Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
My female sealpoint siamese cat, Lika, has been constipated. She is 16 years old and has historically eated Science Diet dry cat food. She turns her nose up at canned foid; I have tried many. I have tried putting mineral oil on her treats and she would sometimes eat them but now will not, at all. She is still eating and she drinks a lot of water. She is active, bright, and seems to usually be in no distress. Her abdomen does not feel hard or distended. She vomits on occasion after which she sometimes poops. For the past two weeks she has been straining as if to poop but nothing comes out. I gave her an enema 4 days ago and it was successful. She had not pooped since, so I gave her another enema today, with success but with not as much poop obtained as there should have been after 4 days. Her stool is very hard. I would like to know if I can give her liquid docusate sodium , which I can buy in the grocery store and if so, how much can I give to my 5 lb. cat. How do I administer it? I would not want her to aspirate any medicine I’d give her. I am trying to avoid large vet bills because of my financial situation and bevause Lika is an old cat and I prefer to avoid any major costly intervention(s).
Can I help my 2 yr old cat to pee by removing the sludge, massaging him and drain him slowly? and putting a catheter myself once he’s sedated?
Hello,
if you cat is struggling to urinate, you need to go to your normal veterinary center. Blockages in cats are very severe and need attention right away.
We do not recommend placing a urinary catheter by yourself as it can do damage.
He will need a urinary catheter to be placed for at least 3 days and be on IV fluids. This should not wait.
Ty for the answer but it was too late. I had to put him down he had started getting seizures and I agree with the vet because my mother was a vet , it’s likely he has some other health issues pertaining to the crap food he was on before I realized how bad the food was. Once I switched over to the most high end uti food ( Nutrience) he lasted another 8-9 months before he slowly got worse , it could have been he had something hereditary before the uti began , an underlying health issue unknown, after all he was rescued from a farm and living barn life . ;( so he had a great life and it was greatly improved however house cats are less active making the uti inevitable upon whatever else he had . The vet drained his bladder instantly and I got to spend lots of time with him before and while at the vet before finally giving him the best treatment of all .. go in peace and no more suffering. Such a shame with male cats , this is the second I’ve had to put down bc they overcharge for a simple Fix to save his life . Many vets would agree that places don’t really need to put the animal to sleep unless it’s critical to them and no amount of money could save them , sadly my case. All because I was trying to get the funds in the first place to save his life for a simple drain ! I just bought a house , unfortunately my situation did not help my kitties life. In the future I recommend getting pet insurance for vet bills as I was planning to get but Covid made that a challenge.
My dog (beagle, 4yr) has been diagnosed with potential IVDD. Vet provided meds for 2 weeks to see if there is improvement.
She is still able to walk, eat and urinate/poop normally. However, when she gets spasms in her neck, you can see she is in pain and she cries.
Is there anything else I can do to release her pain? Massage? Ice pack? Heat pack?
Also, the Vet did not say that I needed to crate her. She is pretty much always laying down, getting up when she wants to go out to pee or to eat. Should I still crate her? She is not used to it so I’m afraid she will try to fight out.
Hello,
I’m Sorry for the delay. I have a huge amount of information including the medications I use in these cases at my blog kmdvm.blogspot.Com and my YouTube chane. Go to each and search Ivdd.
Your pet should be crate rested at all times and there are medications to help pain.
Best of luck.
We have had our puppy for one week. He is nine weeks old. He started having soft stool yesterday and today it is diarrhea. What can we do and does he need to see a vet?
Hello,
If you have not been to the vet already ( I always advise going within the first three days of having a new pet) then YES! Depending on the severity of the diarrhea and your puppies overall attitude this might even be an emergency. If he has had multiple episodes of diarrhea OR is not playful and seemingly happy then you should go now. Of particular concern is parasites and parvovirus.
Your puppy should be seen within the next day IF the diarrhea is NOT severe and they are acting normally.
My cat had a polyp according to the xray, but veterinarian could not find it when he was going to remove it. He tells us to go to a specialist but it’s too expensive for us. What can we do?
Hello,
In cases like this I recommend two things.
1. Make sure you are treating the pet not the diagnostics. Therefore I remind people that diagnostics are lovely to help understand what you are treating but they don’t really treat anything. We treat the patient. If you think that your cats clinical signs are consistent with a polyp then try to find someone who will help you look for one. In some cases it is not big enough or in a place where it can be seen with an exam, or exam under general anesthesia. A specialist can use a small camera to look in places we cannot see without one.
2. Never give up advocating for your pet.
And don’t feel badly you cannot afford a specialist. Many people cannot. But keep looking for ways to help your pet and keep your primary vet notified of your cats status.
7y/0 M golden retriever had mass removed near spine. Incision site was relatively large and is healing quite nicely . Since about day 5 post op he has had a sac of fluid underneath the skin (diagnosed by vet as seroma). After 2 fine needle aspirations, 2 rounds of anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic, the seroma has not gone down in size. He has been very minimally active (just goes out to use potty). Seroma has not reduced size and vet said it is ok to ease back into routine.
Any advice on how long this will last and if playing with buddies at park (he wrestles his one best friend) will delay healing? It seems no activity is not helping the swelling anyway.
Just want my pup to have a bit more fun during the day he’s been isolated for over one month!
Hello
Seromas can take quite a long time to resolve. I have seen it take weeks. Or even 2-3 months. The key is that it is never bothering your dog and never shows any signs of being n infection.
In my experience it just has to reabsorb on its own and on its own time.
My 3 year old male cat had emergency urinary tract obstruction. Luckily we very able to get him to teh hospital on time. He stayed 2 nights in hospital (super expensive). All went well and he was back home on Friday. Eating well, purring, playing, sleeping. He also goes and pee in litter box, but also is peeing small amounts around house. Like he cannot hold it. I just hope that is because of sensitive urethra and relaxation medication that they gave him. I stopped that relaxation medication immediatelly.
Another worry is he also has not been able to poop. He ppooped in hospital last time on Friday and today is Monday morning. I am thinking because of brand new urinary food that he started eating and his stomach needs to adjust. Or maybe antibiotics.
I hope he is OK and that this is just healing process. Ut has been only 2 days since catheter was pulled out. I am worried so much here.
Hello,
I hope that your cat is doing better.
Many cats have discomfort when urinating for the first few days after the urinary catheter is removed. This is normal. Make sure he is able to urinate (pass urine) I usually recommend a prescription urinary diet and ask about any and all options to help manage inflammation (I like a few things so ask your vet which might work for you (nsaid, steroid, other anti inflammatories) pain medication (analgesics) and any way to increase fluids ( there are lots of options like sq fluids at home, adding water to food or hydra care).
As far as defecating goes. I only worry if they are straining to defecate and unable to. In almost all cases they are not eating well in the hospital to form a stool. So it can be days before they poop normally.
Thank you so much for your thorough answer. He is doing much better now. It has been 9 days since catheter was removed. We are only feeding urinary wet food. He is peeing normally:), and is pooping fine. Urine is still sometimes rose color, like maybe there is blood but he seems to be fine. Does not make any painful noises, purring a lot when we play with him. I give him half 5 oz can in the morning, and other half at night. During a day, few crunchy treats. Since did is wet he does not drink much of the water, rarely. Today he was not really having good appetite , so we again stated to worry. Hopefully his urinary tract has not been damaged by procedure. Our vet is super experienced.
My cat has been doing fine for the past week or so. Now again all of sudden he started peeing pinkish pee. Like bloody. And he cannot control himsself. It seems like urinary infection. What is going on all of a sudden. Such a mess and stress for all of us. What do I do? Can urinary infection be fixed? He has been doing fine. He is only eating wet food. I think the food might be the culprit. Who knows where this food is coming from…
Please help! I have never owned a cat before, actually I am allergic. The Universe dropped two kittens in my lap that the mother never returned for. On of the kittens dies. I had them before their eyes were open. Through some good people at my vet I was able to learn some things (the hard way) and able to raise the kitten off the bottle. I have the kitten and named her Luna. And to say the least Luna is a handful. She acts feral when new people are around or I take her to the vet. She attacks everything and she is rarely calm enough to love on. She has peed in my tub one time before a couple weeks ago but today she pooped and then hours later peed in my tub. The same day. Today actually. Please if anyone knows anything about bottle baby kittens or has any advice please help.
Hello,
Call recurses and vet offices and post something on social media to see if you can find anyone locally to help advise you. Also there are multiple resources on YouTube and Facebook for kitten experts. See if you can follow them. They have extensive articles and archives.
My DSH cat Ollie, 6 years old started vomiting and having trouble eating on Wed 3/1/23, same thing Thurs. threw up everything he ate. I gave him watered down fancy feast broth via syringe that evening. I took him to the ER vet Thurs night. The ER vet did body XRays and found nothing abnormal. Gave him fluids. She thought it might be related to his teeth removal in Aug 2022. She gave him pain meds and nausea medicine. There’s been no more vomiting.
Followed up with his veterinarian practice Friday morning 3/3/2023. She did a very thorough mouth exam. Did not believe related to dental work. His blood work came back normal. Was not reactive to firm pressure anywhere near mouth. She agreed to continue pain and nausea meds but no other info. Given antibiotic shot. He was fed watered down meat baby food on Friday and more water via syringe.
Saturday 3/4/2023 went back to his vet practice to see another vet. She did additional bloodwork and ruled out pancreatic issues. She did same exam and noted his was not reactive to pressure/touch anywhere except back of mouth/throat area. Told to stop pain meds. Given steroid shot to see if his throat/back of mouth is inflamed. Said should notice a difference Monday if this is effective. Has follow up with this vet on Tuesday morning. He started hills science prescription a/d food today via syringe and continuing water mixed with a little baby food for extra hydration/nourishment. She said if this doesn’t help he will need to seek an internal specialist.
Please help. Thoughts ?
Hello,
This is a tough one because we don’t have a direction to go in
Here’s my advice. First weigh him everyday. We need to be sure he is not losing weight. Next try a canned only food. I like science diet I/d. (As in intestinal diet). Available at your vets office. Ideally feed small meals every 3-4 hours as long as he is not vomiting. Next make sure a full cbc chemistry fecal (very important to do a fecal) and urine is done. Then full X-rays. If I am still worried I send the X-rays to a radiologist for review and then do an ultrasound. If possible find a feline only veterinarian to get a second opinion. Then I call for an internal medicine consult via my lab services company. All of these are things you should (hopefully) have access to before you go to an internal medicine specialist.
The issue with your cat seems to be the hat you do not have a diagnosis for the cause of the vomiting. All of the above should help you get to one.
I hope this helps. Please keep me posted.
Krista.
Thank you Krista! The vomiting has stopped but he won’t eat on his own. I truly appreciate your help. I’m really trying while we work toward answers.
My dog can’t walk I jut want you can say a second opinion my vet said he has Spine Osteochondromalacia and I can’t find on giogle something like that I’m afraid he was wrong diagnosed
In a perfect world every pet would receive a second opinion. I think that is a great idea!
Hello.
A few suggestions to help with her bowel movements… try introducing different type of wet food. Often kitties aren’t fond of certain smells/flavors. You can also try adding water into her dry food to moisten it. If able, try adding small amounts of wet food into the dry food. Softening up the food can help form stool easier and make things less stressful.
Please reach out to your vet if this continues to be an issue as she may have more going on than we can tell.