I was Talking to a Friend Today about Interferon for My Brown Kitties and ....

http://www.brandweeknrx.com/2007/03/humanstyle_drug.html

the above link (pardon my lack of tech skills here) appeared on the best marketing journal I have ever read in the health services realm - Brandweekrx.com (highly recommended reading for any people with open minds about PHARMA). In this post, Jim Edwards describes a new possible PHARMA revenue flow... the animal kingdom... doggie and kitties! Oh boy!

I was speaking with a ND friend of mine and brilliant diagnostician, and we were comparing notes about treating animals. We both agreed that we only treated our pets and our friend's pets when under duress, and ONLY when we thought they were getting sub-par medical treatment OR we thought that the owner's just didn't get the beast.

So, when I saw this post, I it reminded me of my conversation today about me giving my big brown kitties Interferon for their normal kitten flu. I put a tiny bit of interferon into a big saline drip bag and filled a syringe. My boys would come running and get a kitty drink. And amazingly, although perhaps my wishful thinking was also at play, certainly not a RCT, my cats got better very quickly. With a couple of these treatments these PAWS adopted boys never had the flu again for years.

Contrast this with another treatment from another Vet: Antibiotics... bitter horrible amoxi... This treatment was not very accepted by my kitty cats. You first have to wrap the fighting 16 pound cat in a series of towels like a Chinese baby. Then one person pries the mouth open, while the other uses the Kitty PILL SHOOTER and crams the pill down the boy's throat. Then you have to hold his mouth shut, as he shakes his head, and tries to dislodge, what I am sure, is a very bitter pill to swallow... Massage throat.... okay... Unwrap cat... and he goes and spits the pill into the far reaches of the kitchen... under the table... go figure!

The Interferon had a HIGH acceptability quotient to my boys - they liked it, came running; thought it was a kitty treat; and believe it or not, maybe due to the pure hydration, got better. The AMOXY - or better yet, the new designer small range anti biotics for cats and dogs have a very LOW acceptability of treatment quotient: That is, you have to hog-tie them to get them to take it. AND the STRESS from the pill taking experience LOWERS THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM resulting, in a higher probablity of getting sicker!!!!

The irony is amazing.... Does this sound like... ah... behavioral activation... vs anti-depressants?