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We have 3 female cats. Our 2 cats, Margo and Edith, are now 3 years old and grew up together. Gwen is the 3rd, a kitten we rescued a few months ago. Gwen is not yet spayed but she is peeing on things throughout the house and causing Margo to mark her territory. I am here to get help with our situation and resolve the peeing and behavioral issues.
We found out the Gwen has elevated liver enzymes so she is being treated for that. Margo is on prescribed calming treats to help. Both older cats chase Gwen with intent as if they are annoyed or angry with her.
We have multiple litter boxes and plenty of places for them to avoid each other if they please.
Gwen is giving us a lot of trouble with peeing on clothes and random objects in the house and it is getting progressively worse…she is not yet spayed but we are at a loss as opposed to what to do or what is going on.
Can anyone provide some answers and suggestions as to why this is happening?
Thank you in advance!
My 4 year old lab has chronic ear infections. We have a great system in place (regular ear cleanings, steroid drops during an infection, and anti inflammatory when it’s really bothersome to him) to try to stay ahead of them, and treat them from home when he has a flare up. Recently during a flare up (about 2 weeks ago) he developed a lump on the inside of his ear that I thought was a scab from scratching, but now I’m worried it could be some kind of skin cancer. Or is it just scar tissue and since it’s on the ear is a little more raised? Should I take him in to be seen for this or monitor it a little longer to see if it heals and goes away? It doesn’t seem to cause him any pain, he’s more concerned about his itchy ears.
Hi there. Unfortunately it’s impossible to diagnose a lump or bump on the internet – the vet needs to actually touch it, feel it, etc. I wouldn’t freak out TOO much unless it starts to grow. In your situation I’d probably draw a circle around it (yes, on the ear itself) to monitor it, and I’d let the vet know what’s going on.
Hi there
My 5 year old cat Max has been diagnosed with a broken back. His back is broken in the middle of the spine.
The vet said she can’t believe he is walking and she does not know how to treat him so she has sent his x-rays to a specialist for opinion.
Max is home with me an he is still walking and just a little wobbly.
He’s always had a bit of a wobble when he walks so I don’t think this issue is new.
Just hoping someone can help me with what I can be doing for him now?
Also if surgery is an option, is it necessary? Is it the only option?
Really no idea what to do.
Thanks in advance.
X
Wow! What a shock this must have been. I am no vet, but I vaguely remember reading something about allowing animals to heal with rest and limited movement. But I don’t think that was with the spine- I believe it was a kitten with a broken leg actually. Have you discussed what you should be doing with your vet? I know that you said they have advised you to a specialist, but was there any instruction that you were sent home with? I think if it were me, having seen my cat walking around etc… finding out that it had a broken back would completely floor me. Hopefully one of the DVMs will see this post and have more insight. I hope everything works out well for your cat. Please keep us posted????????
Thanks Sarah.
Yes it was totally a shock.
All they said is you can take him home keep him inside to limit his movement and they will call me when the specialist has responded. She also said that they are so surprised that he is walking.
He’s only ever been to the vet for vaccs and he had a tummy upset when he was younger and that’s it.
I’ve only moved to this area recently so I’m trusting this vet knows what they are doing.
I have also contacted the vet that he went to originally when he was younger and they said they will provide a second opinion once I get the specialist report back and copies of x-rays.
He is just acting so so normal. Eating, drinking, cuddling, he is walking and definitely not at all as wobbly as what he was two days ago.
Anyways, thank you so much for responding and I will keep on posting with updates. x
Hello,
I have seen multiple cats with broken backs. It is important to do a through assessment of then and understand their ability to urinate and defecate and restrict activity so they cannot further injure themselves. I recommend cage rest unless supervised. They also need to be spayed if they aren’t already.
My biggest concerns are bladder and colon issues. Whether that be incontinence or retention. Also they can get pressure sores if not walking directly on their foot pads. Surgery is an option if the surgeon seems it to be helpful but most clients cannot afford it, or the surgery is too risky to do based on the amount of spine damage.
Thank you.
Specialist and vet that has seen him say surgery is an option which will be major and very risky. They say it is an old injury and he may have had it for years and is one tough cat and has just coped and compensated and has had a flare up.
I’ve decided not to go down the surgery line.
I’ve been keeping him in doors and restricted his movement and he is walking a lot better.
He’s eating, toileting, groovy, and drinking.
I taught him how to walk on a lead when he was a kitten so I take him out in the garden a couple of times a day.
X
Hi
My 4 y old cat had pyometraand hystrectomy and ovarian removal done 40 days ago . After the surgery, I noticed that she became less active and cannot jump as she used to do before.
Before she was used to jump easily and directly to get on the bed but now she climbs onto an adjacent arm chair and then walks to the bed Also before she was able to scratch her ear by her leg , but now she is not able to do that.
She’s trying but can’t raise her leg to her ear.
Is it possible that her legs become weaker as a complication of the surgery?
Is it normal for a cat to be less active for this long time after a pyometra surgery ?
What should I do to help her regain her normal movement ?
I really appreciate what you are doing , many thanks.
I think you really need to contact your vet that did the surgery about this.
This is the third day without Atlas — Apollo’s littermate, alpha and captain. We lost him due to hemorrhage and dehydration. He just recently turned 4 months. Apollo hasn’t been eating and drinking water today. Was asleep all the time, too. Previously, he wakes up at night and cries so he comes to me in bed to wake me up. Last night he started vomiting and having loose stools. I can also here rumbling in his stomach, and i think is passing gas. Earlier that day we went on a walk and had munched a few plants/weeds on the way. He has also accidentally taken in expired milk he left the other day. Today the stool had a few blood patches in it. I’m worried he might end up his brother. Is he only suffering from dog depression, or is there other medial conditions?
This sounds very serious… the lethargy, the blood in the stool and loose stool. Not how a four month old puppy should be acting. I would make an appointment with the vet right away. The first fear that comes to mind is possibility of parvo… which can be deadly. I hope your puppy is ok.
Thank you so much.
I agree with Sarah. Anything abnormal in a puppy goes to the vet immediately. Period.
Hello. I appreciate your input.
8 month puppy was bit at the dog park. He devoleped a big lump filled with loose fluid a few days later where it started smaller and then grew to about the size of a baseball in under 1 week. I didn’t think the event at the dog park was was a factor because there was no blood or any sign of skin puncture at all. He also seemed to be happy, eating normally and still crazy full of energy as usual.I took him to the vet where they said it’s a seroma and should go away on its own in about a week. Ive been doing a warm compress but it doesn’t seem to be working to shrink it, and it has gotten even bigger and tighter 5 days later now. It still doesn’t seem to hurt him, and he is acting completely normal/happy. It has now been about 10 days since the seroma started, and 5 days since the vet. My concern is that it has gotten a bit bigger, and wasn’t as loose as before and is now a bit tighter/harder. I can still feel that it’s moveable fluid but just tighter. The vet didn’t tell me to cut down on activity, and I have been going on runs and playing a lot with him. Should I be trying to avoid activity? His harness is about 6 inches away so it doesn’t rub on it directly, but still fairly close to the bump. Just wondering if I should keep away from running/walking and try to keep him calm until it goes away? (not likely as he is high energy)
Hello,
I consider every dog bite or fight an infection. And if it isn’t healed in 5-7 days I consider it a problem to keep monitoring closely with the help of your vet. Please go back to your vet or get a second opinion. Your puppy is too young to not have healed quickly and completely by now in my opinion. Better safe than sorry I always say.
Thanks so much krista, I REALLY appreciate your input here and for taking the time! I will be taking him in again
My cat is about 14 years old. Male. Last week really noticed he goes to litter often but doesnt go. But sometimes he did have a few times of clumped urine litter. So took to emergency clinic Sat 12/13/30. They could not get any urine to test. Sent home with antibiotics antiflamatory- pain meds and told to get in see regular vet.
Took to vet today 12/15/20. They were able to get a good stream of urine out as well as these blood clots tissues. See image. Said that I would need to ck his bladder ongoing to make sure it doesn’t get rock hard baseball sized. Gave me a medication to help dilate. Did blood panel and Im waiting to hear back on any other medications.
I feel like imaging should be done like yesterday.
If this blood clot tissue can happen again should he have been keep at vet to do something ?
Was this blood clot a actual plug and blockage. So since they got it out the blockage is gone at the moment?
I am just worried and dont want to make a mistake and not know if he has a full hard bladder.
Or did this clot coming out as he is good currently. How long would it take for another clot to form?
Any input advice would be much appreciated
Hello,
I think that all of the questions you pose are excellent questions to ask yourself vet. I also talk to parents about feeding watered down canned food. I often add a steroid and I give cats Sq fluids daily to help flush the bladder. Just things to talk to your vet about. I get super aggressive with these guys. And I offer lots of options for parents to do at home. Along with showing them how to palpate a bladder to monitor at home. I hope this helps. Good luck.
My kitten’s splint was removed today after a month of immobilization. She had a complete humerus fracture, we assume from her jumping off the couch or playing with our older cat (regrettably too soon which I had not realized). It was an angular break, and the vet did his best to place the bones and splint them, but today we learned the bones healed together improperly, on somewhat of an angle, and her elbow will not bend. She can use the paw and applies some weight to it, but the vet said we will have to keep her confined and wait and see how it progresses, or amputate it worst case. I feel sick about it because I had hopes she would heal, we could not afford the $6k surgery. Her skin is also red with some patches of missing fur. Do you have any recommendations of anything else I can do while we wait and see if she begins to heal more? Can I treat the skin at all? Thanks so much for all you do for these animals.
I attached an image of the original fracture. It is healed with a “knot” around the break, but healed crooked. That doesn’t seem to be what’s causing her leg to stick out crooked, it seems to be the elbow that seems “stuck”.
Hello,
I’m so sorry for the delay. I tell clients in this position that there are only three options.
1. Spend the money on a surgeon to correct it. Often this is >5,000
2. Leave it as is and this cat must be kept indoors forever.
3. Consider amputation down the road if needed to keep her comfortable and pain free
Thank you! I appreciate your response! I feel awful that we couldn’t and likely won’t ever be able to afford such an expensive surgery. I had hoped by splinting her it would at least heal a little bit better. Do you ever see kittens that have improperly healed bones improve over time? I was reading that in children bones tend to straighten out over a few years even if malunioned, but I know pets are also not children! I just feel so sad that she is so young and now has a messed up leg. She will definitely be an indoor cat, along with our other 6 month old cat.
In June my Labrador developed a lesion on her side. She was treated with antibiotics and a medicated shampoo with no success. Her hair started thinning and she developed a lesion on the opposite side. Bloodwork was run to test for Cushings which was negative. As she started to take a Cushings type appearance her docs followed up with an ultrasound. In October she had a punch biopsy. She was treated with Apoquel with no improvement. She has lesions on her chest, both sides near her hips and one near her hind end. I have never seen her itching or chewing. The lesions are crusty and pretty dense. Hair loss is only on her trunk.
A little history: my dog is 10 1/2, has spay induced incontinence, history of frequent UTI’s, frequent urination, and megaesophagus. She is on Dasuquin, Cranmate and Welactin. Despite her plethora of health issues she has never had skin issues. Typically her coat is blue-black, thick and shiny.
She doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable but she seems to have a pretty high pain threshold.
Thank you for your time.
My small 12 pound terrier/chihuahua mix has suddenly (in the past 24 hours) stopped jumping up on things – couch, chair, etc – which is very unusual because she prefers to be on the furniture. She will stand and stare at the couch and seem like she’s going to jump, she even starts to a bit, but then she won’t follow through. If I pick her up and put her on the couch, she will not hesitate at all to jump down when she’s ready. She will let me touch and move all of her legs and has not vocalized in pain. She walks and runs normally and will come up and down the stairs with no problem. I assume she has injured something. Is there an injury to a specific place that would cause her reluctance to jump up but not affect other behavior? (I should note that she is very independent and doesn’t like to be picked up, so it’s not that she’s preferring to be lifted up)
Hello,
Well I would start by saying that I wouldn’t encourage jumping on or off of the couch. I would get her a ramp and train her to use this. My concern is that someday she will land wrong and either strain/sprain/fracture a leg or injure her back. Next the best way to try to understand what’s going on now is to have your vet examine her. I can’t tell you what is going on here without an exam.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I called the vet but she seems to be back to normal now. I will still keep her from jumping for a while just to be sure.
Hello,
Anytime I get a case like this I recommend a urinalysis be done. It is imperative to rule out a urinary issue. I also do a full blood work too. After that I talk about Feliway trying lots of treats and catnip and trying to understand what she is trying to tell you. They do everything for a reason so I don’t just medicate and turn a blind eye. I do talk about anti anxiety medications and there are lots of options s for this but it doesn’t change the fact that the case should be investigated thoroughly. This is a huge topic and in the texts book it can take up a hundred pages. There is not a one size fits all remedy.
Thank you for responding. We have tried Feliway wall plug ins and she gets a lot of attention but that doesn’t help. She’s had blood work done which revealed elevated liver enzymes but she it’s taking medication for that.
Is her not being spayed yet a possible reason?