Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 6/10/2009

Question
I have a seven-year-old cat who wouldn't eat (for the first time ever) on Friday night. When he wouldn't eat on Saturday morning, I rushed him to my veterinarian. He was diagnosed with renal failure. His BUN was 107, "phos" (phosphorus?) 10.1, creatinine 10.7, "glu" (presumably glucose?) 286. My vet put him on IV immediately, but because my vet doesn't offer round-the-clock care, my cat was transferred to an emergency clinic to be kept on IV over the weekend. My cat's bloodwork was rechecked over the weekend, and it was much the same as earlier. However, during the early hours of Monday, he pulled out his IV and wanted to be petted. When I arrived Monday morning to take my cat from the emergency clinic to my regular vet (not my usual one because he is not open on Mondays), the doctor told me that I might want to chance taking him home and waiting until Tuesday when my regular vet's office was open; she was encouraged by his behavior. And indeed my cat seemed under par, but not desperately sick; he ate a moderate amount and seemed alert and curious. Here's the kicker: When I took him in for bloodwork on Tuesday, everything was entirely normal. The vet at first thought that blood samples had been mixed up and insisted that the bloodwork be repeated. It was. Same results. No sign of renal failure at all.

The vet seemed astounded. I am struggling to understand what happened to my cat so that it doesn't happen again. My cat has a history of crystals that clog his penis, but he stands in the litter box and growls when this happens, and that didn't happen before this emergency. In the past, the only thing that really worked as far as preventing crystals was vitamin C until I found an herbal product called Stone-Ex (made by Crystal Star). He has also taken Tinkle-Eze (formerly "Tinkle Caps," also by Crystal Star). Both seem to be excellent products; I called the company before using Stone-Ex to make sure that it would not harm cats, and I had been giving him one cap a day for two months before this happened, so it seems unlikely that he suddenly had a bad reaction to it.

Do you have any idea what might have caused this emergency and its reversal? I don't use poisons of any sort in my home, and I certainly don't leave toxic chemicals lying around. I can't prevent this from happening again if I don't know what caused it in the first place.

Thanks,
Norma


Answer
Replying to your reply:
I did miss that the emergency clinic had gottent he same values, so it was not a lab error. While I am not, like your conventional veterinarians, surprised at his recovery (I see miraculous recoveries all the time), I, like them, still have no idea what caused the initial and severe values. You said no toxins, so I asume no chance at antifreeze?

I was probably not clear in my answer. While I do not know what triggered the renal episode, what I do maintain is that it indicates that your cat is not completely healthy. The only way to prevent something (when we do not know the trigger) like this from happening in the future is to build up his overall health with homeopathy, acupuncture or other very deep modalities (not just herbs) so that the underlying energetic/vibrational glitch that was triggered to produce renal disease will be fixed, or at least be less sensitive. The suggestion of an intuitive was an outside possibiltiy of discovering what did cause the problem.

I was not dismissing the appetite, just commenting that since the decreased appetite was the only symptom, it was not a clue to me as to what caused the temporary renal failure. The decreased appetite was probably because of the increased urea in the blood stream rather than a clue as to the cause of the renal failure.

I had posted his case to our homeopathic message board and will let you know if others have ideas of the cause. They agreed with me that the prevention is to get him so healthy that he does not need to be on herbs or any other continuing treatment for urinary problems.

Hope this helps you a bit more,
Dr. Chambreau

First, good for you to be using the holistic and integrative approach already. In the notes that follow, you may already know a lot of it. I am still sending them to underline that you are doing well.

Second, I have no idea what caused the crisis. One possibility is that the first blood work ws incorrect, and he never did have renal failure. Those values are VERY high, though I have treated cats successfully with those levels. since the only symptom was not eating well, it is hard to say what was happening. I am assuming he was not vaccinated recently, which would do this.

Though I usually do not suggest intuitives on this forum, I think you may be open to them, so email me for my "intuitive handout" at HealthyAnimals@aol.com. I would consult several, then maybe do a consult with me to understand what they say. Trust your gut.

When I only had my conventional veterinary training, I would often be very frustrated by problems like this. Now that the multitude of holistic modalities is available, I can tell you to never give up carefully using different approaches. Try one after the other, and record the changes with each so you know what to continue and what to stop. Maybe he only needs one of the stone herbs, or maybe he nees good treatment to permanently fix the underlying energy imbalance so he does not need to stay on the herbs, as they can cause problems. Definitely stop the herbs 2 days aout of every 7.

Please go to my web site and sign up for the free newsletter - www.ChristinaChambreau.com. On the products page, there are many great supplements.

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.  Below find Reiki training (free) and treatments (free). See if flower essences would work as well as the herbs(www.ChristinaChambreau.com/products.php) as they are totally safe, or maybe Reiki.


Start with reading these, then  FIND A HEALER, below.
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.  Your goal is for your animal to have great energy, no doggy odor, no hairball vomiting, little shedding, a glowing coat and many more. A complete list of these signs is below. 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.  

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.  Briefly, 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). 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. Commercial raw food diets can be great to medium quality. 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.

3. Vaccinate the least. 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.  The AVMA now recommends that cats and dogs only be vaccinated every 3 years.  On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10 and 16 years later, so I recommend just a few baby shots then only rabies as needed to be legal. 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 cancer. Learn Reiki (see below) to help avoid vaccine problems. Purchase Vaccine Detox from Spirit Essences (order with a discount at www.ChristinaChambreau.com/products.php - scroll down to Spirit Essences) and give for a week before and a week or two after each legally required vaccine. This can sometimes help even months after a vaccine reaction if they have developed some of the early warning signs (see below).  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. Chemicals in foods can cause allergic type reactions. 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.

6. Learn different healing approaches. There are 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.

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.

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. There are good ones and great ones, and a few that really are not even holistic. 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. Homeopath (these can often help you by phone if no other holistic practitioners are nearby that you like): www.theAVH.org
3. Chiropractor - www.animalchiropractic.org
4. Wide range of other treatments: www.AHVMA.org, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association
To become a homeopathic patient of Dr. Chambreau (me), email HealthyAnimals@aol.com for a handout on my practice or read it at my website. I can work by phone from anywhere in the US.  

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. This would include only vaccinating when young except for legally required Rabies (Do you get measles, mumps and polio every year of your life?  Did you know the package inserts say to only vaccinate healthy animals?) and exploring feeding fresh foods, not processed. What is best for you to eat – junky processed foods, or locally grown, fresh foods? Also, you can learn Reiki (which can take the "bad" out of vaccines and any needed drugs, or even make food healthier), massage, HTA, TTouch, flower essence therapy, aromatherapy, and many more things you can do to help heal your animals. 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 nutrition, 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. 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.

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. You are so far along that taking a class would really be a great next step for you.
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. Hold the syringe or the drug in your hand until the heat clears, then hold your hand over the injection site, then daily offer the Reiki until your hands do not get hot (not needed any more).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://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

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.