Laura
,@lauramiedzianowski
2
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Found a very young kitten on the highway, can’t afford vet, need help in Early Branch, SC.
Hello, all. I’m posting this for someone on our FB page who has had difficulty signing up here. I’m going to copy and paste what he shared with me.
“I’m trying to save a kitten. My wife found her on the highway. She is very young maybe a month. I do not know anything about cats or kittens. Her nose is plugged eyelids are swollen her breathing is not good she is weezing. I got as many if the flees off of her as I could. I am on fixed income so going to the only vet in my area is out of the question. Can you help me please?
Shes awake this morning still cant get her to take any water or food. Its rough because I’m allergic to cats but doing what I can. I would literally have to take out a personal loan to have her treated by the Vet here as he is the only Vet in our area i can access he sets his prices at astronomical figures. I’m just trying to keep her alive.”
I suggested kitten milk for food in addition to needing to be stimulated to evacuate bowels and bladder. He said she did evacuate during a flea bath. He has kitten milk, she’s just not interested in it. I mentioned running a hot bath and sitting in the bathroom with her to steam her lungs and sinuses.
“I cleaned up her face with warm wash cloth first night I brought her home. I bathed her yesterday but was unable to get all the flees off. I will try the steam to see of it helps thank you for the advice. I tried to sign up for the page suggested but was unable to.”
Since I posted this, he’s placed her close to a humidifier and put a heating pad under her pile of blankets in her box.
What am I missing? I have even less experience than our poster, here.
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Dr. Magnifico (and anyone else), a friend has a difficult situation he’s trying to rectify with his cat.
He has a male cat who was treated for a UTI very recently – 2 weeks ago, to be exact. In the past two days, the cat has taken to urinating on a specific spot on the carpet on the same floor as the litterboxes (they have 3 boxes for 2 cats). He is not actively AVOIDING the boxes, he’s just preferring the carpet for urine. He isn’t marking, either – he’s emptying his full bladder in this one particular spot. I’ve suggested cleaning the heck out of the spot with an industrial shampooer with Nature’s Miracle added to the mix, to get the urine out of the pad. What other suggestions can I give him? I have zero experience with a cat with a UTI, and I’m at a loss at the moment.
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Anonymous Just to update, friend rented a Rug Doctor and thoroughly cleaned the spot. Once it’s dry, he’s going to do another round of cleaning on the spot.
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Sarah I’m wondering if he out the box there, would the cat use it? I know it’s not a permanent solution, but it may help short term. Then perhaps move the box back little by little, IF the cat starts using it again. Just a thought….
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
Here’s my gold standard recommendation. Serial urinalyses (three to be exact) to look for any evidence of a urinary issue. This might include a culture and sensitivity. I also like an X-ray and ultrasound. Point being work out a medical issue to the ninth degree!! At the same time start to address behavior issues. I have a few blogs on “inappropriate urination”. I think (hope) that I have added all my secrets and tips to them. If things get bad (like to the point of considering giving up use the drugs!!!). Try fluoxetine. -
Anonymous Sarah – Thanks! I suggested the box move. Even if it’s just plopping ONE box in that spot, it can’t hurt, right? I don’t think they’ve furnished the basement yet, so it’s a great idea. 🙂
Dr. M – THANK YOU! I’ll recommend another urinalysis. My gut feeling is it’s not quite gone, especially when this started a day or so ago, and he was seen by their vet 2 weeks ago. I’ll recommend another visit today. I’ll also dig through the blog. 🙂
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Anonymous Update! He will cover the spot with plastic and put a litterbox on top of it, and he’s trying to get his cat in today to get a urine sample captured today or tomorrow. He also washed the spot again before returning the Rug Doctor this afternoon.
Thanks a ton, ladies! I’ll keep updating as things progress.
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Julia Morrell are they declawed? some cats dont like the feel of the litter. have several types of litter boxes high, low, covered, open, etc. to encourage proper elimination
This is something I see asked often elsewhere online but don’t know the answer…what are the symptoms of a PARTIAL bowel obstruction in both dogs and cats?
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
It depends on a huge number of things.. like species, breed, age, the type of obstruction and where it happens. For instance is this cancer, food, foreign body… and where it is,, i.e. Intestines, colon, stomach. Etc. sorry. I can try to help more with a better idea of what you’re thinking/worried about -
Anonymous Ah, apologies. Foreign body partial obstruction – for example, a corn cob that isn’t fully obstructing the bowel, but may not have fully passed.
I get asked about symptoms quite a bit (“I’m not sure if Fluffy pooped it all out” is the most common thing I hear) and I’d love some guidance to help folks understand their dog’s behaviors a bit better.
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Anonymous And for cats…DO they get foreign body partial obstructions often enough to have a checklist of symptoms?
A neighbor has a door dasher that seems to get out *frequently* despite her owners’ best efforts to keep her indoors. Does anyone have any ideas on how to prevent this behavior?
I do not have any further information, but my suggestions included diffusers with citrus scents near entry points, crating in a large dog crate, and keeping the cat confined to a room with a closing door when people enter/exit the home. Is there anything else you can think of?
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Madelyn Fischer Hello, I would just make sure the door is closed and LOCKED. I don’t know any other suggestions for you, other than just “hissing” her away from the door. This means to make a noise much like a hiss noise. Good luck!
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Anonymous Thank you!
It appears the cat in question door dashes when it’s opened (when people enter/exit the home). We live in a city known for B&E crime, and I know these folks keep the door closed/locked.
I’ll mention the hissing but I can confirm that this won’t work for a determined feline. Hopefully theirs is more sensitive than my brat. 🙂
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Anonymous I dig. Passing this along, thanks.
a friend’s parents are out of town, and he’s watching their dog. his mom doesn’t administer parasite preventative during the winter and the poor old dog has a BAD hookworm infestation. he’s at the vet’s for this now, but my friend’s wondering about the house, yard, car, etc. he’s calling his doctor regarding how to deal with his own system, but he could use help with clearing the environment.
any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.
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Anonymous thanks a TON. my friend is following this thread, so he’ll see the response. 🙂
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Anonymous hah, i hear ya! he’s angry about the situation – they left knowing the dog wasn’t feeling well, and it’s taken weeks to figure out the cause of the problem. it also explains the weight loss, even though he’s finally at a healthy weight (especially for a big basketball-headed lab).
now to get him healthy and keep him trim…
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Anonymous yeah. he’s the most responsible member of the family, especially when it comes to the dog.
he’s the one who got them to feed meals, and set amounts at each meal. he’s the reason they’re feeding a high quality food. frankly, i think he should just take over total care of the dog – he’s the reason the dog gets to go to the beach, plays fetch, goes for walks, you name it. he’s a big ol’ sweetheart of a mooshdog who actually tolerated my crazypants dobe when she was a pup, and he deserves the best care.
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Mike W. Hey everyone, Thanks again for the help! I want him to be as healthy as possible in his last year, hopefully years. Suggestions on what preventative to get him on? Sentinel Plus, Spectrum? Iverhart? Is this (dewormer / worm preventative) something that we might want to switch / rotate every few months?
This is the family dog, we got him back in 2003 when I was a teenager, so he lives at my parents house (they’re retired) He’s doing much, much better, though I am worried about re-infection given that he’s 13. He’s been with me since beginning of Feb, and spent 2 weeks with my sisters prior. I think he was starting to get sick even then, though we chalked it up to age, different surroundings, and my mother being away. Even I chalked some of his symptoms the past few weeks up to old age.
He originally had diarrhea and then bloody stools on the 27th or 28th of Feb, was diagnosed with dehydration and colitis on the 29th. Vet (not the usual lady) was reluctant to bother testing the small fecal sample I brought and was “sure they wouldn’t find anything” It was tested and positive for hookworms (3-4 on a 1-5 scale) I’m not sure if it was an oversight by myself or the vet, but I was not contacted with the results. My mother was, but is on vacation and never checked her multiple voicemails. 5 days prior to the ER he had been doing much better, long, perky walk, an afternoon of swimming. He had days where he acted like a puppy, but also days where he was very lethargic, but went downhill very very fast over a 36 hr. period. where he drank water, then threw it up tinged with blood.
So he had a pretty serious hookworm infection which then went untreated almost a full month. He also swallowed 2 complete pairs of panties, which is behavior I’ve never seen from him.
Immediately brought him to the 24hr. ER vet Thursday night, he was admitted, given meds, max IV hydration they could give, and was there until Saturday evening. I feel like this is soumething I should have caught earlier, though he appeared to have been doing better, and his symptoms mimiced the colitis symptoms the vet said would clear up with time.
Also, the ER Vet gave me Rymidal to help with his mobility but I’m reluctant to give him it due to his age (Older humans can have bad bleeding on NSAID’s, I wonder if dogs are the same) and also because of what his system has been through. He gets around pretty well for 13, though I now have to help him into the back of the car, so I am thinking glucosamine and perhaps some at home exercises to strengthen his back legs might be a better idea.
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Anonymous thanks for posting updates, Mike. 🙂
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Mike W. Today was the 1st day since the ER visit that I’ve left him alone during the day and couldn’t stop by at lunch, so I had a family friend check on him. Perky, excited, alert, hopping around and very happy to get a bite of chicken as a treat and a short walk.
I’ll talk to my mother later this week and make sure he gets a followup vet trip soon (early april) that I’m going to try and make. We’ll see what preventative to get him on and also see about another round or two of dewormer and poo tests. He gets his 2nd round of dewormer on 4/8 per the ER vet. 1st dose I gave him was 3/28 which I believe was Panacur, then on 4/8 he gets Pyrantel. Those 2 doses are all the instructions I got regarding deworming him. However, My basic understanding is that these hookworms can appear to be knocked out initially, but some will lay dormant and then things get nasty again
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Mike W. Ah, reply got eaten.
His person is home. He greeted my parents to death by tail wag and full on butt wiggle, then pranced around with a bone. He even drank some water from his water bowl, though only a bit. Ive been adding water to his food to keep him hydrated.
He was 66 lbs when the ER discharged him!, so we’ll need to put weight on him. I’d like him between 75 and 80, no more than 85 lbs.
I think my mom will be willing to put in the work, though it remains to be seen just how much my dad will sabotage things. He’s incapable of properly caring for a dog, cannot/will not feed properly, and I can guarantee he will never pick up poop. I don’t expect he’ll follow my instructions even if I write them out and sit down to explain it all to him like he’s five.
They’re used to just letting him out the back unsupervised and off-leash (invisible fence) but that cant happen anymore. They’re also used to having him go out whenever they happen to get up in the morning and to giving him free roam of the house. That’ll probably need to change, especially with the underwear eating. He’s been needing to go out between 2 and 6 am most mornings, usually more than once, so this should be….interesting.
I’m excited to get back to my apartment and sleep in my own bed, but I’ll try and stop by often for the next few weeks to check in on him 🙂
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Anonymous oof, yeah, 66 is too low. i’m sure your parents will put the weight back on…hopefully they do so *slowly*
that a lab has gone this long without eating underwear is amazing. they’re lucky. 😛
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Mike W. Well, he’s an amazingly well-behaved, laid back dog. Even as a puppy he really never chewed things he wasn’t supposed to ate bad stuff etc. I did stress that, basically, they’re going to have to act as though they have a puppy again. keep doors closed and confine him to certain areas of the house if they’re going to keep it as cluttered as it is. Can’t really rely on him to tell them he needs to go out. I’ve been noticing this even before he got sick. In old age he’s just not vocal / animated in telling you. No crying, pawing, overly insistent nose booping anymore. It’s more of a, lumber into the room, look at you silently, then lumber out.
Been having some small pee accidents if I don’t have him out the door to go before 6 am. 6:25 this morning was too late.
He’s tolerating the Orijen I bought. been giving him 1-5 pieces of kibble now and then with his food, just to see if he’d eat it, and so he doesn’t get too spoiled and forget what dog food is 😛 I did stress absolutely no treats or people food other than what he’s getting for meals,
My sis and I found several pairs of underwear in my parents back yard, so yes, they’re very, very lucky. Odd that this behavior has just recently started though.
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Anonymous maybe they need to reconsider such long vacations. he’s trying to tell them something. they need to listen.
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Mike W. Mom was opposed to 2 months vacation instead of 1, but Dad won out on that one. Zack continues to improve. He’s eating, finally drinking water and keeping everything down, there have been no accidents so far this week, and my mother says he’s “Very perky” He’ll get another dewormer treatment later this week.
I did have someone remind me this past weekend that “he’s 13 and you might have to put him down soon.” Yeah, thanks. As if I’m not acutely aware of that.
Checked with my Dr. and was told not to worry about myself as long as I was showing no symptoms. Aside from weight loss I’m not, so dog and human are in the clear.
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Mike W. Got him on Iverhart Max, he’s gained weight back, and was hopping around in excitement when I stopped by this past weekend. Seems to be back to his old self. We also started him on Glucosamine (human kind) and it appears to have really helped him get around. Hell, he jumped out of the back of my mother’s SUV this weekend and proceeded to go on one of the longest walks he’s been on in a long, long time. It’s been a few years since he’s felt spry enough to jump down out of the back of a truck / SUV.
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Ripley has a lick sore with broken skin on her rear leg. She already has a routine vet visit scheduled for Friday, and we would like to avoid moving that up if possible. Wondering what I can do in the interim to prevent her from chewing on it more. It is not bleeding at the moment.
I have bitter apple on hand but with the broken skin I’m afraid of irritating it further.
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Emily Herbel I’m not a vet, but have you tried putting a cone on her? You can get one at any pet supply store and they are pretty inexpensive. It will make it harder for her to get her mouth to her leg.
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Laura Post author There was a small bump on it earlier today…i would compare it to a pressure sore from lying on a hard surface, but she hasn’t been on any hard surfaces lately.
She DOES have an allregy to something in the yard and we battled hives most of the summer as a result. Vet had her on a steroid, antihistamine, and antibiotic. She hasn’t been itchy since.
What worries me is she has been displaying some OCD behavior lately – suckling, digging, and the licking may be her way of replacing the suckling after I removed her blanket.
Her paternal grandmother is a suckler, so I anticipated some suckling. I just wish it wouldn’t escalate to destructive chewing.
Maybe i need to step up the training regimen to manage the OCD behavior. Will be discussing that with my trainer.
Anyway…what do you think i could do to manage the irritation until Friday? I am not against giving her benadryl – vet has approved our use – I just don’t know if this is a histamine reaction.
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Laura Post author Sadly, it’s a bit late to get to the stores – they all closed about 2 hours ago. It’s a good idea, though, and I may pick one up tomorrow.
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Laura Post author Shall do! At least she pills easily. 🙂
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Laura Post author i may be jumping the gun, but that seemed to work – she didn’t touch her leg after i pilled her. thanks for kicking me in the buns on that one!
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PK Dennis Laura,
Have you gotten all the grain out of her diet? Including treats? In the long run being grain-free will help her system while it tries to heal itself.
The three things I do to help a dog that is itching (other than treating them for whatever caused the itch in the first place) are:
1. Rinsing the area or the entire dog with cider vinegar and water (1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water – I like organic vinegar. If the dog is white you may want to use a white vinegar cause the cider can stain the coat). Do not rinse this out, let it dry in the coat and make sure the mix gets all the way to the skin.
2. On raw hot spots I use witch hazel with aloe. You can find this in any drug store. Just pat it on with a cotton pad and allow to dry.
3. Use a generic form of Zyrtec instead of the Benadryl — it seems to work better for most dogs.
Good luck!
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Laura Post author i am 99.999% certain this is not diet-related. she eats Wellness CORE and has since coming home at 10 weeks. i frequently change the formulation and will throw in a different brand from time to time, but i stick to higher end foods with no grains. i believe i’ve said this a few times in the past. 😉 i’m working on researching a few food options that have lower carb content, however, as i’m not much a fan of the high amount of potatoes and peas.
prior to making this post on Sunday, i used a diluted white vinegar wash – the same wash i use on her coat prior to a show. that made her more prone to licking, to the point of running off so she could lick it off. i believe it stung a bit.
we already use witch hazel in conjunction with her other allergy – which was, as i mentioned, a contact allergy and not food related. we determined this with an elimination diet and had her on a venison-based raw diet for about 2 months. the witch hazel in conjunction with the benadryl has kept her from chewing.
benadryl has worked fine.
My dobe bitch spent last week at my MIL’s home, and throughout that week my MIL fed her Beneful rather than the food we asked her to feed. This…is a problem, and one we will be discussing with her at another time.
However. As a result of this lovely, boundary-free vacation eating nothing but the equivalent of Big Macs for a week, she will not go back to her regular food unless we add enticements. I need her eating what i give her, when i give it to her, without exceptions. Normally this isn’t a problem – she’s trying to get us to give her that lovely, delicious junk food. She is healthy, so this isn’t a health-related problem. She’s just being a stubborn brat. 🙂
My question is this: what is the quickest way to get her back on her normal food? My husband is less than cooperative with my eat-it-or-lose-it method of training, wondering if anyone can suggest anything else. For the moment she is absolutely refusing plain kibble. The most I will do for her is add warm water, which I do for dinners anyway. She won’t touch breakfast at all.
Any suggestions? 🙂
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Laura Post author Before someone asks: I show her. She needs to eat when told just like she needs to evacuate bowel and bladder when told…otherwise things may get messy in the ring, and I cannot have that happening. This only becomes a problem after she goes to my MILs for more than a couple of days. Unfortunately, we have another lengthy stay planned later this summer, with a major show soon after. To say this has given me a headache is an understatement.
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Laura Post author I know the MIL isn’t trying to be detrimental. She just refuses to believe that Beneful isn’t what I want to feed my dog. If we give her individually bagged meals, she complies. If we give her a bag of Rip’s food and a scoop, she…doesn’t. Last lengthy visit, she managed to feed 15 pounds of food in a week and a half. I fear this may be an ongoing disagreement – she tends to keep her dogs 5 pounds overweight and free feeds, while I like my dog eating specific meals at specific times and I like to see a nice tuck at the belly with a visible waist.
She will accept kibble from my hand if she complies with a command – she thinks it’s a treat. I got about half a cup in her that way this evening, so she isn’t going to go completely hungry. She’s just being a stubborn twit – at nearly 2, she’s at that age where UPS hasn’t shipped us all of the parts of her brain, so she’s still “forgetting” things she knows like how to come when called. I have used this method before with success, at both my breeder and my vet’s suggestion. The last time we did this, within 2 days she was eating normally. This time around she’s throwing a louder temper tantrum, though. Just wondering what, if anything, might make this less painful to my eardrums.
I’ll consider boiling some extra chicken and burying the tiniest shreds in her food – that will depend on whether she eats breakfast. If she doesn’t, tomorrow night’s class will be a difficult one for her…we are in Baltimore and head up to Forest Hill for classes, so we leave around 6. She usually gets the kibble portion of her dinner in class as training treats (interspersed with higher value meats, because that keeps her on her toes).
I can’t think of much else to add. We’re working on “puppy push-ups” right now to keep her busy (and get more kibble in her). Sometimes, I curse myself for bringing such a smart dog into my house. 😉
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Laura Post author good news! it took one training session on an empty stomach to convince her that eating might be a good idea. emptied her bowl and was looking for more.
bratdog is a brat. but she’s eating, so i’m happy.
An update: he’s calling two local rescues for help. I’m leaving this up, however, so folks can share input should someone come for the same situation.