Dr.Magnifico:
I hope this message finds you and your family well.
I actually have a concern not about one of my pets but one of my daughter’s cat. Frisky (my grandboy cat of 12 years).
2 weeks ago my daughter noticed he had an odor of urine. She had tried a new litter and thought it was due to the muddy consistency. She bathed him with no luck and decided to take him to a vet in her area. Frisky is a very cool easy going gentle cat . Unfortunately, when he went to the vet, my daughter said he turned into the cat from hell. They were unable to treat him but managed to give him his rabies. He was prescribed 100mg gabapentin to be taken that night and then one more an hour before his visit the next day. She described him as acting stoned starting with the first capsule. He was fine at the vets office but sadly has been diagnosed with kidney disease. The following 3 levels are off the chart: IDEXX SDMA 63, CREATININE 8.6, BUN 165. The following levels are slightly elevated: Phosphorus 9.9, Anion Gap 27, Total Protein 9.4, MCH 17.6, Monocytes .646.
Frisky was put on a special renal diet with phosphorus powder added (to bind the phosphorus). He is supposed to go back to the vets on Monday to have his kidneys flushed in hopes of flushing toxins I guess.
My concern is that he has trouble processing the gabapentin due to his kidneys.
You know how much I value your opinion and I truly love Frisky. If one of my cats presented all these issues, would you recommend the same treatment? I am also extremely concerned considering what I have read about the toxicity of gabapentin with kidney disease. I am very surprised by his behavior at the vets but obviously he needs something in order to calm him down. Would you recommend an alternative to gabapentin? I believe they gave her a liquid for Monday’s visit opposed to the pill that was used for the previous visit. Have you seen the use of special food and the flushing of kidneys to help improve some of these numbers and allow him some time with a good quality of life? I hope I have provided as much information that you may need.
As always, I appreciate your insight very much.

Thank you
Sandy Brown

Hi, I have a 14 month old australian shepherd mix that has had a terrible time dealing with the car since I got him, specifically a lottttt of drooling. I’ve been able to counter-condition him to be relaxed just sitting in the car but whenever we try to go to the next step and he notices we start moving in the car, the drooling comes right back and he is visibly anxious. I have started taking him to a nearby park with trails (about a 10 minute drive) after seeing Dr. Magnifico’s video on youtube about the subject. He has not vomited yet on these trips but the drool is definitely a concern and so far hasn’t improved (just had our fourth trip today). Also, after these trips he appears more wary of the car, with drooling sometimes starting as we approach the car to return home. As long as he is not vomiting am I not pushing him too much? When I first got him at four months, he was fine until the last 3 minutes of a 45 minute car drive, at which point he threw up. I think this has unfortunately traumatized him since and I just want to make sure I’m not creating further trauma.

I have also tried anti-nausea medication both OTC and from the vet with limited success, definitely does not help the drooling which makes me further believe it is anxiety related.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Is it safe to stop insulin injections if we think our cat doesn’t need it

Our chiwinnie unexpectedly slipped a disc the vet recommended laser treatment. She was fine for the first 3 days now even tho her back legs are getting better she’s in a lot of pain and air snapping here is the weird part I can pet her all over run my fingers down her spine and she’s fine but when I try to move her she cry’s a lil bit and air snaps is this normal

Hi. I have a 3 day old pit bull puppy. He was born very small. I didn’t even know my female was pregnant. She was suppose to have been spayed but that’s something I will have to take up with the office that suppose to have done it. Anyways, the puppy at first was suckling fine from mom. Over the last couple of days it’s progressively gotten to where he will not even open his mouth to feed. I went and bought puppy formula, baby bottle, eye dropper and have been trying to get some food into him. He still will not eat. What else besides see a vet can I do? I’m very limited on funds right now because I had a work related injury and was off of work few days last week so no money for a vet.

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!

I have a Golden Retriever/Lab/Boxer mix. He will be 10 years old this month. A couple weeks ago, we took him to a vet specialist. He has a prostate mass that is connected to his urethra. He also has spots in his lungs that are believed to be metastasis of the cancer. I needle aspirate was done to confirm his cancer diagnosis. Recently, he has lost bladder control so we keep a diaper on him when he’s inside. Last night, he started not eating his food (even when it was mixed with wet food) so today I made him chicken and rice. He ate some of the chicken but did not touch the rice. My vet is not recommending surgery due to how invasive it will be. He is currently taking an antibiotic (clavamox) and a pain pill (gabepentin). He’s also been prescribed a medication for inflammation (carophren). My question is… is there anything that can be done for treatment? we wanted to have the mass removed to remove pressure from his bladder (because he peeing frequently). However, the vet nor vet specialist is recommending it. Are there options for metatastic cancer? What are the benefits of giving dogs CBD?

Good morning!

We adopted Fluffy a few weeks ago. She’s doing great! We’re actually having a coffee date as we speak. My question is this – When she’s meowing at us, to say hi, or show affection, her meows are totally silent. This is the only concern I have. Otherwise she is doing fabulous! Are silent meows a concern?

My 8 year old pitbull is in immense pain due to a slipped disc in his neck between c1 and c2, according to the x-rays, it has calcified. It has been 6 weeks and a day since his diagnosis, 6 weeks exactly since he was discharged after an overnight stay where he was given lots of pain meds through an iv. He did really well for the first few days after that. Then he got bad, and it’s been a roller coaster of good and bad days since, but mostly bad. He’s on a muscle relaxer and 2 different pain meds 3 times a day, and prednisone twice a day. I’ve been trying so hard to stay positive, but it’s getting discouraging. I’ve watched lots of videos and read about dogs that have had paralysis walk again sooner than he has shown any progress. I can’t really afford surgery, I guess my question is, at this point, should I still stay hopeful?

Hi, my dog has microscopic specs around her ears and down her snout. i applied some permethrin powder and most of the specs disappeared with a few remaining. i had to use a magnifying app to see the specs i cant seen them with the naked eye. also fur loss around her ears, sores on elbows, fur loss around legs and sensitive to touch.