dianan, I've never heard of cat's claw, but highly doubt it will be effective.
I got a book about Lyme a couple of years ago (Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic ) , and did look into for myself... I would highly recommend this book. The author's theory about long-term Lyme is basically that the bacterium "hide" in the tissues, and cannot be detected by the standard blood tests (ELISA and Western Blot). However she describes the 3 co-infections and what antibiotics are recommended to take for a period of time to kill the bacterium, and then the blood tests may pick up the "dead" bacteria, since they can no longer "hide". I did try a modified version of what she suggested, with no luck. I went on an antibiotic for a month, and got retested, and no Lyme.
You'd be better off looking for some of the clinical trials that your Mom may qualify for... I think that the Dexpramipexole trial that I'm in, is going to have another trial starting in the spring, with higher doses.
I understand that no one wants to be in our club here, I myself have 3 children that were 11,13 and 16 when I was diagnosed. Please stay on the forum (and introduce your Mom to it) and learn as much as you can to be proactive.