Hi,

Former feral male cat trapped in 1996 as an adult. Rabies vaccine at time of neutering. No other vaccinations. Had repeated episodes of bladder infections over 6 month period in mid 1998.. Treated homeopathically and in one case with a course of Baytril, out of desperation. The bladder infections continued after Baytril. Developed quite bad skin eruptions of small, crusty, red spots which combed off but continued to appear until recently. Dime sized raw bloody spot behind left ear would come and go. Would improve and then recur. He was given Acon 30C which seemed to relieve the frequency of urination. Followed one month later with Sulph 12C which seemed to end the bladder infections but not the skin eruptions. One month after Sulph he was given Ars 30 followed after 2-3 weeks with Ars 200C. (Eruptions start at tail base and move toward head.)

After the Ars 200 the skin worsened, he passed stool almost pure blood in mucus, then the skin began to clear somewhat. One dose of Ars 10M about one month later. Again skin aggravated at first then improved. Skin condition from then on was more of a flaking bran-like flakes with rough bumpy skin.

Developed ear infections 2 years ago. Pus discharge. Used Hep Sulph in 6C (in water potency) repeated daily for about one week. Infection never really cleared. Cleaned ears almost daily since with a variety of solutions....aloe, olive oil, tea tree oil, peroxide, garlic oil, vitamin E.....etc. Just kept the problem at bay, I guess. Never cured, just controlled.

Last month he started licking gravel/dirt each time he went out the door. Began to have a "gaunt" look. Skin had returned to the red, bloody eruptions, worse around neck. Sore behind right ear returned. Ear infection troubling him quite a lot. Has continued to lose weight since. 11-17-00 gave Calc 200C. One week later noticed yellowish discharge from right nostril, one time only. At that time I had another cat that was developing upper respiratory congestion...we had had a very abrupt change in weather from almost balmy to freezing....and since this cat had the discharge and was licking at his nose....I gave them both Acon 10M. No discharge since and seemed quite fine by the next day. But after about a week he became noticeably thinner, even though still eating.

He is now running a very high fever.....over 105 degrees, will not eat or drink anything. He has lost a great deal of his body weight, probably 30%. Has nasal "plugged" sound on inspiration. No rales or rattles in lungs. No discharge from eyes or nose. Gums very inflamed and mouth has that "sick" odor. He is listless but responds to being pet. He does not have the sick cat look and is not losing hair. His skin is free of any eruptions and his ears seem better than they have for a long time but still have a little yellowish matter in them. I guess I've driven the outward problem inward because as he began to waste and lose appetite, the skin cleared. Poor guy.

I dissolved Gels 30 in water and have given a dose every 1-2 hours for 4 doses. No improvement other than there seems less constriction of the nose. He is very trusting and very devoted to me, the way only ferals can be....he takes nothing for granted and is very grateful for everything. (Not "normal" cat attitude!) Ignores anyone else. Always has been a very good eater, has always had a very thin, sparse coat, gray striped spotted with lots of white. Is very nice with all the other cats and anyone of them can push him around. He isn't a coward, just very accommodating. Has always been a "leg in each corner" square, stocky kind of cat. A really handsome "guy". He was in total terror when first captured and remained motionless with fear for days and untouchable for many months. He is a wonderful lap cat now, or would love to be if only there was time.

Sorry this is so long. If anyone has any advice for my Oscar Wilde kitty, I would be very appreciative.

PS..Forgot to mention he is seeking heat...will push right into any heat source.

[This message has been edited by gpm (edited 13 December 2000).]

Update on Oscar: vehemently refuses anything such as chicken broth by syringe, sneezed twice and it does sound like congestion in the nose but no expectoration or discharges from eyes/nose, no salivation. Started with Ferr Phos 12C in dilution...3 doses so far, one each hour. Temp 105.5 at 4AM and at 9 AM was 106. Weak. Wants to be pet. Does NOT want to be TREATED. Very difficult to give even liquid remedies. After forcing about 10cc's of broth, he did drink some water on his own. Breathing does not sound as labored. No urine nor stool. Ears do seem to bother him as he did scratch vigorously, particularly the right ear.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

Arnika! then kali c.

Oh, thank you GM! I've been hoping for some advice all day....Oscar is worsening. His temp will not go down and now he is wobbling and weak. He has lost so much volume, is a bone. And fed up with me fooling with him.

His temp remains at 105 to 106 and he just struggled to urinate, passing a small amount. Not a blockage, just no fluids left in him to go, I guess. I was just going to run him to the vet's when this post came from you. Hate to take him because I know it will be blood tests (the results of which generally come at the time of death or after) and a package of anti-biotics. I have been forcing fluids and nutri-gel down him but he is very upset by that now and uncharacteristically fighting me. His gums/lips are still or maybe even more inflamed. But he did drink a little cream just now, which really surprised me. I have been offering anything and everything all day. I think he did it to get rid of me after forcing so much into his mouth. I think tonight will be the deciding factor for him.....if he makes it through.

I had a feeling you would say Arnica but have been so concerned about the temperature I used what often seems to work for fever and weight loss in cats. I will give him 200C and if it's OK, will report back in the morning.

I have so many animals come in but some take special places in my life and this guy sure has. I love working with the ferals. Oscar was such a challenge. He was older and wiser than most and it took many nights of sitting on the frozen ground, waiting for him to gain the confidence to come to me for a quick hello and then off he went. He was so healthy as a feral and deteriorated in captivity. It makes me feel so guilty but I know they haven't any chance to survive otherwise. There are too many animal control vans and not enough animal rescue vans. Cats like him are killed on the way to the shelter......they don't even take them in alive.

Thanks so much GM for your constant help. I truly hope all is well with you. I know there have been some difficulties on the BB lately and I'm very sorry. I wonder how many would be so giving for such a long time?

Hi,
No change in Oscar's temperature. It remains at 105.7, 12 hours after Arnica 200C. Still no interest in food/liquids. Very weak, staggers if forced out of his bed. Very still. Purrs at voice and stroking.

It is approaching 48 hours with this elevated temperature.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Hi - just got back from the vet office. On the way, Oscar started discharging thick, creamy yellowish mucus from left nostril. Vet said sinus infection and can hear some fluids in lungs. (I couldn't hear it before...sounded all in the nose, but I have very limited hearing.) He has gingivitis and the lower front teeth are infected at the base. He still has that "distemper" odor, "sweetish"/putrid from his mouth.

What is strange is that she confirmed that his ears are no longer infected and I mentioned that his skin eruption cleared when given the Acon 10M on 11-25 for what I thought was a developing "cold" (he started clinging to heat and occasionally licked at his nose)from the change in the weather. Oscar has had very bad ears and skin eruptions for at least 2 years. The Acon must have brought about the skin/ear changes.......? Now he has the fever, sinus infection and gingivitis symptoms. Did the Arnica 200C given 16 hours prior bring on the nasal discharge? Is this a good result, as I'm inclined to think? He still has the fever (105.6) and is listless, thirstless and has no appetite. There is no improvement of "sense of well being" in his manner.

I have thought the treatments in the past for bladder infection/cystitis brought about the skin/ear symptoms. The Acon seemed to clear the skin/ears as his sinus/gingivitis developed......with the weight loss over the past few weeks.

Any thoughts on how to approach this at this point so he may be finally rid of the long term chronic condition responsible for this dis-ease? I will hold off using the Clavamox (amoxicillin trihydrate/clavulanate potassium......eek!) sent home with him but will probably give him some Lactated Ringers sub-cutaneously if he doesn't take liquids soon. The continued fever concerns me. Any advice will be much appreciated.....thank you.



[This message has been edited by gpm (edited 14 December 2000).]

Hi - Several hours have passed since posting Oscar's temperature.....to update: at 4PM it was 104.5 and at 5PM it was 104.3...needless to say, I'm pretty excited about that. Gave no remedies or meds since the Arn last night. He is acting more aware and drank a little cream. Still almost falling over when trying to walk to litter box. He has lost a lot of weight. Discharge from nose barely perceptable but there is a very small amount.

Should I just wait or give something to help the discharge and the sore gums? If Hep or Sil is suggested would it be better high or low? Any suggestions what to do?

Use hepar 30, one dose, then after a week kalic 200, acon you gave, migh have masked kidenytroubles, stoneformations, kali c wioll take that, also the sinuses, its in kali all of it, hep is by the way rel to kali.

Hi - An hour after my last post Oscar's temp went down to 102.9......2 hours later back up to 103.9. Sure wish it had stayed down even though that was a lot of decrease in temp darn fast.

GM...thank you very much. Will give the Hep now. I am becoming a pain in the neck! But since you had exposure to so many facets of alternative health care, you probably know what to do about a pain in the neck!

You and Oscar will be in my prayers. I hope he is able to pull through, sounds like you have been the one good thing in his life. Bless You.