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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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!!???
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?
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.
My dog ate 6 brownies left on the kitchen counter. She is a medium sized Lab mix. Will she be okay after eating chocolate?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hello,
My 18 and 1/2 year old lab mix just suddenly lost about 50-70% use of his hind legs few days ago. The vet recommended MRI which was financially not feasible nor did I think giving him anesthesia given his age was a good idea. He sent us home with prednisone and to call back with updates. I took him to a vet acupuncturist but she said that probably won’t be very helpful. I’m going back tomorrow to see if I can convince her to do acupuncture. Boston has otherwise been a super happy and healthy dog (sans nerve sheath tumor surgery 7 months ago from which he has made 100% recovery).
It’s been 5 days and since I wasn’t told about crate rest, I allowed him to wonder/wobble short distances around the house to go potty and to/from bedroom and living room and he has fallen few times when his back legs gave out. Given his age, I just don’t think surgery is an option. If he doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, is euthanasia pretty much the only option? How much time should I give him? I just hate seeing him in pain but my husband is on deployment and I really want him to hang on until he comes back as it was my husband who rescued our dog 16 years ago. He is currently on prednisone and tramadol. Please advise. I just cannot make any drastic decisions on my own right now but I also want to do the right thing by our loyal and loving baby. Thank you.
Did the vet provide some preliminary diagnosis? Do they think it’s a disc injury or something else? For example, Jasmine had neck problems resulting in pain and mobility issues,while JD had similar symptoms from what was likely a brain/spine infection or cancer. I know of a number of cases where acupuncture help with spinal or disc problems a great deal. Might be effective to address pain regardless of what is happening. Which makes me wonder why your vet is hesitant to try.
The preliminary diagnosis was disc issue, moderately advanced. But without mri I guess they couldn’t say for sure. I don’t know why the holistic vet didn’t want to give him acupuncture but I’m going back tomorrow and going to demand one. We did do cold laser but not sure if that’s doing anything. Given his advanced age I just want to know what the “right” thing to do is by a dog who has been so loyal through so many of our lives’ difficult moments. The regular vet (and I agree) that surgery is not really an option for a lab his age. But not sure if I want to give up on him yet especially before my husband’s return. Thank you.
Yes. Jana. There are many questions I have about this case? That’s why I listed everything I could think of to look at.
Krista, wouldn’t acute onset make DM much less likely? Surely there would be some gradual signs? Jasmine was 9 when her neck issues started; one day she was fine and the next day she wasn’t. Though same thing happened with JD. He was perfectly fine, then started having problems with hind legs in the morning and by evening was pretty much unable to use any legs successfully.
The upside of DM is that it is non-painful, isn’t it? So unless further issues crop up, either secondary or it ascends, the dog should be able to hold up until the master returns?
http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2011/08/what-acupuncture-did-for-intervertebral.html
Hello Linda,
I think a few things should be discussed;
First, I agree with Jana that it is really helpful to have a preliminary diagnosis to start the treatment options from. I hope that the vet did some basic diagnostics like full blood work (CBC, full Chem panel, thyroid (T4), urinalysis AND radiographs of the chest (3 view) and spine if they suspect IVDD. I also think a rectal exam is in order. I worry about the following.. many of which can be quickly and easily ruled out with the exam and diagnostics.. I am also very worried about DM, degenerative myelopathy as it is common in older labs and presents as ascending paralysis of the back legs. I also worry if it is one of the neuromuscular or muscular diseases that the prednisone might exacerbate or worsen or accelerate the peripheral (back leg) muscle loss. Also if a practitioner tells you that they are concerned a treatment option wont help my inclination is to believe them and ask for guidance to something that might.
Try to get the vet to give you something for pain, especially if it appears there is any signs of joint disease on the radiographs. Labs are also very commonly struggling with old bad hips.
Lastly, IVDD is unlikely in older dogs simply because the spine tends to bridge with spondylosis which makes disc disease less likely. A radiograph of the spine may help with identifying these.
Please let me know.
My advice is to speak to your vet about all of this and then get a second opinion.
Good luck
Krista
I walk my 4year old Lab nightly for about 45 mins. About once or twice a month, our walks are interrupted by him becoming very uncomfortable to the point where he is rapidly panting, stops walking, sits, lays down, cannot get comfortable, constantly changing positions. On these occasions, we stop, I calmly try to talk to him, gently pet him, until he is okay to walk again. The whole episode lasts no more than 5 minutes. Then we walk home like nothing happened. I have racked my brain trying to find the common thread leading to these episodes. The only thing I can come up with is that he ate within a relatively short time before walking. Maybe 30 mins or less before walking. Usually he eats at least 2 to 3 hours before walking. Is the problem most likely related to his eating, then walking shortly after? Do you think it could be something else?
Hello,
I would wonder if there is any underlying issues like heart condition, blood pressure, hypoglycemia, thyroid issues, etc. I recommend a trip to the vet to discuss your concerns and I also recommend a blood work. I hope this helps. Let me know. Good luck
Thank you. I will schedule an appointment for him.
Once the vet has hopefully ruled out any medical issues, you might want to take a close look around where this episode usually happened. There might be something going on environmentally? I know it might sound hokey, but that might trigger some odd behavior. For example, we absolutely can not walk our dogs south down our road when the farmer that way has his bull out in the fields with the cows. Even if that bull is acres away… the dogs go crazy. I don’t know if they smell something, or sense something or what the deal is, but this is what we have determined. If that bull is out, anywhere, my two lovely dogs become insane. I know that this is different from your situation. I just wanted to share that changes in environment can effect them too.
My 7-year lab mix tore her chest apart on a hose bib earlier this year. She developed a large seroma on her chest after her vet closed up the massive gash. We drained it once after the port holes naturally closed. She does not want to reopen the holes because of infection risk. To help the seroma shrink, she suggested a compression vest which I immediately ordered since I couldn’t find one locally. It will get here tomorrow. I hadn’t seen any comments regarding compression vests for seroma. Thoughts? My girl is happy aside from being a little dopey from drugs – she had an allergic reaction to who-knows-what and is on Benadryl. She’s been through so much over the last couple of weeks and we just want our Casey back to normal.
Hello,
If your dog is under the care and observation of your vet I think it is best to follow their advice and try it. They will be there to help if it either isn’t working/helping or causes other issues. Your vet always has the best advice for your pet.
let us know how it works?
I have a male gsd. I’m wanting to add a lab o our family. Would male or female be a better fit?? I hear generally, you want to add the opposite sex but als heard the female labs are pretty moody.
We have a male GSD and then rescued a make lab shepherd mix. After a short introduction period, They are best buds for more than 6 years now. I think your expectations and your introduction have a lot to do with the outcome, as well as of course the temperament of the dogs. There are a lot of great books on introducing a new pet to your home. Good luck.
I, personally, prefer mixed sex pairs. GSDs are prone to same sex aggression, which cannot be trained out…and it usually doesn’t show up until living with another male dog.
All bitches are moody – it’s part of being female and hormonal. If you go through an ethical, reputable breeder who fully health tests and titles their dogs per the breed club’s code of ethics, you’ll be stacking the deck in your favor as far as temperament is concerned.
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.