of the animals I work with have had this treatment including Pascal.

This afternoon I whipped up a batch of my homemade cat food for our four kitties. I serve it raw so it is pretty easy to throw together and a lot of fun to make. It feels like making cookies, only these kids like meat cookies and are much happier eating it as raw cookie dough.

Here’s my recipe if you want to try it at home

• six lbs of meat or fish ground or chopped
• 1/4 lb liver and organ meat
• 8 eggs
• One 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin, sweet potato, or yam
• 6 teaspoons Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil
• 6 teaspoons almond butter
• Taurine Powder 3g (if the meat is cooked or if using fish)
• 6 teaspoons Animal Essentials Natural Seaweed Calcium

Make sure the meat has been frozen for at least 48 hours at some point. I buy my meat frozen.

Also see Making Crazy Awesome Homemade Cat Food Part Two for a higher protein and egg free recipe.

Raven knows I'm making food for him

Can we have some too?

Eight pounds of free range ground turkey

A dozen free range eggs

Yum! Sweet Potato

All set for the freezer and fridge. This will last our kitties about a week. I freeze half of it and refrigerator the other half.

The best part - licking the cookie bowl!

Mom, the girls are hogging the bowl!