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Katherine | 3 weeks ago
My Senior, Male, Neutered, Diabetic Nebelung Cat Is Experiencing Constipation, I Had Recently Slowly Changed His …

My senior, male, neutered, diabetic nebelung cat is experiencing constipation, I had recently slowly changed his diet to a raw based diet from royal Canon diabetic pouches,, as i was put off from the vet scientific diabetic diets in the end due to one day reading the ingredients and seeing that my cat was needing something more or potentially he was lacking something, I say this as he was starting to mirander outside like a Billy goat eating all the graass that he could in our backyard. Coincidently, Boof started flickng his head and scratching at his ears, the next day after noticing his discomfort and that he still hadn’t defecate (day 3) i took him to a neighboring vet as our usual vet was fully booked out, I could see crusty brown specs in his ear and a discharge, the vet I took him to gave, me pmp drops to administer 3 drops per ear twice daily for 7 days. She didn’t want to try to much else due to him being a diabetic and also a new patient,
One day later when I was cleaning boofs bedding a spider
Like bug had come out onto our carpet,
I took a photo of it,
It’s definitely some type of tick not sure if it cpmr from out of his ear or if it has anything to do with his constipation.
Boofs appetite has been great this whole time aswel.
Although after eating I have noticed him somewhat whining ND groverling like his pain 🙁
He also vomited twice after having dinner. (biley foaming substance liquid)
On day 5 I took vet into out normal vet who assessed him, she gave him a 24hour anti nausea injection, and assessed him, she said to resume giving lactolose maybe a little bit more and aswel with the subcut fluids,

And still nothing,….

The vet called today to see how Boof was I explained to her that he wants to go to the toilet but just can’t, and his looking pretty squeamish again,
She explained to me that because of it being 6days now with no bowel movements that it can get Boof pretty sick potentially, she explained that instead of taking a stab in the dark and guess that they would breed to take xrays ect bloods and mannualyl remove all feces that’s stuck in him and it would cost $800. Due to Christmas coming up and the overall rise in the cost of living and the renting crisis here, I am just stuck for money at the moment that kills me to say, I have tried vet pay with. No luck…

Is there anything I can try at home please, it’s not at all a situation where I don’t want to pay anyone, it’s by far the opposite and I’m hoping that a friend of family member will reply to me after asking for a lend, which I never do, and I never would expect or be suprised if anyone can help,
My boy means so much to me,
I just gave Boof a 5ml enema of lactulose and more subcut fluids
Is there anything more that I can do please 🙁 🙁

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
    In my experience constipation in cats is always secondary to something else. And in fact very few are actually constipated. It is absolutely imperative that someone competent palpate your cats abdomen or take an Xray to confirm the constipation before you treat for it. People always think it’s constipation and it’s usually poor dietary intake, cachexia or poor muscle mass and usually a few other things.
    Constipation in cats feels like a colon full of hard distended feces. This should be confirmed by a rectal exam. The problem with getting this diagnosis incorrect is that all of the things you try to treat it will make everything else inherently worse. Do not give your cat anything until you confirm this and figure out why it happened.

    My guess might be you don’t have the diabetes adequately controlled and therefore you are losing muscle mass. This includes the gi tract which can no longer push feces out of the body.

    Please find a vet you trust for your cats care.

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Pam | 6 months ago
I Could Really Use Some Advice About My 7 Year Old Cat, Squeak. I Posted A Comment …

I could really use some advice about my 7 year old cat, Squeak. I posted a comment on Dr. Magnifico’s YouTube video about a cat named Bear that had ear polyp surgery but thought I’d post here, too. I am an emotional wreck right now because yesterday morning I got some very bad news regarding Squeak’s cytology results from a FNA that was done at a specialty hospital. Sadly, my poor boy was diagnosed with malignant melanoma for the 3rd time in two years! I’m heartbroken… The trouble started at the end of December 2022 when I noticed a small lump on his right pinna. My primary vet did a lumpectomy and sent it off to be evaluated. Came back malignant melanoma. Excision was complete with clean but narrow margins. All was well until September 2023 when I found another lump at the base of the same ear. My vet advised me to go for a consultation with an oncologist and it was recommended that Squeak get a TECA-BO done. I was told that this procedure can be “curative” in some cases. The cost was astronomical but I wanted to do the best for my cat. He means the world to me! I began calling specialty vet hospitals to schedule the surgery as soon as possible but none near me were able to fit Squeak in. I finally found one in Pennsylvania and made an appointment for a surgical consultation. The surgery was done on September 25. My boy was a real trooper and recovered well. He did lose the blink reflex in his right eye but it resolved in about 2 weeks with me putting moisturizing drops in his eye daily. I was thrilled with Squeak’s progress and I thought we might have won the fight even though there was no guarantee that he’d be out of the woods now. I had to take money out of my retirement savings to pay for this surgery (it was actually more than $10,000!!) but it was worth it to save my cat’s life. Recently, I noticed that Squeak had been shaking his head and scratching where his incision was. I had an appointment scheduled with my regular vet for a checkup and to get some chest x-rays to make sure all was well. While there, I mentioned about the scratching and head shaking and asked if maybe it was scar tissue causing the reaction. My vet wasn’t concerned and just said “Maybe he feels something.” X-rays were clear and showed nothing concerning. I was told to come back for a recheck in 6 months. However, the symptoms gradually became more frequent and I brought Squeak back to the vet. This time, thinking it might be an infection of some kind, he prescribed Baytril and prednisolone for a course of 2 weeks. There was no improvement and this was very concerning for both the vet and myself. He said that it would be beneficial to get a CT scan to find out what we were dealing with. I was beginning to panic because I had a feeling where all this was leading. I took Squeak to the same hospital where he had his oncology consult. He was examined by a veterinary surgeon first and she did a FNA . Unfortunately, the CT scan could not be done because their machine went down. I got the cytology report yesterday morning. The pathologist’s interpretation was “Lymphocytic proliferation and many atypical multinucleated cells; suspicious for lymph node with metastatic amelanotic melanoma.” The vet that did the FNA said she would consult with an oncologist and get back to me with options for “treatment”. Surgery, radiation and/or chemo was mentioned . Meanwhile, I have been scouring the internet for any information I can get to help me make the right decision about what to do next. I have also posted on numerous cat health forums but only got one response from a vet in Virginia. He said that radiation would be recommended if there was a concern about margins but chemo would not be a good choice for this kind of cancer. He wanted me to keep him posted so I told him about the cytology results. I have not heard back from him yet. Can I please ask for your opinion about all this? I posted this in hopes that Dr. Magnifico would see it because she has done a similar type of surgery for a cat. Can anyone give me some guidance about how I should proceed? I will be discussing this on Monday with my regular vet after he reviews the report that was sent to him. I know I should just calm down but I’m basically a mess! Any information about a way to extend Squeak’s life and keep him comfortable would be SO much appreciated. Thank you!

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    I apologize for the delay. This case is likely too complicated and difficult to provide much assistance via text.

    In all of these cases I think it is best to contact as many local rescues and pet care providers as possible. This might mean reaching out to your local shelter and veterinary college. You can also start a go fund me page. Post on all social media accounts and personal accounts. Start with general practice vet who the rescues recommend. Give them a realistic budget for you. Ask about payment plans and payment plan companies like care credit or vetbilling.com. There are places to help. Keep trying and keep asking.

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Ramin | 7 months ago
Need Second Opinion. Our Cat Shows All Of The Signs Of A Nasopharyngeal Polyp.

Hi Dr. Magnifico,

Our adopted cat (former stray cat, now 100% indoor) has always shown all of the signs of a nasopharyngeal polyp (about 4 years now). I didn’t know what it was until I saw videos of cats with similar breathing noises and eventually saw your YouTube polypectomy videos.

Three short videos of his breathing sounds (turn up your volume) follow:



Called our vet for a surgeon referral, but they’ll only refer for a CT scan ($2000) before they’ll refer to a surgeon. Surgeon’s websites all indicate that they will only accept appointments by referral from a general Vet, so I can’t just make an appointment for examination by a surgeon (which I’m happy to pay for).

Bottom line, looking for a second-opinion / consult (happy to pay!) on whether it’s really necessary to do a $2000 CT scan *before* being referred to a surgeon for (a probably $2000) surgery. I’d rather just have a surgeon put the cat under anesthesia, go in, look for the polyp, and remove it if they see one. Happy to pay $2000 for just that surgery, even if it turns out there’s no polyp.

Thank you in advance for any response.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. You are not alone. I know that a lot of people are in the same position that you are.
    I am not sure how vetmed got to this place. I am not sure why so few veterinarians are willing to go and look for a polyp that if it continues to grow will kill, by suffocation, its host.
    The idea that every single one of these cats needs a CT is incorrect. What every single one of these cats is is to breathe. Some of these cats will have polyps in places that we may not be able to get our hands on,, these cases may need a special scope to access. For this reason the price of care may increase.,, but for all of the cats I have seen I think I have given them a second chance at breathing, and a second chance at life.
    Call every vet in your area. Try every single veterinary practice that is single doctor (therefore privately owned) and every practice that has some old guy (or girl) working there. I promise that every veterinarian over 50 knows how to, and already has experience with this. They can help.

    If you cannot find anyone please come find me.
    I will do my best to help.

    Dr Magnifico

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Tash | 1 year ago
Our Cat Has What We Believed To Be An Abscess On His Cheek. Initially He Was …

Our cat has what we believed to be an abscess on his cheek. Initially he was struggling with scabs and itching under the skin, some sort of a skin condition, so we switched him to prescription food. Hasn’t changed anything. He had a scab on his cheek and kept scratching it, until it started to bleed. A lot. We took him to the vet, he was put on steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help…it did slightly, but the wound from picking at his scab started to get bigger. He is relentless with trying to scratch it. So now he’s been wearing a cone..the wound site has turned into a ball. It’s a bald spot and it slowly got bigger over time. It’s warm to the touch. We took him to a different vet. Says it’s too hard to determine what it could be and referred us to a dermatologist. Derm says likely could be cancer and it’s a mass…..even though we have explained how it all started. He is quoting us $5k to remove the mass and test for cancer. We are thinking it’s just an infection that is stuck under the skin….last vet tried poking it and draining it, but there was no puss, only blood. What could this be? We are worried but stil have a feeling it could just be an infection. Maybe he wasn’t on antibiotics long enough? Do we just proceed with this surgery?

2 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I think there are options before you spend that kind of money. You can ask about doing a culture of the area to see if there is a better antibiotic option. Or find someone who can surgically remove the lesion for a more affordable price.

    That’s where I would start.

  2. Shiria

    How is he doing? This heavily reminds me of a kitten, that developed cancer on his ear at the age of 4 months. It started with a tiny sratch, that scabbed over. We though maybe he’d played to rough with his littermates. But it started swelling, was red and incrediby itchy. He would sratch at it whenever he could. So at first we also tought abscess, so he was also on antibiotics and cortisone I think and of course he had to carry a cone. But it only helped a little.
    We took a biopsy, which showed a mast cell tumor. These produce histamines, hence the itchiness. As it was very small and on his outer ears removement was rather easy.

    I can imagine that with this size and lacement on your cat it will be harder to remove it if neccessary.

    So… sdditionally to a culture I would maybe do a biopsy?

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Erin | 2 years ago
7 Year Old Female Beagle With A History Of Allergic Reactions (bee Stings, Environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)…

7 year old female beagle with a history of allergic reactions (bee stings, environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)- started to exhibit serious scratching and head shaking. I have a cone at home so I used that to deter the scratching and head shaking. I also tried these “allergy aid” treats (picture attached), and /or Benadryl to try and calm down the allergic response.
She was starting to get small hives on her head and one of her ears was swelling . She’s had the ear hematomas before in both ears, and the hives before in her head and back.
I was worried it may be fleas or ticks with the smaller hives, so I did the topical flea &tick K9 Advantix with no improvement.
I also gave her a bath two days ago with her mild oatmeal shampoo, and gave her a good scrub just in case there were any mites or critters.
My other half said she threw up yesterday when I was out and had some anal leakage? And now she is not eating- she didn’t poop today when I took her out, instead she peed, did her usual walk around and then just sat down like she was uncomfortable. So I am wondering if she’s constipated and that is why she’s not eating.

2 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    What advice has your veterinarian given you. ? It seems like there are lots of options for you they should be offering.

    I think it’s a good idea to start with them. If you are worried about a budget be honest with them. They should be able to offer lots of things to try after they confirm it is allergies. These cases always start with a thorough discussion of history and a list of things to try. Some are over the counter and others are more expensive like apoquel or cytopoint.

    I hope this helps.

  2. Erin Post author

    Thanks Dr Magnifico. My dog is actually a current patient at Jarrettsville Vet and I plan on calling tomorrow to make an appointment. I called today but with the holiday they are closed. Totally understandable.
    We have some medicine from her bad reaction last summer, but I was worried to try those because I am not 100% sure what the cause of her symptoms are this time around.
    Only one of her ears is swollen this time, so I am curious if it’s an infection- but no foul smell or odd colors. Definitely red & swollen though.
    I was mostly concerned about her not eating. Thank you for the advice, again I plan on calling the office tomorrow to hopefully get an appointment if there’s been no improvement.

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Emma | 2 years ago
Male Himalayan Cat Eyes Swollen And Red And Ears Itchy

Male Himalayan cat eyes swollen and red and ears itchy
I have A male himilayan who seems to be having an allergic reaction to something but I’m not sure if it’s a reaction or something else. His eye lids are swollen red and puffy and he keeps scratching his ears till they bleed. My vet told me to open the windows and air out the house which I did For 7 hours and it has gone down a bit but he still looks uncomfortable. It has been on and off for the past week of getting puffy and there was a wall diffuser my mother in law kept plugging in and when it was unplugged it got better but then she’d plug it in again. It has now been removed for good and it’s been almost 12 hours and he’s still puffy. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Nothing else has changed in the house that I can Think of for another cause of allergies or irritation. I am Trying to get him into a vet tomorrow.

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Eyes are one of those things that absolutely have to be seen in person to assess. In some cases I need to stain the eye to look for corneal damage. In others I had to take ocular pressure. And in some we just try an ophthalmology antibiotic and an ecollar. For allergy cases I might send home an eye flush. But they are all based on the in person exam.

    See your vet as soon as you can and do not let your cat run her eyes. That can cause major cornea damage.

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Emily | 4 years ago
Strange Lump! Seroma?

Hi all! I hope someone on here might be able to shed some light on the mystery going on with our 6 month old male golden retriever. We got him at 10 weeks and kept him up to date with shots and all was fine, but about 6 weeks ago we started noticing a little bit of swelling in his front armpits (one side more pronounced than the other) we kept an eye on it and eventually brought him to the vet when it continued to grow. The vet did a needle aspiration and saw bacteria in the murky clear/slightly yellow fluid and prescribed antibiotics. We brought him to another vet a week later who suggested surgery to drain the fluid and tried that. The lump stayed down for a week while he was healing (on sedatives and antibiotics) but now it is starting to grow again! The idea of it being a seroma has been considered but no one can really nail down what is going on or why. His blood panel is completely normal, the biopsies from the fluid and tissue show no indicators of cancer, and the only strange thing was a high level of calcium in the fluid (there were more scientific terms used but I do not recall them)… he scratches at the lump pretty frequently but other than that he acts completely normal and healthy! We noticed that scratching tends to make it grow/become inflamed and if he leaves it alone, it will shrink down significantly… it is all so strange so if anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate it! Here are some pictures post-op if it helps at all! Thank you so much!

2 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    If it was a seroma it should have gone away and not returned. I would go to the vet and have it looked at. It might be time for a surgical exploration. I have seen this with infections (abscess), foreign bodies, neoplasia, etc.

    1. Emily Post author

      We did do surgery and the vet sampled the fluid and the tissue inside the area. The fluid was infected, so after she drained it she prescribed oral antibiotics. She said that it’s possible that he could be having an allergic reaction to something in his environment?

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Jessica | 4 years ago
My 4 Year Old Lab Has Chronic Ear Infections. We Have A Great System In Place (regular …

My 4 year old lab has chronic ear infections. We have a great system in place (regular ear cleanings, steroid drops during an infection, and anti inflammatory when it’s really bothersome to him) to try to stay ahead of them, and treat them from home when he has a flare up. Recently during a flare up (about 2 weeks ago) he developed a lump on the inside of his ear that I thought was a scab from scratching, but now I’m worried it could be some kind of skin cancer. Or is it just scar tissue and since it’s on the ear is a little more raised? Should I take him in to be seen for this or monitor it a little longer to see if it heals and goes away? It doesn’t seem to cause him any pain, he’s more concerned about his itchy ears.

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  1. Laura

    Hi there. Unfortunately it’s impossible to diagnose a lump or bump on the internet – the vet needs to actually touch it, feel it, etc. I wouldn’t freak out TOO much unless it starts to grow. In your situation I’d probably draw a circle around it (yes, on the ear itself) to monitor it, and I’d let the vet know what’s going on.

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Amber | 5 years ago
Hello! My Cat Chunk Has Been Recently Having Issues With His Front Paws For The Past 2 …

Hello!
my cat chunk has been recently having issues with his front paws for the past 2 months. It’s off and on and when I touch his paws he doesn’t wince or cry. He still uses the scratching pad with no issue, but he’s limping and he can no longer jump up on the bed as easily. I’m afraid he may have arthritis. What is a good supplement or something we can get to help him with his joints so he’s strong again! He’s not an elderly cat, I guess you could call him middle aged. Thank you! He’s about 15 lbs

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  1. Laura

    I think I’d start with a vet check. Medicating without diagnosis can be dangerous, and it’s possible he has an injury you can’t see.

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megan | 5 years ago
My Dog Had Had Red Skin And Was Constantly Biting And Scratching Himself And He Would …

my dog had had red skin and was constantly biting and scratching himself and he would get sores where he would scratch so much. He also had some dandruff. I read about it on google and thought it could be a food allergy so i changed his food a while ago and it got better super fast, but he’s still constantly scratching and rolling around and i’m not sure why. His fur is a bit dry and rough so i’m thinking it could be his fur scratching him, i’m not sure. Is there any products or anything at all you would recommend?

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    These clinical signs are too broad and vague to offer much help here. Please see a vet for help. This can be something simple like fleas or something difficult like an immune system disorder or organ issue. Please start with an examination at the vets office. And stop wasting time on the Internet. There aren’t answers here that are reliable without your vets help in pointing you in a credible direction. Ask friends and family for a vet they trust. Then start the Internet detective work.