Caramilk's Journey

Click Here to view photo collection of Caramilk.  
This shows his progression through healing...

Caramilk's Journey

Caramilk was a stray that had been taken in by a no-kill cat shelter in January 2000. I was a volunteer there and offered to take him to the Vet Clinic with another volunteer when Caramilk stopped eating and became very lethargic. Blood tests revealed that he tested positive for FeLV (Feline Leukemia virus) and the Vet informed us that based on the blood test results, Caramilk wouldn't last more than a couple of months, possibly three. He prescribed antibiotics and instructed us to give fluids to keep him from getting dehydrated. The volunteer that was with me decided to take him home to at least have a few weeks of happiness before we would have him put to sleep.  Soon after, Caramilk's lymph nodes had become extremely swollen, and was taken to another Vet Clinic closer to her home. The Vet was very sympathetic, however, he felt that with Caramilk's FeLV status, not much could be done except possibly a fine needle aspiration of the swollen lymph nodes to see if cancer cells could be detected. She declined. The swelling subsided some what, thankfully. He gave Caramilk 2 months. A week or so later, his ears became severely inflamed and irritated to the touch. The fur around his face, head and neck as well as the joints on his front legs was falling out and open sores started to appear in these areas. Another emergency visit to the Vet and another blood panel.  The results were that he was moderately anemic because of  lack of bone marrow production, an enlarged kidney and a grade 2 heart murmur. The inflammation was most likely Caramilk's inability to ward off bacteria (because of his suppressed immune system) that was in his ears. Two antibiotics and an ear  ointment were prescribed. There was little improvement after a week although he was still eating and drinking, asking for attention by pawing to sit on her lap. The volunteer felt she could no longer spend enough time to care for Caramilk (she's a student) and since I already had FeLV cats in my home, I didn't hesitate to bring him home to live with me.  

I met up with someone who suggested that a Holistic Vet may be able to help, but that there would be no guarantees. That, I already knew! The Holistic Veterinary Clinic that was recommended offers Alternative treatments including Classical Homeopathy, Chiropractic, Reiki, nutriceuticals, as well as detailed nutritional guidance. Less than a week after my first appointment with them, there was a noticeable improvement and for the next couple months we continued to rebuild Caramilk's immune system using Classical Homeopathy, nutritional supplementation, dietary modifications etc. and he was sailing along nicely until the summer time. He developed several symptoms over a few days, including ataxia, nystagmus, anisocoria, shifting leg lameness and swelling around the joints. After having the Traditional Veterinarian perform several diagnostic procedures over a couple of days, the diagnosis was Feline Syncytium-forming Virus (FeSFV) - a chronic, usually progressive form of  polyarthritis that only affects cats that have been diagnosed with FeLV or FIV (a disease similar to HIV in humans). Not good! The Homeopathic Practitioner recommended bed rest, prescribed Homeopathic remedies, nutritional supplements and suggested that with the addition of Reiki treatments, his condition would have a better chance of overcoming this condition, so I went ahead and made an appointment with Paddy Dolphin RN, Reiki Master. I had little prior knowledge of this form of treatment, but after contacting Paddy regarding Caramilk's situation, I felt this could be of benefit. When Paddy came to meet Caramilk at my home, she took a history of his journey so far and suggested that he remain where he was, in his basket.

I was immediately encouraged by his response when the session began. She had explained that sometimes animals seem a little confused at the sensations, and that it may take a session or two before they felt more at ease. Caramilk's response was - for the first couple of minutes, a little bit unsure in that he would move his head away and stare at her intently - not in a threatening way, however - more like  "Now this is kinda different.."  After about 10 minutes, we could hear a gentle purr emanating from him and he closed his eyes and became more at ease. His purr grew in intensity and as it got louder and louder and seeing his body totally relaxed, I knew that this was a "Good thing". Half way through the session, he was stretched completely out with his paws flopped over the basket!! 

He ended up a little while later falling asleep and by the end of the session he looked so comfortable, I decided I would skip feeding his dinner and instead let him sleep the night through. By the third session, he would start purring upon seeing Paddy enter the room and we soon had him laying on a bed pillow placed on Paddy's lap.  

The day after each session, he seemed much more relaxed and less arthritic, and in conjunction with Classical Homeopathy, all symptoms abated and by 4 weeks he was completely well. This was well over 2 years and has had no reoccurrences of ill health
and is now a whopping 16 lbs (up from 8 lbs when I first adopted him).

Love and Light...  
Glenda 

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