Howdy! I'm Cynthia of Bee Holistic Cat Rescue and Care in Richmond, CA.
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 Spreading the word...!
Ventured out in my Animal Hospice Group tee shirt yesterday...first stop to a vet clinic. Was chatting with the office manager, and she was VERY happy to hear of the Animal Hospice Group! She was aware of the urgent need for better end-of-life care, and I directed her to the AHG website, and suggested that I visit again and talk with the doctors. Stay tuned! Next stop: Natural Grocery Store...met an adopter, who'd adopted two cats from us (Bee Holistic Cat Rescue and Care) in 2011. She was thrilled to hear that I'm doing animal hospice now, and agreed that its time had come! Productive day!
I’m trying something new today: setting a modest funding goal, and, I hope, an achievable one!
I’ve been staring at my lab bill for the month (I have my own account with Idexx lab, which is great, and saves money) and wondering how I can pay it. It’s for $497.41. So… this gofundme campaign is for the blood tests done on three cats...two of mine, and one for a friend’s cat. Emma, the black and white lady here, is getting on…14 years now, and slowing down. She’s had dental work done, and gets acupuncture, but it was time for a general look-see. (tests showed nothing alarming, yay) she’s doing well, getting fluids for dehydration, and b-12 shots. The second cat tested was Coco…who had the miraculous recovery from a bleeding liver. She checked out fine. See my previous posts on beeholistic.com for her amazing story! The third cat showed up at a friend’s house, unspayed and thin. No chip. He got her spayed, and asked me to have her tested. FIV and FeLV negative; in good overall health. So…if folks could give a small amount, I feel that we can get this bill paid! Idexx lab is a great company, and deserves it! 😊The donate button is at the top of this page! Thanks a million, in advance, and please share this campaign!  The Animal Natural Death Support Group is up and running! The group meets every Friday, and every other Friday we have a meeting to which we invite those interested in the subject, or who have an animal at the end of their life. We have been supporting a lovely woman in New Zealand, whose beautiful white cat has mammary cancer. Both are doing well, and have great veterinary advice. The woman wants to see her beloved cat through to a natural death, if possible, and has been caring for her lovingly. (Cancer itself is not painful, although it can cause pain if it interferes with other organs, etc.; death itself isn't either, although conditions leading to death may be) Another visitor wanted to tell us about the death of her dear cat. She had been expecting to have her euthanized at the end, but the end came quickly and easily for her. She was amazed and gratified at the love which passed between them during the short dying process, and at the peace and wonder of that time together. Folks are able to contact any of us in the group between meetings...for advice or reassurance. (We do not give medical advice) Our group has a facebook page, the Animal Natural Death Support Group, which you are invited to join. Lots to learn; lots to think about! When you join, you'll receive a link to each zoom meeting. See you there!  If it fits....  Never Give UP! A lesson I've learned well... The Calico cat, pictured above with her sisters, came to us from a box left in a Pet Food Express parking lot, some three years ago. The fourth one, bless her, was just skin and bones. (I'd heard the expression, but had never seen a cat represent it so tragically) I took them directly to an understanding vet, who took a quick look and reassured me that the three weren't in imminent danger. The poor emaciated one died on the way home. AnnaBelle, on top here, was in the best shape. Melanie, on the left, was thin, but viable. Sunflower, or Sunny, lower right, had a terrible skin condition: red and scabby all over. She had very little fur left on her back half. Melanie and Sunny were blind. Their ophthalmologist said that having been fed dog food had was the probable cause: their rods and cones had disintegrated. The three ate well, and came back to life slowly. Sunny's skin improved, but remained irritated. We have a great holistic vet, and tried acupuncture, different herbs, western and eastern, and more, but...improvement, but not cure. Sidenote: Blind cats manage very well. One of ours went blind years ago, and it was some time before we realized it! And they do NOT need to be confined indoors! No reason to deprive them. I've never known a blind one to go far at all! And my two kittens born without eyes were the best tree climbers! The one pictured below is Stella.  This is Stella, livin' the life! She and her sister were born without eyes. Anyhow...I knew that cats often had food allergies, usually because their food is so bad. We feed a raw, healthy diet, but still..it's mostly chicken based: chicken is much less expensive than other proteins. I'd tried to feed Sunny separately, but it took a lot of doing: we had to put her in a cage to see that she ate only her special food...got tired of that and lapsed. Soon enough, we said "basta!" Need to fix this. We started feeding her a turkey based food. In Chinese medicine, turkey is cooling, and chicken is heating. Her skin, again in terms of Chinese medicine, was the result of an imbalance of heat to cool in her system. The excess heat (yang) also caused her ongoing gastric distress. Sooo...we took the drastic measure of giving Sunny a shot of steroids. It was hoped that this would cool her inflammation and give the other treatments time to work. And it did!! No way to tell how much of Sunny's improvement is due to the change in food, and how much to the steroids, but....Sunny is a NEW CAT! She is loving the turkey, eating well, and has changed in so many ways! She's more engaged, responsive, active (no more under the covers all day) affectionate...more fluid in her movements, more interested in life in general.....far less panicky when she's picked up...just a joy to see! Her body is no longer covered in scabs, she's no longer scratching, and her fur is coming back! You can imagine how thrilled we are...and how we wish we'd did the food & steroids sooner. I'm so grateful to our doctors, and to Sunny for her endurance and patience. Happy days ahead for Sunflower!  PS: Any contributions toward Sunny's medical expenses would be welcome! donate button at top of site!
 I have waited...and now can say with confidence that Coco has survived, and is thriving!
I'm still stunned by this miracle! (was it Einstein who said that one can live as if everything is a miracle, or as if nothing is?) Coco did indeed regenerate his red blood cells a third time...with the help of angels on earth: my holistic Dr. Anne Reed, his chiropractor Dr. Margaret Holiday, and especially the medical intuitive who has let us know, over the years, just what's wrong with many here, and what to do! I've learned a lot about how the body works, especially the organs, and am in awe. There is so much we do not know...and a lot we should know and don't. Coco's ultrasound had shown tiny tumors all over his liver, which had caused the (great amount of) bleeding into his abdomen. The intuitive suggested, among a lot of other things, getting a tincture, Blushwood Berry, which, she said, would help reduce the tumors. Maybe it has, along with everything else...Gemmotherapies, acupuncture, homeopathics...etc. Thank goodness Coco has been receptive to all these treatments! Today is April 26, over two months since his last "crash". Coco is eating like a horse, eager for meals, no more vomiting...happy and serene. At his next checkup, we'll draw blood and see where his hematocrit is. His holistic vet says his pulses are strong, and he is literally "in the pink", so we haven't done labs to since February. His gums and tongue are pink as they oughtta be! Grateful?? YOU BET!! We still have a lot of bills to pay! if you can help, please to to www.beeholistic.com and hit the Donate button!!  The second time Coco crashed, vomiting and becoming lethargic, his hematocrit was 12% The vets said that he could not sustain life at that level, and that there was noting more to be done. If he didn't retain a healthy level of red blood cells after a transfusion...well... I don't remember just when Coco started seeing our holistic vet (one of them) for acupuncture and advice. He also heard from a wonderful communicator, who told us that he was not digesting, and advised a supplement protocol. He was still with the foster, with me visiting him daily. Still, he crashed a third time. This time his hematocrit was a mere 8%. We decided to do another transfusion, and took him to Berkeley Dog & Cat where they said his blood type was available. When we got there, we found out that they did not, in fact, have his blood type. (ask me another time where they get the blood) By this time he had been at Abbey Pet Hospital and Berkeley Dog and Cat for most of the day. A trip to OakVet, where they said they did have type A blood, would mean another eight hours or so, and, the last time he'd seen the internal medicine specialist there, the doctor told us that they'd not do a transfusion on a cat with such a low red blood cell count. They told the specialist (shoutout to Dr. Megan O'Sullivan) at Berk. Dog & Cat that they would, but I wasn't convinced....and, as he had regenerated his red blood cells before, I decided to not put him through another eight hours of stress. We took this dear, beautiful, Long-suffering one home, and.....stay tuned! Hint: he is still VERY much with us. Find out what we did! Please help us with his medical costs, if you can, at www.beeholistic.com!  This is Coco. His story to follow! Ironic it is, that when you need help, financial of otherwise, your crisis has you so focused, stressed, and preoccupied that you can no more ask for it than you can fly. Every case, every emergency, is different: the medical mysteries are the most fraught. Along with more garden variety ailments, I've had a new cat, plucked from the streets after showing up at one of my colonies. He baffled the experts, and was sent home to die...twice, by allopathic-only doctors. Good thing about being stubborn, you don't give up. Experience tells us that there's always more to know, to do. And yet I waited to get the ultrasound which gave us the last piece of the puzzle for Coco...that his liver was bleeding, from its entire surface! I should have known better than to wait. The vet had said that if there were masses, and we wanted to do chemotherapy, there was no reason to get the ultrasound...and we would not have elected to do chemo. To back up, Coco had been in a good foster home, very close to me, and had been doing well for three weeks. Then one morning the foster called, saying that he was vomiting and breathing fast. ER at once. Bloodwork showed that he was extremely anemic, and he got a transfusion. His hematocrit (% of red cells in blood) was too low to sustain life. It bounced back to 20% after the transfusion (25-45% most say is normal) and held at 19%. We crossed fingers and took him home. He did fine...!! However, the cause of the anemia was still unknown. He did carry the feline Immunodeficiency virus but the vets said that that alone should not have caused him to become so anemic. I've had plenty of FIV positive cats with no problems... So it was wait and see... There's a lot more to this story...Much more! Amazing and wonderful. But enough for today!
Behold the new Joe Lee! Now Happy Joe Benning! I'm constantly reminded that miracles happen every day...was it Einstein who said that we can live as if everything is a miracle, or as if nothing is...?
In my last post I was seeking a new home for Happy Joe where he could be then only cat, as he was attacking the others here. Out of fear, and a misplaced need to dominate. LONG story... I thought I had found the perfect home for him, but was mistaken. He was sent back to us, after doing his best to fit in; to be the cat they wanted. This betrayal by the adopter set him back severely, and he was ready to give up entirely. He had been getting support from two incredible communicators, and one of them soon agreed to adopt him! Thing is, she was across the globe, so he would stay with us, and she would work with him to restore his will to live and his ability to trust and to love. It would take volumes to tell even a part of his story. This communicator is world-renowned, and it's an indication of how deserving and unusual Happy Joe is that she adopted him! She worked with him closely, and....what I thought would take years was accomplished (not fully yet, she says) in just a few months. After HJ Benning came back, we had to keep him in the big outdoor cage so as to keep the others safe, and from leaving! We sat there with him as much as possible (it was summer, yay) and brought him into the house for visits. The visits got longer and longer, and now...he has almost complete freedom. The changes, from his arrival to now, have been constant, and many! And astonishing. He and his journey are unprecedented in my experience, and, I believe, in that of the communicators he's worked with. As in any profession, there are differing levels of ability...he got the best of the best, I'm certain! One of them does not even work professionally; she's a writer....but Happy Joe so impressed her that she was compelled to help him. And she did! He was also the most communicative and willing animal she'd ever spoken with. And with the most interesting and unusual history: maybe I can get her to write the book HJ Benning deserves to have written about him!! The story will continue, but for now HJ Benning is able to feel safe and loved. Thank you, dear ladies! Thank you for keeping the faith, Mr. Happy Joe Benning!!
Let's start with a pair of CUTE KITTEN photos, shall we? Sasha and Ginger here were found in a garbage can (with rats for company) Not uncommon, folks. Good news is that they hadn't been there long; were in fine shape, except for having lost their mother. They did just fine here! In fact, they are the only kittens in memory who didn't pick up a cold, or ringworm, or...a bit of runny poo initially, but hey...considering what their diet may have been...Cutest ever! Gorgeous and sweet. Ginger, on the left here, was born to rule. Smart? Oh yeah! And Sasha, gentle and lovely. It was great having them...and I flirted with never letting 'em go...sooo many frogs were kissed, until the prince(s) came along. A woman and her daughter, living in a fairy-tale castle in Marin, with a second home, a farm, in Sebastopol. JACKPOT! They send frequent photos, and the girls are living their VERY best life!! Thank you, ladies!!
Another great 'save'! This lad showed up at one of my colonies with a "Get Me Out Of Here!" attitude. No collar or chip, no "Missing Cat" posters around, no posting on the County Shelter site...after due diligence, I brought him home, and a friend is fostering (to adopt, I'm sure!) He had been neutered and ear-tipped, as presumed 'ferals' are...but he was no feral, not had been. He's young, smart, and as you can see, gorgeous! You have to wonder, what misunderstanding brought him to my colony at the vacant lot on Ventura Avenue. Another young one showed up there too, who was also ear-tipped! He is not willing to let me get close. Someone has either been trapping in the area, or dumping TNR (trap, neuter, return) cats there. Yes, it happens. And I can understand that the trapper may have thought the cat couldn't go back to where s/he was trapped, and that they'd be fed well at my colony, so...welcome, little one! A lively black/white tuxedo. /he's the second from the right in this photo of the colony. And yes, they're eating my own raw diet! They have the safety of the fully fenced vacant lot, and I can keep a low profile: feed them on the cement; no bowls, save for the water dish (in white by the fence) to attract unwanted attention from folks who may be hostile. Gotta say though, everyone I've met there has been friendly and supportive! Nice folks!
Aaaaand, Happy Joe Lee still needs a home. I'd love to keep him, if he'd only stop attacking the other cats. Needs to be an only cat. Joe is super glad to meet new folks...super eager to please, and of course gorgeous and vibrant. He's still in the cage, and I bring him up into the house every day, keeping an eye on him. He's neutered, FeLV and FIV negative...and maybe three years old. even if you can't adopt, come meet him! he loves company, and the cage gets OLD.
And last but not least, some of us from the Animal Hospice Group (animalhospicegroup.com) practitioner certification classes are forming an auxiliary group, Animal Natural Death Support Group. We will be available to chat with and support folks who are interested in allowing their animals to die naturally, or in just learning more. Death itself is not painful! Pain can almost always be managed. End-of-life care is an area of veterinary medicine which has been sorely neglected! (as is nutrition, alas) I'll let you know when the group is up and running, and am available to chat before then, if you are wondering how to effect the best outcome for an animal at the end of her/his life. Happy to hear from you at any time! 510-994-1704.  And ending with another lovely photo! Our most recent adoption, Ginger (not in photo) and Sasha, here, with her new friend.! Another perfect home...with perfect adopters! Gotta keep the faith!
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About CynthiaThe founder of Bee Holistic, Cynthia Burke, has been caring for cats most of her life, volunteering with such groups as the wonderful Animal Balance, and Fix Our Ferals, now Animal Fix Clinic. In 2009 her own non-profit was formed..
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