Honestly, I’d be looking for an oncology specialist to determine if it really is a tumor of some sort.
Hi, i am wondering if a vet can help me with my dogs on going skin problem, he is losing excessive amounts of hair, fibres and his paws are very irritated, constant chewing and biting his paws. I have tried everything from medicated shampoos like malaseb, omegas, blackmores PAW Nutriderm conditioner, Virbac spot on skin lipids and the dreaded prednisone which we just experienced some very bad side affects. My vet doesn’t know what is going on just keep telling me the same thing to wash them in malaseb 3 x per week for his paws and they say his skin is fine apart from some ATOPY.
Any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thank you
Carlie
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a while ago my cat became sick, around the same time we noticed he had been leaving our house and stealing cat food from the neighbors who leave it out for other stray cats (therefore he was eating after other cats) his lymph nodes became swollen, he stayed in one spot all day and rarely moved, he wouldn’t eat or drink, and lost weight. We brought him to the vet and they examen him and did x-rays and said that it appears that he could have cancer/a tumor that has spread to his lymph nodes already as well as some other things like fluid/pus in his chest. They said the cancer was very aggressive since it’s already gotten that far and we just noticed it. A few days later his lymph node swelling went away, he started eating and drinking again, and he was acting like himself. We brought him back to the vet and they performed FNA on the tumor which came back inconclusive. They were also shocked that his lymph node? weren’t swollen anymore, and they said the tumor had moved places, and they started to question their diagnosis saying that he could just have an infection. The gave him antibiotics and sent us home. Since then the tumor has gotten bigger and moved places, it feels sort of soft and moves around easily. I’m questioning if this is just a lipoma rather than cancer because of the way it feels and moves, it has also been about 2 months since we very first noticed this, and to me it doesn’t appear or feel to have spread anywhere, his vet was also talking like he wouldn’t live more that a week or two and it’s been 2 months. No one can really come to a definite diagnosis… so if anyone could give advice or help on this i’d appreciate it very much!! (i’ve also included a photo below of the tumor though it’s a litte difficult to tell)
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I have an 11-year old female domestic shorthair cat (Nala) who has been very healthy until around springtime last year when she started to develop a snorty sound when breathing and rapid sneezing fits. We figured it was maybe allergies at the time, as ours were really bad too. But it kept lingering and we finally asked our vet and he was reluctant to do a full exam on her because of the expense, and he also diagnosed her as having herpes, and prescribed Chlorpheniramine 4mg and Duralactin paste 2.5ml for her. I give her a 1/4 of the pill crushed in her canned food once a day, but the paste makes her sick. I have been giving her the pill for about 3 months now with zero improvement. I have been doing a lot of research, and the closest thing I could find that matches what she is dealing with is a video I found of Dr. Magnifico performing surgery on a cat for a nasal polyp. The description she gave completely matches what Nala sounds like with the snoring sounds when breathing and the constant sounds of trying to clear her throat. She has lost a lot of weight because I think it’s difficult for her to eat a lot but otherwise she acts like nothing is wrong, she is very playful, and also eats (best she can) and drinks normally, and litterbox habits are still great. My question is if this diagnosis sound like it could be correct, and if so, is this something that could possibly be fixed without breaking budget?
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Autumn Hi!
Polyps in our kitty friends are quite common. I am a surgery technician that assists Dr.Magnifico and we have seen and removed more than a handful!We have noticed not many vet offices check for polyps and typically it’s what we end up finding. (Not always the case as some cats are chronic upper respiratory forever)
This surgery is typically not a budget breaker. Please reach out and never be afraid to ask many questions to your veterinarian!, That’s what they are here for ,
My daughter’s elderly cat Astra seems to have sprained her left front paw tonight and is acting strange. Her leg/paw isn’t swollen, but she can’t put any weight on it without falling down. She’s meowing a lot and walking in circles. At one point, she was hiding by my daughter’s desk which is unusual, she seems to be confused, and has no appetite. We’ve read how cats don’t metabolize aspirin or nsaids very well, so we don’t want to give her any. What can we give her and what can we do to comfort her? Is there anything we should look for? Is her behavior typical of a feline in pain? Thank you for your help!
Edit: Now she’s pressing her head up against things.
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Teddy sprained something in his left hind leg about 3 weeks ago. He is a standard golden doodle, weighing 72 lbs, and before this injury, was having a hard time getting up at the end of the day, from lying on the floor. The vet said, without x rays, that Teddy has arthritis in his back legs, even though he is young for this, at 5. I’ve been giving him Dasequin, 2x a day for this. I thought he was starting to improve, when he took a bad step, running up some stairs into the house from outside. He let out a yelp, then cried for less than half a minute, and would not put his left rear foot on the floor. Eventually, he did try putting the foot down, and walking on it, but immediately picked his foot up again, and would not use that leg. I took him to the vet, who x rayed Teddy’s back legs and hips. Everything, bones and joints, looked normal and healthy. The diagnosis was a sprain, and I was given a bottle of carprofen to give Teddy, 2x a day. Teddy now is using his leg, but with a slight limp. I have taken him out of doggy day care, where he was going twice a week, to play with other dogs. I didn’t want to risk the sprain getting worse. I’ve also been taking him out on a leash, to potty, and for short walks for exercise. At the end of the day, however, he is obviously sore, and has a harder time getting up from lying on the floor. He is back to getting onto the couch, but can’t climb on the bed yet.
He’s also very bored, as I won’t play fetch with him (I don’t want him running on that leg yet), and is probably depressed at not seeing his doggy daycare friends. Poor guy won’t play with his toys, and now is turning up his nose at everything but treats. He will eat breakfast-at about 5 pm, then wants more kibble at bedtime. I’ve been reducing the amount of kibble late at night, and giving him apple slices and carrot sticks for treats.
So….how long will this sprain take to heal? How long until I can let Teddy go outside, and let him run around as he usually does? And, how long before I can let him go back to doggy daycare?
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My parents’ cat, Oso, is not doing so well. He’s been needing subcutaneous fluids administered via IV and he had not been eating every meal for a little over a week until we started giving him an appetite stimulant.
He also is having labored breathing, mouth closed 36 – 42 inhales/ minute. Here’s a link to a video so you can see: https://www.dropbox.com/s/elf32wwm5z06ygn/OsoBreathe.mov?dl=0
An image of an X-Ray is attached – The comments below and the color arrows were provided by a mobile radiologist that came over to see him – I didn’t understand the notes, but basically she was pointing out tumor(s), cancer and fluids building up inside his body there.
We are continuing with the fluids and with the appetite stimulant he is eating. Steroid once month shots have been suggested and were just started 2 days ago.
Any advice here is very much appreciated and welcomed.
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Hello there. My cat has had an ear infection for over two years now and has been treated with antibiotics over and over but it will not go away. Just about a year ago the vet removed a few polyps from my cats ear and throat and we thought for sure that’s why the antibiotics weren’t clearing up the ear infection, so we have done more ear infection treatments since the polyps have been removed but it’s still infected. My cats ear is stinky and water flys out of my cats ear when he shakes his head. I am so over antibiotics, we have literally tried every kind. Is there a home remedy out there anyone has had success with? Please help.
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Hello everyone,
I have a 3-year-old cat with a polyp. I’m not sure where the polyp is located since the x-rays/MRI scan cost 1k. I’ve joined groups on Facebook to find any clinics to remove the polyp. VCA quoted me 4-7k which doesn’t include any kind of scans and most local veterinarians only remove polyp if they can physically see it.
I really need any help trying to find any clinic in the US. I’m willing to travel but for a reasonable price. I’m a college student living on my own with many expenses and it’s truly upsetting seeing my little guy go through this. I can hear him snoring and couching. I believe the polyp is located in his throat and nose.
Please please help me out!!!
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Hi Pawbly friends! We are in WV – beautiful place to rejuvenate the spirit. One of our vacation neighbors takes in strays, and has a vet coming Tuesday to check on a few. One kitten that she recently rescued is only 6 weeks old by the vets estimate. She was having trouble with bowel movements and her hind end was covered in maggots. They cleaned her up and she is on day 5 of an antibiotics, however with each strain to go to the bathroom, maggots still appear. The fear is that even though she is being cleaned each time, that there are many more than she can stand. Nearest emergency vet is 2 hours away in Virginia and not really a feasible option. Any advice on how best to help this baby until the vet can get out here on Tuesday?
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Hi,
For about 3 months now, our 9 year old cat, Wheezy, has been making strange noises when she breathes that are similar to snoring or sounding just really congested. We took her to the vet and determined that her lungs are fine and she doesn’t have an upper respiratory infection. We believed it was possible for it to be a polyp.
I found the video about Stripes, by Dr. Kristina Magnifico, and I would be willing to bet that Wheezy also has a polyp on her throat. However, like Stripes’ owners, our usual vet gave us an estimate of close to $1200 for all the procedures to check for a polyp and remove it (some of them seemed unnecessary for this process). We cannot afford a cost like this and if there is a simpler way to go about this like in Dr. Magnifico’s video then we need to go that route.
I also wanted to ask about another symptom Wheezy appears to have where there’s a lot of fluid building up in her right eye. Not sure if this is any more evidence of a polyp or not. I’ll attach a picture.
Everything seems to have slowly gotten worse and she has a lost a VERY unhealthy amount of weight because she won’t eat, and I would guess she’s dehydrated as well. She has lost all her energy. Prior to this starting she was a very healthy indoor/outdoor cat.
If there is anybody in the area of Eastern Massachusetts that could recommend any where they’ve taken their animals that would be so helpful.
Thank you!




















Hello,
There are numerous things that can cause skin issues. For all of my clients I make sure they are on a good diet, good exercise plan and preventatives for fleas and ticks.
After that skin scrapes, trichograms, and even skin biopsies might be needed. Also a full blood work and thorough physical exam. It is a long list of diagnostics to identify the root cause.
For many people this can be costly so we take a step by step approach. We also try things like Apoquel and cytopoint if we suspect atopy
If I can’t find the answer within a reasonable time frame I refer to a dermatologist.
I hope this helps.
Please understand that photos of bad skin often all look alike regardless of the cause.