Teddy - cat - looking for holistic primary care vet near Annville, PA (south central PA)

[RuthR]

My 13-year old Maine Coon cat is due for his rabies vaccine. I asked my conventional vet to give him an exemption because, with chronic rhinitis, hyperthyroidism, and periodontitis, he is not healthy and should not be given a vaccine. The vet said it is fine for him to get the vaccine and he will not give him an exemption. He also said he would charge me $360.00 to have a rabies titer done. Dr. Christina, on the webinar tonight you said there are some holistic veterinarians nearby that I could switch to for Teddy's primary care vet. Could you give me a list of their names, please?
@Dr. Christina

 

[HA! Support]

Hi Ruth.
Here's a resource that may be helpful to you in the meantime: It's important to read this article in its entirety: holisticactions.com/select

Best!
Kim
Holistic Actions! Support

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Ruth!

Are you within driving distance of the wonderful Dr. Doug in Beaver PA?:

Dr. Doug Knueven – THE HOLISTIC VET

drdougknueven.com

 

[RuthR]

Unfortunately, he is 4 hours and 258 miles away from me (per MapQuest).

 

[HA! Support]

Hi Ruth.

There's a holistic veterinary practice about 20 miles from you, in Camp Hill. I'm not personally familiar with them, but I know they're there. The vet is Dr. Linda Stern A holistic integrative approach to your pet's care

Kim

 

[RuthR]

Hi, Kim. Thank you for responses. They were both extremely helpful. I had contacted Dr. Stern last year explaining my situation and just did again today. She wants me to bring Teddy in for an exam, which is to be expected. There is no commitment to issuing him a vaccine exemption.

One thing I am extremely grateful to have learned from Holistic Actions is HMDM. I have been spending a lot of time gathering research and options and I did again today. Now, I am going to "paws". I have a consult with Teddy's homeopathic vet tomorrow. She is going to change his remedy, and she can help me decide what is best for Teddy.

Thanks to all who have responded, and if anyone has another veterinarian to suggest, I'm staying open to all my options.

 

[RuthR]

I am leaning towards taking Teddy to the integrative vet, Dr. Stern, for a consultation. His two biggest issues are chronic rhinitis and hyperthyroidism. His homeopathic vet, Dr. Tewari, has been treating him since October of 2022. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism before I knew about homeopathy, so he has been taking 5 mg. of Felimazole twice a day for almost a year. I really want to get him off the thyroid pills. Dr. Tewari only knows homeopathy; Dr. Stern also uses Chinese herbs. However, I thought I read somewhere (I can't find it again) that homeopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine should not be used simultaneously. Is this correct? I'm definitely going to continue working with Dr. Tewari, but I wasn't sure if Dr. Stern might be able to work in conjunction with her to get Teddy off the thyroid pills, or if I must wait until Dr. Tewari is done prescribing remedies?

@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Sara

 

[Dr. Jeff]

homeopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine should not be used simultaneously. Is this correct?

Great question Ruth, thanks for asking it!

My answer would be yes...and no.

The two can be great complements if the prescribers are both focusing on BEAM in addition too individual symptom improvement.

This mindset seems to be more prevalent among trained classical homeopaths (like Dr. Tewari) who always focus on the totality.

For example, along with increasing use of Traditional Chinese Vet Med is a trend towards "medicalizing" it so that it fits the "this for that" model of our dominant vet med.

For example, this "science-based" course in medical acupuncture:

Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians Courses

eMAV™ medical acupuncture for veterinarians is an all-online, interactive course for medical acupuncture, neurophysiology, and neuromodulation.

curacore.org

 

[Dr. Christina]

Here are a few more, but do read and go to all the sites listed at holisticactions.com/select

Cats do not usually like taking chinese herbs, and acupuncture needs to be done weekly for awhile. I would stick with Dr. Tewari for homeopathy unless one of the TCVM (traditional chinese veterinary medicine) vets seems to have a good handle on the issues and you get a good gut feeling about it.

doylestown is probably too far. There is a homeopathic vet there, Dr. Laura Weiss - 215-345-6000

Jamie Moran - REading = 610-378-3780 - TCVM
Lee Simpson - Kutztown - 610-756-6036 - TCVM

Again, probably too far - Judith Shoemaker - Nottingham - leader in the field - uses LOTS of different modalities.
Veterinarian in Nottingham, PA | Always Helpful Veterinary Services


Dr. Christina

 

[RuthR]

Thank you, Dr. Christina! Most of those vets are doable as far as the driving distance.

Dr. Jamie Moran has her rabies vaccination policy on her website, and it doesn't look like there is much wiggle room for an exemption: immunocompromised disease processes, severe allergic reaction to rabies vaccines in the past, or SERIOUS illness.

What exactly is the definition of "healthy"? I do not consider Teddy to be healthy because his chronic rhinitis is not under control (just yesterday he was very snotty and sneezing out mucus again), and he has very little energy or desire to play (whereas he had been making a lot of progress). The last thing I want is for him to be injected with something that will set him back even further. Am I being unreasonable? Do I need to reset my expectations?

If I can't get an exemption, do you think I should have a titer done to see if the antibodies are high enough that he doesn't need the vaccine yet, or should I start giving him the Jackson Galaxy Vaccine Detox and then get him the rabies vaccine?