20 yr old crf cat doing very well on chinese herbs and azodyl

16 years ago

Our cat Cleo is 20 years old now and is having kidney problems. She is not our first CRF cat. We were very sad and frustrated when we realized she was losing weight and we suspected kidney problems. We have 2 vets. One is a holistic vet and the other is a regular vet. I am posting on this list because we have been very successful in treating our Cleo's kidney problem. We are using chinese herbal medicine combined with Azodyl and Epakitin. She is actually gaining weight and has gone from needing to be on an IV to 1 sub Q per day and now 1 Sub Q every 4 days. Our vet is very suprised that her levels have gone to almost normal. She also eats CRF foods from Purina, Medical and Science Diet KD wet plus KD dry. Although sometime we even cheat and give her a teaspoon of meat every 3 days or so.

The chinese herbs we are using are:

Ba Wei Di Huang Wan

Useful for improve kidney performance, or profuse clear urine.

Wei Ling Tang

For appetite and kidney support

We make gelatin capsules (00) size. We fill the larger part of the capsule with Ba Wei Di Huang Wan powder and the smaller part of the capsule with Wei Ling Tang powder.

We give her 1 capsule per day of the chinese herbs and a capsule per day of Azodyl ( this is a probiotic bacteria that supposedly helps the body filter toxins in the blood)

We mix 1/2 scoop per day of Epakitin into her food. The scoop is provided with the Epakitin.

Her recovery has been remarkable. We really want to share this information in the hope that someone else may be able to help their pet. We don't know how long she will survive like this but the initial results are very promising. Her quality of life is excellent, and we couldn't have done it without the holistic vet and our regular vet's treatments both combined.

Featured Answer

Anne_Marie_Alb

16 years ago

Hi Laurie!
So very right, of course. When a pet is on several treatments, it is very hard to correctly attribute the improvement to a specific one, especially in relation to timing. And as you have taught me, sub-Q fluids are the best thing you can do for a CRF cat! Still, I had to try those herbs, especially after our vet's recommendations.
Anne-Marie

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Comments (9)

Anne_Marie_Alb
16 years ago
That's so interesting! Our 13 year old cat (in probably late stage CRF) just started seeing a holistic vet, so I will have to ask him about these Chinese herbs. So far he has administered B12 injections in the kidney points weekly for the last 3 weeks, and we are going back on Friday. The B12 helps his appetite for a day or so. Although he does not eat much at a time, eating is not a serious problem. This holistic vet has also prescribed Epakitin for him (he has been on it for 10 days). The problem with our cat is that he has high levels of phosphorus (12.7 mg/dl) and a high calcium level (just above the range). Because Epakitin is a calcium-based binder, I am not sure it is really good for him. He is also anemic, and has had constipation issues for a long time. He is just starting receiving fluids on a daily (as opposed to twice a week) basis at home, and this seems to be quite helpful. I don't know about Cleo, but our cat is all skin and bones (just above 5lbs).

Anyway, I thank you for posting about the holistic treatment for Cleo. I will mention these herbs to our vet.
Anne-Marie
Anne_Marie_Alb
16 years ago
And our vet highly recommended both of these herbs.. Our cat just started the first one (Ba Wei Di Huang Wan). We'll wait on the second one as the gelcaps were so big, we did not think our cat would take well to them!
Thanks again for your information. I'll report back in a while.
All our best to Cleo,
Anne-Marie
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Meghane
16 years ago
Thank you for posting this. I will keep this info handy for my clients.
laurief_gw
16 years ago
This is very interesting information. Thank you for posting it. In order to put it into perspective, though, it would be extremely helpful to know when Cleo was first diagnosed, what her blood values and weight were at that time, and what her blood values and weights have been in subsequent tests relative to the timing of the administrations of the Chinese herbs, Azodyl, Epakitin, and subQ fluids. Also, have you given her any other meds, supplements, or treatments along the way? I would be very grateful if you could provide that additional information.

I hope Cleo continues to do well for you.

Laurie
kitkogirl_yahoo_com
15 years ago
I tried to send this email...had some problems...sorry if it's a duplicate. My CRF kitty is supposed to start his first dose of Azodyl today...how do you get that capsule in a cat?? Can you insert it in his throat/mouth and then squirt a little water in there from a syringe? Also, he started eating dirt this week. I've heard that could be anemia, but he had a blood panel done today, and he's only mildy anemic. Do you have any ideas about that? Thanks everyone...Kris
irina9893
8 years ago
Thank you for sharing this information about your cat's sickness! My cat is very sick. He's 12 years old and very sick with kidney's disease. I might try to give him herbal medicine, but I would like more information. Do you know any site that I could order the herbs from?
SaltiDawg
8 years ago
irina,

No disrespect... however this thread is eight years old. You may wish to start a new thread asking for advice.
rnlnee
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Irina,

My cat 15y/o has kidney disease and I am treating her with "Kidney Support Gold" and "Old Friend" for over a year, which can be found at:

http://www.petwellbeing.com/c/cat-products/condition/kidney--renal

Try also the pro-biotics, they are quite helpful.

The second type of supplements I am also using is "Feline Renal Support" from Standard Process. Ask any holistic veterinarian to help you purchase it as it's only sold through veterinarians. It can also be found from Dr. Gardner, just ask the company in the link below.

For food, the best I could find is a low-protein raw using a special premix which is easy to prepare, you can find it at:

http://felineinstincts.com/feline-instincts-crf-my-natural-kidney-support-diet/

Contact them to help you with the recipe, because it's easy to make but is not always very clear from the instructions. This is very good food and recommend it.

They also sell a pouch of Chicken liver powder to sprinkle on the raw food to help the kitty eat, and another supplement called "Rena G.O", which I am trying now.

And last but not least, if your kitty is feeling unwell, give her sub-Qs fluid asap. It will help to stabilize her.

All the best to you and your kitty.