Hello,
I think part of the problem is that no one is really sure of his diagnosis. Straining can look like a lot of other things too. I always check the gi system and the urinary system for a cat displaying litter box issues. What that means is that I do a rectal exam. I check the colon the feces (send to the lab) and anal sacs. I also check a urine sample. I even do a urine culture and sensitivity of I can’t find the source of the problem. I think your diet plan is good but I would also encourage play and exercise. It helps the gi system and the weight loss which always helps the urinary system. Think of it like a “whole cat” approach to finding out what is wrong. The other piece of advice I have is to find a feline only practice. I just think they do a better job with cat issues when people feel they haven’t gotten the answers they need at a general vets office. Don’t give up! Your cat is trying to tell you there is a problem. Keep digging! Good luck. Let me know what happens.
My dog’s stomach got hard 4 days ago. That night, she vomited what she ate. Since then she rarely ate. Sometimes we can coax her with a piece of chicken but only rarely. She drinks a lot of water. On the 3rd day, she barely ate. Now she has some discharge on her private parts. It is a cloudy white. She keeps licking it and could not sleep. She keeps pacing too. She would walk in circles.
She always looks tired but likes going for a walk. But when at home, she doesn’t even stand up.
We are not able to go to a vet’s office right now because of financial issues and the lockdown. What can I do?
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Hi Dr. Mag, Gatsby and I need your help.
I came across some of your videos on YouTube and that brought me to your blogs and finally here to Pawbly.com I feel so fortunate to have found your videos you seem so knowledgeable and more importantly empathetic. The care you have for animals truly shines through. I feel so helpless When it comes to my little guy Gatsby. He is 8 years old and has been very healthy all his life, But within the last six weeks we have been experiencing some urinary issues. I did think he had a blockage because he was unable to urinate for close to 24 hours, he seemed lethargic and did not want to eat. I took him to the vet first thing in the morning and he was given an x-ray which did not show any signs of kidney stones. He was given fluids under the skin, an antibiotic shot and sent home with 5 days dosage of Prozasin. The vet diagnosed him with feline lower urinary tract disease, yet he did not take any urine samples because he said that Gatsby’s bladder was very small and he was unable to collect a sample. He did not take any blood either. Within a couple days Gatsby was again exhibiting the same symptoms so I asked around for personal referrals and took him to a different vet. This vet said the same thing, Gatsby’s bladder was very small, but he kept him for a few hours to collect urine and did perform blood analysis and lab work. This was a Saturday and the vet suggested I switched him to a prescription urinary diet and informed me I would receive lab results that Monday. When the vet called all of his lab work came back clear, no infection, no signs of crystals, no signs of cystitis, kidneys functioning properly and he does not have diabetes. The vet suggested I keep him on a prescription diet and suggested that he lose weight because he is a big boy at 15 pounds. This was about a month ago and Gatsby has had two more episodes since. He is licking himself a lot. He travels to his box many times and is only producing small dots of urine, he has on a handful of occasions exhibited inappropriate urination, but only during these flareups which tend to last 2 to 3 days. I’ve called the vet to discuss Gatsby’s condition and his solution is to have the surgery performed. I have read a lot of literature, watched a lot of videos and have taken him to two different vets to try and find answers and help for him. It hurts me to see him struggling. He is on a wet food only diet, I do not feed him any dry food or dry treats. I have tried a urinary health chew which he receives once a day. I have noticed that he has not been drinking water as he used to prior to these episodes. I have a water fountain for him I’ve tried fresh water in different types of bowls, I’ve tried water with ice, he’s just very resistant to drinking water now. Any advice or guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
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I have a 14 year old female shitzu that has recently been licking her butt a ton. When I try to get close to her rear, she will either turn away from me or run and hide. When i was giving her a bath the other day, when I was trying wash her rear, she yelled. I was able to get a quick look when I was drying her off before she ran from me and there looks to be a white sore on the side of her anus. Would an antibiotic ointment or an antifungal ointment help?
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Blue is an approximately 7-8 year old Rottweiler. I recently adopted her last year from a family that had adopted her 5 years before when she was brought to a Rottweiler rescue as a stray. Recently have some issues with her licking paws and biting at the hair on her legs, also severe dandruff with scaly scabs along her flank with leathery skin, also scabbing along the outer ridges of her ears. I initially suspected an allergy as have had rottweilers before and experienced their tendency to have allergy to food etc. Visited the vet about the skin, did antibiotics and it subsided but not completely cleared up. I decided to change food and in doing so she had 2 bouts of diarrhea that both had to be treated with metronidazole. In this process comes the problem, on one of those visits my vet discovered her spleen was enlarged. confirmed by xray, no masses just enlargement. In process of having her thyroid checked by a 3 panel test as I think the vet is going in the direction of a low thyroid causing multiple ear/skin infections which in turn is enlarging the spleen. I did check with previous owner and she has had skin/ear infections in past, treated by Keflex and allergy shot but never confirmed as to why. Vet stated she has little confidence at this point it could be cancer, but possible. we are embarking on finding out why her spleen is enlarged… My question is has anyone had a similar situation and or what do you think will be the outcome? Also if this does play out as a thyroid issue, given proper treatment will the spleen return to healthy size or will it need to be removed? I am aware of the possibility of hemangiosarcoma and do know what that outcome would most likely be.
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Our 4 year old Sheltie who frequently suffers from skin allergies has very sore front paw pads from licking them frequently. He takes prescribed apoquel and we supplement with benadryl as needed. I have not seen him licking his paws for a while but he has a visible limp on one paw when walking. I have looked at his paw pad and while it looks very rough and chapped I don’t see any visible cuts or wounds. In addition to the medications mentioned we have purchased dog booties for him when walking him and are applying an all natural paw butter. I’m just wondering what else we can do to help his paws heal short of putting a cone on him, as I don’t think he’s licking them currently? Thanks for any suggestions.
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Hi,
I only noticed this bump under Beasley’s nose few weeks ago. It is steadily growing. Doctor thinks it is a skin granuloma, gave him antibiotics and steroids for the past week. Hasn’t helped I went back and looked at pictures, looks like it started mid August, after a trip to the beach. I can’t keep him from licking the spot, anything we put on it, he licks more to get it of.
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When we get home my dog loves and licks and jumps over all of us but no matter how hard my youngest child tries to hig him etc he just ingnores her
I’m sorry, but this really sounds very serious- potential blockage which can be life threatening. I do not know what vet you use, but they may work with you payment -wise and should have some sort of protocol in place regarding corona virus. Please get to a vet asap
Hello, this sounds like a pyometra. Is she spayed? Please see a vet immediately! Im sorry but this should be considered an emergency. Please reach out to family, friends and rescues for help..
https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2016/05/pyometra-emergency-saving-your-pets.html