Our Cat, The Specialist

She faced imminent death - one year ago. At 4 pounds and losing, our then 11-year-old kitty cat was being held hostage by the scourge of all cat afflictions: hyperthyroidism. We were preparing to lose her, at any moment. We had done everything humanly possible to save her. Then yogurt was suggested and overnight, our lives changed.

Hyperthyroidism had become the commander-in-chief of our cat's life. By the spring of 2014, however, it began its virulent descent, into her body, with a vengeance. Her interest in eating the canned version of her life-saving food, - Y.D. Thyroid Care -10 years in development, began to seriously wane. This special diet - in both dry and canned forms - had kept her swinging since her diagnosis, two years earlier. But suddenly, she stopped eating the canned form of her special food. She could no longer tolerate it. ... “Thanks, mom, but I am sick of this Y.D. food. I need a change”, she seemed to say throughout this period. (Thankfully, she ate the dry version of her special diet, but only at night, helping to assuage her malfunctioning thyroid, along with frequent changes of water.) My anxiety level rose. (I loved her so, my 'just a cat'!) ... There were no other food alternatives, only foods containing the dreaded iodine, the element that was methodically destroying her thyroid and killing her.

Throughout his medical crisis, I worried about our cat's brain, heart, lungs, liver and kidney. This diet rocky road could not be a cushioning fit for these critical organs, in a body with an out-of-control  thyroid gland, the supreme ruler and command central of her metabolic life. ... She was rebelling against the medical establishment in favour of real food like tuna, seafood and other protein dinners with egg and green vegetables, these timeless healthy food choices, high in iodine, yet, her enemy! She ate raw meat but for only a few days. She was the boss, in charge of her day time eating ritual. Oh, my! Ignoring her wishes would let her starve. We knew. She wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. We understood and had to obey, the doctor and I soon realized. If this was a death sentence, she was the executioner. And so we waited. The truth of her decisions, however, began to tell another story she had not imagined. She threw up continually as her body rejected these personal primal food choices. Would she smarten up and eat the right food before she wasted away to nothing and died? I worried, silently. Though she was fragile and getting weaker, she still managed to groom herself and purr whenever I entered her '5-star hotel' room. Five months of weekly food changes were slowly coming to an end, however. The summer was drawing to a close, too, as was the time we had together. After 30 dinner selections within a 5 brand range had been offered, I was running out of healthy high protein diet options - not patience. The food choice drought was here. An 'ally' in our dietary dilemma throughout, however, seemed to be her vomiting, that involuntary mechanism that told her the food she was eating was too rich, too high in iodine, absolutely wrong and the reason for her 'sickness'. Within hours or days, she would realize she'd made a bad decision. She simply vomited. ... Oh My! I would return, regularly, to Global Pets, hoping for a miracle food that would end her suffering and my search for the perfect food. Eventually, we hit on a winner, a chicken pot-pie recipe to delight her taste buds, over and over again. “I think you got it, mommy.” she replied, one day. This is the one.” ... (She loved it for over a year.)

It was early September, 2014, when the owner of our local Global Pet store suggested yogurt as a panacea for her digestive problems. Her litter box was always full but she was losing weight. (The food was passing through her, not staying long enough to become her.) Then her health picture began to change dramatically as kitty began to eat the high fat, high protein Greek yogurt. Every morning she received a small serving of this miracle fermented dairy. (The miracle of probiotics, the delicate gut balance of bacteria that aids in overall health had come into play.) Finally, the poker game we had been playing most of the year was done. It was a now new day. She began to gain weight, ounce by precious ounce. Reading her mind for the past year had become a daunting exercise for me. Now everything seemed to make sense, according to our cat, the veterinarian specialist. She loved the yogurt and the chicken pot pie and, miraculously, her relenting vomiting ceased.

It is now Sept. 2015. Our kitty is telling us yet another story, the best one to date. She was now getting tired of the Gammie's Chicken Pot-Pie. “Mom, I think I should go back to what I was eating last year, to the Y.D. canned food. Remember that, mom? I hated it then, but I was also sick with a serious bladder infection and now I think I need to go back to it.” she seemed to say. Soon after her morning meal of Greek yogurt, last year, her weight of 4 pounds began to climb, reaching an incredible 8 pounds 5 ounces, by Christmas and remaining steady, thereafter. ... It was the miracle we had been praying for. ... Last year, her constant vomiting had told her to make the necessary dietary changes. (Animals know stuff, too!) Now, she was telling me a new truth: “Mom, I feel funny deep inside. Maybe, I have been eating the pot-pie long enough. Something is not right here,” she was thinking. A new set of tests revealed never before, very high, outside the reference range, enzyme levels of her thyroid and liver. We were saddened by the news. The next day, I re-acquainted her with the canned Y.D she'd despised since last year. Our food choices were gone. The time had come for a return to the good 'ole days when she ate her special diet full time. She now accepted. Her doctor was thrilled. I was ecstatic. We had come full circle. Had these new dietary changes – a return to the original – come too late for it to matter much, anymore? Time would tell. ...

In three weeks, a blood sample would be taken. (Had eating Y.D., full time, during this period, now, have a measurable effect on her thyroid and liver enzymes, the focus of her newest life game?) ... I reacted to call display, four days later. It was the clinic calling. The verdict was in! The doctor's tone seemed to tell a happy tale, though. ... Kitty's numbers were down significantly, still outside the reference ranges of the thyroid and liver enzymes, of course, (they always had been) but much lower than they were several weeks ago. Kitty was always trending in her own way. A remarkable step, a remarkable transformation. ... She was now eating Y.D full time and enjoying it, too. 

From the beginning, we had done our best to reflect what kitty wanted and expected. I watched her reactions to the varied food selections, knowing they were wrong. But she was in charge, not us! Rarely did she eat any one dinner for more than 4 days in a row - but at least she was eating. The alternative was starvation and certain death! Her body had been telling her mind what to do, from the beginning. I would observe, interpret what she was doing with her food, record my findings, then act on this new information. I kept precise records. Labels from rejected food were also kept to remind me not to go there again. New foods were introduced, whenever she rejected what she had been eating. She was in charge, after all.  Where this would all lead was a medical mystery.

(Fresh water and a single layer of dry food were critical. Cats, I learned, detest their own saliva, therefore, there must be no 'touching'.) ...Time was of the essence. I had to find the 'key' to her dietary dilemma. Every conceivable treatment protocol from oral to topical medication had been tried, then quickly dismissed. They were killing her and they were costly. She could die a natural death or hasten it with conventional drugs. The wisdom of life rested with her.  She was the specialist. We had to trust her. She was in charge of her case.  Only she knew what was best for her. The rules were meant to be broken, as all rules are, from time to time. Not every medical treatment protocol makes sense to an animal. In the final analysis, they know when enough is enough. We must respect that choice. 

Today, 12-year old Tiggy's weight is 8 pounds, 8 ounces, the greatest news in many months. She is being combed regularly and dry brushed as well. (Dry brushing is a 'reverse towards the heart' brushing technique that helps de-stress the adrenal glands.) We all have adrenal glands. This technique calms her. (She loves the brush as she beckons me to use it on her, all over, even her head and neck. She is so sweet!) Her hair ball episodes have been reduced by 80% from last year. It has been a miraculous health revolution for her.  She is now enjoying her special food in ways never imagined.  Last year it had been rejected outright. (I wondered, daily, if she would live long enough to return to it.) Now, it is welcomed. She is calmer, happier, more playful; her sleeps, more restful, sound. She plays with new toys in a way that reflects her new found freedom from ill health and fear. She has learned the lesson.

Our cat, the specialist, is one bonafide expert in what works for her. Though the creators of her life-saving thyroid food advise no other foods be given and all bowls, used, be washed very well, our little girl has lived to tell us there is another chapter to write. We have all been amazed at her storytelling skill. ... A new beginning has arrived. What's next, Dr. Kitty?