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My elderly cats all enjoyed freeze dried tripe, which seemed to keep them interested in eating to some extent; my sister’s diabetic cat had some actual appetite stimulant prescribed which helped too. The tripe product I have in mind is extruded cylinders and not too gross or messy, it’s made in New Zealand but the brand name escapes me.
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Jan 29, 2025 16:09
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Captain Oblivious posted:Relatively basic request on my end: we've used freeze dried liver treats crumbled over regular food (they turn into fine powder so a single one will coat a meal easily) as an appetite incentive, but that only works if they actually like the treat.
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Jan 29, 2025 22:41
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 This dope keeps scooting and I don’t know why. I haven’t seen any worms, he’s clean back there, and I can’t tell if it’s an anal gland thing or not. I’m probably just gonna take him into the vet and have them figure it out, but is there any way to check if the glands are the problem? Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Feb 7, 2025 |
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Feb 7, 2025 19:13
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I think if the glands are a problem you’ll smell it rather than seeing it, if the places that have been scooted on don’t absolutely reek then it’s probably not that (but a vet will be able to tell easily). Do you know what a tapeworm proglottid looks like? Could be tapeworms, especially if there are fleas around since their life cycles are linked. The ones I’ve seen are a bit like sesame seeds.
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Feb 7, 2025 20:52
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Pollyanna posted:
Stoca Zola posted:I think if the glands are a problem you’ll smell it rather than seeing it, if the places that have been scooted on don’t absolutely reek then it’s probably not that
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Feb 9, 2025 13:01
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When do you see a vet for sneezing/sniffling? My 9-year-old Havanese has both. I went out of town and boarded her 8 days ago, but symptoms developed over the last 24 hours. She's up-to-date on all of her vaccines. Edit: Day two of this, and it's not actual "sniffles," it's more like little snorts, like she's trying to clear her nose, with very intermittent sneezing. As far as I can tell, everything else is perfectly normal; good appetite, no lethargy, still barking, playing like normal. I might take her in on Friday if it persists until then. Lester Shy fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Feb 11, 2025 |
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Feb 10, 2025 22:53
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Is this bald spot on my dog ringworm? (picture might be slightly gross for some people) He doesn't seem to be scratching or licking at it, so I don't think it's really bothering him but I don't want to ignore it and have it get worse if it is something that requires treatment. I don't know how he would've caught it since he hasn't been around any other dogs in a long while. Can it be caught from airborne spores outside?
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Mar 21, 2025 16:12
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That looks like an epidermal collarette. These are usually from a bacterial skin infection.
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Mar 21, 2025 18:18
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Crooked Booty posted:That looks like an epidermal collarette. These are usually from a bacterial skin infection. Thank you! I'll keep my eye on it over the weekend to see if it gets worse and make sure to clean it regularly. I'll get a vet to check on him when I can too, just to be safe. I appreciate your help.
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Mar 21, 2025 18:29
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Hi all, I am curious if these dog paw pads are burned? Earlier I thought the pavement was too hot for my brother in law to walk their dog. He didn’t think so and didn’t want to hear it from me. If they look burned I’ll bring it up again, but maybe this looks normal and I need to chill. Can someone who knows more than me chime in? Thank you so much https://imgur.com/a/bwzoMtE
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Apr 6, 2025 04:27
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Our last cat doesn't seem to be doing great. His twin brother passed from kidney disease a few months ago. Last check up, about 2 months ago, showed stage 2 kidney disease for him, but we'd had him on the same kidney friendly food as his twin this whole time and still do, so we figured we'd easily have another year or so. In the last week or so he's peeing a lot more, lost quite a lot of weight, not eating *as much*, and has some mild ataxia. He also collapsed for a moment after puking yesterday. It's uh, not looking good is it? The ataxia in particular confuses me because isn't that usually neurological or from ear infections?
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Apr 6, 2025 20:53
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Nobody Interesting posted:Our last cat doesn't seem to be doing great. His twin brother passed from kidney disease a few months ago. Last check up, about 2 months ago, showed stage 2 kidney disease for him, but we'd had him on the same kidney friendly food as his twin this whole time and still do, so we figured we'd easily have another year or so. Have you scheduled a vet appointment? The weight loss seems concerning to me. Wishing your cat well.
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Apr 7, 2025 02:34
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for more.
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Anderson Koopa posted:Have you scheduled a vet appointment? The weight loss seems concerning to me. Wishing your cat well. Yeah but it's close to the end of the month. We can't do emergency because we're between paycheques. He's his same ol self otherwise dammit
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Apr 7, 2025 03:16
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Welllp it's all just a repeat of what happened with his twin. Tests showed further degradation of his kidneys. Subcutaneous fluids, kidney food, supplements, appetite stimulant. Check blood after a month of fluids and hope for an improvement. Appetite stimulant has got him wolfing down food again which is lovely to see, but I'm under no illusions that he'll see the summer, based on how Vice went.
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Apr 10, 2025 15:36
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Nobody Interesting posted:Welllp it's all just a repeat of what happened with his twin. Tests showed further degradation of his kidneys. Subcutaneous fluids, kidney food, supplements, appetite stimulant. Check blood after a month of fluids and hope for an improvement. Sorry to hear. Wishing you well.
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Apr 11, 2025 17:56
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Nobody Interesting posted:Welllp it's all just a repeat of what happened with his twin. Tests showed further degradation of his kidneys. Subcutaneous fluids, kidney food, supplements, appetite stimulant. Check blood after a month of fluids and hope for an improvement. I'm very sorry to hear this. I have to call the vet's office and schedule my dog's last visit. She's been slowly spiraling for months and nothing we are trying is helping. This morning she barely wanted to walk around the block, and for a part border collie that's significant. Its heart breaking but keeping her going like this seems selfish. She turns 16 on Thursday  edit: and its booked that day Bilirubin fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Apr 21, 2025 |
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Apr 21, 2025 19:26
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I'll be having a consultation with an oncologist for more info soon, but was informed today that my cats spleen was positive for hemangiosarcoma. From what I've already been told by the vet who did the surgery this is a very aggressive cancer so I understand what lies ahead, just never dealt with chemo before, either for a human or a cat, so I'm just attempting to read and gather resources right now to help me make the most informed decision possible. If anyone could chime in with relevant knowledge/experience I would really appreciate it. Thanks y'all. E: To inject some positivity to this downer of a post, I have to say I'm eternally grateful to those of you in the veterinary field. While this is definitely heartbreaking news, I am incredibly thankful that Charlie received such excellent care from everyone on the medical team, techs, nurses, doctors etc. He might only have a couple of months left, but the successful splenectomy means we get to spend them in relative comfort and that means the world to me that the end of his life can be peaceful and cherished. Wouldn't even be here asking about chemo if it weren't for that. McKracken fucked around with this message at 05:36 on May 6, 2025 |
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May 6, 2025 05:32
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My Pound Cake is very wobbly and looks drunk - he went down hill and since he got his meds went back to near normal and now downhill again. He gets his thyroid meds at 2pm and 2am my husband gives him his steroids at around 7pm. I am thinking I might be torturing him with all the medications and it - might be - time. I am only thinking that because he can barely walk without falling over wnad I took him over to the couch to sit next to me and I petted him and my hand was wet - he was crying. I think he is in pain so this is a hard decision to make. I am going to go to the vet the second they open to ask their opinion - I don't want to do this :-( but I also don't want him to be in pain.
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May 6, 2025 10:09
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McKracken posted:I'll be having a consultation with an oncologist for more info soon, but was informed today that my cats spleen was positive for hemangiosarcoma. I'm so sorry to hear about this. I'm a dog person, and I've lost two to hemangiosarcoma. One, my German Shepherd Jake, the primary lesion was on his spleen and we first noticed he was having difficulty walking and holding his urine. Then he had bloody urine fairly quickly after that and we said goodbye to him. He was 11. My second, a beagle/schipperke mix named Charlie, just suddenly got really lethargic one night on his bed (I can recall I was being shown old WoW raid content pre Pandaria launch by guild mates since I was new to the game) and my wife called me over. He had just had dental surgery so I checked his gums and they were bright blue so I gathered him up in my arms and carried him down to the car for a trip to emerg. He died in the back seat on the way there. Because I work for a veterinary school and his dental surgeon was doing sessional work with us and was a little freaked out something had happened to him while he was under anaesthesia we had our path team do a necropsy and it turns out he had a hemangiocarcoma on his right atrium that had burst and filled his pericardial sack. Since fluid is noncompressible he just basically slowly went to sleep. He was a uniquely sensitive, outstanding dog and was only 6. We still miss him.  Had that been caught in time, it would have only given us a few extra days. Our dental surgeon, interestingly, had also had a dog with the same problem, but because she had the clinical skills she took the effort of draining off her dog's pericardium ever so often, but it was only days until she got home one time and it was gone. So, I've had no experience with oncology and hemang. In the case of my first dog it was caught late, he was elderly, and we were broke. In the case of my second, a hidden bomb went off and we only found out what it was after the fact. I hope you had better luck with your oncologist appt. nunsexmonkrock posted:My Pound Cake is very wobbly and looks drunk - he went down hill and since he got his meds went back to near normal and now downhill again. He gets his thyroid meds at 2pm and 2am my husband gives him his steroids at around 7pm. I am thinking I might be torturing him with all the medications and it - might be - time. I am only thinking that because he can barely walk without falling over wnad I took him over to the couch to sit next to me and I petted him and my hand was wet - he was crying. I think he is in pain so this is a hard decision to make. I am going to go to the vet the second they open to ask their opinion - I don't want to do this :-( but I also don't want him to be in pain.
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May 12, 2025 19:28
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This may be the wrong place--this dog may need a dog psychiatrist. I know dogs afraid of thunder has been covered, but this is strange. My dog has suddenly gotten really afraid of it, to the point of shaking and turning down treats, but only when she's inside. If we're outside walking she's totally unconcerned. Have had her 4 years and thunder has never bothered her before, although she doesn't like fireworks, and fireworks or thunder both send our two cats straight to the basement. She is about 10 years old. 
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Jun 5, 2025 05:04
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Sometimes dogs are afraid of "unattributable" noises. Like my refrigerator probably has a cavity in its insulation, so it makes a thumping sound a few minutes after cycling off (thermal expansion). Anyway, if I'm sitting on the couch with the dog, he jumps off and runs to the other room. But if I'm in the kitchen when it thumps, no reaction, he seems to think I'm responsible for the noise somehow, so it's OK. Anyway, maybe the difference between inside and outside for thunder is that they can see or hear more the lead-up to it. They can see the lightning and then hear the thunder shortly after, or maybe they can hear it coming from further away, etc. When inside, maybe the thunder sneaks up on them, all of a sudden the noise happens and they don't know why.
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Jun 5, 2025 12:41
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Bilirubin posted:I'm so sorry to hear about this. Hey just wanted to say I appreciated you sharing your experiences and I'm sorry you had to experience such a difficult thing with two beloved pets, was waiting to post a follow-up after the oncology appointment, but unfortunately the day after seeing the oncologist he was showing signs of a second bleed, so we had to take him in and ultimately decided it was time to put him down. He handled all the chaos in his last month with us so well, and right up to the end he was just happy to get affection and attention. Heartbroken that my little buddy is gone but I am glad that at least we caught it early enough, so that we could be with him in his last moments and that he was as comfortable and loved as we could make him. The oncologist made it pretty clear that outcomes with hemangiosarcoma in cats are decidedly worse than dogs, although the data is sparse, in part because very often it's not caught until the disease is late stage terminal, it's much less frequent in cats in general and people opting to do chemo with cats is rarer still. She said that the only therapies for cats are the ones that have been tailored to dogs and basically we have no way of knowing if they even help, and the process for the therapy can be highly stressful because the cat would have to spend every other week getting a day long infusion for at least 5 sessions so it was a strong no regardless. McKracken fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Jun 14, 2025 |
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Jun 14, 2025 18:54
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McKracken posted:Hey just wanted to say I appreciated you sharing your experiences and I'm sorry you had to experience such a difficult thing with two beloved pets, was waiting to post a follow-up after the oncology appointment, but unfortunately the day after seeing the oncologist he was showing signs of a second bleed, so we had to take him in and ultimately decided it was time to put him down. He handled all the chaos in his last month with us so well, and right up to the end he was just happy to get affection and attention. Heartbroken that my little buddy is gone but I am glad that at least we caught it early enough, so that we could be with him in his last moments and that he was as comfortable and loved as we could make him. I'm sorry for your loss McKracken :glump: gently caress cancer
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Jun 20, 2025 04:31
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 I lost a member of our family today NIbbles our 3rd cat and a rescue at only 2 years old to something I never even heard of called saddle rhombus and am devestated, he was the sweetest, coolest lap cat. Appreciate the time you have with your cats goons, just making this post to make others aware of this afflication he was hiding a little more than usual for a day or two then poof he was gone on the way to the vet in my wifes arms.
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Jun 22, 2025 00:44
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The vet has me doing a blood sugar log for my dog and I need to test her every 2 hours to see how the insulin is affcting her. Is there a general conversion chart or rule of thumb when using a human glucometer on dogs? My dog recently got put on vetsulin a few days ago and the only reader I have is designed for people. Money is currently far too tight to buy something Ike an AlphaTrak 3 plus all the lancets and whatnot, but I've got plenty of human gear.
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Jul 2, 2025 14:55
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I don't really know where else to put this. I don't even know I need an answer just to vent. My wife and I have a 5.5 yo shar pei mix named Belmont. About a year and a half ago he started having what we believe are panic attacks. He starts shaking, his eyes become huge, he begins drooling. If he's able he'll come to one of us and just sit there shaking, but sometimes he's shaking so hard he can't move and we just find him teeth-chattering somewhere in the house. We've had to start gating places off so he can't be too far from us. There doesn't seem to be any discernable trigger. It's happened at day, night, while sleeping, on vacation, outside, different houses, different states, different seasons, different diets, different people around, no one around etc. I've gone as far as even shutting off the water and power in the house just incase he was hearing something we couldn't. Our vet put him on Prozac last spring when it started and after a couple months he was significantly better. He still had episodes, but maybe only a couple of bad days a month instead of multiple times every day. Then it just kept getting worse and worse until it was like he was unmedicated again. They upped his dose ~last fall/early winter, but it didn't do much. This spring they replaced it with Xanax, as well as Acepromazine and Gabapentin for really bad days. It has had zero effect. He's the worst he's been, and on his worst days even on what they tell me is apparently A LOT of sedative he just shakes right through it. We texted our vet again this week about anything else we could try (they have done physicals and blood tests and have never found anything negative. He is still eating and exercising as normal, just in between episodes). Their response today is that it's just a training issue, and they want us to go to a trainer-slash-"therapist" that they work with. I don't know where our usual doctor is, but the doctor that responded to our text is someone that we've never even met and has never seen our dog before. I just... I'm so incredibly mad at this response. For the record prior to this he was probably the best trained dog I've met. And arguably he still is because he still has all the training, he just can't act on it when he's having an episode. The rescue told me shar peis were really smart when I got him (I had never had a shar pei before him), and he exceeded even that. He does everything you can except from a well-trained dog: off-leash recall, being left at home, meeting strangers, playing with other dogs in the park/day care, knows around 15 - 20 tricks etc. all totally fine. He admittedly has a bit of a prey drive when it comes to deer, something he probably has no chance of taking down and will never have an opportunity to anyways. Also maybe I'm not exactly the dog whisperer or whatever, but I almost cannot believe there's any level of training that is going to help with 'waking up at 3 AM in a panic attack'. My wife's going to talk to them today and see if she can speak to our usual doctor because if I go down there she thinks there will Be Problems. I don't know what the next step is going to be/should be.
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Jul 3, 2025 17:51
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Sorry you're dealing with this. I guess the question for me is is this a behavior issue or a neurological/medical issue. Bloodwork and physical exam do not constitute a thorough medical workup for something like this. A "panic attack" isn't really a diagnosis recognized in dogs. Is your dog generally highly anxious when NOT having these episodes? It sounds like your dog either needs a veterinary behaviorist, if there's one in your area, or a more though medical workup, but I'm not sure which. If your dog is super anxious, then "training" along with meds is going to be infinitely more effective than meds alone, which is probably what that vet meant when they called this a training issue. They arent talking about training tricks or recall, they're talking about behavior modification, counter conditioning, changing your dog's emotional state, etc.
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Jul 3, 2025 18:47
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Crooked Booty posted:Sorry you're dealing with this. I guess the question for me is is this a behavior issue or a neurological/medical issue. Bloodwork and physical exam do not constitute a thorough medical workup for something like this. The only other test they have offered us a few months ago was to knock him out and draw fluids from his lungs (sorry I don't know the exact name of the test) incase it is a breathing issue, which we have declined for now because there is no other evidence it is his lungs. They did tell us they were good on an x-ray. Crooked Booty posted:Is your dog generally highly anxious when NOT having these episodes? It sounds like your dog either needs a veterinary behaviorist, if there's one in your area, or a more though medical workup, but I'm not sure which. If your dog is super anxious, then "training" along with meds is going to be infinitely more effective than meds alone, which is probably what that vet meant when they called this a training issue. They arent talking about training tricks or recall, they're talking about behavior modification, counter conditioning, changing your dog's emotional state, etc. I mean, for the first 4 years of his life I would say no? We got him as a puppy and have been the sole owners in the same house, same everything, no other pets etc. Just a completely typical dog. The past 1.5 years I guess I don't know what the answer would be. It's not like something that builds and builds and he hits a breaking point (or if it is it's not visible to us I guess). It's more like a switch gets flipped. He could go from resting at my feet peacefully for an hour to popping up and absolutely shaking next to me for a bit, and then the switch gets flipped back the other way and he'll just settle right back down at my feet like nothing happened with a big yawn and a stretch. Edit: For reference, the shaking/freezing up is basically the only symptom. He doesn't chew, destroy, dig, paw, hide, become aggressive, whine, have bathroom accidents, or have other symptoms. Saint Freak fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Jul 3, 2025 |
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Jul 3, 2025 19:19
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Have they ever floated the idea that these are seizure events? Focal seizures can express in a lot of ways, and some of what you're describing would fit.
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Jul 4, 2025 00:58
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Am I entitled to getting a full medical history/record including any and all lab work results etc from my vet? Ohio if it matters. Or can they say no? I just took my cat to a net vet the other week and did some lab work and need to schedule a dental exam + cleaning. I'm really not happy with the (lack of) communication from the office staff so it's kinda soured me on the entire practice.
Boris Galerkin fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Jul 15, 2025 |
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Jul 15, 2025 00:28
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It's as easy to ask here as to ask the vet.
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Jul 15, 2025 20:59
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Boris Galerkin posted:Am I entitled to getting a full medical history/record including any and all lab work results etc from my vet? Ohio if it matters. Or can they say no? I just took my cat to a net vet the other week and did some lab work and need to schedule a dental exam + cleaning. I'm really not happy with the (lack of) communication from the office staff so it's kinda soured me on the entire practice.
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Jul 16, 2025 14:40
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Hi, looking for some insight. My vet retired about a year ago and closed and I’ve been slow to get her to a new one. She does have an appointment to establish care but it’s two weeks out right now. Here’s my question. Over Memorial Day weekend she was squatting to pee but not producing a urine. She’d go fine the first time but then keep trying. I took her to a pet urgent care and she had a UTI so she got a weeks worth of antibiotics. Early July I noticed she was doing it again. I took her back to the urgent care, again confirmed a UTI (ecoli if that matters) and got two weeks. At the end I took her back to be retested and she came up clear. Problem is,she hasn’t stopped doing the thing where she pees and then keeps trying to pee repeatedly. Usually this happens during exercise when she’s going hard chasing the ball and running with other dogs at the dog park. She hasn’t been going in the house, nor has she shown any distress, nor is there blood or anything in her urine. I’m at a loss because as of a week ago she tested clean. I really don’t want to pay for the urgent care again because it’s like$500 to $700 a visit after the tests and stuff. Any thoughts on whether this is the UTI coming back again (behavior never really went away) or something else? She’s a little over three and a collie/shepherd mix if that means anything
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Jul 22, 2025 17:29
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My 11 year old Corgi can't walk anymore due to Arthritis and disk issues and has recently started to poop where she sits. Vet prescribed some antidiarrheal which is somewhat helping but she still has accidents. All her other tests came back perfect and she's mentally active but the fact that she can't walk and also the fact that she has started pooping herself, though it may be temporary, has brought to mind that maybe its the end of the road for my friend here. The vet gently gave me the option the other day but the tests seemed so positive and he shot her with a stomach antibiotic so quickly I couldn't get a word in really but I'm still torn up about it. She's clearly not happy, not having the ability to run and chase and fetch and hike but I also feel like I'm just thinking that because It makes me sad to look at her remembering how active she once was, am I selfishly considering ending her life because she no longer makes me happy? Or is it selfish to let her keep living this way? Feels cruel either way to bring her to a vet just to die not sure how to even broach the subject with them. I'm not sure how useful advice will be here but I'm really stuck
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Jul 28, 2025 01:28
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Someone posted about Lap of Love's quality of life scale here before and it has helped me a lot so I keep reposting it. There's probably other useful material on their website too. https://www.lapoflove.com/how-will-i-know-it-is-time/Lap-of-Love-Quality-of-Life-Scale.pdf I've cared for a lot of terminally ill, elderly cats now. I think it's its probably a bit different for cats since they tend to hide their health problems, but having this scale and having thought about the changes they're going through in a more quantifiable way, made it a lot easier for me to know "it's time". Something I did for my older cats was get them walking on harnesses so it was easier to safely give them outdoor access. I was able to spend time with them, let them bask in the sun and chew grass just a little longer and it has helped me to grieve to be able to think back on those times. I don't know if it's possible to take your corgi for "walks" in a pet wagon or push cart, while on pain relief- to be able to provide a little more enrichment, or you might already know its beyond that point. The love and joyful times you spent with your corgi are still with you even if right now they feel buried by pain and loss. You're the one who knows your dog and your situation the best so I can't really give you much advice, beyond that facing reality, asking questions and thinking about what steps you need to take is the kindest and most loving thing you can do for your pet. One of my biggest regrets in life was leaving it too long for my first cat, who was dying of FIV and had liver failure. He hid how sick he was until the end and I thought we would have longer, I pushed dealing with it away for too long (even though it was only a couple of days) so he didn't get the peaceful end he deserved. I was young and I didn't know any better and to be honest my priorities were kind of hosed up, I spent that last day at work instead of with him, thinking he would still be there when I got home. It's a horrible decision to have to make but I wish I'd known then what I do now, because the alternative was worse. I know your situation is completely different, I think you have time to think about maybe giving your pet a special send off if that feels right for you both. Hopefully you'll have a better feel for where you are situated once you've looked at the quality of life scale. I accidentally wrote more than I meant to, it's hard not to get emotional about these times so forgive me if I wrote too much. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 12:13 on Jul 28, 2025 |
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Jul 28, 2025 12:11
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Thanks thats actually really helpful. I don’t think she’s ready to go just yet, she has stopped having accidents and seems to be in a more playful mood today but we’ll see if that keeps up once the medicine wears off. This stage of a pets life is always terrible but I didn’t think Id be here so soon with her. Thought we’d have more time
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Jul 28, 2025 16:20
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Posting this here cause I'm interested in a different/unbiased perspective. Took my cat to the vet this morning for a dental cleaning + extraction (as needed) along with an ultrasound inspection to look at the abdominal area. Dental work was a no-go. Blood work was fine (did this before today, so results were already in) but the vet said that my cat was super stressed out and her heart rate was super elevated. The vet called me and said they gave her gabapentin to try to calm her down a bit but long story short they heard faint heart murmurs that she didn't hear before a couple of weeks ago. So the vet advised that it could be related to her anxiety and that they could test for proBMP. If results were good the vet said she would be fine with going forward with general anesthesia but it does come with increased risks. She also advised that I could see a cardiologist for an echo and get a better picture. I know there are risks for anesthesia but I wasn't emotionally ready to accept "higher" risks at this moment so I asked for the vet to do the enzyme test and then skip the dental stuff but just do the abdominal ultrasound today. I'd think about the cardiologist and maybe check out another time if there are still murmurs because I guess they had to put my cat in a kennel so obviously she was anxious. So my cat really does need dental cleaning and likely some extractions. I don't think there is a way to get around that. The whole heart murmur thing is just really worrying me. I don't know if it's necessary to see a cardiologist if no vet had ever detected one before but who knows. I'm thinking I should get a second opinion from a different vet. For the abdominal ultrasound, they had to shave her belly, which is fine. But when I got home I noticed that there was blood on/around one of the nipples. Like, I get that nicks and accidents happen but they didn't mention it to me? Not even a hey so we accidentally nicked her nipple, so sorry. Am I expecting too much or is it reasonable to tell me?
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Aug 1, 2025 22:23
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Boris Galerkin posted:Posting this here cause I'm interested in a different/unbiased perspective. A minor murmur, especially one that might be innocent (or non existent - Faint murmurs sometimes straight up aren't reproducible because they were the result of over interpretation), wouldn't preclude an anesthetic event, it just changes our drug protocol a bit. I think the proBNP makes sense as a low cost, simple check, but I wouldn't necessarily jump straight to an echo. Our clinic has the capability of doing pre-anesthetic ecgs reviewed by a cardiologist, but admittedly the interpretation gets 'fuzzier' with a stressed out cat. It sounds to me like the vet is practicing a reasonable level of caution, and that ultimately your cat is gonna have a nice, safe anesthetic event. On the nipple side of things, you're not wrong per se in that in any professional setting, any errors should be disclosed, buuuuut...... Nicked cat nipples are unbelievably common, and I've never seen one cause an issue, so I think from their side of things it just didn't really bare mentioning. But also you're right to want a heads up on any injury, no matter how minor, to your beloved pet. Little things like that are common enough to us that I think we just disregard them - It's not meant to be sneaky or anything, we just see nicked nipples, razor burn, a quicked nail, or a fine needle aspirate that bled for a minute, we address them, and we move on knowing they're not going to cause any issues. So, I'd chalk it up if anything as a failure/short coming of the industry as a whole, not your specific clinic. I'd suspect similar things happen in human med, or honestly pretty much any other industry - People who deal with something for a living develop different tolerances than their customers/clients/patients.
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Aug 2, 2025 03:14
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I was told my cat had a heart murmur several years ago but every other time he’s gone in nothing has been mentioned and he had a cleaning and extraction last year, my vet told me if they’re especially agitated it can sometimes sound like they have a murmur if their hearts are beating extremely hard? not sure how accurate that is, but he has been to two different vets since the one who said he had a murmur and they heard nothing. I was really stressed about his cleaning too, but they kept me in the loop through it and called and gave me updates throughout
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Aug 2, 2025 06:02
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| # ? Jan 21, 2026 02:51 |
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I forgot to say that they did the proBNP test and said that it looked normal, but that they still heard a murmur even after when my cat was more calm.
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Aug 2, 2025 12:32
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