Curing My Cat’s Nasal Congestion: Rocket’s Story

Allergies and Feline Rhinitis

This post is months in the making because sometimes it takes that long to figure things out.  It also sometimes “takes a village” to get things resolved.  Seasonal allergies can wreak havoc–not just on people but cats too.  Down here in Houston, Texas, allergies due to pollens, mold and pollution can be very problematic.  In our household of five cats Rocket is the one who is the most sensitive to all these airborne irritants.  If you’ve been following our blog for awhile you may recall he had surgery last year to remove a nasal polyp that was blocking about 90% of one nostril.   In his case, chronic feline rhinitis (nasal congestion) led to the development of the polyp.  The veterinary staff was not able to identify the exact cause, only that the condition was “inflammatory.”  

What is feline rhinitis?

According to one article on feline rhinitis by Dr. Donna Spector, DVM,

Cats with rhinitis often experience some degree of nasal discharge, sneezing and/or loud “congested” breathing. Some affected cats may paw at their face, have deformity of the nose or only be able to breathe through the mouth. Discharge may be from one side of the nose (unilateral) or from both sides (bilateral). Nasal discharge may be clear, cloudy with mucus, pus-like or bloody in nature.

She also goes on to list the most common causes of this condition which includes:

• Viral upper respiratory infections like Herpes and Calcivirus
• Bacterial infections, most commonly Bordatella, Chlamydophila and Mycoplasma
• Fungal infections like Cryptococcus
• Parasites (very uncommon)
• Foreign body like blades of grass or seeds
• Oral diseases
• Inflammatory polyps
• Nasal cancer like lymphoma and adenocarcinoma
• Allergies to mold, dust mites, grasses and tree pollen
• Idiopathic (cause unknown)

Rocket’s journey through nasal congestion

Rocket loves the summer heat and enjoys dozing for hours in our courtyard.  However, after going through the polyp ordeal we significantly reduced the amount of time he spent outdoors and kept a very close eye on his breathing.  Months went by and all was well…until one day in October he sounded a little different.  He had a stuffy nose and a little sneezing.  He also seemed to have a very sensitive stomach; he threw up hairballs several times a week. 

Immediately I went into proactive mode!  The first thing I did was reach out to Sonya and Heights of Health.  She’s a certified natural health practitioner who has seen Rocket before.  I asked her to do a remote session to determine what his body was sensitive or allergic to and clear him with a process called ECR (energetic cellular release).  The technique “reprograms” cells in the body not to have a reaction to a certain stimulus (the allergen or item the body has developed a sensitivity to).  The results came back:

• Turkey
• Ragweed
• Stomach
• Small intestines
• Large intestines
• Intestinal mucosa

These were all the things his body was sensitive to, and they were disrupting his body’s homeostasis.  His vomiting stopped right away, and I think he’s only thrown up one small hairball in almost three months.

The nasal congestion seemed to ease off a bit but a few short weeks later he began to sneeze more and had a runny nose.  The week before Christmas I took him to the vet for a new blood panel and exam.  His blood work was perfect and Dr. Knapp’s exam found his nose and lungs clear.  We figured it was allergies–the question was, what is he allergic to now?  

Naturopathy, ECR and Homeopathy

I reached out to Laura, a doctor of Naturopathy at Heights of Health, as I drove home from the vet and gave her the update.  She remotely tested Rocket with the intention to find out what was causing the congestion.  The answer was a combination of indoor and out door allergies, bacteria and emotions!  Check out this list of things his body was sensitive to:

• Cockroaches and droppings
• Air pollution
• Carbon dioxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Tropheryma whippel bacteria
• Dust mites
• Sinuses
• Nasal Polyps
• Rose essential oil
• Deep exhaustion

Laura did ECR to clear Rocket of all these and recommended some homeopathic and drainage support.  I used the homeopathic remedy Silicea 200c off and on for a couple of weeks, and we were making progress!  His sinus congestion was finally clearing up!  

Be Persistent and Keep Rechecking!

Since then we also found he is allergic to cedar, tree pollen, and fabric softener.  After doing ECR for these I used Kali Bichromicum 30c first and later Nat Mur 200c to clear up the symptoms.  Fingers crossed we have finally addressed all the things he has developed an allergy to–at least for now.  Things may change again in the spring when the weather changes and plants start to bloom-or perhaps even sooner!   This whole experience has taught me two things: 

1.  Keep rechecking and be open to the possibility that there may be other factors still left unaddressed. 
2.  Symptoms determine the remedy in homeopathy.  As the symptoms change, chances are pretty good that the remedy will too. 

I never would have thought that Rocket had developed allergies to so many things.  I feel very fortunate that his condition isn’t worse and that slowly but surely we have been able to pinpoint the exact allergies, eliminate them and cure his rhinitis.  The most important thing to remember is this:   treating only the symptoms a cat has is pointless; you must also determine and remove the cause.  Otherwise the condition will return.  Stay tuned for his progress reports!

Update October 2020

In an effort to build his immune system we must address the micro biome.  In dealing with cats that struggle with chronic allergies (and other immune related diseases), I learned that the integrity of the intestinal walls is often compromised.  This creates a “leaky gut,” allowing microbes to permeate into the bloodstream that shouldn’t be there.  We began using Ion Gut Health for Pets along with probiotics, and the results have been amazing.

Developed by Dr. Zach Bush, Ion Gut Health for Pets restores the integrity of the tight junctions that line the intestinal walls.  Tight junctions create a multi-layer protein network that functions as an intelligent gateway for the entry or blockage of nutrients, toxins, and microbes.  IGH is a liquid, soil-derived, carbon-based supplement that encourages cell to cell communication, promote immune function and gives the gut a terrain where the microbiome can thrive.  Once the micro biome’s gate keeper is functioning properly, add high quality probiotics to help rebalance the healthy gut flora.  As a result Rocket’s immune system has gotten stronger!  His allergy symptoms have lessened dramatically, and I see his body producing a normal histamine response to allergen triggers that create feline rhinitis.  Better yet, he’s no longer taking supplements for seasonal allergies!

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