I have a cat that I suspect likely has a soft palate or nasal polyp. So far we have seen my usual vet twice. The 1st visit they just looked at the cat and told us it was probably a respiratory infection and sent us home w/ a course of antibiotics (Orbax). That was a $150 visit. The cat completed the antibiotics and showed no improvement in it’s respiratory status, plus it seems like the meds made the car loose his appetite to the point of hardly eating. We just went back for another f/u visit, this time insisting on at least some diagnostic tests and they drew blood for labs, and did a chest x-ray (which the said appeared clear). This time they sent us home with azithromycin and prednisolone (more antibiotics and a steroid). That was a $500 visit. I expressed concern about an obstruction or polyp to the vet, and was told that if this course of meds didn’t work, we might need to see a specialist. I would be very grateful if anyone could put me in touch with a vet like Dr. Krista Maginfico that could help us address the medical issue at a reasonable price in the Austin, Tx area. Please, help if you know of anyone…..thank you in advance.

My cat has gone missing for the past 4 days.. We checked everywhere.. We asked the neighbours about her but only some saw her which was 4 days ago.. She is 1 year old. She also has 3 kittens each 1 month old.. It is normal for cats to run away like this? Are there any chances of her coming back? Could you help me? What are the possibilities of this?

I have a 8 year old American Shorthair. Her name is Puma. We recently experienced a very traumatizing and costly visit to the emergency room. They recommended euthanizing her since we couldn’t afford their costly treatment plan. They explained that she had severe narrowing of her trachea due to a growth. Possible nasal polyps. Her more overt symptoms include an obvious blockage, snoring/snorting sounds while breathing, and head shaking. I recently watched Dr. Magnifico’s video on Stripes and his Nasopharyngeal Polyp removal and was surprised to see that sedation and a visual exam/removal could be done within such a short time with great results. Giving my husband and I restored hope. We love our little girl so much and don’t know what we do without her. Are there any vets within this network that anyone would recommend that would charge a more reasonable pricing for a similar procedure in California?

My 10 week old kitten has a very bad humerus fracture on her right front leg. I just came home from the animal hospital and they are telling us to take her to a specialist/surgeon tomorrow and that the surgery will be about $6k. I am beside myself because we just cannot afford this, but I know I need to do something. I have seen a video of a similar aged kitten with the same fracture and they were able to splint her and wrap it around her back to the other side to stabilize her shoulder and humerus. I am hoping I can find a vet willing to do this tomorrow but does this sound like it would heal? I was told amputation or euthanasia are the other options but we just got this kitten on Tuesday and would be heartbroken. We aren’t even sure how this happened, it’s been an overwhelming day! Any advice is appreciated.

Dr.Magnifico:
I hope this message finds you and your family well.
I actually have a concern not about one of my pets but one of my daughter’s cat. Frisky (my grandboy cat of 12 years).
2 weeks ago my daughter noticed he had an odor of urine. She had tried a new litter and thought it was due to the muddy consistency. She bathed him with no luck and decided to take him to a vet in her area. Frisky is a very cool easy going gentle cat . Unfortunately, when he went to the vet, my daughter said he turned into the cat from hell. They were unable to treat him but managed to give him his rabies. He was prescribed 100mg gabapentin to be taken that night and then one more an hour before his visit the next day. She described him as acting stoned starting with the first capsule. He was fine at the vets office but sadly has been diagnosed with kidney disease. The following 3 levels are off the chart: IDEXX SDMA 63, CREATININE 8.6, BUN 165. The following levels are slightly elevated: Phosphorus 9.9, Anion Gap 27, Total Protein 9.4, MCH 17.6, Monocytes .646.
Frisky was put on a special renal diet with phosphorus powder added (to bind the phosphorus). He is supposed to go back to the vets on Monday to have his kidneys flushed in hopes of flushing toxins I guess.
My concern is that he has trouble processing the gabapentin due to his kidneys.
You know how much I value your opinion and I truly love Frisky. If one of my cats presented all these issues, would you recommend the same treatment? I am also extremely concerned considering what I have read about the toxicity of gabapentin with kidney disease. I am very surprised by his behavior at the vets but obviously he needs something in order to calm him down. Would you recommend an alternative to gabapentin? I believe they gave her a liquid for Monday’s visit opposed to the pill that was used for the previous visit. Have you seen the use of special food and the flushing of kidneys to help improve some of these numbers and allow him some time with a good quality of life? I hope I have provided as much information that you may need.
As always, I appreciate your insight very much.

Thank you
Sandy Brown

Hi, I have a 14 month old australian shepherd mix that has had a terrible time dealing with the car since I got him, specifically a lottttt of drooling. I’ve been able to counter-condition him to be relaxed just sitting in the car but whenever we try to go to the next step and he notices we start moving in the car, the drooling comes right back and he is visibly anxious. I have started taking him to a nearby park with trails (about a 10 minute drive) after seeing Dr. Magnifico’s video on youtube about the subject. He has not vomited yet on these trips but the drool is definitely a concern and so far hasn’t improved (just had our fourth trip today). Also, after these trips he appears more wary of the car, with drooling sometimes starting as we approach the car to return home. As long as he is not vomiting am I not pushing him too much? When I first got him at four months, he was fine until the last 3 minutes of a 45 minute car drive, at which point he threw up. I think this has unfortunately traumatized him since and I just want to make sure I’m not creating further trauma.

I have also tried anti-nausea medication both OTC and from the vet with limited success, definitely does not help the drooling which makes me further believe it is anxiety related.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Is it safe to stop insulin injections if we think our cat doesn’t need it

Our chiwinnie unexpectedly slipped a disc the vet recommended laser treatment. She was fine for the first 3 days now even tho her back legs are getting better she’s in a lot of pain and air snapping here is the weird part I can pet her all over run my fingers down her spine and she’s fine but when I try to move her she cry’s a lil bit and air snaps is this normal

Hi. I have a 3 day old pit bull puppy. He was born very small. I didn’t even know my female was pregnant. She was suppose to have been spayed but that’s something I will have to take up with the office that suppose to have done it. Anyways, the puppy at first was suckling fine from mom. Over the last couple of days it’s progressively gotten to where he will not even open his mouth to feed. I went and bought puppy formula, baby bottle, eye dropper and have been trying to get some food into him. He still will not eat. What else besides see a vet can I do? I’m very limited on funds right now because I had a work related injury and was off of work few days last week so no money for a vet.

Hi!

I have a 10 year old tabby named chunk — he is overweight hence his name. Roughly a month or two ago we noticed that he started to limp. While he isn’t holding the paw or crying while walking, it is a noticeable limp. He is still jumping up on the bed and off, walking up and down all the stairs in the house, eating, drinking, and grooming himself. We can’t touch the paw, rub on the paw, and Chunk does not react in anyway as if it hurts him. My question is, his one paw is somewhat swollen at the knuckle. Could this be arthritis? I don’t want to take him to the vet because he does not handle that well and I’m worried about giving him a heart attack or other health issue by taking him to the vet for something that might be nothing. You can see in the picture the differences in his paws. Thank you in advance!