Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 12/13/2009

Question
I have two questions about my kitty.  1) Is there a natural alternative to Clavomax, and 2) is it OK to give Bentonite Clay (green powder) to my kitty?  Better give you some history (maybe too much, but I wanted to give you the recent history).  

I have a 19-year-old cat named Buddy.  He was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2007 and has been on methimazole (5mg 2x day).  Other than that, he has had no illnesses or problems throughout his life, until March this year.  That’s when I took him into the vet to get a checkup so I could get the methimazole refilled.  I had no other major concerns about his health other than him steadily loosing weight and muscle mass – all since 2007, but it was not alarming.  Just chalked it up to hyperthyroidism.  And, he had a gurgly/rattly noise he made while purring, that had been going on for a while, which the internist never diagnosed because Buddy would not purr for him.  I would give Apis and it would go away.  His blood work always looked good. So, in March, when the doctor was looking him over - said he was slightly dehydrated, and gave him some fluids.   So, I got the bright idea to ask for fluids to take home, because I was worried about hyperthyroid masking kidney failure, and was worried that may be going on.  I thought giving him fluids (100ml) 2x a week would head off potential kidney failure, even though his blood work had no signs of kidney problems.  Now that it is December – looking back, that was a bad idea and the start of all of Buddy’s problems.  Two or three weeks after starting the fluids Buddy crashed with hypokalemia (very low potassium).  He was in the hospital for 3 days.  Within the next month, his gurgly/rattly noise was more pronounced and constant, and he was breathing heavier.  Since May, his breathing has become more and more difficult.  He had x-rays done, and nothing showed up, and was told it was not asthma.  The internist wanted to do an exploratory of his throat, but I was reluctant to anesthetize him because of his age.  He still is hypokalemic, and has to be on a lot of potassium supplements.  In October, we realized that Buddy is anemic. (Low 20’s).   I took Buddy to the teaching vet school in my state so he could get all the tests done in one day, and I was willing to have the exploratory done, once everything else was ruled out.  They did an x-ray and it was fine.  They ran an ultra-sound around his abdomen to check his adrenal glands and kidney’s.  It all looked good. They did an ultra-sound and EKG of his heart, and discovered a heart condition.  He is now on a small amount of lasix, and benzapril.  Still remains anemic and hypokalemic.  Was instructed to take Buddy off the fluids.  Being off the fluids has caused no problems.  His breathing is continuing to get worse.  And, I have to continue giving Clavomax, because of a secondary respiratory infection going on – they think is caused from whatever is happening in his throat.  Buddy did not have the exploratory done because of his heart condition.  When they put a stethoscope up to his throat, there is the noise.  So, the anemia, the low potassium, and the edema are adding to Buddy’s breathing problems, but NOT the cause.

I would like to take Buddy off the Clavomax, but he becomes very congested if I do not give it to him.  Plus, I was doing some research on Bentonite Clay, and found confusing views on whether it was good for pets.  Buddy is not as hydrated as he could be, and has trouble with constipation sometimes, and upset stomach.  I do give milk thistle, and fish and flax oil, which seems to help the constipation.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to get Buddy to eat a homemade diet.  He will eat it as a treat, but not regularly.  So, I came across stories of the wonders of Bentonite Clay, and the many uses – from respiratory problems, to upset stomach, to removing toxins.  And, was thinking it may be useful in helping his upset stomach, and removing all the bad toxins.  But, because of Buddy’s state of health, I wanted to check to see if it would be harmful or helpful.

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Buddy is so grateful to you for all the great care and different approaches you have tried with him to keep him going this long - good for you.

1. There are many different natural alternatives to Clavamox, but not just one that I can tell you. Herbs, homeopathic remedies, chinese herbs - each needs careful and accurate prescribing.

2. The reason you found conflicts over bentonite is there is medicinal clays of different sorts AND Sodium Bentonite is used in clumping cat litter, which is toxic.A good place to read about the safe, medicinal clay is at Shirleys-wellness-cafe.com. "The Native Americans call it "Ee-Wah-Kee" meaning  "The-Mud-That-Heals" Bentonite, as well as other types of healing clay, has been used by indigenous cultures since before recorded history.  "The Amargosians (predecessors to the Aztecs ), the Aborigines, and natives of Mexico and South America all recognized the benefit of clays. " "...healing mud not only draws toxic material out of the body if taken internally, but also reduces pain and infection in open wounds on both humans and animals."
   With the internet, you will find hundreds of "miracle cures" for the same condition. They each did cause the miracle, but will not help all cats, nor even most. Therefore I think you need professional help.

Because you are so aware of the alternative approaches yet have now had negative results using conventional approaches, it is time to put the time in to finding the very best match for you and your cat of a professional, preferably veterinary, integrative practitioner who can work with the many drugs and the new or worsening symtpoms of your great cat. Check out Brighthaven.org as they have started with cats like Buddy and gotten some to live to 28, 30 and even 35. They can do a consult with you for guidance and they list several of the veterinarians who help them. (see FIND A HEALER, below)

Though you know much of what I say to many questioners here, I am sending all the info I usually do because there may be something new for you, too.

Please go to my web site and sign up for the newsletter - www.ChristinaChambreau.com. On the products page, there are many great supplements which may help your animals be healthier.

If you were trained in different healing modalities (see below - YOU BE THE HEALER) you could help by using Reiki, T-Touch, HTA, flower essences, supplements, homeopathy and more. Even before you are trained in Reiki, you can ask for this energy healing that cannot hurt and may help (See REIKI, below).

If you are interested in better health in general, please read on.
7 KEYS TO HEALTHY ANIMALS
1. Know the current level of health. Most health problems are the result of an underlying energy imbalance.  As we cure animals of "disease", we find that other things we thought were normal go away, so we can use these clues to know that animals are not healthy yet.  Your goal is for your animal to have great energy, no doggy odor, no hairball vomiting, little shedding, a glowing coat and many more. Below is a complete list of these signs (Early Warning Signs of Illness). In young animals, these apparently "normal" problems may be the only indications to start exploring new options for lifestyle or treatment.  Buy the Healthy Animal's Journal (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com) so you can see how these early warning symptoms and obvious ill symptoms change over time.  It will be available by October in an e-book version and by Jan 2010 a version for horses will be available.

2. Feed the best. What are the best diets for people or animals -- the most processed or the freshest, most organic?  The best ingredients should be the most consciously raised - local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein sources. Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the intestines. Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do not pull out matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables. Therefore the best diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones, pureed raw and cooked vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are eaten is critical). Grains are not good for most animals, but if there are none of the early warning signs (see below) and no illnesses, you can feed some grains, preferably the higher protein ones. Start as young kittens and puppies or at whatever age you read this (Brighthaven.org, a cat sanctuary switches 16 years old and older cats to raw meat diet and some have lived to 27 and 30). Second best is same quality, but cooked.  Even grocery store quality meat and vegetables are much better than most processed foods. Processed foods are an effort for the food industry to use up its waste products except for a few companies with great motives (and even they sometimes get bad or inferior ingredients). Processed foods are also a problem for the environment - they are not sustainable. Every animal needs and wants a different combination at different times in their lives, just as we do. With any food, observe each of your animals for the effect that food has on them. NEVER feed DRY food to cats - even as treats. You can now buy many commercial raw  meat diets. You must research them as well. Ask where the ingredients are raised? Are chemicals used? Are the chickens, beef, pork, etc raised in humane ways, out in the sun to get the Vitamin D in the meat, etc?

3. Vaccinate the least. In my opinion, vaccines have caused more harm to animals than anything else we have done. Do you get measles, mumps and polio every year of your life? Researchers in conventional veterinary medicine agree that we vaccinate too often, in too many combinations, and that this level of vaccination, while preventing epidemics, is harmful to the health of susceptible animals.  On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10 and 16 years later for distemper and Parvo so I recommend just a few baby shots and NO more. While Rabies is also a viral disease, you must follow the law and vaccinate every 3 years. To help prevent damage from the Rabies vaccine, or any others that are accidentally given, do the following. First, learn Reiki (see Below) and hold the vaccine syringe in your hand until the "draw" is gone, then Reiki the injection site once you are in car, then Reiki the whole animals daily until they do not "draw". If you have not yet learned Reiki, use the contacts below to have it done for your animal after the vaccine. For two weeks before and two weeks after, give the totally safe Vaccine Detox, a flower essence from Spirit Essences (get a discount at www.ChristinaChambreau.com/products.php). Then use the Early Warning signs, below, to see if further holistic treatment is needed if any of them appear or worsen. The AVMA, veterinary colleges, AAHA, FPA and other leaders say 3 years is the best for all other vaccines, so certainly do not do yearly for anything (unless there is a Leptospirosis outbreak in your area, then email me for guidance). Please do not let the need to put your dog in a kennel force you to poison your dog with extra vaccines unless it is an emergency. The insert in vaccine packages says “Give only to healthy animals”, so if your animal is ill in any way, or undergoing treatment, they should not be vaccinated. Vaccinated animals often develop many chronic conditions including diabetes, cushings disease, addisons, allergies and even cancer. A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to jstsayno2vaccs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

4. Use the fewest chemicals, remembering that there are chemicals in vaccines. Each animal is an individual and will respond differently to heartworm, flea and tick preventatives. Some are very sensitive to chemicals used in the yard or the house and in vaccines - they will become profoundly ill. Others will be triggered by these chemicals to just not have full health.  Chemicals in foods can cause allergic type reactions, so again feeding a fresh diet from local ingredients will be best. Healthy yards have lots of weeds. House cleaners can be made from foods and microfibril cloths clean like a charm. Healthy animals never get fleas and ticks

5. Understand how animals become ill and how they heal. First there is an energetic imbalance (they are just not right), then functional (the dog is itchy), then inflamed (skin is red, infected, swollen and hot) and finally tissue changes (thick, black skin). Results of any treatment can be no change, amelioration (current symptoms disappear with no other improvements, then return), suppression (current symptoms disappear and they become more ill) or a cure (everything about the animal to begins to improve, especially the overall energy level.)  
Keeping a journal is critical to determine what treatments are helping problems to become less frequent and less severe. You can stand firm with what you feel is working even if your professional disagrees and change approaches when needed.
Www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com is a great one to use and e-version will soon be available.  

6. Learn different healing approaches. There are so many different ways to stimulate your healing that you never need to give up trying. Flower essences, essential oils, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, Reiki and chiropractic are a few. Classes are found through your health food store, by phone or on-line. I teach many classes around the country and my web site lists classes taught by others as well.

7. Select the best healers for each animal's health team. Most people want a veterinarian (preferably integrative) and an energy healer. You decide what needs to be tried next for your animal. When you realize the animal is not improving – seek different care. Use conventional veterinarians for diagnosis and emergency treatment, or if other methods are not working. Again, integrative veterinarians (see below) will be able to do both, and have the philosophical understanding of the vibrational causes of illness.


FIND A HEALER
I strongly recommend finding an integrative veterinarian with whom to work. This is a person trained in many different approaches, including using conventional drugs only when absolutely needed. Working with one can increase the chance that your cherished companion can live a long and healthy life after recovering from this current problem. There are good ones and great ones, and a few homeopathic veterinarians will consult by phone or email. Go to www.VetAdviceLine.com and read the article in the library about selecting and working with a holistic veterinarian. There are other great articles there, as well.
You can go to the web sites for each type of holistic practice and use their referral list to find one near to you:
1. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine: www.IVAS.org & www.TCVM.com
2. Homeopathic veterinarians (these can often help you by phone if no other holistic practitioners are nearby that you like): www.theAVH.org Their conferences are open to lay people, too, and we offer an introductory class before the conference.
3. Chiropractor - www.animalchiropractic.org
4. Wide range of other treatments: www.AHVMA.org, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association
If you wish to consult with me by telephone, go to my website and read about my practice.

There are also lots of practitioners and approaches that are used by trained people that you can find by searching the Internet.

YOU BE THE HEALER  
I also strongly recommend getting some training in understanding the wide range of approaches to health so you can be in charge of what you choose for treatments for your animals. You can learn Reiki (which can take the "bad" out of vaccines and any needed drugs, or even make food healthier), massage, HTA, TTouch, acupressure, flower essence therapy, aromatherapy, all of which are 100% safe to use for any problems (see REIKI below). There are many more approaches you can do to help heal your animals with some training since they need to be used more carefully - homeopathy, herbal medicine, Chinese herbs. In addition to classes (see below), there are many very good list serves filled with people experienced with not vaccinating and feeding raw meat diets. Go to yahoogroups.com and look for “Just say no 2 vaccs” and “Raw Paws”. As with human health approaches, there are many different opinions, so you need to experiment and see what makes your animals more or less healthy. Keeping a journal can help you decide what is working and what is not working (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com).

www.ChristinaChambreau.com has a listing of courses taught by her and others that may help you. I am doing teleseminars and will expand to Webinars in the future. If you want to organize a webinar for me and get people in your area of the country to attend I would love to do that for you. You can do searches online for the many other classes and lectures available. Go to www.theAVH.org for classes every November as part of the annual conference.  People come from around the world for this.

Healthy Animal Update is an emailed newsletter that is occasionally sent out – to sign up – go to www.ChristinaChambreau.com. While there check out classes and products.
Good Health and looking forward to seeing you/hearing you in some of my classes.
Dr. Chambreau


REIKI:
From the book, Healthy Animal's Journal - "Reiki: Personally, I think every person who lives with or works with animals must know at least Level I Reiki. The practitioner places her hands upon the animal (or it can be done from a distance as some animals are too sensitive for direct touch) with the intent for healing to occur. The energy flows through the healer into the animal. This is based on directly applying Chi (energy) to rebalance the energy field so it no longer needs to produce the physical symptoms. It is a very good adjunct to any healing modality, especially to relieve pain and inflammation. It also "takes the bad out of" things. By doing Reiki on smelly water in restaurants I have been able to drink sweet tasting and smelling water. Use Reiki anytime that you must give injections, vaccines, drugs, flea or heartworm drugs, or other substances with potential toxicity. Do you work in a grooming salon, or kennel, or veterinary clinic, or barn or anywhere animals are being seen? Use your Reiki on any treatments to be given and to calm the animals. People have reported getting animals to eat by doing Reiki on their food.  http://www.reiki.org  . Get a free treatment at www.interdimensionalhealing.com. Great information on Reiki - http://www.reikicourse.orgKathleen Prasad is a wonderful teacher and works with my favorite sanctuary and holistic education center, BrightHaven www.brighthaven.org . Kathleen leads a free monthly telechat for anyone trained in Reiki and using it with animals. http://www.animalreikisource.com/ If you cannot find a Reiki Class near you (same class for people and animals as it connects you through an "attunement" to the healing energy of the universe, making you a channel of healing), three groups offer long distance, free, attunements. http://theholisticcare.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13 http://www.freereikiattunement.com   Another group that offers Reiki attunements, classes and training on-line www.ReikiBlessings.com and animal classes, too www.animalhealers.homestead.com/  A Reiki Class will be part of the PGFFD summer health classes in June in Bowie, www.HomeopathicAnimalCare.org

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF ILLNESS FOR DOGS AND CATS

1.   Is your companion really healthy?
2.   Can you tell if the treatment you selected is deeply curing?
3.   Can your companion be healthier than you realize?
YES - read on and evaluate your animal for true health.

Most health problems are the result of an underlying energy imbalance, made worse from poor diet and vaccination.  They are rarely acute diseases (except injuries). Therefore, you may find that the problem does not clear up as you expect or it recurs. If so, you are dealing with an underlying predisposition to illness, and these clues to underlying ill health will help you select a remedy and monitor the results.  As we cure animals of "disease", we find that certain other "NORMAL" things go away, too.  Do not be satisfied until most of the following symptoms are gone.  In young, apparently healthy animals, these apparently "normal" problems may be the only indications to start treatment. This is only the beginning of a list - as more animals are cured we will find new levels of health. Tracking these is easy when you use the Healthy Animal's Journal by Dr. Christina Chambreau (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com)

SKIN: doggy smell; attracts fleas a lot; dry, oily, lack-luster coat;
excessive shedding; not grooming,    ear problems - waxy, oily, itchy, recurrent mites; eye discharge, tearing, or matter in corner of eyes; raised third eyelid; spots appearing on iris; "freckles" appearing on face; whiskers falling out; fragile, thickened, distorted claws that are painful or sensitive to trim.
BEHAVIOR: Fears(of loud noises, thunder, wind, people, animals, life); too timid; too rough or aggressive (even at play); too hard to train; barks too much and too long; suspicious nature; biting    when petted too long; hysteria when restrained; clumsy; indolent; licking or sucking things or people too much; not using litter box or not covering stool.
DIGESTIVE: Bad breath; tarter accumulation; loss of teeth; poor appetite; craving weird things(rubber    bands, plastic, dirt, cat litter, paper, dogs eating dog or cat stools, rocks, sticks...); sensitivity to milk;    thirst - a super healthy cat on non dry food will drink at most once a week; red gum line; vomiting often, even hairballs more than a few times a year; mucous on stools; tendency to diarrhea with least    change of diet; obesity;  anal gland problems; recurrent parasites.
STIFFNESS when getting up, early hip dysplasia; tires easily in hot or cold weather; can no longer jump up on counters, or go up or down steps.
TEMPERATURE: Low grade fevers - Normal for healthy cats and dogs is
100-101.5.
AGE & REPRODUCTION: Should live a long life (Shepards 17 years, Danes 12, cats 24). should be able    conceive easily, deliver normally, and not pass on "genetic breed" problems.