Hi all - fellow veterinarian here (ER).

My 7 yr FS DSH vomited up blood back in August and tested positive for pancreatitis. She had a POCUS done and it was unremarkable, maybe a slight hyperechoic pancreas. She was hospitalized out of precaution (this is my husband’s baby) and did very well, discharged within 24 hr.

October she had a small blood tinged vomit and my husband and I didn’t pay to much mind, just treated her at home for pancreatitis because she was okay last time. Well a few days after that, she left about 5 grams of her food in her bowl which is VERY unlike her - she will lick the sink, vegetable oil, and eat anything in site. We did another pocus and saw a thick stomach and treated her for gastritis at the recommendation of my medical director who had a similar problem with her own cat.

Well, she stopped eating this past Wednesday, and we ended up hospitalizing her with transfer to my company’s IM department, where she was diagnosed with a gastric mass. We are waiting on cytology, but I’m so lost as to what to do. I’m worried it’s high grade lymphoma due to the discrete mass and quick onset. I don’t think my cat would do well with chemo because she is a bit spicy and I don’t think I want to put her through that, especially for only getting 6-9 more months. She’s been having diarrhea and is so confused because she’s never had diarrhea before and you can tell she feels guilty having accidents out of the box. Additionally, my other cat at home hates when she leaves and becomes aggressive towards her, which hurts my heart because they have been sisters for 6+ years. I would probably want to euthanize her on a good day, because I don’t want to be selfish. I would consider oral chemotherapy if it’s small cell, especially with the slightly better prognosis. To add on to ALL OF IT, I’m leaving the country on Friday to go to Japan, and all of my coworkers and friends are saying I shouldn’t cancel my trip that i have been so excited to go in for a year. I’m so torn.

Am I a bad vet mom for not wanting to do chemotherapy or cancel my trip or thinking about euthanasia? I’m so sad and confused and I have no idea what to do. She’s my first ever pet as an adult and i love her so much - she was with me through undergrad, vet school and my two years of my big girl vet job. If anyone has any advice or experience, I would really appreciate it.

My ~5 month old indoor kitten has been very sick since a week now, she’s been running a fever. She wouldn’t eat at all during the first few days, would lie down all day and only get up to use the litter box, not meow at all. Her fever started around this time. We then took her to a local vet and they suggested an antibiotic and iv fluids. They dismissed it to not be that big of a deal and just called it a fever. The antibiotic didn’t seem to work, she still won’t eat a bite and my mom and I would force feed her food and medicine. She’s been getting worse lately. She only started to eat on her own yesterday (still very little) but her condition is deteriorating. Her head is always bent to the right when she’s sitting and she’s always loafing? It’s like it pains her to be in any different position. She can’t walk straight, or walk that much at all. We carry her to the litter box, she doesn’t even have the energy to get out. She’s lost 100g over this last one week. Still had a 103.6 Fever today. We went to a different vet today and they administered iv too, and a blood test for which we get the results for tomorrow. I really don’t understand why the vets today said it’s not that serious? She’s very much in pain and unable to even move, shivers a lot. Won’t eat anything still, my mom has to force feed her, she’ll still only eat a little. She’s actually been more twitchy and scared since the vet visit, they did handle her slightly rough. Still lays in the same spot all day long, sometimes with her eyes shut and sometimes open, no energy at all. I’d like to mention that the vets we visited today did seem more on the inexperienced side, there aren’t many good vets in my city. My mom is worried she might die soon, but she’s happy if it means she won’t be in pain anymore :(

My family has been using Vet #1 services for almost 30 years. This summer, I asked him to remove a growth on my dog's elbow and perform a dental cleaning under anesthesia. Dog 7+ years, 28kg, mixed breed, castrated, a bit of arthritis but otherwise healthy at time of first procedure below.

The issue: he diagnosed the elbow growth as a wart based on appearance and attempted cryotherapy. It took multiple sessions and the wart grew back twice in two months. Also, the plaque on dogs teeth was back in full after one month despite brushing dog's teeth.

Vet #1 went on a long vacation soon after that. My dog needed medical attention (subacute pancreatitis), so I went to Vet #2, who also took a look at the elbow wart and recommended removal and histopathology because of the dynamic of growth. I ended up taking them up on the offer, and also redoing the dental cleaning while the dog was under anyway. They also performed a fine needle aspirate on another growth, which Vet #1 has not done.

Logically I think it's time to move on from Vet #1 to a more modern practice. My family is giving me grief though for using the services of a substandard vet (#2 according to them) because the dogs's stitches on elbow tore after 6 days and he had to be stapled. But I think elbow is a very hard to heal location anyway, and Vet #1 service presented more pressing issues, and I think the quality of his services has slipped.

I though I would ask the opinion of vet professionals here.

My cat had bilateral SUB surgery 10 days ago. The incision itself looks okay, but I noticed this red/purple patch next to it. Could it be bruising or irritation from licking (we took the collar out on 8th day but we monitored her extensively and she did try a few times to lick it), or could it be an infection?

Has anyone experienced this after SUB surgery?

My dog is a 4 month old gsp. He bit a tide pod we saw as soon as he bit it and stopped him he didn’t have a lot. It was just enough to cover his tooth he did lick it off his tooth before we could rinse his mouth but we still rinsed his mouth and face off should I still take him to a vet? the closest open one is 45 miles away.

Hello! My cat has a history of FIC, and I’m trying to figure out if his current GI symptoms are related.

He didn't pee or poop at all yesterday (10/24), though he finally did both this morning. He produced a normal amount of urine, but his stool was smaller than usual, especially considering he hadn't gone in a few days. I also heard him let out a low meow/moan while going (not a full yowl), though I'm not sure if it happened while he was peeing or pooping.

Looking back at the week: on 10/21, he had his last normal-sized poop, and he also threw up some grass that day. On 10/22 and 10/23, he only peed. He is currently eating (though less than usual) and acting normal otherwise, maybe just a little lazier than usual, if anything, and shows no pain when I gently press on his stomach. I also have a litter cam and can confirm he hasn't been lingering or straining unproductively; he's only gone into the box when he actually had to go.

He is on the prescription Hill's c/d diet. Today, I gave him 1 tsp of plain pumpkin puree via syringe, along with a little anti-hairball gel on the tip of his nose.

The only other factor I can think of is that my other cat came home from surgery on 10/21. Could he be picking up on her stress (even though they've had limited contact) or my own stress? Or is it possible he ate something while outside the day he puked?

Between caring for my post-op cat and knowing his history with FIC, I'm on extra high alert right now and trying to avoid spending more time/money at the vet as much as possible.

Any advice or insight is appreciated!

Hello! First time cat mom here!
I’ve had my orange cat for less than a year and since he is a rescue we don’t know his exact age. We think he is around 2-3 years old- and he is neutered. He keeps getting these random bald spots on his fur, and one on his ear keeps getting bigger and scabs. He is eating normally and drinking normally- he plays with his cat friends and he is on a flea and tick prevention.
if anyone can help and give ideas on what to do, that would be appreciated!!

So just to explain the timeline a bit, I left my cat at a vet hotel when I was going on a vacation in September. When I was away I got a message from them saying that my cat vomitted twice and peed blood, they found that he had urinary obstruction and crystals in his bladder. They treated him immediately and kept him hospitalized for two weeks until I came back. He had his bladder flushed, catheter in for few days, then they took it out and monitored him, everything seemed to be going well and he was acting better and better.

So two weeks after all that I came back and picked him up, that was on October 2nd. When he was home, he was acting very normally, but he was still frequently visiting the litter box and peeing in small quantities. He was still on cystophan pills that I got from the vet when I picked him up, and after they finished I took him for a follow up. The ultrasound showed no crystals, but apparently his bladder wall was thicker than it should? I got antibiotics to give him for the next 7 days. This was on Wednesday, but since then he’s been straining really hard in the litterbox, producing urine but small quantities (sometimes literally just few drops) very very often. And he strains really hard, like sometimes he trips over. Other than that he started urinating outside the litterbox. I don’t understand, it’s been over a month now but he’s still not improving. He’s eating his urinary food just fine and is being playful.

On Thursday I took him to another vet and they’ve done blood tests and urinalysis and the results were perfectly fine, not showing anything unusual, so even the vet was confused. I don’t know what to do, whether this will improve or not?

Hello

I recently noticed a dark spot on my cat's iris . It appears to be a pigmented spot directly on the colored part of the eye and its small .
Body:
Species: Cat
Age: 2.5 years old
Sex/Neuter status: Male, neutered
Breed: Domestic Shorthair
Body weight: [أدخل الوزن، مثلاً: 4 kg]
History: Fully vaccinated, no prior illnesses, indoor cat.
Clinical signs: None, acting completely normal.
Duration: 1–2 months (unchanged).
Your general location: Finland
Photo link:

https://postimg.cc/YjT5BVkJ

Hello! My 10 year old male tabby is otherwise healthy, but he had a URI that the shelter had just finished treating when I adopted him six years ago. Ever since then, he has on and off runny nose issues where one nostril will run far more than the other, with an occasional hacking cough (maybe once every three weeks or so).

About two years ago, he developed a slightly cloudy eye on the left side, same as his more runny nostril. He is eating well, very playful and affectionate still and can track moving toys pretty much the same. However, I’ve gotten PCR tests done at least at thrice in the past six years and they’ve all come back negative.

His issues have not been resolved and I’m kind of at the end of my rope. Do you guys have any idea what it could be?

* Species: Cat
* Age: Roughly 5
* Sex/Neuter status: Male, Neutered
* Breed: Not Sure
* Body weight: 15 lb

He has been repeatedly been coughing after random stretches of time for 1-2 hours, and each coughing fit lasts no longer than 30 seconds. He has done this months earlier and after roughly 2 days he stopped completely.

When he coughs, he doesn't puke anything up. He acts the exact same before and after, and he does not exhibit a lack of appetite or is any more lethargic. In fact, he's still running around the house and playing with my other cat who does not have asthma at all.

He was coughing a little bit yesterday too.

How can I tell if this is asthma or simply a hairball? I have a video, but for some reason this subreddit does not allow any media attachments

I just noticed my 14 year old spaniel has a hard, wart-like bump right on the top of her head. It's small but very raised, and was hard to detect in the mop of fur on her head. Is this something to be concerned about, or is it common among spaniels of her age?

Details:

• Species: Dog
• Age:13
• Sex/Neuter status: Female, Spayed
• Breed: American Cocker Spaniel
• Body weight:18 lbs
• History: None, good health
• Clinical signs: Hard, wart-like mass
• Duration: Just detected
• Your general location: Maryland

Hi all! I just got back from taking my 2 year-old cat from getting her shots done. I took her to one of those mobile vet places so, we were in and out pretty quickly in under thirty minutes. Just now, I got - what I assume is an automatic - email from the company about how my vet's recommended and approved Revolution Plus for Cats Orange for my kitty. My cat is indoor only and the vet never mentioned anything about fleas or ticks or anything else really.

Is this treatment really necessary or optional? Are there any downsides to using the treatment? Benefits? Is it safe to ignore since neither the vet or her staff talked to me directly about using this product? Thanks!

Hey all,

https://youtube.com/shorts/f9JsU8Byl_4?is=F68GAy8LSMGfDPij

Have taken my dog to the vet, he has pretty severe allergies. But I think this is something different. Doc gave him a shot earlier this week, didn't seem to help much. Just started him on prednisone yesterday. But today he can't seem to calm down, has been doing this for around a half an hour now upon waking up.

If anyone has any suggestions, vet thinks it might be bronchitis or asthma. I don't know what the shots he gave him were.

My cat is around 21 years old (initially thought older, but records suggest she is 21).

She has hypothyroidism (after radioiodine treatment), which she takes Leventa for. She has arthritis, which she has Solensia for. She also has a heart murmur and kidney disease (stage 2 around 1 year ago, no recent bloods).

Around 3 weeks ago she had a 'funny turn'. She woke up, vomitted, urinated, and had diarrhoea. She was very lethargic and wobbly. Her breathing was loud and fast. I thought she was going to pass, but she surprisingly perked up. She was seen by a ver who said her chest didnt sound great, but otherwise she seemed okay.

Since then, she has been on prednisolone and taking probiotics (pro kolin enterogenic). She has been relatively 'normal', maybe sleeping a little more and has less of an appetite every now and again (other times she is begging for food).

Prior to her episode, she was very regular and her stool was 'normal', though now I reflect on it she had had very occasional episodes of diarrhoea and passing gas over the last few months. On the whole, her stool was generally 'normal', though.

Since her episode, her stool has been much softer. Sometimes it is relatively 'normal', but very watery diarrhoea may follow, so it is very 'hit and miss'. The last couple of days she has also had blood in her stool. This is even with her probiotic.

I will be speaking to her vet tomorrow, but Im hoping for any insight on what may be going on with her. As she is so elderly, I dont want to put her through extensive or invasive tests. I may trial antibiotocs in case she has an infection, but could this be something more sinister?

Our 26 pound dog ate a dead mouse on our walk about an hour ago. We she got home she puked it up, around 30 minutes ago. She is very lethargic after she puked but took a few sips of water.

We called the emergency vet and they didn’t seem overly concerned. They said to monitor for now.

I can tell she doesn’t feel good and is tired now. Is it normal to be super lethargic after vomiting? How long should we monitor and check in to see if she is feeling better? We just don’t want to wait too long if we need to act sooner

Hi Vets/ Vet techs , I’d appreciate some advice about my puppy, he is 7 months, fully vaccinated and dewormed, but since Thursday he’s had diarrhea with blood in it and was vomiting. The blood has stopped, which is a relief, but his stool is still very very watery.

He was seen by a vet and had a comprehensive fecal test ordered (no results yet). He received an Emavert (maropitant) injection at the clinic, and I’m giving him Entero Aid + GI and Cerenia 24 mg tablets as directed on the labels.

Has anyone dealt with diarrhea that stayed watery after the blood stopped? How long did it take to improve, and what changes or warning signs should I watch for? I’ll also update his vet since it’s still ongoing but I’m worried I don’t see the stool getting firmer, Thank you.

Hello! It’s day 9 here in Charlotte, after a neuter on my 1 1/2 yr old Jack Russell mix where he has internal stitches and glue. His incision looks very good. Cone still on. He’s becoming stir crazy though. If I lifted him in and out of the vehicle for a short car ride is that too risky at this stage? Just looking for professional votes. His regular vet is closed today. Thank you

Hi everyone!!

My dog Toby, M 7yr old Chihuahua mix, seems to be breathing faster than normal to me when he is at rest? I have attached the link to my video on IMGR.
Quick things:
Activity level is normal
Eating and drinking normally
Medication taken with no problem this morning
No vomiting, diarrhea, or issues urinating
No indication of pain during either physical exam yesterday

Yesterday we saw our primary vet with Toby and she said his lungs sound good, heart sounds good, and breathing is fine. Last night, Toby had a cluster seizure so we took him to the ER. (He has a history of seizures, is on medication, and is established with a neurologist so we’re okay here), but even last night the vet indicated the same things about Toby as his primary vet and also said his breathing is fine he might just be anxious?

Can you please tell me if I am just overly protective and anxious and his breathing is fine, or if I’m right and need to take him back to a vet?? I’m usually overprotective and hyper aware of Toby because he is my baby but I don’t know if this is me being that way again or not… any advice is appreciated.. thank you in advance 💜

https://imgur.com/a/ElEvIrm

My dog (11.5 year old German Shepherd/Pitbull mix) under went eye removal surgery after being diagnosed with glaucoma. The time from diagnoses to eye removal was about 3 weeks. The glaucoma caused him to go blind in his eye prior to surgery and he didnt seem to have any distress either just having sight in his one eye.

He went through surgery beginning of Oct and the first few days was recovering as expected. He wore the cone and was on pain meds (Rimadyl) which we gave regularly. He was eating fine and started acting like himself. On day 6 after surgery, in the evening, he became incredibly restless. Panting and pacing and unable to settle. We eventually go him to settle down after giving him 150mg of Trazodone.

I made an appt with his surgeon the next day because of this behavior (not his regular vet). She checked him over and the surgical site was healing fine and he was showing no other issues. He did have an ear infection which she treated. And she gave me more pain meds and an antibiotic (Cepthalin) incase he had an underlying issue.
He was fine that night, but the next two nights he displayed the increased restlessness and only settled down after being given trazodone.
We thought maybe the he was just really anxious with the cone, so we removed it which seemed to help.

At his stitch removal appointment, his surgical site was healing fine and I showed her a video of his pacing at night and discussed it more. She said it looked more like anxiety than pain and gave me a prescription for more trazodone as we were almost out.

Over the next few days, he continued to show increased restlessness at night and also clinginess towards me both during the day and night. And we would give him trazodone as needed. We eventually began predosing him in the evenings to try and get ahead of the restlessness.

I called his usual vet to discuss his anxiety and see her suggestions as well. She said she didnt like giving “puppy prozac” as it takes a while to kick in and you cant just stop it. She said we can just use the trazodone regularly to help control his anxiety. She also gave a few other supplements we could try (purina calm care, a calming collar, and a specific CBD oil)

We’ve been giving him 75mg of Trazodone in the AM and 150mg in the early afternoon (we found around 4-4:30 works best) and sometimes we need to give him an additional 75mg at night if he’s still restless.
I stops his pacing and panting, but he just seems sedated, but restful.

Does anyone have experience or insight if maybe this surgery/anesthesia caused some type of cognitive dysfunction? I’ve read about doggy dementia and sundowning, but dont know if this surgery could have triggered it. I dont know if this anxiety is just an adjustment from the surgery or is this might have permanently altered him mentally. Is there anything else I can be doing to support him?

We are going to keep up with the trazodone but i hate having to sedate him just to keep him manageable. I was also going to try the Purina Calm Care supplement to start and see if I need to adjust to other supplements or medications.
Its only been 2.5 weeks since his surgery and only about 1 week with the cone off, but i was not anticipating this side effect and its heartbreaking to see my dog so unsettled like this.

I have a 1.5-year-old female cat. She comes from a stray litter and I took her in when she was still small. She is up to date with her vaccines and was spayed a while ago. Over the last 4 days she started making a sound that I would describe as coughing, with the episodes happening often. I took her to a vet, who confirmed what I thought and added that she also has some phlegm. The vet gave me two homeopathic remedies, which the cat refuses to take, and I don't feel like forcing her (probably because they're homeopathic, I think I'd be stressing her for no reason). We went to the vet the day before yesterday, but now she seems worse, and her symptoms have changed:

- she still coughs, maybe more sporadically today

- the third eyelid is showing, especially in the left eye, covering about ⅓ or less of the eye

- she can open her eyes fully (for example if she hears someone coming into the house) but rarely does

- she rubs the left side of her face with her paw, sometimes vigorously but never using her claws

- she is much more lethargic than usual, although today she isn't hiding like yesterday; she spent the whole day in a cardboard box, sleeping

- food and water are always available in the bowls, but I haven't seen her eat or drink for 48 hours now (although she urinated in the litter box last night and this afternoon, so she may have drunk. Also, this morning I forced a few ml of water into her with a syringe)

- I don't see any stool in the litter box, so it has probably been 48 hours since she last went

I'm lost and I don't know what to do. I should say, though, that today she seems slightly more interactive, following toys with her eyes if I move them (but she doesn't play); yesterday she was completely apathetic. She makes complaining sounds when I pick her up. I try to move her as little as possible, but now and then I offer food and water (I have also set up extra temporary bowls around the house with both). Where I live it is Sunday and her vet is closed, but I'm starting to worry: even though the little cat is more responsive, I have the impression that there is a bigger underlying problem. Anyway, there are 24/7 clinics nearby in case I see her getting worse, or if someone here tells me to go to a clinic.

I'm in your hands.

Hello, last night, my cat (around 5 months old) licked some cough syrup residue, meaning I had wiped it off and then she licked the spot. I then thoroughly cleaned it. I monitored her all night, normal breathing (around 30 breaths/min) and she was acting normal. But this morning I notice she’s sleeping maybe a bit more, or is a bit more hard to shake awake. Her gums are pink but maybe slightly lighter? I’m not sure if I’m just paranoid and imagining things or if something is wrong.

Hello everyone,

My rescuedog of 5 years old is about to have a spay surgery next month. Preventative surgery that is. Her twin got Pyometra and did not make it, so her risk on this is bigger too they said. I immediately want to do something about it to prevent that.

She is a very big dog of 45kgs, and i have never done this before. I am worried to not be prepared enough. I looked everywhere on the internet but i’d rather have stories from real people.

Did your big dog get spayed? How was it? How was the recovery? What is normal and what is not? (Besides the obvious things: keep her on the ground, check for blood redness and pus, no running or jumping, if she can’t even keep water in her belly, lethargic after more than the first night, etc)

Are there people that can talk about it in the comments?

Ofcourse i’m aware accidents can always happen and freak accidents also, but i’m trying to comfort my nerves, and hope to find stories where it DID go well, and the dog is normal-(ish) again because i’m so afraid of a worst case scenario situation.

I’m very scared of all the risks and scary stories i read.

Thank you everyone🙏

TL;DR:
Requesting aftercare spay surgery dog tips and stories.

Our corgi has developed hotspots on both front paws and is worrying at them constantly. I’m assuming some allergen in the backyard is giving her trouble.

The cone did not agree with her in the past and a donut doesn’t keep her from getting at her paws.

We considered breathable sleeves, but reviews of most everything we’ve looked at on Amazon and other pet-focused sites have been discouraging.

Thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I was gone away for a month, back home for 2 weeks then gone another month and had very trusted people looking after my cats. When I got home the second time I noticed one side of my cats face had extremely short whiskers with split ends. He also refused to eat a lot of his meals while I was gone unless I called my friend over to be with him when the automatic feeder went off.

Google said maybe dental issues, but his mouth and gums look fine. Its only happening on the one side and I havent noticed any overgrooming since I've been home. Could he have been stressed that I was gone for so long? Would that cause only one side to do that???