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Tammy | 4 years ago
Our Three Year Old Spayed Kitty Serafina (longhair Buff And White Tabby, 11.5lbs, Utd On All …

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.

2 Responses

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  1. Sarah

    Hi there-
    First stop worrying ???? Easier said than done. It sounds like you’re on top of it and monitoring her behavior. I would continue that and if you see something alarming then reassess… or take to emergency. If she is eating and drinking best you can tell and acting normal, then I would think it is safe to wait to hear about an appointment if necessary. I would just keep a close eye, and again if things worsen then contact emergency. Hope things improve????????

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I don’t think this is an emergency. There are lots of things I often recommend in cases like this. One make sure your pet is able to groom appropriately. If they have an excessive amount of hair consider a shave down to help make it more manageable. Two brush often to remove the dead and shedding hair. Three add a hair ball formula like cat lax. Three switch to small watered down canned food meals. Make sure fleas, parasites and allergies are not adding to the feeling like she needs to be over grooming. I see cats who over groom (we call it barbering) and this can cause hairballs. Itchy cats groom. Also make sure she has toys and lots of mental stimulation as some cats groom due to boredom or stress/anxiety. There is also a hairball formula food that I think helps.

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carolyn zeller | 4 years ago
Our Dog Addy The Afghan Gets Acid Reflux Dr Graf Told Me To Give Her Something …

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

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello.
    I can have dr graf reach you Monday. . It’s always best for the doctor to discuss the medication in person just in case you have any other questions.

    Take care.
    Krista.

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Mera | 4 years ago
I Got My Cat Leila In December And Since She Has Had Runny Eyes And Lots …

I got my cat Leila in December and since she has had runny eyes and lots of sneezing. I took her to a vet and we did a course of clavamox which helped while she was on it. A few days after she finished it she was back to sneezing and having runny eyes. Then we tried azithromycin and famciclovir which did nothing and she began to sound super congested. Then we tried a longer course of the clavamox which worked well while she was on it. A week or so after she finished it she was back at it. She is now sneezing up a lot of snot. Other than those symptoms she eats well and plays like a healthy kitty. We took her to another vet who suggested it may be a polyp. I was looking for quotes for a rhinoscopy and possible surgical removal. I got a quote from a vet for $2000-3000 for the CT, sedation, and rhinoscopy but no quote if they need to do surgery. And a lot of other places refused to give me one unless I pay $150-180 for a consultation first. Any advice on where I should look for reasonable prices would be great! We are in Michigan but are willing to travel out. Thank you!

4 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello
    How old is your cat? Any other signs of illness or concern? Sounds more like chronic rhinitis then anything else.

    1. Mera Post author

      She’s 11 months old. The only other symptom I’ve noticed is she’ll sometimes hunch over and cough? I’ll attach a video! Thank you

      1. Mera Post author

        It’s not letting me attach the video on my phone sorry, I’ll post it when I get home from work.

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Sarah | 4 years ago
Morning Pawbly Friends!! I Wanted To Try Trick Training With One Of Our GSDs- Rontu. Any …

Morning Pawbly friends!! I wanted to try trick training with one of our GSDs- Rontu. Any advice on where to start?

3 Responses

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  1. Laura

    Hiya! If you do well with book guidance, Kyra Sundance is the way to go. Her books are fantastic. If you do better with video or in-person instruction, I can absolutely recommend the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy online. They have levels of training, and bronze is the most affordable. I STRONGLY recommend them for all sorts of things. I’m actually going to sign Ripley and I up for Nosework through them…and right now is enrollment! Classes start April 1.

    1. Sarah Post author

      Thanks!! Rontu is a good boy, but he is 3 years old and really challenging the rules lately. I know this is my fault as I am too lenient with him sometimes… guilty as charged. My thinking is that his behaviors all around will get back to best if I work more closely with him and challenge him more. He is very food motivated, which is a new one for me- all of our other GSDs have just wanted love. I will definitely look into both options!! ☺️????

      1. Laura

        He’s a smart kid. Definitely work that brain! You know that’s one of my favorite things for dogs behaving badly. 🙂

        Look into nosework. Minimal physical effort for you, TONS OF MENTAL WORK for him. Everybody wins. Plus the AKC now has nosework competitions, which are a lot cheaper than the other nosework orgs out there.

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JoAnn Sevey | 4 years ago
We Have A Young Dog Who Will Not Stop Licking Our Older Dog In The Mouth. …

We have a young dog who will not stop licking our older dog in the mouth. She is out of control with this, its not a normal greeting type of lick its always full speed jumping all around & non stop licking. The older dog hates it & tries to get away but cant so then it turns into the older dog getting loud & aggressive but that doesn’t even stop the other dog…

We don’t know what to do, or how to make her stop. She’s very bullheaded & stubborn almost impossible to train. Any advice would be wonderful. Thank you for taking time to read my cry for help

JoAnn

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  1. Sarah

    Good morning☺️ My first bit of advice would be basic obedience. I know you said that she is nearly impossible to train, but dogs are smart and want to please you. It’s just a matter of finding a good motivator for her to learn- whether it be treats, praise, play…etc. all positive reinforcement. Once you know what makes her tick, I would just work on the basics, really. Come, sit, down, stop. There are a ton of YouTube videos and write ups online about how to train and what to do. Those basics will help you keep her off your other dog. Second, you might want to make an area just for your older dog if you have the space. We keep baby gates around just for that purpose. For instance, one of our GSDs needs surgery in the near future. She will need to recover, so we will set her up with a space of her own to rest. The baby gates are nice because they can still see everything that is going on and remain part of it all. Sidebar- having said all that, we are actually going to be brushing up on training out other GSD so that when our other one comes home from surgery things will be more calm and safer for recovery. Sorry for the long reply. I hope it helps.????☺️

  2. Laura

    Leash the younger dog and let them drag the leash. Correct immediately with the leash. Be consistent. If you aren’t already crating the dogs when you aren’t supervising, I’d start doing this to give the older dog a break.

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jessica | 4 years ago
Recurring Anal/Rectal Prolapse In Kitten

We just began an adoption trial with an adorable 4 month old kitten named Georgia. She’s very playful and happy but we instantly realized a few things seemed off with her health.

She’s got a watery eye, sneezes occasionally, scratches a lot, shakes her head occasionally, has a lot of gas, has diarrhea on and off, and is dealing with some mild bowel incontinence. But, most concerningly, seems to be dealing with a recurring anal or rectal prolapse.

We’ve taken her to two vets where she’s been given full examinations and deemed healthy. She has had two fecal tests, which return good results – no parasites are seen. She has prescription eye drops, a prescription antibiotic, prescription canned food, and a probiotic that we’ve just started. But no one seems to be as concerned about this rectal issue as we are.

Throughout the day, we notice a tiny bit of pink tissue poking out of her rectum. It’s very small and comes and goes. She also passes gas when this happens. And sometimes poop leaks out. She licks her butt a lot too.

Sometimes a cylindrical round bit of red tissue protrudes much further and what looks like a piece of poop can be seen poking out too. This tends to happen most often when she wakes up from a nap. It seems that her muscles relax and her bowel starts to come out. It will be out for seconds to a few minutes after she gets up and is moving around and then it pushes itself back in. It’s very disturbing to see!

We already have one special needs cat and, while we absolutely love this kitten and want to keep her, I’m afraid that this is going to be a recurring issue that will become very stressful. The vets we’ve seen are trying to treat the underlying cause, which they assume is diarrhea. But I’ve read that some parasites don’t show up on fecal exams or under microscopes – is this true? I’ve also read that stitches and surgery can help if this doesn’t improve on its own but that, with some cats, this is just a recurring problem throughout their lives.

Help! 🙂

2 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I think that almost everything you are worried about it fairly normal for a newly adopted kitten. I always tell clients that we put these guys through a tremendously stressful time when we move them away from their family and into a new home. It’s a huge advisement and with that the immune system gets totally stressed out. Upper respiratory infections are a very common sequela. Also most kittens come with parasites. I send out at least three fecals before I deem them to be parasite free. Also stay on a good kitten food. Between the change in homes, families and diets I see loads of issues like this and they almost all resolve completely within a few weeks. All I really care about for the first few weeks is if they are happy, eating and playful and gaining weight. Stay in touch with your vet and I swear love cures almost all of these new kittens. Best of luck.

    1. jessica Post author

      Thanks! I hope you’re right. I was feeling the same way until this prolapse thing started. That has overwhelmed me as it seems to be getting worse, not better. And the vet visits and prescription foods are already getting expensive! Just afraid there won’t be a quick fix and we’ll be dealing with two very expensive special needs cats soon.

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tracy | 4 years ago
My 12 Year Old Cairn Terrier Is Coughing/ Gagging.

My 12 year old Cairn Terrier is coughing/ gagging.

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    This clinical sign is always best answered by a trip to the vet. Coughing for longer than 12 hours is a problem. Please see your vet.

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Robyn | 4 years ago
Hello! I Will Try To Keep This As Short As Possible But Is Hard Because So …

Hello! I will try to keep this as short as possible but is hard because so much has happened.

I have 3 cats. My male cat is the one I am worried about the most right now. About a month ago all 3 got URIs and went to the vet. They were treated with antibiotics however they weren’t helping much so I had to bring them back a few times! Due to financial issues I ended up bringing them to our local shelter/humane society where they have a free clinic right now due to Covid. Biggest mistake EVER! They were so mean to my cat and overly rough with him completely stressing him out. I wasn’t allowed to go in the room with him however was able to watch some of what was going on through a window. This stressed my cat out so much that a week later he got a urinary blockage (2 weeks ago now)… I have never had issues prior with the other vet. He is 8 yr old. Anyways the vet cathed him and sent him home since it was the weekend and they are closed… where he ended up going to the ER the next day because he was crying all night…. They took the cath out… gave him pain meds and fluids… and kept him for 5 hours… He came home that night and has been on pain meds as needed and prazosin 2x a day. He is also on Hills C/D wet (with minimal dry of the c/d) He has been seen 2x since at the vet and Monday they did a urine sample/culture…. They said he has white blood cells so was put on antibiotics…but once the culture came back it showed everything to be normal…so was taken off of them…. Prior to all of this he was free fed however I have been switching all my cats to meal times 2-3 times a day… and will continue with that because of weight issues . He has been peeing, however, sometimes when I am peeing he will come pee in his litter box at the same time… He shakes his back end and puts it up in the air kind of and the pee shoots or sprays out …. this isn’t every time he pees but it has happened 3 times that I have seen. His pee clumps aren’t as big as they were prior to all this and now vary in size… sometimes a golf ball size give or take a little bit bigger/or smaller. I also will see his back end/tail twitching randomly in the day. The vet said this happening more than likely was due to stress. I have been making sure to keep the stress level low at home, use feliway (idk if it helps) and new toys/cat nip.

My questions are…

1. When switching to a wet food diet…. Will cats pee more than usual? They were on a 90% dry diet before. Sometimes I add a little water to it as I don’t see him drink a lot.

2. He only has a few days left of the prazosin… Should he been weened or go off cold turkey?

3. Is the shaking and spraying like pee normal? He does so in the litter box however because of his angle sometimes it gets on the wall.

I am new to this… and have talked to/seen several vets however they all say different things so I am confused… I just want to know if this is normal….. I think he is probably irritated from being cathed and such… due to licking his private sometimes and whining (both aren’t as bad as they were before however still happen)

Thank You for taking the time to read this.

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m sorry all of this has happened. I will try to answer your questions BUT you really need to stick with a vet you trust and be prepared for this to take a while to resolve. In some cats it is a lifelong issue.
    I prefer wet to dry as it is a much higher water content and usually much less fattening. I even recommend adding water.
    I also advise clients to try to give Sq fluids at home.
    Prazosin is a question for your vet. Some stay on this medication long term as it seems to be very beneficial.
    I am not sure what the shaking is. Maybe try to get it on video and discuss with your vet. Maybe pain?
    You should also ask about anything you can try for stress? Like Feliway? Catnip? Toys? Confinement at night? An anti anxiety medication? This is a discussion for your vet. What really matters is that you have someone advocating for you and your cat and you do everything you can to avoid another blockage and learn how to manage this long term.

    Best of luck.

    If possible can you share your vet experience (with the costs included) in our storyline section. It might help others.

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Morgan | 4 years ago
My 11 Year Old Indoor Cat Has Started A Snoring Sound When Breathing Over The Past Year. …

My 11 year old indoor cat has started a snoring sound when breathing over the past year. A local vet said it was not in her lungs and that he saw something while looking in her nose. She is eating and drinking fine with no other problems. Steroids and antibiotics helped pretty well, but the symptoms returned afterward. We think it could be a nasopharyngeal polyp (all of the symptoms are there[the sneezing fits, the head shaking, the constant swallowing like she has something in her throat) but we just got quoted 5 grand for a CT and surgery at the specialist. No other local vet will do an exam under anesthesia to look. Someone please help. We feel like our days are numbered for our sweet Sadie girl. ????

6 Responses

Comments

  1. Sarah

    Good morning- sorry you are going through this. Is your vet able to do this or are you referred to a specialist? I vaguely remember another Pawbly friend having the same issue a while back, and they found a vet that did an exam under general anesthesia for a much more affordable cost. Have you spoken to your local animal shelter to see if they know of a vet that can do this? They may be able to offer some advice on who else to reach out to in your area. I am sorry that I cannot offer more concrete advice.

    1. Morgan Post author

      We’ve asked several local vets, but they all say they don’t do that. They always refer to the specialist clinic and no joke they are quoting 5 grand. Mind blowing! We’ll keep asking around. We’ll start with the animal shelters as well.

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I agree with Sarah. Start calling rescues and shelters and ask if they’ve had a case like his and who they used for it. There are lots of vets who will look and remove a polyp if it is there but you have to be persistent. If you find someone please share it with us so we can pass it along. Also I would ask your vet to have the radiographs reviewed by a boarded radiologist. It might help. At my clinic this is about $70.

    1. Morgan Post author

      Dr. Magnifico! Thank you so much for responding! Your YouTube videos have provided us hope that we can potentially fix our cat’s problem at a reasonable cost. You’re the best. ????

        1. Morgan Post author

          Dr. Magnifico, we are having difficulty finding any vet willing to do an exam under anesthesia to diagnose/ perform a potential polypectomy. Do you know of anyone in the southeast that will do this? We’ve made so many calls. We’re seriously considering driving across the country to see you. Please let us know. Thanks!

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Michelle | 4 years ago
Yesterday We Got Home From Work And Our Dog Broke Into Our Bathroom And Told Through …

Yesterday we got home from Work and our dog broke into our bathroom and told through at least 5 soiled baby diapers. The brand was hello bello. My dog has not vomited, and is eating and drinking, but his gas is out of control. Is there anything else I should be keeping an eye on?

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    If he is eating and drinking and urinating and defecating normally those are all good signs. I would continue to watch him and call your vet immediately if these change. Also please get a container that is lockable for things like diapers ans tampons or any other product he might get into like trash. An obstruction surgery at an er in the USA can be multiple thousands of dollars and potentially life threatening.