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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Mass Removal In An Older Dog With Kidney Disease
Treatment Cost (USD): $976.90
Riesling is an older lab with elevated kidney enzymes. She presented months earlier with a suspected benign mammary mass. The mass was slow growing, not bothersome, and her pet parents were worried about her ability to tolerate anesthesia, so they watched, hoped and waited. Suddenly the mass began to grow rapidly. It burst late one weekend evening. It was bandaged but because the mass was not normal healthy tissue the bleeding and ulcerative lesion would not/could not be stopped.
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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Tempest Is An Older Cat With A Mass On Her Side That Started Out Looking…
Treatment Cost (USD): $770.00
Exam: 7.4 lb. 12 yrs old. O noted growth on right chest growing rapidly. Had small cyst noted on file about 4 yrs ago. Eating and drinking normally. Had Rabies vaccine 3 yr 7/28/16, FVRCP 3 yr and Leuk 7/1/16. Mainly indoor cat, but does go outside some during day. Wait on vaccines until biopsy of mass is in, Skin- about 1 " diam, raised, firm, mulitlobulated mass right lateral chest on skin- no SQ attachment. Recommend removal and biopsy and can scale teeth at time of sx.
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Emergency Visit
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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Ear Hematoma In An Older Dog With Allergies. An Aural Hematoma Occurs With Head Shaking…
Treatment Cost (USD): $165.00
Lilly is an older lab with a history of allergies. When her ears flared up (redness and itching), she began to shake her head. This caused the blood vessels in her ear flap to rupture and caused the ear pinna (flap) to swell up. This also made her ears even more uncomfortable and worsened the swelling.
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  1. Patricia Rattray

    I cured a large hematoma on my cats ear with the homeopathic remedy Arnica mont 30. I believe I just gave it once a day, maybe twice. It took about a week to ten days to completely resolved but there was improvement right away which was steady until it resolved. The ear flap returned to normal. In this podcast homeopath Joette Calabrese mentions that in classical homeopathy, Arnica Montana is always used for hematomas. Cost $8.00.

    https://joettecalabrese.com/podcast1/podcast-73-my-time-with-the-banerjis/

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Jillian Fouts | 6 years ago
I Have A Senior Cat Who Goes Into Labored Open Mouth Breathing When He Is…

I have a senior cat who goes into labored open mouth breathing when he is in a hard purr and also has wheezing and snoring but otherwise acts normal – eats, drinks, and is active for his age. The snoring is even when he’s not in a deep slumber and it can be an airy rattle if that makes sense and he has a little squeak when he swallows. I saw your video on the cat with a polyp and thought maybe this could be what he has except that he’s almost 17 so the vet suggested it probably isn’t since that’s more of a young cat thing but did suggest a scope and CT which will cost me 2500-3500 and he will have to be put under. In reading about breathing, heart disease can also cause breathing problems and since he has heart disease I would hate to spend all the money and put him through that to be told the scope didn’t show anything. I’ve also been reading about asthma, but my regular vet nor the specialist even mentioned that it could be that and from what I’ve read, it’s hard to diagnose. He’s a flame point Siamese and he has early ckd and some heart disease (stage 3/4 systolic murmur and hypertension), so I’m nervous about putting him under. Aside from these “old man” things, the specialist and my regular vet say his labs are spectacular. The specialist said when she is presented with a cat that has these conditions, they bloodwork and labs never look this good. So I certainly don’t want to put him down if he looks good but I also feel like he can’t be comfortable with these breathing episodes. One thing to note, when they did bloodwork a couple of weeks ago, his eosinophils were elevated which I have read can be linked to upper respiratory and asthma. Im putting the link to videos of the wheezing and purring to see if you’ve ever seen such a thing in a cat. I sure wish I had you closer by. Thank you so much!
Jill

Wheezing https://youtu.be/gaf7WCRzu80

Purr/breathing https://youtu.be/kqnd4YORenY

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    hello,

    i reviewed your videos, i think that it is appears as if the wheezing is in the oropharynx area. It also appears to be primarily it the inspiratory phase of the purring/breathing.
    There are internal medicine specialists who focus on this kind of clinical sign. I am not sure if there are any in your area though? I think the best place to start is at a feline specialists office. They tend to be more affordable and accessible. See if they can help start to rule out things before you jump into a scope.
    In my practice for cases like these a typical work up looks like this;
    1. exam,,, use your brain,, its your best diagnostic tool.
    2. radigraphs,, to look at the lungs.. lots of older cats have chronic lower resp disease,,, and unfortunately, we are also looking for signs of cancer.
    3. blood work,, a full cbc, chem, urine and t4.
    4. oral exam under anesthesia,, i look at the whole oral cavity, remove a polyp if i find one, flush the nares if the patient has had chronic nasal discharge, and then I also take skull rads, esp of the nose/nasal passages.
    if all of this fails to produce any helpful info endoscopy is the next step.. or CT, but endoscopy allows helpful info and you can do something (biopsy, etc) if you find something.
    I hope this helps..
    PS i agree about your theory and feelings about the corp practices..
    good luck,
    please keep me posted,, i would love to hear about how things turn out.
    PSS i do think that your kitty is a little old for a polyp.

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Lauren Hall | 6 years ago
My Male Approx. 8 Yr Old Cat’s Blood And Urinalysis Came Back With Some Abnormal…

My male approx. 8 yr old cat’s blood and urinalysis came back with some abnormal results. He has a little blood (+1 according to vet’s scale) and protein (+2) in his urine. However, we ruled out kidney failure/issues. He has passed a stone in the past and had noticeable blood then, but the vet is saying he doesn’t know if that’s the cause now and wants to treat it as idiopathic cystitis, thus no known cause = no set treatment.
For various reasons, I have had suspicions that my vet is not acting honestly in all regards (from severe misdiagnosis, offering unnecessary treatments as only options, and charging me for services that I wasn’t asked/ told about) but will be moving in a month so will see a new vet anyway.
For now though, I want to address any possible issue before the move seeing as stress may worsen it. So this vet is saying since they don’t know what the cause of the test results is but want to give me various antibiotics and meds to treat all possible causes. But he himself said that the medicine he’d put me on (Orbax, 10 day supply) has less expensive alternative options but “they don’t have flavoring so it’s harder to get cats to take them” and I’d have to potentially give it 2x a day instead of 1x. But I don’t care how often and I honestly don’t care how much it costs, but I really care that my vet is acting in the best interest of my cat NOT prescribing just because he can. What’s more, Feline idiopathic cystitis seems to be diagnosed by things he didn’t do as he didn’t culture the urine (and said he doesn’t want to because it’s only 50% accurate), didn’t x-ray, and didn’t ultrasound (source:
https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic).
Based on the urinalysis results and clean blood work, has anyone had any similar experiences that could be a cause? I’d rather not put my cat on antibiotics he doesn’t need and potentially mess him up more… especially if proper steps of diagnosis haven’t occurred. Any advice would be very, very appreciated!

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  1. carrie Urquhart

    If he’s passed a stone before it’s likely he may have another. Male cats have a really hard time passing stones or crystals since their opening it very small. Was the cat showing signs of a uti, or was this routine labs? Do you know if they looked at the urine to check for crystals? Sometimes it could be an infection and a round of antibiotics clear it up, but id be weary of that diagnosis if they didn’t look at it under a microscope.

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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Mass Removal On The Tarsus Of An Older Dog.
Treatment Cost (USD): $793.77
Mia is an older lab mix who had a progressively growing mass in the middle of her tarsus (between the ankle and the foot). It was not painful, but it was getting big enough to cause her family concern. She was brought to her regular vets office, a corporate practice, who wanted to refer her to a surgeon for the removal. Mia's family came to see me for a second opinion.
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Pawbly | 6 years ago
I Adopted A 4 Year Old Rescue Small Lab Mix About 2 Weeks Ago. She…

I adopted a 4 year old rescue small lab mix about 2 weeks ago. She is already deeply attached to me, and is starting to show some separation anxiety. Keeping her contained and safe while I’m at work has become a challenge. My Boston Terrier is content gated in the kitchen, but my rescue Duchess simply climbs over the gate. So I put her in a crate and I have attached a pic of the result (it’s sideways). She had bloodied her mouth and scraped her muzzle. The last couple of days I’ve left her loose in the house and hoped for the best. I saw evidence of her trying to push the gate through to get into the kitchen – to be with my other dog? I don’t know. Any advice is welcome.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello!
    There are lots of things I would recommend.
    First of all exercise is my first and constant default.
    1. Start taking long walks before you leave for the day. A tired dog is always a better behaved dog. See if this helps.
    2. Ask me (I’m her vet) ☺️ About solliquin.
    3. Try DAP. Dog appeasing pheromone. There is a lot of great evidence to support its efficacy.
    4. Try a radio or tv while you’re away.
    5. Try a video monitoring device. See if watching her and intervening helps assuage her chewing.
    6. Ask about a neighbor or dog walker to get her out during the day while you are away.
    7. Ask me about a trial period of an anxiety med. I’m lots of cases they help make everyone happier. Especially as she adjusts to her new life

    Thank you for saving her. Please keep in touch

    Xox to you candy and duchess!

  2. Anonymous

    If you’re located near Dr. M, I’d look into obedience classes near you – 4Paws has a selection of classes to consider. She might be otherwise obedient, but classes will help to make her feel more secure in her position in your home, and will help her settle now that she’s past the 2 week introduction phase. More info about training classes at 4Paws here: http://www.4pawsspaonline.com/training.html Kathy Forthman’s a good trainer.

  3. Sarah

    Hi there!! Thanks for rescuing. We just rescued another GSD this week and are going through the same thing- separation anxiety. I’m using a lot of patience and I’m walking the soles of my shoes off with him? No, seriously, long walks seem to help. More so than a good romp around the yard with our other young one. So what I did yesterday that really helped, was had him romp with her for about a half hour after right before human dinner, then ate quick, then walked him (while my other two stayed home) for a good long walk- almost and hour. This helped as he was good and tired and went into his crate without opposition. Now he still chewed his way through a bed, so I’m looking into ways of addressing that. We have Kong’s with peanut butter in the freezer right now. Also we have replaced the bed with towels and are hoping since they are not foam, they’ll do less harm?And a nice nylabone and a few rope pull/chew toys have been helpful. If you find another bit of advice that you find helpful, please share? Thanks!!???

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Pawbly | 6 years ago
My 5 Year Old Basset Hound And Lab Mix Has A Herniated Disc. The Vet…

My 5 year old basset hound and lab mix has a herniated disc. The vet gave her muscle relaxer and pain meds, but now she can’t move her back legs. We have restricted her to a crate so she can rest, we can’t afford surgery. Is there hope that she will get better with meds and crate rest or should I start preparing for the worst?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I don’t know enough about your dog or the time frame to offer much advice. I do have a lot of helpful tips and advice on this disease via my blog. Kmdvm.blogspot.com and YouTube channel. Search IVDD and hank. I think that every piece of any kind of question is all there. In general I tell people to keep in close contact with their vet. Seek an exam with a neurologist and give these dogs at least three weeks to see if they improve. Good luck.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
My Dog Ate 6 Brownies Left On The Kitchen Counter. She Is A Medium Sized…

My dog ate 6 brownies left on the kitchen counter. She is a medium sized Lab mix. Will she be okay after eating chocolate?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    The safest thing to do is call one of the pet poison helplines. They can calculate the toxic dose based on a few questions they will ask you. Or you can call your vet for advice. There are a few “choc tox” calculators available online. But they are guesstimates at best. Better to go to the Er, call your vet or call the pet poison helpline immediately.

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Pawbly | 7 years ago
Hi. I Noticed An Angry Red Lump On My 3-year-old Beagle’s Foot, Near Her Claw…

Hi. I noticed an angry red lump on my 3-year-old Beagle’s foot, near her claw today. Pretty sure I didn’t see it yesterday. It doesn’t seem to hurt her at all. It’s not soft, but also not rock hard either. It’s not bleeding. She’s not licking it, so I don’t think it itches. She doesn’t have fleas or ticks. Her diet was recently changed from kibble to raw; not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I’ll mention it just in case. She seems to ber her normal self, NO vomitting / diarrhea / weakness. Brought her to the vet, and she was given 3 shots: dexamethasone, viccillin, and amoxicillin, and we were told to watch for the bump for the next few days. I’ve been surfing the web, and I think the bump could be histiocytoma orrrrr (God forbid) a mast cell tumor / mastocytoma. We live in Indonesia, and in the city we’re in, vets don’t really have labs where they perform tests and such. I’m losing my mind thinking about what my dog could possibly have. Please help if you’ve experienced a similar case. Pic attached.

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Comments

  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I would ask your vet about your concerns. I would also prepare for all of the skin lesions you are concerned about. Typically in cases like these I give my patients a few weeks to see if it resolves. If not I do a punch biopsy to submit for pathology through a veterinary diagnostic lab. If it gets larger ask your vet to remove it. It is small enough to allow many options at this point. Best of luck. Please let us know.

  2. Savitri N

    Hi Krista, thanks for your response. The bump has become smaller, drier, and much darker (like a healed wound), and I take that as a positive sign. Unfortunately, I have yet to find vets in my city that do biopsies or any kind of lab tests at all (not that she needs one right now that the bump has gotten better). I will still be on the lookout but am much less worried. Thank you again.