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Hi,
My kitten is roughly 7 months old and I am training her to use the toilet – When cleaning out the litter, I noticed blood in her stool. She is an indoor kitten and from the rescue home. Can you please give me any advice?
Thanks Z
Hope Dr. Magnifico is reading this message soon as I do not know what to do. I noticed one of my cats, Dexter, attempting to pee on a cardboard box outside of the litter box. When I approached him he moved only to go to another area and attempt to pee. Having male cats blocked before or with UTI, I knew to keep watch on him. He was laying down and let me brush him for a while and acting okay. I then took a moist tissue and just patted his pee/butt area and a dried piece of poo came off. I thought yeah… that may be the problem because he immediately went to the litter box. After about 5 minutes he left the box without going to the bathroom. Should I take him to the emergency room or could it wait until you open in the morning. If you think I need to take him, which one do you recommend the most. Thanks Sandy Brown
I recently adopted a dog, she’s a year old Basenji/Lab mix (two very contradicting breeds in terms of behavior). I’m having the worst time trying to potty train her. I’ve tried so many different methods but she refuses to go potty outside. She literally has no warning signs. She already paces and sniffs like its her calling in life. She squats after she already starts going. I have no idea when she needs to go. She will not go potty outside. She acts like grass is her personal enemy and will lay on the sidewalk instead. I’ve tried taking her in and out, I’ve tried waiting her out. We walked in the park in hot weather for five hours and she peed on the floor when we came back inside. Training her to go outside is becoming a hassle that’s frustrating and depressing both of us, should I just give up and house train her to use pee pads or litter instead? We just have a hard time getting outside fast enough with her aversion to stairs and the elevator and there’s a power struggle once we’re outside. How do I react to bad behavior without making her scared of me?
so, you should avoid punishing for toilet behavior in the house. it sounds like she really just doesn’t know the rules yet.
these two links are pretty similar and i’d read both. they should help.
https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/How_to_Housetrain_Any_Dog%20(1).pdf?token=AWzFzr8QX0C6GNFaOKVxlOKyjHpjo4l1GKKLvup9PqoNRBewfhYcPaW8epVfl7TD-hzvF2V2XyFxKavjepjUKq75rqsQH7ckQTKV-VOq-pItBQ
remember, be consistent. good luck. housebreaking is the biggest pain in the butt regardless of the age of the dog.
oh, one thing…make sure you’re feeding meals rather than just leaving food out for her. meals will help you to better schedule her toilet runs. try to feed a high quality food, as well.
Thank you so much! Those help a lot!
My cat is 4 years old . I am a student. Cat is a female nudered domestic cat.
Im a student cannot afford to go to vet now.
she started eating from litter.. not the poop or pee, just the litter sand. I dont know why. Can you tell me a natural remedy that might help? I really cant afford a vet right now.
Thanks
I have 4 dogs. 2 are females. The other 2 are males. The one female is 6. Jack Russell and shit Uzi mix. This would be her 4th litter. Will it kill having this litter.
…there are too many variables here. why are your dogs not spayed and neutered? keeping them together and letting them breed is irresponsible. there are low cost spay and neuter clinics in every state. please get her spayed, as well as your other bitch, if you’re not going to neuter the dogs.
I have 4 dogs. 2 are females and the other 2 are males. The 1female is 6 and so is one of the males. Now my question is. I think she’s pregnant again for the fourth time if she has this litter. Will it kill her
Hello there. I am no expert but i still want to try to help you out. First of all, you didnt mention if it’s her first litter or not. Second, i think that the dog’s health, in some cases, is most valuable for a diagnosis than her age (as a number). I’ve seen 3 y old dogs in a awful shape and i’ve seen 11 y old dogs running after a surgery for pyometra. Crazy. That being said, if she’s fit and fine and healthy i think she is perfectly capable of giving birth at that age. Keep in mind she still needs to go through exams to check if everything is running smoothly. After that, you will need to protect the mother and the puppies and think about getting her spayed if you don’t want this to happen again.
Hope this helped.
Good luck!
i would get her spayed. it’s the safest for her.
5 yr old basset just went in heat. Would like to breed her, she is in very good health but has never had a litter. What is best timing for that, how long is gestation, is there special care for when pregnant and what size litter to expect?
Hi Eric, you should have made sure your Basset was up to date with innoculations; wormed and flea treated before she came in heat. Hopefully she is ok with all those. May I just add she is getting on a bit for a 1st litter so if you are going to mate her don’t leave it any longer.
Find a stud dog who has had all the relevant health checks for the breed. Bassets are prone to IVDD so bare that in mind too (research it ok). Be prepared to pay a hefty sum for the stud dog fee. Your bitch should have had these health tests too.
Bitches are usually receptive to a male between the 11th and 14th day of her heat. Its always best to mate twice, say 11th and again on the 14th day. She will carry the pups for 9 weeks. Its the luck of the draw as to how many puppies she will have.
However, to care for the bitch and a litter is hard work and expensive. The puppies will need worming from 2 weeks old, and every 2 weeks after that….wormer from Vet not pet shop. Worms lay dormant in the bitch and pregnancy hormones kick them into life, passing through both the placentas and the bitches milk. Your bitch will also need worming from being mated right through…Vet can tell you which wormer is safe.
The puppies need clean bedding several times a day; they need to be kept at an even temperature of 24 degs C. Be prepared for Vet bills along the way….the bitch delivering the pups; a sick puppy or two ect.
The puppies will need to be registered with the relevant Kennel Club and Pedigrees written. They should all be microchipped, up to date on wormer; puppy packs ect. You will also have the job of finding them the correct homes….Contracts should be prepared to say that you will have the dog back at anytime during its life should there be any problems.
At the end of all this you will probably be out of pocket….and owing Vet bills. You may also be left with a puppy or 2 you can’t find homes for. Be prepared for all these things.
Having said all that….your bitch may sail through the whole thing and you have wonderful life long owners waiting for the puppies!
Good luck….and please do think very carefully before you go ahead with the mating. Have extra money to spare for Vet bills and be prepared for any scenario.
Great thanks, our girl is caught up on shots, etc., and due for a regular visit this week. She is shy of 5 years, has always had very good check ups, etc. Will speak with our vet as well, and wouldn’t be considering this without several good potential puppy lovers lined up and getting the best advice we can. Much appreciated…
Totally agree Krista….so many things can go wrong….you need to know exactly what you are doing and be ready for anything. X
my opinion: with such an unhealthy breed, unless you have a specific goal in mind, best to avoid breeding her.
also, read through this: http://www.basset-bhca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=104&Itemid=183
if you are unwilling to test for these things and submit those results to OFA, don’t breed. if you aren’t willing to do a LOT of pedigree research, don’t breed. if your bitch isn’t registered, don’t breed. if your bitch isn’t titled in at least something, don’t breed. if you’re breeding to make money, don’t breed.
find a breed mentor to help you do this the right way or don’t do it.
This dog is too old! It is a basset! Large heads, long spines to get stuck in the birth canal. SOOOO many things can go wrong! You have no idea how expensive this could get so quickly! You could kill your dog! At the very least you would be looking at a stud fee, sonograms before the puppies are born so you know how many to watch for – and to rush her to emergency for a Cesarean if the puppies don’t deliver normally. Then you have a series of well puppy/mom visits to the vet running up bills for that.
Then there are expensive vitamins to keep the puppies from going blind if there are too many for the mom, round the clock feedings to keep the puppies alive if the mother refuses them or dies when they are born.
You need a heated whelping box, need to know how to spot an emergency, how to provide CPR to any puppy that isn’t breathing when delivered.
We can tell by the questions you have asked that you are not prepared to do something like this. Just STOP. And get this dog spayed so she has a longer, healthier life.
Hello, my name is Zachary and I am looking for help on an adult cat rectal prolase, anything you can help me with would be greatly appreciated.A few months ago my cat got very sick. He couldn’t drink water or eat. He urinated on himself where he laid. I believe he had perhaps got into a neighbor houses rat poison or maybe antifreeze. After a few days of him being near death, it seemed as though he had came back to himself. He still wouldn’t eat hard food but he drank liquids so I gave him kitten formula because that’s what was available at my local stores. He gained his weight back but there was one persistent problem. He used the litter box constantly. Mostly urinating and he would go back to back several times. And now the rectal prolapse. I understand the treatment for the prolapse but how do I solve the cause of the problem? Is there a certain price the treatment will cost that I should expect? And is there any financial assistance that I can look in to? I know you are in a different state “Im in KY” but maybe something national? Thank you for reading all of this, I really need to know what to expect before I move forward with the issue. Also I found out about you through your youtube channel, keep up the excellent work, Krista.
I got a 9 week old puppy five days ago. I have to return her due to noise complaints in the apartment. Do you think she will have a hard time going back to her mom dog and littermates?
she should be fine, particularly if the breeder is an ethical one. she’ll be placed in another home. thank you for returning her rather than putting her in a shelter, though.
My cat tested positive for the toxin that is produced by clostridium perfringens. He has had diarrhea now for what seems like forever. He recently was treated with clindamycin for a staph infection in his urinary tract. While on this medicine it cleared up his diarrhea.. For about two months, then it started again. This is when I got a diarrhea panel done and it tested positive for the toxins.
We first tried metronidazole.. No success.
Right now he is on tylan powder and it’s been about a week. He is no longer going on the floor like usual, but I did notice little puddles of diarrhea In the litter boxes. I don’t believe it is any of my other cats because they never have had issues with diarrhea. Well tonight he threw up multiple times. It was mostly his cat food. And colored like his food. I waited about an hour and fed him a little more food which he kept down.
I did not give him his medicine tonight. I am going to call my vet in the morning.
The next step would be for him to go on clindamycin again. This was my vets last choice and she said she really didn’t want him to go on it again. Because it is not the safest medication for cats.
After this clears up he will be going on probiotics and a fiber supplement such as Metamucil.
I’m just really nervous about him being on clindamycin again. Have you seen this problem happen in cats before? Why is he not responding to any medication? Are there any other options? Ugh.
Thank you.
I’m going to give you the best advice I can give. I have not experienced this personally but I’ve read a little about it.
1. Get an opinion from multiple vets not just one. Some veterinarians have more training in that area than others and some have better meds.
2. Start feeding your cat chicken baby food with rice it will be better for his intestines and less painful.
3.once you found a vet or you decide to stay with what ever vet ask them to retest for parasites. Sounds like he could have possible hookworms even though it’s uncommon he may have it on top of the toxin.
4. Get pedilite or something to help boost your cats electrolytes this is important because with that much diareah he could loose too much fluids.
5. Write down everything you cat does and what time so your vet knows what is going on. Include pee time, color and look of diareah, color of gums, his activity, his pain level, his playfulness. Everything he does while you are there.
And I can’t stress enough call multiple vets and explain what is happening and what is not working okay? Blessed be honey keep us updated.
Thank you for getting back to me. I have only had her around a month and she came from the RSPCA – she has been spayed and wormed and is up to date with all health needs / injections. I haven’t noticed any other issues in her litter tray. I did take her on an outing to my parents house and let her wander (I want to get her used to moving around in case I go away and need others to look after her) She does drink alot of water and urinates a lot – but this hasn’t changed since I got her. a bowlful every two days, she eats well – mainly dry food with a treat of wet food maybe once a week.