I am a member of rawcat too... and yes, I'm afraid you're right that there isn't all that much experience there to advice us or respond to questons beyond the basics... have you tried My Pet Carnivore?

I have heard of this sort of thing happening to cats fed raw or home-cooked for some time - suddenly, they want none of it.  When this happens with Cato, what I do is let him have his way - for a day - and feed him babyfood.  That'snot real nourishing so he is expected to get pretty hungry by evening or next day.  By which time, I present raw food to him again.  Usually, he eats it.  I guess cats get bored with the same fare, so I try to "break" the monotony by offering something different like turkey or cooked pork or beef now and again.

awww.... the poor little sweetheart.  I'm glad she's doing heaps better today, GG!

[NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Peanut Corp of America sought bankruptcy protection on Friday after product recalls linked to a salmonella outbreak....]

http://www.reuters.com/article/managementIssues/idUSN1354457720090213

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Peanut Corp of America sought bankruptcy protection on Friday after product recalls linked to a salmonella outbreak....


... great way to escape liability, ha?  NOT!!! 

phewww... thanks for the update and I'm glad the surgery went real well, but sad about the hip... one thing at a time, though... Yes; Misty is a real Trooper and I hope she feels more like her old self tomorrow.  Have a good night's rest both of ya! 

Ya!  There's the handsome fella!  What breed is Edgar Winter?  Mix of something?  My neighbors' two cats have the same long strong face and long hair... fascinating. 

vewwwy good!  (whisper)

GreyGhost:  How's Misty? How's Misty???

Arghhhh, I can't stand the waiting! 

Good.

Permission to cross post this to the Australian forum Kaffe pls?

Careful what you say on the blogs - I know I have said this before and make no apology for repeating myself.

Some people are working on something I believe.

You could start by getting this man's permission to cross post HIS blog perhaps?

Permission given, TCM - with all my heart. 

You can e-mail Dr. Jones directly, TCM --- he is very open and kind to pet parents.  He is "controversial" in that he has stepped out of the 'normal' vet modus operandi and is churning out books and videos showing pet parents how to AVOID needing vets in the first place.  Mind you, he sells his own line of supplements, so... but I find him sincere and up front.  This is where you'll find him:

Dr Andrew Jones
Veterinary Secrets Revealed
http://www.theonlinevet.com

He is widely read here in the US.

[Dr. Andrew Jones Recieves a Nasty Phone cal from Orijen]

Dr. Andrew Jones Recieves a Nasty Phone cal from Orijen

I received a daily update e-mail from the controversial vet, Dr. Andrew Jones regarding a “Nasty” phone call he received from Orijen.  Dr. Jones periodically gives his subscribers newsletters on what’s new and what’s happening in the pet and veterinary world.  Anyway, this is what he wrote in his newsletter:

**Quote**

The Phone Call

A company representative from
Champion Pet Foods called me to
'correct' a blog posting I had made
about Orijen Food.

I had posted a newsletter in which I
mistakenly talked about cats in North
America becoming paralyzed by Orijen.

The Factual Report is that there
are NO North American cases officially
reported.

BUT someone posted to my blog, as
she had a cat with a similar paralysis as
the cats in Australia. She was feeding Orijen
Cat Food. This was not confirmed by a
Veterinarian, and  there are many causes
of paralysis in cats- I suspect that the
paralysis was due to another cause than
Orijen food- as there really have been
NO reported cases in North America.

----------------------
BAD Publicity
----------------------

BUT I was called because the Blog
Posting had generated some Bad Publicity-
and the Company is not wanting to discuss
what is happening in Australia.

HUH?

It wasn't a phone call to update
me on the ongoing investigation as
to the underlying cause of the paralysis.

It wasn't something proactive informing
me HOW the company is doing all they
can to figure out the underlying problem,
and reinforce HOW 'safe' their food is
in North America.

I feed (or fed) their food to my own
pets.

I advocate and sell their food.

YET the 'courtesy' phone call I get is:

----------------------------------------
Take the blog post down, it's giving
us Bad PR.
----------------------------------------

O.K.

I'll 'correct' the Blog Post.

But you sure haven't generated TRUST
with me about the SAFETY of your food.

I am still not feeding Orijen Cat
Food, or advising that it be fed,
until the underlying cause has been
determined.

*IF* you still feed it, it is still
safe so long as you are NOT in
Australia.

It's your call.


**End quote**



I think the "bad publicity" from bloggs and forums is hurting Orijen a little, ya think?

Gotta bring this to Mike at DefendOurPets and also to PetConnection, Catster...  am going to be busy, busy, busy

kaffe, can you let us know what blogs or forums you're posting the info on and where?  I'd like to get others to then post on them, too, to keep the dialogue going.

Perseus:  The Yahoo groups that have so far posted my Orijen Update are:

Caring fo CRF..
CATWELL
Companion Animal Naturally
Feline Lymphoma
Feline HyperT

waiting for approval:
Feline Assisted Feeding
WholeCatHealth

It seems that some of the Yahho groups want assurance of permission to cross post especially if we are quoting from posts in other forums... Anyway... to reacapitulate:

My Yahho Groups:

Feline Lymphoma
Feline Cancer Holistic
Feline IBD
Caring for CRF Feline
CATWELL
Feline hyper-T
Feline Pancreatitis
My Pet Carnivore
rawcat
rawfeeding
WoleCatHealth
CompanionAnimalNaturally
Feline Assisted Feeding
Feline RF info
Feline CRF Support
Fur Angels
Pet Loss

[Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy]

Most of us are doing what we can at home = physio, swimming,assisting with walking etc plus going to the vet to get accupuncture, chiro etc. My cats are all being treated by a holistic vet as conventional medicines seem to cause a huge reaction in the affected cats. So they are also getting treated with chinese herbs, antioxidants, homeopathics and flower remedies. Unfortunately our heat wave is also causing problems as the affected cats are unable to regulate their body temperatures.

Who knows what Champion will do - I think that depends more on how their Nth American market reacts than anything Australian pet owners do. They have offered up to AUD$2000/cat (conditions apply), which roughly equates to the US$1400 people are talking about, and as every one has said goes only a very small way towards meeting the costs incurred by affected cats' carers.

The other issue of course is that Orijen wants this all settled by May - nice for them but this is not going to go away anytime soon for affected cat owners.

Raggiesrule:  I was wondering is any of you with the affected cats or their vets have tried using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?  It has been used successfully to treat Myelitis - a rare complication of therapeutic radiation exposure to the spinal cord and is characterized by delayed development of paresthesias, sensory changes and, in severe cases, progressive paresis and paralysis.

To read about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, see

http://www.drcranton.com/hbo/conditions_treated.htm

To read about Myelitis (which seems to be very similar to what the affected cats are suffering), see

http://www.nature.com/bmt/journal/v26/n12/full/1702705a.html

Excerpt:

"Myelitis is a rare but well documented complication of therapeutic radiation exposure to the spinal cord and is characterized by delayed development of paresthesias, sensory changes and, in severe cases, progressive paresis and paralysis. Although accepted radiation tolerance limits for the spinal cord have successfully limited the incidence of this problem (45-50 Gy, in daily 1.8-2 Gy fractions), aggressive systemic therapy may render patients more susceptible to radiation-related neurotoxicity. We describe the case of a 38-year-old man with refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who underwent matched sibling peripheral blood stem cell transplant following a conditioning regimen of cyclophosphamide (60 mg/kg ´ 2) and total body irradiation (120 cGy ´ 11). This was followed by delivery of 30.6 Gy involved-field radiation at 1.8 Gy/day to the mediastinum and left supraclavicular fossa for bulky residual tumor. Although maximum cumulative radiation dose to the spinal cord was less than 45 Gy, the patient subsequently developed progressive lower extremity weakness and MRI abnormalities of the spinal cord limited to the radiation field. This represents the second report in the literature of this unexpected complication, prompting a need to re-examine current guidelines for radiotherapy in the context of high-dose systemic treatment. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 26, 1355-1359."

I don't imagine that this is a very expensive therapy becuase this is the exact therapy they use for the Bends (diving) and smoke inhalation. 

I think it's worth a shot!

Raggiesrule: you have every right to be outraged.  It looks like Orijen may be taking advantage of the present bush fire crises in Australia to even shorten the duration of their "compassionate fund" - you know, while the public's attention is elsewhere.  They want to end their responsibility as quickly as possible.  By rights, they should be covering and compensating for the costs of caring for the affected cats for as long as said cats are sick.

How is dear Perseus-kitty today?

Oh GreyGhost - my heart is in my throat for Misty too.... but I feel that since it is a small growth, it will eventually be a successful surgery.  nd I absoutely agree with you not to wait for the BioPrep to remove it completely.   But of course the waiting will be agony... know that we're here for you and will be praying for a great out come for Misty.  Give her a kiss on the nose from me, K?