r/AskVet

Skinny medium-ish sized dog, beagle/chihuahua mix (I think), male, in tact, 12 years old (about to turn 13), roughly between 15-20lbs

About 2 and a half weeks ago I noticed he was drinking a lot more water than normal, and subsequently ended up peeing for a longer period of time when I’d take him on walks. Sometimes he’d just stand there and pee for like a minute straight and create a whole puddle.

He also had a couple of accidents in the home. 2 of them were on my bed, the other was when I had guests over, but I assumed the guest one was because he was really excited/anxious because he’s done that before, but now I’m not sure that was the case.

He’s still eating regularly, has high energy, still gets excited to go on walks, etc. It seems like he’s lost a bit of weight, but I don’t know if that’s just the fact that he’s been shedding his coat. Even when he pees, it doesn’t seem like he’s straining or in pain. He’s pooping regularly as well. Nothing has really changed except for the increased water intake and more peeing.

Is this incontinence due to old age? Should I be worried about a kidney infection/kidney failure? Do I take him in to get tests done? The only reason I haven’t is because I’m not in a place financially to pay any additional costs on top of a basic urgent care exam fee, and I already know the vet will tell me that he needs additional testing done since they won’t be able to tell if he has an infection from just looking at him.

I did call 2 clinics, told them my dog’s symptoms, and both places didn’t give me any advice on whether I should bring him in. They just told me how much an urgent care exam visit would cost. When I asked about payment plans for any additional costs, both of them told me they don’t do payment plans and that I’d have to look into some other form of credit payment or just look for a different clinic.

Just looking for some logical advice about next steps. Thanks. :/

This is kind of a long post but feeling like I’m running out of options with our 10-year old cat Luna. We “adopted” her from a relative that was hoarding animals in their house about 6 years ago. It was more of a “we have to take her” than a “we want to take her” because we thought, at that time, that we could give her a significantly better life. She spent about the first 3 years of her life with this relative locked in a cage in a mostly unused bathroom, which was outrageous.

When we took Luna home, she was mostly fine. No major issues other than that she seemed to sneeze a bit more than our other cats and also required a lot more affection and pets than the others. Makes sense to us.

Three years later, we moved to a new house and things went as usual, until suddenly Luna just stopped using her litterbox and decided to use the carpet in a loft area upstairs. We tried everything and nothing would stop it. We shampoo’d the carpet countless times, used cat attract litter, added new litterboxes, tried every different type of litter, put the litterbox in a bunch of different spots, etc. Nothing ever worked, she would still primarily go on the carpet and rarely use the box. She also started sneezing significantly more often at this point and had an almost constant stuffy nose.

We took her to the vet and they said she was overall completely fine, but her teeth were in really bad shape and she needed a full dental cleaning and maybe some extractions. We proceeded and got the dental cleaning done, praying to any god above that it would solve the litterbox problems. It seemed to work for a couple weeks and then she was right back to using the carpet. We asked the vet about her nose and they basically just said “some cats are like this” and recommended paying for more vet visits to figure it out, but we couldn’t financially do that after paying for the dental.

At this point, she had done probably thousands of dollars worth of damage to this area upstairs that we will probably need to replace and we genuinely could not handle it anymore. We came to the decision to place her in our bedroom so that she could have her own isolated area from our other 2 cats (who she has grown up with and never had any issues with) and also couldn’t get to that carpeted area anymore.

That was about a year ago and she’s been in our bedroom ever since with her own food, water, and litterbox. We tried to let her back out into the house a couple months after putting her in our bedroom, and it worked for a couple days, and then she went on the carpet again.

I don’t know what else to do, but I can’t handle her being in our bedroom anymore. I feel like my bedroom has been taken over by her and I hate that I can’t leave my bedroom door open. Her food, water, and litterbox makes our en suite bathroom dirty and I’m just over it which makes me feel like a terrible person and animal owner.

I want to let her back out into the house but if she goes in that area again and uses the bathroom on the carpet, I genuinely have no other option than to surrender her. We have tried reaching out to all of our friends and family but nobody can take her or wants her. I’ve made posts on rehoming pages on Facebook that got zero attention because she’s an older cat. I know that it’s bad to surrender a senior cat because of the stress it puts on them, but I feel like I have done everything I can for this cat and it’s not working, and we don’t have the funds to get her the vet attention that she potentially needs.

I’m caught between just keeping her in our bedroom, which I know is cruel to her because she’s alone most of the day and can’t interact with our other cats, or having to surrender her (assuming letting her back out into the house doesn’t work), and keeping her in our bedroom is beginning to have a serious affect on my mental health and doesn’t seem like a realistic long-term solution.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions, I am genuinely all ears and would appreciate any guidance - especially if anyone can offer any insight into what’s going on with her stuffy nose / constant sneezing.

Can anyone tell me why this would be? Patchy hair with marks. I would post a picture but for some reason it won't let me even though I see others with pictures. So i'm not sure what's going on. For a community like this, though pictures should be allowed. Am I right? Doesn't that make sense to try to diagnose?

Anyways thx

Hi, it looks like you did not include the information we require in the side bar. Having this information is very important for us to be able to give accurate advice. Please copy the points below and edit your post to include the answers:

• Species: cat
• Age: 1
• Sex/Neuter status: yes
• Breed:Grey tabby shirt hair
• Body weight:
• History: indoor cat, only been out to be fixed
• Clinical signs: scabs on her body
• Duration: a few weeks
• Your general location: los angeles

Just to get it out of the way I’m calling the vet tomorrow anyway I just worry so I’m also posting lol. My 2 year old indoor cat has never had any problems using the litter box before today, this morning he was acting totally normal until he just randomly peed on a towel that was hanging on the drying wrack. I was already planning on taking him to the vet just to be sure from that along but we also just got a new dog so I thought maybe he was just mad. Just now though he came into the living room and made the motion like he was going to pee on the couch, tail up and like shaking like cats do, but he didn’t actually pee which is making me think UTI. My mom changes the water for the cats and also told me they haven’t been drinking basically any since we got the dog (so I guess if anyone has any advice about that that’d also be appreciated, I try and turn sinks on for him when he goes over to them but schools starting up and no one will be home most of the day). If it’s at all relevant to this he’s also been having problems with repeatedly getting worms that I’m hoping to squash with fully replacing our litter boxes during the next treatment.

I've just caught two rats with humane cage traps but I can release them only in the morning at best, which is still hours and hours away. The problem is, one of them is very nervous, won't even take bribes, and tries to get out again and again, and it has scratched its head bloody pretty bad. Not only I dont know how to help it (the scraped part is p much between its eyes, so just spraying it from afar with some antiseptic won't be of any help), I dont know how to get them to calm down before they hurt themselves even more. I hope they'll accept food, can I feed them anything that'd make them fall asleep or calm down? Maybe a bit of alcohol? (And before you say that eh, it's just wild rats, dont bother, I like rats a lot and if they were not a danger to my dogs/didnt make a mess in the yard all the time, I'd be chill with them, and since I plan to relocate them safely, I want to at least help them as much as I can first).

So I have a hypothetical scenario I want to know what the chances are just out of my own general curiosity.

I have never personally heard about any rabies breakouts in my area, but I’ve always been curious about this.

I’m curious what the chances are that a rabid animal who hasn’t shown symptoms yet but is spreading the virus in their saliva goes to the vet and maybe drools on the ground.

Then another pet, whether it be a dog cat ferret bunny, whatever goes in that room and sniffs or licks that saliva of the infected animal, then said animal gets rabies itself.

Or in the same context, but different scenario, an animal that’s infected licks your hand and then you end up biting your fingernails or putting that hand in your mouth.

I did read years ago that a man in China got rabies because his son got bit by a dog on his hand and he sucked on his son‘s bite mark.

My 5 year old German shepherd was just diagnosed with lymphoma (don’t know b or T cell yet). Still being evaluated but likely starting CHOP Friday.

She is otherwise very healthy, still acting like her old self. Really just discovered this getting a mass evaluated.

I guess I am trying to realistically understand what to expect. What remission will look like, what surveillance generally consists of. What to expect her quality of life to reasonably be. Also with immunotherapy making such a big difference for these cancers in people, I am very curious what if anything may be offered in even a clinical trial setting to help improve her odds.

Very griefstruck and grasping at straws here.

I’m a physician so medical jargon is fine in responses.

Hello, I am a vet student looking for some outside perspective on my cat’s condition. I got Oliver, MN DMH, in 2021 from a shelter. I was told at the time that he was around 4-5yr at the time, but had a few vets determine that he was older than that due to poor dental health and eye changes. I’ll never know how old he actually is, but I am working under the impression that he is between 11-13yrs old. Ollie has had somewhat progressive muscle wasting along his spine and limbs. At this point, there is very little muscle along his back, his scapular spines are very prominent on palpation, and his back legs have very little muscle tone/definition. He’s never been a big eater and tends to graze throughout the day. He was about 10lbs when I adopted him and he’s down to 9lbs. He has had bloodwork annually since I got him and aside from a few elevated SDMA results (15 and 16) years ago, he’s shown no other abnormalities. He does have (suspected) feline herpes based on recurrent URI signs and the years he spent in a cattery.
I would like to know if there is anything I can do to either promote muscle gain or stop further muscle loss. I’m currently feeding Royal Canine senior cat food. I’ve tried putting him on Dasaquin in the past, but he wouldn’t eat his food when I sprinkled it on. He’s currently being treated with Azithromycin and Cyproheptadine PRN for a herpes flare. And I am taking him to get updated bloodwork and possibly radiographs at the end of the week.

Hello new friends, my regular vet is out on Mat leave (happy for her!) but when my cat started limping I had to go to the only other vet in town: The Animal Hospital.

First visit, they said arthritis. I disagreed.
Six days later I came back, they x-rayed her, said it was bone cancer and suggested putting her down on the spot. Bit of a shock!

Her x-rays look nothing like what I’m seeing on online resources, so I’m hoping for options on what else it could be.

X-rays show 4 small (sub-1cm) blobs of density in what appears to be her trapezius, Humerus Left Lat image. I’m not seeing the blobs attached to any bones, nor in Thoracic VD.

Medical history:
Female tortie, 12 years old, 17.8lbs (down from 19.4 last Nov), spayed but she gave birth at 1 year old, currently no other pets in house.

She had a respiratory infection a few years ago which was resolved with antibiotics.
She only goes outside with human supervision.
Last Dec she hurt her left shoulder when jumping down from the counter, not bad enough for a vet visit, but enough for us to force the diet. The left shoulder muscle is where we see the blobs.

Thank you! Obviously we are going to find another vet to review, but your input will make sure I’m going in as informed as possible.

3.0 T MRI OF DORSAL SPINE WITH WHOLE SPINE SCREENING:
MR imaging of the dorsal spine was performed and high resolution T2W and T1W sagittal and axial images using a Phased-Array surface coil on a 3.0 Tesla scanner with high strength gradients. Coronal STIR images were also obtained
The study reveals presence of altered marrow signal intensity lesions involving body of
D5 and D6 extending to posterior elements with erosion of endplates and involvement of intervening D5-D6 intervertebral disc.
These lesions appear heterogeneously hypointense on T1Wt, T2Wt and STIR images with hyperintensity in intervening intervertebral disc.
This is associated with a focal epidural soft tissue component at D5-D6 level ( more marked on the left side) causing significant compression of thoracic spinal cord.
Rest of the vertebral bodies appear normal.
Rest of the intervertebral discs appear normal.
Screening MRI of rest of the spine (sagittal T2Wt images):
• Spondylotic changes are seen in lumbar vertebrae with anterior osteophytes.
• No evidence of abnormal marrow oedema, erosion, wedging or collapse of rest of the vertebra is seen.
• Rest of the spinal cord appears normal.
Screening MRI of both Hip joints ( coronal STIR images):
Osteoarthritic changes are seen involving both hip joints.
• Minimal joint effusion is seen in right hip joint.
• No evidence of abnormal erosion or destruction of pelvic bones or femur is seen on either side…

IMPRESSION:
The MRI findings are:
• Altered marrow signal intensity lesions involving body of D5 and D6 extending to posterior elements with erosion of endplates and involvement of intervening D5-D6 intervertebral disc.
• A focal epidural soft tissue component at D5-D6 level causing significant compression of thoracic spinal cord.
These findings suggest possibility of infective atiology (? granulomatous infection) more likely than sequelae of previous trauma. Possibility of neoplastic aetiology appears less likely.
Clinical correlation and further investigations recommended for confirmation.

My dog is only 10 and she has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma bone cancer which is eating her pelvis bone and hip. There is nothing they can do to cure it.

​She is currently on pain medication, but the vet has offered two additional options that might help: a zoledronic acid infusion or a Librela injection. These would be given once every 4 weeks, and she would need to stay at the vet for a few hours. It’s an hour's drive each way, though she is fine in the car. She is quite a nervous dog to be left at the vet, but then it would only be once every 4 weeks.

​The vet said that if she is only given standard pain relief, her expected timeframe is likely around 2 to 3 months. Best case scenario with the extra treatments is that they have had one dog reach 9 months and another reach 12 months.

​I’ve been reading up on Librela, and it seems a lot of pets have experienced serious side effects, with some vet clinics even withdrawing its use. ​I have no clue what to do. I'm torn between feeling like trying the treatments and leaving her at the vet isn't fair if she gets side effects, and feeling like not trying them means I'm just signing her away to a shorter time when they could potentially work really well. I don't want her to suffer or go in a nasty way, and I know this is an incredibly painful cancer. She is still going on small walks and eating, drinking, and toileting okay, though she is also at risk of getting a fracture which would be very painful.

​Also, before she was diagnosed she wasn't limping and didn't react when the vets were feeling over her, so I feel like I don't fully know if she is even in pain right now or not.

​Thank you

Hi everyone!

I adopted a beautiful 3 year old cat from the shelter a month ago. She is extremely skittish - barely comes out still but has gotten used to me a little bit.

Unfortunately, a week after getting her, she started exhibiting symptoms like sneezing and having a runny nose. I made a vet appointment but had to reschedule because she refused to get in the carrier and was hiding from us. I was finally able to get her into the carrier after quite the fight and at the vet she was diagnosed with a small cold. The vet prescribed her liquid medication that we tried to give her but failed after multiple times. We mix it in her food, mixed it in different flavors of food, and different brands. We tried the burrito method, but she runs away from us and hides. I called the vet back and they prescribed her the medication but in a pill form. I got her treats that hide the pills, but she does not like treats at all. I can try crushing it, but I know that she will be able to detect the medicine in the food just like with a liquid. I can keep trying to wrap her in a towel, but every time I do that I can tell that she is losing the trust that we have slowly been building. She is still sneezing and blows snot everywhere. I am extremely worried about her but very tired of the money I’ve been spending and effort I’ve been putting into giving her a pill twice a day.

Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? I apologize for the lengthy message.

Hi everyone!

First of all, I must highlight that I feel terribly guilty and that I'll never forget how I hurt my baby, evem though it was an accident!

Basically, I had two other things to do, and my husband was rushing me to clip our cat's (boy, 2) claws 30 minutes before my phisiotheraphy. Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted, and I clipped the quick on one of his claws too deep and it started bleeding, surprisingly a lot. I'm that kind of a person that when something happens to someone I love, especially if I'm responsible, I freeze. So, my first response was to put water on a cloth, but my husband was demanding alcohol.

I can't stop blaming myself, but I listened to him - he did apply alcohol (70% ethanole) to his wound - a few times with cotton for ears, and maybe with paper. I don't even remember how much exactly, but I'd assume it was more than he should. Only then I collected myawlf enough to call his veterinarian. They told me to apply pressure and ice and not use alcohol. I told them we did use alcohol, but she didn't react much to this.

The bleeding stopped after we followed her advice. Afterwards, he seemed fine, even ate a bit. It's now been almost 2 hours and he is mostly sleeping, which worries me a lot. But then again, it's very hot and that's probably what he would be doing anyway, but he just seems less responsive.

Should I worry, call the veterinarian again? They said we don't have to bring him in, but I'm not too certain.

My dog has a lick granuloma on her front leg & it’s gotten infected and it just keeps getting ripped open bcuz she won’t stop moving around no matter what I do to stop her. It’s so bad & I cannot afford to go to the vet & I don’t have a car. I feel helpless bcuz I know she’s miserable & I can’t help her . This has been going on for months & months. I took her to an emergency animal hospital & they were just going to let her die on their floor bcuz I didn’t have $1300 to pay them. I don’t want to lose her. I’ve had her for 12 years, her whole life. What do I do. I’m having a full on panic attack. To be clear I’m not asking for money, just advice

Hi! My dog has an ear infection and vaginitis. (She has food allergies which are mostly controlled but occasionally has flare-ups). Her new vet prescribed Baytril eardrops twice a day and ciprofloxacin once every 24 hours (500 mg, she's 38 pounds). Is this a common combination? Google says it's not common and that it's a really high dosage, but I of course know not to trust Google. However, this is a new vet for me, so I'd like a sanity check before proceeding. Thanks!

* Species: Dog
* Age: 13
* Sex/Neuter status: F/spayed
* Breed: mixed
* Body weight: 38 lb
* History: history of ear infections exacerbated by allergies, mostly controlled by apoquel and specialty food with occasional flare ups.
* Clinical signs: itchy ears, slightly inflamed vulva

*Location- Southern United States

My cat (5-6 months old) Hasn't eaten anything in the past 24 hours after vomiting his food last night, and vomiting this morning. What could be going on?

His diet only consists of what i can leave behind as leftovers in which last nights case was Adobo with Rice. I'm a 16 year old that's living alone rn so Vets aren't really an option for me, all i have is dextrose and i dont know if that'll help him.

Please help!

my dog 7 month old 14lbs dachshund, accidentally ate less than a teaspoon amount of this flanax menthol hand cream when i wasnt looking. its past midnight already and the nearest vet is at least 2hours away from me. what should i do?

7-Year-Old 13 lb. American shorthair Tabby.

I went for a walk in emergency after my cat fell 7 feet off catio shelf. They took my cat back, felt foot - said ok, did x-ray ( didn't include foot) - said ok. Sent me on my way without diagnosis, prognosis, expectations, etc. Just keep giving gabapentin for pain. 2 days, no improvement. I'm not sure what to do, or what to expect. I asked for copies of the X-ray, which they also x-rayed right leg? The right leg was fine. She licks at and holds up her left paw. I have a copy of her x-ray but I can't see a way to post it here.

Any suggestions?

My kitten is almost five days old, but he is very limp, hardly meows, and keeps his mouth open. Can someone help me get him back to normal?