Case Studies

Perdi's general health has been good but she has experienced various stressful events of note - such as thrown out of a window and dunked in a pond. About 6 years ago she inadvertently got shut indoors over a weekend . She was severely stressed and did not eat for a while afterwards, her coat deteriorated and she developed a parasite problem. The vet prescribed Frontline and she gradually recovered. Secondly, a dog was introduced into the home for the first time 18 months ago. Perdi seemed very stressed for a couple of weeks then began to improve. Siix months ago Perdi developed cystitis. She started to urinate in the corner the bedroom, her situation quickly deteriorated,. She frequently strained and passed fresh blood. Perdi was treated by the vet with antibiotics and made a full recovery.

On 11/7/08 Perdi again urinated in the corner of the bedroom, she was straining in the corner. Before taking her to the vet I wanted to give her the chance to heal herself. Perdi had made herself comfortable under the bed, I crouched down between the bed and the wall with the remedies. It was rather dark and therefore difficult to see all her reactions clearly but it was where she was happy to be - she was clearly feeling unwell.

Offered remedies, and reactions:

Cornflower Water, licked air.
Angelica Root, became still, turned away and licked genitals.
Rose Otto, eyes heavy, noisy expiration (like a snore) laid head down.
Yarrow, eyes heavy.
Neroli, very heavy eyes.
Linden Blossom NI, heavy eyes, closed eyes, purring.
Arnica Macerate, thoughtful, offered on finger, turned away.
Lemon (kidney stones), turned head towards then away, offered again, eyes closed turned away.
Sandalwood, turned head towards, licked air once, turned away.
Tea Tree, eyes closed immediately, purring, turned away.
Valerian, sat straight up and turned away before bottle fully open.
Carrot seed, eyes heavy.
Yarrow (reoffered), eyes very heavy.
Barleygrass, strong interest, one and a half teaspoons in water.
Spirulina, strong interest then went to corner straining to urinate with no result, took eighth teaspoon in water.
Catnip, I thought it may be comforting, (sedative when eaten) ate small amount, sipped some water and curled up and went to sleep.
Carrot macerate and wheat grass, no interest.

11PM Perdi woke, went to her corner and passed a moderate amount of 'dirty' urine - looked like it containted lots of dark blood sediment. I re-offered valerian and Perdi licked the air briefly. She slept all night.

12/7/08 7.30AM Perdi passed a good amount of clear urine, ate her breakfast, took a drink and looked with interest at the birds out of the window.

She was clearly feeling better.

8AM I re-offered the same remedies as yesterday. Perdi spent most of the session grooming intently. There was no interest in cornflower water, angelica root, yarrow, arnica macerate, tea tree, or carrot macerate. She looked up briefly when I offered rose otto and neroli. She leaned towards linden blossom licking the air, she also air licked with lemon, sandalwood, and particularly valerian, yawning after the valerian. She deeply inhaled carrot seed. Perdi returned to grooming between each response but eventually stopped to take one and a half teaspoons of spirulina and half a teaspoon of barleygrass each mixed with water. I knew Perdi was not right yet because her coat was course and dull. She continued to sufferer with frequency during the morning but all urine was clear.

PM Perdi's coat returned to it's usual soft, shiny condition and the episodes of frequency stopped. 10.30pm I offered valerian which Perdi inhaled with moderate interest.

Conclusion: Perdi appeared symptom free 24 hours after commencing treatment but her interest in valerian continued for a further 3 days. Her interest in neroli and linden blossom continued for a further 5 and 4 days respectively suggesting separation and abuse issues which may have contributed a stress element to her cystits. Perdi showed strong interest in spirulina throughout. Apart from it's tonic effect I wonder if this points to deficiencies in her diet.

Comment: It is unusual for tea tree to be selected by cats. The oil/remedy selected usually reflects the cause of the problem ie crystals/stones - lemon essential oil, stress - valerian, e coli bitter almond do not offer bitter almond unless trained, as it is very caustic if and should never touch the coat. Never apply an essential oil topically to a cat - offer for inhalation only.