A Path With Paws

This post will be in development for awhile as I publish articles on the individual herbal supplements I use. Please check back as it grows.

Herbals formulas are my primary approach to treating cancer in animals along with acupuncture. I have to admit I am not a huge supplement person. Yes you can give Vit A, E, C, etc and they help but I find you get so much more from the herbs that I always gravitate towards them. That is not to say that there is only one way to treat cancer. I know other practitioners who get good results from various supplements.

I get the best results with treating cancer when I can individualize formulas for a particular animal. This means taking a full history and treating not just the cancer but other underlying deficiencies in that animal. This also helps me to determine what herbals are more likely to cause side effects with a particular animal.

This cancer book takes a more cookbook approach to treating cancer. Why do I bother to write this if it is more affective to look at each animal individually?

• I have found there are certain deficiencies that produce certain cancers, for example many animals with lymphoma are prone to Chinese disease patterns that include damp heat or phlegm issues. This type of cancer generally is linked to these issues. Because of this I can usually guess at a deficiency or pattern just from the type of cancer an animal has. These articles are based on this assumption.
• There are many places in the world where finding a holistic practitioners are difficult or impossible to find. This book can help to bridge that gap.
• I consider most of these formulas to be fairly safe and they can be stopped if an animal does develop side effects.

If you live in an area with good veterinary herbalists or holistic practitioners I highly recommend you find one of them to work with. Even if you find a holistic practitioner who is not as familiar with herbs as I am, they can still help you individualize a protocol for your animal. Bring them my articles.

I also hope these articles help your western vet know what your dog or cat is on so that they understand what the herbals are doing. By all means send your vet the links to these articles or have them contact me if they have questions.

So below are the most common herbals I use for treating cancer –

• Sanshedan Chuanbeiye – toxins in small amounts to fight cancer
• Artemisinin – when cancer cells kill themselves
• Xiao Chai Hu Tang – herbs to fight cancer – reversing triple burner obstruction
• Chai hU Jia Long Mu Li Tang
• Hoxsey-like Formula for dogs and cats with cancer (also Cancer Detox Support)
• Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang – Supporting the Lungs Against Cancer
  • Ge Xia Zhu Yu Tang – treating liver tumors
  • Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang – treating tumors of the lower abdomen
• A magic vial of yunnan baiyao – stopping bleeding
• Si Miao San – slowing down cancer and inflammation
• Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang – Chemotherapy herbal support

Also see Integrative and holistic approaches to cancer for the index of my book on cancer. As it is in development more sections will become available.

For a long time now I have been frustrated that I am only one person. Part of the year I have to turn clients away and the most frustrating times are when I have to turn people away who have animals with cancer.

I often get calls and emails from folks out of the area with animals with cancer. Sometimes I am able to turn them on to someone who can help them in their area but sometimes they are far away from big cities and holistic vets.

So after much thought I have decided to embark on a journey over the next couple years to bring the information I have to anyone who may want it. I am going to begin to write a book on treating cancer in dogs and cats.

My plan is to post what I am writing on the web in small sections and then in the end to pull all the information together into a book. However I want this information to stay open source so everything will also remain on my website for viewing.

Like many of the articles I write I will try to provide information that is easy to use and navigate. While I think it is still ideal to find a holistic vet to work with if you have a dog/cat with cancer, I want to make this information usable by anyone. I am also hoping that this will be a book that can be used by western veterinarians to aid in both the treatment of cancer and in understanding therapies used by holistic vets.

Here is my proposed chapter index – My plan is to write it in order of importance and fill it in as I go along – more will become available over time:

Integrative and holistic methods for treating cancer in dogs

A little snake bile can go a long way…..

If you are treating cancer.

SanSheDan ChuanBeiYe is one of my primary herbals I use for cancer treatment. It is a Chinese product marketed for use as cough syrup and contains three herbal/animal ingredients in a sugar solution. The primary ingredient in SanSheDan is apricot seed or Xing Ren. It also contains fritillary bulb (Chuan Bei Mu) and snake bile.

Many of my clients refer to it as snake oil but it really does work.

It is especially helpful for animals with cancers which tend to migrate to the lungs. I always use this in my osteosarcoma dogs but also use it for treating many other cancers.

In fact, I have not found a better product for keeping cancer out of the lungs. If we can catch the cancer before there are detectable lung mets on X-ray, this product will usually keep it that way.

In Chinese medicine terms this formula is directed towards the lungs. The snake is moving and helps to move the apricot seed into the lungs and keep things open. The apricot seed is a lung tonic and helps to open up the lungs and kill cancer cells. The fritillary gets rid of phlegm in the lungs and reduces nodules.

Apricot seed contains a bound form of cyanide. This form of bound cyanide is much more toxic to cancer cells then normal cells.

This supplement in the first of a series I will talk about where toxic compounds in small amounts can lead to better health if used correctly.

Taken in recommended dosage I believe this herbal to be extremely safe. However it should not be overused – more is not better and in large dosages this product can kill. It also should never be given to pregnant or reproductive animals who may become pregnant.

In small animals I dose this supplement at 1ml per 10lb of body weight per day. In most dogs of average size I dose it at one vial (10ml) twice a day. If they are much over 100lb I will increase that to 1-1/2 to 2 vials twice a day. Because it comes in glass vials with a straw for sucking it out, you need a large needle and syringe to remove it. Often your vet is willing to provide this. It can be given in food or squirted directly into your animal’s mouth.

I have never had an animal have a negative reaction to this product at this dose.

(I finally have a company, Modern Herb Shop I trust, that sells Sanshedan online. I have tested there product myself and it works well. If you life in a city with a Chinatown or international community, you can also find it there. )

As with all health advise given on this site, please check with your animal’s primary veterinarian before using this product.

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

Food sitting in a dish uneaten does not help a cat get better.

In other words, the best food left uneaten does nothing.

Yet many cats with kidney/renal disease are put on a low protein diet such as Science Diet’s K/D diet that they will not eat. And from my experience cats with renal disease should not be on K/D or other low protein kidney diets to began with.

Many cats get kidney failure as they age, yet western medicine does not have a good treatment to reverse or prevent this disease. The most common treatments involve a low protein diet and subcutaneous fluids.

So what do I recommend for cats with renal disease, if you know they do not have inflammatory kidney disease (explained later in this article)?

A high protein canned or home cooked diet made with good quality protein. I recommend using Instinct, Weruva, or Go/Now grain free if you use a commercial diet. Raw food is ok if they will tolerate it and are not severely sick.

What high protein?!
But my vet said I need to feed low protein!

Here is one of the commonly sited studies on PubMed that proves that high protein does not make kidney disease worse in cats.
Protein and calorie effects on progression of induced chronic renal failure in cats

So let’s talk a little about what is going on with renal disease and why I recommend the diets I do.

From a Chinese Medicine view we have two main types of renal failure, inflammatory and deficient/ischemic.

Deficient or ischemic kidney disease

This is the more common type of renal failure. These guys are usually thin, not great eaters and may or may not be vomiting. The inflammatory cats may also shift to this after you get the inflammation down.

I really hate to see these guys on K/D or low protein.

In this form of renal failure there is not enough blood going to the kidneys and the cells are dying from ischemia (lack of oxygen). They may also have renal hypertension (high blood pressure) which causes even more damage. Many of these cats are also anemic making the problem even worse.

These cats need protein both to increase blood flow and blood volume (you can’t make blood without protein) and to repair the damage to the kidney cells (you can’t repair cells without protein).

And yes many of these cells are not dead and can be repaired once you improve blood flow.

• I recommend a high protein canned food such as Instinct, or grain free Weruva or Go for these guys.
• I highly recommend acupuncture for deficient cats. They not only feel better, eat better but often we can reduce their kidney numbers or get them back to normal
• Infrared light therapy can be very helpful for these kitties and can be done at home. Infrared light helps to improve blood circulation into the kidneys and wake up kidney cells that are still alive but don’t have enough blood flow. See my article Infrared light therapy for instructions on how to use this therapy.
• I also often put these cats on a Chinese formula containing Shu Di Huang (also known as rehmannia). Shu Di Huang formulas help repair kidney cells, lower kidney numbers on blood work and lower blood pressure. It is best to find a holistic vet to help you determine the best formula. If you can’t find someone to help you the base formula Liu Wei Di Huang Wan can be used. This formula is now available in powder form that can be made into a tea from my etsy shop Kingdom of Basil

I’ve had many cats convert back to normal through diet, acupuncture and herbs.

From my experience, if they stay on K/D, I can not convert them back. They need to be on high protein if they have this type of kidney disease to improve numbers. If they are inflammatory we get rid of the inflammation and then put them on high protein even if the numbers are normal to keep them stable and out of renal failure.

Although it is not my favorite approach, I have maintained cats with ischemic renal disease on dry Orijen or high protein/no grain diets. If somehow they have to be on dry I always go with a high protein. They tend to stay stable on high protein dry and sub-Q fluids. I also find sometimes you need a little dry in the old guys. My old cat Basil needs a little dry to maintain his weight because he just didn’t eat enough canned.

So why does my western veterinarian recommend a low protein diet?

We do know that high phosphorus can be bad in renal disease. There is higher phosphorus levels in protein so it is hard to get low phosphorus without doing a low protein diet. So low phosphorus has translated into low protein. My experience has shown me that the higher phosphorus doesn’t seem to cause as large an issue as the low protein does in cats with kidney failure.

Inflammatory kidney disease
We do not see much inflammatory kidney disease in cats and most of it is in cats younger than 10 years old. In inflammatory kidney disease, there is inflammation in the kidneys that causes the the kidneys to not function well and reduces the blood flow to the cells.

It can be hard to tell these cats from deficient kidney kitties as there is much overlap in symptoms. These cats tend to vomit a lot but still have a fairly good appetite. They almost always have a high cholesterol on blood work and tend to have kidney numbers that are just barely elevated. They also may have a history of inflammatory bowel disease, elevated liver enzymes, chronic pancreatitis or vomiting. And these cats tend to be younger, usually the old thin kitties are not inflammatory.

Usually with acupuncture and herbs we can clear this stage up in a month or two. If it is mild and recent their kidney numbers may go back to normal. If they have had it awhile we then see the ischemic renal disease underneath.

These guys should not have high protein but also should not have high grain (which causes inflammation).

• I recommend a normal to moderate protein canned food such as Avoderm, Pinnacle or Nature’s Variety Homestyle. High protein increases blood flow which will cause more inflammatory cells to go to the kidneys, we don’t want that but also we need some protein to maintain the cells
• I also recommend acupuncture for these cats to reduce the inflammation and support the kidneys
• For inflammatory kidney disease herbal treatment can be amazingly effective. It is best if you can work with a holistic vet to determine the most appropriate formula.

So what do I do if I can’t figure out if my cat has inflammatory or ischemic kidney disease?

• 1. Find a holistic vet who can help to make that determination.A holistic vet can also help you get your cat on an appropriate herbal formula and do acupuncture to help support the kidneys .
• 2. If you can’t find a vet to work with, feed a moderate protein canned food.

What can I do to prevent kidney failure in cats who are currently healthy?

• 1. Do not overvaccinate. We now know that the FVRCP causes many cats to have antibodies against their own kidneys. See the article To vaccinate or not to vaccinate that is the question.
• 2. Do not feed your cat a dry food only diet. Make sure your cat is on a high protein, good quality diet of canned food, home cooked or raw food. Cats on dry food only diets are always in a mild state of dehydration. Long term this dehydration can hurt their kidneys. See How do I pick the best food for my cat’s health.

I just found out that my favorite hydrotherapy clinic has a new blog written by Paige, the resident dog, who also happens to be one of my dog clients. It is fun, interesting and has some beautiful photos of animals during hydrotherapy.

I get to share some of the most amazing animal patients with Wellsprings. While acupuncture is great for working with pain and stimulating nerves to work better, it can’t bring back muscle. Many of the dogs I work with are too weak to be able to exercise on land enough to build the muscle back up so need some help.

I always turn to Wellsprings to help with this work.

I have been amazed how well most dogs take to the water. I had one greyhound named Love I used to treat who used to love to run more than anything. As she got older she could no longer run and became depressed. Because she wasn’t a water dog her human mom was worried that she would not like swimming.

It turns out that not only did Love do ok in the water but once she figured out she could run in the water she loved it. Her mom sent me the greatest photos of her working in the pool with a giant smile on her face.

Here is the link to Front Paige News, Wellsprings’ new blog.

Top photo – Tony. Bottom photo – Spike. Both from Wellspring’s blog. Check it out to read more about these two dogs.

An important bill is being considered in Washington state which would help with spay/neuter costs for ferals and pets owned by low income people. Spay/Neuter is the best way to prevent overpopulation and cut down on the euthanasia rate of area shelters.

From Pamela Brumell of FCAT’s blog:

Senate Bill 5151/House Bill 1226: Saving Companion Animals’ Lives

The Washington State Legislature is now considering a bill that will help low-income pet owners of Washington State, save animals’ lives, and protect the general public at the same time. (Senate Bill 5151 / House Bill 1226. Currently in committee.)

What will Bill 5151/1226 will do if enacted?

This bill, if passed into law, will levy a small fee on cat and dog food at the rate of $0.025 (that’s 2 and a half cents) per pound. This would be $1.25 for a 50-pound bag of food. The monies collected will be put in a dedicated fund that will subsidize the costs of spaying and neutering of cats and dogs by participating veterinarians.

The program will benefit low-income Washingtonians wishing to spay or neuter their pets. Under the program, the cost will be $20 for dogs and $10 for cats. Proof-of-income requirements on pet owners will not be burdensome. Feral cats will be eligible for free spay and neutering.

Controlling the cat and dog population will help save taxpayers’ dollars by reducing the number of animals handled by local animal care and control agencies. One Washington shelter reported the average cost to handle an animal is $93. (Stray animal pickup and delivery to the shelter costs an additional $150 to $200.) For every animal that is not handled by animal control or shelters, the savings can be significant. For that reason alone, spay/neuter legislation will save Washington’s cities and counties millions of dollars in animal control costs and lower the number healthy, adoptable dogs and cat that are put to death over the long run.

Why is this bill so important for FCAT, FAF and other animal support groups?

Currently organizations that help animals (groups like FCAT and FAF) have to spend much of their already thinly spread resources on spaying and neutering costs. Even though we have vets in Seattle who are willing to give us a price break, we are still spending more time than we’d like carting individual animals to Seattle and back home. If 5151 passes, people in small towns will be able to take animals in by themselves, and this will free up FCAT and FAF to concentrate on larger colonies of feral cats anywhere in Washington.

Working with larger colonies of animals is where our resources are best used, and this is where more of them will be used if 5151 passes.

Please contact your local representatives and tell them to support 5151/1226. It’s an easy win for FCAT and FAF, a win for the people of Washington State, and a win for the animals.

Your representatives in the 34th District:

http://34dems.org/elected-legislative.htm

More info on SB5151 and what you can do to help:

http://savewashingtonpets.org/default.aspx

WS Blog member DP contributed to this post.

——-

comments by others:

“Similar programs have been established in other states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. The New Hampshire program was started in 1994 and in its first few years a 34-percent decrease in shelter admissions and a 75-percent decrease in euthanasia were reported.”

These animals and owners desperately need the help. In thinking about the cats that FAF has only recently helped:

• 11 were from a family that became homeless (only one cat was altered)
• a colony of 25 that began two years ago from three friendly cats–owners have no money–food is provided with FAF donations
• two kittens and two adult cats taken from a woman unable to care for them after she entered a rehab facility

All of these cats were unaltered because the owners simply could not afford the surgery fees of most veterinary clinics.

The purpose of the bill is to provide funding to assist low-income owners of cats and dogs to obtain affordable spay/neuter surgeries, and to provide for spay/neuter surgeries on feral and free-roaming cats. The bill does not make spay/neuter surgery mandatory.

It’s the ultimate lab test!

There have been many stories about animals detecting cancer in people. Now scientists in Japan have trained a Labrador Retriever to sniff out bowel cancer in people. And the results…

95-98% accuracy – the same as if you undergo a colonoscopy! And without the trauma.

Here’s a link to the whole story, Dogs sniff out cancer in stool.

One of the most frustrating problems in veterinary medicine is the chronically itchy dog or cat.

So how can be get these guys so they are comfortable without getting stuck in the constant swing between steroids and antibiotics and without spending a small fortune?

Lets look at what is going on.

Why do dogs and cats itch?

Most itchy animals are allergic to something, be it food, plants in the environment or some other thing in their world such as dust, molds, or chemicals. The hard part is finding out what it is and even harder being able to do something about it. I have a number of dogs in my practice who are allergic to humans, dust, or grass which are all impossible to eliminate from their world.

Allergies produce inflammation in the body. In people this often presents as nasal congestion, in animals the most common way inflammation presents is through the skin.

So if they are allergic to something we can not eliminate this is an impossible problem, right?

No, there is hope.

Most animals and humans have some mild allergies or sensitivities. Most of the time we do not have any problems from them but if we are suddenly exposed to everything we are allergic to all at once or a very large amount of something we are allergic to we have a reaction. This is because we only have a reaction if the inflammation in our body reaches a certain threshold. Below that threshold nothing happens.

But my dog is allergic to everything and always itchy. How do I possibly get his body to be below the allergy threshold so he doesn’t itch?

Through using a diet that reduces the inflammation in his body! This means we need to feed a diet that is not processed, doesn’t have grain and takes a little longer to get absorbed and assimilated through the gut. A slow assimilation assures that there are not large spikes of nutrients and proteins that come into the body all at once and overtax the pancreas and liver creating inflammation.

Most commercial diets are too high in grains and carbohydrates and too processed for our companion animals. They create inflammation which overtaxes the body and leads to not just skin inflammation but also other inflammatory conditions such as colitis, pancreatitis, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and ear infections.

In addition many of these diets are not high enough in protein causing a decreased blood reserve in the body in some of these animals which leads to the skin not being properly nourished and a cycle of chronic skin infections which produce more itching.

Commercial high grain processed diets often make our animals overweight. Fat reserves in the abdomen cause more inflammation in the body, by producing free radicals, adding to the problem.

So what are the steps needed to raise the allergy threshold and stop or eliminate the itch through diet?

1. Cut all grains out of your dog or cat’s diet. If for some reason your animal can not tolerate a no grain diet add in small amounts of brown rice or whole oats.
2. Feed the least processed diet possible. Raw is best. From my experience I get the best results when I put animals on raw diets. If your animal can not tolerate raw or you can not feed it for some reason then home cooked or good quality grain free canned is best. If for some reason you can only feed dry, feed Orijen brand. The folks at Orijen have made their food so that it has a lower glycemic index and is processed by the body slower than other dry foods. (Remember if you feed raw to make sure it is frozen first) .



3. If your dog or cat has more itching along the top of their back and on their sides add in a fish oil supplement. Fish oil helps to decrease the itch and heal skin lesions.
4. Find a veterinary Chinese herbalist to work with in your community. Chinese herbs can work with the body to help to decrease the allergy threshold even more than with diet alone. Most of the animals I work with are on a program of Chinese herbs and diet change.
5. Nettles extract can help with itching. Make sure you use a good quality alcohol based extract. Nettles needs to be given at 0.2ml per 5 lbs of body weight and works best if given at this dose three to four times a day. Nettles not only helps directly to decrease itch but also works over time to desensitize the body to allergens helping to reprogram the immune system.
6. Eliminate anything you can that you know your animals is allergic to. If they flare up with certain foods or chemicals in your house get rid of those things.
7. Make sure there are no fleas! These buggers make even the normal animals itchy but can quickly push an allergic animals over the edge

Remember that resolution of itching can take a long time. Many animals, especially the ones with severe skin disease, take up to a year to get better.

Please also see part two Treating Severe Skin Disease Herbally.

As much as I love writing new articles for Path with Paws, I have found that my time has not allowed me to contribute to it lately.

I have just started taking a course to official become a certificated veterinary Chinese herbalist and between that, my business, and being a mother I have found I do not have any extra time. I will get back to writing more for this site in the future including articles on:

• Managing chronic renal failure in cats
• First aid for your animal companions
• A guide to flower essence therapy
• The link between inflammation, diet and skin disease in animals
• and more articles to come

If you want to be notified when a new article comes out and you are on facebook, Path With Paws now has a facebook page and if you sign up I will send out notification when I get a new article up.

Thank you for all the support you have given me around this site. I look forward to getting back to writing when things slow down a little.

A benefit auction for two of the best animal groups in west seattle is coming up!

Feral Cat Assistance & Trapping and Friends of the Animals Foundation

The Problem: Two uncontrolled breeding cats, plus all their kittens and all their kittens’ kittens, if none are ever neutered or spayed add up to:

1st year: 12 ~ 2nd year: 66 ~ 3rd year: 382 ~ 4th year: 2,201

5th year: 12,680 ~ 6th year: 73,041 ~ 7th year: 420,715

8th year: 2,423,316 ~ 9th year: 13,958,290

The Solution: • spay and neuter cats from all walks of life • assist in feral colony maintenance • provide for medical and health needs of feral, rescue, and low-income cats • foster or adopt

Be a part of the solution – Join Us!

Saturday, April 10 • 2:00 – 5:00 PM

RockSport Bar & Grill

4209 SW Alaska • Seattle, WA 98116

An afternoon of great people raising funds for two groups whose work is based out of West Seattle, yet assists many Washington State communities.

Event proceeds will:

• spay and neuter cats from all walks of life

• assist in feral colony maintenance

• provide for medical and health needs of feral, rescue, and low-income cats.

Cool raffle prizes and silent auction items include home services, pet care, pampering (human and animal!), dining out, shopping, entertainment, gift items, and more.

All ages welcome; no host food & full bar. Bring cash or your checkbook, buy raffle tickets, and bid often! Fun stuff like chair massages and psychic readings will be offered on site for a suggested donation – and be ready for some surprises too!

Donations of wet or dry cat food are always appreciated and will gladly be accepted at the door.

We look forward to seeing you there!