Good evening! I am a client at Jarrettsville Veterinary Center and the front desk ladies very helpfully advised me to post here saying I was a client to ask my question. =) We are in a bit of a kitten conundrum.

Our neighbors’ barn cat had kittens, and they are living under our garden shed. The kittens are about 7 weeks old or so, according to my neighbors, and they are extremely friendly, outgoing, adventurous, playful, etc. We are assisting the neighbors in trying to find them homes, and we are trying to figure out when it is appropriate to separate the kittens from their mother. We have read/heard 12-14 weeks, however we (my husband and I) are concerned for the kittens’ safety. There are foxes and hawks that live around our house, and the mother cat is staying away from the kittens for longer and longer. The kittens are starting to venture out further and further away from the safety of our shed (where they are just…exposed in our yard), and we are uncomfortable with the idea of leaving them outside for 6 more weeks (though they have managed this far okay).

Additionally, the mother cat has already moved the kittens twice, according to the neighbors, and they didn’t know she was over here until we found the kittens and told them. We are worried that she might move them again and we might not be able to find them if she does so. We are willing to bring them into our house for their safety, but the mother bolts, and we are worried about hurting the kittens’ development during this young stage of their lives and causing mama cat undue stress. We also don’t want them to get eaten by foxes or hawks. =\ Any advice would be super helpful!

Thank you!

Hello Dr Magnifico
I watched your video on Beerus the cat (Megacolon/ Obstipation) on YouTube! Currently my 8 year old English bulldog was diagnosed with megacolon. My dog is my life. The last week I’ve spent $4000 which included a deobstipation. The deobstipation wasn’t successful as there is a hard piece deep in the colon. They stated they removed a good amount but couldn’t reach the hard piece deeper in the colon and he will need two more procedures. I truly can’t afford to spend any more money and I don’t want anything to happen to my dog. Each procedure is about 2500 in the area and that only includes 24 hour care. Right now he is feeling much better but that piece is still in there. I’ve increased his exercise to 2-3 short walks. I’ve also changed his diet. Chicken, very little rice, raw liver, flaxseed, watermelon, blueberries, coconut oil, green beans, carrots and pumpkin. He’s feeling much better and is having diarrhea which I hope is chipping away from that hard piece. Can you recommend anything? Days ago he was vomiting, shaking, couldn’t walk, didn’t eat or drink and was lethargic. It was so scary! I literally would do anything for this dog. But I can’t keep shoveling out thousands of dollars and not get any results. Anything would help, I can’t have anything happen to my boy. You also mentioned to learn how to palpate the abdomen. Can you explain how that is done. Any help or recommendations would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I brought my 12-year-old cat into the vet today. He hasn’t been eating or drinking a lot so they decided to hydrate him. Since I brought him home, his breathing has been shallow and he is coughing a lot. I am seriously concerned. I don’t hear much air moving in his chest. I have no idea what may have caused this. What a bummer on the back of hydration caused him to not be able to breathe? The fluid is already disbursed throughout his body, so I thought he would be feeling better by now. I know that this has helped to park him up before. Please help

My cat has laryngeal paralysis. The surgery is far too expensive, therefore i’m looking into alternatives to treating the laryngeal paralysis. I saw that some vets offer acupuncture and electro acupuncture, which is supposed to stimulate nerve movement and could cure paralysis. Is thing something that would really work? I don’t know much about it but it seems like possibly it could get the nerves around his larynx to work again, then it could move properly? If you could provide me with any information asap I’d appreciate it! 🙂

Hello,

My 8yr old Anatolian Shepherd had a mass removal surgery done about a month ago. At the end of the second week of recovery he developed a large seroma (it was tested and not infected). The vet has since put 2 different drains in and although they work, the seroma re-develops after each time. He just had his most recent drain removed on Sunday and today (5 days later) I notice a small amount of liquid coming back. I really don’t want him to have to go into another surgery 🙁 will the seroma go away on its own? He doesn’t seem to be in any pain and the seroma is not warm to the touch, and it is much smaller this time around but I am worried it is going to just keep growing.

Hi, I adopted a Snowshoe/Siamese cat from a shelter about 6 weeks ago. They estimate he is about 3 years old but his history is unknown. He had an upper respiratory infection when I adopted him and was on antibiotics. He was very sneezy but that cleared up with the antibiotics the shelter gave me. I then took him to the vet for a wellness check the day after I adopted him and they found a yeast infection in one of his ears. We treated that and it’s been fine. He was also given Bravecto Plus topical just in case and is an indoor only cat.

About a week later he developed a skin issue, he’s been itching and ripping hair out in massive clumps and had some scabs. He was given two steroid injections over the course of a month. Also an antibiotic injection. I also changed his diet to rule out food allergen but after more than a week of diarrhea from the Hills z/d diet we switched to a sensitive skin Blue Buffalo instead which he is tolerating much better.

The skin issue has been getting better so I’m not concerned about that but just want to preface his history with me. Now onto the current issue. I noticed he snores and has trouble breathing when he is sleeping. I chalked this up to the URI but it has not gone away with the URI. His whole body basically flexes as he inhales. It’s only while he is asleep but does not matter what position he lies in. After spending over $1,000 and going to two different vet offices in the last 6 weeks, I would like to reach out to see if anyone has answers about this. We got back from the vet today with his second steroid injection and the itching has reduced significantly after this one (last one didn’t do much) and we are sending in blood work. The vet suggested next we do a full body x-ray which I’m not opposed to but I’m a graduate student and I’ve already spent over $1,000 on him and I have only had him for 6 weeks! I am going to get the x-rays for peace of mind but tonight I was checking his nose while he slept and found this. I’m assuming it’s a polyp? But I’m not a vet and won’t pretend to be one. If it is a polyp, where can I get this taken care of for a reasonable price? I really don’t want to dip into my emergency fund but I’ve already spent so much on him for vet bills, let alone changing food, litter, etc. To rule out allergens. I’ll include a picture of what I presume to be a polyp.

I appreciate anyone willing to help! I live in the New Orleans area so if you have recommendations for clinics, that would be great too! I am also willing to travel a longer distance for less pricey care. He does well in the car.

He is the one thing that’s really keeping me going right now so I really want to help him.

Hi, I have a 6 year old 17 lb Ragdoll cat that has a problem with his anal glands. Yes, he can stand to lose a little weight. I adopted him when he was 5 years old, and he’s over 6 now. When I first got him, his anal gland ruptured within a couple months. The previous owner admitted he had that happen a few months earlier. I’ve had cats since I was a year old, and I’ve never had a cat with this problem. I don’t trust the vet where I’ve been going to be looking for what’s going on or to help me resolve his issues. Do you know of any good vets in the Los Angeles area (particularly the west side near Santa Monica)? A veterinarian who cares more about the cats than making money? I’m fearful that there is more to this issue or how to treat it rather than just expressing his glands every couple of months.

We just adopted a 2 year old dog. She was spayed on Monday and has some vaginal bleeding. She recently had a litter, but unfortunately they drowned in a flood and our rescue was found on the top of her dog house. We don’t know how old the puppies were. Should we be concerned?

Our three year old spayed kitty Serafina (longhair buff and white tabby, 11.5lbs, utd on all shots) expelled her first hairball a couple days ago, and it was huge. Then she hacked up a couple smaller ones. The problem is she’s still throwing up. It’s only once or twice a day, never much in it, usually mucus or foam, sometimes a little digested food. Other than that her behavior is normal, her appetite was normal but has waned a bit, her drinking seems normal, but because we have multiple cats I don’t know if her bathroom habits have changed. There’s nothing alarming in the litter box though.
I’ve already sent an email to All Paws (it’s the only one we can afford with all the animals we care for) to make an appointment for her, but they’re not open on weekends and the auto-reply email said they have to go through a lot of emails on mondays so it may take up to 48 hours to even respond to my appointment request. I was sure to include all the details of her ailment in my email to them.
My question to you is this: In your professional opinion, is it okay to wait for their response, or should I seek an immediate appointment elsewhere? If so, I’d prefer it to be with your office. Other than the throwing up, she seems okay. She’s a low energy cat to begin with, so if she was lethargic it’d be hard to tell, but she seems normal to me. What should I look out for?
I’m just worried, I tend to panic over the smallest things. Thank you for reading all this.

Our dog Addy the Afghan gets acid reflux
Dr Graf told me to give her something like prilosec but I can’t remember exactly what it was and don’t want to give her the wrong thing
Thanks
Carolyn zeller