We brought Mila, my 7 year old mixed domestic savannah chausie female spayed kitty, early this morning for emergency attention because she was moaning and groaning in pain last night and could hardly move. Prior to this morning she had been seen two weeks ago at the same emergency clinic and her primary vet. Both determined she had crystals and a UTI and prescribed medication which we’ve been giving as instructed along with keeping her on the strict urinary care diet from hills c/d.

She tried yesterday and this morning to use the litter box but was unsuccessful in relieving herself so we had to treat it as if she was experiencing a blockage which you know is very dangerous.

The Dr. was able to express Mila’s full bladder and found no blockage there, but said Mila was in a lot of pain while undergoing the procedure. She did not feel any stool so Mila is not considered to be constipated, but a good sized stone or crystal was visible during the ultrasound.

The Dr. strongly believes Mila still has a UTI and wants to get that under control first, so we were given the following medications:

Pradofloxacin (antibiotic)
Prazosin (for urethral spasms)

We were also instructed to increase the dosage of the Gabapentin from 0.3ml every 12 hours to 0.5ml every 8 hours since it didn’t seem to be doing enough in terms of managing Mila’s pain. She was previously on buprenorphine for pain but we were concerned that it was constipating her.

We need to bring Mila in as soon as possible to perform another urinalysis and culture as was recommended by the Emergency clinic. This was recommended to determine whether or not the bacteria from the UTI has spread to Mila’s kidneys.

We chose to decline those diagnostics at the emergency Clinic today as they were going to charge an additional $800 for an already expensive treatment and we felt more comfortable going through our primary vet for Mila (the diagnostics will cost a fraction of what emergency quoted.)

I want to do everything I can for Mila but we are now in the hole nearly $2k at the point between the two emergency visits and the primary vet visit, so wanting to know what is necessary now Vs. what can be phased in.

I hate seeing her in pain and I’m just worried that she isn’t improving.

Hi! I have a 5-year-old beagle who was recently diagnosed with IVDD. 5 days ago, he woke up with pain, and things got worse when he tried jumping on my bed. He was in so much pain that I could barely move him. I took him to the vet, and they prescribed him methocarbamol, tramadol, and prednisone. I gave him his medication the first day, but it did not help at all, and he continued being in a lot of pain. The next day I took him back to the vet, and they hospitalized him for a day to administer the medication through IV. That seemed to help a lot because now his practically back to normal. I’m still giving him the medication that was prescribed, but I recently noticed he has begun to walk a little bit slower and is panting a lot. I’m worried that his reason for panting is due to him being in pain. Also, I’m scared that he will have another crisis and go back to being in the pain he was before. Can anyone give me guidance on how to care for my dog?

My dog is coughing mostly at night when we are in bed. It is kind of a cough where it sounds like she is trying to get something up. During the day she is sneezing alot and seems to have a runny nose. I am not sure if it is a cold or what. Also she still has energy wants to play and drinks water but is being very picky about her food. She strictly wants table food. Anyway the coughing is a little concerning. Is it something I should worry about she is 5 months old.

Found a very young kitten on the highway, can’t afford vet, need help in Early Branch, SC.

Hello, all. I’m posting this for someone on our FB page who has had difficulty signing up here. I’m going to copy and paste what he shared with me.

“I’m trying to save a kitten. My wife found her on the highway. She is very young maybe a month. I do not know anything about cats or kittens. Her nose is plugged eyelids are swollen her breathing is not good she is weezing. I got as many if the flees off of her as I could. I am on fixed income so going to the only vet in my area is out of the question. Can you help me please?

Shes awake this morning still cant get her to take any water or food. Its rough because I’m allergic to cats but doing what I can. I would literally have to take out a personal loan to have her treated by the Vet here as he is the only Vet in our area i can access he sets his prices at astronomical figures. I’m just trying to keep her alive.”

I suggested kitten milk for food in addition to needing to be stimulated to evacuate bowels and bladder. He said she did evacuate during a flea bath. He has kitten milk, she’s just not interested in it. I mentioned running a hot bath and sitting in the bathroom with her to steam her lungs and sinuses.

“I cleaned up her face with warm wash cloth first night I brought her home. I bathed her yesterday but was unable to get all the flees off. I will try the steam to see of it helps thank you for the advice. I tried to sign up for the page suggested but was unable to.”

Since I posted this, he’s placed her close to a humidifier and put a heating pad under her pile of blankets in her box.

What am I missing? I have even less experience than our poster, here.

My miniature Schnauzer has a double ear infection .

my cat is maybe 1 1\2 – 2 ish years old. she is not fixed but she has always been very healthy and active and very into food and snacks. i couldnt find her for dinner time and thought maybe she was just sleeping somewhere hard, when she finally came out she did not seem interested in me making her food, i showed her the can and she slowly walked into the kitchen, no meowing or jumping on the table as usual. when i put her food down she sniffed it and walked away. since then she has been laying down, she has an odd expression on her face that seems very blank. her stomach seems to hurt as she stayed hunched over when she stands or moves and growled when i was trying to feel it. when she does stand or move she does it very slowly and as if she doesnt have enough strength to do so. she tried to stretch once and her back leg only shook a little, she tried to get up and move and meowed in pain. every now and then her ears seem very warm. she has recently had her first hairball from her new sister cat that has long hair. she has eaten the same dry food and about a quarter of a can of wet food at night and in the morning. shes not eating or drinking and she has not vommited since a hairball the other day or had diarhrrea.

Any ideas on how to fix behavioral cat peeing outside the box? My cats about 6 or so and she randomly pees on things that are in the floor. Rugs, blankets, baskets etc.

I have a 12 year old dachshund mix who I’ve had on grain free food for about 5 years. He has had ear issues over the years but it’s been manageable and infrequent. I have been transitioning him to Purina Pro Plan for bright minds and all the sudden his ears are bright pink and he’s shaking his head constantly. I have read so many terrible things about the grain free diets but now I wonder if I made a mistake and he might actually have sensitivity to grains bc I had him on grain free food for so long. Is that possible? Should I just go back to the grain free food given his old age?

My dog got spayed a week or so ago. Now shes blowing snot everywhere. Ive already called the vets office but they are closed today. Do you think benadryl will help dry up the mucus until tomorrow? I feel bad for her but I dont think it’s warranted for an emergency visit.

Please I need help my Sister found a cat and it has a broken paw we don’t have the 2,000 dollars she got quoted at vet… what can we do??? Please help we want to help this cat the worse thing is this kitty is semi feral she’s friendly but is in pain we only have meds for 2 more days and if we can’t afford they suggest amputation ???????????? PLEASE HELP my cell is (562)324-0501? Thank You ????????