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My cats nail quick is exposed and her nail is not covering it. It is no longer bleeding. Do I need to take her in to see my vet in person immediately or will it heal itself?
My 11 year old cat was diagnosed with a nasopharyngeal polyp via CT scan and rhinoscopy last year. A biopsy was taken and found not to be cancerous. A nasal flush was the only intervention taken (which improved her symptoms) as I was told it was too small to remove. 3 weeks ago she was taken back with the same symptoms (noisy and difficulty breathing, quacking noises, and problems swallowing food) and another nasal flush was done under anesthesia and an antibiotic injection given with steroids also. Since then she has gotten progressively worse in her symptoms. The same vet wants to do another rhinoscopy and flush and cannot guarantee any results. I am not a rich person and so far between last year and now I have spent over $4,000 to help her. I was hoping you or someone in the Brooklyn area can recommend a reputable veterinarian for at least a second opinion as I am beginning to feel that I am being taken advantage of monetarily because of my dedication to getting help for my cat. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello-
I’m sorry you are finding yourself in this situation. I would make a few phone calls to see about finding a second opinion. Your local humane society or scpa may be able to recommend another vet. I would also have a candid discussion with your current vet about your financial situation and your concern for your cat. Perhaps together, you can come up with a good plan that works for the both of you and more importantly, benefits your cat. Hope this helps- best of luck!!!
Thank you for your reply.
extremely matted long haired cat … what clippers do you recommend to remove matted fur? (saw youtube video to remove matted fur) … Thank You.
Hello,
I think that small, quiet pet focused clippers are best. You want to make sure they are easy to use, plug in, and able to keep cool of it is a severely matted cat. My best advise is to seek a professional for help. They can give you lots of safe and easy tips to help.
Manufacturer, brand, clipper size? I have Wahl clippers, however do not work on very fine, long hair. Thank you for your response.
Hello Kurtiss!
Thank you for sharing your cats story. Please let us know how things go. Did your vet talk about the possibility of recurrence? Did they put him on a different or special diet?
Thanks again!
krista
My 14 year old cat is having trouble breathing. After seeing her vet, we suspect she has a polyp. The examination was brief and the vet suggested X-rays or better yet, an MRI ($2,000).
I am a teacher and am on a very tight budget. What I would like to know is what kind of tests/examination should be required for the vet to complete the diagnosis? It seems from your youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCRwkQXd3Qs), that the vet could have found this by examining the inside of the cat’s mouth.
I’m trying to keep my costs down. How do I approach my vet regarding this matter?
Thanks
Al
Hello,
I start all of the exams that I do with a long discussion about the patient. History and environment as well as parent observations all help. After that discussion and the exam I give a list of possible causes. Essentially the list of what the possible diagnosis might be. From this i discuss the diagnostics needed to confirm. This includes their cost. I also discuss what the results will help us to do. How it will help your pet and how it will affect your options moving forward.
For these cases I alway offer a sedated exam to look. BUT I want to be able to do something from that exam so I intubate and prepare to remove the poly if I find one. That allows me to hopefully cure the cat at a reasonable price. (About $200). It’s not a perfect plan and there are reasons others want $2000, but in every case I have helped a cat with a polyp from suffocating. I have had two regrow. Both were removed again and have never come back.
I think what this question comes down to is finding a vet you trust to help your kitty and help you make this affordable. Please let us know what happens. I want to hear about how this goes please.
Krista
My 3 year old cat has a red bump on his arm, any ideas? He is acting normal, eating normally and doesn’t mind when I touch it. Thanks!
Hello,
In general bumps and lumps are pretty close to impossible to diagnose with a photo. In many cases an aspirate or biopsy is needed to definitely diagnose it. My best advice is always to see your vet and inquire about removing it before it becomes a problem. Let us know what happens.
I have an 18 month old male cat, Chubbs 🙂 – he was a stray that we took in from the neighborhood as a kitten, vaccinated and neutered and we just adore him. On Monday this week, I noticed he was having urinary issues – lots of in and out of box and no action. Our vet was full so we drove about 30 minutes to another town to take him to an emergency vet. Vet told me that he did not have a urinary blockage, but his urinalysis showed evidence of infection and crystals. A chicken and the egg situation he said. They gave him subQ fluids, antinausea med, anti-inflammatory med and send us home with a supply of pain meds and antibiotics. He was low key the next day, but seems back to normal as of yesterday. However, still lots of urinary urgency and frequency attempts with dribbles here and there, but is producing actual normal appearing size voids 3-5 times a day. No blood, no howling. Bowel movements seem a little looser, assuming from antibiotics but no diarrhea. Is this expected behavior? Can male cats have partial blockages that wax and wane like this? Will this continue on for 1-2 weeks while treating the UTI component? Emergency vet told me to follow-up with our vet in ~2 weeks for repeat urine.
I would call your vet and see if you can schedule an appointment before the two weeks just to get your own vet up to speed and see if there are any changes in diagnosis. Err on the side of caution. I can tell you from experience- getting these things taken care of sooner rather than later and staying ahead of the game, is a LOT less expensive in the long run. Best of luck.
Good morning. Glad the bleeding has stopped. You may want to check with the vet- keeping it clean until it is fully healed may be a challenge. Especially with the need for the litter box. You might be able to bandage it somehow to help keep it protected and clean. That would be my biggest concern- infection. Your vet may prescribe antibiotics to help. If your cat will let you clean it regularly, your vet might just suggest monitoring it.