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Michele | 8 months ago
My Dog Was Fine All Day Yesterday And Last Night Until Bedtime. He Suddenly Acted As …

My dog was fine all day yesterday and last night until bedtime. He suddenly acted as if he could not jump up on the bed ( where he always sleeps ) but finally did so for a treat. Sometime later in the night he moved to the floor and slept the rest of the night there. He has NEVER slept on the floor since we’ve had him. This morning, he does not want to move – very lethargic. He will take a treat but very slowly ( he is extremely, extremely food motivated and excited by any/all food ). He did finally walk down the stairs at an extremely slow pace. He does not want to be picked up and just really wants to lay there. I’m going to see if he wants to eat breakfast ( it’s typically the NUMBER ONE thing on his mind as soon as we come downstairs but he is just laying on the rug sleeping. Should I see how breakfast goes and assess from there ? See how the day goes? My vet is open from 1-3 today but I’m not sure that’s for appointments for sick pets. I can always go to the ER if he doesn’t improve or call JVET first thing in the morning if there is no improvement ??? Any advice?

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  1. Laura

    This seems acute. I sure hope you got him in when your vet opened today.

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m sorry didn’t see this sooner. How are things going now? Did I see you today during walkins? I am at the clinic all day tomorrow if needed.

  3. Michele Post author

    @Krista – thank you for the response. His appetite is great and his personality improved somewhat through the day. He can walk fine but he still won’t jump, do stairs or stand just on his back legs. He does have luxating patella so maybe he injured himself on his last potty last night. I’ve never seen his knees bother him in any way, so I was very thrown off by his somberness and unwillingness to come to me. Either way, I have an appointment with I think Dr. Ahrens on Tuesday to have him checked out.

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Kyanna | 1 year ago
I Have Three Dogs. One Of My Dogs, Angel A Husky , Jumped Over My Other Dog …

I have three dogs. One of my dogs, Angel a husky , jumped over my other dog Adonis, and missed so he landed on him. Ever since, he has been lethargic and he does have hip displasia as he is a pure breed Akita Inu.

Well we went in Friday September 1st to an emergency vet near us at around 5 or 6 pm with Adonis presenting limping and being lethargic and acting not like his normal self. After 30 minutes or so of waiting a technician came out and spoke to us saying how Adonis was very reactive when trying to examine him and asked if they could give him pain killers to soothe him and further inspect him. I told them verbally that they needed to put a muzzle on him because I know how he gets when you touch his legs and poke at him, after the tech came to talk to us we waited a total of 4 hours until they finally grabbed us and told us they thought it was his front paw because it looked “swollen” so they gave us an anti inflammatory and pain killer pills. When adonis was brought in he was able to walk but barely and when they handed him back to us he was unable to stand or walk or lift his head, once we got the paperwork, we were aware that pain killers were not given but he was given a sedative instead and no further examination was made after sedative was given as quote “we are very busy in the back”

Saturday September 2nd all day and Sunday September 3rd morning and part of the afternoon we were at the house watching over him trying to accommodate him as much as we could, we called the emergency vet place to ask for advice on how to relive Adonis since he had not been able to stand up since they gave him back to us Friday September 1st at 11pm and had been holding in his pee and poop.

Sunday September 3rd around 7 we took him back to the vet since they suggested they couldn’t give us advice since they didn’t know exactly what was wrong with him and were confused as to why he couldn’t walk, upon arrival to the vet they took him in on a gurney, and we were seated in an examination room. A tech came in and said to give them a few minutes to examine him, 20 minutes later the doctor came in to tell us she thought now the problem was a disk on his neck and suggested surgery or putting him down but leaned more towards putting him down because he is such a large dog. I asked for an x ray or an MRI but both were denied due to his size (130 lbs). The doctors only recommendation is to put him down and because of his large size nothing else was done and they further prescribed muscle relaxants. This visit lasted 40 minutes at most with very little options on how to further help Adonis.

Please help me understand what is going on and if putting him down is really the option or if this vet is being unethical or not doing enough for my dog. I just want to understand my options and how I can move going forward.

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  1. Laura

    I’d be looking for a veterinary neuro at this point. Did they at least help him relieve himself while he was there?

    1. Kyanna Post author

      Not even. The excuse was that he would try to bite me but its my dog, I don’t care. So she never showed us how to do it. Thankfully yesterday, me and my mom carried him outside and tried to massage him again like we found online and he finally peed. he was so happy about it too!

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dana | 4 years ago
Hi, I Got My Cat Spayed Two Weeks Back, And She Has Developed A Swelling Behind The Skin Sutures

hi, i got my cat spayed two weeks back, and she has developed this swelling behind her skin sutures one week after the surgery. there’s no discolouration, or tenderness, or drainage of any kind from the sutures. the swelling itself feels firm, and soft tissue-esque. my cat herself doesn’t show any signs of discomfort/pain either. no loss of appetite, no diarrhoea or change in bowel movements, no change in behaviour, no lethargy, etc.
this is my first pet, so i don’t have any experience in the post-op recovery of cats, and what is considered normal or not. also i live in a super remote area, and the vets in my town are more experienced in cattle, so taking her to them was of no help. they think it’s an infection or hernia. i don’t think it’s either because there are literally no signs of infection, the wound is absolutely clean, and it’s not hernia because it’s doesn’t reduce (and if it were at a strangulated/irreducable stage, there are no systemic signs to support that diagnosis).
the hospital where i got her spayed at is in a different city, and i talked to the surgeon who performed the surgery on the phone, and going by the pictures, he thinks it’s probably a seroma. he absolutely shot down the hernia possibility, because he says they put uninterrupted sutures, so the chances of hernia are very rare.
my local vet has put her on a ceftriaxone plus dexamethasone (intramuscular) regimen, for 4 days to see if the swelling improves or not. but i am not super confident about their judgement since they are not experienced in cat physiology, at all. they didn’t even consider it could be a seroma, i had to explain it to them. i just need to know what are the chances of it being something serious, because if it’s only a seroma, or a reaction to the internal sutures getting dissolved, i’d rather not have her uselessly medicated.

so, tl;dr how does a seroma swelling feel like? and how do you differentiate between a swelling due to seroma, or because of the body’s reaction to internal sutures healing?

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  1. Sarah

    Hi there-
    When is her follow up visit to the surgeon? It is very hard to tell from a photo, but her incision looks clean- not infected. Is it warm to the touch at all? Nothing painful? You said no lethargy, etc? If she is acting normal, eating normal etc., then I would just wait until my follow up to discuss directly with the surgeon. Unless there is no follow up at this point? If that is the case and things do not improve, then you may have to take a ride I. To see the surgeon anyway to make sure things are healing properly. Hope things go ok- ????????

    1. dana Post author

      thanks for responding.
      the surgeon didn’t plan any followup visit initially, since i was visiting from out of town. he said the local vet could take out the skin sutures. but when i talked to him yesterday, he said to give the antibiotic/steroid regimen, and wait.
      it’s not warm to touch, and not tender either. she’s eating, and drinking just like she used to.
      if the swelling is a normal reaction to sutures, how long does it take to settle down? is it alright to give her more antibiotics, she was given a 5 days course of co-amoxiclav (156.25 mg, 1.5ml twice bd) post-op? is seroma supposed to be a firm swelling, because the surgeon suggested aspirating the fluid, but the vet that saw her today advised against it because the swelling was firm in consistency. sorry for bombarding you with all these questions.

      1. Sarah

        Sorry- that is tricky. Any meds need to be discussed with the vet… in any case IF it is a seroma, it will hopefully reabsorb on its own. Again, the vet would have to feel it to confirm if it is indeed a seroma or not.

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Willow | 5 years ago
Very Ill Senior Cat. I Don’t Know If It’s Time To Say Goodbye. Can I Help Her????

My elderly cat, age 17, recently took a downward spiral with her health. It started with her not eating, then the next day she started becoming more unbalanced, along with sleeping more, and still, eating very little (she also did seem to use the bathroom a tiny bit more than usual, but it wasn’t anything like when my male cat had a urinary tract block, she peed a little each time, but she could be dehydrated) , and today it’s only gotten worse, along with her barely using the litter box, she peed today but no sign of pooing. She ate all of maybe once today, with a few treats here and there. She also has been wandering aimlessly to stare into the bathroom (a place I used to give her water) and to stare at her litter box.
She seems really interested in drinking when she’s up, but doesn’t actually seem to be doing it much. (I’ve debated syringe feeding her some water, but I worry it might hurt her)

She is a cat with a history of feline kidney disease, diagnosed stage 2 by the vet that I’d seen a year ago. Although I have been managing it with daily feedings of wet food and water.

I took her to see the vet today, but all he really did was palpate her kidneys and then tell me he felt something there. I was unable to afford the suggested blood work and x-rays, but the vet was saying things like “everything is hospice care at this point, she’s so old, there not much worth putting the money into her at her age.” Wich was a bit callous sounding. But maybe it’s because she’s my baby.
So they suggested I consider euthanasia right then and there. I couldn’t go through with it right that moment and just took her home to decide.
She has eaten a little, and drank a little since. I’ve been putting her in her bed near me as she’s super tired.

Would putting her down be the right decision? Is there something else I can do???? She’s my only family, and pretty much my child. I can’t just give up on her. Please help.

5 Responses

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  1. Sarah

    Hi- I am so sorry that you are going through this difficult time. Only you can decide when is right for you….I like to think that our pets let us know when it is time. If I were you, I would see how the rest of this evening goes and see if she peeks up any tomorrow. Try getting her to eat better and drink some. Very best to you

    1. Willow Post author

      Thank you for your quick reply. This is so hard to watch.
      I’ll definitely be making the decision quickly, and with her in mind, I already feel terrible at her stage, but the sudden euthanasia option was just too much to handle at that time.
      I’ll try getting more food and water into her now.

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m so sorrry to hear about your cat. I think it would be really helpful to run some blood work. I always worry about kidney disease and they round disease in these cats. At my clinic this costs about $175. I say this because thyroid disease is treatable. It is best treated early than late. Kidney disease in Advanced stage is not. But I do think that knowing what is going on with her will help make a hard decision a little clearer Also your cat deserves fluid therapy. That is $25 at my clinic for a Sq fluid kit to go home which lasts abo it a week. It can really help some cats feel better. Let me know what happens I hope this helps. Never stop advocating for your cat! Best wishes.

    1. Willow Post author

      I so appreciate your help. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I’ll do my best to see if I can find a way to get a kit like that, he mildly suggested fluids at the clinic, but made it sound like it was pointless. I wish he had advocated a little bit more about giving us fluids to at least put her on. Because I would of happily agreed.

      Would syringe feeding her some water help at all?

      1. Laura

        Hi Willow – the subcutaneous fluids really are a better option, as they do a better job than just ingested fluids.

        If you aren’t feeding a veterinary diet including kidney specific wet food, I’d start. My cat is also in renal failure and simply switching diets and doing subq fluids (when he lets me) have likely bought me more time with him.

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Kari | 5 years ago
Female Cat With Urinary Blockage

Hi, my female torti Dusty has bumps on her tongue… The vet had me give her doxycycline liquid and prednisone for 2 months… the bumps didn’t change, but while I was there, she also told me to stop giving her wet food. About a week or so ago I stopped her wet food (which is Sheba Perfect portions) and just gave her the puro a one sensitive stomach hard food she has been eating for 2 years (I was doing 50/50)… I noticed she is having issues peeing… no pain, but she takes me to see she is only peeing about a teaspoon or so and she does it very often… she isn’t showing any signs of pain or lethargy, and eating fine. I tried to feel around but not sure if I found a bladder or not, nothing feels hard and she only complains as much as usual so I don’t think anything hurts.
I’ve watched videos on expressing a bladder and catheterizing a male, but I can’t seem to find any info on females (still looking)… my mom’s dog had 3 bladder stones for over a month just peeing a few drops every time and then all of a sudden they just popped out so I’m trying to weigh the cost-benefit with the local vet. Today is Sunday and I wasn’t about to go emergency if she wasn’t in pain, but I’m still afraid they’ll want $500+ to do anything since just a physical with no blood tests or shots is over $100 and I’m sure they’ll want xrays, etc. I’m in Florida and I know vets here charge 2x-3x more than other places.

Any info will help
Female
Indoor
Shorthair
About 10 yrs young
No signs of sick/injured/pain

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    When it comes to cats displaying issues with urination we always worry most about urinary blockage, which can be life threatening. This is less common in female cats. A blocked cat will typically frequent the litter box (obsessively and continuously), and produce no, or very little urine. A cat with bladder inflammation will do the same but NOT typically have a full, hard, distended urinary bladder, which is why an exam by a vet is imperative. We cant tell the difference without an exam and usually a urinalysis.
    I have to admit that I never recommend dry over wet for cats. I just find that dry has no benefits.. Not teeth, certainly not weight, and for urinary issues wet it better as you can add water and start to diurese the urine.
    If your cat is calm and comfortable you can probably wait until morning to be seen.
    If all else failed you could ask the ER vet to just assess for blockage and then ask to be seen by your vet (assuming they can and will have time to see you) tomorrow. If her heart, temp, color, respiratory rate and bladder are all normal I bet they would have trouble saying that she isnt stable enough to wait a few hours.
    I always think it is important for pet parents to be proactive, but also provide an honest admission of budget and ask for assistance to make care affordable and accessible. We all owe our pet parents and patients that. Please let me know what happens. Good luck

  2. Kari Post author

    Thank you. Yes, the only thing is her lack of pee. Today I put her back on the wet food and added water and her pee doubled this last time. Also, since everything I read seemed to say blood in urine, and she wants me to watch her pee, I took a paper towel and put it under her and her pee came out colorless… not red, or even yellow , but the paper towel looks like I put water on it…I will not it is a stronger smell than I would expect, smells like pee, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed her pee have a smell before (maybe because I never had her pee on a paper towel before, I dunno)
    Tomorrow I plan to take her in, they were good about seeing her same day when I took her in for a checkup (2nd trip to a vet in her life…1st was her spray trip when she was about a year old) hopefully they won’t rake me over the coals.
    Also I found a video that says to add ACV and water to the food and I happened to have some here so I added it…and she still ate half of it it (I was surprised because she can be picky)…

    While I’ve got your attention, since one reason they say in the videos is stress, my husband thinks this may have been caused by my recently changing them to a litter kwitter as I have started toilet training them.. Can holding it in cause a problem? And what are your thoughts on toilet training cats?

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Krista Magnifico | 5 years ago
Bella And Her Pyometra Surgery. Pyometra Canine
Treatment Cost (USD): $1696.57
Bella is a 10 year old intact dog. Her dad recognized that she was not eating well, not acting like her normal happy self and slowing down. In veterinary terms we call this hyporexia, malaise and lethargy. Her most concerning and telling sign of her diagnosis was her mucopurulent vaginal discharge.
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Melissa | 5 years ago
We Have A New Puppy, A 9wk Doxipoo, He Seems Extremely Lazy And Doesn’t Ever …

We have a new puppy, a 9wk doxipoo, he seems extremely lazy and doesn’t ever really want to move unless we make him. Even when he goes to the bathroom, he goes while laying down and it doesn’t seem to phase him? He doesn’t cry or whimper.. just lays there. His eating schedule has been quite unpredictable as well. At first I thought that he just needed an adjustment period to get used to his new people and place but now I’m getting worried. Shouldn’t he be playing more than this? Or at least have some interest in exploring? Should I be worried about Parvo or another sickness?
He came from an in-home breeder and I haven’t been able to get ahold of her since I became worried.

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  1. Sarah

    I would get to the vet immediately! Puppies should not be lethargic like that. And the fact that the person you got the puppy from is not getting back to you is concerning. Let your vet know your suspicions when you make the appointment so that they can be prepared. Best of luck. I hope things turn out ok.

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Yes. I would be worried. Any abnormal behavior, especially in puppies this young , makes me very very worried. It’s time for a visit to the vet ASAP. I hope they check a parvo test and fecal. Along with physical exam and temp. Please go today. Let us know what the vet says.

  3. Melissa Post author

    Vet said could be PARVO, anemia from fleas, parasite or a congenital defect since he was so much smaller than the rest of the litter.

    We’re hoping just anemia from fleas since that’d be easiest to treat

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Suzanne Cannon | 6 years ago
Lucy: Feline With Severe, Chronic Stomatitis
Treatment Cost (USD): $705.70
Lucy is a rescued kitty who first came in to Jarrettsville Veterinary Center with her new owner because she wasn't feeling well - she was lethargic, not eating well, and had two large lumps on the side of her mouth. She was diagnosed with severe stomatitis and hospitalized for treatment. Over the course of the next several months, Lucy received multiple medical treatments in an effort to manage the distressing symptoms caused by her stomatitis. She was given several courses of antibiotics, steroids, and pain meds, and even received laser treatments to help manage pain and swelling. Eventually it was recommended that the best way to help Lucy would be to schedule her for a complete dental cleaning and extractions of diseased teeth.
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Krista Magnifico | 6 years ago
Chronic Abscess In The Neck Of A Cat. What Are Your Options If It Doesn’t…
Treatment Cost (USD): $321.00
Bert is an indoor-outdoor cat. He came home one day with a swelling on his right shoulder about 1 week after his family noted he was limping. The initial exam (about 1 week before the drain was placed), revealed a slight fever, swollen and painful area of the right shoulder. The swelling was explored and a large amount of purulent material was found (puss). Bert was given an injectable antibiotic (Convenia) that lasts about 2 weeks. He was sent home to be monitored.
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Pawbly | 6 years ago
Sushi Is My 12-year Old Cat With An Inoperable Cancerous Tumor. Last Weekend She Stopped…

Sushi is my 12-year old cat with an inoperable cancerous tumor. Last weekend she stopped eating and was vomiting bile. At the vet’s, her bloodwork showed high kidney and creatinine levels. After three days on an IV, her kidney levels returned to normal, but the creatinine remained high, confirming her cancer diagnosis. While the vet said she had been eating well in the office, since she came home three days ago, she has not eaten at all. We’ve tried everything: k/d wet and hard food, chicken and rice, her regular food, baby food, tuna, and Fresh Pet, but she hasn’t eaten anything, although she is drinking water. Sushi is very lethargic and stays in her hiding place most of the time. We go back to the vet in the morning, but I hate to put her through another stay at the vet’s if the results may be the same. Can anyone give me advice as to what I should do? I cannot stand the fact that she may be suffering.

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  1. Sarah

    Good morning. I’m so sorry about your cat. I am sure you must be struggling with “what should I do? Can I do more? Can I do anything?” I think a truthful conversation with your vet this morning is important. We had to put one of our dogs down this past June because of cancer. He was a trooper and we made him comfortable as long as we could, but finally in June, he just told us it was time. He stopped eating, even when I tried to hand feed, he wouldn’t come off his bed unless he absolutely had to… I guess what I’m sharing is that our pets communicate with us. You know your pet best. Your vet knows the situation. I think a visit and a conversation about Sushi today will help you figure out the next step.

  2. Yetta Adams

    The vet gave us an anti-nausea/appetite stimulator and pain pills. I just pray that these medicines will make Sushi feel like eating agan. Thank you so much for your response.