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Dr Magnifico I left a comment about my milkshake on your YouTube, I made a account here to talk more. Milkshake will be 8 on September 3rd, a while ago she was having diarrhea but after time she started having harder bowel movements where each time I would see her go it was hard enough to make a sound hitting the litter pan. Fast forward to this past week and for 6 days now she hasn’t ate or drank, she has not went poo but she did go pee two times yesterday. She has been vomiting a lot, the first day she would vomit every half hour, now it is still happening multiple times a day but not as much and is yellow do to not eating. I have been giving her water with a syringe to hopefully keep her hydrated. Like I said I’m on a fixed income do to my disability, I brought her to the Vet and didn’t even get a diagnosis after spending $200 getting seen having some nausea meds and fluid under the skin we were sent home to fend for ourselves, luckily I had saved that 200 up that was supposed to be for my other cats upcoming apt. I have tried calling other vets and hospitals and no one is willing to even let me do payments to get further information, the vet we went to said it would be at least $2,000 before she could be sure what exactly was going on and I just can’t afford it, we barely have food as it is. I tried applying for care credit and was denied unfortunately. I’m really worried about my milkshake. The only extra information that I did get from the vet was that she did not have a fever which was a good thing. Thank you for sending me this way, it is greatly appreciated.
3 year old female cat with megacolon.
I watched the video about Beerus and manual palpation was mentioned. How can I find out how to do this? She is already on Lactulose, cisapride and Restoralax, so hoping to help things along so the megacolon doesn’t get worse.
My mom got a 3 month old kitten from the shelter this week and they did the spay surgery. They noticed that she had an umbilical hernia and they did a second surgery. That was on Tuesday 12/19 and today is 12/23. This is the picture of her stomach as of today. Is this okay after this surgery? Or is this a sign that she has a hernia again? She has been really active and is a crazy 3 month old with loads of energy and we can’t keep her calm. Hoping to get an opinion but in the next few days if it’s still like this we will likely go back to the vet in case. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Hello,
Usually these are just scar tissue between the body wall and skin. If you have a regular vet ask them to check for you. Just in case. If you don’t have one it’s a good idea to establish yourself as a client so that you have someone who knows you when you need routine care or even the occasional mishap/illness needs.
Dr. Magnifico, Our beloved cat, Dexter (male, 13yo) was diagnosed with Megacolon a little over three months ago. We continue to go downhill. We’ve tried everything, Cisapride, Lactulose, Miralax ,an appetite stimulant, weekly enemas, been seen in ER three times, and multiple times at two separate vet clinics. Now he’s not pooping at all and urinating little. Being told our only options are surgery or putting him down. With a cat of this age, do you think surgery is advisable? He seems pretty worn out and definitely tired of all these doctor visits and enemas, some of which he’s been sedated. Now these two separate vets will not sedate during an enemy for manual evacuation because they say they don’t think he’ll make it through sedation. Thanks in advance for your time, response and your caring heart. Just watched your video about the black cat with megacolon. That was posted two years ago. Hope he’s continuing to do well. Thank you again. Krista in AL
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. Without knowing all of the pertinent details, if you feel like you have tried and done everything (like canned food only, adding laxatives and encouraging and promoting as much activity as possible) and you are still not able to get the colon moving properly then the best option is a surgery called a subtotal colectomy (removing the colon ). It is generally agreed upon that a true mega colon cat is only treatable by this surgery.
I hope this helps and good luck.
This post is specifically for Dr. Krista Magnifico, however anyone is welcome to chime in if you feel you can contribute.
On the evening of Monday, 11/20, our strictly indoor 8yo cat Louie had an accident at home. We aren’t entirely sure what happened, but we observed him jump down from the couch and race across the room, knocking his water bowl over in the process in a way that suggested he was spooked or startled, possibly by an outside noise.
That night he loafed a bit more than usual, but we didn’t think anything of it.
The next day (Tuesday) we noticed he had a noticeable limp in one of his hind legs. He had a slight sprain about six months prior in one of his front legs, and all he was prescribed was rest, so we figured this required the same since he bounced back from that sprain in under a week.
By Tuesday night it was noticeably worse and now both legs were effected, and he was extremely lethargic and kept hiding. We made sure he was comfortable and made plans to take him to a vet the following morning. The next day he was MUCH worse, now dragging his entire body by his front legs with hardly any rear leg movement, and his tail was partially limp as well. Both still had movement, but something was clearly very wrong.
We found a vet who did a quick half assed exam and wouldn’t take x-rays even though we asked for them. She did labwork and prescribed pain meds and said it was likely just a bad fall and he just needed to rest. She told us to follow up with her when we felt it was necessary.
By the next day, Thursday, his rear legs and tail showed absolutely no movement, and he was completely dragging himself with his front legs. And since it was Thanksgiving, everyone was closed, and we don’t have the means to pay for a 24hr emergency facility.
We called the vet back as soon as they opened Friday morning and scheduled the follow-up the same day. We waited in a small room while they took him into another room for a second exam, and when she came back she said his blood work was fine but she recommended putting him down asap because he had developed some sort of neurological issue, likely a slipped disc with his spine. I inquired about treatment options but apparently I didn’t look rich enough, because she just dismissed it as “probably too expensive” and suggested taking him home for some goodbye time, followed by making arrangements.
On Wednesday it was “probably a sprain, just let him rest” and 48 hours later she’s telling us to kill him. Economic Euthanasia in action. Are there treatments? Yes. Can you afford them? No. So fuck you and fuck your cat.
I immediately reached out to another facility for a second opinion. The prognosis was poor, but I was told that there was a chance he could recover with enough rest, attention, love and patience. As long as his appetite remained and he still wanted water, I could let him rest, do physical therapy, pursue acupuncture, etc….and just give him time. He said it could be 50/50 but gave no guarantees. What mattered was he didn’t take away our hope. We were told he wasn’t necessarily in pain, so it wasn’t inhumane to give him a fighting chance. So that’s what we did. The biggest problem was the paralysis meant he couldn’t use his box, so he had to be manually expressed for all his bathroom needs. I could NOT get the hang of it and was incredibly worried about a rupture or blockage. But he had developed incontinence, so even though I wasn’t able to remove his waste myself, it would come out on its own over time. I had to clean a lot of messes as well as clean his backside often, but at least it was coming out one way or another.
Still, he wasn’t examined to my satisfaction, and I wanted to find a vet who took his case more seriously and could actually provide some sort of treatment. After a little research I found one, and they did a FULL neurological exam, asked for his whole story, listened, didn’t rush, and told me how to proceed and what to expect. The did a complimentary ultrasound, two full x-ray sessions and only charged me for one because they did the second just to rule something out, and all in all were angels on earth. They said red light / laser therapy might help, but again couldn’t offer any guarantees. They unit they had on hand was a “Class IV” which is apparently really powerful and efficient, so we began treatment with that immediately, twice weekly.
That was two weeks ago, and as of today it’s now the start of week four. It’s been three full weeks since this all started. Over the last couple weeks, he started showing signs of movement in his right leg. Then his left. Bit by bit. As of today, HE CAN WALK, but only on his “hocks”. His front paws / legs are still fine, and he’s capable of making his way around the house on his own. However he’s still incontinent, and he still isn’t using his box. I’ve been doing my best to clean up after him with warm water and wet wipes (for cats), but he’s starting to develop sores by his anus due to constant over grooming. Apparently I haven’t been doing a well enough job keeping him clean.
We were prescribed a medication called Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium on 12/11 which we were told to give twice daily, 12 hours apart. So we gave him his first dose that night, and twice the next day. He didn’t take well to it and developed horrible diarrhea and vomited a few times as well. Despite this, he still has his appetite and he’s still drinking water. He’s not hiding or showing signs of pain or distress. He still purrs and wants attention, and even wants to play. He just walks on his hocks and can’t use his box. He was also prescribed another medication for nerve pain which was mixed with (I believe) Almond Oil? But he immediately began drooling profusely and had an incredibly adverse reaction to it, and he hated me for the next two days and even became fearful, which was difficult to deal with. Apparently there’s a similar option available in pill / powder form, but our vet won’t prescribe it because apparently it’s too strong for his size.
What all can we do from here on out to help him regain his independence on the bathroom front? What treatments / medications / additional measures would you recommend?
We were told if he were to make a recovery it would take anywhere from 4, 8, or even 12 weeks or more. It’s been three full weeks and he IS walking again (on his hocks), but the bathroom issue is our biggest concern. We’ve laid towels down everywhere but we can’t live like this forever….but at the same time we don’t consider this issue alone to be sufficient reason to end his life. We love him, and he’s family. We’re in it for the long haul.
We were told an MRI to pinpoint the exact spot of his injury would be upwards of 4k and corrective surgery, if it’s a slipped disc, would be 8k – 11k.
We can’t fucking afford any of that, and its safe to say MOST people can’t. What an absolutely predatory situation to be in.
Any advice on how best to proceed from here would be sincerely appreciated. We’re open to anything which has ever shown proven results. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Being concise isn’t among my strong suites.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about all of the issues you have had with your cat and the ability to find meaningful help. I know how hard it can be.
I think that a few things need to be discussed.
1. I feel it is really important that you talk to the vets who failed you and your cat. Here’s why. You and your cat are still alive and I fear too many others would not have had the same fate. If you don’t tell that to these vets they will keep on writing off pets and breaking their humans hearts. I honestly don’t know why we just don’t help people and stop killing pets we refuse to help.
2. Keep practicing palapating your cat so you can monitor urine and fecal output.
3. It sounds like this might be Ivdd in your cat. Which would also mean it can improve and your cat might regain function. For these cases I recommend cage rest and at home physical therapy. Try to keep massaging the legs and work on strengthening and supporting the body.
4. Keep your cat in a safe place. No jumping or falling. That’s why we call it strict cage rest.
5. I do think that these guys do have enough quality of life to stay with their family. If they can eat, drink, urinate and defecate and you can provide them a happy life then it’s ok they aren’t perfect.
PS if he’s struggling with the box put a small amount of litter on a puppy pad. That might help.
1. I have absolutely already been planning on doing so with at least the first initial office which was so quick to suggest euthanasia. She really was SO QUICK to give up on us. I’ve had the thought of sharpening his claws once he’s fully healed, going back there and just throwing him at her face.
2. I’m doing my best to stay on top of it. He’s not plugged up on either end, that’s for sure. He’s fully incontinent. I just hope he regains his independence at some point, because this is so frustrating. Keeping him and our home clean feels like a full time job in itself at this point.
3. Is Ivdd different from a slipped disc? I’ve googled it but there’s so much information, some of which is a little conflicting. Initially I was told surgery would be 8-11k (on top of a 4k MRI), but a quick search online suggests surgery for Ivdd runs anywhere from $1500 to 4k. We can’t swing 4k, but we could scrounge up a grand and a half if it meant giving him his best chance at a full recovery. If you have any recommendations for a spot in California we could turn to, we’re open to it.
We haven’t been keeping him in a cage, as he doesn’t take to it well at all. It stresses him out a great deal, and the third vet that actually bothered treating him said that reducing his stress would play a substantial role in his chances of recovering. But we don’t have any stairs and he’s not able to jump. He can make his way onto the bed using his front lets, and we put pillows and comforters all around the base of the bed so when he heads down, he lands on something soft even though it’s only about two feet high.
I’ve been massaging his legs a bit and doing bicycle riding motions from time to time for as long as he’ll put up with it (which isn’t long). I also purchased this from Amazon and have been using it along his spine and the base of his tail.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR3PSMW1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
If you would recommend a different variant which you’re more familiar with, please let me know and I can return the above and buy your recommendation. Louie is also currently receiving a much more powerful version of this twice weekly with a class IV unit.
4. He’s not able to independently get onto anything high. The most would be the bed, and we’ve made sure he can get back down comfortably.
5. His appetite and interest in water have yet to waver. Any recommendations on the puppy pad front? Perhaps something with pheromones or other such attractant? You’re suggesting the pad and litter combination will help re-associate him with the idea of peeing where there’s litter, which might encourage him to start using the box again after a few successful puppy pad uses?
Lastly, he was prescribed gabapentin about two weeks ago for potential nerve pain, but he had an incredibly adverse reaction with severe drooling and agitation. It was in liquid form in some sort of almond oil, which he HATES. It’s not something I’m comfortable giving him regularly based on the severity of his reaction. I was told there is a pill form, but our vet won’t prescribe it because it’s too much for Louie’s size, and apparently California law has some kind of regulations about allowing the pills to be opened with readjusted doses, so I can’t just half the powder from each pill. If you have any advice for alternatives on this front or how best to proceed, any suggestions at all, that would be extremely helpful.
They’re also reluctant to give him any anti-inflammatory medication because it’s apparently terrible for the kidneys. I believe it was called an “NSAID”.
He doesn’t seem to be in any obvious pain or distress, but he’s also a cat and they’re notorious for hiding their discomfort, as you full well know.
Our cat has what we believed to be an abscess on his cheek. Initially he was struggling with scabs and itching under the skin, some sort of a skin condition, so we switched him to prescription food. Hasn’t changed anything. He had a scab on his cheek and kept scratching it, until it started to bleed. A lot. We took him to the vet, he was put on steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help…it did slightly, but the wound from picking at his scab started to get bigger. He is relentless with trying to scratch it. So now he’s been wearing a cone..the wound site has turned into a ball. It’s a bald spot and it slowly got bigger over time. It’s warm to the touch. We took him to a different vet. Says it’s too hard to determine what it could be and referred us to a dermatologist. Derm says likely could be cancer and it’s a mass…..even though we have explained how it all started. He is quoting us $5k to remove the mass and test for cancer. We are thinking it’s just an infection that is stuck under the skin….last vet tried poking it and draining it, but there was no puss, only blood. What could this be? We are worried but stil have a feeling it could just be an infection. Maybe he wasn’t on antibiotics long enough? Do we just proceed with this surgery?
Hello,
I think there are options before you spend that kind of money. You can ask about doing a culture of the area to see if there is a better antibiotic option. Or find someone who can surgically remove the lesion for a more affordable price.
That’s where I would start.
How is he doing? This heavily reminds me of a kitten, that developed cancer on his ear at the age of 4 months. It started with a tiny sratch, that scabbed over. We though maybe he’d played to rough with his littermates. But it started swelling, was red and incrediby itchy. He would sratch at it whenever he could. So at first we also tought abscess, so he was also on antibiotics and cortisone I think and of course he had to carry a cone. But it only helped a little.
We took a biopsy, which showed a mast cell tumor. These produce histamines, hence the itchiness. As it was very small and on his outer ears removement was rather easy.
I can imagine that with this size and lacement on your cat it will be harder to remove it if neccessary.
So… sdditionally to a culture I would maybe do a biopsy?
During the summer my cat Higgins (Higgy) was lying at the top of the stairs and I noticed that she was lethargic, she’d lost a little bit of weight. After monitoring her for a day or two I noticed that she was unable to poop and she winced when I touched her stomach. To cut a long story short, she ended up being hospitalized for two days for an impacted colon. She’s been doing very well until a few days ago. We’ve been giving her lactulose, as prescribed by our vet and we’ve also given her a little Catlax. Her appetite is the same, I’ve been giving her only wet food, she’s drinking water like she normally would and, she is urinating plus, her weight is the same. Her behavior is normal, she’s playing and she’s already attacked the Christmas tree, but she hasn’t been to the bathroom for 5 days. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hello,
In cases like this I try to teach people how to palpate their cat so they can monitor the size of the colon. This will help you understand and take care of the feces before it becomes obstipation.
In some cases there is an underlying problem that causes poor movement of the colon. I also recommend lots of exercise and bloodwork to look for other possible conditions like kidney disease or thyroid disease that might be complicating the condition.
Thank you for responding. She had blood work done and all was good with her kidneys. I’ll give her another day and if there’s no change I’ll take her back to the vet.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
I would recommend a few things;
Go on all of the social media platforms that you can and ask for help. Call every local rescue and shelter and ask for guidance in finding someone who can help you.
I think that your cat needs to be given an exam and than maybe the vet can offer to teach you how to give sq fluids at home? Maybe they can also talk to you about trying some anti vomiting medications? Some of them are even available at the pharmacy.
Reach out to local cat groups and even ask about help from the local animal shelters. Maybe they have a veterinarian who can help?
I also think that in cases like yours it might be beneficial to see if you can help in anyway that might convince the vet staff that you are a devoted pet parent and responsible in paying them back? I know that if someone came to me and said “what can I do to help keep my cat alive and healthy?” I would work with them. Maybe instead of saying that you don’t have anything ask them what you can do to help them if they help you in return?” In some places volunteers at the shelters can get discounted vet care. Or my volunteers at my vet clinic get free vet care.
I also think that your cat likely needs some lab work like a blood work and fecal. Anything that might explain her clinical signs. But I also think it should be done in an affordable manner. You need a compassionate vet for this.
I hope you find them. If you do please let me know.
Don’t give up. There are vets out there who will help.
Good luck.
Dr Magnifico, Hello I have been doing all you suggested, I have been contacting different vets still waiting to hear from some and did hear from one in another state which is a few hours drive, if my milkshake does have pyometra this vet was so very generous giving me an amazing discounted price, the only problem is we don’t know if that is for sure what she has so if I drive all the way there and they do the surgery and she ends up not having that then I’m out more funds and these would be borrowed funds so I’m afraid of taking that chance then having absolutely zero funds and no one else to borrow from with a cat who is still sick and not diagnosed. It’s day 7 now and she is still not eating, not drinking, her vomiting is less now being only once or twice a day. She is getting some water by us squirting some at the side of her mouth and has been able to go pee quite a few times. She still has not gone poo though. I can’t get no prescriptions for subcutaneous fluids or nausea medication until blood work is done which is 300$ that like I said if I use these funds then I will have nothing for her treatment. I have applied for a couple of grants but with these they want your pet to already have a diagnosis so we will probably be denied. Do you have any ideas on what it could possibly be? Or ideas on how to get subcutaneous fluids for at home treatment, I know chewy has those but you need a prescription for that. Thank you again for all of your help and all of your dedication to animals in need of help, I stand by your side and will fight this fight with you.
I forgot to mention she did have a exam at the vet this past Friday, that’s when they wanted all the additional testing that I couldn’t afford, well I had to choose between life saving fluids and her nausea medicine or the blood work I knew if she didn’t have the fluids she was going to die soon
Hello Dr. Magnifico, I hope you are doing good. I just wanted to give a update on my milkshake, I kept giving her water with a syringe by mouth on the side of the mouth so she wouldn’t choke or aspirate. It had been 7 days since she had eaten anything, everyday I would try many different liquid type foods, some I would warm..she was not interested but I kept trying and trying until finally one day around three in the morning I warmed a temptation’s liquid treat by holding it in my hand for a while before opening I then put some of it in a syringe and got a small amount of it in the front of her mouth so she could get a taste and to my absolute surprise after 7 days she finally started licking it, I didn’t give her to much at that time because it had been so long but since then I’ve gradually increased the amount and now she is eating that and will even eat some of her wet food at dinner time with her siblings. She ended up going poo finally and it was a very hard one so I think she may have been constipated. To think the vet hospital wanted almost one thousand dollars to diagnose what they said was pyometra and it was not even that, not gonna lie they did scare me into almost giving a kidney to get my cat vet care. I am glad I did bring her to the vet hospital because I really think if she didn’t have those subcutaneous fluids at that time she probably wouldn’t have made it. I was scared and worried I was going to lose my milkshake and then I came across your YouTube advocating for animals and vet care, Dr.Magnifico if it weren’t for you and your advice from miles & miles away I don’t know what I would have done so I just wanted to take a few moments to not only let you know that milkshake is so much better now but to thank you so so much for your help, information and the encouragement to not give up in finding proper vet care that wouldn’t cost thousands. It is because of you that I now know not all veterinarians are expensive, they are few and far between but they are still out there. I am still searching for a vet like that in my state of Vermont but I have at least knocked some of the list and will continue to fight for my cats and the veterinarian care that they deserve. Thank you thank you thank youuuuu 😀 from myself, milkshake & our little fur tribe.