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Golden Hearts Animal Sanctuary |
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A Sanctuary For Elderly & Special Needs Animals |
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We were blessed at Thanksgiving 2005 to have 2 beautiful new kitties travel cross-country just to move into the sanctuary. Marci (pictured on the left) and Phoenix (on the right) made their way here by car with the help of Beth, a wonderful volunteer from the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield Kentucky (Shiloh's hometown). She drove them the 2,000 plus miles to California so they could enjoy life here at the sanctuary. Phoenix is a beautiful white kitty with a horrible skin condition. The folks at the humane society said she came in with red, scabby sores all over her. They tried with their veterinarians to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan for her, but have yet to have anything work. We’re hoping to create a wellness plan for her utilizing both Eastern and Western medicine, as well as lots of hugs! Update 12/2/05 ~ Phoenix is 7lbs, and is about 3 years old. She's missing a couple of her teeth, and has an old scar in one eye from an ulcer that didn't get treated when it happened. We've confirmed that she doesn't have mange or mites or any other parasite causing her skin problem. Her blood work shows that she's had chronic inflammation for quite a while. Her urinalysis shows she also has a urinary tract infection, and crystals in her urine. She will be joining Scooter on the "gourmet" prescription diet, and will be on antibiotics for a couple of weeks. She'll also be treated with eye ointment to soothe her irritated eyes, and topical ointment and medicated baths to soothe her red, raw skin. With parasites ruled out as the cause of the skin problem, food allergy is the next potential cause. We plan to send out another blood sample for allergy testing next week. Update 12/19/05 ~ Phoenix met our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin at Cardiff Animal Hospital today for a consultation. Phoenix has had so many standard Western medicine treatments for skin problems with no cure that we felt Eastern medicine may hold the key to her problem. Dr. Laflin has started her on a homeopathic remedy, and also did an NAET treatment. The Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique is based on Chinese medicine principles, and has been helpful in treating chronic problems for a couple of our animals. You can read more about it here. We're also awaiting allergy test results for her. We've started a photo diary to follow her journey, and hoping she feels better in time for Santa's arrival! Update 12/28/05 ~ The allergy test results are in for Phoenix. The question has become not what's she allergic to, but more appropriately, what's she not allergic to? The test results took longer than normal to receive because the lab was checking and double-checking the results. She has so much skin inflammation that her lab results were exaggerated initially. Update 1/26/06 ~ Phoenix had a recheck with Dr. Laflin today. She’s not only starting to grow her hair back, but is also much happier just being “a cat.” She has started a new homeopathic remedy called “CalCarb” to continue the healing process. She will also be starting an enzyme supplement to aid in digestion. Hopefully she’ll be feeling good in time to wear her swimsuit this summer! Update 1/1/07 ~ Phoenix has had a rough road back to health, but we’re happy to say that she has a beautiful haircoat and she’s even gained a pound in body weight. She enjoys her days with the other cats, and can often be found being groomed by Scooter or Waldo. |
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Phoenix |
