Each month Dr. Deva Khalsa V.M.D. answers questions on veterinary issues. Dr. Khalsa is a Fellow and Professor of the British Institute of Homeopathy. Send your questions to [email protected] by the 6th of the month to be included in that month’s issue.
Hello Dr. Khalsa,
My mom’s cat has diabetes and is around 12-14 years old. She has been flooding the litter box, excessively drinking water, tipping over her bowl in anger. Her meow has changed in vocal quality and now sounds like she was a smoker. My mom has started feeding the cat 6-10 mini meals a day which is resulting in better behavior, but taking a toll on my mom. The only vet we have in town said the cat needs very expensive insulin, which at 100 dollars a vile is not affordable. I’m a homeopathic student, but not sure how to treat a cat. Can you suggest anything?
Thank you
Lacey Dietman
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
There must be insulin available that costs less money. Diabetes is a very serious condition. Oftentimes cats get secondary bacterial urinary and kidney infections because of all the sugar in the urine. The only way to begin, in this case, is with insulin as you MUST control the diabetes. Homeopathy is very iffy with cats with diabetes and it certainly seems like she does not have a mild case but a very dangerous and full-blown case as indicated by her water intake and actions. I would strongly suggest you bite the bullet and get the insulin and get started now.
Dear Dr. Khalsa,
My dog, 4 y.o. Pomeranian, was urgently hospitalized 13 days ago due to obstruction of urethra with bladder stones. He was given Cantharis that day earlier due to scanty urine and difficult urination. He had a surgery the day after – bladder lithotomy. He felt worse after it, was given Arnica C200 several times. The vet examined him and said that the liver and the gall are not healthy. He spent 13 days in clinic, was given Staphysagria on catheter removement, later mag-p because of severe spasms during urination. He started to it only after the swelling of the stomach and the pain was relieved.
Yesterday he got back home. And I am observing something (that I believe is Urethrocutaneous fistula) the vet in a clinic has missed unfortunately.
The present symptoms are: between anus and scrotum there is a painless soft ball-like swelling (full with urine I believe), near the anus there is a light red place (fistula) from where the urine leaks both during natural urination and when he rests. The place of the fistula is hard when I touch it, painless. I believe these are the symptoms of Urethrocutaneous fistula. The urine also comes from the penis. I gave him Calc-f, but still cannot find appropriate rubrics to manage the case. The dog is feeling fine overall.
Thank you,
Adèle
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
What your dog has would be very rare indeed. This is not saying that he does not have it but he would need a full exam and an ultrasound to confirm this. And he may need an additional surgery. As far as the liver and gallbladder, you can give him Chelidonium 6x four times a day for a month. You can also give him Dandelion leaf herbal tablets orally twice a day. You would use a tenth of the suggested human dose.
Dear Dr. Khalsa,
I have a small kitten about five weeks old I found on the street. He has a nasty skin condition which I originally thought was a mange infection from mites, as well as some very grungy eyes.
I did take him to my local vet (not homeopathic) who gave him an injection for cat flu and some ointment for his eyes. He examined the skin and decided it wasn’t contagious ring worm, since he saw nothing moving under the microscope. I wanted to be sure, since I have other pets.
Anyway, I brought the kitten home and put him on Sulphur and Hepar sulph, and I have been washing his eyes with salt water and Euphrasia. The eyes have cleared beautifully, but the skin condition is only slightly improved. I have ordered Psorinum and will commence with that next week. I am beginning to see tiny patches of clear skin when grooming, but I just wondered if you had any other ideas. I don’t want to give up on the little chap. He is otherwise quite lively and very affectionate.
Thanks so much for your help
Kind regards
Sue Large
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
First of all, you don’t see ringworm under a microscope. You use a Woods Lamp which makes the ringworm glow purple. Ringworm is usually round and in the center the fur starts growing back. As ringworm would be very common in a kitten, I would give him Bacillinum 200c once a day for a week. Usually one dose works, but as I am not watching over him and it does not hurt to give it for a week, I would recommend a week. This remedy works a miracle with ringworm. Additionally I would give him Transfer Factor for Pets to boost his immune system in general.
Dear Dr.,
My friend’s dog is 11 years old. She is a Whippet breed. She is losing strengh in her legs. She is not in pain, but she has trouble walking on a ceramic floor. Her legs slip outwards like Bamby in the Disney movie when she slipped on ice. She walks normally of a rough surface. This started about 2 months ago. She was fine until this began. She eats well.
Thank you
Ranjit
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
I would first check her thyroid as hypothyroidism can cause weakness in her hind legs. Remedies that work well are. (1) Conium which works best in ascending potencies. You start with Conium 30c three times a day and if there is improvement but you need more, after 3 weeks go to Conium 200c once a day.
(2) Causticum is also a very good remedy for this. You can give 30x potency three times a day if she finds no relief with the Conium.
Hello, Dr. Khalsa,
My mixed breed dog, Jack, has developed a “skin tag” on his hind flank. He’s very finicky per his grooming and will not leave it alone. Our Vet suggests surgery, which is very expensive. Is there a homeopathic remedy that will reduce a skin tag?
Thank you very much,
Susan Connery, Walpole, Maine
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Honestly, you can try three different remedies but it is doubtful they will work. An old-fashioned trick, if it has a thin stalk, is to tie it off with dental floss to cut the blood flow and then it falls out. Cut the floss short after you tie it.
If it is just a long wart you can use Cansema for Pets on it. One or two applications will dry it up and it will fall off. You get this at www.alphaomegalabs.com and they offer free help via email.
Dear Dr. Khalsa,
Our dog Jack, a shelter puppy, is 6 a year-old hound mix. He has been regularly vaccinated since we brought him home at 6 months, 5 1/2 years ago. He had anal sac problems and I give him Nux vom. as soon as I see this. I have added Sulphur and Silicea. He went through about a year of rough gut but hasn’t shown symptoms since I gave him a dry food with lamb, cranberries, I add pumpkin, green beans, a pinch of cheese. He also got a Kenalog injection on Jan., 5, 2019. His last round of vaccines happened in April 2019: Rabies, Distemper-5 Way, Lyme, oral Bordetella.
The current problem is a skin tag. He developed a skin tag on his hind flank, smaller than a lentil, and I tried to take it off. It has grown to be bigger than a large pea. He wants it off and will keep licking it. The vet said Jack is treating it like a wound, by licking it, and that has opened it up and it drains. He has sensitive skin, it’s pink on his belly, his gums are extra pink. He takes the NexGuard for ticks and Heartgard for worms.
Susan
Thank you
Dr. Deva Khalsa
Please see the previous answer, Susan, and I think this will suffice. As far as vaccines, wow….. you are waaaaay over-vaccinating. One Distemper and Parvo vaccine given after 16 weeks of age is good for LIFE. You never need another one. All the others in the combo shot are not worth vaccinating for. The Lyme vaccine is dangerous and it does not work as it is a bacterial vaccine (viral vaccines last for life). The Bordetella does not prevent kennel cough, it just lessens the severity. Again a bacterial vaccine, when and it if works…it works for 3 months at best. Kennel cough is easily treated with homeopathy. My book The Allergic Pet has an entire chapter on Vaccines and an Appendix offering opinions of the best veterinary immunologists.
Dear Dr. Khalsa,
My dog is an 11-year-old Shih Tzu-Terrier mix (we think). He weighs about 33 lbs. He has been diagnosed with a severe case of chronic Perianal Fistula. He has “deep” open crevices and some oozing pus and blood around the sphincter. Prior to starting with Homeopathy, I was working with a holistic Veterinarian who had been treating him with Chinese herbs. It has helped “some” at least we now are off all antibiotics and steroids (last taken in June) but it did little to help clear up the sores and he still had bleeding and pus on occasion.
I have tried:
Hypericum 200c (mixed with) Arsenicum album 200c, twice daily
Psorinum 1M – in liquid – one dose every 10 days
*This was helping however, he experienced severe constipation starting at day two. I stopped and went the next protocol. Silicea 200c, one dose every 3rd day. Hepar sulph 200c (mixed with) Arsenicum album 200c, twice daily.
*After 10 days he was getting worse. Sores/crevices where getting bigger and he had significant bleeding with a lot of yellow-pus discharge.
Can you advise me?
Thank you
Sharon Brekke
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Perianal fistulas are extremely hard to treat. I would begin with Myristica 30x three times a day for one month and also Calendula 30x three times a day for three months. If he can tolerate it, do Epson salt soaks twice a day for 5 minutes at a time. This is usually an autoimmune disease and Chinese herbs do not help. Conventionally, immune suppressing drugs such as cyclosporine are used. Very bad drug. You should also check his thyroid as nothing holistic will work if his thyroid is not working.
Dear Dr. Khalsa,
Our cat is about 3 years. old. She was abandoned as a small kitten – rescued and brought to our daughter-in-law’s veterinary clinic, spayed, and I’m certain all shots.
She is an outdoor cat sleeps in the house overnight. About 1 year ago she came into the house, went to sink and peed blood in urine. Then about 1/2 year ago she did it again. Our daughter-in-law veterinarian was kind enough to also do a urinalysis – and found bacteria and crystals. We feed organic dry food and also give her homemade wet food at night to get her in so the coyotes don’t eat her! She is not a water drinker. She will dip her paw into the plain water a few times and lick it off and is satisfied with that amount. Drinks a bit more in summer with such high temperatures. Wet food: usually a healthy meat (wild caught salmon, lamb, org. turkey etc.) veg., etc. I gave her Causticum 30C one dose about a year ago and it seemed to clear it up.
What do you recommend for keeping the urine PH balanced, clearing up the crystal and bacteria issues etc.?
Thanks very much
Joan Hinkley
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Wysong Biotic pH – get the one that makes the urine more acidic. It’s easy to add to the food and works great.
Hello Dr. Khalsa,
What would you suggest for my 7-yr old male cat (14 lbs) as a dewormer. I’m noticing these white worms rectally.
Thank you
Yvette Baran
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
White worms rectally are tapeworms. They are segmenting and crawling out. That is how they work. They are about impossible to get rid of without conventional Droncit. You order an oral pill or ask your vet for one. It removes some of the cuticle that surrounds the worm, protecting it from digestion so the worm digests. I recommend one pill and then one pill again 10 days later. This is because the very top of the big tapeworm has a much thicker cuticle and if you do not give two pills, 10 days apart, the top survives, grows back and segments come out of the anus again and again.
Visit Dr. Khalsa at her website for information and consults:
Editor’s note: Dr. Khalsa’s new book was just released:
The Allergic Pet –Holistic Solutions to End the Allergy Epidemic in Our Dogs and Cats
Dr. Khalsa shows how to strengthen the immune systems of dogs and cats without invasive techniques or pharmaceutical drugs.
Available from:
https://www.amazon.com/Allergic-Pet-Holistic-Solutions-Epidemic/dp/1621871827
also….
The second edition of Dr. Khalsa’s Natural Dog is now available. It’s an exceptional book with information not offered in any similar work. I recommend it highly!
Nutrients for Cats and Dogs
Using her 30 years’ experience treating animals holistically, Dr. Khalsa designed nutrients just for dogs and cats. VITAL VITIES contain specially selected vitamins, minerals and super-food granules in a delicious base. Learn more about nutrition for your pet:
https://hpathy.com/veterinary-homeopathy/deserving-pets-gives-scoop-supplements/
