robertwoodsdvm.com Blog

I am sure you have heard me mention upon occasion that we have a collection of cats. Cat Castaway Island is how we refer to our house, we have the cats that no one else will take or manage.
Almost 4 years ago now, a client of mine had a cat named “Moe”, a GIANT orange round tomato of a cat that would board with us often. He also had developed type 1 diabetes because of his weight problem. Moe was a character in his home, would hide from his insulin shots and was hard to monitor his food intake. So his mom, wanting the best thing for him, approached Hannah about taking him. NEVER MENTION TO HANNAH THAT A CAT IS IN NEED!!
Needless to say, “Moe” came to live with us, he got to hang out in Melia’s room while he was getting used to the lay of the land. We got him down to a good weight, he did so well that he was able to get off of insulin as long as his weight didn’t increase again. For 3 years “Moe” was not on any insulin.

“Moe” is 14 years old, turns 15 in August, and has an adoration for Melia that is hard to explain.
He loves his 5 year old little girl “owner”, he waits for her to come home from school. He cries for her to play with him. If Melia climbs up the play structure in our backyard, “Moe” goes up too. Melia slides down the slide, “Moe” will jump down and start all over again with her. He is a joy to have in our menagerie, and we love him! Last week, “Moe” was not himself, no extreme personality change, just not his usual self. Having a “senior citizen cat”, we did some labwork. His glucose was through the roof and his kidney values are elevated. Now “Moe” has type 2 diabetes and will be insulin dependent for the rest of his life, not to mention he has renal failure.
Now for the challenge: diabetics need a HIGH protein diet, and renal patients need a LOW protein diet. So our plan is to start him on insulin to regulate his glucose, to support the kidneys by feeding him a low protein diet, to start him on SQ fluids, and homotoxicology remedies to support the kidneys and endocrine system.
WOW, yes, WOW, for the little 5 year old girl that shares an incredible bond with “her” cat, yes, that is our plan for “Moe”.
Some of you probably know Melia, she is usually at the office with us on thursday afternoons, she looks exactly like Hannah, and is really a 16 year old trapped in an almost 6 year old body. She draws pictures for the patients, sits and pets their heads as they wait, and always remembers them on their next visit.

She is aware that “Moe” is sick, she happily signed up last night to hold him while we gave him SQ fluids, he does not protest anything Melia tells him is “ok” so that comes in handy. She placed his supplements on the floor in front of him and he happily ate them for her. She told him to sit while she gave him his homotoxicology oral therapy, and he opened his mouth for her to squirt the solution in.
Now todays challenge is going to be finding the right dose of insulin for him, glucose checks throughout the day, and getting the ingredients to make him his home cooked renal diet.
We are going to start with an Egg White & Rice diet, so after our trip to the store, I will document the recipe for you and let you know how it turns out.

On Paws and Needles
By COURTNEY PERKES

Dr. Robert Woods, left, places acupuncture needles in Lady, a shepherd mix, owned by Betty Dodd, of Sun City, at the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic. Lady, who has cancer, gets acupuncture to help strengthen her immune system and improve her quality of life. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Daisy the 17-year-old cat meows incessantly when she sees the box, protesting another trip to the vet.

So when David Johnson’s wife suggested trying acupuncture for her arthritis, he hoped the treatment would outweigh the trauma.

His human friends swore by the ancient process, but he wondered how much of the results were psychological. With animals, however, there is no placebo effect. Daisy might know where she was going, but she wouldn’t comprehend the reason for a row of needles inserted along her furry spine.

“I was a bit skeptical. I’m also very much open-minded,” said Johnson, a nuclear engineer from Orange. “We took her in.”

Within a couple of treatments, Daisy seemed five years younger, a frisky kitty once again. Her appetite improved. She climbs to the top of her cat tree. Her gait looks normal when she scampers around the house.

“She doesn’t like it, but she puts up with it,” Johnson said. “I’m a believer. I don’t know how it works. You can’t deny the results.”

Veterinarian Robert Woods, who practices in Tustin and Garden Grove, treats Daisy as well as an assortment of dogs, and even birds, rabbits and reptiles. He still performs surgeries and prescribes traditional medications, but he’s a big advocate of the holistic art of animal acupuncture, which originated several thousand years ago in China with the treatment of livestock.

Acupuncture, in both humans and pets, is based on a technique to balance the flow of energy, called qi, through the pathways or meridians of the body. Inserting thin needles into specific points is traditionally believed to rebalance the energy flow. Western researchers don’t know exactly how it works, but the stimulation of nerves and muscles may activate the body’s natural painkillers and increase blood flow.

“It’s challenging, but overall I’m always amazed by how well received it is by the animals,” Woods said. “I don’t understand how they’re able to sit for this. You’d think they would jump off the table or bite or run away.”

Instead, pets like Jazz, a Flat-Coated retriever, would relax and doze after Woods inserted the fine needles, the same as those used in human hands or the face.

Jazz received weekly acupuncture for two years to counteract side effects from chemotherapy. Despite lung cancer and removal of a lobe, she continued agility competitions.

“She was just much happier,” said her owner, Teresa Rodney of Fountain Valley. “You never could have known she was on chemotherapy.”

At $85 a session, the treatment is expensive. But Rodney had lost other dogs to cancer and wanted no regrets with Jazz. Each week Woods asked if there were any particular problems to work on, such as loss of appetite.

“Her main issue was not wanting to eat,” Rodney said. “Within an hour, she would be ravenous.”

Woods said if acupuncture works for an animal, the response can typically be seen within 24 hours. The benefits last three to five days, but Woods said over time the effect builds and treatment can often be stopped altogether or done less frequently.

As in humans, acupuncture has been studied in animals. According to the National Cancer Institute, studies in rats suggest acupuncture may be effective in reducing cancer-related symptoms. A 2008 study of reproduction in horses found better hormone regulation after treatment. Another study, of dogs with parasites, found acupuncture stimulated their immune systems.

Ultimately, Jazz died at 9 from a different kind of cancer.

“I think it increased her overall quality of life and made her have that spark in her eye,” Woods said of the acupuncture sessions.

Kris Gillan feared she would lose her beloved Roxanne, when the Dachshund’s back-end became paralyzed and she could no longer walk. Her vet diagnosed disc disease, common in the breed, and referred her to a spine specialist.

Surgery would cost nearly $5,000 and Roxanne was declining rapidly. Desperate, Gillan e-mailed Woods about acupuncture after finding him in an online search.

“He didn’t promise me anything,” Gillan said. “Within a couple weeks, she was walking but walking like a drunken sailor. Within three months, she was walking perfectly.”

That was more than a year ago. These days, Roxanne, 5, trots happily along on walks.

Gillan, who lives in Fountain Valley, takes her back for the occasional tune-up session. She estimates she spent about $800 on acupuncture.

“It was a last-ditch effort,” she said. “She was a goner before I went to Dr. Woods. I call her the miracle dog.”

Woods said not only have his animal patients made dramatic improvements, but those results have prompted some of their owners to try acupuncture.

“I’ve had people stop smoking, treat chronic conditions and end up having children through acupuncture for fertility,” Woods said.

Contact the writer: 714-796-3686 or cperkes@ocregister.com

Dr. Robert Woods of the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic, uses acupuncture on Corky, a 13-year-old toy poodle, who has intervertebral disc disease and hip dysplasia. His owner, Sherry Loos of Long Beach, holds him on a recent Tuesday morning at the clinic. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Emily Barry, left, of Costa Mesa, with her dog, Maggie, looks amused as Frank, a three-legged German shepherd, stands at the counter, while Susan Groux, center, of Newport Beach, looks on at the North Tustin Veterinary Clinic. Both dogs received acupuncture at the clinic. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thank you to all my clients for trying something out of the box and bringing your pets to benefit from acupuncture. Thank you to David Johnson, Teresa Rodney, and Kris Gillam for allowing Courtney to interview you. Also, thanks to my smiling patients on photo day: Emily Barry with “Maggie”, Susan Groux with “Frank”, Sherry Loos with “Corky”, and Betty Dodd with “Lady”. A special thanks to Courtney Perkes and “Chewy” for being interested enough to write an article.