Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
What is your opinion on tne “No Flap Ear Wrap” rather than a cone after an ear hematoma ?
My cat went missing for two day and we found her today morning.she didn’t had anything for the past two days so she was in a bad state.she has injuries behind both her ears which look like something bit her probably our male cat.Now she has developed a swelling under her chin.How should I treat her and feed her?
If there is swelling and evidence of a bite, you probably need to shave and clean out the cuts and antibiotics from your vet. Bites are easily infected and that swelling very well may be one forming already, or something worse. I would get to the vet ASAP.
My sweet greater Swiss mountain dog was neutered and had a gastropexy 2 weeks ago, sutures removed last Friday and today his incision started draining. I took him to the vet and they said it could be a seroma or infection and started him on clavamox and took a culture to further look into it. I was only told to put him in a t shirt and leave it be but it is draining a lot. I feel better if I were to clean it with saline and dress it, changing it whenever the bandage is saturated. What is the best way to go about this and treat this? I feel leaving it open May put it at a greater risk for infection. He is otherwise acting normal with no behavioral changes. Would love any feedback I can get! Most recent picture is attached.
Good morning???? I would follow the advice of my vet as they know the situation. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with calling your vet first thing this morning to tell them your concerns and ask about cleaning the area. Best of luck.
My sweet little Josephine is 2 1/2 years old and has herniated discs in her back and also has severe heart failure in the right side of her heart. I have to make the heartbreaking decision of whether or not to take the chance on anesthesia to repair the disc herniation since a week of sedation and pain medication has not produced any improvement on her motor skills (she can’t stand and poop or pee and her appetite is waning) and risk complete heart failure, or take her home and try other alternatives to back surgery. The doctors tell me that the results of the EKG tell me that I only have about 2 more years with my little girl given the condition of her heart. Do I do the back surgery? Are there successful alternatives?
I have a lot of information on my blog and YouTube channel. I think cage rest, analgesics and lots of TLC help. I also know people who think rhat acupuncture has provided great benefits. Good luck.
I just can’t stop crying about this. I just watched your video from the car. God bless you. My sweet Josephine is at the University of Minnesota, where she had her first surgery, to repair her heart valve (stenosis?). My friends did a GoFundMe for her for that surgery, but that time, it wasn’t an immediate emergency and we had some time. Today they called me when they already had her anesthetized for the spinal cord disc surgery and called me to get the deposit of $6000.00. Since I did not have that readily available on a credit card, they canceled her surgery. I am not sure where this is heading, but I truly admire you for standing up for your beliefs. What are we supposed to do? Turn in to these people that say it is cheaper to just get a different one? If they had ever looked in my sweet Joey’s eyes and watched the joy that she has when she gets a new ball and leaps in the air to catch it. Now I know that no matter what, if she does get the back surgery, and if she does survive it, if she ever walks again, if she ever runs again, will she live more than 2 years? Will she be happy? Am I doing this for me? Am I truly doing this for her? Will she be in pain? She didn’t show any pain before or after she couldn’t walk anymore. She is a tough little girl. She has lived through so much in her short little life that I want to keep fighting for her, but is it fair? Am I really doing it for her? I can’t afford this. I don’t know how I will make the credit card payment, but that isn’t what matters. Joey matters.
Two people that care about me have now said that maybe I should let her go. I spent $5000.00 on her original heart valve operation and I am going to spend an additional $7000.00 on disc surgery and if she survives that she will only live for another 2 years. Am I being selfish?
My son (lives in florida) sent me a picture of a lump on his dogs lip. His vet told him it was a wart. I wanted to see if that is true. He’s concerned and wanted to make sure she is ok. She is a 2 year old Samoyed.
Hello,
The only way to accurately diagnose any kind of lump or bump or mass is to get a tissue sample and submit it for biopsy. Other than that is is simply speculation. I would advise either a second opinion or a biopsy. Often if there is a very small base to the mass I will try a local injection block and then a hemostat placement and suture to remove it. I don’t always use full general anesthesia but in some cases it is needed. Biopsy at my clinic is about $200.
Hello,
I have two 4 year old cats who are brothers and I want to ask your opinion on what the best diet is for them. Both of them have spurts of throwing up after eating their food too fast (they both have been to the vet recently and had a normal exam) and I just want to give them the best diet possible so they can live a long healthy, happy life. What dry foods do you recommend? Grain free vs with grain? Should I also be incorporating wet food as well? What do you recommend?
Hello,
There is not a “one diet fits all” advice. I have four cats and. Feed science diet. Canned and dry. But I know the health status of all of them. Please ask your vet, the person who knows your cats health status best, what their thoughts and advice are.
About 2 months ago we had a cat walk into our yard in really bad shape. Had a lot of mucus coming out of him and his eyes were plastered shut. We didn’t take him in to the vet but asked and got an oral medication and eye drop as well. Oral medication is clindamycin hydrochloride which was instructed to give 2 times a day. Eye drop is neomycin and polymyxin B sulfates and dexamethasone. Those were instructed to be used 3-4 times daily.
He cleared up and started eating and putting on weight in the following weeks but has got the gooey eyes again now. Finally took him into the vet and he was administered a shot of something can’t remember want to say penicillin and another set of the same eye drops and oral med and was told to bring back in a few days. When we took him back he looked at his eyes and said it was entropion. He never had any tests done on him and was wondering if this is actual proper procedure for this.
We live in small town USA and this is the only vet in town so we are really limited. As of writing this today the cat has begun to sneeze a lot. We do not have a liter in the house but him and another neighborhood cat pretty much live at our house they just come and go as they please. Before shelling out 400 on this cat who is in need of something I am just wondering if this is the right procedure that needs to be done.
The picture with the goo is when he found us. And the pictures of the eye are what they look like currently. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Thank you for taking care of this cat???????? If it we’re me, I would sit with the vet with my list of questions as well as my budget that I have available and have a discussion about what can be done. I would ask the vet to list out all options and then work through the one that suits best for this situation. I hope that a plan can be made that will work????
What are the best and safest dental chews for cleaning a dogs teeth and bad breath?
No chews will replace a proper dental cleaning at the vet. if you’re dealing with bad breath, in all likelihood your dog should be scheduled for a dental visit.
That said, my dog’s vet recommends OraVet dental chews to supplement oral cleanings.
Hi my cat was neutered on July 21st. He has eaten normally & pooped normally but for a couple days now I haven’t noticed any urine in his box. I wish I had paid closer attention to it in the beginning to see if this has been a problem since the surgery or only the last couple days. I’m worried he might have some sort of obstruction but reading about the vet procedures we can’t afford thousands to have him unblocked. I hate I got him neutered now because apparently they did something to cause this & now my cat will likely die if I don’t find low cost help in my area. I’m around Pensacola, FL. If you know of any places that can help please let me know! Also if it was something they did to cause this shouldn’t they fix it? Curious how neutering could cause obstruction. Thanks!
Please call the vet who did the neuter right now and have your cat seen. If the vet caused the problem they are responsible for helping you find a treatment option. They are also liable for the damages they may have caused. The vet needs to be notified immediately. Please start there. If they refuse to see you based on financial concerns you can inform them that you are notifying the state veterinary medical board for assistance. All of this is within your rights and abilities. If the cat is critical call the rescues and see if he can be treated there. Or even surrendered to them for care.
Thank you so much for the info. That’s good to know they should be responsible because he has never had this problem so obviously something caused by surgery. Thankfully he did urinate a lot today! He hasn’t shown any signs of distress but I’m still going to contact the vet responsible in am. Thanks for responding!
Hello- you need to contact the surgeon that did this surgery right away. Explain the situation and get your cat back in and seen right away.
Thanks for responding. Thankfully He did urinate a lot today! I would still like him to be seen though so will contact the vet in the am.
My 9 year old pit bull has an ear hematoma. Do they normally just get drained or would she need surgery? Lastly, what would happen if nothing was done?
Thank you,
Desiree
Hello,
The treatment method depends on veterinarian preferences, size of the hematoma, placement of the hematoma and owner preference for options provided. I typically place a drain (teat canula) but I know lots of vets who drain and use steroids. If you do not treat it rhe eat pinna (flap) often becomes wrinkles and disfigured and may predispose the pet to more frequentl ear infections.
Hello,
I think they are helpful in not allowing the head shaking to worsen the pinna trauma but they don’t treat the underlying cause of the hematomas nor do they resolve the hematomas themselves. They are essentially just a pressure wrap. It used you still have to relieve the bleeding within the ear flap, prevent it from reoccurring and treat whatever caused it. If you don’t do this the wrap may actually worsen the ears. I don’t advise them as I think they can close in moisture and infection which might actually worsen the condition in some cases. Ear hematomas need a vet for treatment of the underlying cause first and foremost. The hematoma also needs to be treated. The wrap doesn’t do either.