RawSafe Feline Fridays: Cystitis

This is vodka required. Just on my own, just had a bit of a hectic time trying to get everybody live. Do beg your pardon if you are still trying to tune in. We will just take a moment to see if I can get my two competitors back. We're having some internet issues, so do bear with us. Thank you. So if you are waiting to see us, do tune in and I'll be back with you in a— So, and hey presto, you're back, Julianne. Now we just need to see if we can get Amaya.

You click go live and it went, bye, see you later. It kicked me out.

Can't click go live and then just lose everybody.

Ah, the joys of technology.

Joys of technology in the middle of nowhere. Thanks, Jude. Yeah, this isn't gin, by the way. It's not vodka. Um, it is purely ice water, honest. Well, I've got no ice anymore. It's so hot here, as it's all melted.

And mine's just plain tonic, no gin or vodka.

Yeah, okay, okay, we'll use the UV light on it later just to check.

Anyway, weekend starts here.

Oh, any sign of Amaya? Yeah, we, we— no, not at the moment, but we were blessed with Amaya a moment ago. It is actually all my fault, okay, that we're slightly delayed. So guys, thank you for bearing with us. For those of you who join us after the fact, okay, and just see the recording, it is of course going to be recorded so that you guys can access it at any point. So hopefully we'll gather some more of your content and comments and we will answer those as we go through. I think Amaya, I will do a little introduction. She isn't here with us at the moment, but she's certainly a big part of what we want to do with Feel Live Fridays. She is a feline veterinary surgeon currently working out in Spain. She's very much focused on cats and raw food feeding, does a lot of other complementary medicines as well, including a bit of sound therapy and other things which are her pet subjects at the moment. Julianne, you are with us. You are more than capable of introducing yourselves to the guys watching. So do you want to just give us a bit of a resume of where you're up to with your therapies?

Sure. So apologies if I look distracted. My baby Max, my kitten, well, 9-month-old baby Max has just come in and he's deciding to try and get into the bin. So if I'm distracted and moving things, that's why, to make sure that carnage doesn't evolve in my office. So yes, thank you, Brendan. My name is Julianne Thorn and I am a holistic cat therapist. So I have a degree in psychology. I'm trained in behavior, feline behavior. But also I am a Reiki master. I am qualified as a cat chakra therapist, and I use a lot of self-selection. So I have that kind of duality really, where I can look at the, the logical, the behavior part of it, but also the, the emotional side of it and the energetics as well. So for me, that's, that's what's needed for a holistic approach. So I work with a range of people that have essentially problems with their cats, whether that's a physical issue or an emotional or sometimes like what they would term a problem behavior and help them understand. So it could be through animal communication, it could be through behavior modification, the whole, the whole range really. So my mission is to give cats a voice and I do that by trying to help them understand their cats and reconnect with their cats. Oh, we may have Amaya.

We might, yes. You can tell when the screen changes slightly, that little blank spot down here should be, should be an Amaya. But just by voice.

So you can hear me but you can't see me. That's right, that's the one.

But everybody else can hear you too, so that's fine. I have done an intro. We're just keeping— I need to quickly download a picture of you and Maya and put you in the little blank spot. We'll be fine.

Let me check.

I have to turn your camera on anyway.

Yeah, yeah, it is not allowing me to use it. I don't know why.

I don't— you— that's so weird. You had that a minute ago. Oh no, she's gone.

No, no, she's not gone. She can still say everything, but I've just hidden her picture for a moment while she tries to sort it out. And as soon as she comes in, I'll start her video, and then it's not so off-putting for everybody who's watching.

This is great. I love Fridays.

I'm in the back.

You just keep shouting, girl. We'll do that, we'll put the beeps in later.

That's right, well, she'll just keep making cat noises anyway.

Lady Max didn't like that, he's just shot off out my office.

For real, this is great, I love it, I love it when a plan comes together.

Are we sure that these are just plain drinks?

Oh, it's infectious. You'll get used to RPM.

There's me all set, professional, ready to go, and it's just like, you know, it's Beeline Fridays.

We'll be there. So, Amaya, if you need to drop back off and drop back on, I can see you and put you back in at any point.

I'll be back.

Try again, go for it. I'll be back. I love it when they say that. So, well, guys, we're going to be talking about cystitis in cats today. Big subject, lots of issues to deal with, so quite a lot to go through. But whilst we're just waiting for Amaya to come back, I'd love to just ask Julianne, you know, what's been happening this week with the heatwave? How have you been coping?

Oh, it's been, it's been so warm. The boys— so we've got two cats, Leo and Max, and they've gone from hiding away and being, you know, not— we've not seen them for hours. They've obviously found somewhere because they're both allowed outdoors, to Leo hiding behind the bed and Max all stretched out on my bed. So, you know, they, they're doing what they need to cope, and their eating has been up and down, and we're still not back to like their normal. Which I think is something that we can forget, that their appetite, like with us humans, you know, it can be really affected by the heat. So Leo seems to have had a day where he didn't eat very much. And then yesterday he was eating for England and baby Max still, he's not quite there. So his normal routine has made my anxiety come up a little because I'm like, why aren't you eating? What's going on? Which obviously doesn't help the household. So I'm just trying to be like, he'll eat when he's ready, you know, and throwing all sorts of food at him. No, I'm joking. I'm not actually physically throwing food at him. Um, but yeah, but to be honest, I did find yesterday he'd only ate his breakfast when I was finger feeding him. So, you know, who knows? He's a bit, he's all a bit wonky. I mean, he's 9, 9 and a half months old. This is his first, first heatwave, you know, not good.

Yeah. So I find that always interesting. This is why we've said in the past, you know, about feeding, you know, at dusk and dawn. It's a late night, early morning, and yet so many people are used to their cats grazing kibble foods through the day, and when they sort of come to fresh feeding, it becomes a little bit more awkward for them. And I think what we should be really pushing is for them to understand, actually, as predators, when they're hunting mice, birds, they're not going to eat constantly. So there will be an up and down. It's perfectly natural when it's hot, they're going to just take a chill, you know, they're not going to go and work through the heat of the day. They may find themselves a cool spot to chill out and just, you know, relax. Don't necessarily need to be force-feeding stuff in there. So I would definitely— loads of clients coming to me all of the time. Don't worry, even if I freeze for you, I'm not freezing online, so we will be okay. Okay, and this recording obviously is recorded, so if anybody gets any difficulties with the internet, there will be the full video to watch unfrozen, and I don't sing at all, so there's no, you know, special Elsa songs or anything like that on this, but it will be a case of 'Let It Go' and then to come back to us at a future point. Okay, so that was my one quip for Disney. So the rest of things, I would say there's lots of people that are really anxious about their cats not eating. They will quite happily go 12, 24 hours with a dip in appetite. Just make sure they're taking on plenty of fluids or access to plenty of fluids and give those other bone broths, whatever it is. So they've got options there. But don't get super anxious that they're not taking solids all of the time.

Yeah, that is easier said than done. You know, when we— like last year, Leo had— he actually was in the vets overnight for 4 nights. You know, he didn't eat for over a week and it was hard. So of course, you know, you have that history, don't you? So you think like, oh no, but you're absolutely right. And I advise that to my clients, you know, as long as they are eating to some degree, like you said, dawn and dusk, I think is a great idea when it's when the weather is so warm. And yeah, we've binned a little bit of food because like you said, with the fresh and raw feeding, you know, we can't have it out all day and we've been keeping it in the fridge and I've noticed that Max does prefer it at room temperature. So we're taking it out in its packet to warm up a little, not warm up, but to get to room temperature. And then he has been more inclined to eat it. Well, hey, Amelia!

Yay! I did it! She found a computer.

Another one. It's like, I don't know what happened with Apple, but I'm beginning. I just took the old one. So if the camera looks like 10 years old, that's the thing.

Yeah, we see it's taken 10 years off you. Don't worry.

Yeah, great.

That's great.

Then perfect.

Hello, you guys.

No problem. I mean, Amaya, you must have so much experience experience of cats in hot weather where you are? Because just tell the guys whereabouts in Spain you're actually practicing at the moment and, you know, where you're at.

Well, I'm practicing in Madrid. I usually do most of my work online, but then if I— if somebody needs— I have friends that, you know, sometimes I just go to cover them when they have to go on holidays or whatever. Yeah, yeah, in the hot weather mostly. Now it's awful. I don't know how are you dealing with that here. It's awful.

Brilliant. And so just, just have a little discussion. So for your clients that have issues with cats which are, you know, overheating or off food because of the heat in the extreme weather, what are you saying to guys? Oh, I think she's, she's gone. European heat.

She's got a beautiful smile on that frozen image there. She has.

Should we just keep it like that? Just let's see if I can keep it as a—

At least it's not one of those crazy faces.

No. You know when you're like—

Burning. Yes!

Oh, we were just going to hear from the person who experiences these heats every year as to how she manages that. And no, it's not one of it. So she's truly dropped out now. Don't know what's— yeah, it can't be our internet our end because we're still here.

We're still here. We're still here, ready, ready to share with everyone.

So there is a little bit of things for everybody to be understanding, you know. Feline idiopathic cystitis, FIC, okay, is a very, very common condition because of— it's a little bit like IBS for people. And I would say there are a number of ways, and I know, Julianne, you've got an area of specialty which is down to the feline behavior side and sort of understanding that. So I think let's start with that little nugget of the predisposition, the anxiety range that can lead to this condition, the inflammation within the bladder. That is what cystitis is. Okay, what sort of advice do you give to guys with their cats when you're trying to help their behavior and reduce that— what can we say— the anxiety that may be predisposing them to this condition? What are the key ones, maybe the top 5 things that you would say?

Yeah. So like you just said, Brendan, anxiety and stress, you know, is one of the biggest causes. And, you know, if we pause anything to do with diet and nutrition behavior-wise, it's, you know, cats, cats are neophobic. So when it comes to change, it can really impact their body and their system. So sometimes, yes, moving house can be considered a big stressor, but actually, like, just moving the position of the litter tray can be a stressor and induce this induce this condition. So one of my first nuggets of wisdom would be to, you know, if the cat is showing symptoms, look at what you've changed. Look at what you can almost reverse, you know, what can you put back in place to bring back the cat's sense of normality. Sometimes it can be a really simple, like we've changed the litter tray and not just the position but the type of litter and Also, when our cats are showing signs of this, it can be an instinct for us humans to try different things to fix it. And actually, sometimes that can help, sometimes not so much. So when clients come to me with, with, you know, stress-induced idiopathic cystitis, it's a question of looking at what they can revert back to. What did they have in place before the symptoms started? And then it's a question of looking, becoming a detective. You know, what is it you've changed? What is it you can try? And in terms of trying, Cats will potentially have a litter tray aversion. That could be because you've changed the type of litter, you've changed the position, or you've changed the litter tray itself. So there is no one-size-fits-all, very politician answer, but it's really about what does your cat prefer. You know, if they are, for example, urinating around the house, right, that's obviously a sign of stress. Where are they doing it? Is it in the wardrobe where it's dark and it's, you know, cave-like? Is it on the bed where your scent is concentrated? Is it on the bathroom floor? Now each of those will tell you something about why the cat is doing it, where they're doing it. So if they're doing it in the wardrobe, potentially think about getting a covered litter tray because they need to have that, you know, that they've got nothing around them, no threats around them. If they're doing it on your bed, they need to be reassured. There's an emotional element because they're doing it where your scent is concentrated. So have a think about, have you, have you changed your routine? Are you spending time with them? Have you got new people in the home? How can you connect with them emotionally? And if they're doing it like on the bathroom floor, I would— that would suggest to me that they— there's something wrong with the litter tray setup, you know. So it's really a question of becoming a detective, and it sounds really simple, but sitting down with a notepad and a pen and looking at what clues the cat are giving— is giving you. Where are they doing it? How often is it happening? And trying to look at what you can do to support them with that. I could talk about this topic for so, so long, but I'm going to pause there in case there's a nugget that you want to share or a question.

And I would absolutely say, yeah, many people will say how many litter trays for your cats? And the standard sort of knowledge is that, you know, the number of cats plus 1, okay, is the number of litter trays that you should be providing around the place. So I really pity the people that have 17 cats in the household, but there may be a reason why you need to think again about having 17 cats in your household is that actually, yes, you need to provide that level of environment for those 17 cats to be in where they've got that opportunity to choose one of those areas to go to the loo. If you've got 3 cats, you should have 4 litter trays and distribute them appropriately. I think of a core area that they have— there's their inner sanctum and that's all about their pheromone marking. Even reinforce that by using a damp cloth sort of wrapped on your hand and rubbing onto the pheromones and marking that core area for all of your cats. And then at the periphery, I find that's where it's best to place those litter trays. Now, another little key thing, as Julianne said, about that whole area of detecting where they're having accidents, that can also key you in as what they conceive or perceive is their sort of peripheral territory. And that's when you can then put in those litter trays. I do find loads of cats love the covered litter trays rather than an open one. It is one of those things. They're not necessarily big show-offs to sort of start spraying everywhere. So definitely looking at how you can mark out that periphery, you know, use that. Even for some people, that is providing a substrate within there that they are used to going in. So don't just assume she's pine nut litter tray litter from your pet store and think that they're automatically going to use that. Some cats will absolutely prefer proper sand. I know it's not very absorptive of odours and everything else, or even dirt from your garden to go into those litter trays, especially as Beth B has just put on about, you know, if you suddenly have neighbours that put in, you know, massive amounts of works, there's roadworks going on, or there's, you know, house being extended next door and your cat suddenly goes from going out into your garden and performing to suddenly coming back in and having accidents. So, so important to make sure that the other— the cats don't suddenly go, oh my God, I can't go anywhere, that they've got somewhere to go that they're happy with. And you know that Cats are individuals. There is no one-size-fits-all. There are going to be some cats that don't like that enclosure, and they're going to be some that do. And it's finding out what your cat requires to reduce that stress. But ultimately, the rule of one more litter tray than you have number of cats in the house, I think, definitely is a big, big gain there. So we've talked a little bit about odour and you know, de-stress, the type of litter and the number of litter trays and urination, sort of that side of things. So other things, you know, that we're going to talk about— stress, etc. Tell us more. Somebody's making a lot of information about the other stresses that they could be having, like redecorating the house, etc. You know, what other little things have you come across that you would advise about? Reducing stress in a household?

Yep, so totally agree with everything about the litter trays, and I think, you know, like you said, every cat is unique, so you need to understand what feels right for them. Some will want to perceive threats, others will want to do it in privacy. You know, there isn't a one-size-fits-all, and you know, where we want to put the litter tray isn't necessarily where it goes for the cat either. So for me, one of the one of the best, best tools that I've used with my own cats, and I advise with my clients, is a herb garden because it's a space where the cats can go to deal with this stress. So before, you know, if a cat is urinating around the house, they've already got a problem, their stress is already bubbling over, you know, they're in a chronic state. So, you know, there is an in-between point there where the cat experiences a stressor but has the capacity to deal with it and to And to, um, hey mate, this is fun. Just trying to left yoga to the right.

I'm coming to you in a moment, don't worry, Amaya. You're gonna get yours in on how your major stresses.

Yeah, can I ask what it is anyway?

No, you're not.

No, yeah, we're gonna be fine. So just drink plenty more of this. Anyway, just Shot it. So from the point of view of herb garden, because I really love that idea and many people have said, I don't have space for a garden. I mean, that can be planters within your house. Give us maybe 5 major herbs that you would suggest people put in that mix. Go on, give us a good 5 mix and then stress relief options that she may give within a household.

I missed the second part.

I will come to Amaya in a moment.

Yes.

Okay, with the other stresses, but if you just give us the top 5 herbs to put in that herb garden.

Yeah, so what I would just say, just to clarify, for me a herb garden is, um, you've got a towel or a blanket in a lovely quiet space in the home, so a nice corner where there's not a lot of foot traffic. You put the towel down and you put a good pinch of a dried herb in each corner. Yes, you can have, um, fresh plants outside. That is a slightly different topic. But I would really— ah, yay! I would really recommend the herb garden with the dried herbs and flowers in the home. So for me, the top 5 would be calendula or marigold, depends where you are as to which it's called. So it reduces inflammation, but it also boosts self-confidence. So if your cat is dealing with stress and they're feeling a bit, you know, nervous in themselves, I'd also recommend peppermint, which yes, you may think cats will shy away from if they've ever sniffed you, you know, your toothbrush when you're brushing your teeth mint can be very strong, but with peppermint, it's really cooling. So if your cat is in an inflamed state, not only obviously with their urinary tracts but in their body in general with the stress effect on the body, it's going to help to cool that down. Then I would say rose, which is the most nurturing and emotionally supportive herb there is. You know, rose buds, organic if you can get them, are beautiful, and they will help the— literally the stress effect on the body in terms of the emotional reaction. Then I would say valerian. So valerian root, to me it smells like sweaty feet. I really can't stand it, and Baby Max absolutely loves it. And you can tell, my sister comes in and she's like, you put valerian down? I'm like, yeah, sorry. So valerian root, either as a powder or the actual root, it's fabulous. So it's got calming properties, relaxing properties, sedative properties, and actually it really helps if your cat is in that chronic state with muscle spasms in terms of the, you know, they're little doing little dots of urine around the home, valerian is wonderful because it helps the mental and physical issues that are going on in the body. So that would be my 4, because it's one in each corner, and to have one in the middle just doesn't feel right.

Your feng shui is totally out. Yeah, from a design point of view, you know, you can't have 4s, you can't have 2s, it's got to be 3s or 5s. Come on, you've got to learn. This is a design thing.

I can't do it. I can't do it. Not, not today. So I would say peppermint, rose, calendula, and valerian.

I'm just here to stir the pot.

You are.

You know, there is this— there are, there are these things I would definitely say about valerian, very much like your partner's smell. Okay, so for for those of you who recognize another human smell, some people will totally love it and some people will absolutely be turned off from it. And it's that interesting perception because for valerian, I've seen cats go for it madder than they do for catnip. It is like a real drug. I mean, from a drug point of view, it is a relaxant. It is something that's known almost as a sedative. Okay. For its herbal aspects. I do know cats, you know, especially in the dried form, that they use them inside toys now instead of catnip just to get the cats to play with them. So there are things— I noticed you didn't say catnip in your herb garden of things because sometimes it does just drive the cats even more into a frenzy.

Yeah, and the thing is with catnip, it— not all cats are affected by it. So the— I never pronounce the word Nepal.

This is like a whole sketch.

I can never bloody say it.

Fawlty Towers.

Nepotism or something like that. I can never bloody pronounce it.

It's certainly not nepotism, don't worry.

Oh, you mean that the The active ingredient.

There's a component—

like that. I still couldn't say that.

Anyway, there's a component in catnip that not all cats will react to. And actually, if you— when I— catnip, you know, it needs to be organic, it needs to be high quality, and catnip is so overused in the cat world that you can get really dry and poor quality catnip. And actually, it depends whether they ingest it or whether they inhale it as to whether it's calming or whether it's excitatory. And you don't know which your cat is going to do, and you don't want to get the cat worked up. When we're talking about cystitis, everything in the body is tense and stressed and inflamed and angry and, you know, over. So no, I wouldn't recommend catnip. For me, this is about trying to bring things down, the stress the emotional toll, the physical, you know, tightness and inflammation. It's about reducing. So yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't recommend catnip.

And Julianne, what do you think about angelica root?

I love it. I, I think, you know, angelica root opens the cut up to healing. Again, it's very much like rose. It is very nurturing, emotionally supportive. Don't push me on trying to have 5. I know what you're doing. I know what you're doing.

People, um, uh, we're gonna, we're gonna send little messages to your cats to start moving things around your house just to sort of like, you know.

No, no, no, no, no, no, my anxiety now. Yeah, I love Angelica root, but you know, let's let— I could talk about, again, talk about herbs all day.

I, and very lastly on herbs, because we, you know, as you say, I'm sure we could all talk about herbs all day. Um, but I've really got this interest in why do you suggest the dried inside the house rather than the fresh? Because I would always go fresh for a sake of— I love the energy that the living plant gives off, and sometimes the essences that that adds to that environment. Um, so, so what is it that you feel that you would direct more people to the dry in this circumstance?

Great, great question. So for me, it's about the energy, you know, and with dried, it's a lot more subtle, it's a lot more gentle than the fresh. So, you know, in terms of like, if we've, for example, like lavender, you know, if you crunch lavender, the fresh plant, beautiful, quite strong on your, on your fingers, the smell, whereas dried, you know, you may have to shake it in a bag or give it a bit more of a rub to really to release the scent molecules. Now in my experience, cats are so sensitive with remedies, botanical remedies, that the dry version is, is more subtle, and therefore cats will use it more frequently. So it— yes, it depends on the cat and the situation. For me, it's about the cat being able to use the properties in a really gentle way. And the second part of it is also that the guardians can trust in what they're doing. So when it comes to fresh plants, You know, there's a— you go online, which, which plants are toxic to cats, and you'll have lavender, for example, is listed toxic in one place and safe in another. And, you know, a spider plant and a money plant and all the different plants. So to, to reduce that, you know, anything that's dried will be safe because the cat is— the profile of it is so different. That, that would be my explanation. So it's about the cat using the subtle energies and the guardian knowing what, what is safe to use.

Great. And Amaya, we've sort of talked herbs into bits, and I know you know lots about the various medicines and things. Give us maybe— so we're talking initially this behavioral aspect of cystitis and what's going on there. We've talked about litter trays, we've talked about the sort of urination aspect, we've talked now about the herb garden, which I love the idea of herb garden there. What's maybe your biggest thing for stress relief? What's your big advisory for clients with their pets, their cats, as to how they can change things to reduce the stress levels for their cats?

Well, one of the things before answering this question is about taking into consideration the whole thing. I mean, the whole apartment, the people living in there, every single thing because most of the times the cases that I work with, they have this kind of fear. Like I always tell the people is this is not like a scientific basis kind of term. But what I tell people is that the bladder for me is like, I don't belong at this party. And I don't know what to do. So I don't feel like this is my place. I have no idea. It's not exactly only territorial. Just as a cat would be territorial, is also that sometimes they don't have a space in their home, in their bond with other people. For example, I had a case that was very interesting, that the guy was very fond of his cat, but then he moved with his girlfriend and Sustained came, you know, and the cat lost his place in the in the family, you know, he wasn't having the same routine that he had before. And the guy just thought that, okay, it's another person who will pet you and this should be fun, right? But the thing is that that change, he was not prepared for it. And this kind of fear of, you know, the new place, the new people living in it. So when I address any cystitis, I usually look Or the enrichment, of course, little trays, of course, all those things that you said. And then I look at the people, what their routine were with their cats, you know, and if that changed, or if it's someone having a bad time, for example, also I had cystitis with people starting studying something for a big exam, or, you know, you have to also address the emotional side of the human beings living there, if there are other cats, or whatever reason. So I really dig, dig really deep into all members of the family and try to make a connection with what the cat is suffering at the moment.

Absolutely. Yeah, there's so many elements in that that I absolutely will concur. You know, I've had people they've literally not just had a new chair, but maybe moved a chair within the household and it set their cat off. Or they, you know, have decided to paint a room, you know, with all of the odors that can come with that. Or they have had building works. We've had somebody decided to, you know, get the plasterers in and that throws them out is an obvious thing. But that subtlety of somebody leaves to go to university, who was always in the house, and then all of a sudden that person not being there, the cat starts off, and it's almost that loss grief element that comes into the stressor for those cats. So finding that history of what has changed, and this could be something for you guys out there that are watching today, it could be something that's not just changed but has changed over the last 6 months. Or even more, and has been a point at which it's been building and you are only now seeing the physical symptoms because nothing has been done to correct the original assault. I'll call it an assault, you know, yeah, there's so many other things that could be used.

For me, it's also one thing is that I read so much about cats over the social media and it says cats are not you know, they don't like change, they don't like things. And the thing is that I think we are overprotecting them in a way that we are not adapting them for any single change, and we are not aware— we are aware of the changes of, you know, home enrichment, but we are not aware of emotional changes. And we can adapt cats because life is not stable. Life, it's, you know, life, and it's going to be, you know, there are always going to be changes, and there's always so What I always teach my own clients is that you have to make your cat be a part of your change. If you're having something, if you're moving furniture, think about if that cat would like that, or you are changing something, a routine he had before that, right? Just have your cat in mind. But the cat, actually, I saw this in animal protection, Cats actually like change if the change benefits them in a way. Of course, if you, you know, if you put more sunlight in a place, they are going to like that. If you move to a better apartment, that of course they will like that. But the thing is that we have to create a routine that will make them more adaptable to every single change and then be aware of, you know, emotional things that sometimes we are not.

I think that's a great point. You know, they— we need to include them. Sorry, Brendan, I didn't mean to—

No, that's fine.

Talk over you. You know, we need to include them in what's going on. So like I say to my clients, you know, if you're going away on holiday or there's, you know, the change in their working habits, they're working away 2 days a week, talk to the cat. You know, whether you want to do it quietly, mind to mind, you know, you might feel that's a bit too woo-woo for you. That's fine. Do it out loud. You know, if you had a child 7 years old, 17, you'd be talking to them saying, right, my routine's going to change, I'm not going to be home for tea time, or, you know, you, you would include them in what's going on in the home. And I think there is— there needs to be an acknowledgement that cats are not just pets, they are part of the family, and they are— they will be affected by things that go on in their home. And if you're trying to support them with that and to kind of head off any issues that may occur They've got to be part of it. You need to share it with them.

I think this is a whole other thing that we're going to be talking about in the future Feline Fridays. We're going to start to delve into how we communicate, how they pick up, because there's a lot of things that we will actually, in conveying that discussion, as you've called it, that actually in body language that we're not necessarily perceiving, and just the feel of the room as you're discussing it. Maybe just, you know, if you want to do it, talk it through with the person that's going away to university. Or talk it through with, you know, in front of your cats so that they understand from body language, from the feel, the energy, what's going to happen. And that they will pick up on that and be able to accommodate with that. It is absolutely right. Look, not every cat that is put in a stress situation will suffer from cystitis. Not every cat that is put in a stressful situation will show signs of stress. Because just as with humans, they're all individual. But what we're trying to avert here is those that are particularly prone to anxiety, prone to mental stress, prone to cystitis, how we can adapt the environment for them, not think about, oh, we need to do this for every single cat because that's what we need to do. There are absolutely people watching this sort of go, do you know what? My cats would cope whatever I do. Well, that's great, that's brilliant for them, but we've also— the purpose of today is accommodating for those that can't. So that's great. Okay, I think we need to move on because we're piling through this. We're almost, you know, 40 minutes in. We're going to just move a little bit on from the behavior side and what we can do, because I think we've talked about that, to de-stress. To a little bit of other therapy options. So somebody said earlier on, do we just bang in a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory to get them over the cystitis? Let's deal with the acute. We recognize these cats are sometimes just straining repeatedly. Sometimes there's blood in this urine, sometimes not. Sometimes it's just inappropriate urination. I would like to say I'm going to differentiate this right now from those that have stones and get blockages. We're going to discuss that again in future. I think right now I want to deal with the inflamed bladder scenario. Amaya, I'm going to come back to you to begin with, then we'll come on to Julianne. What is your primary treatment that you say? So somebody's walked in or rung you up or dialed in and has gone, okay, my, my cat is straining to urinate, passing blood, um, what do I do right now? Okay, okay.

The first, if I, uh, if I have to be very, very fast, I usually go to the anti-inflammatory, uh, you know, the regular one, and, and go for it. Uh, but most of the times, the, when they call me, they already went to the vet and One of the things that I want to say, because many times happened, that they just give an antibiotic without actually looking at the urine. And, you know, and sometimes they don't use anti-inflammatory. And the biggest issue there is the inflamed and painful bladder that you have there. So, and then you're using an antibiotic that not only it's some, most of the time is the worst antibiotic you can think of, But sometimes I don't want to say just an injection for 15 days or whatever. And then they don't— they want to do a culture. They just want to see what happens. And if you just gave an antibiotic, then you culture urine and you're not going to find whatever. Or maybe you find something, you know, it's— it like stops diagnostics. And it's very important to acknowledge that I think it only the 2% of cystitis are actually bacterial infections. And it's more important to have that most of them are stressed and the other ones are, you know, inflamed bladder. So the first thing, my first choice would go, would be to go to anti-inflammatory for acute cystitis, right? Then if I have I have the opportunity, but sometimes I don't. But if I have the opportunity, I would just go to, you know, switch diet to at least wet food. I will try, you know, my best there. And water intake, yes, but sometimes, you know, if the cat is starting with wet food, they stop drinking. So I, you know, we make adjustments with water. I try to use— I also use a product here that It's for hydrating cats. And well, I use several things to, you know, yeah, to uptake, to improve the water intake. And then of course I take on the behavioral side. And sometimes if I need to, I would just go, I continue my anti-inflammatory therapy sometimes with Promil. And I use other homeopathic remedies like canteries or Burberrys, it depends on, I just move to the natural as fast as I can because most of the time that will work. And another thing that I would use is, I think one of the, in the comments that we have below the post, somebody said that use glucosamine and well, those supplements that come with, hyaluronic acid and other things, tryptophan, all those things. Those are helpful as well if you want to, but most of the time, probiotic, cranberries, and berries are my best friends.

Yeah, I think there are a lot of products now around things like Nutrisys, um, the Cystaphan, which is a Protexin product, which is one of the glucosamine, um, and tryptophan mixes. The VetPro do one which is very much the same as the NutriVet option there that I've just said. The NutriSys, they do a urinary aid. There's lots of them. If you type in supplement pre-made specifically for cats, okay, then, you know, take a look at those. Certainly they're worth looking at as a first line. A lot of them have things like quercetin in, a really potent urinary anti-inflammatory. So it's certainly an option and can be given alongside other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories your vet may give without really any consequence on that. So absolutely agree, you know, try and get a urine sample into your vet before you start giving loads of other treatment just so they can differentiate if there are stones or crystals in there, if there issues with bacteria, they can send it. Just encourage them if there's blood in there not to just accept that that's a urinary tract infection. No, that's a urinary tract inflammatory process. There are other things. Get it sent off for culture. If it's a free catch and they come back that there are bacteria in there, they may need to do a different collection technique to check whether that is an infection in the bladder or an infection in the lower urinary tract. Okay, so those are important things. Don't jump the gun and assume the worst. It just is an indicator you might need to do some more investigations in those circumstances. So we can talk about that when we talk about urinary tract infections and stuff. We'll come back to— let's assume that this is a behavioral inflammatory condition for now that's not infectious. Get those checks done, keep checking. Don't assume that you can just give treatment for 24-48 hours and that's it. There's a whole heap of other things that we're just about to touch on that then needs to come on board with that. So, Julianne, you know, your initial treatment— somebody's come to you, cat's been straining like crazy, You know, we've heard some great remedies there. Cantharis, you know, Berberis as a couple of options there from Amaya. For you, what's your sort of go-to for that acute phase of the problem?

Yeah, great recommendations from Amaya. I would say so. I would be going straight to essential oils because then you're in this sort of situation, herbs, they're so, they're so subtle that you need, you know, a stronger approach and Like you said, it would be, I mean, for me, first port of call, go to the vets, see what they say, get the tests done, right? People never come to me as a first port of call, which is great because actually they need to get the testing done. Is it bacterial? Is it a stress response, right? So I've kind of usually got that information beforehand, and if they haven't, then that's where I will point them to because, you know, I'm complementary. I support vet care, you know, it's not in replace of, but if it's something that's like recurring, you know, for example, a friend of mine, you know, her cat has frequent bouts of stress-induced reactive cystitis. And, you know, I've talked to her about essential oils. So a couple for me would be trying to reduce inflammation. So, you know, bitter almond, German chamomile, and yarrow. Now, the way, you know, essential oils is a whole other topic. But if anybody's struggling with their cat in this moment with cystitis, what I would say in terms of essential oil usage, either offer it to your cat with the lid on, on the bottle. You don't need to take the lid off and shove it under their nose. You know, essential oils are so concentrated and cats' sense of smell is just profound. So offer them the oil with the lid on or put one single drop of the oil onto a piece of fabric like a cotton face cloth and put it on the floor and let your cat do what it needs to do with it. You may find that they sit near it, sit next to it. They may actually put their nose, you know, right up against it and be taking deep inhales from it. So for me, it would be to offer essential oils alongside energy work. So in my experience, when cats have urinary issues, it's to do with their sacral chakra and sometimes their solar plexus. So generally it's linked to their, their emotions. You know, there's either usually an excess of emotions if there's a lot of inflammation, and that will be in the solar plexus. And if it's in the sacral, there's usually an element where they're either connected to the human and the human is stressed, and therefore it's then being mirrored and taken by the cat, or that the cat isn't able to express itself. So the sacral chakra is about joy, sense of identity, sense of self. So if the cat, for example, you know, you keep telling it off because it's scratching at the sofa you know, that will create a blockage in their sacral chakra, which will then potentially lead to them showing signs of stress-induced or idiopathic cystitis. So it's around doing healing, energy work, chakra cleanse, you know, feeling the energy and releasing it. And it could be that it's blocked, so you've got to let it go, or it could be that it's overactive and you've got to reduce the amount of energy in that, in that area. So, you know, the physical response to inflammation you know, everything's increased, isn't it? The heat, the pressure, the cell response, you know, and the energy part is the same. So it's about reducing it and sort of shifting it.

Yeah, okay, that's great. I mean, those are— there's so many things in there that, you know, allowing cats to display more natural behavior, you know, encouraging the scratching of other things that you're happy with them scratching, not necessarily, you know, Some people say, oh, I can't have all those scratch posts, but you know, it can be, or I can't afford them, you know, just literally a piece of carpet tile or something like that wrapped around, you know, the area that they've been scratching so that you're not focused on saying no. But you know, those, I love that idea. I've used a sort of essential oil pack that actually you can get on Amazon. You know, let's, heaven forbid I should mention a big corporate like that, but you know, there are some great kits that are ready there for people to use. Maybe we'll put a link on for, you know, your number one go-to of a sort of starter kit of essential oils that people can look at. I always love that notion, a little bit like ZooPharma, that you actually offer it to the cat and they will choose whether they want to smell it, lick it, rub on it, or even rub a specific area of their body on it. Yeah, so, you know, just allow that in, because if they, if they want to do that, that's what you do. Don't go putting it on your hand and then suddenly rubbing it all over the coat, because that can just absolutely—

I'm like, oh my God, you can't even say that!

That's why I want to make sure that we say it here right now. Um, look, there are so many ways to do that, and just, I think, offering that if they're not running from the room and disappearing, in which case you put that away and don't use it for that cat. But if they are interested, then just place it down in the corner for them to come upon, or a little bit on some cotton wool or whatever for them to come upon and to then observe how they're doing. You may even need to put a little camera videoing what they do when you're out of the room to see what's going on. On. But let's hope— hopefully you'll then get from that what's going on. Okay.

And then, yeah, definitely.

Uh, it's with when you are using essential oils, because sometimes I, I had clients like doing like this and moving the essential oil just to, you know, to create more, uh, like smell, right? And, and that the cat gets stressed only by you moving your hand, and you're not allowing the cat just to pick, you know, choose the—

I'm sorry, I'd get stressed if somebody makes the sign of a cross with an essential oil in front of me. That's it, I'm gone.

Goodbye.

I'm not choosing anything. So just as Juliane said, just put it on the floor even with the lid on or maybe on a piece of cloth and that would be enough.

And I'm just going to say, I'm just going to add in as well, No diffusing, right? Just because I'm suggesting, for example, bitter almond, it's great for urinary tract infections, you know, don't diffuse it because you think that's going to help. You know, self-selection, again, a whole other topic. Self-selection is about letting the cat choose what they know they need to heal. So you may find, you know, one time an infection oil will help. You may find the next time it's stress-induced, so like the yarrow or the German chamomile, like a soothing oil what would help. You know, as humans, when it comes to self-selection or zoopharmacognosy, as Brenda mentioned, we've got to relinquish control. It's not about what we think is right. The only way that comes in is a starting point. So for example, knowing I'll start with this oil, I'll try this oil— it's about letting the cat choose what they know they need to heal. Um, and if you need more information, shameless plug, you can get my book The Aromatic Cat because we've got 40 profiles and we talk all about how to use essential oils Essential oils with cats, because, you know, like you said, Brendan, that book on—

yeah, we will put a link to that book on our Facebook page alongside with a link to, uh, the best kit to get for, you know, a starter kit for essential oils. I think that would be really useful to these guys, um, that are watching. Like, we're coming to the end of what we need to talk, but we can't be on RPM without discussing a little bit about diet. Okay, foundation for health. A few things to think about here, why you might want to move away from ultra-processed foods to more natural feeding, fresh foods options. Guys, come on, just as your go-to when you're talking about diet, what's your big thing that you would give and your useful addition to that a plant-based diet? Amaya, I'll let you go first and I'll come to Juliane and then I'll have a say.

Yay! Doing a great MC job.

It all depends, it all depends on the starting point because sometimes cats, they already come to me as urinary cystitis but with already having this prescription diets and the problem is that I cannot switch them directly go directly to raw most of the times because they are stressed and, you know, transition can be hard on them. So I try not to put more stress into the situation. What I try to go is I move forward to wet food and increasing, you know, water intake. That will be my first goal. Then if I can, or maybe if the cat is already taking wet food, I will try to get them into raw because raw for me, it proved to be like a solution, just, just a regular diet. I haven't done many— well, it depends if they're having, you know, uh, um, stones or whatever, you know. But if, if it's just inflammatory, I would just go try to go as wet as I can, as raw as I can. And then one of the supplements that I use is omega-3. It's like one of my favorite because it's anti-inflammatory And, uh, and also cats can, can take a use, uh, they use it very well. I mean, uh, very efficiently, let's say. So one of the things that would be one of my favorite choices, and the other one I would try to use, uh, bone broth if I don't have any stones or anything.

She's stealing my thunder anyway. You're not sorry at all. I know what you're up to here. You knew exactly what I was going to say, and that's it. You just pulled my rug and that's it. Gone, right? You go for it, girl. Anyway, Julianne, go on. Your big nutritional advice. What's your—

what else is there left to say? I mean, you know, Amaya just stole the show for everyone.

No, no, I'm a show stealer.

I couldn't find a camera, so I just had to steal it.

She's got to make up for it now. Yeah, I echo what she said. You know, you can't— yes, if you've got a cat that comes to you that's got cystitis and they're on dry food, you need to make some changes, but you've got to look at the amount of stress that's already on that cat, you know. So it's not about starting to transition them, it's about adding in, you know, adding in moisture, adding in a bit of wet food if you can. I mean, personally, I wouldn't go near raw food if— because the guardian is going to be stressed, you know, raw can sometimes be a mental shift. Mention it if possible, but I would just— I would be trying to get them onto wet, you know, or at least having wet with the dry in the diet, you know. Ultimately dry has to go because it's— it's not species appropriate at all. But you've gotta— you've gotta— you've got to judge the client because like for me, like I said, when we started, you know, hot weather, boy's eating habits a little bit, you know, uneasy, my anxiety is a little, you know, if you've got a cat that's got cystitis, like I'm going to be quite heightened because, you know, they're my babies. So if you want to talk to me about wholesale changes to their diet, it's not going to register with me. If you say to me, add in a spoonful, you know, get a spoonful of wet and put it on a bowl next to it, I can mentally cope with that, you know. So I agree with Amaya that it is about raw, and I think that that is the end goal, the dream, but every situation's different. So my key would be add in moisture where you can, you know, and if you're already feeding wet, a little, you know, extra water or bone broth, which I'll do as a nice segue to Brendan. So yeah, it would be, it would be get the moisture there and then look to transition when you could. That would be my approach.

Yeah.

Hey, there is a question there for you that somebody asked about cancer. Sardines as an omega-3 source. What would you think about that?

Yeah, I think, you know, there's a couple of things, you know, when you're using any canned foods, okay, there's a heat process going through that food. Just be careful about your perception of the amount of omegas that are in there. Yes, there'll be omegas, but a lot of them, canned already have transitioned into oxidizing agents. Especially if they're in sardine— sorry, in olive oil or indeed, you know, even worse, the sunflower oil that's then been superheated in the can in the cooking process. So really be mindful. It goes back to the what's the best omega-3 supplements in there? You know, realistically, I mean, look, if they'll take egg yolk from, you know, quail eggs or something like that, Those are lovely little packets of omega-3s that are going to be within there. If they— if you're trying to find a good fish oil, we'll put a few options up there that are available. Often a capsule that's not just free in a pot but actually sealed in an outer so that each capsule is sealed can be useful. Knowing the source of those omega-3s, so sort of replenishable source, a sustainable source that is, and ultimately how it's processed into that oil. So the perceptions of omega-3s, we know scientifically how helpful they can be, but what's used in that science paper is not necessarily what's already in the supplements that are put in there, because people will say, okay, that's great science, but now how can I do it really cheaply? And as soon as they extract oils under heat with chemicals, you know, and then bottle it and sell it as a supplement with all of these great health benefits. More, look at back, back to our good fats, bad fats that I did last year with Conor and Nick. Lots of information. I know we do a lot of dog stuff, and I'm sorry to all of those cat lovers out there, but there is some really great basic nutritional stuff that suits all species. So have a little look at that. My one biggie that I would definitely say about all of the dietary supplement sorry, the done-for-you diets that are kibbles. One, just the high processing of the majority of them is an issue. Okay. You would not do it to yourself or your child without suffering the consequences of ultra-high processed diets. The second thing is the amount of knowledge that we now have of how inflammatory high starch is within the diet. And that effectively, you know, we're not talking I'm not talking general carbs, that gets mislabeled slightly. We're talking starches, sugars within the diet, what that drives with the insulin, what glycation of does to increase inflammation, you know, all of your cat's condition. And I would say this is why I implore you to look at a biologically appropriate food for your cats. Increase the moisture content, absolutely. Try and feed raw wherever you can, okay, because that will reduce the general inflammation. It will also— the bone broths, the, the other things to do with creating fiber for your cats, which is fur, feather, you know, the, the sinews of the skin, the sinews in the, the joints and everything else of the, the prey species that you're giving will act as a fiber to improve your cat's gut health. And that implication of gut health on your cat's cystitis is really, really important. So please do look into those options. We've talked about them recently on our Tuesday Lives. If you're just joining us afresh thinking, oh great, this is a cat channel, there is lots of information in our general channel. I'm going to call it general, although lots of people think it's dog only. It is our general channel, so do have a look back at those lives. They're all currently still available on Facebook for the forthcoming future that, that's moving across, but you've got an opportunity to grab a look at those right now. And then you're going to get lots of information from the three of us going forwards for cats. So I'm so looking forward to that going forward.

One more thing, one more thing about the kibble that you mentioned now, uh, is that most packages say that no, don't take longer than 6 months. And sometimes I get clients that they are having this kibble for over a year, and you know, it is— it will work as a patch for something, but it also has the secondary effects. So make sure that if you're already giving kibble for over 6 months, change diet. That's the first thing, because maybe you're, you know, you're still not sure about raw or even wet food, but be careful because this is kind of a medication, you know. And we might think differently, but it's not to be— it's not meant to be taken more than 6 months. Okay, so just be careful with that.

Yeah, there's always, there's always going to be that element of, because they don't want people to be feeding an inappropriate cystitis diet to an inappropriate patient, and that's why they're wanting people to constantly go back to their vets every 3 months just to establish, is that diet appropriate? I mean, for some cats, they will pile on weight with some of those diets because they're full of starches. Okay, hey presto, hold on. Yeah, that's why it's a problem. Okay. And it's actually continuing a perpetuation of the problem and we need to address that. So look, definitely where you can, fresh is best. Okay, let's try and promote that. And I think that's going to probably be the topic of our our next coming together. I think we've got a date in August, um, uh, scheduled in between us. I pray that we— 19th, I think.

Yep, 19th of August, 1 PM.

Yeah, scheduled, not traveling behind a tractor. So 19th of August, we're going to come back. Let's talk about transitioning I think that's a big topic, a starter for new people. If any of you guys that are watching today want to share it with your cat friends, okay, share it to pages for cat lovers, you know, please do so. That would be brilliant. And again, thank you to my colleagues for tolerating my tardiness and my inability to always organize in a brewery. Sorry, just cut out for a moment then. And the situation is we are looking forward to delivering lots of information for cat lovers out there. Hope you all enjoyed it today. You will be able to watch back this video live on Facebook, and Amaya and Julianne, you're going to share it, I think, as well on your pages, so that'll all be good. Thank you so much for watching. Any last words, Julianne, from you?

No, I think we've covered it. It was great, it was wonderful. If you, if you need support with your cat and you want to try any complementary therapies, come and find me on the Naturally Cats page. And if you're suffering with a cat that, you know, is dealing with cystitis, try one thing. You know, we've talked about a lot of different things today, and try one thing and see if you can support them. Don't feel overwhelmed with everything we've covered and try and make wholesale changes. You know, sit down, take a breath, see where you're guided to, to make changes to support your cat.

Great. And Amaya, last words from you. How do they find you?

Yes, first of all, I'll try to fix the camera issue for next time. But then if you want to go really, really deep into emotional emotional and physical problems with your cat. I work with programs. I just— I do consultations as well, but I do programs in what we can get very, very deep into every single thing that the cat needs and what you need in order to have a beautiful bond. So you can find it in, uh, FelVet, like felinevet.net. As simple as that. And, uh, you can find me there and FelVet for Cats on Instagram.

Brilliant, that's great. And guys, you'll catch me week on week out, you know, with, with the other boys. Uh, and, uh, look, it's been great seeing you all there. Um, glad you enjoyed it, glad for all of the great positive, uh, comments. Um, and look forward to seeing you back on the 19th of August for the next cat show. Watch out for all of our posts which are going to be related to today's broadcast. And look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you.

Thank you for joining us, everyone. Thanks, thanks, Brendan.