By May 2017 Allira was diagnosed with diabetes and her weight had increased to 6kg…she always weighed a healthy 4 to 4.5kg but over the couple of years prior to this diagnosis her weight escalated and her appearance started to decline…it was shocking to say the least and her desire to clean herself lessened (there were also signs of depression). Her beautiful cream colour fur went very dark, it became matted and she was covered in dandruff. After being told she would be on insulin for the rest of her life as remission was ‘unlikely’ I realised this was not the life I wanted for her so started to research… and I am so grateful that I found Dr Lisa Pearson’s website (Catinfo.org) which was a real eye opener! This eventually led me to the DCI website (Diabetic Cat International) and with the help and guidance of the lovely people from DCI I had her detoxed off the dry kibble and also took her off the insulin. She was now eating a high quality wet food…by October 2017 Allira was in full remission…the change that followed in her appearance was astonishing, over the months the weight came off and she got back down to 4.5kg, the bouts of cystitis decreased, her dandruff was clearing and fur went back to its original colour. During my research I learnt the importance of cats being fed a species appropriate diet…we all learnt at school that felines are obligate carnivores so how do we get talked into feeding them dry food? So I made a batch of homemade raw food (you must follow a proper recipe) and I did try to transition both Allira and Izak but failed miserably, purely because of my own impatience in doing this…some cats will transition easily others not so…mine unfortunately were the latter so at that point I put it in the ‘too hard basket’. On a follow up visit to the vet some time later he did say that he was happy with Allira’s general wellbeing, actually he was quietly amazed at how well she was since being in remission from diabetes and immediately questioned what I had been feeding her, albeit still insisting that kibble is a good diet, ‘just some cats may be sensitive to it’…seriously it’s really unfortunate how our Vets can’t see the damage dry food causes…or can they…it makes for great repeat business!

In the back of my mind I was hoping that the 12 years Allira had been on kibble hadn’t caused any future damage and she would live the rest of her life healthy…but this was not to be the case. It all started on 3rd April 2019 when I took her to the vet with suspected gastroenteritis, which was confirmed after she had full bloods done and was treated successfully.  At that same visit the Vet was still generally happy with Allira’s wellbeing and mentioned something about her kidneys but he didn’t seem too concerned as it was ‘normal for a cat her age’ and he didn’t go on to explain what he meant.

Now if we fast forward a few months, I took Allira to the Vet again on the 23 September 2019 because she had started urinating out of her litter box and more frequently. At that consult I brought her fresh urine sample and wanted a full urinary/blood analysis done.  The Vet dip sticked her urine and confirmed that she had protein present and suspected that she was ‘slipping into renal insufficiency’ but still insisted that full urinary/blood tests were not necessary and instead sent me home with some drug called Semintra.  So here we go again…started searching the internet for something more alternative and holistic, as opposed to this temporary band aid solution (which was actually making her symptoms worse as she ended up with diarrhoea as well). It was at this point I came across Astro’s Story and after having read it I ordered the Optimal Renal Care package straight away. Having also read ALL of the testimonials I realized that it was paramount that I have Allira’s blood tested IMMEDIATELY which I did one week later…on 30th September 2019…and then I got the results…
…I felt guttered, guilty and so angry with myself.  Guilty and angry because Allira was showing me the signs a few months prior but because she didn’t show any other symptoms I didn’t think to get her straight to the vet. At that same time there was some fence construction going on in my court yard (which continued for a period of weeks) so I thought that possibly the disruption may have been affecting her or perhaps she was just getting a bit geriatric due to her age…I was also using the process of elimination to try and work out what was wrong but she is very introverted and quite stoic so can be very hard to read…I should have known better…Allira always communicates with me via her pee…the only geriatric in this household is me!!! And I was guttered because her blood test results showed Allira’s UREA had reached 52.0 mmol/L and her CREA was 721 umol/L…according to IRIS (International Renal Interest Society) ‘CREA >440 umol/L = Stage 4: severe to end stage renal failure’…I couldn’t believe it…I was devastated!!!

It was only after her diagnosis of stage 4 CKD in October did I ask to see the previous April blood results which showed her UREA high at 16.3 mmol/L and her CREA was high/normal at 212 umol/L.  CREA at that level (high/normal) is already considered Stage 2 CKD (again according to IRIS)!!!  If at that point the Vet brought this to my attention I would have no doubt started investigating alternative products to help her condition as I had done in the past…what is more devastating was finding out that CKD in the early stages is considered reversible whereas at stage 4 it’s not!

By the following week Allira was deteriorating…I was praying for the Astro’s products to hurry up and arrive but in the meantime got her onto some of my krill supplements. She was eating less and losing weight fast, she got down to 2.8kg and by the Saturday she had stopped drinking and could barely walk! I got her straight back to a (different) Vet and asked them to put her on subcutaneous fluids which was a huge help (I only knew to ask for this because of what I had previously read on the Astro’s Oil testimonial pages) and by the time I got her home she started eating and drinking again. From that point I would continue to administer her Sub Q’s from home myself. To my great relief, on the Tuesday the Astro’s Oil package arrived…yay…and after two months of being only on the Astro’s Oil products and Sub Q’s every 2nd day, I had her bloods redone…as of 18 December 2019 Allira’s results were: BUN/CREA 23, CREA 387 umol/L, UREA 35.2 mmol/L…that’s pretty impressive…so much so that the (new) Vet was rather perplexed as she had never seen such a drastic decrease, she said normally the readings just continue to go up! 
Here we are, 10 months later and Allira is still with me and doing very well. This time has not been without a few challenges by no means…after the December 2019 bloods I did seek help via a Homeopath as Allira started to pee outside her litter box again…she has since been and continues to take some homeopathic remedies which has rectified that issue.  Allira is peeing a lot less these days…at the height of her CKD she was peeing up to 8 times a day and presently she’s down to about 3…I’ve also changed the frequency of her Sub Q’s to every 4th day.

I was adamant about changing both my cats’ diets so I also slowly started to convert them to the species appropriate one…this time with success! Actually having fed and hooked Izak onto raw chicken necks prior to, he converted immediately but Allira took many months, 8 in fact, and as of May 2020 she has fully transitioned…yay…her health continues to improve and so does her weight, currently at 3.6kg.

So to this point there is no more depression, no more diabetes, no more cystitis/UTI’s, bladder infections/inflammations and almost no more dandruff, she just has a small amount on the base of her back but I’m working on that! And in regards to her CKD, we live one day at a time and she will dictate how long she chooses to share her life with me…not a Vet…and I will continue to be here for her as long as she needs my support. Life is now bliss and I am so very happy!

I know this has been a very long testimonial but I feel it’s extremely important that people know the full story and understand these health challenges that Allira and many other cats have experienced are all related and can be completely avoided simply by changing the food we choose to feed our cats. I thank Astro’s Oil for developing such wonderful products…I believe in Allira’s case they have been lifesaving!”

-Rose Man