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Dixville posted:You might be thinking of dewormer? Pyrantel pamoate is often banana flavored. Oh yeah! What was I thinking. It's been more than a decade since I had that job.
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Mar 12, 2020 22:57
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Old story but I figured I'd share a feel-good story about one of my local vets. Normally we go for a longer drive to a vet we prefer, but when Apollo got into a porcupine, well, uh, where's the closest vet? So we went to the closest vet and arrived roughly around noon and they got him in immediately. We were sent off to get lunch while they worked, and apparently the entire vet team + assistants got together to help pull quills - they sounded cheerful about it, like it was a training session. I'm glad they got the practice, and I'm even more grateful that Apollo wobbled out of there drunk from the drugs, slept the entire afternoon, and was himself that evening. The cherry on top is that we got a lowish bill - something like 200$ instead of the expected 500$.  I love him so much and I appreciate that there are people I can run to in an emergency and they'll make him better - because by god he was not happy when I pulled a few quills myself. Poor baby was in a lot of pain.
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Mar 14, 2020 11:31
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Our senior boy Rodney had a lot of blood in his mouth last night, got him to the vet and they're pretty sure it's a squamous cell carcinoma under his tongue. They're doing a biopsy today to confirm. Looks like it's an aggressive cancer, but I'm hoping that since he's getting diagnosed when he has no trouble eating/drinking we can give him some quality time. Has anyone here dealt with this before? If so, how did it go?
Reik fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Mar 18, 2020 |
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Mar 18, 2020 18:01
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My best friend Reggie had a splenectomy today after the discovery of a ruptured hemangiosarcoma. Hoping he makes it through recovery, he had lost a fair amount of blood and was anemic prior to surgery. My vet said he has 6 months, but I'm seeing 1-3 months in online studies, because I'm doing the classic panic move of reading all about cancer after a cancer diagnosis. I don't think I can afford chemo, which is apparently like 3-5k and I just spent $2k on the surgery so that I didn't have to put him down today. He turns 8 next month  I don't necessarily expect any help or advice, I'm just despondent and looking to vent.
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Mar 18, 2020 21:45
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Reik posted:Our senior boy Rodney had a lot of blood in his mouth last night, got him to the vet and they're pretty sure it's a squamous cell carcinoma under his tongue. They're doing a biopsy today to confirm. Looks like it's an aggressive cancer, but I'm hoping that since he's getting diagnosed when he has no trouble eating/drinking we can give him some quality time. Has anyone here dealt with this before? If so, how did it go? I don't have the medical record since I was a teenager at the time, but a childhood cat of mine had a cancerous growth we couldn't treat that developed in his jaw. He was always a grumpy old man but mellowed out significantly over the course of time it developed. I want to say he lived for several months or a year after the initial diagnosis (which was when we took him in for similar - bleeding from his mouth). Apparently it didn't cause him any pain, just made him have trouble eating. We'd give him soft food (and eventually tuna juice and other soupy-food) and he'd get to the point where he'd lick it for nutrients but he was still having plenty of good days after that. Please be prepared for significant amounts of drool and blood cleanup on the floor or wherever a good place to nap is. It looks much more alarming than it was. He also would drink a lot more water, I think because he let his mouth hang open more often. When he got to hiding and suddenly stopped eating that was when we decided it was time. I wish you and Rodney the best and hope that you at least have some good days together to look forward to. TheBigAristotle posted:My best friend Reggie had a splenectomy today after the discovery of a ruptured hemangiosarcoma. Hoping he makes it through recovery, he had lost a fair amount of blood and was anemic prior to surgery. Most people can't afford chemo for their pets, please don't feel bad about it. I'm sorry about Reggie but I hope you also have some good days to spend with your buddy. He will let you know when it's time, sometimes critters don't go by whatever the average is. Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Mar 19, 2020 |
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Mar 19, 2020 01:04
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I had a dog with a squamous cell carcinoma in her nose, and it was able to be removed, with the help of an MRI, though she lost part of her jaw, and her nose, so she was a very funny looking girl. Later, when she had a brain tumor, I refused chemo, because the prognosis still wasn't great, and she would have to stay all day 3x a week at some hospital which would really freak her out.
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Mar 19, 2020 01:29
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TheBigAristotle posted:My best friend Reggie had a splenectomy today after the discovery of a ruptured hemangiosarcoma. Hoping he makes it through recovery, he had lost a fair amount of blood and was anemic prior to surgery. If you can't afford chemo (which is understandable) there are plenty of other ways to keep your pup comfortable and happy for whatever time he's got left. Best of luck, and keep us updated.
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Mar 19, 2020 03:13
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Reggie survived surgery and he's home with me now, he's so full of energy, it kills me to know that he can't just fight it off. Is there anything I can do to improve his situation? Far as nutrition or supplements of any kind? Right now they just have him on painkillers and antibiotics for his scar
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Mar 20, 2020 22:04
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Some of my friends Venmo'd me $400 to help pay for the surgery 
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Mar 20, 2020 22:06
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I have a euthanasia today and we are supposed to be staying 6 feet away from clients. So not only can i not shake their hand or give them a hug but they can't be holding the pet when we give the euthanasia drug. Current plan is to heavily sedate so they fall asleep, owner can say goodbye then we will give the lethal injection after. First euthanasia I have had since this whole pandemic started... this sucks
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Mar 21, 2020 00:47
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TheBigAristotle posted:Reggie survived surgery and he's home with me now, he's so full of energy, it kills me to know that he can't just fight it off. Great news! Not sure if he is overweight but if he is I would recommend prescription Metabolic Plus Mobility (it's made by Hills) if you don't want to deal with the rx diet you can just feed a low calorie diet and supplement Dasuquin or similar (glucosamine/ chondroitin) and omega 3 fish oil. I'm just a gp though so you might check in with the orthopedist to see what they recommend! Edit: you might also ask the doctor about getting a mild sedative like trazodone if he seems too anxious or antsy. Just for the first couple weeks or so
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Mar 21, 2020 00:50
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TheBigAristotle posted:Reggie survived surgery and he's home with me now, he's so full of energy, it kills me to know that he can't just fight it off. Sorry to hear about Reggie. Not a whole lot I'm afraid. Just focus on him enjoying all of the dog things he likes until he's not able to do those things anymore 8( It's always a crap situation - you often don't find out until they're critically unwell and then you have to make a rush decision about surgery or not. Re: chemo, you don't have to go full out. You could consider referral to an oncologist do discuss palliative care measures to extend quality of life, or even have your veterinarian email and oncologist to see if there is anything they might be able to offer at your own practice. How was the hemangiosarcoma diagnosis reached? Have you had histology results back yet or is it based on presumption?
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Mar 21, 2020 18:48
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Dixville posted:Edit: you might also ask the doctor about getting a mild sedative like trazodone if he seems too anxious or antsy. Just for the first couple weeks or so Trazodone is king for anxiety, beaten only by my favourite combination trazapentin.
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Mar 21, 2020 18:49
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YourCreation posted:Sorry to hear about Reggie. Not a whole lot I'm afraid. Just focus on him enjoying all of the dog things he likes until he's not able to do those things anymore 8( He was suddenly lethargic for 2 days, starting to get bloated, lose balance. One night it got really scary and he couldn't get up on the bed. Next morning we went to the vet first thing, doc gave him an exam, drew blood from his belly, one of the two tumors on his spleen had ruptured. They took him into surgery within an hour. He recovered super quickly and was h home the next day. Staples out next week. His passion for life is still there, he wants to play soccer like we do every day but I can't let him run, so we walk around a bit, and I pet him. I hope he can make it past the summer, I finally saved enough to afford a down payment on a house in 2018 and this was going to be our second summer with a big back yard to our own. It's odd because I've been here before with my human best friend in 2013, who died of clear cell sarcoma, an incredibly rare tendon cancer that was truly horrifying. I know what's coming and I can only hope he can heal up quickly and get back on the pitch for a few months. Is there a consistent decline in health with this condition or do things just eventually reach a state where he'll become sluggish again? God it's just so hard even to write all this. He's a being of pure love, and my heart breaks every time he does something he's done a thousand times, whether it's pop up whenever I stand up, or grab his ball from the back step when we go outside.
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Mar 22, 2020 01:58
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TheBigAristotle posted:Is there a consistent decline in health with this condition or do things just eventually reach a state where he'll become sluggish again?
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Mar 22, 2020 13:18
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Just to clarify - have they confirmed the diagnosis by sending the spleen out to a lab or is this based on best guess +/- some X-rays of the chest? I only ask because ~2/3 of the time there is cancer and ~1/3 of the time it is benign (roughly).
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Mar 23, 2020 14:03
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Over the past few days my cat has started to constantly lick his arm in the same area and now this has progressed to him being without hair on a few inches of his arm. We're trying to constantly keep him under watch but if he's awake he's trying to lick it. I think this is referred to as a hot spot. We called vets in our area but they're not accepting pets for days. Can anyone please offer some advice? I want to wrap his arm or something but he's too stubborn and smart to keep a wrap on him.
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Mar 23, 2020 21:40
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The Sean posted:Over the past few days my cat has started to constantly lick his arm in the same area and now this has progressed to him being without hair on a few inches of his arm. We're trying to constantly keep him under watch but if he's awake he's trying to lick it. I think this is referred to as a hot spot. We called vets in our area but they're not accepting pets for days. Can anyone please offer some advice? I want to wrap his arm or something but he's too stubborn and smart to keep a wrap on him.
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Mar 24, 2020 01:47
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The Sean posted:Over the past few days my cat has started to constantly lick his arm in the same area and now this has progressed to him being without hair on a few inches of his arm. We're trying to constantly keep him under watch but if he's awake he's trying to lick it. I think this is referred to as a hot spot. We called vets in our area but they're not accepting pets for days. Can anyone please offer some advice? I want to wrap his arm or something but he's too stubborn and smart to keep a wrap on him. Consider giving him a cool water bath (drizzle water on him from a faucet or something, don't dip him in a bucket of water or a sink) and make sure it isn't cold cold. You want it to be soothing - imagine you have a sunburn. Whatever temp you would want your bath to be with that or a rash. It's the time of year he could be having an allergic reaction and a lot of animals have a skin reaction instead of the sniffles that humans get. If you don't feel comfortable giving him a bath see if you can put a shirt on him to keep him from aggrivating the spot. They look goofy but on some animals it really helps them not to get at the wound. Of course this is all to buy you time until you can get him to the vet.
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Mar 24, 2020 05:59
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The Sean posted:Over the past few days my cat has started to constantly lick his arm in the same area and now this has progressed to him being without hair on a few inches of his arm. We're trying to constantly keep him under watch but if he's awake he's trying to lick it. I think this is referred to as a hot spot. We called vets in our area but they're not accepting pets for days. Can anyone please offer some advice? I want to wrap his arm or something but he's too stubborn and smart to keep a wrap on him. https://www.chewy.com/kong-ez-clear-collar-dogs-cats-small/dp/47496?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=KONG&utm_campaign=hg + https://www.chewy.com/andover-healthcare-petflex-bitter-no/dp/153216 for when he gets the e-collar off. check for fleas. treat if found. treat if not found if you're due, anyhow. yes, even if you still have snow. do not give the cat a bath unless the cat likes water. do not taunt grumpy hot spot cat.
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Mar 24, 2020 14:45
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Thank you all so much.
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Mar 24, 2020 15:14
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My 15 year old female cat has suddenly chewed a patch of hair off as of yesterday. She had her yearly and shots a week ago. Came up healthy except for the same high heart rate, every vet ever has commented on. Per the vet's recommendation, I do have a chest x-ray scheduled to make sure the high heart rate is just fear and not heart disease, so I'll have them check it then. But yeah, it's freaking me out because this has never happened before.  Located left side and just north of the hip.
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Mar 28, 2020 01:06
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Iron Crowned posted:My 15 year old female cat has suddenly chewed a patch of hair off as of yesterday. She had her yearly and shots a week ago. Came up healthy except for the same high heart rate, every vet ever has commented on. There are multiple possible causes but it's not likely to be anything too serious. Cats will chew themselves up just from anxiety sometimes, though usually it would start at a younger age. Another possible cause since it's over a joint (hip) could be arthritis in an older kitty. Sometimes pets will lick or chew an area to soothe pain. Definitely get it checked out by a vet when you can. In the mean time you could actually follow the same advice of the hot spot cat above and use an ecollar, treat for fleas (yes even if they are indoor only) (make sure to use a product marked safe for cats) and maybe bathe if they tolerate it. Maybe a cool compress would work better? Cats don't tend to take too well to bathing. Disclaimer i am not diagnosing your cat and definitely have it seen by a local vet still!! Edit - just realized if they got an injection it could possibly be a local reaction in that area. Feline leukemia vaccine is often given at the left hind leg. So another possibility. Just something to consider
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Mar 28, 2020 01:51
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I just posted this in the dog thread but then noticed this thread existed. Can anyone point me to a resource for heartworm? I got my girl in January from a rescue, and she was heartworm positive. They're covering the treatment. She had an injection and overnight stay a month ago, and was scheduled to have one again on Friday. Unfortunately, the hospital had to close unexpectedly and I'm not sure when they're coming back. They told me at the last treatment that there was only a small window for the next treatment. I'm trying to figure out how much of a window that actually is, and the hospital hasn't gotten back to me yet
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Mar 28, 2020 19:31
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Medullah posted:I just posted this in the dog thread but then noticed this thread existed. I actually had to look this up because we almost never see heartworm cases in southern California and I've gotten out of practice. Generally the treatments are given with one injection, then one month later 2 more injections 24 hours apart. Apparently the criteria is "at least" one month between the first and second injections. So I would say as long as you got it done within a reasonable amount of time, like a month or so, you should be ok. Here is the heartworm society website that talks about protocols if you have other questions. https://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/american-heartworm-society-guidelines
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Mar 29, 2020 04:28
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Dixville posted:I actually had to look this up because we almost never see heartworm cases in southern California and I've gotten out of practice. Generally the treatments are given with one injection, then one month later 2 more injections 24 hours apart. Apparently the criteria is "at least" one month between the first and second injections. So I would say as long as you got it done within a reasonable amount of time, like a month or so, you should be ok. Here is the heartworm society website that talks about protocols if you have other questions. Thank you so much, my Googling was not helping me. I just want to make sure my girl is taken care of, it's been so frustrating going through this, she wants to play and walk and I can't let her. 
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Mar 29, 2020 13:57
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Iron Crowned posted:My 15 year old female cat has suddenly chewed a patch of hair off as of yesterday. She had her yearly and shots a week ago. Came up healthy except for the same high heart rate, every vet ever has commented on. My partners cat has also had this occur. Looks nasty. To those in the know, shall I just suggest the same advice? I’m clueless on pet related advice as I do not have one and there are issues with Vets and Covid at the moment.  Edit: in particular, is there anything she can do to stop the cat scratching at it? willie_dee fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Apr 2, 2020 |
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Apr 2, 2020 01:39
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Dixville posted:There are multiple possible causes but it's not likely to be anything too serious. Cats will chew themselves up just from anxiety sometimes, though usually it would start at a younger age. Another possible cause since it's over a joint (hip) could be arthritis in an older kitty. Sometimes pets will lick or chew an area to soothe pain. Definitely get it checked out by a vet when you can. In the mean time you could actually follow the same advice of the hot spot cat above and use an ecollar, treat for fleas (yes even if they are indoor only) (make sure to use a product marked safe for cats) and maybe bathe if they tolerate it. Maybe a cool compress would work better? Cats don't tend to take too well to bathing. Update: Vet said it looks like an allergic reaction commonly caused by fleas. Although she couldn't find any fleas or flea dirt, we're treating with Bravecta. Unfortunately, this means I have to get over the counter stuff for my roommate's cats  As for the chest x-ray and sonogram, she's got a perfectly healthy heart. She just gets very nervous at the vet. Here she is resting off the anesthesia:  willie_dee posted:My partners cat has also had this occur. Looks nasty. To those in the know, shall I just suggest the same advice? I’m clueless on pet related advice as I do not have one and there are issues with Vets and Covid at the moment. That looks like broken skin, I'd call around and see if you can find a vet, if her's isn't open. Mine is doing contactless transfer through the vestibule, and doing the consult and whatnot over the phone.
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Apr 2, 2020 20:53
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YourCreation posted:Just to clarify - have they confirmed the diagnosis by sending the spleen out to a lab or is this based on best guess +/- some X-rays of the chest? I only ask because ~2/3 of the time there is cancer and ~1/3 of the time it is benign (roughly). It was confirmed. Fortunately he recovered from surgery quickly and has been pretty energetic over the last couple weeks. We spent his 8th birthday out at a park yesterday, and he was doing well. Selfishly, I'm really glad I'm able to work from home during this COVID crisis, because I spend every hour with Reggie.    
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Apr 9, 2020 15:38
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TheBigAristotle posted:It was confirmed. Fortunately he recovered from surgery quickly and has been pretty energetic over the last couple weeks. We spent his 8th birthday out at a park yesterday, and he was doing well.
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Apr 11, 2020 12:14
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Hey, so I have a cat that has been diagnosed with asthma. She's currently on prednisolone and it was working for awhile, then my vet had us halve the dosage to try to get her on the lowest effective dose. It worked okay for a week or so, but she's back up to the full dose (vet recommended, of course) My vet suggested an inhaler for her because the long term effects of the prednisolone aren't great. He suggested looking into a Canadian pharmacy that they could send the RX to because the inhaler can be pretty pricey if ordered here in the US. I was wondering if anyone knew of a reputable pharmacy where I can find the inhaler. I know that it can be a bit sketchy ordering online, but I'd like to see if that's an option, so if anyone could help me out, that'd be great. Thanks!
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Apr 15, 2020 02:51
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LikeFunOnlyBoring posted:Hey, so I have a cat that has been diagnosed with asthma. She's currently on prednisolone and it was working for awhile, then my vet had us halve the dosage to try to get her on the lowest effective dose. It worked okay for a week or so, but she's back up to the full dose (vet recommended, of course) Not sure about canadian pharmacies. There is goodrx.com for prescription discounts, you might look into using that.
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Apr 18, 2020 06:04
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I loved this post from a group I'm in on facebook for veterinarians. The job can be really tough sometimes but I hope I do make a difference in people's lives.
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Apr 18, 2020 15:21
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Just FYI I saw the coronavirus thread and while I don't agree with 100% of the advice (not too sure about vinegar spray for fleas but hell, it won't hurt at least) I endorse most of the advice in that thread (emergency first aid etc) and I am willing to help goons with questions about stuff that can't get into their vet. I think I'll update the op to reflect that...
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Apr 19, 2020 21:15
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Every month or two my dog decides that all he wants to eat is grass. He snubs his perfectly good kibble and beef and asks to go outside and then goes straight for the garden and turns into a goat. When he comes back in he pukes it up two hours later and then skips a meal but the next day he's fine. I asked two different vets about it and neither had any idea. Ever since the rona I've been staying it my gfs house and now for some reason he can't go a week without deciding his food is no good and he only wants grass. I started putting lettuce in his food, no good. I open the back door and he goes straight for a brush. If I don't let him out he sits sullen in a corner and I can hear his stomach rumbling. 12 hours pass and he decides normal dog food is OK and he's all good again. It's one of those rare times I think pets would be better if they could talk. Anybody have any idea?
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May 4, 2020 00:46
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Vino posted:Every month or two my dog decides that all he wants to eat is grass. He snubs his perfectly good kibble and beef and asks to go outside and then goes straight for the garden and turns into a goat. When he comes back in he pukes it up two hours later and then skips a meal but the next day he's fine. I asked two different vets about it and neither had any idea. Anecdotally, I tend to agree they do it to try to soothe an upset stomach. The sequence I see the most (seriously, it comes up constantly in general practice) is, dog stops eating food, starts eating grass, usually vomits, but not always. Does the new living situation seem to stress him out? Is the gf sneaking him scraps he doesn't usually get? Any diet change? I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but if you feel like it's negatively affecting him, you could always switch him to a sensitive stomach diet for a few months and see if it stops.
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May 4, 2020 03:23
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Vino posted:Every month or two my dog decides that all he wants to eat is grass. He snubs his perfectly good kibble and beef and asks to go outside and then goes straight for the garden and turns into a goat. When he comes back in he pukes it up two hours later and then skips a meal but the next day he's fine. I asked two different vets about it and neither had any idea. Definitely sounds like nausea. Unfortunately random bouts like this can be hard to diagnose well. The best at home treatment is usually a bland diet like plain boneless skinless chicken and white rice and see if that settles their stomach. You might consider taking him back to a vet now that it's getting more frequent. I would be most concerned about something like pancreatitis. Again, though, these can be hard to diagnose when it just keeps coming back like that.
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May 5, 2020 20:34
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Aye, could be an underlying chronic gastropathy/gastroenteropathy (IBD, atypical Addisons, etc) that needs some investigating once all of this is over.
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May 6, 2020 02:49
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He'll definitely still keep taking human food and treats when he's in these moods so I think keeping some chicken and rice on hand to see whether he takes that will help. Thank you all so much, I'll definitely take him back to the vet when the world is a thing again.
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May 6, 2020 07:14
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I have a soon to be 10 year old, short haired black cat whose third eyelids have been showing for over a month now. I've taken her several times to the vet to get a physical, blood-work and x-rays taken and everything has come back positive. The only thing the doctor was concerned about was her weight which she's slowly been putting back on. Her behavior is normal, no changes in habits, her appetite is good, she's drinking her normal amounts of water, and was given a topical de-wormer. I'm confused as to why this is still a thing and concerned of what it could be, but my local vet has said everything is fine. Could their be other issues to this like allergies? Any help is appreciated, thank you.
LostMy2010Accnt fucked around with this message at 12:47 on May 8, 2020 |
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May 8, 2020 12:40
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