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Hi, my cat has been sneezing and had a runny nose frequently recently. Her ears and gum also look pale. She’s underweight since before I pick him up from the street. May I know, what is going on with her? I am afraid to go to the vet because Im afraid I can’t pay the bill.
I have a German Shepherd who suffers from allergies and is on apoquel again… but I continue to read that they are notoriously allergic to chicken. Wondering what is the best food for dogs with allergies?? Other than the pro plan Salmon and the Lamb, we tried both and both of my dogs hated it.
I have a Siberian Husky who has suffered from ear infections forever and now I can’t help but wonder if the food is the culprit. He has been to the vet more times than I can count for it and his peeling nose!
A friend’s chicken allergic Greyhound did well on Natural Balance turkey limited ingredient diet. Another friend feeds her Dobes Annamaet Aqualuk and Manitok with significant success – the dogs love it and look great on it.
Pro plan had a fairly recent recipe change of the sensitive salmon (as in last year), and a lot of dogs seemed to go off it. I’m told it may have improved since then.
Hello,
There is a possibility that a food allergen can be the culprit. I was told by a dermatologist that it is about 8-12% of the dogs with allergies. The problem is that there are no commercially available over the counter foods that are truly hypoallergenic. You have to get a prescription diet which is either a novel protein (like kangaroo or venison) or a hydrolyzed diet where the proteins are broken down to be so small the body cannot recognize them. These are expensive and the pet cannot have anything else out in their mouths while on these foods. We feed for at least a month and then we challenge with the old food to see if the itching returns. It is difficult to do and expensive. In my opinion it is imperative to be on a good flea and tick prevention and on it year around. Then use apoquel and shampoos to help. If this works it is the best affordable option most of my patients are on. Occasionally I have to add a steroid for a small period of time or cytopoint. But most are managed well.
Find a vet who has an interest in dermatology or ask for a referral.
Thank you for your replies! The apoquel definitely makes a difference. I think it works better on him than the Cytopoint shot did, but I’ve heard that the Apoquel has a lot of side effects. I have not noticed any issues. They are both on Frontline all year since we back to woods and like to spend time at the creek.
I was going to try Victor Ocean Fish? Doesn’t do anything for their breath though. I need to mix dasaquin in one meal a day and like to use wet food which makes for more searching of good quality food.
I will continue the Apoquel for now though.
Male Himalayan cat eyes swollen and red and ears itchy
I have A male himilayan who seems to be having an allergic reaction to something but I’m not sure if it’s a reaction or something else. His eye lids are swollen red and puffy and he keeps scratching his ears till they bleed. My vet told me to open the windows and air out the house which I did For 7 hours and it has gone down a bit but he still looks uncomfortable. It has been on and off for the past week of getting puffy and there was a wall diffuser my mother in law kept plugging in and when it was unplugged it got better but then she’d plug it in again. It has now been removed for good and it’s been almost 12 hours and he’s still puffy. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Nothing else has changed in the house that I can Think of for another cause of allergies or irritation. I am Trying to get him into a vet tomorrow.
Hello,
Eyes are one of those things that absolutely have to be seen in person to assess. In some cases I need to stain the eye to look for corneal damage. In others I had to take ocular pressure. And in some we just try an ophthalmology antibiotic and an ecollar. For allergy cases I might send home an eye flush. But they are all based on the in person exam.
See your vet as soon as you can and do not let your cat run her eyes. That can cause major cornea damage.
I have a 1.5 year old male Himalayan who has been having issues with his chin for about 7 months now. It started off with a little black build up on his chin that looked like acne so I didnt Pay much attention to it. It then started to get a lot worse to the point it looked like he had wet food cemented onto his chin. I took Him to the vet and they told me to change his bowls from stainless steal so I did And I’ve tried plastic, ceramic, glass, any kind of bowl you can get and that has not changed anything.
We went back to the vet and they were stumped on what it could be so he went on steroids to see if that would help and it did for a couple days and it came back worse. We then tried an antibacterial shot and that slightly helped but then came back worse again. Tried steroids once again and made no difference this time. We ran some tests and swabbed the chin and they concluded it was staff infection. So he was treated for that and it didn’t help at all. We then tried another antibacterial shot I believe It was and it cleared up completely. But it is now back again and just keeps getting worse. The chin is raw, red, bloody, black scabby looking things, and so so itchy for him. They have now said I should Try a different food but he is on the urinary s/o Royal canin because my other cat recently had a urinary blockage and I cannot afford to put them both of different vet foods. I do Not think it is a food allergy because I have Tried numerous different foods with him but I could Be wrong. I clean it daily with a medicated soap they gave me and it doesn’t do much except keep it clean obviously, it hasn’t helped it improve. Has anybody dealt with something similar or have any possibly ideas of what this could be?
I will try to Add images to the comments , it won’t let me add them to the post
Hello,
There is no way for me to help without a diagnosis. To get this you may need more diagnostics. Which I know is going to cost you more money. But if it gets you the answer to the cause you can direct the treatment plan. You are at a place where you either need a dermatologist or a biopsy.
I wish I could offer more help. It sounds like you have done quite a lot already.
Best of luck.
Hello,
I will contact my vet and see if I can get either of those options done. It is very confusing not having an answer for him and seeing him in pain. If I end up getting an answer I will update my post for others who may be facing similar issues.
Thank you for your advice.
My female sealpoint siamese cat, Lika, has been constipated. She is 16 years old and has historically eated Science Diet dry cat food. She turns her nose up at canned foid; I have tried many. I have tried putting mineral oil on her treats and she would sometimes eat them but now will not, at all. She is still eating and she drinks a lot of water. She is active, bright, and seems to usually be in no distress. Her abdomen does not feel hard or distended. She vomits on occasion after which she sometimes poops. For the past two weeks she has been straining as if to poop but nothing comes out. I gave her an enema 4 days ago and it was successful. She had not pooped since, so I gave her another enema today, with success but with not as much poop obtained as there should have been after 4 days. Her stool is very hard. I would like to know if I can give her liquid docusate sodium , which I can buy in the grocery store and if so, how much can I give to my 5 lb. cat. How do I administer it? I would not want her to aspirate any medicine I’d give her. I am trying to avoid large vet bills because of my financial situation and bevause Lika is an old cat and I prefer to avoid any major costly intervention(s).
Hello.
A few suggestions to help with her bowel movements… try introducing different type of wet food. Often kitties aren’t fond of certain smells/flavors. You can also try adding water into her dry food to moisten it. If able, try adding small amounts of wet food into the dry food. Softening up the food can help form stool easier and make things less stressful.
Please reach out to your vet if this continues to be an issue as she may have more going on than we can tell.
I have a cat that is dealing with urinary issues. Started yesterday with him straining but nothing coming out. I like many others do not have the $2k that the vet will most likely charge.
**I will take him in tomorrow to have bladder emptied, get antibiotics & anti inflammatory which will be around $300. That I can handle. My question is, what can I do at home to help the situation?
I saw online that apple cider vinegar has been used? Does anyone have any experience with home / natural remedies of any kind?
I do understand that it can be fatal if cats bladder is not relieved because of accumulation of toxins and electrolyte imbalance.
And I know that often we are referred to rescues & animal shelters for options with financial help. But unfortunately all of them in my area are already asking for help from community. And last vey I took a cat to for this recommended euthanasia if couldn’t afford to treat, so I’m also well aware that vets aren’t going to help either.
So is there ANYONE in this community that has experience with homeopathic/ natural remedies that can assist?
Hello,
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. And all of the others in his situation.
I do not have any experience with apple cider and honestly I am too worried about what is likely already going on with your cat to try to advise anything else other then the er.
I’m working really hard to accumulate a list of affordable places and options. Please let me know if you find anyone locally. Please keep calling everyone and everywhere.
If all else fails offer to surrender your cat to get the care he needs. I know it’s not fair but it’s better to save his life.
Keep me appraised of what happens.
Best of luck
My question is about urinary crystals and cat blockage. I specifically want to know about jaundice after surgery, but also to know if we should have done anything differently, we lost our little sweetheart a few days ago to urinary crystals.
Details: 4 weeks ago our little fellow, a 2-year-old neutered male, got worms. We brought him to the vet and, with medicine, successfully treated them. They stressed him, and he didn’t want to eat much, but the vet said this was normal. He seemed to get better, but a week ago started acting stressed again, not eating much, drinking very little, but still eating and drinking. Seeing his pee was not possible due to having 2 other cats (and not knowing what urinary crystals are, much less know what to look for)
We called the vet Friday morning, they told us he would probably need another dose of worm medicine, and scheduled an appointment for the following Monday. Keep in mind we had never heard of urinary crystals before, we thought he had worms again.
On Saturday evening, it became clear it was more than worms. He was lethargic, not going potty at all, and just wanting to lay down and close his eyes. We called the vet clinic which was closed, several other numbers for local cat places (adoption, care, etc) and could not get him seen but got the same phone diagnosis at every step, “probably a stomach tumor”.
It was 5pm Sunday before we got lucky, found an animal hospital 2 hours drive away, got a hold of an actual vet through their emergency number, and she agreed to open the hospital late on a Sunday and see him immediately for $1000. We got there at 7pm and by 7:15 he was in surgery to unblock him. She immediately knew what was wrong. His temp was already low, he was very weak and barely moving but alive.
The next morning, we found out he survived the surgery and was recovering with a catheter and IV fluids. The plan was to keep him in the hospital for 3 days and to let him come home if his pee was clear and his blood work for liver function was acceptable.
We got a phone call early on the second day telling us he was occasionally moving in his cage but wasn’t eating or drinking. She said he seemed depressed, and we could visit at 4pm to see if it perked up his spirits. It was the earliest time they could let us visit so we took it.
On our drive to see him, the hospital called us and said he wasn’t doing well. They asked if we wanted the blood work done immediately instead of on day 3 and told us he had become extremely jaundiced. During our visit he could only manage a couple of steps, so we held him, he was clearly exhausted and under the effect of pain medicine.
The hospital had taken the blood after the call and said his sugars were 3 times normal and other things “5 times normal”, and he was a deep greenish yellow in color around his ears. They brought him warm food but he was not interested. They explained organ failure and said his lungs would fail eventually, but he was breathing well.
In seeing us did perk him up a little, he focused on us, but he quickly faded again, preferring to lay down with his tongue out after 20 minutes. We didn’t want him to suffer and linger with no hope of recovering, and he was heartbreakingly euthanized at that point.
Again, I didn’t know anything about crystals before he went into surgery, and I have questions in case his brother, or any cat, is in that situation.
My questions are….
– Was the jaundice a terrible sign or could it have been from the IV fluid, exhaustion, surgery and lack of eating? IE was it normal after surgery, or recoverable?
– Given what I’ve described, should we have waited another day? Could it have been just needing more time to recover? Or is the jaundice and blood work at that point enough to know he’s fought all he can?
We just want to know more. We’re still in shock and miss him terribly, but we felt alone in making decisions, the hospital clearly didn’t want to influence our decision either way. We’re just not sure now that 24 hrs recovery was enough to make a decision, or how serious jaundice is when he didn’t have it pre-surgery/IV.
Any advice appreciated, we found this site via a YouTube video on urinary crystals. Thanks.
P.S. We aren’t second guessing or wanting to hear we did the right thing, it’s too late to help him, but we want to know more in case it helps another cat.
Also, the hospital took a deposit from us when we agreed to the $1000 fee, and said they would accept payments since there was no way to forsee this type of thing. They did seem caring and knowledgeable, but clinical, and would offer no advice on euthanizing or not. We felt alone with that specific decision…. and in hindsight aren’t even sure it needed to be made yet… or did it?
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
It sounds like there are multiple issues here and I don’t know how they are related. I don’t expect the crystals caused the jaundice. Most of the time I see the crystals because of poor diet or stress. Stress can be many many things. I suspect this was either a cat with underlying conditions like FeLV fiv or fip. Also I suspect the jaundice was either hepatic lipidosis or parasites.
You sound like you really love your cat but never had a vet who was invested in your cats care. It is my biggest gripe in vet Med now. We don’t care for people who care about their pets. We need to do more in providing both care and advice.
I am also very concerned about the vet who took the deposit and didn’t do pre op blood work. Or talk about the possibility of all of rhe things that can happen if there are underlying conditions or post op complications.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Dr magnifico
Thanks for your time, I’ll try to keep it shorter.
Yes, we loved him and his brother dearly from the day we found them in our barn, a couple of weeks old at best. His feral mom didn’t return, we watched with remote cameras. After bottle feeding him and weaning him to soft food, we got him dewormed, neutered etc. He seemed happy and normal in every way, clean bill of health.
– The jaundice first appeared 24 hours after surgery to unblock him, and he’s never had it before.
– The vet said the surgery was too urgent to wait for tests, and after surgery said testing was pointless until he was ready to leave. She ended up wanting it on day two when he got jaundice, so it did feel a bit irregular.
That’s why I want to know more about what the jaundice meant. We really thought the jaundice and other signals + a bad test result was what the vet needed to know he was not going to recover.
Was that normal with meds? Post surgery? After not having eaten much in a few days?… Or was it the terrible sign we thought it was? It’s so emotional to experience.
We weren’t being told what we SHOULD do, but were asked to make a decision anyway. It’s so hard to do what’s best for him at that moment, especially with how things happened.
We had to leave either way, the hospital was closing. Leaving him there alone for the night, in that condition, felt wrong. Bringing him home for the night felt like it might just make him suffer more. The IV couldn’t come with us she said, it’s illegal, but she would leave the catheter in if that’s what we choose.
It was a “decide now” moment… and then he rolled to his side with his tongue hanging out, exhausted. It’s truly heartbreaking.
We live in a rural community and the only licensed vet is over an hour away. The only local cat care is from a local donation based feral adoption service, run by a woman and a Facebook group of like-minded people, but without a full time vet.
This happens strictly on donations to have a vet visit regularly. Resources are always stretched. Spending lots on one cat means little is available for others. I get that, but we were willing to pay.
What we did is what people usually do at that point, she said, but we don’t care about that, we wanted him to live. Did we do the right thing? It’s too late to help him, but an answer may help another cat in the future.
As you said, premature end of life for avoidable reasons is such a needless loss.
I did call the hospital to ask about the jaundice afterward, what it meant, and was told it was his organs failing and cells breaking down. Again, not technically wrong, but of no help to a non-vet to decide if it’s time.
I can answer any specific questions you might have.
Thanks again.
About hepatic lipidosis, he was a fit 2.5-year-old cat that passed away at 12.8 lbs and had been exactly 13 lbs a month earlier when he was given worm medication.
He was solid, lean and strong in appearance, like most young cats. He was a long-haired male cat often called a Tuxedo, if breed matters.
I wouldn’t describe him as anorexic, though he had stopped eating as much 3 weeks prior, and stopped eating at all 3 days prior. He didn’t have kidney stones, but it was enlarged at the time of his blockage surgery.
He also had crystals in his bladder. She showed me a picture of it opened up with pink colored crystals, which seemed to have worried her more than anything else.
He did pee afterward, and the color was good, but it got dark a day later when jaundice set in.
I’m not sure what else might give you a clearer image, but I can find out, I feel like he still had hope. Also, she wanted to know what specific food brand we had been giving him because he was the 4th complete blockage that week, which is a lot in her practice.
Sorry for the triple response, more information. He was given warm wet food after surgery and didn’t touch it. He hadn’t eaten for 3 days prior, and hadn’t been eating much since he started showing what we thought was worm related behavior, or about 2 weeks before that.
Would it be normal to see jaundice appear in an already exhausted cat AFTER surgery, if likely hepatic lipidosis was not treated immediately by feeding him nutrients through a tube? It all seems to have progressed so quickly.
He was never given a feeding tube, and in hindsight, I don’t see how he could have been expected to take a bite and swallow, he was too weak.
The jaundice though, it was entirely absent pre-surgery and extreme 12 hours later. I can’t help but feel it was not a sign of the end but a sign of hurry up and do…. ??
Closure – When he was diagnosed with worms, the vet missed that he also had urinary crystals forming, likely from being stressed. The change in behavior was attributed to the worms, and we didn’t know until it was too late.
A lot of things went wrong, obviously.
We’ll never know if a young male cat could have survived through the jaundice, after an unblocking surgery, with bloodwork showing levels 5x too high and not an ounce of energy left in him.
The grieving has been difficult through the sense of guilt for not having been able to figure things out in time. I don’t believe in ghosts, but regular activities trigger memories of when he’d join in or watch… which is like a ghost, but the memories bring smiles too.
He touched our lives in such a meaningful way that he’ll never be far from our thoughts, still bringing those smiles.
Hi everyone,
It’s my first time to have a pet her name is Kumiko i got her when she was only 3month now she’s already 6months. When i got her her fur parents didn’t told me initially that her mother got her tail degloved. She was born inverted butt first so her mom accidentally degloved her tail. I have been treating her since then. Her tail will dry up and will last for 4-7days then the skin sheds and bleeds. She’s been wearing Elizabeth collar since then. I am getting desperate already. I consulted a Vet and now they are suggesting to have it amputated. There is no current infection but it doest heal properly. Hope someone can help me. I still don’t want her to get amputated.
Unfortunately, amputation really needs to happen here. Please do this – your kitten is suffering otherwise.
Hello
The tail is already missing the tip. We call this amputated. So I would say your cat already has an amputated tail but a little bit more needs to be removed so the tail can heal properly. It’s not a difficult or expensive surgery (probably $ 300-400) at my clinic. Once it heals she shouldn’t need the ecollar anymore.
I have A Himalayan male cat who had a urinary blockage.
He was at the emergency vet for three days and was cleared to go home and has been doing good since, but he is peeing everywhere except his litter box. They said this would be expected but it has been longer than they said and he has no desire to use his box.
Has anyone else had this issue and how did you help fix it?
Have you tried cat attract litter? Or moving the box? Or *changing* the box to a different style? He probably associates the litterbox with pain, so changing things up should be the next thing. Also make sure you use an enzymatic cleaner for the messes.
Are you using cat attract litter?
How about dirt? I know that freshly turned dirt attracts cats, so why not try that? (Make sure it’s plain old organic topsoil with no additives.)
Hello
I would add that in cases like this I place the cat in a large crate. They stay in the crate for whatever time it takes to retrain them. Like a dog crate. Place newspaper on the bottom. Then add a litter box and bed. If they aren’t using the litter box in the crate then remove the litter box and place litter over the newspaper. If they aren’t using it then I rem e the bed. Therefore the only thing their feet feel is litter. I should also add that I let the cat pick the litter they like by giving them Potok s. Like place clumping litter in one area. Non clumping in another. Try sand. And try potting soil. Some cats just have a preference and you never know what that is until you offer it. Also people need to be thinking about litter boxes. Some cats want open. Some want covered. Some want big and flat. Others hidden and quiet.
If the cat still isn’t using it I add a medication for stress and pain. Maybe gabapentin. Or fluoxetine. But there are others.
Ask your vet. Or find a feline vet who only sees cats. They are often great resources.
Hope this helps.
Hi krista , thank you for the suggestions. I will Try those ideas. He has started to slowly come around to using it and it’s 50/50 now if he’s in the box or on the floor. He does have gabapentin and zylkene to help lower his stress. Will update with results!
I just found out that one or both of my cats are peeing/spraying on my baseboards in the basement. This has never been a problem. I have no idea what has caused this or what to do to stop it. I have 2 female cats. They get along just fine with no issues. What could this mean? How can I stop it?
Hello,
I always tell my clients that if cats had opposable thumbs they would write on the walls “Hey! Pay attention there’s a problem!” But they don’t so instead they pee outside of the box. There is an issue. The challenge is figuring out what that issue is.
First head to the vet for an examination and bloodwork to include a urinalysis. Look for a medical issue like uti,cystitis, diabetes, Kinsey disease etc etc. Lots of things cause abnormal urine output. Start there. Otherwise a medical condition can continue and worsen your cats prognosis. After that address behavior. We add medications for stress, anxiety and discomfort. Also consider crate training in a large crate so they cannot wander back the the soiled places and give them their own safe place. In some cases long term medication is indicated.
My point is that your cat is asking for help. How far are you willing to go to help them?
I hope it is to the ends of the earth. Too many cats are abandoned or euthanized bc people can’t see past the annoyance of urinating outside of the box.
Good luck.
Keep us posted
Unfortunately, diagnoses for things like this *cannot* be made over the internet. She needs to see a vet…especially if she’s been consistently underweight. She’ll need a full exam, with bloodwork and possibly a urinalysis.
I’m sorry. But if you refuse the vet, you’re furthering her illness. Please find a way to pay for it.