CASE STUDY 5 - OZ

BACKROUND INFORMATION - Oz was adopted by his owners in Spain. He was a tiny kitten when he came to stay with them, and whilst living in Spain, he was extremely happy and healthy. Oz was put into quarantine along with the couples 2 other cats for 6 months because his owners returned to England suddenly and none of cats had a pet passport and therefore had a mandatory 6 month quarantine in Spain after having the rabies vaccine.  Oz became a bit low in quarantine and then when he was moved into the new house in England he became very depressed, lethargic and stopped eating. He lost an awful lot of weight, became very lethargic, depressed and uncooridinated.  The vets did many tests and x-rays and could not find out what was wrong with him, he was gradually fading away and began to look emaciated. He has stopped playing and just sleeps all day. He eats maybe a mouthful of chicken and 2 biscuits, then he just staggers away and goes to sleep. When he is walking he often trips up and falls over, the vet has no idea what is wrong with him. The vets were at a loss as to what to do, so the owners  asked if I could try to help him.

My thoughts on Oz are that stress had played a huge part in his condition. The problem started in quarantine kennels, this is where his stress began, first he had a rabies vaccine, then straight into a kennel.  Although he was kept with the 2 other cats that he knew, he was separated from his owners and the 2 family dogs which Oz was very attached to, kept in a kennel and not a comfortable home that he was used to with the freedom to go out side at will. He then had to cope with a long car journey, a plane journey, another 3 day stay in a cattery in the UK, another set of ‘precautionary vaccines’ then a final car journey to his new home in the UK. He seemed quiet to his owners on arrival and they thought he would perk up as soon as he settled down, but he never did. Things got worse and worse.

The owners sent me some of Oz’s hair and I performed a kinesiology test to find out Oz’s  weaknesses. Then I worked with the  essential oils to find out which ones  would strengthen the test. The following oils were selected and I sent them to Oz’s owner and asked them to work with them everday.

Lavender hydrosol – good for depression and nervous anxiety, shock and all stress related conditions. It has very soothing and calming properties. It is balancing and can be used to treat anxiety and psychological conditions.

Ginger hydrosol –  good for digestive problems. It stimulates and warms the digestive organs, improves appetite by stimulating acid secretion. It reduces gut mobility and bloating and assists in gas expulsion. Helps to give an animal confidence

Carrot seed essential oil – good for animals that are run down and have lost their appetite. It stimulates the digestive juices and is highly nutritious. Excellent for animals that have lost the will to get better.

Carrot macerate oil – rich in beta carotene, vitamins B,C,D and E. It encourages a healthy coat.

Oz’s reaction to oils -Because Oz and his owners lived so close tome, I offered to go to their house to show them how to offer the oils to Oz, I was also very curious to meet him. Oz was sat on the sofa in the living room, I went and sat beside him and stroked him to introduce myself. It was like stroking a skeleton covered in fur, his eyes looked very dull, as did his coat, he was completely uninterested in me being there.

I took out the lavender hydrosol first and very gently approached Oz with it. As I got near him he raised his head (he had been curled up in a tight ball asleep). He pricked his ears up and sniffed very rapidly, lots of little sniffs from about a foot away from the bottle, he stayed sniffing for approx 15 mins and then he slowly got up, jumped off the sofa and staggered over and jumped up on the other sofa opposite. I then approached him with ginger hydrosol, he reacted in very much a similar way to the lavender, lots of rapid little sniffs, although he came nearer to the bottle approx 6 inches away, he stayed sniffing the ginger for about 10 mins and then got up and walked away to the other side of the sofa. I then approached him with the carrot essential oil in carrot macerate. This time he virtually put his nose into the bottle and instead of little sniffs, he took big deep lasting sniffs, within 5 mins he was totally in a trance with slow deep sniffing. Everytime I moved the bottle he would come temporarily out of his trance meow and stare at me until I brought the bottle back towards him. He stayed trancing and deep sniffing the carrot for an amazing 55 mins. I could not believe it, but he was very clear that he wanted to stay working with it for all of that time, he was in a trance for at least 25 mins and then alert and quiet staring for the rest of the time, but clearly still inhaling deeply. Then after 55 mins he got up stretched and went and had a really long drink of water, which his owners were ecstatic with, because he hadn’t been drinking nearly enough for a long time.

Summary of Oz’s Diary -Oz worked with the oils for a staggering 56 days. He ‘worked’ with each remedy for varying lengths of time every day. Somedays he would refuse to work with a remedy, but then the next day he would work with it for long time. He was always very clear and easy to read because as soon as he had had enough he would get up and move away, but actively look at the owner, knowing that she would be offering the next remedy. He was very keen and ‘knowing’ about the whole process and the owners reported that they enjoyed watching him work with all the different remedies.

Conclusion - Having worked with the 3 remedies for 56 days, Oz has almost made a complete recovery, he is now eating on a daily basis, he can be a little fussy, but he at least eats every day and often twice a day. He is playing now like he used to both with the owners, and the other cats. He is more alert and interactive and showing an interest in the family again. He is chasing his toys and insects like he used to and is generally a much happier cat. He has put on a lot of weight. His owners are thrilled to have their cat back to his old self and part of the family again.

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