You are receiving this email from Dr. Christina Chambreau because you are passionately committed to having health for your animals, yourself and the planet or because a friend thought you wanted to hear this information.PLEASE email me with what you want covered
here.
A new year. My resolution is to continue to LOVE every moment, regardless of the circumstances. And to LOVE myself when I forget.
Thank you, blessed readers, some who have been with me since the early 90s when I printed and mailed out the newsletters, some who just joined us this week. You are actually key to the health of our planet, our animals, our land, humankind. You care. You learn. You advocate for health, knowing
there is no one right answer. Importantly, many of you are learning to live in the moment of love, as Bernie Siegel encourages us to do.
I Breaking news
II Healing Stories
- Lame Yorkie – Laser
- Blood in urine – 14 y.o. dog – Diet change
III Health Tips
- Fun cat facts
- Loving every moment is healing
- Recognize
your animals’ calming signals
- Tellington Method for feral cats
IV Classes
- Homeopathy Feb 8 1-4
- Tellington T touch – multiple classes
V. Organizations for health and sustainability
- Holistic Actions
- The Hunger Project
- Green Living Now
Breaking News – Avian Flu and Raw Food Diets For Cats
As frequently happens these
days – much furor and misinformation about the Avian Flu infecting cats. Much in the media, much less, if any, of decent data. Depending on the veterinarian and scientist you speak with, you will hear different information.
As frequently discussed here, the best way to build resistance to any infection is building health and vitality. Definitely do not go back to processed kibble or canned. We know they have had problems, too, as in the melamine poisoning in the aughts.
And they do not build vitality and balance.
My recommendation is to not be fearful. Continue your efforts to build health. Continue to feed whatever diet you have discovered is best for your kitties. The following information is to help you see that there is no solid answer and most of the reported cases have big question marks. If you are concerned, you can certainly lightly cook meats, though temperature recommendations vary from 120 to 165
F.
Though you may get very tired of my repetition – be sure to NOW get one (or more) holistic veterinarian whom you like and who is treating the whole animal and family, not merely symptoms. Having trouble finding a great one – read this article or email me how it is going for you, and/or schedule an appointment with me.
The following are very brief comments about in depth work done by holistic veterinarians. The blog has more details.
- Cause of death – from an Oregon veterinarian about the first cat who is much discussed in the media. December 24, 2024 a cat in Washington County,
Oregon, died.
- Using a PCR test, H5N1 viral particles were detected. This test has a lot of false positives. The food sample from an already opened, old bag of the raw diet. Since that batch from May 2003, over 40 million pounds of product containing various types of protein, including over 1 million pounds of turkey, has been processed with no other cases. No postmortem was done on this cat or the 20 in the sanctuary, so there could have been other reasons for
death.
- There are hundreds of big cat sanctuaries around the world and we have not heard of others with big death tolls recently.
- Poultry testing - All poultry flocks are tested for the avian flu before harvesting and cannot be harvested if that test does not come back as negative.
- Cooking meat
- One vet - The magic temperature is 165 degrees to kill avian flu according to public
health.
- Other vets and pet food companies say 120 degrees is good.
- If cooking, do it in water/soup and add extra moisture, digestive enzymes, prebiotics.
- Commercial raw pet diets, dehydrated or freeze dried using HPP - are safe; are not safe.
- How common?
- This virus has been recognized in the US for 3 years now with no major outbreak. CDC calls them “sporadic infections.” CDC currently reports no data on feline deaths, only detections of HPAI since may 2022 in mammals.
- About .38 million cats in the US are fed at least some raw meat. Less than 50 cats have died, again with the true cause of death unknown.
- In shelters, they are only suggesting testing if neurological symptoms or a huge % of respiratory
problems (which are normally common anyway).
- Raw cow milk
- Do not feed raw milk – tests show bird flu there.
- Feed raw milk – could not get it
- Pennsylvania veterinarian said no H5N1 in bulk tanks on dairy farms
- Definitely I would say raw goat’s milk is super safe
- Don’t panic
- Be fear free
- Observe your cats as always, keeping notes in the journal. Make sure you have a
holistic vet.
- Send me an email if you read something disturbing and need re-assurance.
- If new information happens, I will update in February newsletter.
Healing Animal Stories
- Laser worked. Jade was a very lame Yorkie diagnosed with a cruciate ligament injury to her knee. She presented to a veterinarian trained in Chinese medicine who had also started using a laser. After 6
treatments over a bit longer than a month, she was completely sound. This veterinarian is liking the laser for acute problems since he was able to charge 50% less per treatment. From my perspective, the guardians now need to start offering energy healing daily, maybe improve the diet, check for toxins, be sure there is adequate exercise and try to rebalance the underlying energy field. Laser is often available at conventional clinics, so it can be a good option for acute
problems.
- Diet was the answer, and paying attention to BEAM. A Holistic Actions member posted in the forum (you can read as a non member, but not post) about a 14 year old dog who was not acting well for 3 days. No joy. Pacing at night. Not as active on walk. Decreased appetite. Day 3 saw blood in the urine. His diet was kibble with cooked meats and some vegetables and fruit. She did not want to give the antibiotics given by the veterinarian. With 3 days of stopping
the kibble and feeding only beef, chicken, broth and chia seed water he was completely recovered. His BEAM (behavior, energy appetite and mood) was 100% again.
Health Tips
- Fun Feline Facts
- Cat doors! When was one first mentioned in print? 1380 in the Canterbury Tales.
- Cats (according to a 2007 study) originated in the Middle East which is one reason their kidneys retain enough
water from eating critters to be hydrated, so their brain does not recognize dehydration very well. This means – best to avoid dry kibble.
- Abraham Lincoln fed his tabby cat from the table using official cutlery.
- Veterinarian Linda Bender gives us the most wonderful reminder: “The value of life is not in its longevity but in the love and healing we share in the present moment. Animals remind us that healing doesn't always mean curing—it means being fully
loved and connected." Most veterinarians’ goal is to stop any symptom (physical or behavioral) because that was all we were trained to do. We assume organs are permanently broken and need lifetime drugs. You think differently because of reading this newsletter, listening to the great summits, consulting with me, being a member of Holistic Actions Academy, taking some of the classes offered now on the internet and more. You know the goal is to rebalance the energy field, to carefully observe so
you can maximize each animal’s epigenetics. For many of us our most challenging job is to follow Dr. Linda’s guidance – love fully in the present and not worry.
- Hanna Makinen spoke recently for Holistic Actions about how our animals are trying to communicate with us, especially with calming signals to appease their leader. She recommends Turid Rugass work to help you learn even more than she teaches. What does it mean when your dog or cat yawns (not because they are sleepy), licks you (not because your skin is salty), turns away from you (not being bad), scratch, sniff, lift a paw, shake, slow or fast tail wag, twitch, etc? Each of these and more have
totally different meanings when seen through the lens of normal cat or dog behaviors. One suggestion is to video your companions, then watch it in slow motion, so can actually see subtle cues. Do not rush to interpret what habitual motions mean. Ponder them, then experiment with responding differently than you have in the past.
- One example I have paraphrased from Turid’s site. Dad calls Prince and has learned in the behavior class that he needs to sound strict and dominant
so that Prince will understand who is in charge. Prince finds dad´s voice to be aggressive, and being a dog he instantly give dad a calming signal in order to make him stop being aggressive. Prince will perhaps lick his own nose, yawn, turn away - which will result in dad becoming angry for real, because Dad perceives Prince as being disobedient. Prince is punished for using his calming signals to calm dad. There are about 30 different calming signals, so even when many dogs will
yawn, other dogs may use another calming signal – and you can learn them.
- At the 50th Cell-ebration of Tellington TTouch with speakers from around the world, my awe of the power of these techniques has skyrocketed. My colleague with a viscious headache was 90% better after only a few minutes with a head wrap. In a shelter, one pup in a litter could not walk and was overweight (makes me think of homeopathic Calcarea
carbonica). Videos showed the still chubby pup able to run after different T-touch manipulations.
- Feral cats who can not be touched can still be treated with feathers and toys. First need to be in a small room. This one kitty would hide under the bed, so they used a feather on a long stick (and a wand) with a LOT of patience. Just near the kitty. Then a quick touch. 2-3 minutes then rest for 10 mins.
- Maybe try a box with a blanket.
- When she
wanted to play with wand, use the wand in one hand to play, then the feather to stroke. After several days, tiny steps forward and at 3 weeks was a huge shift (often see at 3 weeks). Allowed to be petted with hand at 4 weeks.
- Catnip (or silvervine) ice cream!!
Classes
- Homeopathy for Pets - February 8 from 12-4 Eastern. I will be showing the difference between treating humans and animals, mostly for human practitioners. This is open to anyone wanting to learn more about homeopathy for animals. It is not a basics course. Click here to
register
- Tellington Method - Multiple classes each month for dogs (and cats), or horses, exotics. These are held in person with animals as well as virtual live and recorded. Also their site includes many other resources and their you tube channel had many videos
too.
Organizations for Health and Sustainability
Holistic Actions
- Member webinars for February
- 3 – Dr, Zoolittle: 7 pillars of longevity
- 10 – Muneeza Ahmed: Build up the immune system
- 17 – Lisa Tully: Heal your pets and let them heal
you
The Hunger Project: As Abigail Servero Vasquez, a community partner in San Juan Guichicovi, Mexico said, “When it’s one of us, we can’t visualize our progress, but when it’s several of us, we can make an echo, even in the furthest places.”
How do we know our approach is creating change?*
• 4 out of 5 partners said household decisions are more equally shared
• 75% said they now have more influence in community decisions
• 89% said their access to healthy meals has increased
• 96% said their quality of life has improved
Imagine a world with the full potential of women unbound.
Green Living Now: Amy Todisco interviewed me about decisions you can make about living with your animals
in ways that help the planet. Watch it, and her other videos here.
