More on Gracie

I remember when you were trying many of these treatments. You have always been conscientious to Gracie's needs and acted on her flare-ups immediately. Gracie seems to be a very sensitive creature - mentally and physically - just as some people are hyper-sensitive to their environments for no rhyme or reason. You don't need to defend yourself to me, and anyone who would care to criticize might want to spend some time reading the archives of this blog to understand how well you've cared for Gracie before commenting.

Oh Robin, I feel badly that you find yourself in a position where you feel you have to explain yourself. After everything you have done and continue to do for cats, I can't believe anyone honestly and truly doesn't believe you are doing what's best and what's right for your animals. You are SO sensitive, sweet and caring. I thought I was the only crazy woman hyper-tuned-in to her cats. Hah! You have a WHOLE BLOG about it... AND you take care of fosters! That's way more than me... LOL =)

I am so glad you are here. "Here" as in, on this planet to take care of the little furbabies who come your way, and here on the internets so I could find you and find comfort & inspiration in your posts!!! It is so validating to find someone else struggling with a sick kitty. I have been to hell and back with one of mine (Bailey) and we are STILL FIGHTING. Little did I know the things I did thinking they were good for her, were hurting her, and now her poor little body is so messed up, I don't know that there even is a homeostasis anymore for her. EVERY MEAL is tailored to "manage" her body. *sigh*

Bailey is also allergic (or at least sensitive to) to dust mites, and chicken, and possibly duck and turkey and salmon oil, AND she has IBD. (I say "possibly" on duck, turkey & salmon oil because something in the combo there sets her IBD off) Her sensitivities came from a life of eating Wysong and Iams, and then living for 9 yrs in a brand-new apartment building (off-gassing chemicals from treated lumber, new carpeting & flooring, paint, varnish, glues, etc.) which was also treated MONTHLY by Orkin. *shudder* (And I wonder why I had asthma there, myself!!)

But we don't put that together... why would a young cat be sick in a BRAND NEW home, where there are NO BUGS ;) and being fed what is considered THE BEST food?? I was just like every other cat owner out there :( and we just kept throwing steroids at it (depo) because that's what worked.

FINALLY last fall I had an epiphany and started to re-approach it from a holistic perspective. That's when I learned about IBD & allergies being a function of the immune system. I can't tell you how many holistic cat health books I have read and how much research I have done. Email lists, websites, forums, books, you name it.

I was able to get her intestines under control using supplements. I read about raw feeding but it took 7 months before my mind was open enough to try it and do it. Knowing Bailey was probably allergic to chicken, we started with quail & pheasant, but I switched to duck because it was cheaper. Well like any good little overactive & confused immune system kitty, after about 2 months on exclusively duck (because it's all she would eat), she became sensitive/allergic to it. *sigh* Luckily she's always liked beef =) so now she eats beef, goat, a tiny bit of pork, and last night a tiny bit of mouse snuck in! =) (We are trying mutton soon!)

Here lately her skin was breaking out again in those little eosinophilic itchy lesions, and she had occasional diarrhea, so I discontinued giving her salmon oil completely. Ta-da, symptoms stopped. *sigh* I was giving her the salmon oil to try to control her inflammation. So much for that! :\

The only thing I've been able to give her & keep her on faithfully is Life's Transfer Factor Feline. Actually everybody gets the Feline Formula, and Bailey switches between that & the Stress Formula when she has stuff going on (skin/IBD flaring up, or if she's under stress). It has worked WONDERS for her. She has been on it for 9 months now. She has not had an infection from a bite wound since being on it (and she has had over a dozen of those now, poor thing... another cat in the house DOES NOT like her). The one time I stopped giving it to her, she was bitten and within 48 hrs the wound was a SMELLY green slimy mess!! :( I knew right away I had screwed up, ugh!! :-( I started her on the Transfer Factor Stress Formula immediately, and within 24 hours the smell & green slime were GONE, and within 48 hours the wound had scabbed over and was no longer weeping. AMAZING stuff. :) :) :) It keeps her diarrhea at bay, too.

People criticize that the 4Life product isn't good because it is a "multi," it has lots of supplements in it that I "can't control." I don't agree with this for 2 reasons.

(1) Yes, I feed raw, but our nation's food chain is feeding on grains and grasses that come from soils that have been raped and depleted by generations of ignorant & production-based agriculture. We cannot possibly replace all the nutrients we take out with each crop cycle. This is a case where we have sucked up and wrecked what Mother Nature built over hundreds of years. This trickles down our food supply, and results, IMO, in foods (animals, plants and fruits that we eat) that are undernourished in many ways. We aren't getting everything nutritionally that we should be. So while feeding raw ensures many nutrients are not destroyed by the cooking process, it still is low on key nutrients from the start. (Again, this is my opinion!)

(2) Bailey's intestinal tract is surely compromised in nutrient uptake because of her IBD. No inflamed tissue "works right" and I can't expect that her inflamed intestines are any different. Her body is also in a mode of perpetual stress because her body is attacking itself ALL THE TIME. Her body is always in a heightened state of "at work" through inflammation & allergic response. That means her nutritional needs are higher than that of a healthy cat.

So yes, there are supplemental nutrients in the 4Life product. Perhaps they are not perfect ratios or quantities per serving. As every animal is different, no product will ever be perfect; the only alternative is to have 25 supplements in my kitchen and somehow miraculously measure out 4 micrograms of this, and .08 milligrams of that...... LOL....... that's like 2/3 of a fleck of dust or some nonsense. NOT REALISTIC. ;) The imperfect-but-really-good solution that 4Life offers WORKS, and it works very well for my cats, especially my little Bailey. =)

Dr. Andrew Jones has just come out with a new cat supplement. I am leery of it (because I am leery of everything, not because I have a problem w/ Dr. Andrew) and am sending him an email with a couple of questions. If I like his answers, I'm going to order it for my tribe and try it out. It also has cow colostrum in it, plus pre- and pro-biotics, which are great for the immune system. However I am concerned it has fewer transfer factors than the 4Life Transfer Factor products, and that concerns me. Bailey needs more, not less. I like that the 4Life Feline & Stress products have transfer factors from cow colostrum and egg yolks. It is a broader scope of immune system training & regulation, which she needs!

These are strictly products I have used and am happy with the results. I don't know if the whole transfer factor arena might be something that could help your baby, but it is 100% natural and safe. It is not considered a "toxin." It simply retrains kitty's immune system about what are/are not pathogens, and how to deal with them correctly. Our cats have immune systems that are misidentifying threats, and then are incorrectly going apeshit against them. A little tutelage is a good thing, in this case... :)

Robin, I am pulling for you! Hang in there!! You are not alone in this journey and I am so glad that I came across your site........ you truly warm my heart and make me smile. It is so good to know I am not the only crazy cat lady!! hahahahahahaha =) Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!

:) Karin

How could anyone think that YOU, of all people, would mistreat a cat?? :-/

Don't worry about what anyone thinks...it's clear that you love ALL of your furbabies and would do anything to make them happy. It's not your fault Gracie's sick...

I hope this new treatment helps her!

Am sending good vibes your way - you are my hero for hanging in there. Can't wait to hear what the homeopath says!