Page 17 - Summer 17

It’s all in the name by Geoff Johnson, UK Cuddles
Cuddles is a 13 year-old spayed tortoiseshell cat suffering from itching skin disease.
She had been part of a feral farm cat colony. The CPL [Cats Protection League; ed] came and neutered them all in 2011 and Cuddle’s owners took on the task of feeding them all. They were all timid and unapproachable. Then in 2013 one of the cats seemed to become very tame, and came for cuddles – hence the name. She wanted to be handled, and decided to come on all the dog walks with the two GSDs. In 2015 her coat became dull, and she developed red raw axillae with much licking and scratching. She was taken to the local vets, who loved her, as she was very friendly and rolled about purring on the exam table. “So chilled out for a feral” said everyone. She was put on permanent Ovarid [Megestrol Acetate; ed], which worked wonderfully, until it was withdrawn from sale. However subsequent steroids didn’t work, seeming to make the skin ‘thin, fragile and greasy’. In fact Cuddles rapidly went down hill since starting steroids. Atopica was tried but she reacted very badly to it, and it had to be stopped.
By May 2017 she was lethargic, losing weight, anaemic and had horrid greasy itching skin, which she scratched and licked raw. She was brought to my surgery. She remained chilled in her basket for 5 minutes, before wandering out purring, looking for a stroke from me and the owners.
Tell me about Cuddles.
‘She is so so so affectionate, and follows us around and always purrs. She has no fears. She kneads all the time, even when standing up. She never flinches, when the dogs play with her, and rubs herself all over them. The only thing she is frightened of is my mum’ (75 year old lady who wants to love Cuddles like everyone else).
‘She throws herself at everyone and tucks her head in under their armpit. She clings to me and thinks that I am her mum’. ‘She never holds a grudge, and she is happy all the time.’
Is she vicious or jealous? ‘Never’
Is she a hunter? ‘Yes – but not obsessive.’
If she wasn’t a cat, what animal would she be? ‘A dog – we’ve always said that she wants tobeadog’
Anything else? ‘We wonder if she lost her mum too early – she just wants to be mothered’.
There were no other significant symptoms.
Analysis
OK – repertorise with rubrics like Perspiration – oily; Chest, eruptions axillae; Mind – mildness; Mind – cheerful; Mind – caressed, desire to be; Mind – affectionate... and look at the first 50 remedies. They simply are not Cuddles! Having too much fun for Nat-m, not uptight enough for Phos, maybe the lily crocus, but not changeable – could be cannabis at number 29 but doesn’t feel right. Olibanus sacrum at number 44 is worth a look – the loving Christ consciousness – hmm - all a bit religious.
So – repertory not a lot of help. Let’s look at the themes.
1 Fearful of owners mother, wants to be
mothered, she wants me to be her mum, did she lose her mother too early? There seems to be a mum thing going on.
2 Possible aetiology of spaying, responded very well to Ovarid – a female hormonal remedy?
3 Sensitivity to allopathic drugs (steroids and Atopica) can suggest a sarcode.
4 Dogs
The choice of a milk is fairly clear, but matridomals such as placenta, amniotic fluid, vernix, folliculinum or progesterone need to be considered.
Looking at the rubric Chest, eruptions, axilla, we see two milks – lac-c and lac-h. We also see another mammalian remedy – carbo animalis – and it is graded 3! The essence of carb-an is nostalgia, looking back to those great times we had in the past. That isn’t Cuddles!
So – there are two lacs out of the 42 remedies, which are known for eruptions in the axillae. That probably means that all lacs have this feature, but because most lacs have been proved recently, the full physical picture is yet
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