Inez~

I figured that the seizures probably started before going on the Pred, but
there are two reasons why I mentioned it. According to Pitcairn, even
overuse of vaccinations, pred (steroids) and anti-biotics, along with poor
quality food in PRIOR generations will cause lowered immunity in our pets
NOW. According to scientific studies (the Pottenger Studies is one that come
to mind), it has taken only 4 generations to tear down a cat's immune system
with traditional rearing, and 5 generations to get their health back up to
par by switching to natural rearing/feeding.

That is how much damage we are doing to our pets without knowing it. My pets
are all naturally reared now. None of the bad commercial pet food products,
no vaccinations (which seem to have more adverse effects on cats than dogs
even), no chemical wormers, no chemical parasite control (internal or
external). Amazingly, I have not had to bring my pets to the vet for any
health issues that would be related to these things. My almost 10 month old
unvaccinated puppy did not die of parvo or distemper or any other dreaded
disease. In fact, they are all thriving. I use my vets for emergencies and
to run tests, do operations, etc.

The other reason I mentioned the pred, is that the pred will damage the liver
because it is toxic, and will worsen the seizures if seizure activity is
already present. Think of the liver and kidneys as a sponge. Over their
lifetimes, pets pick up all kinds of toxins in their environment and they
usually end up in one of the cleansing organs. This is why a detoxification
is almost always in order. The natural feeding is the cornerstone to any
treatment plan, and the detoxification helps you return to as much of a clean
slate as you can. Chemical damage in our pets is permanent, but we can
minimize the damage with detoxifying.

Luckily, there is a lot that can be done naturally to control seizures. It
may or may not eliminate them, but since it is going to improve their overall
health rather than tear it down, it is usually successful in at least making
improvements. People generally see a tremendous improvement when moving off
of a low quality commercial food Diet to naturally home prepared meals.

If you are wary of supplements and detoxifications right now, I would at
least buy the Pitcairn book and start him on the 2 recipes for IBD and keep
him on it strictly for 2 months (no Sci Diet, nothing else). You should see
an improvement in the IBD, and hopefully then be able to have a little more
leeway in treating him. If there was one supplement I would at least try, it
would be the EpiPlus, the only thing is that you might get her to take it
easier with the Nupro if she is finicky.

I don't like to tear down a specific brand of pet food, but if you look at
the things we use as a standard when judging pet food quality, most of them
fall severely below the mark. Briefly, does it contain hard to digest
by-products? YES. Does it contain undigestible fillers? YES. Is it
preserved with toxic chemicals like ethoxyquin, BHA, BHT, monosodium
glutamate, polyethelene glycol, high amounts of salt? YES. Is it extruded?
YES. Does it contain artificial colors, flavors and/or aroma enhancers?
YES. If your pet food is as described above, then it is not good quality.

Luckily, there are several lines of food out there now that are so much
better than what is normally commercially available. They use only human
grade ingredients and no by-products. They are baked at lower temperatures,
keeping more nutrients in. They contain no artificial anything and are
preserved with mixed tocopherols (vit E dirivative) and vit c. We can
explore them on the list or privately to see which one suits your cat best.

Phenobarbitol is a double edged sword in that it covers up the symptoms of
the seizures (thereby giving people a false sense of having the seizures
"under control") but does not "cure" them. The bad thing is that it will
toxify the liver, which eventually causes those seizures that cannot be
controlled with drugs any longer and, well, I don't even want to go there.
When it gets that bad, it is sometimes too late to reverse the damage. At
this point, you have good chances of success.

I'm glad that you are searching for better answers. Feel free to contact me
anytime.

Cat Donnelly
PurelyPets.com