Oh Celia. I can hardly believe it, but a few hours ago you were in my dream at a party, in a kitchen. The atmosphere was that you were in serious emotional pain and needed help. Rupert was there. He gave you a big hug. Then I gave you a big hug. So two dream hugs from us, though one of us was a dream brother. Magical thinking reaching out into reality. I hope the hugs reach you.
💕💔🍁☔️ “the pain of a perfect friendship turned to memory.” Heart-breaking, honest, comforting words. You say it so well. Thanks for sharing your grief with us, it expands my heart.💗The sorrow of saying goodbye to our furry friends is bottomless sometimes. Hugs to you... 💕☔️
Nov 14, 2022·edited Nov 14, 2022Liked by Celia Farber
(Beautiful.... so true...... we're our own best doctor applies to animal creation too...my experience has been the same as Ember-kitty's-- our body will message to us what we need, even more loudly the deeper our bodily crisis-- sunlight, grapefruits, chocolate, parsley, rabbit bone.... whatever it needs. I follow all of the Alaska Katmai Brooks Falls bear footage videos, and they know to periodically dig up clay from the floorbed of the river to eat, I assume it keeps their parasite loads under control. Innate-God-installed wisdom, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully more and more people will tune into that as the scientific dictatorship produces proliferating poor, deathcult-type outcomes..... (wistful mood.....)
Very hard to read. Our eldest cat Foo has failing kidneys. She wants to eat but won’t eat what we give her. I have found a way to get her to eat but it is time consuming as she only eats a couple of bites at a time and if not watched, the other cats eat her food. Reading that she needs bone and we have no real way to give her any that she can eat. She is 18 years old and has no teeth. Both she and our second cat Mia lost their teeth soon after we switched cat food many years ago. It was very quick and though we quickly stopped giving them that food, the damage was done.
On a good note, she is at this moment, eating. She came down stairs, I gave her food, which she turned her nose up at and walked to the door. She had been crying for several minutes to be let out but I scooted her over to her food dish and she started eating.
You can give Foo bone broth. Do a search on this. There's an article and video from Dr. Becker, holistic vet, on healthy pets.mercola.com "How to Make a Bone Broth" from the article "Bone Broth: the "Soul Food" Perfect for Pets Who Won't Eat".
Containers of organic bone broth are available in some supermarkets in the meat section which you can warm up and serve on its own or mix into wet food. Dry food isn't good for cats, especially those with kidney disease.
Make sure to check the sodium content especially in cases of compromised kidneys.
Thanks, will look into it. We live in Japan and thus do not have access to the same things. We are now giving her soft kidney supporting food, including soup.
She had long been on dry kidney supporting food. We switched to dry in the hopes of saving her then remaining teeth. She stopped eating this about a year ago and we have been struggling to find food she’ll eat. A big problem has been my wife. She would not switch to any non kidney supporting food despite Foo’s continuing weight loss. Even after the vet told me that Foo needs to get her weight back up ASAP and worry about her kidneys later, my wife argues over the food I give her. Finally, she went to the pet store and found food Foo will eat that is has at least some kidney support. Shifting through the huge number of specialty care foods for cats in Japanese has not been my forte.
A lot more on this, Foo now has a bladder infection, we have to inject 120 cc of saline Subcutaneously twice a week etc. but too much for here.
The OP’s thread hits home hard for me as our cat is just a short ways down the path from where hers just was.
Sorry, Kitsune, didn't realize you weren't in the US until I checked out your substack.
Your vet is 100% right. Foo needs to eat and at this point it can be whatever appeals to her and makes her happy. Kidney disease is sadly all too common in cats and is progressive. It's typical for cats to experience weight loss. Sometimes B complex vitamin injections can spark the appetite. SubQ fluids/ hydration as you're now doing for the bladder is also very helpful for the kidneys, but if it's too stressful for Foo you may have to discontinue that after the infection's resolved.
See if you can make your own bone broth. Sneak as much liquid (broth or spring water) into her food as she'll tolerate.
Try to prevent your wife from making the mistakes too many of us have made with our ill kitties. It can be a tough balance between maintaining quality of life vs. making your cat miserable by trying too hard to keep her going.
At 18, with kidney disease, Foo has earned the right to eat whatever makes her happy and to do whatever the heck she wants. Continue to shower her with lots of attention and love as you've been doing, keep her warm (kidney disease often makes cats feel chilly) and make sure she's comfortable and pain free. Quality of life is key. Try not to think too far ahead and just enjoy the gift of each day with Foo. It'll be hard, but put on a happy face for her sake. Cats know when we're upset.
If you haven't already, please ask your wife to read Celia's story about Jack and then Toby's comment about his cat.
Yes, that is much my thoughts, let her eat what she wants. As it is now, we have learned that Foo has adopted the traditional Japanese etiquette for dinner guests. She refuses the first two offers of food and after accepting the 3rd offer, leaves a considerable amount in her dish. She had for a long time come down stairs crying to be fed only to turn up her nose and walk back upstairs without eating. Eventually, in desperation, I closed the door and kept bring her back to her dish. Eventually, she ate.
Now, I feed her upstairs most of the time. Every half an hour or so I bring her food dish up to her and set it down next to her. She sniffs it and turns her nose up with an aire of, “You expect me to eat THAT! HA!”. I leave it there but have to keep watch or the other cats will eat it. After a few minutes, she starts sniffing and glances over at her food dish with and expression of “Hmmpmh!”, and looks away again. A few miners later she is wolfing it down. But she eats so little each time however, that although I do this all day long and late into the night she is not putting on enough weight to be visibly noticeable. Her mobility is much improved though. We think the extended period of her eating so very little has shrunk her stomach.
Her eating again, even with the extraordinary effort and time involved is a very positive sign though. I am hopeful that she may improve…then I notice her labored breathing and I wonder if magical thinking is affect us too.
Much more going on with her than I can relate here, but thanks for the advice.
There is sooo much to learn, and evidence by Toby's letter much will be revealed the more we give attention to truly 'knowing' as Maka and Kathleen say. The process of engaging this knowing would intensify and be more free flowing if we could just create a barrier against 'Authorities' - make it so anything They pontificate on is deemed 'suggestions' vs. laws, mandates and medical edicts.
God Bless you Celia in all you do, and to Toby for sharing his experience.
Beautiful, sorrowful story about Jack, and such a poignant, heartbreaking comment from Toby.
In our desperation to keep our much loved animals with us just a little longer, we often make mistakes that we live to regret. The last thing we want is to cause them further distress or harm. Despite that, sometimes that's exactly what happens.
Lessons learned the hard way - animals know what they need, nature's remedies are often better, and we must always, always be vigilant and discerning about the methods we use to try to prolong their precious lives.
Plus a group hug from your loving community Celia! A beautiful letter and a reminder of how much Love surrounds us everyday. May your heart be filled with all the furry love Jack gave you. Oh how blessed he was to have such a loving mama. I have two 16 year old cats (one is the spitting image of your Jack) and just the thought of losing them makes me cry. Sending you so much love.
"... this luminous pain, the pain of a perfect friendship turned to memory."
Such a hauntingly accurate description of grief ... grief over losing a beloved friend like Jack ... grief over a beloved parent who chose to die at home where at least he could be surrounded at the end by his loving family ... grief over a beloved friend who trustingly called 911 for an ambulance only to later die alone in an ICU bed ... never realizing that the hospital was receiving large financial incentives essentially to commit murder and to deny effective treatments ...
so much grief all around these days ... Toby put it so very well.
Sometimes vet treatment is useful and lifesaving, and at other times, the diametric opposite. I have had animals whose lives were saved by crucial, correct and timely interventions, and I have had a favorite pet actually killed by vet stupidity. Once that happened, I never took any animal to that practice ever again for any reason.
Oh God, Catherine. I am so so sorry. How incredibly traumatic. I have to confess I am afraid of vets. Much more so since "Covid." They got worse. More militant and cold and weird. Not all of them. It's just that they always want to tell you how BAD the situation is!!
That was a beautiful share, I should like to share it also, bless your organic knowing & all the people & animals that are assisting you, & to all your readers as well & your friends , may Grace be with you all.
so sweet- here's something else that i think will touch your hearts as well- from a friend who attended the wapf conference this year:
For all of us who were deeply moved at the WT-2022 closing ceremony as we joined in singing the chorus to Jude Roberts' cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah -- and for all who were there in spirit,
As I posted about the decline of our cat, Foo, here; I thought I should provide this update.
Our cat, Foo, died at 4:07 am last Tuesday. Pets are cremated in Japan as are humans. They even have pet cemeteries, which seems to be a thing in big cities in the States, but not out in the country where I grew up. Tuesday night, we took Foo’s remains to a crematorium for pets and the service, including funeral was so much like that for a person that it was somewhat unsettling. The one thing missing was the religious chanting of a Buddhist monk, which is offered for pet funerals at temples. Not so surprising given that religion’s regard for animals.
I was surprised at how long we had to wait for our emaciated cat’s remains to be cremated. They brought her cremains in for us to view and to place in the crypt. They had carefully laid out her bones into two stainless steel trays. Her skull, jaw bones, the first vertebrae below the skull, which is of special importance to the Buddhist faith, and her shoulder blades carefully displayed in one tray. The other tray had the rest of her bones carefully laid out. The rest of her back bone and tail bones carefully lined up. All her claws were laid out in a straight line. It looked very much like an exhibit at a museum, which at the time displeased me as it was the remains of our beloved cat who has been with us for 18 years. However, to lay out her remains in such a fashion using chopsticks took a lot of time and care. I am now grateful for the care and respect they gave her.
After having her remains explained to us, we were escorted outside and we placed them in a vault. The larger bones were placed inside with two of us using metal chopsticks together. The skull and shoulder blades were fragile and we were told we should use our bare hands to place them inside. To hold the bones of a deceased loved one in your bare hand is an intimacy that I can not describe. One I would rather wish I did not have while at the same time glad I was able to.
As we waited for the cremation, we were provided with a wooden memorial tablet. My son drew a picture of Foo and we all wrote messages to her. My wife drew some flowers. This tablet will remain outside near the crypt for 6 months.
Good point. We discovered feeding our cats mostly raw chicken and raw eggs made a big difference in their well being. The average vet is like the average human doctor - almost ignorant about nutrition. Sad indeed. Sorry for your loss. We live, love and learn, and eventually return.
What a lovely letter, and good reminder on organic knowing. I'm a believer.
Yes to “organic knowing!” All living things & creatures have it.🌿💕
👍
Organic knowing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY
You get it? ORGANic.
Also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3AiGw8mkq0
Notice the third hand. That's some powerful mRNA tech right there!
💕💔🍁☔️ “the pain of a perfect friendship turned to memory.” Heart-breaking, honest, comforting words. You say it so well. Thanks for sharing your grief with us, it expands my heart.💗The sorrow of saying goodbye to our furry friends is bottomless sometimes. Hugs to you... 💕☔️
(Beautiful.... so true...... we're our own best doctor applies to animal creation too...my experience has been the same as Ember-kitty's-- our body will message to us what we need, even more loudly the deeper our bodily crisis-- sunlight, grapefruits, chocolate, parsley, rabbit bone.... whatever it needs. I follow all of the Alaska Katmai Brooks Falls bear footage videos, and they know to periodically dig up clay from the floorbed of the river to eat, I assume it keeps their parasite loads under control. Innate-God-installed wisdom, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully more and more people will tune into that as the scientific dictatorship produces proliferating poor, deathcult-type outcomes..... (wistful mood.....)
Yes.
Beautiful words spoken from the heart. Magical..
Very hard to read. Our eldest cat Foo has failing kidneys. She wants to eat but won’t eat what we give her. I have found a way to get her to eat but it is time consuming as she only eats a couple of bites at a time and if not watched, the other cats eat her food. Reading that she needs bone and we have no real way to give her any that she can eat. She is 18 years old and has no teeth. Both she and our second cat Mia lost their teeth soon after we switched cat food many years ago. It was very quick and though we quickly stopped giving them that food, the damage was done.
On a good note, she is at this moment, eating. She came down stairs, I gave her food, which she turned her nose up at and walked to the door. She had been crying for several minutes to be let out but I scooted her over to her food dish and she started eating.
You can give Foo bone broth. Do a search on this. There's an article and video from Dr. Becker, holistic vet, on healthy pets.mercola.com "How to Make a Bone Broth" from the article "Bone Broth: the "Soul Food" Perfect for Pets Who Won't Eat".
Containers of organic bone broth are available in some supermarkets in the meat section which you can warm up and serve on its own or mix into wet food. Dry food isn't good for cats, especially those with kidney disease.
Make sure to check the sodium content especially in cases of compromised kidneys.
Remember to never feed cooked bones to pets.
All the best to your sweet kitty and you.
my mom used to cook bone broth, gelatin to use in her yummy stews (people food).
Thanks, will look into it. We live in Japan and thus do not have access to the same things. We are now giving her soft kidney supporting food, including soup.
She had long been on dry kidney supporting food. We switched to dry in the hopes of saving her then remaining teeth. She stopped eating this about a year ago and we have been struggling to find food she’ll eat. A big problem has been my wife. She would not switch to any non kidney supporting food despite Foo’s continuing weight loss. Even after the vet told me that Foo needs to get her weight back up ASAP and worry about her kidneys later, my wife argues over the food I give her. Finally, she went to the pet store and found food Foo will eat that is has at least some kidney support. Shifting through the huge number of specialty care foods for cats in Japanese has not been my forte.
A lot more on this, Foo now has a bladder infection, we have to inject 120 cc of saline Subcutaneously twice a week etc. but too much for here.
The OP’s thread hits home hard for me as our cat is just a short ways down the path from where hers just was.
Thanks again.
Sorry, Kitsune, didn't realize you weren't in the US until I checked out your substack.
Your vet is 100% right. Foo needs to eat and at this point it can be whatever appeals to her and makes her happy. Kidney disease is sadly all too common in cats and is progressive. It's typical for cats to experience weight loss. Sometimes B complex vitamin injections can spark the appetite. SubQ fluids/ hydration as you're now doing for the bladder is also very helpful for the kidneys, but if it's too stressful for Foo you may have to discontinue that after the infection's resolved.
See if you can make your own bone broth. Sneak as much liquid (broth or spring water) into her food as she'll tolerate.
Try to prevent your wife from making the mistakes too many of us have made with our ill kitties. It can be a tough balance between maintaining quality of life vs. making your cat miserable by trying too hard to keep her going.
At 18, with kidney disease, Foo has earned the right to eat whatever makes her happy and to do whatever the heck she wants. Continue to shower her with lots of attention and love as you've been doing, keep her warm (kidney disease often makes cats feel chilly) and make sure she's comfortable and pain free. Quality of life is key. Try not to think too far ahead and just enjoy the gift of each day with Foo. It'll be hard, but put on a happy face for her sake. Cats know when we're upset.
If you haven't already, please ask your wife to read Celia's story about Jack and then Toby's comment about his cat.
I hope she'll take it to heart.
Blessings to you all.
Thank you Sue.
Yes, that is much my thoughts, let her eat what she wants. As it is now, we have learned that Foo has adopted the traditional Japanese etiquette for dinner guests. She refuses the first two offers of food and after accepting the 3rd offer, leaves a considerable amount in her dish. She had for a long time come down stairs crying to be fed only to turn up her nose and walk back upstairs without eating. Eventually, in desperation, I closed the door and kept bring her back to her dish. Eventually, she ate.
Now, I feed her upstairs most of the time. Every half an hour or so I bring her food dish up to her and set it down next to her. She sniffs it and turns her nose up with an aire of, “You expect me to eat THAT! HA!”. I leave it there but have to keep watch or the other cats will eat it. After a few minutes, she starts sniffing and glances over at her food dish with and expression of “Hmmpmh!”, and looks away again. A few miners later she is wolfing it down. But she eats so little each time however, that although I do this all day long and late into the night she is not putting on enough weight to be visibly noticeable. Her mobility is much improved though. We think the extended period of her eating so very little has shrunk her stomach.
Her eating again, even with the extraordinary effort and time involved is a very positive sign though. I am hopeful that she may improve…then I notice her labored breathing and I wonder if magical thinking is affect us too.
Much more going on with her than I can relate here, but thanks for the advice.
There is sooo much to learn, and evidence by Toby's letter much will be revealed the more we give attention to truly 'knowing' as Maka and Kathleen say. The process of engaging this knowing would intensify and be more free flowing if we could just create a barrier against 'Authorities' - make it so anything They pontificate on is deemed 'suggestions' vs. laws, mandates and medical edicts.
God Bless you Celia in all you do, and to Toby for sharing his experience.
Beautiful, sorrowful story about Jack, and such a poignant, heartbreaking comment from Toby.
In our desperation to keep our much loved animals with us just a little longer, we often make mistakes that we live to regret. The last thing we want is to cause them further distress or harm. Despite that, sometimes that's exactly what happens.
Lessons learned the hard way - animals know what they need, nature's remedies are often better, and we must always, always be vigilant and discerning about the methods we use to try to prolong their precious lives.
Plus a group hug from your loving community Celia! A beautiful letter and a reminder of how much Love surrounds us everyday. May your heart be filled with all the furry love Jack gave you. Oh how blessed he was to have such a loving mama. I have two 16 year old cats (one is the spitting image of your Jack) and just the thought of losing them makes me cry. Sending you so much love.
awesome💗💗
"... this luminous pain, the pain of a perfect friendship turned to memory."
Such a hauntingly accurate description of grief ... grief over losing a beloved friend like Jack ... grief over a beloved parent who chose to die at home where at least he could be surrounded at the end by his loving family ... grief over a beloved friend who trustingly called 911 for an ambulance only to later die alone in an ICU bed ... never realizing that the hospital was receiving large financial incentives essentially to commit murder and to deny effective treatments ...
so much grief all around these days ... Toby put it so very well.
Sometimes vet treatment is useful and lifesaving, and at other times, the diametric opposite. I have had animals whose lives were saved by crucial, correct and timely interventions, and I have had a favorite pet actually killed by vet stupidity. Once that happened, I never took any animal to that practice ever again for any reason.
Oh God, Catherine. I am so so sorry. How incredibly traumatic. I have to confess I am afraid of vets. Much more so since "Covid." They got worse. More militant and cold and weird. Not all of them. It's just that they always want to tell you how BAD the situation is!!
That was a beautiful share, I should like to share it also, bless your organic knowing & all the people & animals that are assisting you, & to all your readers as well & your friends , may Grace be with you all.
Cats just know. 💜
so sweet- here's something else that i think will touch your hearts as well- from a friend who attended the wapf conference this year:
For all of us who were deeply moved at the WT-2022 closing ceremony as we joined in singing the chorus to Jude Roberts' cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah -- and for all who were there in spirit,
here is the recording and lyrics. https://juderoberts.bandcamp.com/track/hallelujah
1) I heard there was a secret chord…(Leonard Cohen)
2) Your faith was strong…(Leonard Cohen)
3) They told us of a new disease that brought the people to their knees
But you don’t really read your history, do you?
There’s a question that you never ask
And a drone behind a plastic mask
Choking on a lonely Hallelujah
4) I’ve tried so long to understand
The bait and switch, the slight of hand
The masters of the board who want to move you
It’s a cruel game and a bitter ruse
We kneel inside these wooden pews
With nothing left to lose but Hallelujah
5) Once there was a piece of clay
You were made to move and moved to pray
And sent through blazing fire to renew you
But every man is bribed and bought
And every lie is sold and taught
There’s nothing left for you but Hallelujah
6) Now they tell me that we’re back to war
The one between the rich and poor
Between the free and those who wish to rule you
It’s a story old as the day is long
They can break the clay but not the song
The sound of an unbroken Hallelujah
credits
from Stained Glass Afterglow, track released November 13, 2022
Jude Roberts: Vocals and acoustic guitar
license
some rights reserved
Hallelujah, by Jude Roberts
As I posted about the decline of our cat, Foo, here; I thought I should provide this update.
Our cat, Foo, died at 4:07 am last Tuesday. Pets are cremated in Japan as are humans. They even have pet cemeteries, which seems to be a thing in big cities in the States, but not out in the country where I grew up. Tuesday night, we took Foo’s remains to a crematorium for pets and the service, including funeral was so much like that for a person that it was somewhat unsettling. The one thing missing was the religious chanting of a Buddhist monk, which is offered for pet funerals at temples. Not so surprising given that religion’s regard for animals.
I was surprised at how long we had to wait for our emaciated cat’s remains to be cremated. They brought her cremains in for us to view and to place in the crypt. They had carefully laid out her bones into two stainless steel trays. Her skull, jaw bones, the first vertebrae below the skull, which is of special importance to the Buddhist faith, and her shoulder blades carefully displayed in one tray. The other tray had the rest of her bones carefully laid out. The rest of her back bone and tail bones carefully lined up. All her claws were laid out in a straight line. It looked very much like an exhibit at a museum, which at the time displeased me as it was the remains of our beloved cat who has been with us for 18 years. However, to lay out her remains in such a fashion using chopsticks took a lot of time and care. I am now grateful for the care and respect they gave her.
After having her remains explained to us, we were escorted outside and we placed them in a vault. The larger bones were placed inside with two of us using metal chopsticks together. The skull and shoulder blades were fragile and we were told we should use our bare hands to place them inside. To hold the bones of a deceased loved one in your bare hand is an intimacy that I can not describe. One I would rather wish I did not have while at the same time glad I was able to.
As we waited for the cremation, we were provided with a wooden memorial tablet. My son drew a picture of Foo and we all wrote messages to her. My wife drew some flowers. This tablet will remain outside near the crypt for 6 months.
Good point. We discovered feeding our cats mostly raw chicken and raw eggs made a big difference in their well being. The average vet is like the average human doctor - almost ignorant about nutrition. Sad indeed. Sorry for your loss. We live, love and learn, and eventually return.