Hello,
It sounds like a nasal flush might be helpful. It also sounds like it is time to try to get a diagnosis to make sure this is just infection and not something more insidious like cancer. Has your cat been tested for FELV or Fiv? Have they checked or talked about a polyp? Can you call around and ask for help from any of the rescues or shelters? Or even for payment plans or billing? For cases like this I try a few antibiotics (usually clavamox, doxy and then azithromycin), and then talk about looking for a polyp. After that I think these guys are either chronic rhinitis or I worry about herpes or cancer. That is my typical work up if people can not afford advanced imaging or cultures and biopsy. Ask your vwt about all of these. Also we are now trying diluted Cerenia nasal drops too. Maybe ask about them? Please keep me posted and very best of luck.
Hi, I have a 15 year old chihuahua named Peanut. He was diagnosed with IVDD on Sunday. He is able to stand for 30 seconds on his own and can walk a few steps before falling over. His right front leg and right back leg are the main limbs that knuckle over and give out when he stands. He can’t get himself to an upright standing position. He is currently on Gabapentin and galliprant. When the pain killers don’t have him knocked out he is crying and whimpering. He looks like he is pain and can’t get in a comfortable position . He is eating and drinking water. He is able to use pee and defecate on his own but most of the time does it while he’s laying down in his pen.
I feel so bad for him I’m honestly just crying all the time because it hurts to see him in pain and I feel helpless. I try and let him stand and walk for a few
Minutes a day with my support but should I be letting him walk? Or should I be trying to make him rest more? Also he doesn’t let me switch the side he lays on. He only lays on his right side . I know Dr. Krista said we need to switch the aside they lay on but he looks like he’s in more pain when I try to switch him to the left.
Any advice , thoughts, or feelings? I really just needed to not feel so alone in this.
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Have a 16 year old cat that has been very sick with so much mucus coming out of his nose. Been sick for for a while now. Gave him 10 days of amoxicilin from vet. He’s having a really hard time breathing from all the mucus so we have Ben doing everything possible to keep him alive cause he is a fighter. He stops breathing a lot cause h’s so clogged it’s heart breaking. We give him warm steam and humidifier along with taking him outside to get more oxegen. He stays up most of the time cause when he puts his head down it blocks his airways. I have been pulling the discharge out with a small eyedropper when the bogies show. Really hoping he can beat the illness and get better soon but vets are taking all our money with doing much. We are on limited income. I think he needs a nasal flush maybe but can’t do it myself cause of lack of knowledge and medical equipment. Please contact me at 619 453 1747 if you have any ideas. Some days he looks like he won’t make it but then other days his eyes look so clear and beautiful. We have been giving him syringes of water and blended food to help him k==p the weight on cause he stopped eating a few days ago from lack of smell. He never did drink much water but maybe cause there was some underling issue. I have a Web cam and could show you or talk to someone if they care to reach out. He is a huge part of the family for many years and I know he wants to live longer but unless he gets better soon we will be at a great losss. He has a vet appointment today but I don’t think they will offer many answers besides sending him to more specialist we can’t afford. He has been sneezing fluid for about a month. He is the sweets cat ever and would do anything to keep him around.
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Our 15lb Chihuahua/Maltese mix has a gurgling belly. You can hear the noise just being in the same room as him. He is super uncomfortable, sits down for a moment- you hear a gurgle and he shoots back up and circles then sits down again. It happens about once a month and lasts for about 12-24hrs. We have taken him into our vet a few times for it but by the time we take him in it has subsided. I believe they typically give him a one time dose of an antiemetic. Most of the time we have him leashed & am outside with him so we do not believe he is eating something. No table food, eats science diet. Has regular, formed, bowel movements. Unsure of what to do or how to make him feel better! We can not afford to keep taking him to the vet & not have answers of why this keeps happening.
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Kitten with completely atonic colon, possible causes? (Long text ahead)
So Nov. 3th in the evening we got 2 kittens, estimated 6 weeks old, thin. However due to being cold outside they already had very thick fur, so it wasn’t visible how thin they were. Weight was 550 & 650gr.
The finder said they have been more active before and only now they were able to get those two. They borrowed to live traps to get the mother and another kitten.
Both were seen eating. They were treated against worms (Milbemycinoxim/Praziquantel) and fleas (Lotilaner)
Nov 4th: Overnight everything was eaten, poo was solid. Kittens were responsive and alert. To the evening only half was eaten. Poo was still solid.
Nov 5th: Nothing was eaten over night, the little one seemed a bit weaker. I started to feed them with a syringe. They started with diarrhea, but that sometimes happens when feeding with a syringe.
Nov. 6th: They still don’t eat by themselves. The smaller one still seemed weaker, but otherwise it seemed fine. A bit diarrhea. In the evening I found it the litter box, not being able to stand, barely reacting. It hat vomited (at least it looked like it), and still had poo stuck on it. It was immediately brought to a vet. It received glucose solution s.c., something against vomiting, pain and an antibiotics. Lung sounded free, heart (ultrasound) was fine, too. A test of parvovirosis came back negative. I took both of them home that night, so I could feed it smaller portions more often and to give more fluids. 2 hours later to was able to stand again. I fed them every 3-4 hours, fluids every 6 (only small amounts obviously). It was lying on a warmth mat. The bigger one was fine, but avoided it’s litter mate.
Nov. 7th: No further improvement. None of them was eating on their own. The smaller one was still lying down most of the time, sleeping, but would react when I came to feed them. It would stand up and walk to the litterbox between the feedings, but the poo had a weird consistency. Not really diarrhea, but veeeery sticky, so it always carried it back to it’s sleeping place. So I had to clean it before every feeding. A test on giardia was positive, treatment started with Carnidazol. Continue to feed them with a Syringe and fluids for the smaller one. Fluids were always absorbed to the next feeding, but it still was a bit dehydrated (skin fold test). The bigger one would play in between and seemed fine otherwise.
Nov. 8th: No changes in the smaller one during the day, still weaker, able to walk, sit and stand, but sleeping most of the time. Today there was rarely poo in the toilet. I assumed that the treatment started working and it was a good sign (although I already had the feeling that something was wrong… wish I would have trusted that feeling). In the evening it seemed weaker, but would still accept being fed with a syringe. It felt different, less body tension, but would still walk away/go to the t. 10pm feeding. More calm, didn’t want to eat that much, peed on me. Meowed louder during giving the fluids than usual and tried to get away. 2am clock, the fluids weren’t absorbed completely, it’s abdomen felt like a sponge. I only fed a tiny amount. 6am weaker, would lie down immediately, breathing was shallow and faster, meowing, I didn’t feed it, fluids still not absorbed. Rushed to the vet.
-> Heart had a low frequency, breathing fast and shallow
-> X-Ray lungs were free, only a tiny amount of fluids in the abdomen, however the complete colon and stomach were filled with food. There was no visible blockage or air.
-> Ultrasound: Absolutely no movement in the colon/stomach, no blockage or air seen either. Kidneys and liver seemed fine
-> Punctation of the abdomen: ca. 3-4ml of fluids, lots of proteins, a bit of blood. Didn’t look like FIP. Possible that the fluids came out of the colon.
It was given something against vomiting, pain, antibiotics, something to help the cardiovascular system and something to get the colon moving again. To help with its breathing got a mask with additional oxygen. However in the next hour it got worse, so we decided to let it go. After it was gone food came back out of it’s mouth. And it didn’t even smell like it had started to digest.
It’s littermate is still with me and fine. It started to eat on its own yesterday.
Now I obviously ask myself what i could have done better/different. By now I think I should have started with additional syringe feeding earlier – at least with the smaller one. And I should have reacted when my feeling told me that something was wrong, even when there were no obvious changes yet. I somehow have the feeling that I sis something wrong and killed it. Did I give too much fluids (but lungs were free and only a bit fluid in the abdomen)? Did I feed too much? Other kittens eat even more without problems – and the other one is fine.
And what can be the causes for the complete stop of movement in the colon/stomach?
I know that FIP can cause this and an ileus (but there were no visible blockage, everything was filled with food), are there other causes? Can giardia do this?
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My indoor outdoor cat has been losing weight. Recently took her to er vet because she stopped eating and was very lethargic and they took xrays and bloodwork and no results she hasn’t pooped in 2 days hasn’t eaten in 4 days not interested in food at all she is a chronic puker and 2 days ago she puked a bunch today she puked up clear foam and pooped liquid with some solid and it had hair in it
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I have the sweetest Siamese mix, Goldie, adopted from our local humane society. Unfortunately, she has been a sick kitty and she’s had 4 URIs in her two years of life. She did take the full course of antibiotics for all of them and healed successfully.
Recently, she’s been making low snoring noises periodically when awake and sleeping and it seems to be only when inhaling. She’s a talkative girl and sometimes her voice changes when meowing. She has no other symptoms and is eating, drinking and playing normally and there has been no mouth breathing while making the noises. Her breathing rate has been normal. Sometimes it seems like she is making the noises and then stretches out real long in the first picture to get comfortable.
Below is a link to her video around 24 seconds you can hear it, you might have to put it at full volume:
If this is difficult to hear it sounds very similar to this:
I have a vet appointment next week and am concerned she has stertor from an oropharyngeal polyp from my online research and her symptoms. Is this something that a vet would be able to see without putting them under sedation? Are there any other suggestions you have as to what I could have them test for if it’s not a polyp? I wasn’t sure if she could have asthma or another breathing related issue.
Finally, do you by chance have any recommendations for vets in Phoenix, Arizona? I am just getting myself prepared if needed for a second opinion or if surgery is necessary.
Appreciate it and all your tips and videos online! You are doing incredible work!
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I recently adopted my cat, Critter, as he was on my grandma’s farm and had a paw infection. We brought him inside and started him on antibiotics. Unfortunately, the infection did not respond as hoped and he had to have his leg amputated.
After this, he was back to a perky young cat – playing and eating well. A week after surgery I noticed a bump just below the incision. I asked my vet if I should be concerned, and she said not unless it’s hot and that it’s probably a seroma. This made sense to me as he was more active than he probably should have been post surgery.
The next day, that bump burst and started leaking fluid. It was pink and not super cloudy, not smelly or hot. I kept and eye on it all day, and found that it never stopped leaking, so today I took him to the vet. There appears to be a small hole and it’s infected. It’s not at the site of the incision and the incision looks perfect.
He’s on a higher dose of antibiotics now, and some more pain meds as it is tender. He had the wound flushed this morning, and goes again in two days for another flushing.
I guess my question is – is it possible this is the same infection as before? The vets who performed the amputation said they were positive they got any infection (even taking the lymph node), I’m hoping that this is secondary and that maybe the bump was caught on something, or he scratched it open?
ETA: 1st photo is Saturday night, 2nd photo is Sunday afternoon, 3rd photo is today after flushing and rest.
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My cat, Nala, has kidney disease and her levels are going up. She is currently getting fluids 3x a week. She’s not eating much and has tried two appetite stimulants and was allergic to both. I have a new medicine to try this week but was wondering if there are more natural ways to stimulate her appetite? Also, does anyone have experience with kidney support gold? It’s a supplement from pet wellbeing.
Creatinine-5.7
BUN-81
IDEXX SDMA-31
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Is it normal for a cat in heat to have abdominal swelling? My cat is 3 yrs old and we have been meaning to spay her, but she goes into heat so often it’s hard to find time to do it. She is currently in heat and has been for over a week, and last week she had shown asymmetrical swelling on the left and right of her belly. The next day it went down so I figured it was nothing serious and probably swelling from being in heat. Now it has been a week she is still in heat and her abdomen seems just ever so slightly fuller on the right and left and firm. She is crazy in heat and doesn’t show any signs of being sick, acting normal, eating drinking, playing and jumping.
Is it possible for a cat in extreme heat to cause extreme swelling of the ovaries to where they would be palpable? I’m worried it could be early signs of pyometra, or if this is normal with heat. Her cycles have gotten more intense and extreme, as well as longer and more often, which makes me think it could be possible her reproductive system is simply engorged with blood causing it to be palpable.
If that (the swelling) is not normal with heat then I’ll take her to the vet ASAP, but again she is not grossly distended, she just appears “full”. Also there is no chance of pregnancy. Thanks.
Peanuts X-rays
Good morning-
I’m so sorry you are going trough this. Dr. Magnifico has a lot of videos regarding ivdd posted, and you might find them useful. Another thing to maybe try as far as getting him on his opposite side- when he has his pain killers in his system and is sleeping for close to it, perhaps gently maneuver him to the another side and see if that works any better. If he is not giving up, please don’t give up either. Best of luck to you both!!!!
Thank you so much for the advice! I’m going to continue to fight with him as long as he can. He still looks like he’s trying his hardest!