Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
My dog is13 1/2 years old. He is a dachshund/German Shepard mix. More dachshund. He has 5 fatty tumors that have all been biopsied and are not cancerous. They do seem to continue to grow in size. Not substantially but still grow. He had to go In for emergency surgery 2 years ago from cutting his artery in one of his paws during a walk. He has been a little different since then. More afraid of things. Urinates in the house every so often. I don’t know if it is from the surgery or just his age. But my question is whether or not I should have his Tumors removed with his age and how he responded to his last surgery. He is in very good health except for one health issue one time. A year ago he fell down and couldn’t walk. Took him to the vet. They kept him over night. They said it was old dogs disease. It went away 2 days later and hasn’t returned. Other than that he is very healthy. Gets his vaccines, heart worm, tick and flea meds. So do I remove them at his age or leave them alone. I keep debating this in my head and can’t make the call. I want what is best for him. I just don’t want to chance issues with going under anesthesia.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
I have a 12 year old female cat. She was obese for several years. I managed to get weight off of her a few months before these issues. There has been a lot of urination outside of the box. The urination has been going on a long time and initially I thought it was behavior because I adopted a rescue dog in October 2018 she hasn’t been thrilled about the dog. Right around the time my cat turned 12 she started with the urination… February or March.
In the last couple of weeks her thirst increased significantly. Also just laying on her side on the floor, not wanting to be in her bed or on the furniture. She’s losing weight /muscle mass and she is hoarse. She is still eating, I had to coax her a bit one day so I made chicken broth from drumsticks she’s been drinking a good amount of the broth and ate chicken and her canned food. She’s actually been gulping the food down.
I can’t tell if this is kidney related or diabetes. I have not noticed bad breath. I am in a real bind and need to figure out what else to do for her till I can get money for a vet.
Inappropriate urination is often the first noticeable sign something is wrong. Increased thirst means this has been going on long enough to be a total body problem. I would put a lot of effort into getting her seen sooner than later…going too long can and will cause further damage to her already very sick body.
(Dr. M told me bad breath is kidneys. Expect a full urinalysis and bloodwork, plus the possibility of subcutaneous fluids and prescription diet.)
I recently notice a lump on my dog’s neck and went to go get it checked out. I found out it can possibly be a lipoma and came across a YouTube video and where the cost for the removal was cheaper compared to the close to $2000 I was shown from my vet. I’m a student trying to manage my own college costs and my part time job is barley helping me out. I was wondering if anyone knows of a great vet in Los Angeles with reasonable price for the removal or something to just help me
Ask friends and family and even place a post on social media or to allthe shelters and rescues for vets who might be more affordable. And talk to your vet about the price. Ask if there is any way they can do it safely but at a price you can afford. And please! Please add the estimate to our storylines page. That is the place we hope to be able to find information about vets and vet practices to rocked transparency in pricing to people around the world.
My 24 pound beagle, Shadow, jumped on the counter and stole a chocolate cupcake off of it. The recipe called for half a cup of cocoa powder and it made around 16 cupcakes (she only stole one).
Is this toxic and should I go to the vet immediately or is it only a certain amount of chocolate that would affect her?
Hi Samantha, in each case it’s whatever the dog will tolerate. I would certainly call your vet, but if you see no changes I wouldn’t worry overmuch. Monitor your dog. If she starts to vomit, shake, pee a LOT more, or have diarrhea? Take her in immediately, do not pass go.
Hello.
As the mom of a beagle who would be just as sneaky (but isn’t yet. Thank goodness) I can say this will probably only cause gi upset. That’s not enough chocolate to cause toxicity. As long as your pup is otherwise healthy. You should always talk to your vet and always if worried call the pet poison helpline. There are also choc tox formulas that help available online.
My cat got a FLUTD diagnosis yesterday morning after spending the night in the animal hospital because they were checking for an obstruction. He hadn’t obstructed, but they couldn’t get enough urine for a urinalysis, so when we picked him up yesterday morning they gave us a container. I got a hair under 3ml, dropped it off and was told they’d run it and let me know if it was enough but I have yet to hear if anything has come from it. He’s on an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxant. He’s a very vocal and clingy cat, but he’s been very quiet since we brought him home. He produced a decent amount of urine yesterday, but he hasn’t done more than a little dribble for about 4 hours now. I was told, if there were no additional or worsening symptoms, to bring him in immediately if this reaches 12 hours with no output. He doesn’t yell or talk or grunt when he’s in the litter, just stays there for a while and scrunches his back up as he tries to go but can’t, and will turn around frequently. He’s walking normally and isn’t having trouble getting to sleep, he’s eating normally and drinking frequently.
I was advised to start a vet prescription diet made up of 90% Hills Science Metabolic Urinary Care + CD dry food and 10% wet food, but the vets didn’t have any and after making a few calls around, was told my best option was to order it online and wait. Waiting is very stressful, and I’d really like to know if there is anything else I can do in the meantime to prevent any further discomfort or an obstruction. I would also like to know if there is a safe way to get him to the animal hospital the fastest. I’m worried if he’s obstructed, picking him up and carrying him or putting him in his cage might cause even more pain or make his urethra rupture.
Any additional tips or advice is very much appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Hello,
I’m sorry but in these cases the only way to really know what is going on in the bladder is to palpate your cat to feel the size, firmness and pain in the bladder. I teach my clients how to palpate and I also advise giving at home sw fluids OR best yet hospitalizing with iv fluids until the urine runs clear and the patient is pain free and comfortable. I think that at this point if you are worried it’s best to see the vet ASAP. I also think it is important for the urinalysis results to be known. Lots of cats have cystitis and not a Urinary tract infection. Different things and therefore different treatment plans and options.
Let me know what happens and above all else ask the vet to give you a diagnosis and both a short and long term treatment plan and help in getting through it all. If they aren’t helpful go elsewhere. These cats need a lot of oversight and assistance. You need to have a vet who will fo all of this for you.
Best of luck !
Hello! I just discovered this app via a YouTube video, as I now spend my days googling things like “Cat breathing loudly” and “normal cat breathing”…!
Since perhaps June I’ve noticed with increasing regularity my cat, Clover, breathing very loudly, sometimes to the point of waking me up with the sound. In September this progressed and my husband noticed her breathing freakishly fast and we rushed to a vet.
However 5 vets, including a specialist, many xrays, and treatment for gum disease later, no one seems to know what it is, and I can’t take the wait and see method they are prescribing. She is playing and eating and otherwise normal, but her breathing does seem to bother and annoy her and at times she looks very despondent.
The history is that almost two years ago I made the most terrible judgement call of my life and she got out the window of a new apartment and fell 4 floors. She was unable to use her back legs for a few days during which they kept her under observation and she needed stitches in her soft palate. She has made an almost complete recovery.
The accident happened exactly a week after our other cat contracted an unknown disease and died suddenly and shockingly at aged 5. I still haven’t recovered from our other cat’s passing and both my husband and I comfortably acknowledge that Clover is the number one love in my life, and I will do everything to keep her alive and happy. However we have reached our pet insurance limit and I am so concerned about what will be next.
I have done all of the internet researching there is to be done, and I just know looking at her and hearing her stressful breathing that something is very wrong. I don’t know if it’s connected to the fall, but it isn’t bronchitis or asthma both of which treatments did less than nothing.
If anyone has any advice or had a cat with similar symptoms please let me know what you think?!
Good morning-
I am very sorry that even after all of your vet visits and research, you are still at a loss. Other than finding another specialist, my only thought is if there is a teaching veterinary hospital/school that would want to take on your case. Hoping that some other Pawbly friends may be able to share mor advice with you. Very best of luck to you…????????
Thank you so much!
Hello,
In many of these cases I have found that these cats have chronic rhinitis. A friend scan if about the best way to identify this, but, it isn’t usually able to be cured, only somewhat managed with long term use of anti inflammatories and adjunct treatment options like minimizing allergens and managing weight. I have also tried cerenia drips and steroids to some help. Or even an inhaler to see if it helps. Ideally I keep these cats in a clean ventilated moist environment and minimize allergens to include all household cleaners, litter and even their own pet dander. Finding a diagnosis is a challenge as it isn’t infection and if it isn’t it is harder to cure. Some cats just snore no matter what we do.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It it usual for it to come on relatively unprovoked? Or could it be connected to the fall? Also, as it is deteriorating so quickly now, what is the likely time she can live with it?
The whistling is relatively constant now, with every day becoming more extreme.
We have an air purifier running constantly, I have never used harsh cleaning chemicals ever and we are in a small apartment, so her exposure to irritants is as low as I can make them.
She was on cerenia but it did nothing and nor did the steroids.
Thank you so much again.
Also anti inflammatories did nothing I should add!
My 18 month old pit mix woke up with this nodule type bump on her face. It was hard and crusty and now it’s open. I dint think it’s painful but she doesn’t like me to mess with it. I got the best pic I could. No other symptoms at all.
Trying to get info from a photo is very difficult. If it were me, I would make an appointment for the vet and ask them to do a biopsy. It could just be a small injury, but it could be worse too. I hope it is nothing- best of luck!!!
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I noticed last Friday a faint circle on my dog head between his eyes the following day it opened up and they was a circle of blood. I took my dog the vet on Monday and was given cream that I applied till Friday yesterday morning. Yesterday the scab came off and they was a small red circle not sure if they was any bleeding. The 4th picture show what it look like today. Can this be cancer? As I don’t understand if cancer develope a scab ? If it was just a bump that opened up and a scab formed for it to heal then should it not be showing a fleshy circle still ? How long does it usally take for this type of thing to heal? I have spent days looking at picture of cancer and they are all lump that bleed and I ain’t seen a picture of a scab forming over any. I asked my vet on Monday after she checked it out if it could be cancer and she said it could be but if it was just a scab would she not know ? Or can cancer form scabs?
The saying goes that cancer can do whatever it wants. The best way to identify what this is is by taking a biopsy. Please ask your vet to help you monitor the masses progression and consider surgical biopsy if it persists or doesn’t heal.
Hello and thanks for the response. How long should I watch this for? If it just a bump from say hitting his head that opened up and scabed over Then should it of not already healed within a week or does it take longer to heal? It been 8 days since the faint circle appeared for it to open up the next day then form a scab so how many more days should I wait to see if it heals? His also got other little lump showing up 2 on his neck and 2 on his side but they ain’t progressed like the one on his face, they are just small hard lumps.
Hi there ???? I think I would chat with the vet at his next checkup and see what their thoughts are. There is always a risk with surgery, but if the pros outweigh the cons, then the answer is obvious. At this stage though, if your vet feels they aren’t a threat and you feel that the dog’s quality of life isn’t effected, then those would be strong factors in determining what the next step would be. You and your vet know your guy best, so that would be where I would start my discussion. Best of luck!!!
Hello,
I agree with Sarah. This needs to be a decision that you make with the help and guidance of the surgeon. You can get as many opinions as you need but they need tone from someone who can examine your dog. Find a vet (or two or more, or even a boarded surgeon) and ask for advice. Very best of luck.
I have consulted my vet and she told me it was my decision. The tumors are not in the way of his normal every day activity, Yet. I’m just afraid left unchecked they might become too large to handle. I just don’t know what the recommendations are for an almost 14 year old dog in regards to surgery. I know with every surgery there is a risk and I would assume his risk is greater than others due to his age. My gut tells me to remove them but will they just grow back? My heart tells me to leave them alone due to the fear of losing him under anesthesia. I’m absolutely torn.
Just thinking more about your situation…. wondering if you could just have it with your vet to have more frequent visits to check the tumors and make sure they aren’t growing or changing? That might help give you some peace of mind should you opt out of surgery.