My dog Sampson is a 15 year old boxer/pittie mix(50 pounds). Has had diabetes for 7 years. Been on arthritis pain meds the last year.. Has become very sluggish the past 2-3 weeks. Vet diagnosed him with a early stage heart murmur and slight anemia. Changed his arthritis pain meds to Gabapentin. It made him so drowsy that he fell asleep while eating. Became unable to walk without assistance. We weaned him off the Gabapentin and back on the old pain meds. His walking has improved a little but still is wobbly. Yesterday he refused to eat, which is highly unusual for him. Still drinking, but not eating today. He sleeps a lot but also has 30-60 minute spells of restless/repetitive behavior. I’m thinking he may have dementia. Any suggestions on how to help him?

I have a female cat, around 4 years old. I had noticed she was gaining weight, or so I thought, as her belly was starting to get really round. She is not fixed but there is no chance of pregnancy. I have now noticed that she seams to have a discharge and quite a bit of it. I have read that it could possibly be an infection. Vets are quoting me around $3,500. Due to covid 19 my hours at work have been cut so I can not afford all of that up front. I doubt I will be able to get approved for care credit and if so I will not be able to get approved for that much. So I’m wondering what other options I might have? I dont want to loose my baby girl and it may be coming down to rehoming her to get the care she requires right now. What can I do to at least try to keep her comfortable during this?

Pisoi is an indoor 18 year old male cat who is also allowed to spend as much time as he wants outside. Last summer he started to get from his left nostril a discharge, first clear mucus which despite an antibiotic injection (good for two weeks) became later a thick puss. The doctor’s supposition was: A) sinus infection; B) a foreign body in the nostril; C) cancer. The Doctor’s opinion is that more precise investigations requires anesthesia but due to the cat’s advanced age the doctor felt that he might not wake up from the anesthesia. It was prescribed Tobramycin Dexamethasone Ophtalmic and the puss became again a pretty clear discharge. He was eating and behaving normal. Everything remained in this state until two months ago when Pisoi began to snore, a sign that his left nostril was beginning to be affected. There was no discharge from his “healthy” nostril. After six days of doxycycline, his snoring became a little softer, then loud again. Another six days doxycycline, another week of soft snoring. Now he received doxycycline for 20 days. Already after four tablets he seams to be better but still 1) he cannot rest well because of heavy breathing and 2) his appetite is gone. Only ¼ tablet mirtazapine will make him to eat (really well).
Dr. Magnifico, I would appreciate it if you could see Pisoi as soon as possible, especially after I read what on this page what happened to Tony’s cat, Destiny.
We live in New Castle Pa, five hours and a half from you
Thank you very much,
Mihai

Hi. My Welsh Springer was drinking alot but not eating for 4 days and following an ultrasound was diagnosed with pyometra. She underwent surgery ten days ago.
Since having the operation she still refuses to eat. She has had anti nausea treatment as well as mirtazapine. The vet has now also prescribed trazodone. We did book her in to stay at the vets for a couple of days and they said she did eat some chicken. They showed me a video as evidence. Physically they could find nothing wrong with her. On returning home she still refuses to eat but is drinking. She will not eat anything, even her favourite treats, her usual dog food, nothing. So far it has cost me nearly £2000 for her treatment and I have no funds left. It really feels as though she will starve herself to death, although I thought dogs would never do this. I have tried restoring her old pattern of eating and have removed uneaten food after an hour and offered her nothing until her next meal but she still will not eat. I am at a loss as what to do next. Thanks for your advice. Andrew.

I have a 9yo. Siamese that has been diagnosed with possible nasal polyps. His more overt symptoms include an obvious blockage, snoring/snorting sounds while breathing, some drainage, head shaking. He has seen 3 different vets, all giving estimates for upwards of 2.5k+ for an investigative rhinoscopy/surgery.
I recently watched Dr. Magnifico’s video on Stripes and his Nasopharyngeal Polyp removal and was surprised to see that sedation and a visual exam/removal could be done within such a short time with great results. This was never offered as an option with any other vet visits.
Are there any vets within this network that anyone would recommend that would charge a more reasonable pricing for a similar procedure in the greater NYC area?

I have the sweetest 5 year old pit bull on the planet, I’m sure. Yesterday I noticed a large sore on the side on his lower, back leg. Its about the size of a grape or marble and protrudes. Its been moist all day today and started bleeding when he bumped it on the doggie door. He’s not obsessively messing with it but when he lies down I can tell he takes special care that it doesn’t make contact with the ground so it must be sensitive. Does anyone know what this is? I did call the vet and they advised to do neosporin and wrap it. Which I’ve done today but it doesn’t look any better or less angry.
Of course Google has me convinced my dog has cancer so that’s been fun… any advice? I’ve had him his whole life almost but my first dog. He does has sensitive skin (especially this season) and rolls in the grass 95% of the day.

I need help getting my kitty off a feeding tube now that his cancer surgery and radiation are complete. The doctor has suggested going from 3 feedings a day to 4 smaller meals, since he has always been a grazer. Prior to surgery he was fed 2 times a day. Each feeding he is offered food by mouth, then supplemented with tube feeding to complete his meal.
He is hungry in the morning, and eats well by mouth, but eats very little by mouth for the other 3 feedings. He is only taking in about 1/4 of his food by mouth daily, the rest being tube fed. I’m looking for suggestions on how to increase his interest in eating by mouth so I can decrease the tube feedings. Thank you.

We have two Italian Greyhounds. The older, a 16-year-old neutered female, is nearly blind from cataracts (can only see shadows) and almost completely deaf (responds to loud noises with one ear). She is otherwise healthy having recently had some teeth removed with the vet commenting on the great shape she is otherwise in. She has always slept in the bed with us at night, however, with her lack of eyesight, she cannot judge the edge of the bed and has fallen off so we stopped that practice. She now sleeps on the ground floor of the house in her own bed on the floor. In fact, she spends 24 hours a day in that bed except to eat and when she goes out.
The problem is that at night she will awaken every two hours and begin to bark making it necessary for me to come down to her. I usually will take her out, but often she will just stand there barking until I bring her back in, so I do not think it is a bathroom issue. I think she realizes she is alone and that is what causes the barking. We have tried leaving lights on all night, or the TV, we even got her a heartbeat pillow, but still she will get up and bark every two hours at night. During the day, she will sleep all day without the barking.
The only thing I have found is if I sleep on the couch in the same room she will not get up. What I do not understand is that she cannot see or hear me sleeping in the room yet my being in the room seems to prevent her from waking.
If someone can explain to me how she knows if I am or am not in the room when she cannot see or hear me? It is uncanny. If I am sleeping silently in the room she is fine, but as soon as I leave the room, she is awake and barking within two hours. Better still can someone tell me how to deal with this issue. She is afraid to walk on a lead any more so ‘taking her for a walk before bed’ is not an option. We have tried several different feeding schedules (I make all their food) with no success. Now she is fed in the morning and in the evening. She is not on any medication. It is truly bewildering. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi everyone, great website. My 10 year old sweet darling cat, has a cyst next to her eye, I was told by the vet it’s a cyst and to keep an ‘eye’ on it to see if it got bigger. Which it has.. they are saying to have it removed.. I was wondering if there’s anything I can do at home to help the cyst or does she have to have an operation? Many thanks, help really appreciated.

Is it Normal for a puppy to limp after getting a dose of calcium injected in it’s leg?
Today was his vet’s appointment for a dose of calcium injection.
He’s a 3 months old Alsatian German Shepherd.
Unfortunately , I was picking up his litter to throw it and meanwhile he chewed a stone and gave a loud cry. I immediately came to him and stroked his fur,n Soon , his mouth was dripping so much blood! I immediately took him to the vet , who treated his wounds. Now he’s completely fine.
But after 3 hours of the dose , he started to limp (in the leg in which the dose was injected).
I asked a friend , who has taken care of many dogs! He said it’s completely normal as the dose of calcium is a bit strong and that he’ll be fine when he wakes up in the morning.
But I wanted to double check.
Please answers asap.