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This is something I see asked often elsewhere online but don’t know the answer…what are the symptoms of a PARTIAL bowel obstruction in both dogs and cats?
I believe my 4 month old kitten has acid reflux. She was born from my sisters cats first litter so she has a lot of birth defects already. For the past month every time she eats a bowl of Meow-Mix cat food she throws up stringy saliva. She also seems to be chocking while doing it. Her other birth defects are twisted in legs, broken tail, and she has a little lazy eye. Please comment if you need any further information.
Hello,
Can you try feeding her wet food? Even in small amounts with water added and see how she does? Perhaps she cannot eat dry food? Or she eats too much too fast? Also meow mix is not suitable for a kitten. Please try a better quality food that is age appropriate (kitten food).
Hey there, I am 17 years old and I adore animals. I live with just myself and my mother and I currently have 4 cats (soon to be more probably) 2 gerbils, and 2 goldfish. I look after my pets very well and make sure they are happy and healthy.
I have always loved birds and have always pictured myself having a parrot (such as a macaw) I have owned finches, budgies, and other small pasts in the distant past, but I haven’t had any for a while thus I will not get a large bird like a macaw. One that has really caught my eye is a Sun Conure. I think they are beautiful birds and would love to have one as a pet to commit my time to.
I will mention in a list-styled fashion what my concerns are:
-I am 17, very young and my life is just beginning. I don’t travel much but will likely travel every so often. Not to mention I may be starting university soon.
-I have 4 cats, obviously cats and birds don’t mix. My plan would mainly be to just make sure they are seperated at all times in the house but I am still concerned, should I be?
-Gerbils natural predators are birds, as far as I know, Sun Conures do not eat rodents, however they would still terrify my gerbils. Gerbils only live until around 4 years old so maybe once they are gone I will get my bird.
Besides what I listed, I cannot think of any reasons as to why I would not be ready. I will always commit my free time to looking after it and spending time with it, I will be sure it’s healthy, regular check ups, and so forth. Would like to hear some feed back. Am I ready?
Hello,
It sounds like you have a very full and busy life with your pets already and that you are about to embark on a new adventure at school. birds need a great deal of time and attention and can be very fragile in stressful environments. I think it would be best to focus on your current pets and starting another chapter of your life and leave the bird quest for a time when you are settled and comfortable with a home and can devote the hours and space needed to care for them adequately.
My cat just recently lost her kittens when they ran away on the Fourth of July. Now she’s hardly eating and she’s shedding massive amounts of fur. She’s not taking good care of herself and seems lost all the time. Is there anything I can do?
I would get her to the vet, to be quite honest.
I agree with laura. Also please try to provide her a quiet, warm, stress free place to rest and lots of food options. Please also have her spayed.
Hi Dr. Magnifico. You are our vet to our indoor cats. Last week, we brought in a feral cat that was roaming our neighborhood. Turns out, he is pretty friendly, allows petting and belly rubs. On Monday June 19th, I took him to Animal Rescue, Inc., to be neutered, a rabies shot, and flea control. They also checked for a microchip (none), and I paid to have blood work done to have him tested for feline leukemia. Unfortunately, he tested positive for FIV. I would like to find him a home. I have two questions. Do you know anyone willing to give a home to a big orange friendly male tabby cat, or is there anything you can do to help? Maybe doing a courtesy post on your facebook page? I asked Animal Rescue and was told to put him back outside since he is now neutered. I was shocked they said that, as he could infect other ferals. We are currently keeping him in our basement and I just noticed a tapeworm coming out of his anus. My second question is, can you prescribe a tapeworm medication, without me having to bring him in, since he is FIV feral, and just went thru so much at Animal Rescue? My husband can pick it up after work. If not, can you recommend an over the counter medication to treat tapeworms? I am hoping whatever it is, that it will be something easy to give, maybe something I can put in his food that is tasteless. Thank you. Terri
Hello,
When our animal shelter takes in feral cats that turn out to be FIV positive we still let them back to their usual place, if they are truly feral and otherwise healthy. Nothing would be worse for them than to be contained for the rest of their live, always stressed out and afraid.
However if they turn out to be friendly, like yours and like to be touched etc. we try to find a new home – however still with the option to go outside, if they turn out to be not lucky inside.
Before doing so of course they will be treated against fleas, worms, get their cat flu shots, get neutered etc.
Of course they risk to contract FIV to other cats, but for neutered cats it’s lower, as they don’t get into fights that much and don’t mate.
It’s worse for leukemia. Of the last colony we trapped, most were tested positive for leukemia and they looked like it. They had a (very) bad health status and were put down, as they were completely feral.
I can’t recommend a medication for worms however, as the products will most likely be different from where you live and I’m no vet anyway.
My 11 years old cat died yesterday after 12 hours in pain. She has been lethargic for about 1 month now, but I really thought that was a result of her aging. She was occasionally puking, mostly unprocessed food. Yesterday she started puking but just liquids, greenish and with some foam. She was really in pain and she started breathing with her mouth open and tongue out. We took her to the vet which told us that was probably a kidney failure and run some blood test on her. Then he sent us home with the cat telling us to come back the other day, he didn’t realize it was an emergency. We took her back home but the situation got worse. She puked more, the pain got worse she didn’t have any energy at all. So we rushed to the clinic again at 1 am. The vet did some x rays on her, and told us she had something near her stomach but he couldn’t tell what it was. It could have been anything from a tumor to a hairball. He thought it was best for her to stay overnight. She was in very bad conditions, he just injected some pain killers to her. She died three hours later. I feel so bad for letting her there. I just can’t believe she is gone like this. Another vet that saw the blood test and the x rays thinks it neither kidney failure nor tumor or hairball. I’m devastated. What could it possibly be that killed my cat?
My cat is having trouble urinating and I don’t think he has eaten for about a day. What should I do?
Hello,
I would be very worried that your cat might have a urinary blockage. This should be considered an emergency and you should go to the vet immediately. I hope your cat is ok.
When I was grooming my cat I accidentally cut her skin. The wound doesn’t look deep and is not bleeding. Is it safe to use Neosporin ointment on her wound? The wound looks like a small tear.
Hello,
Unfortunately I see this too often. Hard as I try to beg and plead with people to NEVER USE SCISSORS! They do and it happens. The skin will often heal on its own BUT too often it closes over an infection which causes an abscess or the skin edges don’t heal due to the cat licking it which then causes infection. Cats don’t heal as well as dogs do with cuts therefore I always recommend seeing the vet now to get the wound assessed and antibiotics started BEFORE it gets to be something serious and expensive.
I hope this helps
Best of luck
Thank you so much for your advice. I have cleaned the wound and I will watch her for the next few days. She is behaving normally and is resting in our garage for the night.
You’re Welcome Jen, Good luck!
Hello,
Just a quick update,
The wound on Rugrat’s back has healed up nicely. Since it was a small cut, I bought some Vetrycin and sprayed it on her wound. she is back to her old self.
Thank you so much for your help
Hi Pawbly, my older (13) cat Dora has been working her tail. Not sure how it started. What should I do to help her out here?
Hello My Dear Friend!
Well, I have to say that I don’t usually see a problem on the underside of the mid tail region. Typically tail issues occur at the base where fleas like to hang out. In these cases I ask clients to use a flea comb to look for evidence of fleas. The little black specks that resemble pepper, or a live flea in the comb is proof that fleas are present. Which is an easy fix these days with all of the safe efficacious products available.
But, this is not your case.
I would question a few things:
1. Most likely a wound? Is she chewing/licking due to trauma here. This is most easily ruled out by an exam of the lesion. Is there any signs of a puncture? Scratch? Abrasion? Even if I cannot convince myself that I think it is a wound I will treat for the most likely scenario anyway by placing an e-collar and providing either a topical (probably the best choice here because the tail has poor blood supply and a systemic antibiotic may take a longer time to get there) and it looks like it is trying to heal already. I would use a topical antibiotic cream. As long as it is not ingested most of the human equivalents are fine. I would leave the collar on for at least a week. If the hair is growing back and the site is improving this treatment plan is proof of our suspicion.
2. If the lesion persists I would consider ringworm a possibility. A blacklight might provide flourescense to confirm this. To diagnose it we do a DTM culture test. But, to be completely honest I start treating for it anyway with OTC miconazole cream. (Used for yeast infections in women).
3. Neurological concerns are on the rule out list, BUT, I would expect to see other signs like ataxia, instability, hind limb weakness, involuntary urination or defecation, etc.
A physical exam by your vet to include rectal palpation (check anal sacs just to make sure this is not the problem) and a fecal for parasites are all good places to start.
Hope this helps,
All my love to all of you guys,
Krista
I recommend seeking advice from a vet. This could be a symptom of a serious underlying problem.
I would worry about neurological issues causing pain. Please get her to the vet.
I have a 14 year old cat who is a seasonal vomiter. She rarely has an issue October – April, but the vomiting becomes frequent May – September. I held off on her topical flea treatment this year thinking that may be the cause but the vomiting started in May as usual. She vomits food, grass, and fur; there can be as many as 9 events per month. This is the 3rd year in a row this has happened. What could be the cause?
What has your vet done so far for diagnostics?
Just blood tests, and they always come up normal.
I would worry that something else is wrong. Could this be allergies? Could she be getting into something outside? Have you considered keeping her inside due to her age? You *may* be able to better contain her vomiting if you can control the environment more closely.
I hadn’t thought about allergies, are there any common outdoor cat allergies I should watch out for? When she’s outside she’s always on a leash so I can kind of control her, but every once in awhile she’ll get her mouth on some grass. I don’t use pesticides and none of my neighbors within a half mile of my house use lawn pesticides. The cyclical nature of the vomiting is what confuses me. She’s at her worst May and July, but ok June and August. You’d think she would be exposed to the same things all 4 months.
Hello,
It depends on a huge number of things.. like species, breed, age, the type of obstruction and where it happens. For instance is this cancer, food, foreign body… and where it is,, i.e. Intestines, colon, stomach. Etc. sorry. I can try to help more with a better idea of what you’re thinking/worried about
Ah, apologies. Foreign body partial obstruction – for example, a corn cob that isn’t fully obstructing the bowel, but may not have fully passed.
I get asked about symptoms quite a bit (“I’m not sure if Fluffy pooped it all out” is the most common thing I hear) and I’d love some guidance to help folks understand their dog’s behaviors a bit better.
And for cats…DO they get foreign body partial obstructions often enough to have a checklist of symptoms?