Dear Dr. Khalsa,
My 6-month old ginger kitty has a fairly common (per holistic vet) bacterial infection in his gums in molar areas. I had the vet analyze his gums while he was under anesthesia to neuter. She said gingivitis in kitties can be an immune reaction to the ligament that holds the molars in place – a genetic thing, and his case is classic. It’s sometimes brought on by vaccines but is not the case with Sherman as he has had no vaccines.
All of his bloodwork came back “normal.” She went on to say he may need to see a dental specialist to have all his back teeth removed.
I’m wondering if any of you have encountered a similar situation with your cats, and can you recommend anything to help heal his gums – if that is possible. He is raw fed and appetite is usually good. I can tell his gums bother him though…what can I do to make him more comfortable? See photo below.
Thank you
Carol Corliss
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
This is very common in cats and there is no good solution for it. Many excellent homeopaths have tried various remedies to no avail. Oftentimes, over time it spreads to all the teeth. It is an immune reaction and it can be very painful. There are no oral flushes, no Allergy Elimination technique that really works worth a damn. Sometimes a course of Doxycycline over a month’s time will provide relief for several months.
Hi Dr Khasla,
I have a 10 year old Sheppard mix (Belgian and German) in great shape and have two questions for you:
1) Although my dog has no hip issue or injury and does not walk like a feline like pure German Shepherds often do, I noticed that he started missing steps with his hind legs that seem to start to drag along during a jump… I wish to know what remedy I could give him to prevent this from getting worse?
2) He has caught lyme disease in the past and I have given him Borelia and Ledum and he bounced back like nothing had ever happened. However, I was wondering if the nosode has to be given subsequently in time, year after year and in prevention of him catching the disease again?
Many thanks!
Dominique
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
There is no evidence of the Lyme nosode preventing the disease. I like to give finely chopped fresh garlic. Article: http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/garlic-friend-or-foe.pdf
Because of his breed, I have to suspect Degenerative Myelopathy. In this disease in dogs, an autoimmune response destroys some of the fatty myelin sheath that surrounds the spinal cord. It is as if the plastic coating of an extension cord was degenerating and it made the cord short out at times. The communication between his hind end and his brain is slowed. They do not know where their back legs are. One early sign is a hesitancy to go downstairs. You would think it was the opposite and that they would be weak going up the stairs. The thing is, they don’t know where their hind legs are when they go down and they feel like they are going to flip over. So they rush down the stairs in a strange manner. Also, if you flip their hind legs so the top is on the floor you can see how long it takes for them to right the foot. The remedy I use most for this is Conium mac in ascending potencies. You can give each potency for 2 weeks. Start with 6x three times a day and in two weeks go to 30x three times a day and in two weeks go to 200c once a day for two weeks. At this time, we have to see where we stand (excuse the pun) with the remedies. We can stay on 200c or maybe go to 1M
Hello Dr Deva,
I have an old dog with CHF and arthritis and the signs of cognitive dysfunction. She has done pretty well on conventional medications necessary to keep her heart going such as pimobendan and furosemide. She is also on herbal heart and arthritis remedies, and CBD oil occasionally for pain as well as Crataegus for her heart. I am really concerned about the damage to her kidneys from the medication and also about her increasing restlessness and apparent anxiety at night. Since she is on such a mixture of medications and alternative remedies, I am worried about how to safely address these concerns.
Thank you
E. Greg
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
There are some things that you can do. Get her on a good dose of oral vitamin D for the cognitive dysfunction. See article:http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/Deva-CCD.pdf
As far as the heart is concerned, if she needs a diuretic it is advanced and I would need to do a consult to evaluate exactly what she needs to decrease some medications and create a program.
Hi Dr. Khalsa,
My 3-year old German shepherd has had a heart murmur since birth (left apex).. He is not neutered. Breathing can be difficult, especially after a walk. He is an energetic dog but very anxious. He does not like people, other dogs or animals. He’ll bark at people or other animals and lunge at things that move. He won’t eat unless I’m present. Cannot eat chicken. If anxious and needs to be near me, he’ll bang his head against the door to be allowed in or out. I welcome any advice. I am a homeopath but not enough knowledge on heart murmurs in dogs.
Thanks in advance
Martina
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
It’s important to know what has caused a heart murmur that began at birth. Without knowing I would suggest Arnica 6x twice a day mixed with Arsenicum album 6x twice a day. Also, some magnesium, in the form of a product called CALM unflavored- giving him ¼ teaspoon a day- for the heart muscle.
Dear Doctor,
I have a 6-year old spayed Labrador and we live in Bengaluru, India. She has foul smelling breath since a few months ago. She is prone to ear infections. She developed an aural hematoma recently. She is also very excited to travel but she gets anxious once the car starts moving. She does not sit in a place and keeps jumping between the front and the back seats. She settles once the car stops in any traffic signal but once, the car starts moving, she gets anxious and starts panting.
We give her home cooked food like boiled vegetables, eggs, chicken and rice.
The aural hematoma was cured in a few days on giving her Arnica 200c, Bufo Rana 200c and Hammamelis 200c, each 4 pills, twice a day, for around 15 days.
Please help us with her bad breath and travel anxiety. We really want to take our pet out with us on our trips.
Thank you
Vidhya Bala
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
She has a yeast called malassezia in her ears. See these two articles.
http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Intense-Itch-Of-Malassezia-Deva.pdf
http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/AWM-V21I3_Ear-infections.pdf
She also has this yeast on her body. Give her Cocculus ind 6x along with Ignatia amar 6x together, for several doses before she travels.
Hello Dr. Khalsa,
I am currently caring for an 8-year old cat with stomatitis. Normally a friendly fellow, he has become more irritable – probably because he is in pain. He is salivating heavily, sometimes with a yellow discharge coming from the mouth as well. He has lost some weight and looks unkept, probably because it hurts to eat and groom himself. There is a red line at the gumline, otherwise his teeth look fine.
As I have operated a cat sanctuary for the past 20+ years, I have seen this before. The usual treatment by the vet typically involves full extraction of the teeth, a long-term antibiotic shot, followed by soft foods. I have found this is not only expensive, but usually the animal dies weeks after the treatment.
This time I am trying Merc Sol, first 12 C and then 30C. I have seen minimal improvement. I am also giving him Colloidal Silver Hydrosol in an Alkaline Base. Again, I am not seeing the degree of improvement I hoped for. Is there anything you can recommend? The cat is thirsty. As he is a sanctuary cat (they can go in and out of the sanctuary house as they please), I have noticed he is staying outside, even with the nights getting chilly.
Thank you,
Dee K.
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
The first question was about the same thing. I do not know the veterinarian that you use but a full mouth extraction works well in over 80% of the cases. I would have no idea why you are finding that they die. This does not routinely happen
Hello Dr. Khalsa,
I have a 2 1/2 year old golden retriever girl who had an ovary-soaring slay at 1 year old and has been fully raw fed since 4 months old. She gets 1 clove of garlic twice a day based on her weight of 80 pounds with her meals. She gets a variety of protein meats (no chicken or pork) that are on average 80/10/10 ratio of muscle meat/secreting organ/bone and occasional supplements of sardines, eggs, goat milk, green lipped mussels, pumpkin seeds, dark greens and fruits. All from reputable sources and grassfed meats. I avoid starchy veggies or most fruits as she itches after having them.
My question is about yeast. Is it normal for it to build up with floppy eared dogs? No matter what I do, she is prone to it, particularly in her ears. I have been told by seasoned raw feeders that she shouldn’t need to have her ears cleaned or maintained. If I don’t clean them once a week, they get a musty odor. It is not mites. I use a natural probiotic cleaner OR 1/2 apple cider vinegar and rubbing alcohol with some colloidal silver in it as a wash.
She gets a bath every 6+ weeks since she builds up dandruff and is generally extremely clean despite her love for dirt. She was genetically tested and is a carrier for ichthyosis but was not diagnosed with it. If she goes months without a bath, she gets a bit greasy and has the doggy smell. I clean her paws if they are dirty from outside and with a vinegar and water rinse if she is off our property. I don’t use chemicals in my lawn or property where she is exposed.
I am constantly told it is not normal for her to get yeasty ears when not maintained. Please validate if this is true.
Thank you!
Geraldine
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
She has a yeast called Malassezia in her ears and see the articles I posted above. You have to treat her ears with Zymox enzymatic ear medication for one week of every single month for 6 months. No occasional cleaning. If you start the Zymox on the 1st of the month, you use it for one week of the 1st of every month for 6 months. Additionally, get Zymox ear cleaner and clean the ears once a week, only using this. Squish it in and then let her shake it out. The dog’s ear canal is very long and the yeast sits way down there. Also, the yeast is thick and if you do not clean the ears the enzymatic ear medication will not get down there.
Dear doctor Khalsa,
Last month (Sept) I sent a question but I didn’t include enough information for you to prescribe. So here is more of the story. Our dog is a 6-year old bitch, German Shepherd. We had neutered her at the age of 3. In March 2020, a hardness was seen near her anal gland and we did FNAC and the result was histiocytoma. But it grew in size and made it difficult for her to poop. And, then in June, 2020, she had undergone surgery to remove this anal gland adenoma. It was analysed and found to be non-malignant. After one month, it seemed like she had difficulty walking. Her hind legs, especially the right side, seemed to be very weak. And, we took her to a specialist and he took X-rays of her hip joints and diagnosed it as hip joints degeneration. Then we gave MSM, Chondroitin, Glucosamine combinations along with Nerve booster medicines. So, now we see some progress. In the meantime, some growth was seen under her tail and another surgery was done on Sep 5th. During surgery the vet discovered that the tumour had roots from the anal gland itself. So, the conclusion is that some tumours keep on coming from the anal gland. So, I would like to know whether any homeopathic medicines can help in controlling these anal gland tumours. The weakness in her hip joints may be associated with the tumour and we cannot do any more surgeries on her.
Thanks & Regards,
Ambili Thalekkare
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
It is not likely that homeopathic remedies will control the tumor that keeps regrowing on the anal gland area. I use different products for this. You might want to use Dr. Ramaekers Professional Veterinary Immune -get at www.deservingpets.com the only place it is allowed to be sold online.
She may need a chiropractic adjustment on her entire spine with special attention to her lumbar area.
I would DEFINITELY recommend checking her thyroid (T4 and Free T4) as a low thyroid is almost always present when low grade tumors keep growing back and is commonly present with hind leg weakness, which corrects when thyroid medicine is given to bring levels back to normal.
Dear Dr Khalsa,
My dog is 12 years old, he’s a mixed terrier, quite fat and unfit. Since he’s been a puppy his legs were shaking while standing on them, not always though. It looks a bit because his legs are skinny but he’s fat.
Recently he had a hot spot and he scratched his face open on the left side. It was bleeding and inflamed with bad smell. The vet didn’t do any test but said it looks like allergy and gave him AB and some kind of cortisone which helped. The vet said this kind of hot spot will most likely recur and I would like to prevent this as he really suffered. He scratched until I could see his bone and while on meds he was a bit depressed. At the time we had a blood test done and besides wbc all was in range.
He loves food; the only time I see real life in him, interest, speed and excitement is when he sees or smells food. He will eat anything, fruits, veggies, and all kinds of crap when we go for a walk, including shit. He will do anything to get food, even jump which he never does. He will not take food from a plate or a table which is interesting as he was never trained not to and never yelled at, seems like he just knows.
He’s a very good dog and even if he has to go through something he doesn’t like, he won’t complain, very cooperative.
He likes being around me but won’t come to be petted, he will ask for food of course. When I pet him, I actually massage him and he loves that and will actually want more and show me that. But usually I have to call him to pet him. By the way, when I call him he decides whether he wants to come or not.
He likes to get out but it seems like he likes being home more. He likes lying in the sun on the balcony but also the bathroom, he sticks his body under furniture especially his head.
Due to his age his hearing and sight perceptions have decreased. If I take him to the beach or a river he does like going in the water, sit and chill. He has been very healthy until 2 months ago, when he had a blockage in his intestines with lack of appetite and energy. He was successfully treated with Nux vomica which helped within minutes. Hope this is enough data
Thank you very much,
Shelley Adiv
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Hi Shelley,
Check his thyroid immediately (T4 and Free T4) Adorable Mr. Fatty will, in many ways, get better and many of his ailments will resolve if his thyroid is low and this is fixed with medication. Also, I recommend Allergy Elimination 4 Pets. www.allergyelimination4pets.com
Hello Dr. Khalsa,
I am Dr. Priyanka Hora, a practicing homeopath. My pet dog has recurrent ear infection in his left ear with offensive smell from the ear. He continuously shakes his ear and gets restless, but is better in front of the cooler or air conditioner. We have given him the course of antibiotics and he gets cured but every time after two or three months it reoccurs. He has also infection of skin in which his hairs get shed in a round patch and reappear after some time on its own.
Thank you
Priyanka Hora
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Malassezia yeast. Read articles and answers from above two readers with the same question.
Hi Dr. Khalsa,
I have a very complicated 7 1/2 year old cat. When I got her at 6 months of age she had very red, swollen gums despite perfect looking teeth. By the time she was 6 years old she had resorptive lesions and some loose teeth and needed 8 extractions. Her gums look much better now but aren’t perfect.
For the past year or two now she has struggled with constipation and even had to have her anal glands expressed a couple times. The vet says she is on the verge of having IBD. I have to give her slippery elm twice a day or she will get so constipated that she’ll vomit. I tested her stool through Animal Biome and the results show she lacks diversity. I’ve been giving her their fecal transplant pills for many months now. She seems much happier and it’s easier for her to keep weight on but it hasn’t helped the constipation. I’m also giving her S. Boulardii and inulin. She struggles with food sensitivities and chicken, turkey, and lamb will make all the hair on her ears fall out. I found I have to stick with venison, rabbit and pork (raw).
She sees a homeopathic vet who treats her constitutionally. Mercurius helped her bad breath before her dental. Since then we’ve done silicea, sulphur and nat mur. Last December the vet had me give a dose of Sulphur 30C, her breath became much better and she turned into a much more loving cat, however, shortly after giving it, she developed symmetrical bilateral hair loss with bony feeling bumps on both of her back hocks. After the positive response of the 30C Sulphur wore off, the vet had me giving LM Sulphur which didn’t seem to do anything. The hair is just starting to grow back but these firm bumps under the skin remain.
What are your thoughts on what is going on with her and what should I do to help her?
Thanks,
Heather Whitworth
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
You can try the remedy Psorinum for the skin. 200c once a day for 10 days. Hard to get in the US. Have you tried to get more liquid in her to help with the constipation? Or perhaps, baby food squash in the food? The teeth and IBD and constipation go together. Here is an article on IBD and I recommend Allergy Elimination 4 Pets.
http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/Deva-Battlefield-Gut.pdf
Hi Dr. Khalsa,
I have a 17 year old petite cat that started to decline about 6 months ago. It began with weight loss, lethargy and sudden hearing loss. The vet said she had a grade 4 heart murmur and mentioned cancer being a possibility. Her blood work was mostly normal except for one slightly increased liver enzyme and a T4 towards the high end of normal.
I started her on Carcinosin 200C a few times a week and she has really bounced back and acting like a kitten again.
Two days ago I took her to the vet for not eating and increased respiratory rate. X-rays showed an enlarged heart and mild changes to lungs and perihilar area. They prescribed Furosemide and gave her a dose of Albuterol. She is improving.
Today I noticed that her left anal gland abscessed and they prescribed Clavamox. I started her on Hepar Sulph when I noticed the abscess. She has been constipated which probably lead to the abscess. Shortly after giving the Hepar Sulph I noticed that her hearing is better!
What kind of remedies do you recommend for this senior cat?
Nancy Fitzgerald
Dr. Deva Khalsa:
Hi Nancy,
It sounds like you are doing a great job. Older cats who are slightly hyperthyroid can tend to get constipated because they tend to get dehydrated. You say that her thyroid was a little high. In this case, get as much fluid into her as you can. Add water to her wet food and give her goats milk, etc. I am not sure why anyone was considering cancer. I also do not think she needs daily furosemide if no fluid showed up in her lungs.
Visit Dr. Khalsa at her website for information and consults:
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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!
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