Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (66 page)

Cats need to have adequate amounts of the amino acid taurine, found almost entirely in animal tissue (meat). You can get taurine as an extra supplement for cats, though it is often easier to feed larger amounts of raw meat (cooking inactivates taurine).

Other important measures are regular, daily exercise that is not too strenuous or exciting (a walk is ideal) and the avoidance of cigarette smoke. In the sensitive animal,
many of the symptoms of heart disease can be caused by exposure to secondary cigarette smoke—including irregular pulse, pain in the heart region, difficult breathing, cough, dizziness, and prostration.

Specific remedies may be helpful. If the condition is not very advanced and has been recently diagnosed, try these remedies:

Homeopathic
—
Calcarea carbonica
(calcium carbonate) 30C: Helps to restore strength to the heart muscle, especially if dilated and the action is weak. Cats needing this have had ravenous appetites in the past (though they may be changed since the heart problem), tend to be overweight, and prefer to be where it is warm, like on top of a radiator, heat vent, or equivalent. Use Schedule 4 (
view
). Do not repeat this remedy without supervision.

Homeopathic
—
Natrum muriaticum
(sodium chloride, table salt) 30C: Helpful for the animal that in the past has had a strong appetite but kept losing weight anyway. Tends to have a strong thirst and an aversion to heat, avoiding warm rooms and disliking warm weather. Pulse tends to be irregular. When ill, they do not want much attention and get irritated if you try to hold them or make them feel better. Use Schedule 4 (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Phosphorus
(the element) 30C: Those needing this remedy vomit easily, crave very cold water (like from a faucet), which may be vomited up 10-20 minutes after drinking. Very sensitive to noise and odors. Easily frightened, especially by loud noises, like from thunderstorms or fireworks. Use Homeopathic Schedule 4 (
view
).

For more severe or persistent symptoms in advanced illness if not controlled by nutrition and other measures (above), pick one of the following treatments, whichever seems best indicated. (Don’t skip the other measures and expect good results, however!)

Homeopathic
—
Crataegus oxycantha
(hawthorn berries) 3C: Indicated for the animal with a dilated heart, weak heart muscle, difficult breathing, fluid retention, and (often) a nervous or irritable temperament. Use Schedule 6(c) (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Strophanthus hispidus
(Kombe seed) 3C: For the weak heart with valvular problems. The pulse is weak, frequent, and irregular, and breathing is difficult. There may also be fluid retention, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Obesity and chronic itching of the skin also point to this medicine. Use Schedule 6(c) (
view
).

Homeopathic
—
Digitalis purpurea
(foxglove) 6C: Give one pellet after each attack in which the animal collapses or faints after exertion, with the tongue turning blue. Often the pulse or heart rate is abnormally slow. There may be heart dilation and fluid retention. Liver disturbances may be evidenced by a white, pasty stool. If this treatment is helping, the attacks will become less frequent.

Homeopathic
—
Spongia tosta
(roasted sponge) 6C: For the animal whose crises are characterized by a rapid pulse, difficult breathing, and fearfulness. It may have difficulty lying down and may breathe easier sitting
up. A dry, persistent cough is an indication for this medicine. Use Schedule 6(b) (
view
).

General directions for the homeopathic remedies are to use the medicine that seems best suited to the situation. If it helps for a while, use it as long as it does. If it stops helping or the symptoms change, then reevaluate and use another of the medicines listed. Many animals with this problem need ongoing treatment, especially if they are quite old. Some will gradually get better, however, and you will be able to discontinue treatment. It is strongly recommended that you get professional help for this condition, even in using the remedies listed here. It is a complex illness and needs frequent evaluation. (See my Web site for veterinarians trained in the use of homeopathic medicine, www.drpitcairn.com).

HEARTWORMS

The heartworm parasite actually lives in the heart of a dog (and rarely a cat), where it can grow as long as 11 inches and, in a minority of infestations, cause persistent coughing, difficulty breathing, weakness, fainting, and sometimes even heart failure. Adult heart-worms produce young ones (called microfilaria), which circulate through the dog’s bloodstream in greatest numbers when hungry mosquitoes are most likely to come a-biting (especially summer evenings). When a mosquito bites the dog, it can ingest these microfilaria and later infect another dog.

When a mosquito carries them to a new dog, the microfilaria progress through two more developmental stages under the skin, after which they enter the bloodstream via nearby veins. After reaching the heart, they settle into their new home, where they mature and reproduce, renewing the cycle about six months after the original mosquito bite.

A heartworm diagnosis is made when a veterinarian finds microfilaria (baby worms) in the blood, but not necessarily any symptoms of illness. Only a small percentage of dogs in an area may become noticeably sick from heartworm, which usually requires infestation with a considerable number of worms. Just a few worms are insignificant and may not require treatment.

Once a dog does show clinical symptoms, treatment can be very involved and almost always requires hospitalization. The drugs used in treatment are very toxic and hard on the animal (they involve the use of arsenic compounds). Thus, the preferred route is prevention, for which veterinarians prescribe drugs that kill the baby worms before they mature. Most often used is ivermectin, given once a month. There are various brands, some of which contain other anti-parasite chemicals. They kill baby worms that are under the skin, those which have been picked up in the month or so before the dose. Usually the drug is started before mosquito season and continued until a month or two after mosquito season is over. In some areas this means all year.

Are there side effects? Sure, and what has been reported are vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, paralysis, jaundice, and other liver problems, coughing, nosebleeds, high fevers, weakness, dizziness, nerve damage, bleeding disorders, loss of appetite, breathing difficulty, pneumonia, depression, lethargy, sudden aggressive behavior, skin eruptions, tremors, and sudden death.

Though a minority of dogs experiences these reactions, they are seen in many breeds. Veterinarians also report that many dogs get stomach and intestinal upsets, irritability, stiffness, and seem to just feel “rotten” for the first one or two weeks after each monthly dose of heartworm protection. An American Veterinary Medical Association report on adverse drug reactions showed that 65 percent of all drug reactions reported and 48 percent of all reported deaths caused by drug reactions were from heart-worm preventive medicine.

I am reluctant, however, to tell people to stop the use of heartworm preventives, particularly in highly infested areas, partly because I cannot guarantee that their dogs will not get heartworm. I dislike the use of these drugs, and I think they cause much more illness than we realize.

What other choice do we have? Unfortunately, almost all heartworm research is directed toward finding new drugs to kill the microfilaria. Very little attention goes to enhancing the dog’s natural resistance to the parasite. However, we do know of several facts that make that a promising direction to pursue: One is that wild animals are quite resistant to the parasite. That is, they get very light infestations and then become immune. Another factor is that an estimated 25 to 50 percent of dogs in high-heartworm areas become immune to the microfilaria after being infested and cannot pass heartworms to other dogs via mosquitoes. Finally, after being infested by a few heartworms, most dogs do not get more of them, even though they are continually bitten by mosquitoes carrying the parasite. In other words, they are able to limit the extent of infestation.

All this points to the importance of the health and resistance mounted by the dog itself. That takes us back to the central thesis of this book: If we care for our pets so as to maximize their health, their resistance to parasites (and disease) will be much higher. Isn’t this a much more attractive way to go than to continually poison them with drugs? Clearly, we need serious research in this direction.

Another overlooked factor arises when we ask why there has been such an extensive spread of heartworm in dogs all over the United States in the last 30 years. I agree with the authorities who say that the incidence of heartworm increases whenever we upset the natural balance in a way that increases the mosquito population. For example, this happens when we expand irrigation acreage in farming areas. It is happening more now because global warming is opening up new areas to mosquito reproduction that were too cold before.

Wild animals like coyotes, however, thrive in the very same conditions, even without preventive drugs. The major difference is lifestyle——fresh, raw foods, plenty of exercise, no drugs, and no toxic flea products.

So it is likely the combination of environmental upset coupled with a deteriorating level of health through several dozen generations of dogs fed on commercial foods and poisoned with drugs and insecticides that has created this unnatural explosion of parasitism. It is particularly frustrating that recent research shows the incidence of heartworm infestation in dogs in any particular geographic area is the same now as it was in 1982, even after all these years of preventive treatment. It doesn’t take too much contemplation to realize that the path of continued drug use is a dead-end road.

Some veterinarians who practice holistic medicine, myself included, have been experimenting with a homeopathic preventive made from microfilaria-infected blood, called a heartworm nosode. Though we have only been able to do small clinical studies, early results are very encouraging. This may eventually provide a true alternative to drug use.

The problem is that drug companies are not interested in such research, as the cost of such a preventive approach would not be profitable to them (homeopathic remedies costs pennies a day compared to dollars for drugs), so the research motivation (profit) and money is not there. I also said that more research was needed in the 1995 edition of this book, but nothing more has been achieved in this direction. If anyone is interested in funding such research, please contact me directly through the publisher.

P
REVENTION

For those committed to a natural, non-chemical approach, here are some suggestions to help prevent heartworm. Use a completely natural (preferably organic) raw food diet fortified with raw garlic and liberal amounts of yeast. These foods may help to repel mosquitoes from the skin of some animals. To further minimize exposure to mosquitoes, you can keep your dog indoors in the evenings and night. Use a natural insect repellent when she does go outside: Rub one drop of eucalyptus oil, diluted in one cup of warm water, over the muzzle and the area between the anus and genitals (favorite mosquito-biting areas). Be careful to avoid rubbing the oil on the sensitive tissues of the eyes and mucous membranes.

T
REATMENT

Remember that the presence of one or two heartworms is not serious in itself. But the dog that has a large number of worms and has also developed heart problems is in trouble. The treatment of such a condition requires experienced supervision, because the dog could undergo heart failure or embolisms (internal blood clots). So follow your veterinarian’s treatment program. If you can, find one who uses herbal treatment, acupuncture, or homeopathic medicine.
In addition, use the diet under “Heart Problems.”

I do not like the conventional treatment for this condition, because strong poisons such as arsenic compounds are injected intramuscularly, and sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease. I have been called in to treat dogs whose health was permanently ruined by these drugs. Fortunately, these are in the minority and most dogs will do well. Still, the whole way of handling the problem is unappealing. But it is difficult to recommend gentler alternatives without supportive scientific data. While I have treated a few dogs ill from heartworms that were too sick or too old to undertake conventional treatment, I do not yet have a body of experience sufficient to establish a true alternative. We hope for this to happen.

HEPATITIS

See “Liver Problems.”

HIP DYSPLASIA

This term describes a poorly formed hip joint. The veterinary profession generally regards hip dysplasia as a genetic problem complicated by a variety of environmental influences. The cause, however, is not really explained satisfactorily. Unfortunately, it is common among dogs.

Hip dysplasia is not present at birth. It develops during puppyhood, as the hip joint forms in a loose or “sloppy” way that allows too much movement of the leg bone in the hip socket. Irritation and scarring occur because the weak ligaments and surrounding joint tissues aren’t able to stabilize the joint adequately. In addition, there tends to be a rheumatic tendency—inflammation and pain in the muscles and connective tissue of the legs and hips. Untreated, gradual loss of function will result. Some older dogs actually lose use of their rear legs.

P
REVENTION
AND
T
REATMENT