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Hi there
My 5 year old cat Max has been diagnosed with a broken back. His back is broken in the middle of the spine.
The vet said she can’t believe he is walking and she does not know how to treat him so she has sent his x-rays to a specialist for opinion.
Max is home with me an he is still walking and just a little wobbly.
He’s always had a bit of a wobble when he walks so I don’t think this issue is new.
Just hoping someone can help me with what I can be doing for him now?
Also if surgery is an option, is it necessary? Is it the only option?
Really no idea what to do.
Thanks in advance.
X
Hey guys,
I have a cat named Butters and he needs a polyp removal. I currently live in Arizona and I’ve called around and been quoted for $3000-7000. I’ve seen some comments on here of people finding clinics that does it for an affordable price. I’m willing to travel as well. Please help me find a clinic cause I really don’t like seeing my little guy not being able to breathe correctly ????
Hello,
I am not sure what you have done so far to help understand what is going on with your cat? Can you provide more detail? Who has seen your cat so far and what have they done?
If you are suspicious of a polyp have your reached out to all of the local rescues and shelters to see if anyone locally can help?
Have you reached out on social media? I’m sure there are local vets who can help. We just have to find them! Let me know. I’ll help too
Hello,
I’ve been going to Banfield to get my cat checked up and they directed me to a specialist (vca) and they said it would be about 1000-1500 just for the ct scan and then depending where the polyp was it was gonna be another 2000-3000 for the surgery. I’ve joined local Arizona animal pages and asked if anyone knew any clinic that would do it for a reasonable price but I haven’t gotten any answers yet. I saw your YouTube video removing a polyp and looked at the comment section and I’ve noticed there’s was a lot of people from Arizona who needed help as well. I’ve replied to the comments but also no reply.
Our 7 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback / German Shepherd mix, Duke, had surgery a couple weeks ago. He came home with a small fluid pocket where his tumor was removed. It ended up becoming bigger, and retaining a lot of fluid. As of now it is getting smaller, at least a little bit, but I noticed it’s feeling a little more solid on one end. I’m not sure if that is normal. He seems to be doing fine in all ways otherwise, no discomfort or any other noticeable changes to his behavior. I’m not sure if I’m starting to worry over something that may be normal, but the portion that feels more solid is still engorged and it doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t know if it will start to feel more solid, if that’s normal… I don’t know.
Hello,
Did you discuss this with the person who did the surgery? That’s the best place to start. I wouldn’t assume anything. It’s best to have it rechecked.
I have a 8 year old American Shorthair. Her name is Puma. We recently experienced a very traumatizing and costly visit to the emergency room. They recommended euthanizing her since we couldn’t afford their costly treatment plan. They explained that she had severe narrowing of her trachea due to a growth. Possible nasal polyps. Her more overt symptoms include an obvious blockage, snoring/snorting sounds while breathing, and head shaking. 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. Giving my husband and I restored hope. We love our little girl so much and don’t know what we do without her. Are there any vets within this network that anyone would recommend that would charge a more reasonable pricing for a similar procedure in California?
Hi???????? I would start with a discussion with your regular vet to see if they could point you in the direction of someone who is capable. They should have a better idea of people in the area. You also might want to call local rescues, humane society, etc. as they may know of someone to put you in touch with, since they are usually networked with a larger group of veterinarians. Perhaps even searching on the internet may help get you to someone who could help. I hope to that you are able to find someone and that they can help you with Puma!
Thank you for your prompt response. Puma has an appointment this Thursday. I will keep you guys posted. 🙂
Hi!
I have a 10 year old tabby named chunk — he is overweight hence his name. Roughly a month or two ago we noticed that he started to limp. While he isn’t holding the paw or crying while walking, it is a noticeable limp. He is still jumping up on the bed and off, walking up and down all the stairs in the house, eating, drinking, and grooming himself. We can’t touch the paw, rub on the paw, and Chunk does not react in anyway as if it hurts him. My question is, his one paw is somewhat swollen at the knuckle. Could this be arthritis? I don’t want to take him to the vet because he does not handle that well and I’m worried about giving him a heart attack or other health issue by taking him to the vet for something that might be nothing. You can see in the picture the differences in his paws. Thank you in advance!
Hello doctors my 11 year old chihuahua his name is Cannavaro was diagnosed with a disc IVDD disease I was giving him Carprofen for pain for a couple of months then switched to CBD oil due to avoid damaging his organs but he’s been in pain more often is sad and hard to see him with pain due to an slipped disc can’t afford an expensive surgery and don’t know if he could recover without a surgery please help help help! Thank you
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I have a lot of information on my blog and YouTube channel. My best recommendation is to stay in very close contact with your vet. In cases like these I usually recommend a steroid over an nsaid. And I also offer multiple other pain medications like a muscle relaxer and gabapentin. The first few weeks require almost full time care. And a lot of help from your vet. The pain (in my opinion) in almost all cases can be managed. But it is a rough few days at first.
Please I need help my Sister found a cat and it has a broken paw we don’t have the 2,000 dollars she got quoted at vet… what can we do??? Please help we want to help this cat the worse thing is this kitty is semi feral she’s friendly but is in pain we only have meds for 2 more days and if we can’t afford they suggest amputation ???????????? PLEASE HELP my cell is (562)324-0501? Thank You ????????
Hello,
If she is not handleable safely then I would try gage rest for 6-8 weeks to allow it to heal. Quite honestly I wouldn’t suggest amputation unless this is a very docile vaccinated house cat. They can’t be let outside without a foot.
If possible have her spayed, vaccinated and then places on cage rest (ie big cage with litterbox food water and bed). She stays in there 24/7 until the foot is healed. (They heal. Promise. But only if not allowed to run or jump). As she is in the crate you can work on trust so she can safely become an indoor cat. You don’t need $2000 you just need time and patience. Ty for saving her.
This is why I like you Dr. Magnificent, such an honest answer. No vet would say that. I was going to suggest reaching out to a rescue group for help with funds, but so true. A feral outdoor cat cant properly defend itself without a foot. Perhaps the vet could prescribe some long term anti-inflammatories to help while being on cage rest. They make metacam for cats, seems to work well with little issues.
Thank You so much
Can you suggest any rescue groups please
Thank You so much
Is there any rescue groups you can suggest?
Our 9 month old boxer is scheduled for a neuter just before he turns 11 months old. A lot of boxer forums have recommended waiting until male boxers hit 18 months so they don’t miss out of their growing hormones. Just wondering if it’s worth the wait. Simba is definitely a more well behaved pup at 9 months than he was at 5 months. Calms down more easily, isn’t as hyper all of the time. Any input would be appreciated!
I’m a fan of waiting. If you can be 100% certain to keep him contained in the event he smells a bitch in heat in the neighborhood, it’s good to let him keep his hormones until fully grown.
(People who neuter for behavioral reasons are lazy trainers. Marking is a training issue, unmanaged attitude problems are due to lack of engagement, etc.)
Hello. My vet suspects my cat has one or more nasal polyps. I’ve been going through this process of getting towards his surgery for a while. The vet told us he has a heart murmur, but only a grade 1 out of 6, I brought him to a 2nd vet and they said his heart sounds great, I went back to the first vet and they looked at him again and the doctor said he has a murmur and even his vet tech looked over it and didn’t hear it the first time and the doctor had to tell her where to listen and she finally heard it. They said we would need some test on his heart before during surgery to make sure his heart doesn’t fail while under anesthesia. I got an x-ray done of his heart which came back fine and i also got blood test done which came back fine. The test he got were included in the basic wellness screen. I’m thinking he has a intermittent heart murmur because of his heart rate going up due to stress of being in the car and at the vet. The vet is still telling me i can have an echocardiogram done to be really sure his heart is really fine. That’s another $390 on top of the $500 i’ve already spent and i just can’t afford it. I believe if 2 vets could simply look over it, and it’s only a grade 1/6, and the test and x-rays came back fine so far, he should be good… right? Well another thing is they don’t know how many polyps he has or where exactly they’re located, we asked for a throat/head xray and they told us they can only do it if he’s under anesthesia first. They are adding on so much stuff i feel like he doesn’t even need and gave us a price estimate from $450-$1,500. We asked the other vet and they said they can do a head x-ray, but they don’t even know if the procedure of removing the polyps is even anything they can do, and he might have to go to a specialist. Can the polyps for sure be seen on the x-rays because i really don’t want to waste any more money on something that doesn’t even help get down to the problem. I’m thinking i can just skip over the echocardiogram because it doesn’t seem it’s really needed, i get an x-ray of his head, find the size, how many, and where the polyps are located, then get a real price estimate. Can someone please answer my questions or give any advice! Thanks:)
Good morning- sorry you are having such a time with all of this. I am thinking that an X-ray won’t show much because a polyp is soft tissue. It is my understanding that an X-ray will only show bone? I am guessing you would need something along the lines of a CT scan to check where and what size any soft tissue mass would be. I’m thinking you should sit down with your vet and have a frank discussion about budget and options and explain your thoughts. At the end of the day- you both want what is best for your cat. Perhaps in talking through it, you both can come up with something that you’re both comfortable with. Best of luck !!????????
My cat has been constipated since Wednesday, we noticed afterwards he couldn’t urinate and had a few droplets of blood. He threw up wouldn’t eat or drink water. We took him to the emergency room yesterday. It was to expensive for a 48 hours stay, so we opted for 24 hour stay where they monitored him; he was on fluids and sedated him for the unblockage. He was catheterized on Saturday and was removed today (Sunday). He’s home but still straining a bit to poop and pee. I don’t know if this is normal. They didn’t prescribe me anything just change his diet (they gave me some food) and his urine samples to take to my vet for check up. Is there any recommendations to give to my cat? Or take him to the vet. It’s expensive for as it is now with paying for 1k for him and I can’t afford another unblockage. Is there anything that will dissolve the crystals (the emergency doc said he has that but still gave me urine sample to take to his clinic).
Thank you
UPDATE
I contacted Long Island Spay & Neuter they referred me to Grady Animal Hospital in Long Island. And he is staying there for 48 hours. Taking Jimmy back to the vet was the right choice. Praying everything will be ok.
Hello,
Your cat needs to see a vet ASAP. Today. As close to right now as possible. Please call your regular vet and tell them what is going on. Someone needs to examine your cat, Determine if he is blocked again and help you get through the next few weeks. In my opinion these cases need multiple days of iv fluids and very close monitoring omg with a few medications to have the best chance of success. Good luck. Please add to this question with updates to let us know what happened.
I took him to his regular vet; they did an exam on him again and they said his bladder is once again full. They said the only option is now to unblock him or to euthanize him. I don’t have the money to unblock him and I don’t want to euthanize him. I don’t want him to suffer though. The vet didn’t give us the option of the Perineal Urethrostomy surgery which I’m looking at pricing, and I don’t know if I should get but I would rather invest on this so his blockage won’t happen again. But I’m running out of time, I don’t want him to suffer.
He urinated a lot today in my bed, I don’t know if its good or bad. He is still blocked as we speak and it hurts me to just see him like this.
I’ve watched your youtube videos on this and it made me go to the emergency room the first time.
Do you know of any low cost hospitals around New York, NJ or PA?
long island spay and neuter has helped before.
Hey- hopefully you got into see your regular vet. Blockage is serious and time is not your friend. Diet change may help, but only after the original problem for the blockage is addressed. When our cat had a blockage, he was on an IV for quite sometime and had to stay two nights at our vet at the time. Then we were sent home with specific instructions and what to look for and when to call and pain meds. Hope your cat is going to be alright.
Wow! What a shock this must have been. I am no vet, but I vaguely remember reading something about allowing animals to heal with rest and limited movement. But I don’t think that was with the spine- I believe it was a kitten with a broken leg actually. Have you discussed what you should be doing with your vet? I know that you said they have advised you to a specialist, but was there any instruction that you were sent home with? I think if it were me, having seen my cat walking around etc… finding out that it had a broken back would completely floor me. Hopefully one of the DVMs will see this post and have more insight. I hope everything works out well for your cat. Please keep us posted????????
Thanks Sarah.
Yes it was totally a shock.
All they said is you can take him home keep him inside to limit his movement and they will call me when the specialist has responded. She also said that they are so surprised that he is walking.
He’s only ever been to the vet for vaccs and he had a tummy upset when he was younger and that’s it.
I’ve only moved to this area recently so I’m trusting this vet knows what they are doing.
I have also contacted the vet that he went to originally when he was younger and they said they will provide a second opinion once I get the specialist report back and copies of x-rays.
He is just acting so so normal. Eating, drinking, cuddling, he is walking and definitely not at all as wobbly as what he was two days ago.
Anyways, thank you so much for responding and I will keep on posting with updates. x
Hello,
I have seen multiple cats with broken backs. It is important to do a through assessment of then and understand their ability to urinate and defecate and restrict activity so they cannot further injure themselves. I recommend cage rest unless supervised. They also need to be spayed if they aren’t already.
My biggest concerns are bladder and colon issues. Whether that be incontinence or retention. Also they can get pressure sores if not walking directly on their foot pads. Surgery is an option if the surgeon seems it to be helpful but most clients cannot afford it, or the surgery is too risky to do based on the amount of spine damage.
Thank you.
Specialist and vet that has seen him say surgery is an option which will be major and very risky. They say it is an old injury and he may have had it for years and is one tough cat and has just coped and compensated and has had a flare up.
I’ve decided not to go down the surgery line.
I’ve been keeping him in doors and restricted his movement and he is walking a lot better.
He’s eating, toileting, groovy, and drinking.
I taught him how to walk on a lead when he was a kitten so I take him out in the garden a couple of times a day.
X