Happy 13th Birthday, Charlie! 🥳 🎉

I am so very grateful for my Charlie’s 13th birthday. This last year of his life has been more or less a living hell for us both. His “allergies” were out of control, and I was trying everything to get them under control.

I put “allergies” in quotes because really it is more environmental sensitivities or food sensitivities due to a leaky gut that were causing a number of issues for him – including Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, head twitches, constant itching, biting, scratching, and meowing at me. It was a never ending cycle and a nightmare. I cannot tell you my stress level over the last year – I was always in flight or fright mode and my cortisol levels have been out of control. I am truly exhausted.

Over the course of the last year, we worked with many practitioners – veterinarians, chiropractors, animal communicators, feline nutritionists, etc. Everything I tried didn’t fully work. The one thing that did the most good for him was Adored Beast’s Feline Gut Soothe. I will forever be grateful for the creation of that product.

I learned so much in the last year – a ton, really. I know it was a great learning journey, but I am really hoping it’s over and we are moving on to bigger and better things.

Two months ago, I bought the Optimal Health Analysis from Purrrfectly Holistic. Pam, the creator of Purrrfectly Holistic, takes a deep dive into your cat and works with energy and muscle testing to get to the bottom of what is going on. She then recommends homeopathic remedies and/or supplements to start addressing THE CAUSE, rather than treating the problem.

I had been treating the problem with Zyrtec, Chinese Herbs, steriods and more. It was a vicious cycle, and his body was deteriorating….meanwhile his blood work was great – but I knew he wasn’t great!

Pam found a number of things, here’s an excerpt from her analysis of Charlie:

“The root cause of the FHS symptoms, twitching and tremors resonates with vaccinosis from the rabies vaccine. As I mentioned in an email, the energetics of the virus can actually present themselves as psychomotor seizure syndrome (like FHS), twitches, and even being very particular about food and finicky.

Because vaccinosis/vaccine injury resonates, I highly recommend avoiding future vaccines. The risk of adverse reactions is too great and will further weaken the immune system. If necessary, simply request a titer test instead. This test measures the level of antibodies in the blood that can mount a reaction to exposure to a particular disease. Worst case scenario if you are forced to re-vaccinate in order to receive veterinary care, prepare to detox in advance immediately following the vaccination.

Toxic exposure to pesticides like Revolution add to the body’s toxic load and act as a neurotoxin in the pet’s own body, affecting the nervous system. It also contributes to leaky gut, which leads to allergies, too. Cats with immune system confusion like Charlie are unable to mount a normal histamine response to common allergens.

Through targeted organ and immune support we can heal the gut and restore the
immune system. But it’s essential to stop using traditional flea meds. The Earth
Animal product you have tested well for Charlie, and I also like Flea eX by Feline
Essential. These are designed for cats, are non-toxic, and safe. Parasites like fleas are only attracted to the weakest hosts; therefore, the healthier Charlie is, the less
appealing he will be. Not all yards have fleas—but if yours does you can add
nematodes (which love to eat fleas) and food grade diatomaceous earth to kill them.

The muscle loss he’s experienced is resonating with gut health and the ability to
absorb nutrients from his food in the small intestines. Legumes are very sticky and
also block the absorption of nutrients in the gut. Therefore, healing the gut is critical going forward. Doing some intermittent detoxing for the liver several times a year using milk thistle can help eliminate toxins.

Cellular imprints result from negative experiences or trauma in both people and pets. The body is able to remember these emotions due to the chemical reactions at the time they were created affecting body systems, organs, glands, tissues, hormones, neurotransmitters and more. Furthermore, people, places, and events that happen in our lives can be triggers that cause the body to recreate neurologically and physiologically the same responses whether we are aware of them or not. As a result, these affect thought patterns, behaviors and physiological responses.

Emotions often play a role in health issues, so it’s important that these are now
released because it aids in the healing process and the body’s ability to rebalance. I incorporated a technique called Mind Body Spirit Release to clear these imprints/blocks. You’ll find more info explaining this in a separate pdf document. I know this is a lot of information, so please take it in bite sizes and don’t let it overwhelm you. I tried to list the recommendations in order of importance, so the most important one is the first. I am here to help guide you through this so please reach out and let me know what you need. Most importantly, remember that healing takes time, so be patient and consistent!”

We started the protocols and detox phases that Pam suggested in mid-May – it’s now July 23rd. It was July 23rd last year that I saw Charlie’s first head jitter/twitch/tremor.

He is doing soooo much better thanks to Pam.

I need to also mention our veterinarian, Dr. Sally Barchman, who has helped me with ozone therapy (to help the healing process) as well as with fecal pills to help his gut heal. If we were still with our old vet, I would have received no support holistically and his little body would have been pumped with more and more meds.

He also has had a lot of chiropractic issues in the last year, and I was led to Dr. Stella, who is an absolute intuitive genius and definitely someone who has Charlie’s number!

Charlie can turn into Chuckie at the vet’s. He did his first visit with Dr. Stella, but she did not give up. God bless her for that. She continued and waited for Charlie to realize that she was helping him. Since then, he has only offered his alter-ego, Chuckie randomly.

He went to her two days ago, here are photos from that.

Here’s a quick list of the things we tried in the last year that helped and that I learned thanks to my Charlie:

• Optimal Cat Health Analysis and doing exactly what was asked of me
• Red and green light therapy
• Chiropractor adjustments
• Cold laser therapy – usually following chiropractor adjustments
• Going outside – read about “grounding” to understand how the Earth’s energy can help ground your cat
• Finding allergens in the diet through a blood test
• Feeding meats and other ingredients that do not cause inflammation (so less fish, for example and less dry food or none at all)
• Balancing his microbiome with Adored Beast’s products
• Fecal Pills – getting the good gut bacteria back into his system
• Steroids – this is how I found out that Feline Gut Soothe might work.
• Slippery Elm – this is an ingredient in Feline Gut Soothe, but I use it as needed to help him poop. When he needs to poop, it seems like his FHS flares up.
• Eliminated a toxic laundry detergent

Now onto the star of the show.

Many of you know, the very first Ragdoll I fell in love with was Halston. He was my Aunt Nicky’s seal mitted with a blaze Ragdoll cat.

When I started Floppycats, I saw a photo of a Ragdoll in Germany that was a seal mitted with a blaze Ragdoll cat who had an hourglass blaze. I wanted one that looked JUST LIKE HER.

I also was following breeders who had cats related to my Rags. When I saw Charlie’s little face on his breeder’s website, I knew he was to be mine. She had named him, “Casey”. And when you say that, you get “KC” – which is where I live.

Rags had died in March 2009, and I saw that photo in August 2009. I don’t think I was quite ready for a kitten yet, but I knew in my gut that he was supposed to be mine.

I ended up flying out to get him with my mom when he was ready to come home at 12 weeks. He wasn’t scared of a darn thing.

I had made a safe room for Charlie – as I suggest in my book, A Ragdoll Kitten Care Guide: Bringing Your Ragdoll Kitten Home. He was done with that after 1 hour. And then I opened up the rest of the second floor to him. He was done with that after 2 hours. He wanted the whole house. Since I had no other pets, I let him have access and only locked him up at night.

He has always been outgoing. I hate stereotypes, but I have found that blaze cats are usually outgoing. He meets people at the door and doesn’t know a stranger. However, he doesn’t really like to be petted by these folks. Many people see a fluffy cat and want to be sweet and gentle.

But Charlie has a VERY SENSITIVE coat because he has flat hair follicles (most cats have round), so whenever we meet a new vet or chiropractor or whatever, I tell them, “Do no lightly touch him. He hates that. Be firm and confident in your touches.” I had to give this warning several times over the last year!

Charlie would prefer I feed him dry food. But it’s horrible for kitties, and I was only giving him 1 tablespoon 2x a day up until we started working with Pam. She cleared him of desiring dry food, and I believe the absence of it has aided in keeping his inflammation down. Nutrition, as we all know, is the basis of all health. I knew the dry wasn’t good for him – that’s why I was giving him so little of it to get him to eat wet food. Without it, he wouldn’t eat wet food. But again, Pam, was able to clear that energy and blockage, so that he would stop desiring dry food….and much to my surprise, it worked!

We’re still working on rebuilding his diet and I suspect that will be an ongoing process for awhile.

Charlie regularly makes eye contact with me. I really appreciate that. I could look at my Rags and know exactly what he needed and wanted, and I am there with Charlie now too. I remember when Rags died, I wondered if I would ever have that with my cat again. I am grateful I do with Charlie.

If Charlie wants something, he will let you know – and not leave you alone. This hasn’t changed much since he was a kitten:

He loves to go outside and requires he go out daily. I let my cats outside in our fenced in backyard and I stay out there with them. They do not leave my yard. Charlie would have serious cabin fever without it. Letting your cats outside is definitely a personal, subjective decision.

Trigg and Charlie love each other, and they like to play and chase each other, but I wouldn’t say they are a bonded pair. Trigg would like to snuggle and be closer friends, but Charlie values his independence. He doesn’t really need Trigg around, and doesn’t necessarily care when I focus my attention on Trigg when he is around.

If Charlie is asleep, he doesn’t care if I show attention towards Trigg.

Charlie absolutely adores making the bed:

I really hope this next year of Charlie’s life is a year of healing and growth (in muscle and weight). I know he is getting older, but I am hoping there is time to still heal him.

I have learned a lot from Charlie in the last year. I am very grateful for that. I am sorry that he has gone through what he has gone through because of my ignorance. But I hope the life lessons I have learned can help many other Floppycatters and many more of my cats.

Read More about Charlie

Jenny Dean

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Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,

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