Teddy sprained something in his left hind leg about 3 weeks ago. He is a standard golden doodle, weighing 72 lbs, and before this injury, was having a hard time getting up at the end of the day, from lying on the floor. The vet said, without x rays, that Teddy has arthritis in his back legs, even though he is young for this, at 5. I’ve been giving him Dasequin, 2x a day for this. I thought he was starting to improve, when he took a bad step, running up some stairs into the house from outside. He let out a yelp, then cried for less than half a minute, and would not put his left rear foot on the floor. Eventually, he did try putting the foot down, and walking on it, but immediately picked his foot up again, and would not use that leg. I took him to the vet, who x rayed Teddy’s back legs and hips. Everything, bones and joints, looked normal and healthy. The diagnosis was a sprain, and I was given a bottle of carprofen to give Teddy, 2x a day. Teddy now is using his leg, but with a slight limp. I have taken him out of doggy day care, where he was going twice a week, to play with other dogs. I didn’t want to risk the sprain getting worse. I’ve also been taking him out on a leash, to potty, and for short walks for exercise. At the end of the day, however, he is obviously sore, and has a harder time getting up from lying on the floor. He is back to getting onto the couch, but can’t climb on the bed yet.
He’s also very bored, as I won’t play fetch with him (I don’t want him running on that leg yet), and is probably depressed at not seeing his doggy daycare friends. Poor guy won’t play with his toys, and now is turning up his nose at everything but treats. He will eat breakfast-at about 5 pm, then wants more kibble at bedtime. I’ve been reducing the amount of kibble late at night, and giving him apple slices and carrot sticks for treats.
So….how long will this sprain take to heal? How long until I can let Teddy go outside, and let him run around as he usually does? And, how long before I can let him go back to doggy daycare?

Help! My dog raided my garbage bag and ate a cooked turkey bone? Is there anything I can do besides watching my dog for signs of distress?

I have 2 cats which eat the exact food, Fancy Feast wet food. However, about once a week, Kirby throws up his breakfast about 10 minutes after he eats. He gets frightened when he’s about to throw up, so he starts running around the house, which leads to projectile vomiting everywhere. I can’t seem to figure out why. It’s not a certain flavor of food. And then, within about an hour, he’s meowing at me and complaining that he’s hungry. Is there something I can give him to keep his stomach settled down? Maybe sprinkle something on his food?

Last summer my beloved cat, Summer escaped my home and was missing for two months. When she was found she had lost about 1/3 of her body weight and her personality had changed. While she was previously very much the “alpha” cat and could be a bit of a diva she is now timid and very loving. During the time when she was missing I was under an incredible amount of stress; having a pet pass away is heartbreaking but having a pet go missing is agonizing, I would not wish the experience on my worst enemy. I couldn’t sleep for much of the two months. Our cat Gracie was by my side the entire time. She did take over as the leader of our little cat pack (pride??). When Summer returned Gracie and her initially got along okay, however within about two weeks Gracie started going after Summer causing a significant amount of stress on Summer. She would chase her off the litter box and food bowls. We created a safe space for Summer and over the past year she has very much chosen to stay isolated away from Gracie, our other cats come “visit” without an issue. Several months ago Gracie started urinating outside of her box. We first had to go through the process of elimination to determine which cat was urinating outside the box. All cats have had urine and bloodwork done to rule out any medical issues. Gracie is now isolated and Summer has free reign of the house. Inappropriate urination has stopped. Our other cats can come “visit” Gracie without incident, however as soon as Summer enters the room Gracie attacks her. We have tried medication and we have tried putting a drop of vanilla on each cat so they smell the same. I would prefer to not spend the rest of my cats lives isolating one or the other to create peace in our home. I will note that Gracie has limited or no sight in one of her eyes, she has always been a bit of a “scrapper” with the other pets when they approach her on that side, that being said this isn’t a case of Summer startling her, she is seeking out Summer to attack her.
I would love advice from anyone who has had a similar experience; what worked, what didn’t?

We have rescued two feral cats for our farm. They came from West Virginia rescue with vaccines. A Maryland rescue took them and thus we have them. They are friendly to us and one lets us pick him up. The other loves to be petted but not picked up. My question…..I would like to have them chipped. The problem is I don’t know when I can get them in a carrier. It will take some time. I don’t think I can set an appt. time for the chip. I have all their paper work for you. Any suggestions??

My parents’ cat, Oso, is not doing so well. He’s been needing subcutaneous fluids administered via IV and he had not been eating every meal for a little over a week until we started giving him an appetite stimulant.

He also is having labored breathing, mouth closed 36 – 42 inhales/ minute. Here’s a link to a video so you can see: https://www.dropbox.com/s/elf32wwm5z06ygn/OsoBreathe.mov?dl=0

An image of an X-Ray is attached – The comments below and the color arrows were provided by a mobile radiologist that came over to see him – I didn’t understand the notes, but basically she was pointing out tumor(s), cancer and fluids building up inside his body there.

We are continuing with the fluids and with the appetite stimulant he is eating. Steroid once month shots have been suggested and were just started 2 days ago.

Any advice here is very much appreciated and welcomed.

Hello there. My cat has had an ear infection for over two years now and has been treated with antibiotics over and over but it will not go away. Just about a year ago the vet removed a few polyps from my cats ear and throat and we thought for sure that’s why the antibiotics weren’t clearing up the ear infection, so we have done more ear infection treatments since the polyps have been removed but it’s still infected. My cats ear is stinky and water flys out of my cats ear when he shakes his head. I am so over antibiotics, we have literally tried every kind. Is there a home remedy out there anyone has had success with? Please help.

Hello everyone,

I have a 3-year-old cat with a polyp. I’m not sure where the polyp is located since the x-rays/MRI scan cost 1k. I’ve joined groups on Facebook to find any clinics to remove the polyp. VCA quoted me 4-7k which doesn’t include any kind of scans and most local veterinarians only remove polyp if they can physically see it.

I really need any help trying to find any clinic in the US. I’m willing to travel but for a reasonable price. I’m a college student living on my own with many expenses and it’s truly upsetting seeing my little guy go through this. I can hear him snoring and couching. I believe the polyp is located in his throat and nose.

Please please help me out!!!

Hi Pawbly friends! We are in WV – beautiful place to rejuvenate the spirit. One of our vacation neighbors takes in strays, and has a vet coming Tuesday to check on a few. One kitten that she recently rescued is only 6 weeks old by the vets estimate. She was having trouble with bowel movements and her hind end was covered in maggots. They cleaned her up and she is on day 5 of an antibiotics, however with each strain to go to the bathroom, maggots still appear. The fear is that even though she is being cleaned each time, that there are many more than she can stand. Nearest emergency vet is 2 hours away in Virginia and not really a feasible option. Any advice on how best to help this baby until the vet can get out here on Tuesday?

I have been using cat fountains for my cats for a long time now, because they all love fresh running cold water and insist on drinking out of the sink. The problem I’m having is that I still have not found the best cat fountain for my kids. So many of them are made from plastic, and regardless of how often you change the filters they mold easily. Gross. I have seen ceramic ones and stainless steel. I am reaching out for input from everyone to find out what it is they use that they find is the best. Even the filters tend to get funky quickly. I only have three cats and I do wash their fountain often. But I’m looking for one that will not mold easily and also does not make a huge mess on the floor. Thank you so much and advance!