My 14 year old dachshund is post op day 7 from cervical spine surgery. He has a very similar presentation to Hank, and I’m seeing some signs of progress (peeing and pooping, grooming, sitting sternal, pain seems more controlled), but he really has very little use of his right front and back leg. I saw that you encouraged a lot of movement with Hank in the second week and he made a quick recovery; however the paperwork from our vet says strict rest and only ambulation to eliminate. What is your take on this?

I have a pitbull puppy (10 week) that I am trying to get to the root of some behavior issues with. The biggest issue is that she is resistant to any tension on the leash. I don’t expect her to heel or tap-dance, but any time she feels any tension on the leash she braces her legs and body and resists going anywhere. She is becoming more and more resistant. I don’t want to train her to train me to pick her up every time she braces up and refuses to move, but so far we would never get done with going to the bathroom outside if that happened; she does it every time I take up the slack on the leash. I have found a lot of suggestions on the internet: get her checked for pain/issues by a vet (vet gave her the all clear), use a harness over a collar (only ever used a harness), positive reinforcement before she freezes (doesn’t work, still freezes), get her used to the leash (she’ll drage that thing around, nap and sleep with it on), try luring her with a treat (has become minimally responsive to treats, won’t respond to toys outside on the leash, even ones she previously enjoyed). Any suggestions on what else I can try to get her to come with a leash?

We have a stray cat we have been feeding for a year or so. He recently showed up in our backyard with a huge lump on his face. The left side of his face (cheek area) is completely swollen but he does not seem.to be in pain. He ate, rolled and ran around the yard like nothing was wrong but looks like he went 10 rounds.with Mike Tyson. Today I noticed a wound just below the lump that was not noticeable before. I am not sure what to do since he is a stray and vet visit is out of my budget right now. I’m afraid to take him to shelter as he has been living out here for a few years with no issue. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by it and rubs his head against everything like he usually does like nothing is wrong. I’m afraid it’s an abcess and will eventually cause an infection. Since it seems to have “popped,” will it resolve on its own? Is there something I can do.to help him? Home remedy?

Hello my name is Angelica I am from NJ I have 8 years old maltippo the cutestes ever he has ivdd this is 4th time he is having flare up this time he is paralyzed on the left side back and front side I am doing steroids pain killers trazadone gabapentin and muscle relaxer unfortunately its not getting better in terms of pain he screams out of pain amd when I try to take to the bathroom he is in the cage he is on his 10 day today and he is so painful that every time I come near the cage he growls at me he eats and drinks water not as much as usuall but he does. Please give me advise should I keep going ? Would the pain go away? How many days it does for the pain to go away and regain pain free mobility you are my last resort my husband cant take it any longer. Thank you even if you consultation I would pay my email is angelica456@aol.com and cell phone 908 309 9788. Thank you sooo much Angelica Bornhoeft

I just moved over 3 states, which was a financial blow. I expected to adjust to my new life, but my kitty baby (Female 2 yr old Calico Cat) at the end of July – beginning of August 2025 suddenly had major weight loss and impacted anal glands. Being experienced I relieved them successfully externally, but took her to the vet to get antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and to get to the bottom of what caused it in the first place. I had to struggle finding a vet since I moved here, and no one wants to take payments anymore… the doctor that I talked to was horribly mean to me, made sure to let me know that I was un-welcome, but that they would work with me this one time and to never expect this grace again. From the small town in Arkansas that I grew up in, we have always been able to do payments or a tab, the animal always came first… I have literal receipts and statements from other vets showing that I never miss my payments with the vet, regardless of my credit. I did not realize it then, but their goal was to give me the anti-biotics and anti-inflammatory and send me on my way. But not before they tried to express her anal glands internally in an un-necessary manner. They were not gentle about it either, as she is an extremely quiet animal whose cries and screams when upset or in pain are almost inaudible. But when they took her back there, I could hear her all the way from the other room. I noticed that stuff did not look 100% correct when we got home, but everyone kept gaslighting me and saying it was just the inflammation and it would heal and go away eventually and that I just needed to let the drugs do what they were supposed to do. She started eating again and things were looking up, until this past weekend. She suddenly quit eating and I had to encourage her to eat. I changed her diet to the science diet so she has been on that since the visit. She was losing weight so I got her some vetri-cal while I logged her BM’s and everything until I could figure out what is going on to tell someone. Her butthole did look fine, until it didn’t. I don’t have money, so I was working to try and get to where I can take her, because I know they are going to want payment for EVERYTHING up front. But tonight, when I got home from working late, she was anxious to be going to the bathroom. So, I tried my best to encourage her, but noticed that when she was trying to have a BM she was straining and the inner lining of her butthole was trying to protrude with the BM. She pooped successfully crying the entire time, and there is no protrusion at this time. everything looks normal and dark pink to light red. She has an issue with it gaping off & on. But I am shocked and taken aback and sick to my stomach because I need help and I don’t know where to take her. I can pay, but I just can’t pay all at once in this economy, what can I do? Just took these photos a few seconds ago so you could have a reference to see what it looks like right now.

I just brought my 4 year old male cat home from a very very expensive trip to the ER. 6k expensive. He was blocked and in extreme distress and the ER I went to was down the street. They unblocked him the first night and it went well, inserting a catheter. They kept him a second night to monitor his creatine levels and the output of urine, which was high. The following day they suggested a bladder flush and I agreed to it since they saw a lot of grit in his bladder from the ultra sound. They said it went smoothly and a lot of that material came out with some blood clots. They told me not to worry about the blood clots as those wouldn’t block him. And in the third night they removed the catheter and monitored his ability to pee. Gave me a run down this morning on everything and what to look out for. I’m just worried about him reblocking. Is that something I should lose sleep over? I’m my mind I am thinking that since his bladder is flushed out, he should be good to go with a much lower risk for blocking, right? I’m be heading to the store with his prescription to buy the hills urinary wet food shortly. That’s about all I will be feeding him going forward.

And reassurance would be much appreciated as I’m just freaking out because I can’t afford more of this! 🙁

UPDATE: 31 hour update since we left the vet. He urinated on his own around 2pm on Sunday Sept 14th, the day I got him home. He has a little trouble but interestingly enough, a struvite crystal popped out of his penis! About the size of the head of a needle. I think that’s the crystal that the vet saw on the X-ray the first day he got in, near the penis. He bled in his pee right after this. He isn’t urinating a ton each time he pees, it’s about 4ml to about 6-8mls of urine each time. The blood pretty much dissipated after about the 3rd pee. After that I have him 1ml of Gabapentin. Vet told me that it is used not only to calm them but provide pain relief and allow them to accumulate pee. I was so exhausted, I think emotionally more than anything, that I laid down around 7pm. He woke me up so that he could get under the covers and go between my legs. He hasn’t done that in a long time so I really was enjoying that. I woke up around 11 so that I could give him another half dose of the gabapentin to last through the night. Again, he climbed under the covers with me and slept their through the night with me. I was surprised that I didn’t move at all throughout the night. I think subconsciously I needed him next to me like that and he knew that.

I woke up around 5:30-6am the next morning. This is when he got up and ventured over to the litterbox. His first attempt, nothing came out. And then I came to the realization that he preferred to pee on the pee pads I had laid around the room. At this point, IDC where he pees, just that he’s doing it. So the next 8-10 times, he urinated the same amount that I noted above. I did Google how much a cat’s bladder can hold and it said anywhere between 25-50 ml. And by how much he was peeing, I felt confident that he emptied his bladder this morning. I have him a decent dose of the gabapentin around 7, so now I’m just waiting for him to try to urinate again. It’s just so anxiety inducing because I’m worried about reblocking. The vet has given me direction to give the gaba starting at 10 on Sunday but he fell asleep around that time and I opted not to give it to him. When I called the vet to get some reassurance, they told me what the purpose of the gaba was, as noted above, so I have come to realize that the gaba is more than likely helping with the inflammation caused by the catheterization being in him for 2 and a half days. At this point I’m just waiting to see how he does this evening, mostly because I need to return to work tomorrow. So I’m just praying that he’ll be fine tomorrow and the next coming days. Praying….

Hello,

I have a toy poodle called Zoey here in Jakarta, Indonesia. This was what happened to Zoey in the last 4 days:

23 Aug: Cried whenever we wanted to carry or touch her. Still walking and running perfectly.

24 Aug: Lost strength on the back legs in the evening aroung 9pm. Stiffened and locking herself in an arching position.

25 Aug: The vet diagnosed her with IVDD. Gave these medications:

Vetplus Synoquin Small Dog – Joint supplement (15 days), 1 capsule twice a day

Novell Gabapentin Cap 300mg – Pain killer (10 days), 1 capsule twice a day

Mavlab Macrolone 20mg – Anti-inflammatory (Steroid) (3 days), 1 capsule twice a day
Anti-inflammatory taper (4 days), 1 capsule once a day

26 Aug: Only ate once during lunch time and refused to eat at night, so skipped a meal and medication. It was her most painful day, she seemed to have pain in near her butt area. She screamed whenever we wanted to carry her, probably the reason she refused to eat.

The past 4 days have been extremely painful for her. I am new here and would like to know more about caring and treatments for her. Thank you

Hi, We have a unofficial cat rescue. One of our younger cats broke her back right femur bone. Amputation is an option but more than we can afford. She is on pain medication but not showing signs of pain just precautionary, as well as antibiotics. She is being kept in a small area with no climbing or likewise. It’s a clean break. Straight and slightly parallels right next to each other. Here is my question. There is no possibility for her to live a good life unless I do surgery or Amputation? There is no way it could slowly calcify and heal and her to enjoy her life?? We just simply can’t afford the surgery but have so much love for her and her well-being.

I have a cat who seems to be having tooth pain. The gums are slightly red around the tooth and it’s discolored. Could we try antibiotics or maybe a simple extraction? Looking for options or the best way to help her. She is a rescue and we have a lot of cats. We already have 2 with liver problems that have costed us a lot of money. Any ideas or options are greatly appreciated!