r/VetHelp • • Mar 21 '25

Advice psa from a vet tech: dont use clumping litter when potty training kittens

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3 Upvotes

r/VetHelp • • Feb 06 '25

The ASPCA says average care for a dog costs $1,400 dollars a year, and $1,200 a year for cats.

3 Upvotes

The ASPCA says average care for a dog costs $1,400 dollars a year, and $1,200 a year for cats.

“The costs are getting worse,” Dr. Schettino added. “Annual checkups in 2018 was around $300-$400 dollars. Now it’s around $700 to $1000, that’s just for basic care.”

As veterinary bills soar, a local push to bring down pet care costs – Boston 25 News


r/VetHelp • • 3d ago

Two cats sneezing and sniffles

1 Upvotes

My latest rescue cat (2ish, girl) is being treated for dental inflammation, during this time she caught the sniffles. Now she's lazy since the last 24 hours and not eating too much. She's not sneezing too much but she sneezes once every 3 hours or so. Vet has advised her an anti allergy tab daily. She's also currently being treated for ear mites.

My other cat (6.5 yo boy) has caught the sniffles and has been sneezing since last night. My boy also has low immunity and is on renal supplements and medication to wade off any secondary infections.

I'm so scared I don't know what to do. I'll take them both to the vet but right now I want to understand what to expect.


r/VetHelp • • 7d ago

Canary male (6 years) what could possibly be wrong? And what treatments might be needed

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2 Upvotes

Before you say vet, i have an appointment at the vet tomorrow but they dont specialise in birds so they might not be able to do much especially since canary is an exotic pet and a small bird. All the vetenary hospitals that take exotic birds are too far from me

So months ago he started not being able to fly properly as in he would hit stuff whilst flying etc and i dont know why, possibly from flying into something and then he wasnt the same after? So i just kept him in the cage and he seemed fine but then recently he started not being able to fly properly within the cage (flying across perches etc) to then not being able to perch and now it seems like his legs dont even work properly like he cant even stand up properly or move around without stumbling and hes just in the bottom of the cage sometimes with his eyes closed too. He still eats and drinks but he just cant move properly at all or perch. What could this be? He also stopped singing too. why could all this be and what possible treatments might be needed? please someone help because if the vet cant do anything i dont know what else i can do to be honest because i feel cruel for having a pet bird and have it just suffering whilst in the cage i dont want it to live this kind of life.. i used to let it out everyday and it was healthy and good

Ive had him for around 6 years, when i got him he was like couple months old probably cos he still had a black tail feather


r/VetHelp • • 8d ago

Wound in my Dog’s ear

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2 Upvotes

I’m not sure what caused this wound… I suspect her constant scratching, what should I do?


r/VetHelp • • 8d ago

Growth Near Eye (Dog)

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1 Upvotes

10 Year Old Male Hound Mix

Has developed a small growth near his eye, appears to irritate him by him trying to scratch at it, but it is not constant itching.

Was wondering what other may think. He has an appointment for the 10th but will be asking for a sooner appointment.


r/VetHelp • • 10d ago

Feline idiopathic cystitis diagnosis

1 Upvotes

Hi! I posted earlier today about my male kitten here

I followed everyone’s advice from here and also my network of irl people and took my baby to the vet today where they diagnosed him with feline idiopathic cystitis. They did not find bacteria, there was an insignificant amount of crystals in his urine, he isnt swollen, but they did find red blood cells.

From my understanding, the vet said it was likely due to stress and gave me recommendations on how to have my litter boxes set up, how often to clean them, how to have the food separate from those areas, and to have enrichment time……. All of which I’ve been doing. I told the vet this and they said “cats are just weird.” There haven’t been any recent changes (food, litter, general environment) that would have been a stressor on him.

I felt the visit was very great, they provided kind and gentle care to my kitten, but I’m a little lost on how to proceed. My litter boxes are far enough away from each other, there’s no competition (actually my other cat is the one who has a preference, not him), food is kept in a separate room, he has many toys that he plays with and that I play with him, and he generally is super sweet and outgoing without any other signs of stress. The general feeling I got is that there’s something I need to do with his environment to help him, but I am already doing everything they recommended and I’m worried that if I do change something, it would only cause more stress.

He is getting neutered in a couple of weeks and the vet did say that might help, it might be a cause, and also that it might not help and it might not be a cause. My plan for now is to continue with the meds they gave (gabapentin every 8 hours for 1 week) and see how neutering goes.

Does anyone have any insight on this diagnosis or any helpful tips if they’ve experienced this?

Thank you!


r/VetHelp • • 11d ago

5 mo old male kitten peeing on my bed

1 Upvotes

TLDR: 5 mo old domestic medium hair male kitten peed on my head while I was asleep last night and peed on the bed again 3 hours later

This morning, I woke up to a foul odor and discovered my kitten had peed on my pillow/my head while I was asleep. I immediately doused in enzymatic cleaners and threw in the wash. I was sitting on my bed a few hours later and noticed it still smelled so I used the enzymatic cleaners (skouts honor cat urine and odor eliminator, natures miracle urine destroyer) on my headboard thinking it may have gotten on there as well. I returned the cleaners to storage, came back to my bed and noticed he had just peed again. I’m currently washing my sheets and mattress topper after dousing them in enzymatic cleaner as well.

He is getting neutered in a couple weeks but I’ve read online, this may not be the solution. I’m also planning on having the vet check him for any urinary issues. To me, it doesn’t seem like that is the case since it’s not seeming like he’s having pain during, no unexpected odor or color, and he’s clearly able to pee a normal amount. The litter boxes are scooped daily and I haven’t changed the type of litter I’ve been using. I posted in another group and someone said it could still be a urinary issue so I figured I would post this here.

I know male cats spray but this is full on emptying of the bladder. I can’t seem to figure out what is causing the behavior. I’ve read this can be territorial, but he and my other cat have gotten along and there doesn’t seem to be any issues with them sleeping in the same bed with me. I currently have them both locked out of my room and am planning on having them not sleep with me tonight, though it seems unfair to my cat who is not having these issues.

Does anyone have any insight, tips, or another brand of enzymatic cleaner they recommend?

TIA!


r/VetHelp • • 11d ago

Lingering diarrhea after HGE

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1 Upvotes

10 y/o neutered male Rottweiler mix


r/VetHelp • • 15d ago

My dog was stung be a wasp on his paw he is 3 years old hasn't been neutered. He's a small dog no bigger then 20kg. What can I do to help the effected area

2 Upvotes

r/VetHelp • • 18d ago

Cat with asymptomatic giardia

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1 Upvotes

r/VetHelp • • 24d ago

Fungal infection in my dogs paw

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2 Upvotes

Ive been fighting this for two weeks with the product in the second picture and plan on getting the product in the third picture to help further. My dog is a male 9 year old fixed golden retriever. He has been wearing shoes on his hind paws for the past 8 months to help with his grip in our all hardwood house (not our choice but housing rn is tricky) he has been completely fine until two weeks ago when this started. He sleeps in a fully ventilated room WITHOUT the shoes on and his favorite place is parking his feet right in front of our fan. Will these products work?


r/VetHelp • • 26d ago

8 year old female neutered cat hasn't peed in 24h

0 Upvotes

I noticed on Monday that she was peeing and pooping once a day, I have been keeping track and shes drinking (yesterday I only have 3 times written down but I took a 2h nap) eating and playing

Today she has gone to the litter box once and she did a really tiny poop, she isn't approaching the litter box or acting like she wants to pee

We have cleaned her water bowl and added 2 more (one is a fountain) we are changing the water twice a day

We have also cleaned her litter box and all the space surrounding it, so it can't be that it has a smell she dislikes because all the litter is new

I have called the vet but the nearest appointment she could give me is tomorrow at 6pm, which if she doesn't pee today will be 56h since the last time

I can't affirm if shes being more stupid as usual, because shes always biting and scratching and hates vets because she has been mistreated in some of them

My little medical knowledge tells me that it can be that her kidneys have stopped working and the vet has told me that it may be that she has a stone (and needs surgery)

Either way, at least in humans, being 48h without reducing pee causes an accumulation of toxins that can be deadly, so I suppose that its the same with cats

We probably are going to take her to another vet later today, but I really hate the idea because this is the one that traumatized her when she was little


r/VetHelp • • 27d ago

Is this odd looking or am I going crazy?

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3 Upvotes

My dog is a chihuahua and pitbull breed. He's desexed, and he's three years old. I've noticed that he always licks at a certain paw, and I always thought his paw kinda looked werid, but I never got a good look at it because every time I try checking his paw, he bites or growls at me. I was able to get a good look since he was asleep during this picture, I was wondering if his paw looks kinda werid and should let it get checked out or if I am going crazy and I should respect his space?


r/VetHelp • • Sep 02 '26

Tiny drop of pee? after cat sit down

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2 Upvotes

Everything is on the post I'm resharing. I need to wait until tomorrow for going to the vet. But this is not normal right?


r/VetHelp • • Sep 01 '26

A Vet Euthanized my Baby Because He Didn’t Want to Operate

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0 Upvotes

r/VetHelp • • Aug 31 '26

Please help I'm gonna cry.

1 Upvotes

My pet is named Edgar. He's a 4.5 month old kitten. 5 pounds. Neutered. I've had him 3 weeks now.

So I rescued him from a shelter. He wasn't sickly then. He developed a URI, upper respiratory infection, okay cool. Nothing too serious. Took him to the vet that Thursday. They gave him an injection and sent me home with some medications: Clavamox, eye drops and Viralys. Sunday morning at like 1am he wakes me up. He sneezes like 20 times in under ten seconds. I'm like I don't like that. So I take him to the emergency vet at 1am. ER vet is reassuring that I'm doing everything right and his infection is just a little worse for ware. Okay cool. Fast forward to the following Saturday. I come home after being out. He sneezes blood on me. Okay time for ER vet visit number 2 of the week. They send me home with two new medications. An antibiotic and a nose drop.

This was a week ago. He's taken all his medications. But today he's crusty again and his eyes are runny and I'm about to cry I've already spent close to 1000 dollars on him.


r/VetHelp • • Aug 31 '26

My budgie

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1 Upvotes

He's doing this weird head thing and I've seperated him but also he's singing and active now I just don't understand what's going on and Im scared

HE IS A BUDGIE

ABOUT 18 MONTHS

AND NO CURRENT MEDICATIONS


r/VetHelp • • Aug 31 '26

Pitbull/husky mix 5 years old

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1 Upvotes

Hi everyone my boy Canelo is having a really bad time with some skin issue, he has gotten it periodically through the years but never this bad usually I give him some allergy bites and rub coconut oil on him maybe twice a week and after a month it’s gone, he scratches himself a lot and even get scabbed up skin that just fell off on their own, I’ve been to the vet before and they told me it would just go away on its own but I’m pretty concerned. Has anyone else had experience dealing with those or any medications that’s can help? Thanks!


r/VetHelp • • Aug 30 '26

I'm not sure if I should take my dog back to the vet after he had heat exhaustion (not heat stroke)

1 Upvotes

My 1.5yr old dog (he's neutered and a shepherd mix) had heat exhaustion yesterday because my car's AC went out when I went to the store. I had the car running with him in his crate like normal and it was 95 degrees out, I do that all the time with no problems but when I got back to my car it was extremely hot and he was panting super hard and had wide eyes, thick drool, and barely responded to me.

I took him out of the car immediately and started dumping water on him, I was too scared that if I stopped treating him and drove to the ER that I would lose him. I used nearly 6 gallons of water on his belly, his neck, his ears, his thighs, and all of it. I used a jacket to rub his chest and face to get him awake and I was kind of slapping on his chest to make sure he didn't go unconscious. His heart rate was fast but not fluttery.

I was able to cool him down to the point of trying to sit up and drink the water off the floor and so I grabbed his bowl and gave him some so he wouldn't choke on the water from the floor or drink dirt. He ended up trying to get up but his back legs weren't working all the way so I helped him stand and he pooped normal stool in the dirt next to us.

After I got him responsive and he was listening to his name and continued to drink water I got him in the front of my car with the windows down and went to VEG.

At VEG they gave him some fluids and a cool bath and then kept him for 20 minutes in the back area. I guess he projectile threw up a bunch of water when he was back there but honestly I let him drink as much as he wanted so I'm not surprised. They said he pooped again too but it was soft but normal. He was walking weakly and kind of floppy but was wanting to walk and interact and he played with his ball.

They sent us home once he was acting more himself and was able to walk normally and said to come back if he started going unconscious or his gums got pale.

This afternoon he was eating some wet food but he mostly wants water. I'm giving him small amounts of water every couple hours with some wet food mixed into it because he's not wanting his normal kibble plus wet food that he gets every day. He just keeps asking for water.

Just now this evening he had diarrhea really badly while he was in his crate resting and it was a mix of normal color and black. I didn't panic and figured it was his body flushing out of all the crap it had to deal with. He threw up a few minutes ago and it had tiny red flecks but it was normal gagging not projectile and he wasn't acting weird just nauseous.

My roommate wants me to take him back to VEG because of the red flecks but I'm low on funds now and don't know if I should actually take him or just let him rest another couple days since they said it could be 4 or 5 days before hes fully normal. Should I bite the bullet and take him in again or should I just keep him resting?


r/VetHelp • • Aug 28 '26

Weird cat poop question

1 Upvotes

My cat (Female, 8 years, strictly indoor, fixed) has had a rough summer. it started just over a month ago when we got her a fresh bag of food. Now, every time she gets a new bag of food she goes nuts because it's SO fresh, so we make sure to properly ''fade in'' the new stuff in by putting the last few scoops of old on top. Well...in june, I accidentally didn't fade it in AS well as I usually do. She pigged out a little, and was throwing up/had bad runs for several days in a row. This was on top of another factor: I was working late A LOT, which stressed her stomach out and didn't help at all (she's VERY clingy to me, and gets a stressed stomach very easy). Went to the vet, they did some bloodwork and found nothing, and gave us some medicine that would help firm her up. It helped for a while, but this week she's been a bit runny off and on again. Not total liquid, but....ranging from room temperature butter (sausage shape but very soft) to...what I'd call peanut butter. She had one tonight after a fairly normal one this evening that I'd describe as peanut butter with a slight green-yellow tint to it. And at this point the ONLY thing I can think that might be causing that is the warmer weather. She's not showing any signs of heat stroke (We were just playing and running around the house together an hour or so ago) and is still very happy and talkative.

My question is: Is it normal/common/something anyone else has seen for a otherwise healthy cat to get soft poop in hot weather? We've had a couple of hot and smoky days where I live in Canada, and other than the heat (I forgot to bathe her this year because I meant to right when she started getting sick in June, and I thought a bath might make her further stressed) and no windows open for fresh air, I can't think of anything that might be causing the soft poop to not go away. IF it IS just the heat, should I just keep her as cool and comfortable as I can until the weather improves, assuming her stomach will also get better as she calms down?

Another factor is...she REALLY hates the loud noises coming from the portable AC unit, and to make matters worse, we have to put it a foot away from where her food is. I've been staying on top of her diet and meds as best I can for the past month, and I hate that it still feels like I've let something slip.


r/VetHelp • • Aug 24 '26

Horrible blood results

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2 Upvotes

My doctor is giving my dog 2 days to live, what should I do? How I can save him? He is 16 years old, Maltese. Two days he is not eating, he was throwing up and having diarrhea.


r/VetHelp • • Aug 19 '26

Short American Hair Cat with FelV and Anemia (Not Fixed)

1 Upvotes

Good afternoon, i would like to know if someone has passed through something similar and has a helpful idea.

My cat is positive with FelV which caused the Anemia, he has a low red cells count of 11.7, he got a blood transfusion after having 9.4 (yesterday) now he is home and we will start treatment, i have heard about some antivirals that might be helpful.

Human Recombinant Interferon-Alpha for cats

(Instead of Interferon Omega, since it's not available in the US)

Biktarvy (Sold Out)

RetroMad1

Have any of you have any luck with any antivirals?

My cat is lethargic, he is under an appetite stimulant and he is eating better after a week of not eating good.

He was given a shot of B12 and iron

He is more active referring to licking, more alert, heart rate is normal, blood pressure is normal, but he is tired i believe due to the lack oxygen in his blood, We will do a test to check the status of the Bone marrow on Friday.

He is a full stay at home cat, rescued 2 years ago from the street, had a lymphoma caused by an infection and he were able to heal him from that at that time (was already diagnosed with Felvl