Last year, when my dog Roxie was diagnosed with cancer, I immediately came home and spent hours and hours researching things that would help get her better. A lot of the supplements I read about that were recommended, I’d never heard of. There was one that caught my attention though, because of how it is administered in dire cases and what ailments it can help with in both cats and dogs. It was vitamin C. I never realized how many things vitamin C was good for treating in cats and dogs until I researched further.
How I stumbled across vitamin C
As soon as my dog Roxie got her cancer diagnosis and seeing how quickly her health was deteriorating, I knew if there was any chance of saving her, I had to find what would work the best and the quickest. Unfortunately, what I read about treating cancer successfully with vitamin C, involved it being injected intravenously in very high doses.
Because that wasn’t an option for me, I tried to find the next best thing. Somewhere I’d read about liposomal vitamin C that was supposed to be better absorbed by the body than conventional vitamin C. I set about trying to find the best brand of it I could find.
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C
During my research, I ran across this Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C here, http://amzn.to/2y4p0j3, where the first review was from someone who had a senior poodle with pneumonia that had basically been brought home to die because it was so sick. With around the clock dosing, the dog had been brought back to life. It was the encouragement I really needed at that moment to show me that miracles were possible.
After reading through some more information and the reviews, I decided to order it for overnight delivery and get Roxie started on it right away. Along with several other supplements I’d ordered for her, I hoped I’d somehow found the magic concoction of things that would save her.
In the past, prior to treating Roxie’s cancer, I’ve taken vitamin C in capsule form along with Echinacea to stave off or treat colds. I’ve also given it periodically to one of my dogs as an ingredient in Dr. Pitcairn’s “Healthy Powder” recipe.
Also, on at least one occasion, I used it as sort of an antibiotic, like when I gave it to one of my new dogs after he got into a skirmish with another male dog I have. Their tussle resulted in a puncture wound on the new dog’s chest. He was reunited with his owner before I got to see how he healed up after being given the vitamin C, but his wound wasn’t that bad before he left, so I’m not sure I would have been able to tell if it was actually helping.
Up to that point, healing things like infections in animals or treating a cold I was getting or got, was really only what I associated using vitamin C for.
Using vitamin C as part of a vaccine counter protocol
In his book, ‘The Nature of Animal Healing’, Dr. Goldstein, a holistic vet whose book I reference often, recommends a vitamin cocktail, including vitamin C, be given to cats and dogs two to three weeks prior to and after vaccinations. Dr. Goldstein recommends this to help boost the immune system to counter the barrage of multiple diseases forced on it at once.
I’m not going to go into the details, including the amounts he recommends, as I just wanted to point out the use of vitamin C as part of a vaccine counter protocol. I have read a lot about how to counter the effects of vaccines, with things like Thuja, but this was the first I’d ever heard of using vitamin C.
Vitamin C for numerous cat and dog ailments
Dr. Goldstein also discusses how vitamin C can help deter hip dysplasia and other joint inflammation by enabling the immune system to properly mobilize calcium, which helps keep bones and joints from deteriorating. He also shares his protocol for cats diagnosed with leukemia and other cancers, as well as feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), based on Dr. Wendell O. Belfield’s work. Dr. Belfield is a well-respected holistic vet known for treating pets with virtually every form of serious illness using massive doses of vitamin C intravenously.
In addition to helping deter hip dysplasia and joint inflammation, and fighting cancer in cats, vitamin C is also recommended and has been used for, protection against heart disease and respiratory issues. As the body is subjected to more and more stress, the more it needs help with vitamin C supplementation to restore the balance.
Stress can be emotional or physical, like relocation or getting vaccinated. Due to the stress, the vitamin C a dog normally produces on its own decreases. In younger dogs, common stressors include surgery, rapid growth, and vaccinations. With older dogs, it is more a need for antioxidants.
Dosing information
Several resources I looked at offered differing dosage amounts, based on different factors or guidelines. Having to take into account the severity of the disease, amount of stress and if that stress amount changes, as well as the size of the animal, you can see how it’s hard to be a one-size-fits-all dosing schedule.
With so many variables, I don’t feel comfortable just giving random dosage amounts out to be followed. They are available, but with most things pet related, one size does not always fit all. This is not an area I am well versed enough in to be that comfortable, either, to offer my own experience.
With Roxie, I was just trying to get enough high doses of vitamin C into her to fight the cancer. One site did say that a healthy dog produces 18mg of vitamin C per day, per pound of body weight, so you could roughly calculate your dog’s vitamin C maintenance dose requirements using that formula. I read that many holistic veterinarians take that number and multiply it by 3-4x for a maintenance dose.
Monitoring vitamin C
In my research, I also found that for therapeutic dosing in dogs, it was recommended to start with a conservative dose spread out over several feedings. Every couple of days, increase the amount by 100 to 500 mg, to the point that diarrhea starts.
I recommend writing the dosage amount and time given, along with your increasing amounts on a calendar, so you can track the dates, times, and amounts easily. Check off if that day and the dosage amount given produced a solid bowel movement day.
Once your dog gets diarrhea, that means it has taken too much vitamin C and you’ll want to back off to the previous days’ amount, before the diarrhea started. That should be the amount of vitamin C that particular dog can handle. Just to be safe, I recommend continuing to monitor their bowel movements in case more reductions need to be made.
From what I’ve read in Dr. Goldstein’s book, as well as online, it appears vitamin C is pretty commonly used by holistic vets. As always, if you have access to a holistic vet, please try to go that route to get the most accurate diagnosis and treatment information.
Whatever way you arrive at administering vitamin C, just remember that it’s important to keep an eye on the stool consistency. An already stressed dog doesn’t need unchecked diarrhea to deal with on top of whatever issue you are trying to cure. As a matter of fact, you should always monitor your pets’ bathroom habits, and definitely when it’s on any form of medication or supplement.
My personal use of vitamin C
My current personal vitamin C regimen now includes taking the Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, http://amzn.to/2y4p0j3 at the first sign of feeling like I might be coming down with something. I decided to first try it after having some left from treating Roxie. The couple of times since last December that I’ve felt a little “off”, I’ve taken it. The first time I took it, I also included Echinacea, but the 2nd time, I took it without anything else.
Both times, within a few hours, I felt fine again. Having been impressed with just those two times taking it, and not having the option of a sick day, I’m going to be a permanent user. Despite the price, only having to take a dose or two to avoid being sick is worth it. It also comes in 30 little individual packets, so you can send some with the kids to school, keep some in your purse or your desk at work, in case you start feeling bad while away from home.
The directions say to pour the gel-like orange goo into a small amount of water and drink it. I find it’s just easier to open the packet, squirt the contents into my mouth, then take a drink of something to wash it down. Otherwise, you have to drink a small glass of water containing a goo glob that doesn’t disintegrate.
Vitamin C for peace of mind
Having the Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C on hand is also peace of mind knowing that in case of emergency, I have it on hand for one of the animals. My Solaray Vitamin C caplets are nearly out and I’ve been researching affordable brands to start on my two seniors who are both around ten years old. I like this powder form, http://amzn.to/2xGThne since Abby, my lab, isn’t a fan of pills, but has no problem eating the powder inside them sprinkled over her food.
If you are interested in purchasing Dr. Goldstein’s book, which overwhelmingly had more information than all of my other pet reference books combined on this subject, here is the link: The Nature of Animal Healing: The Path to Your Pet’s Health, Happiness, and Longevity
If you have any experience with vitamin C, I’d love to hear it in the comments below.
For my list of favorite things I (mostly) own and/or recommend to fellow pet parents and occasionally random strangers, you can visit my Amazon store page here, https://www.amazon.com/shop/savingscatsanddogswhilesavingcash. I’ve included little notes about the products also.
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My dog Rocky was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma back in May 2016 and given 3 months to live.
He is alive and well
I gave him powdered vit C and Alpha Lipoic acid.
He also eats a Ketogenic diet.
Kathryn, that’s amazing! I love hearing stories like yours. Congratulations on going outside the conventional medicine box and saving Rocky. I hope you guys have many more happy, healthy years together!
Kathryn, what was a dosage of lipoic acid for your dog?
Thanks.
I, too, am a fan of this product. We first used it when my brother was diagnosed with cancer. It gave him much needed energy and prolonged his life.
I am a foster/rescue person as well. I presently foster seven cats and two dogs. One of my dogs has been diagnosed with heart disease as well as an enlarged liver and spleen. He almost died about a week ago and has been at the vet hospital since, stabilizing his condition. They offer little hope except to make him comfortable.
I remembered using this product for my brother and had wondered if it could be given to animals as well. Because Vitamin C helps oxygenate the blood, I thought it, along with B12 would be helpful for my little friend. Thanks to your article, I feel comfortable in giving him this supplement, and because of what you wrote, I also now have a guideline to follow.
This was very helpful. Prayers and good energy for your continued work with our four legged friends.
Zande,
Thank you visiting my site and for your foster/rescue work as well! I’m sorry to hear about your dog’s health problems. I’m glad you found this information helpful and I hope it helps your dog.
so did your dog recover?
Ho w does one convince a dog or cat to consume something that tastes like this?
Darcy,
Depending on how picky your cat or dog is, there are a few tricks that I shared in my post ‘Tricks for giving medicine to cats and dogs’, http://savingcatsdogsandcash.com/tricks-for-giving-medicine-to-cats-and-dogs/. Those tips also apply to supplements. The secret is to disguise the taste either in food (stirred in) or hidden in a piece of food. I’ve cut a slit in a piece of pork before for my dog who tends to avoid pills and stuffed the pill inside then hand fed it to her. For my cats, I add a little bone meal to the green mix powder to make sure they eat it all. You might be able to do that for the vitamin C if you are giving it as a powder. It kind of takes some experimentation as some animals are super picky and some are not, so it’s not a one size fits all solution, unfortunately, but I think between my other post and what I’ve shared here, you hopefully have something that will work for you and your pet(s).
Hi I came across this post because my cat got a hold of one of my liposomal c packets and started going lick crazy with it. He never likes anything but his food and chicken. Not even catnip. When I hid it, he found it. Like crack he started going crazy for it. I took it away because I thought cats can’t have c. Is this his body telling him he needs it? He is 12, hyperthyroidism, and just got over a cold.
Hi Sam,
Yes, cats absolutely can have vitamin C, including liposomal, however my concern in your case may be what other ingredients might be in your version of it. If you didn’t specifically buy it for pet use also, there is always the risk of ingredients that are dangerous for pets being in it.
As far as your cat’s body telling him it needed vitamin C, I have no idea, but it could be telling you that he’s not getting all the nutrients and minerals he needs for whatever reason. Some medications can affect how other things in the body work, or his diet could be lacking. I recommend a diet that is species-appropriate (cats eat mice, birds, rabbits in the wild….so that is their ideal type of diet…moisture rich, which also includes the nutrients in the blood and organs from the critters they eat). Feeding raw is not hard and there are so many health advantages to it.
I am not familiar with hyperthyroidism in cats, so I looked at a couple of my holistic vet books to see if vitamin C was mentioned anywhere and it wasn’t, though I did find it interesting that Dr. Goldstein in his book ‘The Nature of Animal Healing’, which I recommend, did see a correlation with his patients having it and the cat leukemia vaccine.
If you aren’t already working with a holistic vet, you might look into it, as both books I referred to seemed like they had better (and probably safer) treatment options than conventional treatment for hyperthyroidism. Many holistic vets do phone consults, so you don’t necessarily have to live near one to get help. The website is https://www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/ if you (or anyone else reading this) is interested. Dr. Goldstein’s book is also a great resource for hyperthyroidism and so many other health issues, including his experience and take on what he thinks may be the underlying reason for the health issue. I have a link for his book in my Amazon shop page at the top.
Hello,
I am so happy to find this site. I read Wendell Belfield, DVM book, “How to have a healthier dog & cat” in 1996 and it changed my life. (I am also a big fan of Linus Pauling, MD the father of vitamin C discovery). He just passed away recently but sounds like you are on his track. If you can get a hold of the book it has much useful information regarding Vitamin C, how stress affects the depletion of it, and how animals can benefit from it. I use sodium ascorbate in all my cats food as a supplement. I am going to look into ordering your product. I have a cat right now who was attacked by a coyote and his wound will not heal. He is FIV positive and that is not helping. I wish I could find a veternarian who would use intravenous vitamin C, but have not yet.
I live in Southern NJ.
Thank you. Bernie
Hi Bernie,
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your knowledge and enthusiasm about vitamin C. I recently ran across information that says taking MSM with vitamin C helps it work better. I have more research to do, but here’s an article that might be helpful to you and/or others. https://www.cancertutor.com/msm-article/
I responded to your comment about your cat’s wound not healing via e-mail with the recommendation to try colloidal silver along with the article I wrote about it. I’ve written a couple of articles about it now and will have more coming up, but suffice it to say that I wouldn’t be without it.
Not sure if you’ve tried to find a holistic vet or not to help you with the intravenous vitamin C, but here’s a link that might help you find one, https://www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/.
Hello!
My name is Birgit. I´ve tried lipsomalt c-vitamin for myself. My dentist going to take away amalgam from my teeths and I was recommended to take liposomalt c-vitamin. After taking two I noticed that the pain I felt in my jaws disappered. I have also cats. I know about Belfield and his work. I have tried in powderform, but it hasnt helped. But I started to search on google and found the c-vitamin You used. So I´ve ordered it and wait for it. I have one cat who has mammarytumour and one with catflu so I´m going to try it on them.
Hi Birgit,
I’m glad you found relief with vitamin c and I’m sorry to hear about your cats. In addition to the liposomal vitamin C, I strongly encourage you to add colloidal silver to your cats’ medical treatment plan. I have no experience with either of your cats’ health problems, but there are a lot of helpful groups on Facebook with people who have and are dealing with them that I’m sure would be helpful. Just a quick search I found mentioned using CBD oil (on tumor and internally), ldn (low dose naltrexone), and switching to organic raw food. Here are some groups that were mentioned that you might find helpful: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1939327816353456/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/cbdoilforpets/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/LOVEOURPETSLDN/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/felinecancersupport/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/CS4Pets/, and here’s a website someone suggested that you might find helpful: http://www.myholisticpetvet.com/2010/10/04/cancer-treatment-for-pets-a-holistic-approach/?fbclid=IwAR1DrSkmrQswD2hFt03ETSqaTGCeHMVu08hxDEOTD-2rsLBJd72bPegLV9w.
From my own experience and reading lots of posts from others, fighting cancer usually requires more than one product/thing, though all pets, like people, respond differently. I do think these groups and website will give you a good place to start to do your own research as to what is available in your area and has proven to be most helpful with the treatment of both of your cats. Best of luck to all of you!
Hi, I just wanted to say one of my three dogs started coughing, after two days another dog started. I opened a packet of lypo c dipped my finger in it and rubbed it in the dogs gum and tongue. Two doses and cough had stopped on the first dog, one dose on second dog.
I’m looking at this site today to gauge the amount of lypo for a cat with a ear infection that just will not disappear completely. (Am using collidial silver and homeopathic remedies) Will post success if I can find may way back!
Thanks for sharing your success with vitamin C, Vicky. I’ve used colloidal silver on ear infections in my cats a couple of times now and it’s worked really well. Not sure what brand of colloidal silver you are using, but some are better than others. I’ve had excellent luck with Sovereign Silver (there’s a link for it on my Amazon page under the ‘Shop’ tab at the top of the page). Please do try to come back and share any information you have on how you successfully used liposomal vitamin C on your cats.
I have been using colloidal silver for many year, and I swear by it! I’m glad you’re a proponent of it as well. The one I use probably isn’t a very good one, because I make it myself with distilled water and immersed silver rods, battery, “jumper cables”, etc. I’m sure the particle size is larger than it should be, but I have still had much success when administering it to myself and my hoard of cats, for almost any sickness or issue. I will now search for the Vitamin C that you recommend, as my whole gang seems to have contracted and spread feline herpes throughout. Would you think the Vit-C might help with the discharge and respiratory issues connected with that?
Renate,
I am absolutely a proponent of colloidal silver and I too, make my own. Yes, adding vitamin C should help your cats. In his book, Dr. Goldstein (which I referenced to help us here) says that a fast of chicken or bone broth will speed the virus. He didn’t say for how long, but recommended adding vitamin A (2,500 IU) and vitamin C (250 mg. 3x a day) as well as garlic, goldenseal, and propolis. He also listed some other products, but I think just ample amounts of colloidal silver and vitamin C should help. While I do fast my dogs, something about doing it to my cats bothers me.
Years ago, before I knew about CS, one of my cats got an upper respiratory infection. I treated him with L-lysine and apple cider vinegar (ACV) and he cleared up in a few days. While Dr. Goldstein didn’t mention L-lysine, I really like to keep it on hand for when I notice someone sneezing more than a time or two. I also keep ACV on hand for numerous things, but I believe it may help you in this case as well. Dilute it 50/50 with water (CS is fine) and generously rub it on your cats. I like to do the paws and sides, where they can easily reach it to lick it off, thus ingesting it. Do that twice a day.
I have also read that vitamin C is boosted by the use of MSM, so you may want to keep that in mind as well. Dr.’s Choice is a good brand and I like the ones with nothing but MSM in them. If they get a bit clumpy, all you have to do is shake the jar. The finer grit has added ingredients to prevent clumping and I avoid those.
Hopefully, some of this information will you and your cats get back to good health soon.
Thank you for all that great advice. We do use Lysene and apple cider vinegar, but there were a few others in your recommendation that I wasn’t doing. We have LOTS of cats (we’re on a farm, and strays just FIND us! They can apparently sniff out cat people from a great distance!). I don’t know if I can get stuff rubbed on all their paws. Could I add a little bit of ACV to their food? Does that throw off the taste too much? With the addition of any supplement, we kinda have to guess at the amount, and if anything, we are probably undercutting the recommended dosage, as we just add it to the large bowl of “soup” we serve at feeding time. It consists of soaked hard food, some smashed pate mixed in, a bit of pumpkin puree and a few peas, Missing Link, and the dissolved lysene, and then quite a bit of warm water to give them plenty of moisture. Do you think I can add the C and any other supplements to the same bowl, and just hope they get a reasonable dose of everything? It doesn’t seem possible feed everyone separately. The “soup” gets poured out onto about 8 large platters, and everyone comes and starts lapping away.
Renate,
Haha, I hear you about the animals “finding” you. I seem to have that attraction too. :-)
I’m not sure about adding the ACV to the food, or even water, as it’s awful stuff. You could try a little bit (capful?) and mix it in really well and see how they get along. If they are strays, my experience, with my own rescues anyway, is that they really aren’t that picky. If you have some sardines, tuna, or canned salmon (all in water), you could add that to the food, which could help mask the ACV taste and smell. Maybe slowly increasing the amount you add will help you if you have to start out in very small amounts.
Another option is to put the ACV on their back between their shoulder blades, where it will be absorbed. I’ve personally never used that method, but I’ve read that it does work. Not sure that it would be much easier, as cats smell the ACV and tend to get leary around it, but there’s another possible method of getting it in them.
As far as giving them amounts, I have seven cats that all eat randomly throughout the day. I just put my powders (L-lysine, liver powder, MSM, etc., etc.) in an old spice jar and shake it on their raw food as I prepare it and then stir it in before I put it into their bowls. Like you, there is no way I can make sure everyone gets the recommended dosage, so I spread it throughout. That has worked for me and I think it’s probably about the only way you can do it with so many cats. I’d check each vitamin individually, just to make sure you can’t harm a cat with them, but most things will go out the body through their waste if the body doesn’t need it. Not sure which ones, if any, are actually dangerous, but you might want to double-check that first before upping the doses too much.
My female cat was diagnosed with struvite stones….the vet assured me the only treatment was surgery to remove the stones at a cost of $1000 +………
I researched and found vitamin C as Ascorbic acid would correct the problem ……I gave the cat 1000 mg daily broken up into 4 doses with each meal…..for one month. I powdered the tablets up and mixed it with a bit of olive oil……Ascorbic acid Is extremely sour and water soluble ..thought was to surround it in oil until it got into the stomach. The cats symptoms frequent painful pee ..subsided and went away……..a visit to another vet several months later …struvite stones gone……since then I used it several times for various reasons…..it works.
Franz,
That is awesome! I’m so glad to hear you found a more natural and less invasive way to eliminate your cat’s struvite stones. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story!
Hi Cee Cee, I hope you and your family are well and all your furr babies are doing good. The photos you have been posting on FB are awesome!! Let me know when you put that book together, I will be first in line. I wanted to mention that sodium ascorbate is a milder form of Vitamin C. I used it in powder form and sprinkle it on my cats wet food.
Also, you know this from Dr. Belfield’s book, “How to Have a Healthier Cat” and “The Healthy Dog” Vitamin C in large doses is a good pain reducer, it also is very important with supplementing with large breed dogs.
Stress depletes vitamin C and when puppies are growing at faster rate of speed that their body can keep up with somethings gotta give. Vitamin C is what the body uses to make strong tendons that hold hips together. Hip dyspepsia is not hereditary but a result of large breed dogs growing so fast they cannot produce enough vitamin C to keep their hips strong because the C is depleted with weaning, surgery, vaccinations, new home, their poor hips don’t stand a chance. Supplementing with Sodium Ascorbate will eradicate the hip dysplasia
Bernadette,
Thank you for your kind words about the pictures. I’m glad you are enjoying them!
Thank you for sharing the book names of Dr. Belfield. I actually don’t own any of his books, but I may need to look into them! I’ve been adding to my book collection recently with other healing modules such as chinese medicine and homeopathy.
I appreciate your detailed explanation about how vitamin C helps hip dysplasia too. Thanks for stopping by and sharing such valuable information! I hope you and your fur family are doing well, also!
So happy to have found this site! I recently adopted a young (4yr) old siamese-tabby mix in October, who showed up in my neighborhood in July. He was shy at first, but we made friends in about 3 weeks. He hung around with the 3 ferals I regularly feed, though the dominant male periodically picked on him. He has been congested to this day, though always super sweet. Long story short–I had him vetted & took him in. He was chipped & neutered. The facility that neutered him doesn’t return my calls (another long story). He was put on 3 courses of antibiotics, which only eased his symptoms–mostly snotty nose, sneezing fits, and seemingly unable to pass a congestion block in his throat. He is currently on Lysine, which like the antibiotic, only eases the symptoms. Sadly, my 13-year old cat, now is displaying symptoms too, though not as severe–forcefully blowing snot out of his nose & sleeping a lot. I read Lysine should NOT be used long-term, but both cats are currently on it. I also read prescription antiviral meds help ( vet never indicated any particular illness/condition, but I am thinking it is feline herpes). I want to get this at least under control, without chemicals if I can avoid it. I thought of vitamin c since I am a lifelong advocate myself–I was raised on “piles” of supplements by my RN mom. I am a senior on disability, living in a mobile home park, where we unfortunately see too many dumped cats after Grandma/pa passes. I think my new cat, Sunny, came from one of 2 mobile homes that were raided by our local animal control for having 30 cats each inside this past spring–who knows what Sunny was exposed to. I KNOW the shelter where Sunny was adopted from & let’s just say it leaves a LOT to be desired, so I “think” he has had this issue for a long time. I have 5 other cats in addition to Sunny, & only one has been affected with this snottiness. Ironically, my 10-year old tabby was also rescued here as a feral kitten & had feline herpes–after one antibiotic shot, he has been perfectly FINE other than occasional watery eyes. I’ve spent $500, which I cannot afford on Sunny already, & seemingly cannot get ahead of this condition. Can you please provide me some specific ways to treat both affected cats, including brand names of supplements you prefer? I would be forever grateful!!-Jean
btw–the cats that were taken in by animal control during our springtime “raid” were put up for adoption if tame enough, or TNR’d & released back in the neighborhood. I really feel Sunny was rejected for adoption due to his condition. I won’t give up on him! He is the sweetest thing ever! The only time I’ve seen him hiss, is at the feral male that picked on him & my vacuum cleaner, since being inside! LOL! He has never once acted aggressively towards any of my 5 cats.
Jean,
Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you found me too, and think I have some product suggestions that will help you get Sunny and your other cat back to good health. First of all, thank you for taking in this sweet baby and feeding the other ferals in your area.
So it sounds like Sunny has had quite the ordeal in the last few months at least. That’s a lot of stress he’s been under, which ultimately affects their immune system. That, and a bad diet, which is probably all he’s had. So here are my suggestions for you.
First, you need to get Sunny’s (and your other cat’s) immune system up. One of the easiest ways to do that is to feed a quality food (not dry, or food with grains, as cats are meat eaters). Next, to help build up the immune system, you can either use colloidal silver, colostrum, or lactoferrin. I wrote an article about colloidal silver and how it is anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial here, http://savingcatsdogsandcash.com/colloidal-silver/. It helps boost the immune system and works on a number of things you’d normally use antibiotics for, except that it doesn’t damage the gut flora like antibiotics do. Adding the colloidal silver to your cats’ food and water would probably help them. You can put a teaspoon in each cats’ food 3-4x a day until symptoms get better, then scale back to twice a day until they are gone completely. Once you no longer have any symptoms, continue the twice a day regimen for a few more days just to be sure you knocked it out completely.
You cannot give too much CS, but you can give too little and it will be ineffective, so don’t worry about giving too much. I like Sovereign Silver brand, but it is kind of pricey. I’ve been told that some Walmarts carry a 16 oz. bottle for around $20 in the vitamin section. It’s called Silver Biotics and is supposed to work very well also, though I can’t personally vouch for that. In addition to adding CS to food and water, if you have a nebulizer, you can nebulize it to get it into Sunny’s lungs.
Another option is bovine colostrum or lactoferrin. 250mg per cat twice a day should help boost their immune system. Dr. Stephen Blake from thepetwhisperer.com recommends Imutek brand colostrum. Jarrow is a recommended brand among cat owners for the bovine lactoferrin. If you do a search online, you’ll see Lactoferrin has really helped a lot of cats with URI’s and also stomatitis symptoms.
This last recommendation comes from my own personal experience I had years ago with one of my first cats and before I knew about colloidal silver or the other immune boosters. I was able to clear him up in a few days with L-lysine and apple cider vinegar (ACV) with the mother. I put the L-lysine in his food twice a day and rubbed the ACV mixed 50/50 with water on his front paws and sides so he’d lick it off. I put a generous amount on him 2-3x a day, as I’d read on earthclinic.com. It worked and he quit sneezing and having nasal discharge completely in a few days.
When I was reading up on lactoferrin, it seems that those who have cats with the feline herpes virus (FVR) do well on a maintenance dose of the lactoferrin or colostrum. Some even reported their cats did better on just that, rather than the combo of the L-lysine and colostrum or lactoferrin together. You will just have to monitor your cats and see how they do, but I wanted to mention that to you.
All of these items can be purchased online on Amazon or in a health store. If you go to the top of the page and under the ‘Shop’ tab, it will take you to my Amazon storefront with the colloidal silver and lactoferrin product links. I make a very small percentage on any purchase you make through my links at no additional cost to you, which helps me keep my blog up. :) If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Thank you so much for your info! I will definitely give it a try! I still have Sunny on Lysine, but took Moses, my 13-yo cat off of it & am giving him GNC’s High Calorie Booster instead. It has arginine in it, but also added vitamins (no vit c), provides energy & boosts immunity. I read that lysine use on cats has been under scrutiny in recent years as there apparently is no scientific proof that it stops the virus from replicating. They believe it “may” help the symptoms by reducing arginine levels. It is highly undesirable since cats cannot synthesize arginine on their own & deficiency can lead to a fatal condition. Obviously, this scared the heck out of me! (thoughts?) Moses, besides being older, is thinner than Sunny. plus I heard one of their kitten shots can help lessen the severity of feline herpes since so many cats are exposed to it. So I am hopeful that he can kick this without the need of a vet as he has had all the necessary shots. I am wondering if Sunny got this virus before he was old enough for the shots(?). I am keeping lysine on hand for flare ups, but REALLY want to get this virus under control! Sunny has been on the lysine for 3 weeks so far (I read 3-4 weeks is recommended), but so far, the only improvement I have seen is less snot. The ACV sounds good, however, I was concerned about the difficulty in administering it. I use it myself at a much greater dilution & it is really nasty & best taken quickly in my experience. But it really does seem to stop colds & flu for me! I will try rubbing some in their fur–I was doing this with the lysine once my cats got wise to the oral dosing & would run from me–why they made it “maple” flavor is beyond me! I am VERY determined to help both cats get healthy! In the 2 months I’ve had Sunny, he has gotten super attached to me, & I am attached to him! And Moses is “everyone’s” favorite cat of mine & much loved!! I will use your link to place an order & keep you posted with my results! Thank you SO much for your help!! PS–there is a lot of conflicting info online! I read that giving vit c to cats can cause some kind of “crystals” in their urine. Thoughts? My son is a Shaklee distributor & told me a story about someone’s dog who ate an entire bottle of vitamin c, also supposedly not recommended for them, and the worse thing that happened is the dog got diarrhea! We owned a labrador retriever who had painful hip problems (but not hip displasia) and our local health food store recommended Ester C, which we tried. It worked wonders!!
Jean,
I’ve read the unscientifically proven stuff on L-lysine and this is my thought on it: L-lysine is one of those things that those of us that have used it and seen results, can vouch for. Cat’s don’t have the placebo effect, so obviously if they get better, the stuff works. Unfortunately, using L-lysine takes money out of vets’ and big pharma’s pockets, so they want to discount its effectiveness based on “not scientifically proven” jargon. You and I both know ACV works too, but you won’t see Bragg’s or any other non-mega company spending thousands or millions of dollars in testing to scientifically prove its effectiveness. So, back to your question, I have never heard or read about L-lysine being dangerous for cats. I don’t give it long-term anyway, so I’ve never been concerned about that, but I’ve read that is a good idea to give short breaks in all long-term stuff like that (supplements).
As far as the vitamin C goes, again, I’ve never heard anything harmful about it other than it causing diarrhea if given too much. I also do not give it long term in a single form and for my senior dogs that I give it to regularly, I rotate the forms of vitamin C I give them as I feed raw and want to make sure I am covering my bases with all of their necessary nutrients.
I think once you get whatever the issue is with Sunny and Moses under control, monitoring them to see if they need to be put on a maintenance regimen will be your next step. I read many people do give their FVR cats a maintenance dosage of Lactoferrin to keep their symptoms at bay, but you may not need to do that. Again, I think getting the immune system up via a good quality diet and even probiotics is vital, even if this is just a URI or something more serious.
I look forward to hearing your updates on how Sunny and Moses are doing!
CC–is there a limit to the amount of questions you can get for each post? I added some yesterday, refresh this page a number of times, and still they do not appear. I have a boatload of questions regarding Sunny & Moses. Reading as many of your other articles as possible, which brings up even more questions. I really need to write them down as I think of them so I don’t forget anything! Ordered the collial silver you recommended as well as a nebulizer from Amazon, but as a non-Prime member, won’t be getting them til the 7th-10th. Going to WalMart to pick up the other CS in the interim. So worried about my Moz!! He hopped in bed with me at 1am, snotting up a storm, as if to beg me for help! I got up to check on him & comfort him–he always is most quiet when he is in a reclining position. But, I know his nose is still running–he sleeps in one of those kitty cubbies, and his tail is now pretty crispy. Also, DO want to talk to you about steps to take to change ALL of my cats diets. I”ve have Moses & his sister for going on 13-years (rescued from the Mississippi flood zone in 2007), was working full-time at that time & have been feeding Fancy Feast, & after a LOT of experimentation since being disabled since 2014, have tried MANY things to no avail! They sure get stuck in their ways! I think that Sunny will be open to an all meat diet, though with antibiotics, hormones, samonella, dirty fish processing, I am not keen on raw–ideally, I would like to raise my own cat food critters, but am not in that position. We’ve tried freeze dried (Primal & Instinct), but I am now thinking in hindsight, I should have run the pieces through a blender or Magic Bullet–it didn’t absorb water well at all, so they basically were eating dust, which must not have been very appealing to them. I think the high cost of Primal forced it to be discontinued in our local pet food stores–can only find it on Amazon now. I gave both cats ACV (I diluted it 1/2 because 1/1 seems so strong a concentration, but 1/2 is not a whole lot better, IMO) yesterday & Lysine–Moz puked it up as I honestly expected, so am now trying the between the shoulders route & plan to pick up WalMart’s CS today.
Jean,
I don’t believe there is any limit to how many posts you can make and I’m sorry you had submitted ones that didn’t come through. I feel like this is probably useful information to others who may run across it, so I hate to take our conversation private, but if you continue to have issues with posting, we’ll go that route and I’ll copy and paste notes or whatever in case they are helpful.
Awww, poor Moz! I hate to hear he’s having such an awful time and his experience with the ACV. Did you give them the ACV by mouth, or put it on their fur? I’m sorry to hear it made him sick, regardless. I’ve never experienced that when I’ve put it on their fur.
Definitely get the CS and use a dropper to give it to him by mouth, but also add it to his food and water. It’s basically just distilled water with silver particles, so they shouldn’t notice anything about it that will make them avoid eating or drinking. I would probably even try a drop in each eye as our eyes and sinuses are connected and at this point, he seems like he can use all the help he can get. You can’t give too much, so don’t worry about that. If you haven’t read Bernadette’s comment, you might want to for tips on nebulizing a cat. I’ve never personally had to do it, so her information might be helpful.
As Bernadette mentioned, there are a number of Facebook groups related to pets that you can join. I am in several for holistic healing, homeopathic, colloidal silver, etc. and have learned something from all of them. ‘Colloidal Silver for Pets’ is a good one for pets and help with administering it, like the nebulizer information Bernadette talked about. I’ve also picked up some other very valuable information there.
A good diet is the foundation of good health, as I’m sure you know, since you’ve obviously tried to do that with your cats. Going raw on the worst day is better than the stuff sold by the giant corporations who are allowed to use sick and diseased animals, euthanized pets, supplements imported from china, etc., etc., etc. At least with raw, your pets are eating human-grade food. I buy my cats chicken thighs, pork loin, sardines and salmon packed in water. I cut the meat up into strips about the size of your thumb. The chewing on the meat helps keep their teeth clean.
Many people feed raw and no two do it exactly alike, so what works for me and my six cats may not work for yours. Starting small, adding just a bit of raw to their Fancy Feast and increasing it slowly every couple to few days may help you eventually transition them to 100% raw. For more information on the frightening facts about pet food, you can visit Susan Thixton’s page http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com and for some tips for feeding raw, http://www.feline-nutrition.org. Kibble is the worst food possible for cats, as I’m sure you know, since it’s dried hard food, which cats are not designed to eat. It’s hard on the kidneys due to the lack of moisture cats are built to get from their food (birds, mice, etc.), full of carbs, which can cause obesity and diabetes, not to mention all the dyes and other stuff added to make it so addictive. It’s equivalent to our McDonald’s, unfortunately.
THANK YOU again for your most recent input!! I am really excited to get going on the path to much better health for ALL of my cats besides just Sunny & Moz!! (it’s just me & the 6 cats here, plus 4–sometimes I’ve had MANY more!—ferals I feed) I have to make sure I am in good financial order today before I order anything–besides Sunny’s big vet bills, I had a larger than expected auto repair in December. But, these cats are my WORLD since my kids have been grown, so want to start VERY soon! Thank you so much for all of your help! (BIG BONUS for me since adding the ferals to my cat food shopping list–I’ve lost 50lbs of very stubborn post-menopausal weight due to all these mouths to feed! I wouldn’t have it any other way–CATS eat first, I always say!!)
AND thank you very much for your article about colloidal silver!! With my lifelong experience with supplements–I am 63 years young–I was completely unfamiliar with this. Really excited to try it on my cats as well as myself! Sounds AMAZING!
PS–I am also concerned about the use of 50/50 ACV–that seems awfully strong. That doesn’t cause stomach upset or any other issues? I’d really like to try it, though am concerned about the recommended dilution.
Jean,
I consolidated your three posts to make it easier for me to respond and others to follow in case any of this information is helpful to anyone else. :)
You are very welcome for the help and I can completely understand the financial hardship of trying to stay afloat. It’s hard enough to get along when everything is going right, so when something breaks down or someone gets sick, things can get tough financially very quick! I was shocked this year when we had to take two of our senior dogs in for health issues and the cost of vet care! Yikes! Even a simple office visit is crazy expensive before they even do a blood test or anything else. That’s really awful news for those of us who rescue or try to help the homeless animals around them.
Anyway, colloidal silver has been a game-changer in my household. Not only for the animals, but for me as well. For so many animals, I’ve started making my own, but you might look into the Silver Biotics brand at your local Walmart to get a feel for what it can do. And no, you don’t need the animal version to treat your animals. That’s a marketing gimmick to get more money out of people with pets who don’t know that there’s no difference.
And as far as the mix of ACV and water, you can play around with the mix if you want, but I always did 50/50 as I’d read at the time and it worked in just a few days. Since it’s not a long-term use thing, I don’t see it causing any issue. If you want, you can try just putting it between the shoulder blades, as that is supposed to work as well by absorption, but my cat was looking pretty sad and I wanted him better sooner rather than later, so I followed the instructions I’d read and had been corroborated by many others who had used that method and it worked quite well and quickly.
As I’m sure you know, everyone and every animal responds differently to different treatments, so there’s really no one size that fits all, but I wanted to share what I’d read and tried that worked for us. My cat had no side effects of any kind and was good to go in just a few days on the L-lysine and ACV protocol. His issue was just a URI though and he’s never had an issue since. You may be dealing with something a bit more complicated than that, so you may need to adjust your treatment accordingly.
Hi Jean and CC,
Just love reading all the comments and knowing that we are all being educated with all the great information. Jean I just wanted to mention, and if my comments were covered previously, I do apologize.
I have been using the Silver Biotics for almost 2 years now, and the stuff is incredible!! I give it to all 9 of my furr babies every day. (I also drink a 1/4 cup 3x a day. I gargle, hold for 30 seconds, swish and swallow.) I put it in their wet food and I also spray it on a cat I have recovering from a wound that is being stubborn. I just recently read an article that 10ppm is quite enough and works the best. The smaller the particles the better the CS can get into the smallest places. Santa gave me a generator and I am going to give it a shot this weekend. CC you have encouraged me to make my own. I will let you know. I saw on FB a person who nebulized their cat in a plastic tote. They made holes in the sides of the tote all the way around, toward the bottom enough for the cat to get air, and then drilled a hole big enough for the nebulizer tube and put the lid on and whalaa!! A cat incubator, nebulizer. I hold my cat on my lap and use a hand held nebulizer. Coughing is expected when everything starts to loosen up. I also use the CS in my cats eyes when they get gooey. (I am also nebulizing the CS for myself for my allergies.)
CC not sure if you would want me to mention CS FB Pet sites that are a source of excellent information. Let me know. Good luck Jean. CC, thank you for being here for us. Almost 2 years ago I found you by God’s grace and you answered all my questions and helped me bring my injured Max back to life!! Thank you. xoxo Bernie
Thank you Bernie! I do appreciate the additional input!! I purchased the Silver Biotics today & am in quite a bit of a quandary on how to administer it to my affected cats. I have one of those gravity type of water bowls & added 4 tablespoons so far–it sounds like this stuff is perfectly safe for my cats who are not sick. I plan to work on a better diet if my cats cooperate, but for now, I am most concerned about Moses as he is pretty picky & likes his Fancy Feast, much to my chagrin. I cannot seem to interest him in anything else. Plus, I generally feed canned food just once a day. Sunny will be easier as he eats pretty much everything. Can I also “paint their fur with CS to get them to lick it off as an option? Both are wise to my oral dosing now & run from me, especially Sunny–they really don’t care for the maple flavored lysine. One question I have for CC-what are your thoughts about canned fish, such as sardines, starkist tuna & pink salmon? They all have salt in them, though the starkist tuna I have is low sodium. I saw somewhere on this site a recommendation of sea salt for something or the other, & was wondering if this canned fish would be safe for them? Moses seems to eat fish type canned cat food the most. Thoughts? I am also wondering if CS would be a really good choice for me–I had guilliane barre syndrome 20 years ago, & cannot get a flu shot now as it can cause a reoccurrance. It”s pretty scary to think about no flu shots when you reach my age!
Jean,
If you don’t have a dropper or cats that no longer will let you put drops directly into their mouth, just add plenty of CS to their wet food. Just give them small amounts of food to make sure they drink all the liquid. I’d do that at least 3-4x a day in addition to the addition of the CS the water. The water fountain should stay cleaner with the CS added, as a bonus of adding it.
While I try to avoid any supplements from China, Spring Valley brand at Walmart is a good brand and will not have the maple flavor your cats are not fond of. If you are having trouble getting the current L-lysine into them, I’d look at purchasing a small bottle of the Spring Valley L-lysine capsules and opening them up into your cats’ food.
As far as the fish I feed my cats, I avoid feeding tuna due to the potential high mercury content. I only feed water-packed sardines and wild-caught salmon. I only feed it 1-2x a week though, because the sardines are not USA sourced and the salmon has recently gone up in price. Greater Value used to have a good reasonably-priced wild-caught salmon available, but we have had trouble finding it lately.
The sea salt I mentioned was probably for the bone broth I make and add it to for extra minerals and nutrients for my dogs. The cats aren’t fans of bone broth though I wish they were, as it is very good for them. The addition of sea salt is from ‘The Water Cure’ that talks about all the ways sea salt water is helpful to us and animals if you are interested in reading more about it. Here’s the link: http://www.watercure.com
CS for you is a great idea! It is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral so it can knock out a wide range of things, including colds and flu. Honestly, I’d avoid flu shots or any other vaccines at all costs. I don’t get any and only give my pets the bare minimum when I take them in and that’s all they ever get. We are being sickened and killed with the overuse of pharmaceuticals in our society. Our health and that of our pets is being compromised by the onslaught of toxins and dangerous side effects all these drugs have.
I lost a dog to pharmaceuticals and have since become very aware of how dishonest vets and pharmaceutical companies are about how safe they are. CS, on the other hand, has never killed anyone and trust me, if it was found harmful in any way, big pharma, who by now is probably missing out on millions of dollars in lost antibiotic revenue from the popularity of it, would have the FDA make it illegal. Instead, it continues to grow in popularity. Because it works with no dangerous side effects.
I hope I caught everything you posted, as we were cross-posting it seems, but I tried to answer all your questions. Let me know if you have any others and I’ll do my best to help!
worried sick about Moses. Unfortunately, I think I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow–he hasn’t eaten a thing today. I’ve been giving him this GNC High Calorie Booster (for fussy eaters), so hopefully he won’t die on me overnight. I feel responsible for saving Sunny & bringing this sickness into my house. But since Oliver had it as a feral kitten, all my cats were already exposed, correct? So I thought it was safe. Guess I should have asked more questions when I was at the vet with Sunny on his first visit. So frustrated–spent $500 on Sunny so far & feel no better off—just less snot. He’s still sneezing with snot, and trying to force out what I believe to be a phlegm wad in his throat–he goes into the “hairball stance & hack” but nothing comes out. Vet x-rayed him & said he did not have an alarming amount of hair inside. I put the CS on all of their wet food & they barely touched any (my 5 other cats, including Sunny who eats everything). I even took a big spoonful myself & it really has no taste. Maybe they will eat it overnight or in the morning. They are drinking the water–I put a new gallon in today, added 4T of Cs in the bowl–should I add more daily? I am wondering how else to get the CS into my sick cats. Just can’t stand to see Moses so miserable & snotting up a storm. Going to ask the vet about vitamin C shots, but don’t believe she’ll go along with it. Asking for a diagnosis for BOTH cats. She’ll likely give Moses an antibiotic, but like Sunny, it is likely to be fruitless. As mentioned earlier, Sunny was put on 3 courses of antibiotics & all it did is lessen the symptoms WHILE he was on it–no long term improvement at all. I will never forgive myself if something happens to Moz–he does not deserve this.
Jean,
It sounds like you need to get as much CS internally in Moses as possible. I know you said they are wise to your oral administration of things, but I’ve found if you hold them gently by the nape of the neck so that they slightly open their mouth, you can get the liquid in. My cats are very good at letting me do whatever I need to do, but I know not all cats are. You may need another set of hands to help hold the cat while you administer the CS. If that’s not an option, putting the cat in the corner of the couch so they can’t back away and then gently holding the nape of their neck, so their mouth comes open, may enable you to do this on your own.
You can use a dropper or just a spoon to get it into their mouth. Since there is no taste, hopefully they won’t fight you too bad. I’d give at least 1 tsp. every couple of hours until you see some improvement and then you can go longer between dosing, like 3-4 hours. It may take a few doses before you start seeing some improvement, but you should. That’s when you can scale back, but continue giving it until just giving it 2-3x a day in food is sufficient to fight any remaining symptoms.
I think based on what I understand of your situation, this protocol will help. CS really can perform miracles, so if you are able to get it in your babies, I think you’ll see improvement quickly. Good luck. Keep me posted.
Bernadette,
Thank you for your helpful comment! I’ve never had to nebulize a cat, so I appreciate you offering your input on that. It’s so hard having sick animals and limited funds or the ability to get the stuff you need quickly to make them better! I know not all Walmarts carry colloidal silver and I don’t have any personal experience with the Silver Biotics brand that some do carry, but I’m glad to hear you have used it with good results. I hope Jean is able to find it and get her sweet Moses started on it right away.
I did share the CS for Pets group info with her so she can seek guidance there too if she likes. I always hate to overwhelm people with too much information (websites, articles, groups, etc.) too soon since I know how overwhelming reading tons of conflicting information can be. I also like to stress the importance of a good diet to help immune-related issues because some sites don’t and that’s a shame. I’ve read waaay too many sad stories of very sick pets whose lives would not have been put in their precarious situation if their diet had been better or warning signs had been caught earlier.
Anyway, congratulations on the journey to making your own colloidal silver! You will save a bundle of money! I look forward to hearing how you get along. :)
CC–didn’t see your last message to me until after posting my last one before this. I have only had 2 flu shots in my entire life–really didn’t think I needed them since I have been mostly healthy my whole life, except now with my nerve damage in my back. I just worry now at age 63 & the fact I have 2 grandchildren now under the age of 4, who are in daycare. Boosting my own immunity with CS is a wonderful, natural solution I will definitely do on a daily basis! Some of my cats ate some of the canned food last night with the CS in it–obviously I have no way of knowing if it was Moses, but I doubt it. He is drinking the water though. I even held up the food bowls for him with no luck–I don’t think he wants to lower his head at all cuz the snot comes running out like crazy. The vet who treated Oliver told me when a cat cannot smell, they will not eat. This is why I chose to try to rescue Oliver–he was an under 8 weeks old feral kitten I was feeding with his mom & siblings, developed on spot along side his nose which gradually grew, and stopped eating. The spot got huge, covering most of his face, one eye and halfway closed the other eye. Took me 2 days of crawling on my belly to catch him–he put up no fight at all–probably too weak. The vet didn’t tell me til our 2-week checkup that he didn’t think Oliver was going to make it through the night–besides his snotty face, he was very dehydrated & full of fleas, mites & worms! So much stress on his little body, yet he rallied on! He was honestly one of those cats that I didn’t know what to do with–even looked on Pet Finder to see if I could find him a home–but now I don’t know what I would do without! He is my heart & soul! I feel so helpless about Moses–I know the vet has something that encourages them to eat, if for one day. I am not happy at all about the vet choice but so worried!! I am nearly tapped out after the car repairs & Sunny’s vet bills, but cannot let my Moz die! He hasn’t been himself at all. The vet is only open today from 8-11, but am going to again try to get some food into him first. I have some Applaws in the packet which has no additives or grain–hope I can get him to eat some. I have NOT been comfortable for a long time with Fancy Feast–noticed with the canned stuff in pieces that when it sits out & start to dry out, it looks more like dried WOOD than meat!!!! The issue with Moses is he’s VERY snotty–tilts his head back and forcefully blows it out of his nose, ending up getting all over his face, then some is inhaled or licked off. I try to gently tissue it off, but he doesn’t care for that, but I still persist. Just want this guy to eat!! He spends nearly the entire day in his cubby, getting up only for a drink or a trip to the litter box, so uncharacteristic of him! He adores my son who was here last night for an hour & Moz didn’t even get up to socialize, which he nearly always does! I will pick up some of the lysine at WalMart today, too,–though, like you, I am not at all comfortable about Chinese products. I will also skip the tuna & look for wild caught salmon–I do have sardines in water & will try to turn them into a pate in my Magic Bullet (I am guessing maybe my cats don’t like the consistency of real meat, so will give this a try) I have more stuff in my cart at Amazon (including your lysine recommendation) which I will order today. I know you do raw for your pets, but what commercial canned stuff do you advise, if you have any you’d recommend? Also, noted in one article, you recommend human use of CS be held in the mouth for 30 seconds (I think) & administering to cats, not directly into the throat–just curious as to why? CS is new to me & I have much to learn about it–I have got to say that one tablespoon I took last night to try helped with an oncoming cold & I slept very well! Sunny is doing better as long as I get lysine in him, but now he is getting nearly impossible to catch! He hates it!
Did get a small amount of food in Moses–maybe a tablespoon. It really turns him off it when he lowers his head & has to snort snot. Plus, he is very much a creature of habit & only seems confused if I raise the plate up to him. The Lysine so far seems to have had little effect on him. I found a gel type by Vet Worthy that is chicken flavored and just put some on his legs to lick off–don’t want to stress him out too much anymore. He is getting a drink now. So worried my baby will get/have pneumonia!
One quick question–I checked the Vitamin Shop website since there is a store less than 1/2 mile from me to see if they had the Lysine you recommended on Amazon so that I could get it today. They did not, but have a liquid 2oz bottle called Quantum Super Lysine Plus Liquid Extract with Vitamin C & Echinacea – Supports Immune System (2 Fluid Ounces). Ingredients are listed as : Vitamin C – (Ascorbic Acid)
23 Mg
38%
PROPRIETARY BLEND – L-LYSINE HYDROCHLORIDE LE, ECHINACEA PURPUREA LE, SHITTAKE MUSHROOM LE, PROPOLIS LE, GUM BENZOIN LE, LICORICE ROOT LE, GOLDENSEAL ROOT LE
300 Mg
N/A*
Other Ingredients:
Alcohol (40%), Distilled Water –the alcohol content bothers me, but don’t know if it is necessarily bad for cats. Think I should try that? Moses DID drink quite a bit of water just now. I added another 4 tablespoons of CS. I am going to try to give him some orally in a couple hours> I am going through this 16 oz bottle FAST & will soon need another!! Maybe I WON’T have to make that trip to the vet today!! Fingers crossed!
Decided against the vet today–don’t want my 13-year old cat pumped with antibiotics for “temporary relief at best” if I can kick this thing myself. Will continue with the High Calorie Booster since he is not eating as much as I’d like. He was out of his cubby for a while and in my biggest cat tree, so that is encouraging. Tried the eyedropper with the CS–I bought a bunch of disposable eye droppers on Amazon some time ago–the tip is very small & Moz resisted & it ended up on my bathrobe. Going to try the spoon next. I currently have 10 tablespoons of CS in the water dish–he does drink quite a bit. He is getting a lot of extra love & TLC, but I am sure missing my “singing cat”–he is normally very talkative! Going to work very hard to get him back. Sunny seems to like the Vet Worthy Lysine–didn’t beat me up today & then run off like his tail on fire & hide under my bed all day! Hope it works well! He seems in better shape overall than Moz–out & about, social & affectionate, eating, etc, but still has issues. If I get that much improvement in Moses in a few days, I will feel so much better! We need to talk food once the worse is over with this URI–still giving the ACV between the shoulders on both cats twice a day, too.
Jean,
Be careful about just giving random human products to cats, as they metabolize things differently than we do. I’d skip the mix of liquid drops and either go with Lactoferrin or Colostrum along with the CS. Your vitamin shop should have one of those. Both are found in milk that is fed to baby cows and are good for the immune system. Make sure the Lactoferrin is bovine (cow).
Keep up the CS and if nothing else, put a bowl of 100% colloidal silver out for your cats, so that is all they are getting. It won’t hurt them. Moz may be drinking a lot of water because he knows it has stuff in it that will help him and/or all the secretions are making him thirsty.
Most importantly, stay calm. Animals can sense our emotions and that can make it harder to give them medicine. I will be out for a few hours, but will be back later this afternoon in case you have any more questions. Hang in there. :)
Thanks CC–that’s why I asked about the Lysine drops. Wanted to know if they’d be safe because the last thing I want right now is to make Moses sicker. I will go for the Spring Valley Lysine until the cat Lysine comes from Amazon. Unfortunately, it appears that this Vet Worthy Lysine is NOT as effective as the Vetoquinol maple stuff. Darn it! Sunny’s breathing is much noisier today. Hopefully, I can get the Spring Valley stuff in them. I know I get too emotional where my cats are concerned–they are my babies! I will try to keep calm–want to do whatever is necessary to get them on the road to health again! Thanks as always for your excellent advice!
Jean,
Make sure you are giving Moses and Sunny plenty of CS on a regular basis. 1-2x a day isn’t going to be enough given their condition. They need it AT LEAST every few hours, ideally every two-three hours until symptoms improve, even if that means staying up all night with them.
If your cats have a favorite treat food, like sardines/salmon/or tuna, you can give them just a bit of that with plenty of CS (at least a teaspoon) added every couple of hours or so, per cat. All of those foods are very smelly, so maybe even given their sneezing and such, they can still smell it enough to be interested in eating it. The unflavored L-lysine should also be easier to give them. I’d also put that in the sardine/salmon/or tuna mush.
Hi CC–my nebulizer will be arriving by mail tomorrow. Can you give me any specific instructions on how to use it with the CS? Also, Sunny seems to respond well on the maple Lysine, while Moses does not. I compared the ingredients of it with the better flavored & much easier to administer Vet Worthy brand & Viralys single day dosage has 500 mg of L-lysine Hydrochloride, while the Vet Worthy one has 500mg of L-lysine MONOhdrochloride, which could explain why it doesn’t seem to work as well, but I am not sure of the differences. Sorry for all the questions–while spending most of my life with cats, this is honestly my first experience with sick ones, for which I am extremely lucky & grateful. I am betting so many of today’s illnesses are the result of the food we feed them. I remember growing up in the 60’s, we fed our cats the most awful smelling ground food–Puss N Boots is one brand that comes to mind. Though I was a child, I do not recall ANY trips to the vet for our pets (both cats & dogs) like we see today–in fact, we did not own any kind of a carrier for transporting cats & they were outside all the time! But, as many food companies can give a hoot if they are making US sick, why would they even give it a minute’s thought on what they put into our pet’s food?? All about the MONEY, IMO. So heartbreaking!
Also working on ways to get the CS directly in the cat’s mouths–so far, I am having pretty good success with a spoon, but both cats are pretty resistant to having anything administered orally after all the Lysine problems! Do you have any recommendations on a specific probiotic for Sunny? With all of the antibiotics he was on, I really want to do my best to remedy that, also. Didn’t see any on your “SHOP’ link. And how often do you recommend “breaks” from Lysine dosing? Sunny misses just one, and his breathing gets noisy again, but we’re still working on the CS dosing, so want to get MUCH more into him before I will stop a Lysine dose to see what happens. Got it in their food & water–now just need much more in their mouths! Also ordered the Lactorferrin you recommended and it should be here this week–could not find a substitute at our local Vitamin Shoppe.
Nebulizer came today & really want to get started, though I am new to this, too. The instructions leave a lot to be desired but I am fumbling through. It came with a mouthpiece–is this to be used for cats or not? Is there a link here or elsewhere that can help me? I plan to prepare a quiet spot to do this & spray with some Feliway before starting. I have also decided since it is just me & my cats are not the most cooperative patients, I am going to focus on Moz first, since he is the sickest–being alone, age 63, with nerve damage makes tackling two at a time more challenging than I can handle & I get frustrated. My kids obviously cannot run over here every time I need help. Sunny will still get his daily Lysine & ACV and then hide all day, but will keep adding lots of CS to the food & water. He is otherwise frisky, playful, eating & drinking, which Moz is not doing enough at all, but he is finally out of his cubby and now sleeping in a cat bed, snot & all. I am using a plastic tablespoon to try to get the CS in Moz every 2 hours.
Jean,
I’ve never personally had to nebulize a cat, but I’ve read to put them in a box or plastic tote with a hole cut out for the tube and some small holes in the bottom or if that’s not feasible, a cat carrier covered with towels and let the nebulizer run while they are in there. As Bernadette said in her post the other day, she just puts her cat on her lap. I would think most cats would appreciate that more than being put in a box or carrier, but the point is to try to get them to breathe the CS to get it into their lungs. You may have to experiment to see what way works best for your cats.
I am only going by what I read, but someone in the CS for Pets Facebook group recommended filling the nebulizer cap 3/4 way full and said doing that twice a day for her cat really helped. I’m not sure if it was as bad as yours sound or not, but at least this will give you a starting point.
I’d have to do some googling on the difference in the two lysine’s you mentioned, but unfortunately, I have some outside stuff today that I have to do while the weather is good here, so I don’t have time right now, but I’m sure you could probably do a google search and see yourself. I’ll be in and out most of the daylight hours of today, so I’ll be unavailable, but it sounds like you are set with all the things for your cats. I’ve added the probiotic I used recently after my dog was on a short stint of antibiotics and comes highly recommended by people in the pet groups I’m in. It is for both cats and dogs.
We can talk food change later, as I know you are spending a lot on all of this medication and quality food is not cheap, but it will hopefully help you from having to go through such a serious illness again in the future. Before I started feeding raw, I fed my cats Nature’s Logic. You can buy the dog food version in the larger can at a better price than the small cat food cans and it is (or was at the time, this would need to be confirmed) the same formula. I fed my cats the Chicken and Rabbit formulas and then had a day of salmon and/or sardines thrown in to keep the proteins rotated so they don’t develop food allergies from eating the same exact protein for years and years, as so many people do. Nature’s Logic puts no chicken at all in their rabbit formula, so it completely takes that out of the equation when you are feeding it, which is good. That’s why I liked it, along with quality ingredients, but when I took in my 6th cat who was young, large, and very hungry, I could no longer afford to feed that food. That’s when I switched to raw and haven’t looked back. You are paying for the convenience for quality canned or dehydrated or freeze-dried food. With 10 cats and dogs total, I cannot afford that.
Not having fed any canned food in so long, I’m not even sure what is available in what would be considered the least bad of the bad options, but when I get a minute I’ll try to do some research to help you find something. All of it is cooked at high temperatures, which kills the nutritional value, which is then replaced with supplements from who knows where, so even the top quality canned food isn’t ideal, but we have to do the best we can do with the resources we have. I’ll try my best to get you some good options, when I have a bit of time.
Thanks CC–I did find some You Tube videos on nebulizing. I bought a portable one so doing the box, carrier thing wouldn’t work. Moses is a VERY difficult patient!! He actually bit me yesterday which is something he never did previously (he’s an orange tabby which are known for being so mellow, which he normally is)–didn’t break the skin though. I don’t know if you’ve seen those canvas carrier bag where just their head is exposed, but I resorted to using it to try to get some pulverized sardines with CS in him–nope. I nebulized him in it also, and he did seem to kind of enjoy that (maybe we can try again in my lap tonight with NO bag to hold him) and actually got a whole tablespoon of CS into him!!! I fill the tablespoon cuz some gets spilled when he fights back. My biggest concern right now is he is not eating or drinking. Going to pulverize some of the canned salmon for him with CS–Salmon does seem to be his favorite food. I am so worried about this boy!! Looking ahead, Sunny will be easier–he eats everything!
Hi CC–just an update. I am convinced that Moses hates me–he is really getting upset when I pick him up now. He is pretty sick of me putting stuff in his mouth & biting even more, but still has not broken the skin, Sadly, we did end up in an animal ER last night–Moses STILL has not been eating or drinking, & lost a pound since I weighed him on Saturday! He was very dehydrated–what prompted me to bring him up is that he is very sucked in in his hindquarter area & was very wobbly on his feet. Vomiting up the Lysine & just spitting out the High Calorie Booster since it is a pretty thick paste (I used that to hopefully sustain him since he has not eaten since that teaspoon/tablespoon I wrote about Friday or Saturday?) This is taking a toll on me–I am so worried about HIM, I am neglecting myself. We did not get out of the ER til 1:20am & I STILL woke up at my usual 5am anyway. I came home with antibiotics but haven’t used them–seems pointless since he just vomits anything given orally. He was also given a fluids treatment for his dehydration. The CS is increasingly seeming to be a no-go for the time being–even my healthy cats seem confused with the difference in their water and I have no idea WHY? I sure can’t taste or smell it!–haven’t added anymore since the initial 10T, but added another gallon of water. They do eat it in their food, but only after it is absorbed. So I do still want to incorporate it into their diets regularly. Moses is still extremely difficult to get it into & very strongly resisting my attempts. I bought a vaporizer for him, since my other 3 seemed to have died–going to try putting him in the very small bedroom with it for awhile & also get him into the bathroom during showers, along with nebulizing with the CS. I have been lying on the floor with him loving him when he is on the electric warming blanket I have for my cats–that is about the only time he seems to appreciate me now. I have been reading up on boosting ALL of my cats immunity & a raw diets is always listed first. Is it impossible to get them to change? Moses food of choice is dry Fancy Feast & I know now it is awful for his health!! Taking the unopened bag I have back to the store & looking to get a good, healthy substitute until we can try the raw diet again. ( I AM interested in the Nature’s Logic, seemingly available only from Chewy, but have to investigate if the dog formulas are nutritionally complete for cats, too. )Even cooking fresh, organic meats is a choice if they refuse the raw, (I am now thoroughly convinced the pet food industry & veterinarians are in cahoots to keep our pets sick!!!) My cats are 2-at age 12.75 years, 1 at 9 years, 2 at 6 years & Sunny is believed to be about 4 years (I know he’d go along with the raw diet–before I took him in, he “gifted” me with the back half of a chipmunk he killed & then proceeded to eat everything but the feet. Yuck!) I am also ridding this place of commercial cleaners & going with vinegar and Basic H, which is a Shaklee product my son sells–so safe you can actually drink it!! I have been actively cleaning up Moses nose with saline & gauze before adding the two drops in each nostril. One friend suggested getting his oral passages cleared out by doing a neti pot type of treatment, using saline & a child’s bulb asprirator, though I cannot find any indications of this being done/advised online with detailed instructions, so am not comfortable with that, unless told otherwise. I should be getting the Lactoferrin (along with the Lysine you recommended) from Amazon this week–is this product promising at least somewhat close to CS to act on this condition? I don’t want to give up on the CS at all, but Moses condition had worsened to the point where I felt I needed outside help from a vet. The antibiotic they gave me is both liquid & another bottle of it in the dry form to add water when needed. Smells like bananas & called Clavamox. Should I use any at all? They also gave him an antivomiting med, so at least I am getting lysine in him again. Even though I am going to retry the raw diet & hope for the best, I;m not going to try until I get Moz to eat. Don’t want to stress him out–would appreciate any advice, or if you have a page here devoted to the subject. Sunny continues to do well with just the lysine, but still has snotty/sneezy periods in between sometimes–otherwise he is in great spirits, playful, eating & drinking. Praying for the day I get my Moz back–hopefully, very soon. Do you have any pet vitamin recommendations that I can give Moses & Sunny until I can get on track to creating my own concoctions? Obviously, I cannot focus on anything else at the moment but getting Moses to EAT!! This is on my mind 24/7!! Going to try to heat some food tonight to see if I can entice him that way. TIA for any advise you have. -Jean
Jean,
I’m SO sorry to hear Moses isn’t getting better! I think you probably made the right decision to take him to the vet. I sent you an e-mail on Sunday and another one earlier today checking in. Please check and let me know if you got them, as I hate to keep this very long conversation going on here. Thanks! CC
Colloidal Silver is a great killer of germs. BUT you need to use a good quality CS.
You need a product with actual Silver particles. NOT Ionic Silver or Silver Protein.
Ionic Silver WILL break down quickly – especially in the stomach. (Hone Silver machines make Ionic.) So, it becomes useless very quickly! Silver Protein is also not a good choice – Easily contaminated, as it is organic.
Silver PARTICLES will not dissipate – either in the stomach (or when applied topically).
The best I have found is MESOSILVER – Made and sold by Purest Colloids.
It is sold ONLY on the internet – by Purest Colloids. DO NOT buy this from another company.
I did – and found that – although the bottle was correctly labelled as from Purest Colloids – the product was FRAUDULENT. It was obviously IONIC – as it dissipated quickly.
Mesosilver has the MOST silver particles (20ppm – about 18 Parts Silver Particles – and 2% Ionic). And -these particles have the highest surface area – which is the important factor in effectiveness.
Check it out on their site – and on comparison Lab Sites. eg. https://www.silver-colloids.com/reports/comparing-colloidal-silver-products/
Jackie,
Colloidal silver/Ionic Silver is great due to it being anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. Since writing this post on Vitamin C, I almost use CS/IS exclusively for myself and my pets (as well as occasional wild animals I save) for any ailment.
Ionic silver, which is what Sovereign Silver brand is as well as what is made with homemade generators, is very effective at treating almost anything. I have only had a couple of things that I had trouble with it not working on for whatever reason, but the 99% other times I’ve used it, it has been very successful at quickly clearing up whatever the issue is.
I don’t know anything about the brand you mentioned, as I’ve never used it, but I have used Sovereign Silver and my own homemade brand and can 100% vouch for their abilities. The 4.8/5 star reviews on Amazon speak also to the effectiveness and customer satisfaction of Sovereign Silver. Like most things, it could just be a matter of opinion or personal preference. I know I can’t really even recall the MESO brand being mentioned in any of the many pet groups, including the CS for Pets group on Facebook that I’m a member of. I’m not saying it isn’t a quality product, it’s just that most of us that have tried Sovereign Silver have been so pleased with the results, that that’s what we recommend to others who are new to CS/IS.
CC:
Please – take the time to check out Laboratory sites that compare Colloidal silver Formulations . You will find that what I am saying about True Colloidal Silver – is Accurate. On all these sites that I’ve been to – the “Mesosilver” formulation is rated way above the next highest rated CS for effectiveness. (Much higher than Sovereign Silver).
This is not to say that Ionic Silver (Store-bought or from home generators) is not effective. It is. BUT – it breaks down quickly. So, it effectiveness is much shorter-lived as compared to True Colloidal Silver (actual Silver Particles). [This may be why you have recommended giving the CS every few hours – in one of your replies above.]
eg. I work with numerous animal Rescue Groups. Some have tried the home-generated Colloidal Silver. They generally found it NOT to be very effective. This has turned them off to using Colloidal Silver all together. Which is a shame. For most issues – they simply need to use a more stable, effective form of CS – True Silver Particles in Suspension.
Jackie,
It’s true, nano-particle silver (actual true Colloidal Silver) is usually recommended as being better for internal issues while Ionic is normally recommended to be better for external issues. When I first started using a silver product, the first one (iconic) wasn’t effective, so after more research, I decided to try Sovereign Silver. It worked so well for so many things that I quickly saw what a game-changer it was in helping me treat my animals at home that I eventually started making my own.
I have only used a true “colloidal” product once with one of my dogs that had a UTI with a nasty bacterial infection, and unfortunately, it didn’t cure it on its own. That has been the only instance where I’ve needed something other than ionic silver (Sovereign Silver or my home-brewed) to heal one of my animals.
If you look at reviews or read the information in groups that talk about colloidal or ionic silver, the opinions about brands, ppm, dosage, etc. etc., all seem to vary. I’m sure Mesosilver is a good product and has plenty of loyal users, as do many other brands, including Sovereign Silver and home-brewed. My vast experience with the treatment of my pets and occasionally myself, has just been with ionic silver, which for simplicity sake, I just refer to as CS or ‘Colloidal Silver’, even though it is not truly a CS product.
In any case, I appreciate you bringing your knowledge about this product up to possibly help others who maybe haven’t had good success with an ionic silver or home-brewed version. Fortunately, the majority of us have had excellent results, as seen in online reviews, recommendations in many online groups, and my own personal experience and those that have shared their success stories with me from my recommendation of its use.
To all the rescue groups you say that haven’t had good results with their home-brewed option, or for anyone else reading, there a few factors that could influence their poor results. Not using 99.99% pure silver rods or not letting the silver brew long enough are two factors that immediately come to mind, though there are probably others. I’ve never heard of anyone complaining that their home-brewed version hasn’t worked and if it didn’t, the thousands of us that do it, would not make our own or recommend it as much and/or as often as we do.
You may want to change what you’re feeding your cat.
re: SALMON: Virtually ALL salmon is farmed. Farmed Salmon is extremely carcinogenic. So much so – that many sites suggest that people don’t eat it more than once or twice A MONTH.
[FYI: “Wild Atlantic Salmon” – is still farmed salmon. This is just the name of a strain of Salmon. ANY salmon is farmed – unless it says “Wild-Caught”. True for most fishes!)
Also – many pet foods (and people foods) include CARRAGEENAN in the ingredients. This is KNOWN to be able to cause damage to all parts of the Digestive Tract – and to the Kidneys and Liver.
And – CARRAGEENAN is also strongly Carcinogenic (Cancer-Causing). It is even used in labs to trigger cancer in test animals. Food manufacturers will claim that they use the “Safe” form (High Molecular weight) – but THERE IS NO SAFE FORM = because the “Safe” form is changed by stomach acids – into the UNsafe form (Low Molecular Weight).
Also – be aware that if a “whole” food is listed on the ingredient label – the ingredients of the whole food do not need to be disclosed. Bad Stuff (Like Carrageenan) – can be hidden there.
Jackie,
Thanks for bringing up the “wild salmon” vs. “wild-caught salmon” wording. I make sure to only buy my cats the “wild-caught” version and only packed in water. They get it 1-2x a week, but one 14 oz. can split between seven cats isn’t much, but it’s an easier way for them to get Omega-3’s than me putting salmon oil in their food, which none of them are overly fond of.
Thank you also for bringing up the danger of ‘Carageenan’ in canned food. I knew it was inflammatory for the digestive tract, but haven’t seen anything about the kidneys and/or liver also being affected. Just the digestive tract inflammation is enough of a concern to me though. I’ve never liked it in my pets’ food in any form, despite how the manufacturer would brush off my concerns back when I did find it in products I’d purchased and called them to let them know of my concern. If I were to feed any of my animals canned food on a regular basis, that’s definitely an ingredient I would avoid.
Another Supplement that can help: 4Life Transfer Factor Classic:
In my experience, This product has cured/eased virtually ANY/EVERY MALADY I have used it for. Because it builds up the Immune System – QUICKLY. (Adding a small amount of Vitamin C seems to enhance it’s productiveness)
I am not a Vet or Doctor. All the info I have garnered on Transfer Factor Classic is from reading – and – from my own experiences with it. I cannot offer you a guarantee that it will work for you/your animals as it has been presented here. Also, forgive any mis-statements or misinformation that I may have unintentionally presented. I do my best to be accurate and clear – but, I am not perfect! You must use your own judgments and do your own research to decide whether you want to try it.
NO, I do not sell it. But, I do have a good amount of experience using it – so – if you want – please contact me directly for any further communications (animalnetwork@pobox. com) ****************************************************
I took bits & pieces from several of my documents – so the following may be a bit disorganized –repetitive and “spread out”. And – This is mostly written for animals – but – this TF Formula works the same for animals and people! This is a Human Formulation- but it can be used cross-species – because it contains ONLY Transfer Factor molecules – NO significant amounts of Milk. And, for the same reason – it can be used Sub-Cutaneously (Or IV by Vets or Doctors).] The (few) vets I have accessed – who know about TF – use this formula.
TF can be used in ANY animal. Even Horses, Rodents, Birds, Fish, etc.
4Life “Transfer Factor Classic “ contains Transfer Factor Molecules (Only). “Transfer Factor Molecules” is the Medical Term for the molecules that are in First Mother’s milk (Colostrum) which transmit immunities to the baby. It is very safe.
And, Transfer Factor Molecules do not interfere with any medications (usually helps them work) – Except for HIGH-Dose Steroids. [This action is indirect: The Steroids knock out immune cells –while, the Transfer Factor builds them up. With Low-Dose Steroids, I think it’s OK.]
Transfer Factor molecules help by adding immune cells to the body directly– and also – increasing the body’s own production of immune cells. I have seen this documented in Blood Work many times. So – you don’t even have to ID the germ.
I have also seen TF REPAIR DAMAGED TISSUES- In my own body! It seems to be able to repair Germinal Cells (The cells that develop into tissues/organs). At least in some cases.
TF is written up in the Physician’s Desk Reference (Starting in 2001 or 2003). In pre-antibiotic days – Doctors sometimes used it for serious conditions – making people bring in their own donors to extract the Transfer Factor molecules from their blood!
4Life is the only company I have found that has a formula with only PURE Transfer Factor Molecules ALONE. The 4Life Company EXTRACTS the TF molecules from Colostrum – so – it contains NO MILK (Which IS in Colostrum) – SO – No cross-species Milk reactions. AND the 4Life TF Molecules are concentrated – Transfer Factor Classic contains about 200 (2000? I forget!) times more TF molecules than in Colostrum.
Some other companies indicate Transfer Factor Molecules in their formulations – But – From what I’ve researched – they DO NOT include TF Molecules per se. They include only Colostrum – which contains the TF molecules. This has nowhere NEAR the same concentration or effectiveness.
TF IS EASY TO ADMINISTER TO CATS (And Dogs) -. Most seem to like the taste – you can simply empty the powder from the capsules and put it on top of their food. Or, mix it into a SMALL amount of pet food (so you know they get it all.) Or add the powder to a SMALL amount of Gerber’s Chicken & Gravy (Or Beef & Gravy) Baby Food (The Small Jars!) – and – If Needed – hand-feed/force-feed the Baby Food + TF. ! (Use Gerber’s Baby Spoons – They have a Rubber coating, so won’t hurt cat’s teeth.)
If you hand-feed – put the spoon in from the SIDE of the mouth – so you don’t choke your cat.
There are Cat/Dog formulas made by 4Life. But – they can be used ONLY orally. (NOT Subcutaneously/IV). And – they contain too much of OTHER ingredients to use in high doses – which are needed for serious conditions!
And, I avoid the formulas containing mushrooms – which can result in a bad reaction to the mushrooms – especially if the person/animal is harboring ANY yeast/fungus in his/her system – even unrecognized. (I myself took a 4-Life Formula containing mushrooms – and – got MUCH WORSE – I couldn’t even Stand up easily.)
SUBSTITUTE FOR MOM’s Milk: This Transfer Factor Formula can also be given to NEWBORN KITTENS/PUPPIES who don’t have a mother to nurse them. It will give them the immune cells they would otherwise get from mom. [I think it also will prevent “Fading Kitten Syndrome”] It can also help mom with her nursing if you put it into her food.
When I have fostered kittens (“Newborn” – and Older) – I give them TF IMMEDIATELY in their food – to bump up their immunities – IN CASE they are coming in with any germs/weaknesses.
In my own experience – 4Life Transfer Factor Classic has:
1. Stopped the progress of a very aggressive Mammary Tumor Cancer in a 6-year-old cat. She had already had surgery to remove the cancer. But, it came back VERY AGGRESSIVELY. Foster Owner called me as a last resort. We started Kitty on TF. When the Owner brought her to the vet 5 months later – to have teeth extracted, the vet assumed she was bringing her in to be euthanized. Instead, she was healthy enough to undergo the surgery on her teeth. The cancer had stopped progressing.
2. Stopped Wet FIP in a dying kitten. He was refusing to eat, and just wanted to sleep. I worked with the Rescuer/Owner – weaning the Kitty OFF the steroids prescribed by Vet – by gradually replacing them with TF. We slowly lowered the Steroids, and, kept raising the TF (Again with Hand-Fed/Forced Babyfood.)
Even though the Vet was removing Fluids from the Kitty every week, he said that the kitty would be dead in 2-3 days.
Instead – the Kitty RALLIED – QUICKLY. Started eating on his own, running around – playing with the other cats. He was much better when finally on the TF ONLY – than when he was on the Steroids. (To those who are not aware – FIP virtually always results in death.)
3. DISTEMPER: Saved the life of an 8-day-old kitten A rescuer brought home 9 kittens from the ACC. 8 of them had already died – from what seemed to be Distemper. This kitten was the last one – and on her way out – refusing food, and was only sleeping all the time. The rescuer force-fed her a HUGE dose of TF in her bottled milk. (200 mg – One Capsule – which is enough for a person! Kitty weighed way less than a pound.) Rescuer expected to find her dead by the next morning. Instead – Kitty was up and about! The rescuer continued giving her the TF – and she became a healthy girl.)
It appears that you CANNOT OVERDOSE THIS TF Formula!.
4. STARVATION: A rescuer brought me a 7-week old Kitten who was dying. She literally had NO FLESH on her bones. Her face was so emaciated – that her Eye SOCKETS were prominent on her face. (And, she had a HUGE belly. So, I figured she was loaded with worms.) I really didn’t think I could save her – I figured that TF worked only on Germs – not on an EXTREMELY Starved Kitty.
I started her on Gerber’s Chicken & Gravy Baby Food – Hand-Fed her small portions every hour – even overnight. Each meal included at least a Full Capsule of TF. She weighed less than 1 pound! This was a REALLY HUGE dose for a kitten that weighed so little. (It appears to me that you cannot overdose TF!)
After 1? 2? 3? Feedings (To try to strengthen her first), I gave her Strongid for worms. When she pooed – there was NO POO – the only thing that came out – were WORMS. They had been eating ALL her food. I continued feeding her the Baby Food with lots of Transfer Factor. Miracle of Miracles – SHE RALLIED. She gained weight. (And, no more worms.) After about a week or so – she looked like a totally normal kitten, and, went back to the rescuer home.
(FYI: Gerber’s Baby Food contains no onions, as some do. And, the Chicken & Gravy Formula – has more calories than their other meat formulas – so I prefer this for sick or underweight kitties.)
5. Stopped the progress of advanced Kidney Failure in 3 of my own cats.
AND – Saved a Kidney Failure Cat belonging to a rescuer friend. This cat was not eating and was very lethargic, and my friend had given up hope. Until she tried the Transfer Factor. She even started with some OLD, outdated capsules she had on hand – discolored, dried up, and the powder had become VERY HARD. She had to grind the capsule contents back into a powder to use it. THE CAT RALLIED. She then got Fresh TF from me, and, has since been ordering on her own for her animals.
6. Saved an AIDS cat who was crashing – All his White Blood Cells were WAY down. His Vet could no longer help him. His owner came to me to try TF as a Last Resort. She gave him high doses, as I suggested. It worked. All his wbc’s were up in the normal range by the next blood draw (2 mos later?)
This cat went on to live for many years –Healthy and Happy! (Kept on a lower, maintenance dose). TF GAVE HIM AN IMMUNE SYSTEM. TF should work the same for Leukemia-positive cats – as the issue is the same – a weakened immune system.
7. SAVED A CAT FROM POISONING: This cat had eaten SIX leaves from a Lily Plant. She was already comatose at the Vet Office. NO ONE expected the cat to survive. Fortunately, this vet was open-minded enough to take my suggestion – and give her TF Sub-cutaneously (Powder from 6 capsules in 30ml Lactated Ringers –as per a TF-knowledgeable vet I know. (She will consult, if needed.). The cat regained consciousness very quickly – and went home.
Lilies kill by severely damaging the kidneys. Blood work was done 21 days later to check on how much damage was done. It showed NO DAMAGE to the kidneys WHATSOEVER. Not only did the cat recover from the poisoning – but – Recovered with no Kidney Damage – UNHEARD OF. The vet was flabbergasted. As per the Doctors at 4Life – The TF acted by Destroying Free Radicals.
8. Has Cured UPPER RESPIRATORY in many cats – and People. Transfer Factor is wonderful for any Upper Respiratory Infection- in animals or people. Can be used along with Antibiotics.
I used it myself for a VERY bad cold (Severe Head congestion, Very sore throat, “Heavy” chest. I took very high doses (10 to start, followed by 2-4 every 2-4 hours.) I started LATE in the evening – and – All the cold symptoms were gone by the next morning!
9. TF can be used TOPICALLY to relieve pain and/or itchiness – and to kill germs. Add a little water to make a paste/solution (It usually takes a few moments – with light stirring – to dissolve). Or, use the powder directly on/in open wounds. Wounds will heal more quickly.
Recently, one of my cats had Ringworm – which had progressed very rapidly all over her body. She had almost NO Fur left. I don’t like giving Fungal medications, as they can have bad side effects, and, cannot be used topically near the eyes. So, I made up a thin, watery solution of TF Classic powder from a capsule and applied it with Flat Cotton Pads to all bare skin areas – and “suspicious” areas – once a day. (I used powder from 1 Capsule in 5ml of water.) I even used it directly around her eyes to clean them – knowing it would not harm them (TF can even be used IN eyes.)
The Ringworm resolved – QUICKLY. I could see her fur growing back in just a few days. And the Ringworm never came back.
And, when one of my cats had a large wound over her eye from recent surgery – she kept pawing at it. She tore out all the stitches, leaving a large GAPING wound (1”x1/4”). I poured all the powder from a TF capsule directly into the wound. The itching & pain STOPPED – I know – Because she stopped pawing at the wound. I continued this daily. The wound healed quickly –with no infection whatsoever, and, no sign of a scar.
10. I have actually cured MEGACOLON in TWO of my cats with TF (And Lactulose). NO SURGERY NEEDED!
Transfer Factor is also supposed to help against the bad side-effects of Chemotherapy/Radiation.
FOR SENIORS: As people and animals get older, their bodies produce fewer immune cells. So, I think it is a good idea for seniors to take Transfer Factor even if they’re not sick.
DOSAGES: Transfer Factor should be taken in at least 2-3 separate doses each day, because it is out of the body in about 12 hours (In Humans). Cats/Animals may eliminate it more quickly.) If you want to be cautious – start with a low dose, as it RARELY can trigger Diarrhea. (For EMERGENCIES – don’t be cautious! Use a LOT– right away.)
If you take a very high dose at the start – RARELY – it can result in Diarrhea. This appears to be because – if there is a high germ load in the body it will kill off a lot of germs quickly. So – the toxins from the GERMS being eliminated can cause the diarrhea. As long as this doesn’t happen – you can increase the dosage very quickly – With EACH subsequent dose! (Keep some Gerber’s Baby Rice Cereal around in case diarrhea does result.
If Diarrhea does occur – DON’T stop the TF. Just lower it a bit temporarily, and, mix some Gerber’s Baby Rice Cereal in with cat/dog food – or in “Gerber’s Chicken & Gravy Baby Food”.
Gerber’s Chicken Formula has more calories than the Beef. Calories are very important for sick or underweight cats. But, if your cat is very anemic – you may want to use the Beef formula – as it has more Iron! You’ll have to choose!)
Gerber’s Baby Rice Cereal will dissolve INSTANTLY in wet food. AND, the food If may become very dry as the rice absorbs water quickly – So – you may have to add a bit of water to make the food palatable (Or add Unflavored Pedialyte – or Lactated Ringer’s Sub-Q Fluids).
A REASON TO NOT STOP TF SUDDENLY – I seem to notice a rebound effect when I’ve done this. (I have a high germ load!)
Serious conditions require rather high doses – More than what is recommended on the TF Label. If you ever need help with dosages, I may be able to help. Just ask.
WHERE TO GET 4LIFE TRANSFER FACTOR
This is not generally available in retail stores. Only through Distributors (Who usually charge $60-75). I find the best deal on the 4Life site – 4life.com. Especially If you sign up as a Preferred Customer (No Fee) – there is an excellent discount. And it doesn’t require monthly ordering. On this site you will pay anywhere from $29-45/Bottle of 90 (Currently) – depending on how much you order – and – on whether you sign up to be a repeat customer.
Sounds costly – but – it’s not really – TF saves a lot in Vet Visits – and can be used for all sorts of maladies that come up. You may also find it beneficial to take yourself!
Since I use a lot – for myself and my multiple cats – I generally order TF by the case (2 cases of 5). I use Paypal Credit to pay – so I get a 6-month deferred interest deal (Over $99!). I pay it off slowly with no interest charges.
IMPORTANT: The 4Life Transfer Factor Classic formula is a U.S. Formulation. It is not available in certain countries outside the U.S.A. So, in those cases you’d have to find a friend in a country where it IS available – to get it to you.
And – Be sure to compare the ingredients of the 4Life Transfer Factor Classic formula on the U.S. site – with the same formula on your country’s site. Sometimes, even with the same name – the formulas are DIFFERENT. You should get one with ONLY Transfer Factor Molecules in it.)
It’s possible that you MAY be able to get TF by prescription – to be paid for partially or fully by a Prescription plan. I think I saw this on the internet – Shirley’s Wellness Café Site, or, Tanya’s Kidney Failure Site. If you find and confirm this information – please let everyone know – including ME!
If you want to get TF ASAP – You can find a local Distributor on 4Life.com.
Or, If you can pick up in Manhattan (E60’s) – you can get some from me, if I have it in stock.
Again, the formulation to order is 4Life Transfer Factor Classic. (90 Capsules per bottle.)
PS: Excerpted from an email I received from Clare Thwaitesin 2017 – “I found your email address here : https://alicewhite.wordpress .com/category/animal-welfare/p age/2/. I was wondering if you are the Jackie Page who was posting on The Cat Site sound 2014 / 2015?? I have been trying to track you down since a post you made, that very sadly has subsequently been deleted (the whole thread) saved our cats life. If it hadn’t been for your amazing post no 28 about Transfer Factor, we would have never known to try it and after 4 rounds of antibiotics from our regular vet failed, they were about to cut his face open to find the infection – instead, we gave him the human dose of Transfer Factor like you suggested and he was right as rain in about 2 days. Was amazing and I would love to be able to phone you and thank you personally.”
You can see more reviews on TF at: 4life. com. I absolutely believe ALL of them – because I have personally seen what it can do!
Jackie Page Jackie Page’s Animal Network
Jackie,
Thank you for this very in-depth comment on Transfer Factor. I have read about it, but do not know much about it (other than how expensive it is) nor have I ever personally used it. Colostrum is what most holistic vets recommend for boosting the immune system and a similar product, Lactoferrin (Bovine version) has been documented in at least one study to help with stomatitis.
Reading your lengthy comment, it seems that Colloidal/Ionic Silver would have worked just as well in a number of cases you sited, like the ringworm, which is fungal, and open wounds and infections, which heal very quickly (in my experience) with CS/IS.
CS/IS also works to boost the immune system as well as be anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral, so it works on many levels also, and is pretty inexpensive if you make it yourself. Obviously, if it is a dire health issue, like near-death or cancer, needing something to supplement a regime of things, this product definitely sounds like something to look into. For most everything else you mentioned, I just want readers to know that CS/IS is an excellent treatment choice and more economical.
CC:
Sounds like you work with Animal Rescue.
Could you let me know the name of your group?
Also – your location – and what specific type rescue you do?
And – your personal email address – if you are interested in receiving informational material from time to time (eg. Alternaticve Treatments, Helpful resources, etc ) – and, RARELY – rescue help needed.
Jackie,
My story is in the ‘About’ section on my website. I’ve been taking in all the nearby dumped and abandoned cats and dogs that find their way into my path or sometimes yard, for the last 20 years. I average taking in 1-2 animals a year. I’m not part of any group or organization, I’m just an individual who lives in an area where it is discreet to dump out animals and drive away. Unlike my neighbors, I don’t ignore an animal, hoping it goes away. Instead, I bring in every one that finds their way into my life and try to give them the best life possible.
I’ve had to learn a lot of things the hard way (which is why I started this site to begin with, to help educate others on the hard lessons I learned). Over the years, I’ve bought books, joined online groups, and spent thousands of hours researching things as they arise with my animals. I share my findings and experiences, both good and bad, to try to help other pet parents.
I deleted your e-mail address in your previous comment as I have A LOT of spamming attempts on my site and would hate for your e-mail to get picked up and/or hijacked by them, some of which are pretty crafty. It shows on my side though when you comment, so I do have it.
What is your website address?
It’s this one. :)
No wonder I have’t been blocked for going off-topic!
I’ve learned a lot of valuable information from comment sections over the years, so I try to be accomodating when I can so long as it isn’t spam, abusive language, or information that is neither correct or helpful to anyone. :)
Good protocol!
So – have you come across any successful treatments for Feline Stomatitis – that do not involve Full Teeth Extraction or Steroids?
PS: There is no way I can administer CS by mouth to this cat I have with Stomatitis. Although normally very gentle – he becomes VERY aggressive if I try to put anything into his mouth. And, he rarely ever drinks water from the water dish. (I give him lots of water in his food – which I must liquefy in my blender in order for him to eat.) He is not dehydrated. I do give him CS in his ears – as this should get into his mouth area through connected nasal sinuses.
I also give him Zyrtec – which has helped a LOT. Also Transfer Factor.
I have started giving Liposomal CBD in his food – which does seem to be helping.
Just wondering if anyone has another helpful solution.
Are you putting CS in his food? I would think that would definitely help. Also, see this article that I wrote and just updated yesterday with product recommendations, http://savingcatsdogsandcash.com/stomatitis-symptoms-and-colloidal-silver/
Thank you for your suggestion. I have been thinking about using CS.
But, I am first trying the Liposomal CBD.. It seems to be helping.
I like to add ONE thing at a time – so I know what is helping, and, what is not.
And, I have used CS for my cats before -mixed into their water. (I never see Elijah drinking water!)
But – I have read that extended use of CS for cats – can possibly harm their kidneys.
So – I would like to research this further. .
I used this to save my foster distemper puppy along with a lot of other holistic stuff, hes doing great , he got to the neurological stage, but hes a great puppy, he is over the virus, now and ready to be adopted, we do foster care for homeless dogs for a rescue,
the holistic info is hard to find on the internet
Hi Kathy!
I’m so glad to hear your pup survived distemper. Do you also use colloidal silver? It’s definitely something I’d recommend adding to your arsenal and you can even easily make it yourself.
hello! i’m so thankful to have found this site. i spent so much time yesterday looking for a holistic vet for my cat; making tons of phone calls, finally found one that was relatively close and would see my cat today, just for the vet to recommend antibiotics when we got there >:( i asked the vet if cats are like people and can take high doses of vitamin C and D and zinc. i told her how i personally avoided antibiotics when i had strep throat and walking pneumonia by taking high doses of vitamin C, D, and zinc, and elderberry syrup, and essential oils. she looked at me like i had 3 heads :( So i brought the antibiotics home with me, but decided to take a wait and see approach. they wanted to sedate my cat to clean her wound (they said she has an infected abscess) but that was $300. so i said i’d do it myself at home. so i cleaned it as best i could and then put coconut oil on it since coconut oil is a good natural antibacteria and it’s safe for cats. as i was thinking about it more and more i decided to find out how much vitamin C and D cats should take because thats what i wanted to try before those antibiotics, and i found this site!! :)
i have “Ener-C” on hand, but i’m concerned its not safe to use for MaMaCat. i even have the sugar -free Ener-C.
the vet thinks my cat got bite or scratched by another cat, but honestly i think it might have been a negative reaction from food grade Diatomaceous Earth that i put on her back when i thought she had fleas because she had bumps all over her skin. the vet said they checked for fleas and found no evidence of fleas. i asked why she had the bumps all over her skin and she said she thinks its allergies to either food or something in the environment. i did start her on a raw meat diet a week before i noticed the skin issue on her back. she liked it, and was eating it until she just stopped when i noticed the skin issue. i was also putting the DE in her food for parasites’ since now she was on a raw meat diet. i also was putting a spoonful of canned cat food mixed with the raw meat, and when i ran out of the canned cat food to mix with the raw meat, she stopped eating the raw meat. oh, and i also put 1 single drop of CBD oil in her food once per day too since starting on the raw meat diet.
so i’m new to this raw meat diet thing, and on top of that she has this raw, bloodly spot on her back that the vet wants to use oral antibiotics for…and i dont want to use that. So im trying to figure out how much vitamin C and D to use and anything else that could help her. any advice is much appreciated! thank you!
Hi Liz,
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat’s health issues! I’ve tried to cover everything from your comment, (while my own animals were using their top distraction techniques! lol) so please have a read through it all and let me know if you have any questions.
Firstly, my go-to product nowadays is Ionic/Colloidal Silver for most anything wrong with my animals or myself. It is just so easy to administer and universally treats so many things (and quickly!) since it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. I have used and recommended the Sovereign Silver brand, but there are others out there and can be found on Amazon or at local health food stores and even a Silver Biotics brand was available at some Walmarts that people have said works well. I now use so much of it that I make it myself since it is so cheap and easy to make. I have links to the silver in my Amazon store here, https://www.amazon.com/shop/savingscatsanddogswhilesavingcash.
I’m not sure about your ‘Ener-C’ brand, as I don’t know the ingredients in it, but normally just plain vitamin C is what vets recommend. The ‘Ener’ part of the name hints that there is more than just vitamin C in it. According to Dr. Don Hamilton in ‘Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs’, immune-building vitamins he recommends are vitamin C at 5-10mg/pound 2-3x per day with natural C, if available, as well as vitamin E and vitamin A being helpful. He also recommends Echinacea for boosting the immune system.
Besides the coconut oil, honey (manuka or regular) is a good natural antibiotic for wounds and recommended by vets, though I’ve never personally used it. I worry it would be sticky and messy and may cause an animal to lick the wound to get the honey, but maybe they don’t? As a rule, cats are quick healers, so just keeping the wound clean by trimming the hair around the wound and keeping the cat indoors and on clean bedding is a good idea.
You actually have other options besides using vitamin C, including homeopathic remedies, but Dr. Hamilton says once they rupture, abscesses tend to heal on their own just fine without antibiotics, so I think just keeping it clean and monitoring it is probably sufficient. If not, I’ve tried to offer you some options and can elaborate more on homeopathic remedies, if interested.
I’ve never heard of DE causing bumps like you’ve described. I feed seven cats raw and have never had a parasite problem from doing so. My cats, who are also indoor/outdoor, have never had a flea problem, either. As a matter of fact, a healthy animal is less likely to have parasites (fleas/ticks/worms/etc.). I’d advise stopping the DE and evaluating your home to get to the bottom of this health issue. Are you using air fresheners, candles, new cleaning products, etc? Using a new laundry detergent or smell-good fabric softener/additive? All of that is harmful for pets.
As far as raw feeding goes, if your cat is accustomed to canned food, switching to straight raw may be a challenge for her to accept. While all cats are different, some take a “process” to fully switch that involves feeding their regular (in your case, canned) food with just a little bit of raw added and slowly add more raw and less of the canned until she is eating all raw. This may take a month or longer, as you’ll need to go slowly.
If the bumps appeared close to after you started feeding your cat raw and none of the above (air fresheners, etc.) apply, it could possibly be the addition of the raw food. What kind of raw meat are you feeding? If you are feeding chicken, offer her pork or (wild-caught) salmon. Chicken does have the highest allergy response in many pets, so it’s possible she’s having a reaction to the chicken. I find pork loin is very lean and economical. Make sure if you are cutting the meat up yourself, you are removing as much fat as possible. That’s where toxins are held, so you obviously don’t want to feed that to your cat. If you need any more help with raw feeding, contact me through my ‘About’ page and I’ll be happy to help you further.
Hey CC,
thank you so much for your reply! i was up past midnight on tuesday night reading all the comments of others and your reply to them, and i was reading all over this website to learn as much as i could. i ordered that night the vitamin C you recommend on Amazon and it just arrived today…my first question is how much of 1 packet do i give her at a time, and how to get her to take it?!
the first thing i did the next morning on wednesday was run to my local health food store and bought 2 bottles of colloidal silver. one was a spray at 20ppm, the other i have to pour and its 10ppm. i trimmed her hair, and sprayed it on her back every few hours and poured the other one in her water bowl about 1 t or so. i also took the 10ppm myself as often as i put the spray on my cat lol…it’s been helping me get better much faster! i think she likes her water btw! even on the first day i could tell she was feeling better, and by the 2nd day, her back went from red to pink, and its continuing to improve :) Oh, and i also have been putting 1 drop (1000IU) of vitamin D on a treat per day.
i have chewable Zinc with vitamin C and echinacea, but i feel it might be unnecessary to crush a bit of it and give it to her when the colloidal silver is going so well, and soon i’ll use that vitamin C when i know how.
i do have manuka honey and only use it when we’re sick, but it is very sticky and i believe cats shouldn’t have sugar, although she wouldnt be able to lick it anyway because ive had a cone around her head since monday because she wont stop trying to get at her back.
so i did think the DE gave her the issue on her back that bled, but i was thinking more about my cats situation and realized that the bumps all over her skin was there before i gave her DE. i remembered that back in September i thought she had fleas and i gave her that horrible Advantage 2 stuff :( maybe the bumps came from that? i use all natural cleaners in my home. the only thing smelly i use is young living essential oils in my diffuser daily…and i’ve been using them for 5 years, so i dont think its that. i dont use the oils on MaMaCat.
thanks for the advice on how to switch her to raw meat. i will do that!! im thinking right now i’ll wait till she’s all healed up, then start the process you recommended by add a little of raw meat and slowly less of the dry food she’s been on forever. (i only gave her canned when i introduced her to raw the 1st time). but since i donno what she may be allergic to, should i introduce 1 new kind of meat per week? and what order should i do that? turkey, pork, tuna, salmon, beef, small corned hen, chicken liver, chicken hearts, chicken?? (this would be kinda like doing an elimination diet, which i had to do for myself and my daughter, and it made a world of difference for our health) i do buy good quality meat. it’s even the same meat we eat ourselves. i just cut some off for her before cooking the rest for us. i would like to add cod liver oil to her food too, do you think she could be allergic to that? i would like help with the raw feeding, so i’ll also contact you through your “about” page like you asked.
thankyou so much for your help :) *hug
Liz
Hi Liz,
I got your e-mail, and will send you a reply, but since there are several things in your comment that I think other readers might benefit from hearing as well, I also wanted to respond here. :)
First off, I think if your cat is showing improvement with the colloidal silver, just stick with that. Your cat sounds like she’s been put through enough recently. Let’s refrain from adding any more stress to her or her system. Colloidal silver helps with not only external things, but also helps with the immune system. A teaspoon of CS in her water, unless it’s only a cup or so of water, isn’t very much.
The thing to remember about CS is that you can’t give too much, but you can give too little and it either won’t work well or at all. You are better off either adding more CS to her water, or adding that teaspoon of CS to a little bit of wet food or some mashed up sardines a few times a day. Even that is probably not necessary if her only issue is the abscess. Just keep putting the CS on the wound a few times a day. I personally would also remove the cone, too. I’m sure that adds stress and cats naturally groom themselves, so her being able to clean herself, including her wound, is natural and normal. I’ve had cats with abscesses before and they never wore a cone and healed up quickly and just fine.
If I had to put my money on your cat’s bumps, I’d definitely blame the Advantage flea medication, not the DE. I’ve read so many horrible things about so many flea/tick medications, it’s not even funny. You are essentially poisoning your pet when you put those products on/in them, so when the flea bites them, the flea eats your pets’ poisoned blood and dies. As I said in my first reply to you, I have seven cats and three dogs and we’ve never, ever had a flea problem. I’ve taken animals in with fleas, but once I get rid of them via baths and flea combing, they stay gone. A healthy animal is less likely to have fleas or any other parasites. Most people don’t realize that connection, but that’s just how nature and parasites work. A good diet, plenty of exercise, sunshine and fresh air, love, and a stress-free environment all contribute to good health. That applies to both us and our pets!
As far as your diffuser and essential oils, I’ve read mixed things about cats and essential oils. Personally, I’d never risk exposing my cats to essential oils in any form. I know there are sites that claim they are safe and even sell them, but I look at it like whatever you are exposing your cat(s) to, you are compressing all of that into a small 10-ish pound animal. That’s all the bad food (kibble), flea medications, vaccines, medicine, cleaning/deodorizing products, fabric washing chemicals, etc., etc. over its lifetime. All of that is being stored in that little body and building up over time. The more of all those toxins that eventually add up, the more likely it is that one day you will have a sick cat. Hopefully that all makes sense.
I’m so glad to hear you are ready to make the change from kibble, which is the worst food you could possibly feed a cat, to raw, which is species-appropriate and what cats were designed by nature to eat. :) You’ll be amazed at how much better your cat does on better food. Less poop, less smell from the poop, usually less water drinking, healthier/shinier coat, more energy, etc.
You’ll also hopefully avoid having a cat with mouth/teeth issues that I so often get e-mails about from people wanting help healing. It’s so sad to know all that suffering could have been prevented by an appropriate diet. Luckily, it’s never too late to get started and I’m so glad you are willing to do it for your MaMaCat! As I said in my other reply, starting slowly will be your best bet for a smooth transition. There are so many nasty chemicals and additives in dry food to make it addictive (since it’s nothing like what a cat would eat in nature, which is mice, birds, rabbits, etc.) that some cats have a really hard time giving it up for what nature intended they survive on. Think of us and processed food. It’s nutritionally awful, but it’s sooo good, we eat it anyway.
When feeding raw, it’s a good idea to rotate your proteins so cats don’t develop allergies after eating the same one for years on end. Chicken is cheap, so it’s normally in every pet food in some form, but it’s also usually easy to feed raw since most cats like it. I’ll write more about transitioning in my e-mail to you, but for others reading this, a good way to introduce raw is to offer a tiny little piece (thumbnail size) of raw meat to your cat by hand. It’s like a special little “treat” from you and your cat may be more likely to eat it that way than out of their bowl. You can do this with chicken, pork, fish, beef, rabbit, etc.
The only thing to remember when feeding raw is that you want to avoid feeding them much fat. Toxins are stored in fat, so obviously that is something you want to avoid giving your pet to ensure you aren’t being counterproductive in your feeding of good food with nasty toxins included. All cats are different, so you’ll just want to experiment with different meat to find which ones your cat likes. Tuna has been found to have a lot of mercury in it, so I avoid that one and prefer wild-caught salmon and sardines. Rotating proteins every few weeks or so will help make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need from different sources and not develop allergies to a protein.
Starting slowly with just a bit of raw added to their regular food and slowly decreasing their regular food and replacing it with a little more raw food is usually the best way to make the transition and get your cat on track to a healthy diet. That may take a month or even two, or possibly longer if you have a really stubbornly addicted cat, but the benefits are worth it.
i hear you very well! thanks for being so kind and super helpful! :) MaMaCat is on her way to better health! yay
I am SO thankful that I found your site! Tons of great info here. Thanks for making all this available for us.
I’ve used many of these natural ‘alternative’ meds for many years. Hopped off the medical milking machine for my family in 1993 but took much longer to disconnect our animals b/c there was so little real guidance available back then.
I rescued a pregnant cat in early April, named her Suzy Q. She was spayed on 6/7/23 and 8 days later nearly died. Vet diagnosed Stump Pyometra. I believe she was going into shock when I found her under the bed at 5:30am that morning. Temp 94.5!!! Dr B gave her IV fluids and abx and I brought her home that evening.
She’s doing great! My concern is that I’ve never used the abx he has her on, and don’t know anyone that has, and I don’t know much about it. The online forum for pet owners to report problems with rx and otc meds seems to have disappeared. Like you, I’m leery of using drugs without full information and there just doesn’t seem to be much available on this one outside of the ‘industry’ websites.
I’m hoping someone can direct me to a forum or website where I can get ‘the rest of the story’ on the antibiotic, Cefpodoxime. I understand how serious a major internal infection can be and don’t want to discontinue the antibiotic without cause. But I also don’t want to risk her health without having all the facts. I have doxycycline, which he has my TomTom taking long term for sinusitis (which he and another vet missed for 16 mos, allowing it to become so entrenched he can hardly breathe without the doxy).
I’m giving Suzy CS, Lyposhperic Vit C, and Immune Sure (PetWellBeing .com herbal glycerite). Any suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks again!!!
Hi Pamela!
I’m glad you found my site helpful! As far as Cefpodoxime for your cat goes, I did a quick search for just the drug and then also my go-to search term just like this with the quotation marks: “Cefpodoxime killed my cat” and did not get any search results back that I found concerning. It seems to be a relatively safe antibiotic from what I found.
My advice would be to trust your gut and if you have a good vet that you’ve had good experience with, just be super watchful of any side effects, which include vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. I have had instances where my pets have had the “very rare” side effects from drugs that I’ve had to search specifically for to confirm it that even my vet didn’t know about, so that’s why I say be very watchful of not only this drug but ANY drug you give your pets for any unusual side effects.
If Suzy Q is doing great, I’d continue what you are doing, just monitoring her closely. You have a great protocol of supplements for her, so other than a high-quality diet and possibly colostrum if necessary down the road, I think you are doing great with your treatment plan.
As far as a group or forum, the only suggestion I can offer is possibly a Facebook group for holistic medicine where you can do a search for the medication by name to see if it’s been discussed before. You can also do a search in Facebook’s general search bar to see if any mentions anywhere on Facebook come up.
Lastly, I highly recommend the book ‘The Nature of Animal Healing’ by Dr. Martin Goldstein, DVM. Even though it was written in 1999, it has a very thorough index of conditions and the exact product he recommends and usually the amount of the product to give. In your case, I looked up both ‘sinusitis’ and the ‘stump pyometra’ and while the only listing for treatment was for pyometra, not stump (not sure what the difference is), he does list natural treatment options for both.
You can find the book listed in my recommended products from Amazon and can purchase through that, which pays me a very small commission at no expense to you, or at least gives you a picture of the book to look for.
Thank you for rescuing Suzy and being so generous with your time and money for treating her. I hope the information I’ve shared is helpful. If there is anything else I can help you with, let me know.
Thank you for your quick reply – and for taking the time to search out info for me!. I feel so much better about keeping Suzy on the Cef. I like our vet, Dr B – he is kind and caring. But he refuses to accept the fact that many of the drugs/vax he uses have harmed animals. Or that there are safe alternatives. In 2001 he recommended we euthanize a horse who had colic that he thought was beyond help. Two months later he came out to work on another horse and was amazed to see Travis standing beside her! I had hoped that might change his mind about natural healing. It did not.
I hate that you, and so many others here, have had to go thru such awful problems with your beloved pets. But thank you for providing a place where we can share info in the hopes of preventing more such cases.
Many of the websites I used in the past have become difficult to find. Many were removed. So I’m buying as many books as I can afford (ordered the one by Dr Goldstein – I’m not very good with tech stuff but I think I was able to do it thru your link). And printing off info like crazy.
Stump pyometra is an infection of the little bit of tissue which is left behind after a spay surgery. Some vet sites state that it ‘just happens’ while others say it is from a botched spay job. I just know Suzy Q was in shock that morning and going downhill. The emergency vet clinic here closes at 1am due to staffing shortages. So I had no choice but to wait until Dr B opened at 8. I encourage everyone to learn some basic first aid – and this was a perfect example of why we need to be able to take care of some things ourselves.
In addition to using a Canine Light Pad (infrared led laser lights) which generates mild heat as well as healing wavelengths, I gave Suzy a homeopathic. I mixed Arnica 200ck with filtered water and just dribbled drops on her gums. After 30 min of hard shivering and laying limply in my lap, Suzy sat up and began looking around just 20 min after I gave her the arnica! Not conclusive, but definitely a probability that the arnica helped bring her around.
Thanks for the suggestions about where to look on fb. I didn’t know I could search for things by name on there! Will try it asap. I’m already a member of a few good groups there but looking thru all the posts and comments for something like this can take more time then I have.
Your writing is not only informative but entertaining. When reading about the murder hornet I felt like I was there with you, lol! NOT fun!
May you be blessed as you bless so many others!
Thanks, again
Pamela
There is so much great info on here, but I’m afraid I need advice quickly. I’ll keep reading posts and comments but in the meantime (famous last words….). Last night I realized that my recent rescue kitty, Suzy Q has cystitis. Frequent squats in the litterbox without much output, sometimes she’s there 3-5 min! I may have noticed a little of this yesterday morning but had to go to town and was gone midday.
There have been tiny drops of bright red blood (4x over a 2 hr period last night) and 4 smaller drops this morning (over a 4 hr period). Mucus with about half of those.
Last night I gave her homeopathic Cantharis, CS, Lypo C, Immune Sure. She’s on Cefpodoxime for a post spay complication, Stump Pyometra. I don’t find that listed as an abx for UTI’s. After the Cantharis she did pee a larger amount once, then settled down and slept thru the night!
This morning I repeated the Cantharis, but she still just passed small amounts of urine so I switched to homeopathic Pulsitilla. Repeated the other supplements. Then put Apple Cider Vinegar/water (50/50) on her scruff and gave her .75ml by mouth. No change.
On 7/6 Suzy was 9 days post spay when I found her going into shock at 5:30am. When Dr B did the work up that morning he found her wbc at 40,000 (should be 20,000) and neutrophils were 33,000 (should be 13,000). X-rays showed a diffuse cloudy image where the uterus would have been so he dx Stump Pyometra. But he also said that the image was in the area of the bladder which prevented him from actually seeing the stump area. I’m now wondering if it was indeed her bladder that was infected, rather then remains of her uterus.
She had IV antibiotics and fluids at the vets on 7/6. Since coming home with the Cefpodoxime once a day, she’s gotten better each day. Playing, eating, peeing/pooping normally up to yesterday. She is raw fed, we don’t use chemicals on house or pets or laundry, no plants in the house that are dangerous. No stress (I don’t think) as she gets along with Herbie, her roommate.
Dr B is closed till 8am Mon. We are way out in the country and the closest ER vet is 45 min away and they have not been competent when we had to use them 2 times previously (according to our vet who couldn’t understand why they pushed a med without proper testing). So I’m hesitant to put her thru the stress of a long drive without being sure it’s in her best interests.
All that to say that if anyone has suggestions on what has helped their little ones get thru a UTI I’d sure appreciate it! She doesn’t seem in pain (*I know how well they can hide it*) and is sleeping comfortably. The carrier is sitting out with my purse and shoes in case we need to make a fast exit for the ER.
Thanks in advance!!!
Pamela and Suzy Q
Pamela,
I’m sorry, I just now saw your comment. If you haven’t gotten Suzy Q’s issue resolved, you might try the apple cider vinegar mixed with colloidal silver, if you have it, if not, water is fine, and generously put it on her front legs and sides so she has to lick it off. I usually use a soaked paper towel to do that. Her licking it off will ensure she actually ingests it and that may be all that is needed to get her through this.
I also keep D-Mannose on hand in case I notice anyone showing any signs of distress in the litter box.
Thanks – and I did not expect you to respond over the weekend, as you have a life outside this site. Suzy (and I) made it thru the last couple days. Stopped having drops of blood or mucus around noon on Sat after a couple doses of Pulsitilla. I have gone thru all my books (the one by Dr Goldstein arrived Fri!) and websites and added a number of things. Suzy is SO sweet, she might try to get away when I approach with something to stick in her mouth but she comes right back and hugs up against me! I’m so I I love with this lil lady!
I given her the ACV every couple hours. Have syringed some in her mouth as well as putting on her neck. I’ll put it on her legs/side as well now. While she doesn’t seem to be in distress, she’s had no significant pee since noon on Sat! Just dribbles. Our vet opens at 8 and I left a message asking for the first available appt.
Going to town to get some corn silk and d-mannose today! Do you mind sharing what dose you give a 10# cat?
I’m so frustrated at how access to websites has been practically shut down now. I had bookmarked my favorites on cat/dog holistic health but that computer crashed. We need to be printing off this stuff as fast as we can before more gets ‘disappeared’. I’ve read just about all your articles. What a great resource! Thanks SO much!
Blessings,
Pamela and Suzy Q
Glad to hear Suzy Q is doing ok, though the lack of significant potty is troubling. She isn’t possibly going outside the litter box somewhere, is she? I know cats in distress have been known to go outside their litter box.
Sorry, I don’t have a dosage amount on the D-Mannose, as I only had to use it briefly a few years ago. I just do a search for ‘D-Mannose dosage for cats’ and try to make sure the mg dosage corresponds to what I have on hand and go from there.
If you don’t have colloidal silver in your arsenal, I highly recommend it. I make my own and it’s very easy to do, or Sovereign Silver is a good brand. The pet version isn’t necessary. Although it’s not a magic bullet for everything, as nothing is, it has saved me many trips to the vet over the years and I take it myself as needed. If Suzy Q drinks water, adding it to her drinking water will only be beneficial.
HalleluYAH. Suzy is OK! The vet got us in at 9am, did bloodwork (showed NO infection left), palpated her bladder (normal and empty), tried to get a urine sample but there was nothing there! He has discontinued the abx for the pyometra (YEAH!) and didn’t think to discuss an appt for her rabies shot (which she’s not going to get, but don’t tell him yet!). I’m writing up my notes so that should this ever happen again I can remember what I did that worked this time.
Reading thru all your posts and the many comments helped get me thru this weekend. It’s scary when trying to remember and figure out all this ‘stuff’ for our beloved pets. Having access to others info is invaluable.
One thing of note…..it finally occurred to me late Sun that antibiotics can CAUSE a uti!!! I kept trying to figure out how/why a cat that was raw fed, with no chemicals in her environment, who had access to fresh air and sunshine but protected from insects and parasites, etc would get sick like this. Amazing that it took me so long to remember such a simple fact. Abx cause UTI!
Another good reason to avoid them when possible.
I mentioned that to Dr B twice and each time he sidestepped the issue. Even went so far as to suggest that the first mucus plug (about 1/16” wide, 3/8” long) must have been from her GI tract b/c GI disturbance is listed as a side effect in his drug manual, but not a UTI. But at least he wasn’t too proud to pull out his book and look! *Sigh*
Thanks again, CC! And All those who’ve commented on this site, leaving behind valuable information.
Blessings,
Pamela and Suzy Q
Yay!! So glad for Suzy and for you!
That’s interesting about the antibiotics causing a UTI. I had never heard that, but then I’ve never had a cat need to be on them for very long. That’s good information to know.
Thank you for sharing your experience and the outcome that may help others. I hope Suzy’s health troubles are now over and you two get to spend quality, happy and healthy time together for a long, long time!
I did not see you latest comment before I made my last post. So let me just add, that I’ve seen Suzy void twice since we got home today, a nice clear stream, without stress or strain! Thanks for pointing out the possibility of going outside the box.
I do have and use Colloidal silver for all of us! That stuff has saved so many in the last 20 yrs – the eyes and breathing of Binky, who ‘got’ Feline Viral Rhinotraceitis right after the vax; Tracker, our 30 yr old (at the time) horse – he had uveitis (moon blindness) in one eye. After on/off recurring infections for a year, the farm vet said we needed to remove the eyeball. I said let me try Silver first. Stopped his rx stuff and just used CS spray and some herbs. Took nearly a month but the eye cleared up completely and the infection never returned. A year later I suggested Dr R give folks our phone number so they could find out what to do instead of having a pet or a horse lose their eyeball – his response was that he couldn’t do that b/c there was really no proof that the herbs and CS had done anything. Funny thing, though – a couple yrs later Dr R stopped by here after to see if he could get “some of that stuff” for HIS eye! He had scratched it that morning and was in serious pain. Didn’t have health insurance so he didn’t want to go to the ER.
Silver helped stop the kennel cough our dog Charlie Brown ‘got’ two days after the shot for it. Kept my Whiskers from succumbing to Bobcat Fever over a weekend – it can kill a kitty in hours. It was January so I didn’t consider her illness could be that, b/c ticks should no better then to be out biting in the snow, right?
When my mother was 80 she was hospitalized with pneumonia (happened every year, 2 weeks after her annual flu shot) and just not getting any better. I snuck CS into her water pitcher and lo and behold – she started to recover the next morning.
My bff has a son who was born early thanks to a drs mistake. He developed cerebral palsy. She’s always been very careful what he takes. He is now 30 and instead of the average of 3-4 rounds of antibiotics per year and 3-5 surgeries by age 20, Daniel has only had an abx THREE times. Once was after surgery to repair a broken femur head from a fall. He has been using CS since he was about 18 mos old! They don’t stay home – he plays banjo at festivals so for 6 mos every year they’re outside, mingling with thousands of people. The rest of the year he plays at indoor venues. Oh – btw…..Cerebral palsy doesn’t have to confine a person to a life in a wheelchair. They do stretching exercises, water and horse riding therapy even still. Daniel walked on stage at the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ol Opry and played!
Sorry – I get carried away when I get a chance to talk with like minded folks! I’ll hush up now. But I’m thanking you again for helping get me thru this weekend!
I worked in a health food store for nearly 8 yrs and we heard many stories from customers about how they developed a UTI while or just after taking an abx! I didn’t think about that when Suzy first showed signs of one, but now it seems clear to me that that was the cause b/c she had no other risk factors.
In 2008 I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Australia practically free! I’d always wanted to go there. But got terribly sick on the trip over (nearly 24 hrs on planes or in airports). I hadn’t brought any of my natural meds with me. We stayed with the folks he was working with and they heard how bad my cough was. So they took me to see their doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic.
Since I was staying with them I thought I should take the abx so I wouldn’t make them sick. For 4 days I coughed so hard I feared I would break a rib, had a consistent low grade fever, headache and just wanted to sleep. When Rons business was done he rented a car and we headed up the road … two towns over was the closest health food shop. I bought an 8 oz bottle of silver and Ron took a picture of me standing under the shops sign swigging from that bottle! I took a sip about every 15 min for the first few hours. Yep – drank right from the bottle!
Within about 3 hours I felt about 80% better! Tossed the abx in the trash!
Shortly after we got home from our trip I began to show signs of a UTI. But in the excitement of unpacking, getting back to work, etc, I missed them for long enough to let it get pretty bad (DUH!)
Thankfully I was still working at the health food store so I had access to everything I needed once I figured out what was going on.
So yes! Keep in mind that antibiotic use can cause a UTI in both people and pets!