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 This is my kitten. He's 14 years old, in generally good health. Had bladder crystals when he was a little boy, had them surgically removed, and has been on a prescription diet ever since. I tried to get a good close-up picture, but he isn't a huge fan of posing for the camera (you can see he is cranky). About two months ago, I noticed he got a small abrasion on his bottom lip. It looked kind of like a kitty cold sore, so I left it alone. It got bigger in size, and the skin looked pink. Then it developed a little bump. One day it bled a little bit and then had black crusted drainage for about a week and the bump fell off. Currently, it's back to looking pink. It has stayed the same size for about a month now. You can get a feel for the size from the picture. Is this something to be concerned about? Should I take him to the vet or just let it be? I would feel silly spending money on the vet if it's just some kind of kitty cold sore, but I'm worried that it could be something worse (like kitty cancer). My only concern is that it doesn't appear to be going away, and it seems like it should have healed over by now. He is in his same spirits as always, he doesn't appear to be uncomfortable at all. What should I do?
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Feb 22, 2012 01:37
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criscodisco posted:Also, I had a thread here for a while about cats, and asked this once, but I never really got an answer: We keep our cat food on the bottom shelf of a closet in the kitchen. Whenever we take the bag out to fill his bowl, he has to go inside the closet and walk around the shelf space where the food is from. Whenever he finds a spider he just bats it around and sniffs it, he never eats it. I'm willing to bet that he would be afraid of mice. Definitely no hunter instinct in my cat (and he was born in a barn to a wild mother). I have a question about said cat. I have had him for nearly his entire life, minus the few months he spent as a kitten on a farm. He is 14 years old. I have had rats, fish, and I still have a gecko that I've had for many years. My cat is best friends with the gecko. We have the glass aquarium on the floor so that my cat can sit and watch him. He spends several hours a day sitting right next to the aquarium. Whenever I feed the gecko my cat gets super excited and vocal and parks his butt right next to the aquarium so he can see the gecko eat. I think my kitty needs a friend. My reservations about this are that he is 14 and has been an only-kitty his whole life, and he is male. He is very healthy for a 14 year old cat, I expect he will be around for many more years. I love animals so much and I really want to have more in my life. Have any of you had an older only-kitty and got another pet? How did your cat adapt? I've researched and seen both positives and negatives, but it seems like cats adapt pretty quickly to new situations. There's a cat that's been at the local shelter for over half a year who I am in love with, he's a 7 year old boy. I'm worried about combining two male stranger cats. My cat is pretty docile and this other cat is pretty tame, but I've read a lot of bad things about having two male cats. Not to mention the shelter cat is diabetic so he would require a special diet and insulin, but he's so awesome and I would definitely be willing and able to provide the special care. Nobody wants this poor cat because he's obese and needs insulin, but he's got such a great personality... I want him, but I want my cat to be happy too. TL;DR I have a 14 year old male cat and I want more cats (specifically a 7 y.o. male diabetic one). How well do only-cats adapt to new family members?
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Jun 3, 2012 06:18
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melon cat posted:A question about adopting a 2nd cat- we currently have a 4 year old Persian male. We're looking into getting a second cat so he isn't lonely while my wife and I are at work. Is it typically best to adopt two males, or is it okay to have 1 male + 1 female? Both cats would be neutered/spayed, obviously. In an ideal world the new cat would be the opposite gender, younger, and smaller in size. There are a lot of resources out there on how to introduce two cats to each other. This is the best one that I've found (I'm currently in the process of introducing my 14 year old male to a 3 year old female). It's a time consuming process and you need to have the appropriate space and resources before getting a second cat. http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/26/Introducing-Your-Cat-to-a-New-Cat.aspx However, if you fall in love with a cat that isn't a smaller two year old female, it's not like you should pass them up. Take your time finding a cat that you really love, one that you feel a good connection with, and if they just happen to fit the ideal criteria, all the better. Good luck 
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Jun 11, 2012 05:29
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I need some advice on introducing two cats. My Boy is a 14 year old who has been an only-cat his whole life, and I've had him since he was a kitten. A couple weeks ago I unexpectedly fell in love with a little 2-3 year old Girl, and after much contemplation, decided to adopt her. She has been with us for 13 days. They were completely isolated from each other for seven days, we brought toys and towels in and out of the isolation room so they could get used to each others smell. Went fine. The next few days we would open the door so they could see each other for a few minutes, there was some nervous hissing at first but now it's fine, they keep their distance but no more hissing. Then when Boy was napping in his closet we closed the bedroom door and let Girl out into the house, did that a few times. Went great. For the past few days we have put a screen between the isolation room and the rest of the house. I'm actually extremely impressed with Boy. He did some hissing at first but has pretty much gotten used to it. He's not totally comfortable with her, but if he keeps his distance, he doesn't show any signs of aggression. He's still nervous around her and meows but is doing very well. Girl, on the other hand, has been growling at him. That makes him skitter away and hide. It's not all the time, but if Boy gets too close she will growl and pant. However, he is 16 pounds (big-boned, not fat) and she is only 7. I'm sure the gender and size difference has something to do with it. We're coming up on the two week mark tomorrow, and I've read you're not supposed to keep your cat isolated for more than two weeks. Is that true? Or does that only refer to complete isolation? Get to the real question, dammit! The real question is, we are moving from our two bedroom apartment to a four bedroom house at the end of the month. I am planning on keeping them apart with the screen and allowing Girl to run around while Boy is napping until then as they aren't totally comfortable with each other yet until we move. When we move to the house, should I keep them separate, or should I let them loose? Should I try to introduce them face to face before we move? I was thinking that if I let her out of the room before we move, they will still feel territorial and might fight. However, if we move and do not keep them separated, they won't have their own territories. Or, would that be too much stress for them? Should I instead let them explore the house on their own and keep them separated for a while longer? TL;DR! Big 14 year old male meets tiny 2-3 year old female, they are still separated by a screen. He's doing good, she's doing decent but still growls. We're moving at the end of the month. Do I continue to keep them separated even after we move? Do I try to let them interact before we move? Do we do the move and the introduction at the same time?
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Jun 22, 2012 06:42
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang posted:In the next week or so I'm going to send out "looking for a dog" letters to various rescues in my area and I already have a sinking feeling in my gut that this isn't going to be all sunshine and lollipops. Why aren't you going to see animals at the shelter for yourself? Usually shelters are swamped with work and a personal email requesting them to fit a dog for you will go unnoticed. The shelter might actually be annoyed at you for emailing them instead of making the trip out there. It's not that they're flaky, it's that they don't have the time to do personal dog-fitting services. Look at their websites for the animals available, usually they will have a brief narrative about the dog (good with cats, kids, leash, etc). If you're looking for a particular size or breed you can see what is up for adoption now. The best thing you can do is to actually visit the shelters themselves and look at the dogs and their personalities. The staff there can help tell you about a dog if you see one you like. That way you can get a feel for what the animal is like, and you can take it for a walk and see how it interacts with you. Take the time to visit the shelters for yourself. That's the best way to find an animal that's right for you.
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Jun 25, 2012 23:22
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang posted:This is the case. The rescues I'll be contacting are all foster situations with a few perhaps in a central location. I will also go and visit shelters, but truthfully I can see what they have on Petfinder and so far there isn't a dog that will fit the bill as much as the ones at the private rescues might. Ah, sorry for jumping to conclusions. Don't give up! It can be hard when you're really excited about getting an animal and the process is delayed. I'm sure they're very busy but if you're persistent and send a letter and make calls, your voice will be heard. If the process is taking forever and you're getting frustrated, it never hurts to stop by the shelter just to look. Sometimes the dog you meet in person is very different than the description of the dog they have online. Good luck.
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Jun 26, 2012 06:13
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I've posted before but I have another question (or need for encouragement) on introducing two cats. I have a 14 year old male who I've had since he was a kitten. I fell in love with a 2 to 3 year old female who was a stray for most her life and adopted her three weeks ago. We kept them totally isolated for two weeks and did gradual introductions with scent and toys, switching rooms, eventually putting a screen between the isolation room and the rest of our place. There was hissing and growling but nothing too aggressive, and eventually they both tolerated the screen between the doors at all times for three days. Today we let them both loose in our place. It went pretty well for about four hours. My male cat hissed a few times but nobody fought, and they would tolerate each other in the same space. Lots of treats were given. The closest they came with no fuss was about a meter. They slept in the same room without conflict. One time they chased each other around with some hissing but it was contained and they never made contact. Then all of a sudden, my female started chasing my male around and cornered him in the bathroom. There was an awful lot of yowling and hissing and I was afraid for their safety so I broke it up with a blanket and took the girl back to isolation. (Male is 16 pounds and declawed in the front, female is 7.5 pounds but has all her claws and was a stray for a long time, has some scarred ears so she knows how to fight.) I'm not sure I did the right thing. I know they need to establish dominance but I thought someone might get hurt. The spat they had earlier went fairly well I thought, but this one seemed scary for both of them. I know there is a difference between real cat fights and determining dominance, but I don't know what that is. I feel bad when they are growling and yowling even if there's no physical contact. I think my 2 to 3 year old female might be trying to establish dominance over my 14 year old male, who has been the head of the household since he was a kitten. This seems like it might be a problem, but I'm no expert. We will try to do another full exposure tomorrow, but perhaps for a less amount of time. Am I doing this right? Is it normal for them to get into yowling, growling, chasing spats? Should I let them sort it out or should I break it up? I know my male is used to being dominant since he has been an only-cat for 14 years, and now my new young female cat is trying to take it away from him. She has kept her tail low for most of the confrontations but she seems to be the one to initiate the spats. Is there anything I can do or is this something they need to figure out for themselves? TLDR 14 YO male and 2-3 YO female (former stray) are introduced after three weeks of isolation/screen separation, they chase each other and she corners him and they yowl and howl and hiss and carry on, this is normal... right? She initiates spats by stalking, but he has been an only-cat for 14 years, is this ok? Do I let them carry on with their yowling and hissing or do I separate them and take it slower?
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Jul 1, 2012 07:22
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Engineer Lenk posted:Can you take a video? From the description I'd lean towards letting them work it out unless blood is drawn. I can try to take a video if it happens again. They weren't wrestling at all, just making lots of loud noises. She had him cornered behind the bathtub so there was no way he could escape and that made me nervous. He seems to be taking it well. During the initial scent introduction I noticed he was throwing up more often, but in the last two weeks he has been acting normally. While she is in the same room he's a lot more on guard and doesn't like to be petted at all but if we've got her in isolation he's just fine.
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Jul 1, 2012 17:58
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Saoshyant posted:My old lady dog is now over 16. She's still somewhat energetic and mostly problem-free considering the circumstances. There is one issue, however, that showed a few months back: occasionally, her tail will completely drop to the left side and she'll be unable to keep her balance, either dropping to the ground or start going around in circles. If she tries to walk, she will do it sideways. If you were describing these symptoms in a person (minus the tail), it kind of sounds like seizures. Has the vet brought that up at all? I believe they have Keppra, an anti-seizure med, for animals.
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Sep 3, 2012 05:26
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Do animal shelters have a "blacklist" for people they will not adopt to? Thanks to my job, I know a person who did horrible things to his animal that I won't post here because it literally makes me feel like I'm going to puke. The animal died at his hands, and he was talking about adopting another one. There are some pretty specific legalities for me disclosing who he is and how I know him, but I can give his name and date of birth without getting in to trouble. Can I just call a shelter and ask if they have a blacklist, or is that unheard of? I want to do everything I can to make sure he does not get another animal from a shelter.
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Sep 19, 2012 04:08
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Ockhams Crowbar posted:I don't especially care how he looks or whether my neighbors will laugh at me, so speaking strictly on the dog's comfort and happiness, should he have a haircut for the warm weather? Or is it a moot point and he'll be fine as long as he's brushed and bathed regularly? He'll be fine. You can't think of dogs the same way you think about people. If we were wrapped up in a fur coat like that, we would get hot because our bodies regulate heat differently than dogs do. Also, animal coats are designed to adjust to hot and cold weather, unlike our bodies, where we have to add/remove clothing. I used to work as a dog groomer, and we very highly recommended keeping up with regular brushing instead of shaving. I think we only shaved a few poms, and that was because they were very matted because some people are idiots and can't take care of their animals. We do some light hair trimming with a scissors only to reduce butt fluff and neaten up their feathering, bellies, chests, and tails, but it was only cutting enough hair to create a nice line, it wasn't really removing much volume. Like this:  Continue brushing him daily. When the weather does turn hot, observe his behavior, and if he isn't overheating, he's fine. If you want to trim with a scissors his butt or belly if he drags his hair through stuff, that's fine, but don't shave your dog.
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Sep 26, 2012 05:49
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Itious posted:A while ago my shorthaired cat got "dreadlocks" on his back. I thought he must have got something sticky and didn't worry about it but it doesn't seem to be going away and even seems to be spreading. There's no odour or any apparent irritation and it doesn't seem to be bothering him. I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow but does anyone know what it could be? Sounds like your kitty has stopped grooming himself. If he's an old cat, it's pretty common for them to stop giving a poo poo, but he needs to be seen. Don't try to cut or shave the mats yourself, ask the vet to do it while you're there or take him to a groomer that has experience with cats. I have a few questions about an old Alaskan Malamute. I recently had to put down my cat that I had for the last 14 years. I rarely get "good vibes" about animals, and any animal that I have a good vibe about I really feel like I need to take them home. I love all animals, but there are a rare few that really steal my heart, if that makes sense. I've been volunteering and visiting shelters for the last six years, and I've only had good vibes about five animals. I ended up adopting three of them. Anyway, yesterday I went to the local shelter to cheer myself up and be around animals, and I fell head over heels with an Alaskan Malamute X named Goliath. I've got really good vibes about him. He is eight years old and a very handsome man. I'm not sure what he's crossed with, but he looks like a Malamute with longer hair. The shelter hasn't done their behavioral assessment or the vet check up yet, he was an owner surrender. He is reported to be really mellow, gets along well with other mellow dogs, and is "fine" with cats. They also didn't crate him so he's used to roaming around the house while the owners are away. He is basically my dream dog, and I put down a holding deposit today. We have to wait until they do the behavior assessment before we are allowed to take him out of the kennel and walk him and play with him, but he already has my heart. Hopefully once we can interact with him more than looking at him through the kennel, it will go fine, and we can bring him home. On to the questions. -We have one adult cat at home right now. She is very adaptable and I think after the initial shock of having a huge creature share her house, she would be fine. I've researched that they can be very good with small animals but also have a natural hunter instinct. Does anyone here have experience with a larger Malamute or Husky type dog and cats? Any tips for introducing dogs to cats? -We have a house with a front and back yard, and we have a huge clothesline that stretches across nearly the entire yard. I was thinking of rigging one of those dog zip line things between the two poles so he can still run around the yard with some slack. Would that be appropriate for a big dog, or do we need something else? We have the time to take him for walks every day and we live right next to a park, but if he needs some additional time to run around, would that be adequate? -I've read a bunch of different things about bathing. Some sites say you should bathe ever now and then, and others say you don't have to bathe because their coat sheds out the dirty stuff. Any thoughts? -I have also read about their intelligence, and how they need to be stimulated or else they can turn destructive. However, he is eight years old, and super chill at the shelter. We work mostly night shifts, and dogs sleep at night, right? Any experience with this? -This is a really dumb question, but I've never owned such a hairy animal before. When it's raining and you let a big fluffy dog outside to do their business, do you go out with an umbrella or something? Do you towel them off once they come back inside?
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Nov 3, 2012 23:07
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A small update. My girl cat has pooped twice since this whole gag/cough thing started. Immediately after she poops, she has these farting spells (louder than my boyfriend), so I'm not too concerned about a bowel obstruction. I'm pretty sure it's respiratory. We bought a HEPA filter air purifier for her because she is so special. Set us back $150 but she is worth it. We've run it in all the rooms over the last two-ish days, but she is still gagging/coughing. Her farts are pretty nasty smelling. I hope to get an X-ray at the vet, and hopefully if she needs it, a kitty inhaler. I didn't expect her to have so many problems when we adopted her, but she is such a perfect, sweet girl, I don't care what I have to do to make her life good.
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Nov 4, 2012 07:57
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Cross posting this question from the Primitive Breeds thread. My boyfriend and I accidentally fell in love with an Alaskan Malamute at the shelter and are considering adopting him. He is eight years old and was an owner surrender as they were evicted, but it sounds like he has had multiple families in his lifetime. We have visited him several times and taken him on long walks twice. The first walk he seemed very shy and timid, but when I had him on the leash tonight he was wagging his tail, coming to me for pets, making eye contact, and generally having a good time. When my boyfriend took the leash, however, his tail went down by his legs, he shied away from him, and he seemed jumpy and nervous. We think he is afraid of men. I'm still in love with this dog and want to adopt him, but my boyfriend isn't so sure that he wants to take home a dog that is scared of him. (We are in a long term relationship and own a house together, it would be our dog.) We have him on a hold and he still needs to be neutered before we could adopt him, but my boyfriend understandably isn't excited about a dog that is nervous around males. Do dogs ever outgrow this? If he lives with us for a while and realizes that my boyfriend isn't a threat, will he get better around him? Or will he always be afraid of him?
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Nov 8, 2012 01:45
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Tiny Deer posted:So my family have expressed interest in adopting a dog/cat/possibly another elder animal. Older animals are great. Our last two animals that we have adopted have been older; a "middle-aged" cat and a "we think he's 8 or so" year old dog. They are the perfect animals. Both were housebroken, they are mellow, and they both have wonderful personalities. Neither have any behavioral problems, and neither required any kind of training. I don't ever plan on adopting a kitten/puppy again in the future unless there is some very special circumstance. One thing to consider with older animals is that there is a chance that they will require more frequent vet visits and may require medication. For example, my cat had undiagnosed heart and ear problems which were discovered after we adopted her, and she now requires heart pills and frequent ear washes. I wouldn't change her for the world and we don't mind having to do these things for her, but it's one thing that goes along with having an older pet. So far our dog is doing well, but he has some mild arthritis in his spine and his eyes have some age-related clouding. He is on glucosamine supplements and is doing fine. This all costs money, so if you plan on bringing home an older animal, make sure you have the finances to support it. Not to be morbid, either, but mortality is something that has to be realized as well, which I'm sure you already recognize. One reason we like adopting older pets is so that we can give them the absolute best final years of their lives. Lots of people won't adopt older pets because they don't want to deal with the fact that they will most likely die sooner than if they brought home a baby, but animals of all ages need good, devoted, and loving owners. You can never predict how long an animal will live, but knowing that you will be giving them a great however many final years is rewarding. I love my old animals, I could not have asked for better pets. I highly recommend adopting older pets, they make the most wonderful companions.
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Dec 7, 2012 11:59
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We are having pee problems with our dog. He is an eight year old Alaskan Malamute and we adopted him from the shelter about six weeks ago. The first couple weeks went great, and he is really a perfect dog. There is just one problem that has come to the surface, that he is peeing inside. Most of the time he makes it outside, but it seems like he has about two pee accidents a week. We let him out often, he doesn't really have a good cue for when he needs to go. Sometimes he will stand by the back door, but most of the time if it starts to get to the four hour mark, we will let him out and he will go. Sometimes we let him out and he comes right back inside. The times when he's had the accidents was either when we were at work or when we were sleeping. Most of the time he is able to make it for eight hours, and we are sure to let him out immediately before we leave the house or go to sleep, no matter how long we will be unavailable. We put down some puppy pee pads but he's only hit half of one, once. He usually pees in the front entryway, which is odd since we don't use the front door. It is hardwood so we mop with Nature's Miracle. From what the shelter said, he has not been crated, and we're not sure if that is something we would want to pursue, especially since he's eight. He really is fine when he's left alone, the only "problem" we had was when he ate some white chocolate that I stupidly left on the floor, otherwise he is okay, minus peeing on the floor sometimes. Any suggestions? This is the pee villain: 
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Dec 18, 2012 06:42
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Pugzilla posted:I have been thinking about getting a bearded dragon. After doing a bit of research on the web I have found quite a few conflicting bits of info, especially about habitats and what age the "beardie" should be when purchased. The Reptile and Amphibian thread is full of great resources, so look there for any info you want. As a bearded dragon mom, you will not be disappointed with getting a beardie! They are great lizards. Short answers: Don't get a beardie unless it's at LEAST eight weeks or six inches long. Anything less is bad for the lizard. (Chain pet stores like Petsmart and Petco generally have lizards that are too young.) A 40 gallon tank is the bare minimum for an adult. You also need to have a lot of stuff in the tank for climbing, hiding, basking, and cooling, and you need to monitor the temp and humidity. The most important thing is, these lizards can live for 10+ years, so be ready to make that kind of a commitment. If you don't have your heart set on getting a juvenile, look on Craigslist, there are usually people trying to get rid of their adult lizards. I have a question about squeaky dog toys. We adopted an eight year old Alaskan Malamute from our local shelter this past November. He is the BEST dog. A few months ago he got some squeaky toys, but he's having a strange reaction to them. When we squeak them, he whimpers and whines, and when we throw the toy, he will daintily pick it up and carry it into our bedroom. Then he will lay down on the floor with the toy between his front legs, lick it a few times, and then put his head down like he's pouting. I've never had a dog before and I don't know dog behavior, so this is puzzling me. Why does it seem like he's being mother-protective of his squeaky toys?
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Feb 27, 2013 21:19
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I have two Malamutes, Girl is 8 and Boy is 9. We've had the boy for a little over a year and we got the girl about a month ago from a really awful "shelter." She came with no information and needed emergency care for two infected eyes. They also neglected to tell us that she is extremely food aggressive and territorial. We have tried and tried for the past month to work with her but behavior problems keep popping up, and two days ago she attacked the boy dog and bit my boyfriend and his dad as they tried to break up the fight, deep puncture wounds on everyone. I'm at the end of my rope with her. Anyway, to my question. My boy dog got a puncture wound on the front of his leg, kind of where his leg meets his chest. Initially he was yelping and wouldn't put weight on the leg, but he has since been walking fine and doesn't seem too bothered. We brought him to the vet immediately and they put him on some oral antibiotics and decided to keep the wound open. However, it's been two days, and the puncture is still wide open and you can see muscle clearly underneath. He has been licking it a lot and we make him stop as soon as we notice, but I really don't want it to turn into a hot spot. I'm worried that the wound is still open - at what point would he need a suture or need to have it glued closed? Would bitter apple be a good option here or not considering he has an open wound? We have a cone of shame for him but I would rather have the other dog gone before we resorted to that. How long do bite wounds take to heal?
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Dec 26, 2013 10:54
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In the last month, my cat has become much more dog-like. We adopted her in May of 2012 and promptly named her Pikkukoira, which means "little dog," because she behaves much like a dog. She wags her tail, she goes "brrrrp" when you would expect a dog to bark, she is best friends with our Malamute, she comes when called, and in the last month, she has truly become a dog. To give a history, we have had her since May of 2012 and she was a "middle-aged" cat when we adopted her, our old cat passed away in October of 2012, we got our Mal in November of 2012, and we adopted a very old cat in May of 2013. Pikku has always preferred her own food, which is dry. Our old cat can only eat soft food as he doesn't have many teeth left, but Pikku never had an interest in his food, or the dog food. In the last month or so, she refuses to eat her own food. Instead, she will eat the dog food that lands on the floor when the dog gets fed, or she will hog the soft food when the senior cat gets fed. To me, she has been acting out more, going through the recycling and pooping outside of the box and drinking water out of the toilet even if there's water in her dish... My boyfriend (we adopted her together) doesn't think her behavior has changed but I think there's a drastic difference. She's become a dog. She was at the vet for a routine check up about a year ago and all her lab tests (including thyroid) were normal, and I don't know if we need to be taking her back now. I also don't know if this is just spring fever. We had an extremely rough winter with very cold temperatures and a lot of snow. Our malamute started to blow his coat at the same time she started acting funny. I'm not sure if we should wait it out or take her to the vet...  Photo proof that she (on the right) hogs food from her crippled senior catte (on the left). Koivunen fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Mar 23, 2014 |
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Mar 23, 2014 02:38
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My ten-ish year old Malamute has developed a small bump on his head. It's right in the middle of the top of his head. We first noticed it about a month ago and thought it might be a bug bite or a doggy pimple but it seems to have grown in size, it's now about the size of a pea. It moves with his skin, it's solid and hard, and when we part his hair the skin is the same color as the surrounding area (white). It doesn't seem to cause him any discomfort when we touch it. No bumps like this anywhere else. How soon should we see the vet about this? Any idea what it might be?
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Oct 30, 2014 16:36
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Is it still a bad thing to feed your dogs jerky from China, or has that passed by now? I got a big bag of duck jerky treats for my dog last month and didn't realize they were made in China until I looked at the package today. It's unopened and he hasn't had any, but I don't have the receipt any more and don't know if I could return them without it at this point. FWIW it's Happy Hips duck jerky treats from Petco.
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Nov 24, 2014 02:04
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I have a ten year old healthy Malamute (actual age is unknown, he was adopted from a shelter). A few months ago we noticed a small bump on the top of his head, it's pea-sized, hard, and moves with his skin. Doesn't appear to cause him any discomfort. We got it biopsied at the vet and she said "I'm no pathologist, but it appears to be benign." She suggested it was probably a cyst, but the only way to know for sure was if we got it removed. If we did this, he would be put under general anesthesia, and he could also use a tooth cleaning and possibly some tooth extractions as well. His front teeth are ground down to the gum, they believe he was chewing rocks in his past, but they don't appear to cause him pain and the only reason they would extract them is if he was under anesthesia for something else. Anyway, it would cost us about $1,000. I'm not interested in getting an estimate from a different vet because I really like the place we go to. So, my questions... 1. Should we get it removed and biopsied just in case? If it is something not benign, what would that mean for his future? Would I want to know? 2. We brush his teeth, but he likely had seven or so years of tooth neglect before we adopted him. His teeth really aren't a huge concern from the vet's point of view at this point. I'm not sure if I want to put him through the pain of having tooth extractions if it's not absolutely necessary. 3. I'm really nervous about putting an old boy under anesthesia and I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh the risks. We could afford it, but at the same time it's a lot of money. Any thoughts? cyberia posted:Dog butts. Sometimes dogs are just sensitive about their butts. If you change brushes and distract him and he's still upset about it, it may just require a butt shave every now and then. If you feel comfortable, you could try putting him up on a table/counter and having your wife put an arm under his belly and an arm around his chest and giving him a gentle hug, limiting his movement while you brush. That's what we have to do with our Malamute since he's sensitive about his butt. He still struggles and growls but it's a necessary evil. He forgets about it the second he sees his jerky reward, though.
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Feb 26, 2015 07:27
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