Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Hi Krysta,
Just recently saw one of your videos regarding IVDD our soon to be 6 yr old Chocolate Lab Bruschi was recently diagnosed with this condition. We don’t know what to do surgery seems out of the question financially. What are some physical therapy practices we can do to help him? Please advice
Gastropexy with splenectomy yay or nay?
11 years old female Rottweiler, spayed, on smaller side of the breed. Splenectomy going to be done due to incidental splenic mass finding while diagnosis non-resolving diarrhea and inappetence. I wanted to look for obstruction but instead, this was found. Larger mass, >6cm. Surgery Tuesday.
Hello,
I would ask your surgeon for their thoughts. If everything was going well during the splenectomy and if it weee my pet, or I was the surgeon, then my answer is yes. I would pexy for any and all abdominal surgeries in at risk breeds.
Good luck.
Yeah, my thinking. Unfortunately, can’t discuss before hand due to holidays. I hope it can be done. Thank you.
I have a very active 3 year old Boston Terrier who was just diagnosed with possible IVDD.
She is on crate rest for 4 weeks getting 2.5mg Prednisolone twice a day, 100mg Gabapentin every 8-12hrs and 125mg Methocarbamol every 8hrs. She is still fully ambulatory and on day 5 of her rest and meds and is still having breakthrough crying pain when she moves wrong. I have started heat therapy which seems to help a little. Do you think I could increase her Methocarbamol to 187.5mg and see if this keeps the muscle spasms more at bay. She weighs 16lbs.
She also has an appointment with a neurologist January 5th. It is so hard for me to see her in pain.
Thanks
hello,
I’m so glad to hear that things are improving!
I am also sorry but I cannot offer advice on drugs, or dosages. This is a question for your vet.
Best of luck
krista
I have a 13 yo female domestic short hair. She has a very large ventral hernia and is losing weight very fast in Oct she was 6.9lb, in Nov she was 6.4lbs. The surgery is $2300 which I cannot afford. She gets diarrhea after eating and sleeps ALOT. I hate to put her down, I wish she would go naturally but I dont want her to suffer & need advice. Please help.
Hello
Have you asked for a second opinion from another veterinarian? Try to find a local independently owned veterinary practice that comes recommended by people in your area. Reach out to local rescues and shelters and use social media to try to find someone.
I don’t know enough about your cat to offer more specific information.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best.
My 3 yo male nuetered tuxedo cat Kenobi was diagnosed with FIC by the ER DVM yesterday with no blockage. He is peeing just a dime size at a time. Should I also give him Apple Cider Vinegar as his PH was 7.0 ? Other than his urinary levels, red blood cells in his urine, struvite crystals, his blood work was good with no infection. The ER DVM gave him ; Buprenorphine, Prazosin, & Gabapentin. We have changed his food to all wet Royal Canin Urinary SO from mainly kibble with some wet. We think the stressor was the absence of our 19 yo tabby Tinkerbelle we had to help cross over 2 weeks ago. Should I get Kenobi a companion kitten to replace Tinkerbell? We also are buying a water foundation as he does not drink water enough.
Hello,
I would ask your vet about the following;
Giving sq fluids at home daily, adding a short course of a steroid and the latest opinion on prazosin’s efficacy. (I don’t use it).
Also I don’t use vinegar.
These are a matter of experience and preference. Therefore please ask your vet or find a feline only practitioner to help.
Thank you for your reply. Ill ask but given this study I don’t see why she would.
Summary
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Prazosin administration increased the likelihood of rUO by 14 days; ongoing investigation of other therapies to decrease rUO in cats is warranted. Without specific indications, the use of prazosin for the prevention of rUO should be discouraged.
Link
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/260/S2/javma.21.10.0469.xml
He is doing better this AM and has had at least 2 large urine eliminations during the PM, one I would consider normal. the other the size of a gold ball ( litter clump) We administered 1/2 teaspoon of H2O and ACV orally x2 last night. 1x this am. along with prescribed meds. He is running around to get to food bowl , face rubbing, purring, jumping on the bed, acting like his old self . I plan to continue to water his wet food. He does not seem to drink well. We have bought a fountain to encourage water consumption. He likes to drink directly from the tap so maybe that will work.
I recently had to put my kitty to sleep. He was 2 1/2 years old and dealing with leaking at times, then blockages. He had this issue for over a year. We switched him to the Purina prescription wet cat food for Urinary Tract issues. He wasn’t a fan of drinking water from a bowl, so we added 1-2oz of water to his wet food. His total water intake was about 8-9oz of water daily (He was only an 8lb cat and the water also includes what the canned food provided.) He was hospitalized 3 or 4 times — the last time he was in the ER for 14 days. The vet didn’t put the catheter in correctly for the first time — causing major urine scolding on his rear end. They did the catheter correctly for another 7 days. A month later, blocked again. With his issue, PU surgery was not an option. His blockages and urethra damage was too far up close to the bladder — this was told to us by multiple vet opinions. With multiple vet opinions, the only suggestion with the last blockage was to do the same 7 day catheter to help the urethra repair again. Our primary vet was honest with us and said that this option would help him, but wasn’t sure if we would ever have a permanent solution to his blockages. In total, we probably spent upwards of $15,000 with all of these issues over the year (The 14 day emergency room stay was $6,500). Money was not a factor for my wife and I — If I knew we could actually fix him and give him a good quality life, I couldn’t put a price tag on it. With a lot of discussion, we decided it was best to put him to sleep. Feeling good for a weeks or a month, then blocking again, then lengthy procedures wasn’t fair for him. It’s been 3 days since we put him to sleep and I can’t help but feel guilt like we didn’t do everything we possibly could do. I did so much deep diving in google for ANYTHING — I read up on stents, bypasses, etc. I truly don’t think there was anything else we could. It would help me feel better if you could give you opinion on if we did everything we could. Thank you!
Hello
I’m so sorry to hear about your kitty. These cases and this condition sometimes go like this. As much as we try to do everything to avoid them they do happen. Urethral tears and complications from unblocking happen because the area is so sensitive and the tissue so thin and fragile and the force and effort so intense to try to unblock. There is no way around these misfortunate unhappy endings with some of these. It’s why so many cases don’t even get to the point of unblocking. We have to explain that things like this can happen and lots of cats reblock and the cost can escalate quickly and still a cat may not survive.
I hope that you take great comfort in trying. It sounds like you really did do all that you could have.
I refer to this as part of the grief process. I have been in your shoes many many times. Heartbroken, emotionally devastated and still without my best companion. Time will help and you just have to believe you did the best you could.
Thank you for sharing your story. I would like to add it to our storyline section. And build a data base for others to share.
If interested please email me at Krista@pawbly.com.
Sending ❤️
My min pin is diabetic. He’s been having some digestive issues getting his diet right with his insulin. I’ve noticed the last month or so that his butt has started getting puffy. Last night it was a little red but, he hasn’t been scooting or biting at it. I also have noticed some slimy covering on his stool at times. I’ve been giving him probiotics and since then his poo has been the color of the probiotics, like a chicken boil union cube.
Hello,
I’m not quite sure of what you are describing. There isn’t enough information to assess this? For example I have no idea what a puffy butt refers to? Is it possible to follow up with your vet for an exam and explain to them in person? I’m not sure if there is a problem here or not but I do know that diabetes is one of the most difficult conditions to manage and it requires a lot of help from the vet staff to manage well.
Best of luck.
5 Yr old rescue cat named Maew. Indoor/outdoor. Severe mega colon with constipation/ostibation related to nerve damage from having her tail removed by a dog when she was a kitten.
We have had her in and out of the vet many times for enemas and have done everything we can to keep her going. Laxatives, lots of exercise, diet changes We are out of options and considering colon surgery.
I need a magical diet/food remedy to help her mega colon issues. She actually did well for a few years on high fiber dry food. But that time is over and we are trying every food option to keep her hydrated and avoid colon issues.
We do regular manual palpitation also.
Help help help!
She’s always been there for us with an encouraging head boop and now we have to be there for her. We will never give up! She’s a survivor and deserves much more time with our family
We have been very diligent with miralax, lactalose, and such. We need some hippy-voodoo magic!
In all honesty, I’d keep her indoors due to the injury and the likelihood she’ll end up injured further, especially if she ends up separated from you by a well-meaning human thinking she’s a stray. I would also talk with your vet further about that surgery.
Our 5 month old male kitten has severe obstipation. After xray he was admitted to Vet Hospital on Mon Nov 7th. Treatment has been sub cutaneous fulids ( no IV’s) several saline enemas with sedation, oral miralax, and recent start of lactulose. No stool results as confirmed by xray. My question is 1) can a mineral oil enemas soften the hardened stool and 2) is there a way to aspirate the stool with a small suction catheter. I have limited finances and cannot keep him in the hospital much longer. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.
Hello,
In cases like this it is imperative to figure out who this is happening. No amount of removing the feces is helpful if you cannot resolve why it is occurring. Fluids, warm water enemas and even manual extraction are all options (you cannot suction it out as it is too hard to do so). Diet change and exercise are the best places to start if (big IF) this is resolvable. If your cat has an underlying problem that has to be addressed. Call and ask for help from every rescue and shelter and put out a social media plea for help.
Please help my rescue kitty with a polyp in his pharynx!
I recently took in a rescue kitty. He was treated for upper respiratory infection. However, it keeps returning and he always sounds like he is snoring. The vet he was seeing suspects a polyp. However, he isn’t able to remove it. I can’t afford to take him to specialist. Please help! I will travel to you to have him seen.
Hello,
I recommend that you call every local rescue and shelter to see if you can find someone who is willing to help you. There are many vets who will try and do this affordably. I am in northern Maryland. If you find someone close to you please share their information with us so we can pass it along to others.
Hello,
I did a very thorough write up on almost every part of this between my YouTube channel and rhe blog kmdvm.blogspot.Com. Search Ivdd. It is important to keep trying to help your pup maintain muscle mass and start re learning how to stand and walk. The first steps of this are managing pain and helping to maintain normal urine and defecation and avoid getting any infection (bladder included). Then as the pain starts to dissipate work on regaining strength and ambulating.