Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex

[renny]

Hi Dr Jean, and thanks for answering our questions. I have a kitty named Rambo who has been diagnosed with an EGC. He is currently on immunosuppressors but I'm looking to try and treat him in a more holistic way. I worry about the effect of long-term medication use as he is only 3 years old.

Thanks for any help you can give me!!

Raegan

 

[drjean]

That's a tough one! I agree, you don't want to sentence this cat to a lifetime of immunosuppressive drugs!

ECG is actually an allergic response in a great many of these cats. Strict flea control and minimizing exposure to allergens (both airborne and in food) are fundamentals of treatment.

I have had some success with:
- hypoallergenic diets (canned, raw, or homemade, not dry)
- oral Vitamin E (puncture a gelcap with a needle and squeeze a drop or two on your finger--most cats love it and will lick it off voluntarily, but if not, mix with food)
- classical homeopathy

Other holistic vets find that herbs (western or Chinese) or acupuncture will do the job. I think homotoxicology (a form of homeopathy) would work very well. NAET is also a good candidate (www.vetNAET.com).

Omega-3 fatty acids have been reported to eliminate eosinophilic granulomas. That's certainly worth a try! I recommend Nordic Naturals brand. Their cod liver oil does not contain added vitamins D and A, so is much safer than others on the market. They have several fish body oil products also.

Of course, because this condition is due to an overactive immune system, you definitely don't want any more vaccinations for this cat, ever!

 

[renny]

Thank you Dr. Jean. I am so glad that you took this time to being your knowledge to our site and answering my questions. I worry so much about Rambo and what his next flair up will be.
I am definitely going to try the vitamin E and fish oil (omega-3). How much of each should he be getting per day? Rambo loves his raw food already...so I'll just hold him on that. Litter seems to be one of his triggers (tried tons of different ones). Any thoughts on a possible "hypoallergenic" type litter?

Thank you thank you thank so much again!!!

 

[cloud_shade]

I too have a cat with EGC--he gets granulomas on his left back leg during flare ups. We're currently trying to determine the cause of the allergy--so far chicken, salmon, rice and sweet potatoes seem to be safe. Unfortunately, Zek doesn't eat enough canned food--he prefers the dry. He is doing well on California Natural chicken and rice dry and will eat some of the canned foods I offer (Natural Balance chicken, Brandon Farms chicken, and California Natural Salmon). His favorite food, Avoderm chicken, may be one of the ones causing the flare ups--unfortunately that's also one of the few that he will consistently eat. I'm holding off on giving it to him for now--I'm not sure if it's the oat bran or something else in the food that's causing the reaction.

In addition to limiting his food choices, I've also been giving him 3V caps (the vet only had the high potency ones, so he gets one every other day). Unfortunately he does not like the way they taste at all--the first time I tried putting it in his food, he took one lick and ran from the room drooling. The second time I mixed it thoroughly and he wouldn't even come near the food. Instead, I have to pill him with the large capsules every other day. Fortunately he's good about taking his pills.

Renny, have you tried the crystal based litters? It seems like those would be fairly non-reactive. You might also consider the newspaper based ones. While less convenient for you, they may be worth trying to see if they cause fewer reactions.

 

[drjean]

Doses for supplements can be found here: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...forcatsanddogs

I'm not crazy about 3V caps. Why they feel the need to do this I don't know, but they add Vitamins A & D, which is the problem with most cod liver oil supplements as well--those are fat-soluble vitamins and can easily become toxic. There's already plenty of Vit A in pet food. They also contain a lot of Omega-6 fatty acids (safflower and borage oils), which pets don't need. The essential fatty acids in all pet foods, really in all meat (except grass-fed) in the US, are virtually all Omega-6. I prefer to give them a pure Omega-3 supplement to get a better balance.

 

[cloud_shade]

When I get near the end of the bottle, I'll talk to the vet about switching to another type without vitamins A and D. With the Nordic Naturals, would I also have to give a Vitamin E supplement?

 

[drjean]

The pet ones don't but most of their people products do. I've used both in the food I make for them; currently I'm using the Arctic Cod Liver Oil which does include vit E. (http://www.nordicnaturals.com/en/Gen.../?ProdID=1418#)