Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I have a 2yr old orange Tabby cat who got out and was gone for over a month. When he finally came home he was covered in fleas and seriously underweight and underfed and dehydrated, but seemed okay. He was eating fine and drinking at first. However the past week or so he hasn’t been wanting to eat or drink and has lost even more weight. I took him to the vet today and they said he needs a blood transfusion bc he’s anemic and he’s jaundiced and needs iv fluids but they couldn’t do it bc they have no one there on the weekends and the vet wasn’t willing to go in. I’ve called every vet I can Google and everyone said the same thing and wouldn’t take him except the trauma vet but they quoted me an outrageous price and I don’t qualify for care credit so they said i should just euthanize him. He’s my baby and idk what to do but I do know he deserves a chance. Is there any way for me to treat those things at home? Please HELP
My cat has one side of her face swollen and her eye has become small, with clear discharge, like a runny eye. She is an indoor cat, so no possible fights. She is eating and drinking normally, using litterbox regularly as well. I plan to take her to the vet if it doesn’t get better in two days, does anyone have an idea what it could be that’s causing this? How much the vet would charge as well?
Hello,
Head to the vet asap. I say this because anything potentially involving the eye whiten be seen asap. Otherwise I would worry about URI regardless of whether indoor or out. At my clinic the exam is bn $45-85 depending on if you are an established client. Eye meds are about $30 and the same day other oral antibiotics.
I have an elderly cat who is about 15 years old. Vet says she is in good health. I just want to know what is normal behavior for elderly cats. She is relaxed and sleeping most of the time. Her favorite spot right now is on our mat in front of the oven. Her appetite has decreased. She often makes a sound like she has a hair ball but just a little clear liquid comes out. Are these normal things for a cat of this age?
Hello,
Did your vet offer any diagnostics? Blood, urine, blood pressure? I think every 15 yr old deserves them. And I also think vet vista every 6 months from here on out are a great way to find problems early.
As far as normal for an elderly cat goes,, well they are each their own. So that’s hard to quantify.
The vet thinks my cat is blocked but is charging an outrageous price. I’m not currently working due to my own health issues. What can I do to save my baby?
Hello,
Here’s what I would do. Ask them what is included in the estimate. Ask for an itemized invoice and ask if anything on that list is optional. And then ask why. Ask for it all in writing. And then call every rescue and shelter you can fund and ask for advice. If your cat is blocked ask for the vet to at least remove all of the urine from the bladder to buy you some time to find a place that is affordable.
If you wouldn’t mind please add all of the information you collect to our stories page to help others.
A cat who cannot urinate will die. Do these are truly emergencies. But the price has gotten so high for them that sadly many people have to euthanize in lieu of treatment.
Our adult cat (probably about 10-12 years old) has a fracture on her front left paw/leg. It’s the holiday weekend, so we splinted it but we don’t want her to suffer until Tuesday. There’s an emergency vet but it’s over 2 hours away (we live in a rural area) and of course the expense will be outrageous so while we are willing to do whatever needed we’re wondering if there are any OTC pain meds we can give her until Tuesday when we can take her to our regular vet, or is she at risk of complications if we wait? Any info is appreciated. The break seems to be right above the paw joint.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
Sadly there really aren’t any otc medications that I feel are safe for cats.
The best advice I can give is to place her in a cage that allows her room to sleep, eat and use a litter box. Nothing bigger than that. If you are worried about the cost of an orthopedic surgeon than resting in a small ache to allow it to heal is the next best option. For pain meds you would have to see your vet.
Good luck
My cat is currently on the hospital for confinement, he has UTI and is not fond of water these days. How can I engage him into drinking water and not forcefully feed him water?
PS: I already have water fountain on the way but I’m not sure if he’ll get comfy on drinking there and if there are any other ways to make him drink water
Hello,
Does he eat wet or dry food? If he eats wet food you can add a little bit of water to every portion.
My cat didn’t drink out of her water bowl… possibly because it was too close to her food bowls. But she started drinking out of my water cups/glasses… so I placed some for her in the rooms and she uses them.
I have a fountain too, but it is only used when I clean her cups.
Otherwise you can use things like the water that’s left when you cooc chicken and there are also special fluids for cats with UTIs. (I think from Royal Canin?)
My 9 yr. old Megacolon cat Eli wasn’t able to poop. It happens sometimes. He’s on Cisapride and Merilax daily, but he still get’s backed up. When he started vomiting after not being able to BM and jumping out of the litter box I took him to the vet. They did an enema on June 20th. He’s still backed up! I can’t afford 1k plus to have a vet manually extract the feces (this is Washington, DC area – everything is very expensive!). He hasn’t started throwing up again, but he’s not eating much and I need to find out if there is something I can do more at home to get him through this emergent time. I can’t just watch my cat suffer. I have Pedi lax, but don’t know if that would help or hinder at this point. I watch videos on palpitating the colon to try and break up the feces. I know there are specific enemas to give cats at home. Is it too late to try this? My vet is frankly bad and too busy to bother, so she said to just go to the emergency. It sure seems like there are other steps that can be taken ,,,at least I hope so becuase I just don’t have that kind of money left with the cost for caring for my hospice Husky, Loki. Help!
Hello,
For these cases I talk a lot with owners about trying to identify the underlying cause. Often it is poor diet and sedentary life but there are also diseases and illnesses that can contribute. If able start to learn how to palpate your cats colon and feed watery wet food and use the fiber supplements and laxatives. Exercise is also very important. For these cats we start training in a harness to go outside for walks. I feel that if you don’t increase environmental enrichment and stimulation they won’t start moving.
But before all of this you have to remove the obstructive feces. This often needs a vets help. Call rescues and shelters and keep asking for affordable help.
Household “accidents”, need advice, please!! I have 3 cats, 3 dogs, and a toddler human. In the past few months my two youngest “house trained” dogs (9 & 5 yrs) and my youngest cat (4 yrs) have been purposely relieving themselves in different parts of my house. The dogs poop/pee on the floor, in the past month they began peeing on my couch, it’s gotten so bad I have to keep them in crates most of the time they’re inside. The cat will pee on my toddlers belongings – first on clothes in his laundry basket (which is now inside a closet) and on his stuffed animals (which I had to hide in a bin), now has resorted to peeing on any accessible hard plastic toys. If I put the cat in a kennel she uses the litter box 100% of the time, once releasing her she’ll behave for 1-2 days then starts up again. The dogs will have “accidents” within 10 minutes inside after being outside for 30-60+ minutes. I have 3 litterboxes, each with a different kind of litter, all clean, no diagnosed medical issues (taken all 3 to the vet twice since this started $$$). My oldest dog has been going through dementia for the past year, it’s getting worse but not yet at the point of euthanasia. I started preparing to move the past 6 months, house is almost done being packed/cleared. I’m not sure which/both/none are triggers for them acting this way. All of them have moved with me before and they never did this on previous moves. Vet prescribed multiple anxiety meds which are not helping at all, they have no other solutions to offer. Ironically my 14yr old dog with dementia barely ever has accidents in the house. Personality wise they aren’t acting any different. Messes are thoroughly cleaned immediately and they don’t even bother to do this secretively, all 3 seem to purposely do it right in front of me. The situation is driving me to my wits end, I really need help 🙁 Besides keeping them all in crates I have no other solution. Does anyone have insight to what I can do? Thanks so much!
Hello,
In cases of inappropriate urination we always start with looking for a medical reason and start addressing the behavior possibilities. That means every animal urinating outside the box or inside in unwanted areas gets an exam and a urine check. It might be that one has a urinary issue and is soiling and the rest are following the same behavior because the area now smells like a place to pee. You have to clean so thoroughly they can’t smell residual urine (and remember their noses are so much better than ours!)
Also rhe stress of moving might be contributing. Or even the stress of the other dogs dementia might be a contributor. I use a lot of calming agent like feliway and DAP and add more litter boxes. Different kinds of litter and even try different kinds of litter. Try not to get angry at them. They think they are doing something completely appropriate and never do anything to make you upset or for spite. (Only humans do those things). If all of that fails you can try an oral behavior modification medication. They have worked well in many cases I have had.
Looking for information regarding polyps. In January of this year (2022) my then 3 1/2 year old cat developed what seemed like nasal congestion. She would snore, wheeze and “slurp” through her mouth. After 2 rounds of antibiotics they discovered she had a polyp under her soft pallet. After removal of the polyp her symptoms subsided a little but never completely. We then tried steroids but these did not help either. Now they are recommending I go to a specialist/internal medicine veterinary hospital to get a rhinoscopy and ct scan to see if there are additional polyps or some other kind of blockage. The initial consult visit would be $250 and the scoping and ct scan would cost $2500 to $3200. Is it common for cats to have more than one polyp and is there other treatments you would try before the very costly next step my vet is suggesting? I’ve already spent $1000 with what we have done so far so I am looking for any suggestions you can offer! I hate seeing her uncomfortable!! I should mention that she is not sneezing or coughing, but shake her head sometimes. She is eating fine and acting mostly fine except when lying down as that is when the difficulty breathing seems to get the worst.
Hello,
Without knowing your pet I would say the options are to recheck for the polyp (they can recur), try a barrage of medications to see if any help, or wait and see what happens , or see the specialist. There I’m not sure this is helpful but it’s the best I’ve got. Good luck
How can you make a cats oversized bladder shrink?
I know it’s possible,
Do they need to be hospitalized?
I seen a video of a guy with a cat that has lower motor neuron bladder atony. He said his cat had a cath for 3 wks and it shrunk the bladder.
Also diapers… is it a guarantee that a cat will get a bladder infection from wearing a diaper or is it just a possibility? I see hertz has special diapers for cats n dogs, it doesn’t say if they will help block infections. We have an appointment the 23rd with the neurologist for a 2nd opinion. I was told mri is $4,500 to $8,400. We don’t know how to look at this situation or what to do. Our hearts are breaking at the thought of possibly saying goodbye to our 3yr old cuddle bug. He peed on me twice this morning while he was sleeping. I worry I am squeezing too hard, or that he is in pain.
Hello,
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. I would call every rescue and shelter and see if anyone can help. At minimum I would see if anyone will help you with fluid therapy (even if it is sq), an antibiotic, appetite stimulant and syringe feeding. In essence you have to provide round the clock care for her to see if she can survive this. Even with all of the money in the world it sounds like she is in very serious poor condition and her prognosis is not good.
Put out a social media plea and keep calling and asking for help. Don’t delay and very best of luck.