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Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine

Holistic Treatment for Feline Leukemia

posted by Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine Jan 2, 2009 9:00 am
filed under: Cats, Pets, Remedies & Treatments, , , ,
Holistic Treatment for Feline Leukemia
21 comments

By Victoria L. Freeman, PhD, Natural Solutions magazine

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) compromises a cat’s immune system, opening the door to conditions ranging from diarrhea, skin infections, and dental disease to leukemia, other cancers, and liver disease. Cats pass the contagion on via bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, or a lactating female’s milk. While science searches for a cure, about 30 percent of exposed animals manage to rally their own defenses to overcome this formidable virus.

How do these super cats fend off FeLV? It starts with super nutrition, says holistic veterinarian Linda Faris, DVM, from her practice in Overland Park, Kansas. Superior immunity begins with nutrition appropriate for the species, she explains, and for your feline friend that means feeding it fresh, preferably organic meats, while steering clear of processed grains. “I see many FeLV compromised cats that are at the same time obese and nutrient-deficient due to poorly constructed commercial diets,” she notes. “You can’t have a top-notch immune response with obesity or nutrient deficiencies.”

If your cat needs treatment, what then? The answer depends on whom you ask. Possible false negative and false positive readings require conventional vets to diagnose FeLV using blood tests combined with a thorough evaluation of symptoms. Then typical treatments focus on symptoms (such as fluid therapy for dehydration) and management of secondary conditions (like antibiotics for persistent infections). A few Western vets push the treatment envelope with experimental immune-boosting drugs such as ImmunoRegulin and antivirals like AZT.

Holistic vets view FeLV a bit differently, though. Using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostics, Faris checks for imbalances long before pets become outwardly ill (FeLV-infected cats may not show overt symptoms for months or even years). Then she uses alternative therapies to bolster the animal’s own defenses. Identifying health threats early on proves particularly important with FeLV since treatment becomes less effective as the infection progresses.

Based on past success, Faris favors TCM in the battle against FeLV. “Chinese herbal formulas, which include huang qi (astragalus root) for correcting immune deficiency and shu di huang (rehmannia) for balancing blood, work wonders,” she says. “If caught early in the disease, the combination of proper nutrition, Chinese herbs, and acupuncture along the governing vessel [running down the back from the tip of the nose to the tip of tail] can keep this virus under control and enable your companion to live symptom-free.”

Natural Solutions: Vibrant Health, Balanced Living offers its readers the latest news on health conditions, herbs and supplements, natural beauty products, healing foods and conscious living. Click here for a free sample issue.

More on Cats (53 articles available)
More from Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine (124 articles available)

21 comments

21 comments

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21 comments add your comment
gaea redwood

hi, my best bud Brudder was diagnosed recently with felv. He has always eaten healthy, as having early in life diagnosis of Stomatitis, the vets say he probably was born with felv and the other was secondary.. we always fed him people grade food: eggs, milk, organic baby food, and his favorite Salmon the wild caught raw is what he gets. Probably eating this way has kept him pretty healthy until the last two teeth the vets are instructed to keep in when removing the teeth from Stomatitis became infected and stressed his immune system. Glad to report he is responding to the antiviral herb Olive Leaf extract and after a couple tense weeks following the dental surgery, at which time the vets also decided he needed flea and worming meds which IMHO was a hard decision.. which was worse having some fleas that I could control with bathing and flea comb or do the easy and terribly unsafe one of using toxins in that already frail system.. well, it caused horrible diarrhea for two weeks and getting him through has been a slow hard process.. seeing him eating again normally now and bm's back to normal whew what a relief !!! I do not agree with the antibiotic use, it is really bad on their little systems and as you know eats up all the good dis=ease fighting cells as well. I do plan to do AP with him.. I think it is phenomenal as well as continuing Reiki treatments with special guidance-meditation works wonders. Peace and blessings to all, ***~***

Jamie L.

Thanks Mel!

Catherine Turley

i wish the article had stated what, if anything, works for late stages of the disease.

Pamela C.

FeLV seems so very prevalent and I can't help but wonder if it isn't, as stated above, related to meat full of antibiotics and hormones and the synthetics that cat food is full of these days. It is almost impossible to tell if a cat has it and every veterinarian has a different opinion as to how to diagnose and treat.

I can't see that Chinese herbs are particularly harmful compared to being told your cat has tested positive and should be immediately killed. But I don't hold with acupuncture, human or feline.

Oliver W.

Please use caution when promoting unproven (translation: possibly useless/harmful) treatments, especially if using them instead of conventional (proven) treatments. Try to separate sensible advice eg good nutrition from expensive falsehoods!

Katie V.

I LOVE these Holistic alternatives for our pets. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS :)

Charmaine Gonzalez

Thanks for the info as I love my cats too.

Amy Hubbard

Thank you for posting this. I love my cat!

MICHELE GANGEMI

I am sorry that I did not have this web or information when I had my three cats that were all positive for feline leukemia. My first two were put down within four days of each other. I knew that they were positive but they had no symptoms, then within 24 hours one cat had accumulated fluid in her lungs and the other afew days later had different symptoms but was dying. They happened so suddenly. My third cat lived three years. She had active symptoms all through her life. I tried everything the vet recommended, including liquid lysine, baby vitamins,herbs etc.
And yes, I took the kittens at different times, from the same house.Little did I know that probably every cat in that house was positive.

Mollie F.

Wonderful to hear alternatives for treating our furry friends!

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