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AnneMarie | 2 years ago
I Have A 13 Yo Female Domestic Short Hair. She Has A Very Large Ventral Hernia And …

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.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    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.

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Patricia | 2 years ago
Bio Hello My Cat Is 15 1/2 Years Old And Has A Heart Condition And The Herpes Virus. …

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Hello my cat is 15 1/2 years old and has a heart condition and the herpes virus. He has a nose polyp. It was extracted twice from his left nostril. Now he is not eating . I have been putting a ointment in his ear so he will eat. He does eat but only purée foods. He wants to eat his dry cat food but it seems like he can’t. I brought him to the vet they sent me to a specialist who wants a lot of money to find the polyp and remove.

I watch the YouTube video of you removing a polyp from a cat and the cost and that is so much more reasonable. Do you know anyone in the ny area that would perform the same procedure at close to what you charged? Where are you located? Would you do it?

I just want so much to help my cat.

Thank you,
Pat

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello

    At rhis age I am most concerned about infection and cancer. I think it is best for a full blood work and X-ray as the place to start. I think a polyp is very unlikely in your cats case. I hope this helps.

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Ashley | 2 years ago
EMERGENCY!! HELP HELP I Have A 2yr Old Orange Tabby Cat Who Got Out And Was Gone For Over …

I have a 2yr old orange Tabby cat who got out and was gone for over a month. When he finally came home he was covered in fleas and seriously underweight and underfed and dehydrated, but seemed okay. He was eating fine and drinking at first. However the past week or so he hasn’t been wanting to eat or drink and has lost even more weight. I took him to the vet today and they said he needs a blood transfusion bc he’s anemic and he’s jaundiced and needs iv fluids but they couldn’t do it bc they have no one there on the weekends and the vet wasn’t willing to go in. I’ve called every vet I can Google and everyone said the same thing and wouldn’t take him except the trauma vet but they quoted me an outrageous price and I don’t qualify for care credit so they said i should just euthanize him. He’s my baby and idk what to do but I do know he deserves a chance. Is there any way for me to treat those things at home? Please HELP

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. I would call every rescue and shelter and see if anyone can help. At minimum I would see if anyone will help you with fluid therapy (even if it is sq), an antibiotic, appetite stimulant and syringe feeding. In essence you have to provide round the clock care for her to see if she can survive this. Even with all of the money in the world it sounds like she is in very serious poor condition and her prognosis is not good.
    Put out a social media plea and keep calling and asking for help. Don’t delay and very best of luck.

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Crystal | 2 years ago
My Cat Has One Side Of Her Face Swollen And Her Eye Has Become Small, With …

My cat has one side of her face swollen and her eye has become small, with clear discharge, like a runny eye. She is an indoor cat, so no possible fights. She is eating and drinking normally, using litterbox regularly as well. I plan to take her to the vet if it doesn’t get better in two days, does anyone have an idea what it could be that’s causing this? How much the vet would charge as well?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Head to the vet asap. I say this because anything potentially involving the eye whiten be seen asap. Otherwise I would worry about URI regardless of whether indoor or out. At my clinic the exam is bn $45-85 depending on if you are an established client. Eye meds are about $30 and the same day other oral antibiotics.

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Beth | 2 years ago
PYOMETRA SURGERY On A Shepherd/Husky Mix: Surgery Cost Info Plus Question For Vet!

PYOMETRA SURGERY QUESTION: I have a question for Dr. Krista. Below is background information and I will include cost info for anyone that might be searching for cost information in the future and stumbles across this website. (also uploading a picture of doggie with stitches to gallery)

My 7.5 year old Shepherd/Husky mix just had surgery for pyometra. It was approximately $2000 at a pet hospital in Tennessee for the surgery. (actual surgery was a little under $900 and then additional things such as anesthesia, overnight boarding charge, IV, antibiotics, e-collar, medication, etc ended up racking up the charges to almost $2000.) Her symptoms that caused me to go to the vet were not eating, depressed, excessive drinking, constant licking her private areas, and I did notice she was drooling a lot as well. Her not eating was the main thing that had me worried as this dog will eat anything and gobble her food up in seconds and then lick the bowl clean searching for any missing bits under normal circumstances, yet she even turned her nose up at her favorite foods. I had initially been worried about blockage since she had eaten some table scrap bones a few days prior (which I now know not to do for future reference), but after googling , I came to the conclusion pyometra was more likely. She had just finished her heat cycle a few weeks prior, so everything lined up on her symptoms matching pyometra. The vet did an x-ray and blood work and it did end up being Pyometra. I had never heard of this before and really wish I had as this was an expensive lesson for us to learn and painful for our poor doggie. If we had spaded her when she was younger, it would have been $250 at the exact same place I just paid $2000 to for pretty much the exact same surgery. (though now much riskier and doggie sick) The vet did the surgery the morning following her initial examination. (the initial exam was $425 for exam, x-ray and blood work and was not included in the cost of surgery. I received a 25% discount off of this price for being a new customer) She had the surgery at 10 AM and stayed the night to get extra fluids and antibiotics as she had a pretty bad infection and keep and eye on her. I picked her up at 2 PM the day after her surgery. My doggie was happy to see me when I picked her up and seemed to be feeling much better. She wagged her tag and happily jumped in the car and was excited about going in our house. Once in the house, she visibly drooped, though. I thought that was probably normal after having surgery and she slept a lot. She ate that night and I gave her the medicine in her food. This morning, however, she once again refuses to eat- even her favorite foods. She drinks normally, but doesn’t eat anything, so I also cannot give her the medication, which consisted of an antibiotic and pain pill. I tried forcing a piece of bread in her mouth with the pill inside it but she just spit it out. My question for Dr. Krista or anyone who has had experience with pyometra…. is this normal for a dog not to want to eat a couple of days after surgery? It has now been almost exactly 48 hours since her surgery. She went to the bathroom a little bit ago and both urinated and had a wet bowel movement. I have tried offering all different kinds of foods and she shows no interest. She is just laying around. She is still drooling more than normal, but seems in better shape than when I initially took her to vet… but worried about her lack of appetite. How I can give her the medication if she will not eat. Any recommendations?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello
    Thank you for the information and sharing your story. I would say that based on the information provided I would call your vet and ask for help. It migh t be pain, infection or secondary disease process. An appetite stimulant might also help. Regardless there is a cause for her nausea and inappetance and that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Start there.

    I wish you luck.

    Keep us posted

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Richard | 2 years ago
My Four-year-old Boy Chihuahua Named Buddy Is In Very Rough Shape. He Is Such A Loveable …

My four-year-old boy Chihuahua named Buddy is in very rough shape. He is such a loveable highly active very fit healthy dog. He suffered a type one IVDD incident. This was six days ago. He went from stage one to stage four in 48 hours. He was not diagnosed until after an x-ray when he was already in stage four. Four days after that he has been diagnosed to be in stage five. He showed signs of improving his stability when holding himself up with his front two legs two days ago and did not eat until just 12 hours ago. He’s eating and drinking and his general comfort seems to be much better but he has zero high pain feeling and has no bladder or control of his annular muscles. My regular vet who is not a surgeon has recommend putting him down. I named him Buddy because he literally is my buddy. He was adopted two years ago and rescued from Mexico with scars all over his body that already healed when I got him. He is a survivor and so am I as I have suffered emotional and physical scars as well. I can’t bear the thought of losing him and not seeing him run and be happy again. I don’t want to give up on him yet. I also don’t want him to suffer. He is totally responsive from his front legs forward. He is kissing, eating and drinking now. I am hoping I hear from Krista. I have seen Krista’s videos on IVDD recovery stories. I don’t know what to do for him. I am doing every thing I can but not surgery which I can’t afford. Is there any hope?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m sorry to hear about your Buddy. I have lots of information on my blog at KMDVM.blogspot.com search Ivdd and YouTube channel. Go there.

    There is always hope

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deehoeck1 | 2 years ago
Lucy And Lacee Were Boarded Over Last Weekend, Friday Nite Through Sunday. We Picked Them Up …

Lucy and Lacee were boarded over last weekend, Friday nite through Sunday. We picked them up Sunday afternoon. Both have had their bordatella vaccinations. Thursday and Friday they both coughed a couple times. Today, Lucy is coughing a lot, not eating very much, and she seems a little lethargic. Lacee hasn’t gotten any worse and she is playing and eating. What do you suggest we do?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Dr Morgan works tomorrow from 1-3. If you are concerned she can see them. If they are acting normally and the cough isn’t worsening we usually say to just keep them quarantined and calm. But if the cough is worsening or they are lethargic or not eating then they should be seen.
    Please remember to keep the dogs in the car until we are ready to see them just in case it is kennel cough which is contagious so we don’t spread it to any other dogs at the clinic.

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Jenn | 3 years ago
My 9 Yr. Old Megacolon Cat Eli Wasn’t Able To Poop. It Happens Sometimes. He’s …

My 9 yr. old Megacolon cat Eli wasn’t able to poop. It happens sometimes. He’s on Cisapride and Merilax daily, but he still get’s backed up. When he started vomiting after not being able to BM and jumping out of the litter box I took him to the vet. They did an enema on June 20th. He’s still backed up! I can’t afford 1k plus to have a vet manually extract the feces (this is Washington, DC area – everything is very expensive!). He hasn’t started throwing up again, but he’s not eating much and I need to find out if there is something I can do more at home to get him through this emergent time. I can’t just watch my cat suffer. I have Pedi lax, but don’t know if that would help or hinder at this point. I watch videos on palpitating the colon to try and break up the feces. I know there are specific enemas to give cats at home. Is it too late to try this? My vet is frankly bad and too busy to bother, so she said to just go to the emergency. It sure seems like there are other steps that can be taken ,,,at least I hope so becuase I just don’t have that kind of money left with the cost for caring for my hospice Husky, Loki. Help!

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    For these cases I talk a lot with owners about trying to identify the underlying cause. Often it is poor diet and sedentary life but there are also diseases and illnesses that can contribute. If able start to learn how to palpate your cats colon and feed watery wet food and use the fiber supplements and laxatives. Exercise is also very important. For these cats we start training in a harness to go outside for walks. I feel that if you don’t increase environmental enrichment and stimulation they won’t start moving.
    But before all of this you have to remove the obstructive feces. This often needs a vets help. Call rescues and shelters and keep asking for affordable help.

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Patricia | 3 years ago
Looking For Information Regarding Polyps. In January Of This Year (2022) My Then 3 1/2 Year Old Cat Developed What Seemed Like Nasal Congestion…

Looking for information regarding polyps. In January of this year (2022) my then 3 1/2 year old cat developed what seemed like nasal congestion. She would snore, wheeze and “slurp” through her mouth. After 2 rounds of antibiotics they discovered she had a polyp under her soft pallet. After removal of the polyp her symptoms subsided a little but never completely. We then tried steroids but these did not help either. Now they are recommending I go to a specialist/internal medicine veterinary hospital to get a rhinoscopy and ct scan to see if there are additional polyps or some other kind of blockage. The initial consult visit would be $250 and the scoping and ct scan would cost $2500 to $3200. Is it common for cats to have more than one polyp and is there other treatments you would try before the very costly next step my vet is suggesting? I’ve already spent $1000 with what we have done so far so I am looking for any suggestions you can offer! I hate seeing her uncomfortable!! I should mention that she is not sneezing or coughing, but shake her head sometimes. She is eating fine and acting mostly fine except when lying down as that is when the difficulty breathing seems to get the worst.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Without knowing your pet I would say the options are to recheck for the polyp (they can recur), try a barrage of medications to see if any help, or wait and see what happens , or see the specialist. There I’m not sure this is helpful but it’s the best I’ve got. Good luck

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Melissa | 3 years ago
Hello Everyone! My Cat Had A Urinary Block And I Was Able To Get Them To …

Hello everyone!

My cat had a urinary block and I was able to get him to a clinic that was affordable. It was a piece of mucus that was blocking him, not his kidneys. I now have a catheter in him + guided not to take him back out to the clinic as it was a very Trumatic experience for my cat. They messed up putting the catheter in and he sat in that for hours. He is eating drinking sleeping so I decided not to take him back out there today per the request. My question is, how do you safely remove a catheter from a male cat?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    There are multiple kinds of catheters. Please ask your vet for help in how to remove it. Good luck. If possible please share your story on our storyline page. So many people red help finding affordable options for this. I hope it helps others. Good luck