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My 11 year old Cat has slowly developed noisy breathing. For a long time it was bearly noticeable, then over time I noticed she was getting worse, a snoring/snorting sound when sleeping and occasionally after playing or running. A short time after that I noticed she was having trouble eating, specifically swallowing. That was when I knew somthing was definitly wrong. I callled my vet and explained everything, they got us in, the vet checked her over and said everything seems fine.. not an emergency. Told me it was potentially a polyp in her throat, but said they cant do “scoping” at that location and said I would need a referral to another clinic. This annoyed me because I explained the symptoms on the phone while booking and they didnt mention their limitations. So they charged me ($200) to basically tell me they cant help. Luckily my cats symptoms subsided a bit while we waited for the referral. Some days are worse than others. This is when I found Krista Magnifico’s video removing a cats polyp!! It made me feel so much better know it might just be that simple, hopefully. I finally got the call back from the referral, they said they need to do a consultation first before anything else ($330) then after that they would need to sedate my cat, do a CT scan ($3000) and if my cat needs surgery I would need to come back, sedate the cat again and surgery would be roughy ($4-5000) This was devastating to hear…. now I completely understand vet bills arent always cheap and working people need to be paid, but this seems excessive… Any advice is greatly appreciated. I dont know what do to at this point…
Dr. Magnifico – My captain (5 month old GSD) started vomiting this afternoon. Threw up all the food he had in his stomach at the time and has since thrown up 8 other times. Mostly foamy mucus and liquid. Had diarrhea once so far that was very gassy and liquidy. He can’t hold any water down. He is now just laying down. I can hear his stomach gurgle every once in a while. I’m held up in the kitchen with him. This started around 6pm, it’s now almost 11pm. I don’t know if I should wait through the night or go to ER now. Help please.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about Captain. In puppies we worry about parvovirus, intestinal parasites, foreign bodies and eating something that doesn’t agree with them. With your pup I am not as concerned about the first two.
I am at the clinic first thing. We will fit you in.
Dr Magnifico
Thank you for following up. He is back to his normal self this morning. He has eaten fine as well. I guess something did not agree with him.
Dr Magnifico,
Ivy started the Quattro preventative on Sunday. She started having diarrhea on Tuesday and it’s still an issue today. She is playing fine and eating normal. Should I be concerned? How long should I wait til I bring her in?
Hello,
Well, that’s not a preferred response to a new treatment. If you think she is acting normally then I don’t think she needs to be seen right away. I am at the clinic Sunday. And we are here Saturday too. You can call the clinic anytime and ask to speak to the charge tech. The hey can help right away. Please also leave me a message so I can follow up next week. If you need me in between email me at krista@pawbly.com.
I have a question on a 9 year old boxer, back in January he was treated for respiratory cough, he was treated once, didn’t go away. Had to take him back to vet, and treated again was better but it continue for a few more weeks and finally went away. Now our boxer really isn’t eating properly will not eat dry food at all ,only if we give him people food. We rescue dogs and have 2 other dogs so we only have so much of budget.
Any suggestions of what it could be or what minimal testing we can do?
I start a work up for a cough with trying to decide if this is a respiratory issue (ie the lungs/trachea part of the body reposition breathing) or a cardiac problem (heart). An examination is key to this. After that I talk about an Xray or blood work. I wish I could help more than this but I think it’s time for a second opinion and diagnostics.
Not sure if you answer this but had a question about our 5 year old cat. Since November she has been experiencing a fair amount of nasal discharge. We tried to rounds of antibiotics, a flush, and the vet searched for a polyp using a spade hook on her soft pallet while she was sedated. The vet was unable to see a polyp and the nasal xray didn’t show much either. A month later we saw no improvement on the nasal and over the past ten days our poor cat has been breathing terribly. When she is standing up and moving around it is clear her breathing is obstructed and it sounds like she is snoring. We have noticed a large decrease in her nasal discharge but her breathing is just awful. She is still eating and drinking as normal. We have been referred to internal medicine in St. Louis but aren’t excited to spend $2-3K for a CT Scan and scoping. Is it possible the poly behind her soft pallet has grown since they first looked for it or could a polyp be some where else? Do you think a CT scan us necessary or should the scope do the trick. We love our cat but are reluctant to spend $3K on her only to find out the couldn’t do anything to help her.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. I’m also sorry everything in vetmed is so expensive right now. It sounds like your vet has done what I would do for my clients and that the next step is a CT scan. You can certainly see if another vet will look for a polyp for you, but you may be back where you are now if that isn’t productive.
There are also CT scans available outside a referral hospital for a lower price (I don’t know if this is the case in your area), but the dilemma there is that this will only help diagnose. You may still need that IM vet to help with the treatment plan.
I hope things work out for your cat.
Dr Magnifico
Needing help with a blocked kitty! My baby Latte, 8 months old, by all appearances, seems to have a blockage. She has been vomiting it’s all just been clear or pale yellow with white foam no blood no worms. We don’t know if what she ate is passable, and it’s been 2 days since she’s eaten anything but a lick of food. She isn’t drinking much water either, and she hasn’t gone #2 since this all started to boot. We have an appointment tomorrow t have her x-rayed but I have no idea how much it will cost. I’m really nervous I won’t be able to avoid surgery if it’s a blockage. What are my chances it’s just really bad constipation, or if they can remove blockage without surgery? Or if surgery is needed how can I get financial help for it?
Hello
Until you have a diagnosis it’s hard to speculate the rest of it you are concerned about cost I would recommend seeing a veterinarian who is in a privately owned practice and not a vet practice owned by a corporation. They are often more affordable and might offer payment options.
You can also ask for multiple treatment plans. If they examine your cat and then only offer one treatment plan option that you cannot afford ask for others. Tell them you are on a budget and ask for treatment options that are affordable. Ask them to provide everything in writing. You can also look into starting a crowd funding campaign like waggle.org.
If your cat is blocked you can ask for at home conservative options like pain meds antibiotics and sq fluids.
I have also allowed people to monitor their cat at home with a urinary catheter in place for days to help relieve the obstruction and inflammation.
Ask lots of questions and remain steadfast on finding help that works for you and your cat.
It is possible to find affordable help. You just have to not give up.
Good luck. Keep us updated
My dog has a patch on the tip of her ear that looks like a build up of something. It is dry and hard. I started picking at it and the hair started coming part. What is this and how do I help?
She also has other spots on her body that are just dry and thinning hair. Is there anything I can do to help with hair loss/thinning? Anything topical? We were told she may have an allergy to chicken so she is on a sensitive diet.
I suspect that this is related to allergies and therefore the answer lies in helping the body from the inside out versus trying to get topical products work for the outside in.
Please talk to your vet about the many options we have for treating atopy in dogs.
You may also need an oral antibiotic or medication for over abundant yeast.
I’m a loving pet owner with a 12 yr old Morkie (who is dying from prostate cancer$ and a Yorkie puppy (who we got before the cancer diagnosis). Interested in how to know signs of imminent death or the need to euthanize. Also, tips on keeping the Yorkie’s “puppy-ism” from causing the Morkie to be overwhelmed with fear, discontent, concern, feeling outcast.
Hey there.
I’m so sorry to hear about this. It’s not easy, watching our pets go slowly.
After Dr. Magnifico posted about this awhile back, I had a list of Things my cat liked to do. As the list shrank, I knew we were closer and closer to letting him go. My list included eating, drinking, cuddling, playing, etc. I would make a similar list for your dog, and monitor based on that.
For the puppy, I would honestly keep them separate when pup is acting like a puppy. This could be as simple as tethering him to someone when he can be supervised (something I recommend anyway for the first 6 months to help with housebreaking and general naughty behavior) and crating when he can’t.
Thank you, Laura!
My dog Nick is going through heart worm treatment and I have a few questions…
he is 12 days post 1st injection as of today. He is on Prednisone once daily, and has Gabapentin 300mg which I give as needed.
he seems to shiver quite a bit – is he cold or feeling uncomfortable? I understand that the worms are dying and disintegrating. Is that painful for him? Does it cause pressure in his lungs? That is where this process takes place – is that correct?
I keep him a small room with me and in a crate when unsupervised. If I am in the kitchen he is leashed and laying on the floor. Only goes upstairs at night. I am giving him enrichment toys however he did eat (literally) half of one and had to go to vet to vomit the toy-my fault, I know he eats things. He is on a short leash for potty breaks. The heart worm society recommends having the dog sit at each stage for going outside, this little man will do anything for a treat and this works great for him. Does this seem like a good approach?
Thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you!
I have been in the rescue world for many years and have gone through heartworm treatment with more dogs than I can count at this juncture sadly. I am not familiar with having them sit when outside? I just checked the American Heartworm Society’s website to see if maybe there was an update I wasn’t familiar with but couldn’t find anything. I have always kept my foster confined to a crate or small area (sounds like what you describe in your kitchen). Outside time is for potty purposes only and on a 6′ lead. Yes, enrichment is important and depending on the dog’s personality we do use meds as needed to keep them calm. It’s a long process for them and us and the day they can come off restrictions is cause for celebration! I would relay the shivering/shaking that you describe to your vet so they can determine how to best proceed or if this would be of concern to them. Good luck! And start planning the “pawty” for when life can resume as normal!
Thanks so much for your ireply! I think the video is on the heart worm society page where the vet talks about taking the dog out for potty breaks and asking the dog to sit at the door, sit when they get outside, let them do their thing, have them sit again, sit before they come in etc. as a way to keep the heart rate down. That was my interpretation of the video. This is my first time going through this and I just want to be sure I am doing the best I can for my boy.
Oh, you can sure we are planning a ‘pawty’. I’m gonna tell my vet to hold the phone away from her ear when she gives me the good news, or if I am in the clinic there WILL be a happy dance/!
About 2 months ago my 11-Year-Old English chocolate Lab started developing a cough. It started off mild at first with a couple coughing fits here and there. I got her to the vet as soon as I could get an appointment. She was ruled out for kennel cough because she’s up to date on shots, she never is boarded and she never goes to dog parks. They started a round of antibiotics, and cough suppressants. It didn’t seem to work so we went back. They did a lot of tests which of course was a lot of money. She’s diabetic so congestive heart failure was a concern but through testing and an X-ray they said they don’t believe it has to do with her heart & there didn’t seem to be fluid around her lungs either.. She was then put on steroids because they thought it might be inflammation. It didn’t seem to help any & her cough has only gotten progressively worse. We went back again and now they put her on a different round of antibiotics & another script that I have to fill at a human pharmacy for Codeine I believe. She has coughing fits almost every 20 to 30 minutes and sometimes with rubbing of her neck it helps calm them down. Her coughing spasms generally produce a lot of phlegmy spit up. I’ve spent more money than I have to try to get her help but we haven’t been able to get any answers. I was told it could possibly be Laryngeal Paralysis but the only way to truly confirm was to take her to a specialist and spend a lot more money to put my 11-year-old senior diabetic dog under sedation for an invasive procedure to diagnose. I’m not even sure what the fix for that would be if there is one and I’m sure it’s thousands more $$$ for a girl who may not make it through all that. It’s heartbreaking watching her struggle., I don’t really know what to think or do, just at a devastating loss watching my poor girl suffer. Within the last week, my once always hungry Labrador who never turned down any type of food down has stopped eating her normal food and treats that she used to love. She now only accepts wet food and soft meaty treats. I’m not really sure where to go. I don’t think the ER is the best answer here and again I’ve spent way more money than I even have to try to find an answer. Just trying to find any guidance/advice/assistance/suggestions and/or answers that I possibly can. Thank you in advance.
Hello,
I’m sorry that you are having so much difficulty finding the cause to this.
There is no way around the fact that some patients come to us with more difficult conditions than others. When we struggle for the answer the best way to get to the bottom of the problem is to get a second opinion and a new set of eyes. I don’t think there is anyway around seeing a new vet and probably spending more money to rerun some of the tests.
The other option is to see if your vet can send the X-rays to a radiologist for review and ask for a vet consult via the lab work provider they use. For cases like this I can lean on a specialist to help me with the difficult cases I see. I use ANTECH and Idexx for my lab services and they both offer online consults for vets. They also both offer radiologists to review my X-rays The phone consult is free and the radiologist review is often about $150. It might help.
Otherwise you are stuck with just trying additional medication to see if they help.
X-rays also have limitations and a CT scab might be needed to see the area of the throat or chest causing the issue. I’m sorry I wish I could help more.
Hello,
In my experience polyps are unlikely in a cat this age. I would ask for a few rounds of either an antibiotic or anti inflammatory to see if these help. In cases where clients struggle with the cost of diagnostics we often try various treatments to see if we get a favorable response. You can also ask for a sedated exam to look for a polyp behind the soft palate. Like I do in the video.
I hope this helps.