Friday, April 29, 2011

My Alternative Therapies

BOO!Today I'm going to tell you a bit about my alternative treatments for my cystitis problem. First, a little bit of history. You might remember that I had my first case of cystitis in July 2009, shortly after my brother and I moved to Sydney. After a couple of occurences we thought we had it under control, but late last year it reared it's head up again. Since then, I've had it five times, which is no fun. Each time my urinalysis is clear, no infection, no crystals, no nothing. The vets I have seen always called it idiopathic, and said it was probably due to stress. It didn't sit well with mum as I have grown so much braver and more confident in the last two years, and I would often refuse to squat properly in the litter tray, but different vets kept saying the same thing. Two weeks ago I had another episode. I had the same treatment as usual and it looked to be clearing up. This last Tuesday night however I started straining again and the blood came back, so I was booked in for another consult. This time, I saw a vet who consults at our usual clinic one day a week. In addition to her usual vet qualifications, she is also a specialist in companion animal chiropractic and acupuncture treatments.


She did a quick examination of me, and then asked if I had been injured in my pelvic/tail area. Apparently I have a slight malformation where my tail meets my body. The vet was telling mum and dad about how the majority of cats she sees with bladder issues also have a pelvic issue, and that almost all of them benefit from chiropractic adjustments. She had a cat herself who blocked and had to be catheterised every single day for 6 weeks, then after just one adjustment he never blocked again!

We decided that she would do a full chiropractic adjustment on me, and kitties, I enjoyed it! I was very calm and relaxed, and had a very curious look on my face the whole time. Mum and dad were fascinated by both what the vet was doing and my reaction to it. It seemed to have an effect on me immediately. I was swishier and seemed more comfortable. That night, I squatted right down in the litter box! There is no placebo effect in cats as we don't know what a treatment is supposed to do, so it really must have made a difference. I am going to have another adjustment this week, and we will discuss how acupuncture could help. We're also looking at seeing a naturopath to see if colloidal silver could help me.

Mum and dad have been talking a lot about how I may have been injured, and are wondering if something happened either while I was at the boarder or during my flight to Sydney. It was shortly after that when I had my first case, so the timeline would fit. Mum does feel very guilty for not knowing, but is also hopeful now that we will be able to get the cystitis under control once and for all. This was a lot of words, but we found it very interesting and thought you might too :)


We're snuggling up together to watch the Royal wedding tonight. We're looking forward to seeing Kate's dress!

23 comments:

Poppy Q said...

Your treatments do sound interesting, and we hope they work for you sweetness.
We worry about colloidal silver as we saw the man on Oprah who turned blue after taking too much.

We are watching the wedding too.

Kea said...

We have our paws crossed for these treatments. It's very interesting that most cats with this problem have a pelvic issue. We also think it's fabulous that you have cat chiropractic available -- no one in our region does that, as far as we know.

-Fuzzy Tales

The WriggleButts said...

How very interesting! It's amazing what can happen when something is a little out of its place - a hooman friend had terrible migraines and anxiety for years and years until some lady discovered he had something a little askew in his neck and put it back in its place - and viola: NO more migrains or anxiety attacks. A little pain from time to time, which isn't unexpected after having the neck in a wrong position for years, but only very minor pain.

Glad to have you back, too!

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

Wasn't the dress just gorgeous?!

It sounds like you're on your way to dealing with that nasty issue, Suey. How wonderful that your Mum could find these alternative treatments!

Purrs,
The Chans

Katnip Lounge said...

This is SO interesting! Grayce had problems for years, and eventually it got traced to bladder stones. We're thrilled that you are better with ONE visit and no surgery!!

Mommy was over the moon at "The Dress"!

Sparkle said...

That IS very interesting! I do not have cystitis, but I do have some food issues, and I know for a fact that my pelvis was injured some years ago. I wonder if they are related.

Daisy said...

That is very interesting, Suey! I am FOR alternative treatments, and I'm so glad it seems to be helping you already.

Cory said...

Suey, all the boy cats here perked up when you said you are "swishier"!!! That sounds very sexy!

We are purring that this treatment helps you. It sure sounds promising.

Mom recorded the wedding, and we watched some of it early this morning but because of ::cough:: work...we will snuggie up and watch it all over the weekend.

Purrs,

Cory

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

We are glad the treatments are helping you!

Catherine said...

Isn't that amazing! How wonderful that the chiropractic treatments are helping. Who would have thought. Hopefully everything keeps going well.

I watched the wedding too ~ very lovely wasn't it? Kate's dress was beautiful!

Have a happy weekend!
xo Catherine

Ariel said...

I am keeping my paws crossed that all gets better for you...Hugs

The Island Cats said...

We think it's great that those treatments seem to be helping you, Suey.

Mom watched some of the wedding this morning...and now all the news stuff tonite doing a recap. She thought Princess Kate's dress was beautiful!! What a good day for England!

Quill and Greyson said...

How interesting, hope it works.

(angel) Grrreta and Fam said...

Suey, you look absolutely beautiful in those pictures. The sunshine from the window helps show your beautiful coloring. We're so sorry your cystitis problem is back. We're so glad your mum is finding ways to help you feel better and solve the problem through alternative treatments.

Mickey's Musings said...

Suey, we purr that the treatments work5. It is good to have a Vet that is willing to try different methods :)
You are looking lovely too :)
Purrs Tillie and Georgia

Carolyon said...

Ooo! I hope the treatment works!

meowmeowmans said...

Suey, those are sure some interesting therapies. We are purring and praying that they work for you!

Faye said...

Good to see you all posting againg. Benny Grunch sends MASSIVE amounts of "Get Well" purrs to his lovely Suey. And such wonderful news that two more kittens adopted people.

The New Orleans Kitties

Niles, Sam and Zorro said...

Hey Suey, have you lost weight? You are looking very lovely and streamlined in your photos!
You know, our mum is an alternative remedy "kook"! We have chinese herbs, supplements, and colloidal silver quite regularly. Just this morning mum put a capful into our water dish but I looked at it all suspicous like and went to the water outside: hee-hee-hee...Oh, a capful in a dish of water every couple of days will definitely not turn you blue. We have monthly CST adjustments - one due tomorrow night in fact! And homeopathics can be found everywhere in our house; mum takes them, we take them, the plants take them... You go the alternative treatments, Miss Suey, just be well and happy.

san said...

How interesting this entry is. We hope you would tell us more Suey as our bruffer has UTI and got blocked twice. Anuffer ofur of bruffers is on remission from lymphoma and the doc gave him colloidal silver. Hmm...it is interesting to consider colliodal silver for blocked cats too.

amigos and san

Teddy Westlife said...

Oh good you're back! Suey, I hope your cystitis goes away forever now! How lucky that you saw that vet.

Milo and Alfie Marshall said...

We are corssing our paws for yoor treatment and hope yoo get well really soon. Purrs.

BumbleVee said...

I used to work in a regular chiropractic office...and the guy had three regular patients who were dogs. No cats...but,... the dogs all came...sat quietly through their treatments...seemed to enjoy it and got a little doggie bone treat afterwards. A little Bichon was the funniest. He would trot right into the room...jump up on the table and say... I'm ready! When Dr. S finished...down he jumped and straight to Kim's desk for his treat. I'm betting it helped keep them in the best possible health.... sure hope it continues to help with your problem. I say... whatever we can do to aid in our health is always a good thing....