Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Has anyone experience for REM Sleep Disorder in cats?
Ezra is an ca. 8 year old female cat. When she was in our shelter she seemed to be somewhat slow in her movements/reactions. She also had a weird way to walk – she moved her front legs a bit like a prancing horse. She also was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Otherwise she was very affectionate and cuddly, always eating good and didn’t seem sick.
However very often in the morning we found her bed wet. When we were around she always used the toilet and we never saw her urinating in her bed.
When we gave her to the vet, they found out, that she already was neutered and had an urinary tract infection. It was succesfully treated, but the problem still remained.
X-Ray and Ultrasound showed nothing special, same with bloodwork.
Her movements most likely were due to ataxia. Wether due to an accident or if she was born with it nobody knows.
So we found a new home for her and we informed them about her “problem”. I had contact with the new owners and it turned out she only pees when she sleeps. It looks like she has a seizure while she’s in deep sleep and she urinates during that. She may fall down from the chair our wherever she sleeps on due to her rapid movements – and wakes up confused.
When she’s in such deep sleep it is hard to wake her up, but possible.
An MRI then was done without result.
Medication for epilepsy was tested, but she became very quiet and tired with them, without solving the problem, so they were stopped.
Des anyhone have ideas what could be done to help her? Ezra itself doesn’t seem to suffer from this, as she doesn’t realize she’s peeing. When she wakes up she just goes away. But the danger of falling down is still there. The peeing is also a problem, which is why she is not allowed to sleep on the couch or bed when nobody is around.
The owner uses special pads on her chairs etc. depending on Ezras sleep those sometimes are completly shredded.
Maybe someone has an idea how to help in this situation?
My dog ate 6 brownies left on the kitchen counter. She is a medium sized Lab mix. Will she be okay after eating chocolate?
Hello,
The safest thing to do is call one of the pet poison helplines. They can calculate the toxic dose based on a few questions they will ask you. Or you can call your vet for advice. There are a few “choc tox” calculators available online. But they are guesstimates at best. Better to go to the Er, call your vet or call the pet poison helpline immediately.
Its a warm day and my dogs nose is dry is that ok?
A dry nose is not necessarily indicative of illness.
What is the best way to treat an open wound from a dog fight?
The best way is to see your vet for help. In my opinion EVERY dog fight wound is infected and EVERY wound needs a vet for assessment, antibiotics and pain medication. I should also mention that in many states not getting help can be considered neglectful and in many states this can be punishable. Please get help for your dog Iif they have a wound.
I just got an 8 week old puppy. I just picked him up today and took him to meet my other dogs he started acting aggressive he started growling and snapping at them. How do but an end to this aggressive behaviour before it turns into a problem?
Hello-
You’ll need to take a step back and introduce them more slowly. You may want to enlist the help of a good trainer/behaviorist. Your vet may be able to help you find a reputable one. In the mean time, I would keep the dogs separated when you cannot be there to watch them and try to slowly introduce them under supervision a little at a time. Crates in different rooms may be a helpful idea. Good luck.
I agree with Sarah.
Most likely this is fear, not aggression. He’s been taken from the only home he knows and thrown into a household with strange dogs…anyone, human or animal, would be overstressed. Introductions need to be slow and gradual, with protection of every dog in the situation as your main priority. You really, really need to contact a good trainer who can work with you AND your dogs.
When should a puppy transition from puppy food to adult dog food
This is breed-dependent. Larger breed dogs shouldn’t be on puppy food at all – they should be on All Life Stages. I would ask your vet and your breeder, if you bought from a breeder.
As a general rule I say to start transitioning at about a year old. You should spend about a month gradually transitioning.
Hello Dr. Krista, my 3,5 year old shiz-poo, male got paralyzed on March 29, just playing at home with another dog. Next day we went to EI and we were told that his injury is (slipped disc) at T13-L3, based on xray. Surgery would have been 10.000 $, with 50/50 chance of recovery according to doctor, no chance with steroids. We couldn’t afford the surgery. Our home doctor gave us little hope and Shadow has been on steroids since March 31. After 7 days there was no improvement,doctor recommended euthanasia but with minimum chance we asked for 7 more days of meds. He has very weak deep pain sensation. His back legs are paralyzed, he poops and pees without control, has good appetite and when let out of cage he wants to run on his front legs dragging the back. I just ran across your videos on youtube, not to give up on those dogs, but i am not sure if a miracle can really happen. Is it really possible that he would walk again? I dont want him to suffer but not sure what to do. Could you please let me know your opinion about it, thank you so much! We are desperate…Anita
do what you can to help your pup and i hope you the best
if you believe that your pup will be able to live through the pain then he will so never give up
hope the best
Hello,
I would never tell anyone that miracles can’t happen. They do. Although they are far and few between. Is it possible to care for him as a parapalegic? Can you manage him as he is? Can you keep him clean and dry and manage the bathroom difficulties? If so why not continue to do so?
Hi, my pregnant dog is on day 65 and 28 hours ago her temperature dropped to 97.8. For the first 13 hours she showed little discomfort. Following this she began to pant and had loss of appetite, and also began to dig in her nesting area. In addition there were several breaks in which she would sleep. These are all stage one symtoms. However according to many articles, she should have gone into labour already. Should I be worried?
It’s not quite our first breeding however it is the first with this dog and everything seems to be a little different. She’s just sleeping normally now again as if she’s not actually in labour. I will try and call an emergency vet however it is 1am where we are right now and our vet system in Malta isn’t so great….
Hello,
I always worry when hing’s don’t seem as they should. Please see a vet. Ideally every new breeder should have a local breeder to mentor through the questions and rough patches. Is there anyone locally who can intervene tonight? If not please seek vet help.
I am needing help with finding a good traveling dog trainer that’s able and willing to travel to Kodiak Alaska and help me get a dog trained to be able to get trained as my multipurpose service dog because I have multiple disabilities and I am unable to travel to the dog trainer for two years thanks for helping me out with my goals and dreams from Cherelle Barber
Hello,
I don’t think we have anyone in here in your neck of the northern woods. Have you asked your vet for a recommendation? Also any of the local rescues or shelters are also very good sources. You could also reach out to the vet schools for a list of associates they might know. Best of luck.
HI Everyone. My 12 year old female japanese spitz has pyometra. It breaks our hearts as we had her since I was just in gradeschool. We were advised that she needs to undergo surgery but we are kinda hesitant because we do not know if she can still survive the surgery with her age. My mom does not want to let her undergo the surgery but me and my dad wants to take the risk of giving her the treatment. Please I am begging you to please give me an advice so that I can fully decide. I love my dog so much and I don’t know what to do. Thank you all.
Whatever you do, PLEASE act quickly. Pyo just killed a young Doberman bitch from my breeder – she was at a show, came down with a fever, and she was gone within a day.
I agree with Jana. I always tell my clients that I would rather know that fate dealt a hard hand with me trying everything I could to give my pets the happiest and healthiest quality of life possible. Then to not try at all.
Thank you so much for the response. We are just concerned because she is already 12 years old. But I would really like to give her the proper treatment that she needs.
I would do the surgery – yes thwere is a risk and it may be higher due to her age, but at least she has a chance. If she is otherwise fine, I think she has good chances to survive thew surgery. To determine that I would do blood work and a check up before the surgery.
If she doesn’t survive – you at least know that you did everything you could to help her. Pyometra is not nice – I only knew it from cats and rats and both suffered without surgery.
She’ll feel SO MUCH BETTER once she recovers!
Thank you! She’ll be under observation by the vet within 24 hours. The vet says that there might be a complication like liver failure but we are all hoping that it won’t happen. My dog is a strong fighter and I am praying and hoping that she’ll survive this and she can go home healthy and back to our arms again.
I wish only the best for you and your dog! You did the right thing!
Elaine, so sorry about your baby. I believe that she is more likely to survive the surgery than the pyometra. Do a pre-op blood work and wellness exam to catch any specific issues that might need to be accommodated for with the anesthesia protocol or issues that would prevent the surgery. Anesthesia protocols can be adjusted and are quite safe these days. I do believe her chances are better with than without the surgery.
you did the right thing
UPDATE! Hello Everyone! Thank you all for all your amazing responses. We just had her undergo the surgery earlier and she is still recovering as of the moment. 2kg of angry uterus filled with puss was removed from her. Thank you all so much!
That sounds very good! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks a lot for letting us know how it went :).
Yes thank you! We are not aware of this kind of sickness in dogs though. We do not have the intention of breeding her and she was also our first dog. I immediately told this to my friends who owns a dog because it is very life risking for our loving pets.
Well…let’s just say you got VERY lucky. VERY.
Hi all, I just think you also need to know about this. My dog just got discharged from the veterinary clinic after being confined for 2 days. She is now doing pretty good and is now starting to eat again. She could now also stand and walk slowly but we still make sure to be there to support her while she tries to walk. She is taking a lot of medicines right now including antibiotics and vitamins. I am really proud of her as she was so strong. When I went to the vet and she sees me, she immediately stood up and tried to walk near me and I literally cried out of joy. I brought her there with an almost hopeless case and she came back to me like this. I am really overwhelmed and thankful. Thank you all so much!
Thanks for the update, Elaine! For the future, if you have a bitch in your home and keep her intact for proper growth and maturity, try to spay earlier than 12. 😉 For larger breed dogs, 4 seems to be a good age…assuming there’s no cancer in the lines.
Hello,
What an interesting kitty. My initial hiught was perhaps cerebellar hypoplasia. But I will do some research and digging and see if I can find anything. It is so wonderful to her that she found a home inspite of her uniqueness.
Hello,
I know it has been a year by now. But Ezra is back at the shelter for a few months now, since her new owner died.
She roams free at aour station now, as she won’t really find a new home (but is obviously still up for adoption). When she came back another epilepsy medication was tried, but with same solution than before, so it was stopped.
Her problems still remain. And now that she moves freely we can often see her “seizures”. She nearly always falls down from where she sleeps during that. Luckily she mostly sleeps on the lower things. When she falls down she wakes up, but sometimes will just lie there, looking absent – as if she only slowly realizes what has happened.
What I noticed too – she is extremely sensitive on her whole back and sites. When you touch her there, her whole fur will twitch (rolling skin syndrome?) and/or she may start licking herself or hands in reach and/or scratching with her hindlegs in the touched spots (seems like a reflex caused by touching her there).
However she still demands attention and loves cuddling.
A while ago she as started pulling out her fur on the left and right site of her back symmetrically on small areas. Blood works came back fine, the skin is fine, too. No parasites either. It looks like she is grooming herself, like cats soemtimes do with their theeth, but she starts pulling her fur during that. I think she pissibly has some sort of “frong feelings” there?
So I’m just curious if you could find something?
I thought about “cerebellar hypoplasia”, too. I guess that’s what I meant with Ataxia. (We call them “Ataxie-Katzen/Ataxia Cats”. We sometimes have kittens, that show wobbly gait, problems with judging distance and similar – however despite this they are still normal, playful, active kittens. The worst case was a little red tabby whose mother most likely had contact with cat-parvo. He could hardly stand when he got old enough to leave his box. His littermates were wobbly, too but not like he was. He had a hard time to walk at the beginning. But after he got the possibility to run around and train hismucles, he learned how he can run and walk – it still was wobbly, but he was not falling over all the time anymore.
However none of the kittens ever showed the symptoms Ezra does when she is asleep. And none of their new owners ever called because of soemthing similar.
Please let me know if you find somwthing. I would love to learn more!
It seems there is not much to be found for her specific problem. But maybe I’m looking wrong as English is not my native language. I only found a Youtube Video and some short texts on google, but nothing really helpful.