Tag: Polyp | Pawbly

Comments

Krista Magnifico

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.

2 months ago

Question

Scott | 3 months ago

Not Sure If You Answer This But Had A Question About Our 5 Year Old Cat. Since …

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.

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1 Response

Comments

Krista Magnifico

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

3 months ago

Question

Tim | 6 months ago

10 Year Old Cat With Nasal Polyp? I Tried Multiple Vets And Hundreds Of Dollars But Nobody …

10 year old cat with nasal polyp?

I tried multiple vets and hundreds of dollars but nobody seems to have a solution. One vet said it was an upper respiratory infection, they gave him a shot of Convenia and prescribed Clavamox, nothing. Fast forward a couple weeks, he wasn’t eating for an over a day so we took him to another vet that prescribed Cerenia which helped temporarily. They said he could have trouble smelling his food so he wasn’t eating. But it’s still not gone. Xray was clear. Now the vet referred to a specialist that wants over $2000 to anesthetize and do an endoscopy JUST to diagnose. From Jersey, can I drive 3 hours to MD so you can maybe look a him? I’m scared he’s gonna pass away from troubled breathing.

Background:
He lived with my dad who recently passed and I took him in. In the last year I noticed he has had difficulty breathing but some days it sounds clear, most days it’s worse. It sounds like something is restricting his airway.

He does sneeze often and when he does it’s usually 15+ sneezes in a row like he’s trying to get something out. Last night I counted 21 sneezes in a row. He also sometimes sounds like he’s choking or trying to spit something out but nothing comes out. He does have greenish/yellow boogers once every couple of weeks and also has discharge from his eye.

I know it’s the holidays but I’ll do anything for a chance to help my little guy that reminds me of my father everyday. *Update, just made an appt for 12/30 at 11:30am!

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Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello. If you need anything sooner please call and ask to leave a message for me. Merry Christmas.
Dr Magnifico.

6 months ago
1. Tim Post author
  
  Hello thank you!! I tried calling back but the office may be busy. I can bring him anytime over the next 3 days, whatever you have available!
  
  6 months ago
2. Tim Post author
  
  Update: thank you Doc!! The office was able to get me in on Thursday evening. I emailed records over along with video of his breathing sound. Have a blessed holiday, Merry Christmas!
  
  6 months ago

Question

Liette | 7 months ago

Can A Cat Live With A Nasopharyngeal Polyp That Is Not Easily Removed (it’s Not …

Can a cat live with a nasopharyngeal polyp that is not easily removed (it’s not near soft palette when placed under anesthesia)? Our 6 yr old spayed female is honking and has nasal discharge unless she is on antibiotics. Prednisone /prednisolone were not effective.
She is a poor surgical candidate (she stopped breathing when the endotracheal tube was removed during exploratory). An ear polyp was removed successfully. Discharge and ear polyp are/we’re on the same side.
We cannot afford endoscopy at this time. Can she be maintained on antibiotics? She has coughed up a large polyp twice before we owned her so we are hopeful that will happen again soon.

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Question

Colin | 7 months ago

Colin To Dr. Krista : May I Pick Your Brains? Dear Dr. Krista, I’m Writing To …

Colin to Dr. Krista : May I pick your Brains?

Dear Dr. Krista,

I’m writing to ask your advice about a stray cat I found last month. See images attached.

But first I want to thank you for the polyp videos you made, which were refreshing, as well as impressive.

One of my strays was snoring, so I was eager to pluck out a polyp hiding behind his soft-palate. (He didn’t have one, but I’m gratefully alerted for the future.)

Last month I found a stunted stray ginger cat outside a 7/11 in North Thailand, where I’m a self-financed Christian missionary.

Can you help me diagnose, and treat the problem?

At first I thought it was simply FVR / Calici and chronic snuffles.
But when I opened her mouth, she had only 4 teeth in her head!

Yes, she had calici tongue-ulcers, but little sneezing, no ocular discharge, and has been eating like a horse from day one. She’s happy and bright in herself, apart from the ugly sore nose.

Her mandibular Ln were big and hard, so I put her on antibiotic tablets, with a little dexamethasone (actually 2.5mg Prednisolone tab. daily.)

Then after a week or so I sedated her, and examined her mouth more closely, no observable polyps (drat!) but one of her molars was loose and covered in calculus, so I pulled that one out, and cleaned up the remaining molar and two premolars, otherwise the poor thing would have zero teeth.

There was of course gingivitis and pharyngitis, but pink, not red like “dragon-mouthed cats” on dcf.

For the last month I’ve given her a course of floxacilin (30 days) with amoxycillin, and tried all sort of creams on her nose and lower eyelids which. as you can see, are raw and sore.

Her Ln are almost normal now, +but that nose is no better+, and she tries to rub as though it is itchy.

(I made up creams mixing; 10% flours of sulphur, betamethasone, ivermectin, and vaseline)

There’s a temporary lessening at best, but no lasting improvement.

So what is your differential for her?

In NZ where I locummed, cat leprosy was common (Mycobacterium from mice and voles) so that was my diagnosis, but the floxacillin has made no impression.

I’ve trimmed her claws and taped her fore paws to stop her making her nose raw.

I’m stuck, and thought of asking you Doc.

I’d guess she’s 3-4 years old, confident, unvaccinated, entire, lived wild all her life eating left over fast food, and possibly DCF from neighbours.

Since October I’ve been feeding her raw chicken frames, tinned sardines, vitamin syrup, and no DCF.
She loves raw chicken :), and eats whatever I put in front of her and still looks for more.

Apart from her nose you would not think she was ill in any way.

Thanks for your advice.

Colin

PS. For some reason, Depo-medrone has been taken off the market here, not even local vets can get hold of it.

Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/ไทยคริสเตียน/
https://www.born-again-christian.info/aboutus.htm
https://www.born-again-christian.com (Asian languages)

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6 Responses

Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello!
Thank you for helping this kitty.
I am happy to help, but a few things are important to remember; I do not know all of the local diseases to your area. We live in very different places and animals get exposed to different diseases in different places.
Based on the history and response to treatment so far I think the antibiotic was warranted and may need to be provided every so often to manage secondary infections due to severity of the cats condition.
I also think that there is a chance this could be one of the following:
Infection (fungal or bacterial)
Immune mediated (pemphigus/lupus)
Or cancer (squamous cell, etc)

To diagnose these you may need biopsy or cytology. I would try to resist treating without some ability to rule something out. (Steroids and fungal infections can make things worse).

Please keep us posted. Very best of luck.
Krista.

7 months ago
1. Colin Post author
  
  Dear Dr. Krista,
  
  Thank you for your quick response 🙂
  
  Yes, I’m aware of the dangers of cortisone therapy, but living in the mountains, I’m limited to kitchen table surgery 🙂
  
  I do also liaise with a kind local lady-vet, who supplies me with whatever medicines I need.
  
  She too is stumped, and I’ve been here three decades plus +and never seen anything like it before.+
  
  I tried mixing miconazole in with the various creams I concocted, like you concerned it could be a fungal disease. But I find flours of sulphur cures both mange and ringworm here, if applied gently and persistently enough.
  
  Yes, the spectre of Squamous cell carcinoma looms, but she is remarkably bright and active.
  
  Almost no sneezing or nasal discharge.
  
  The “Rodent ulcers” that I’ve seen look different, and usually just the lips, and the ulcer has a thickened rolled edge: This one is different.
  
  +Doc., have YOU seen anything like this before?+
  
  I should mention, she had a lick granuloma on her hip, but that has healed now, with flea-bathing, and the steroids she’s been on. (I don’t like using fipronil, ie. “Poison your pet to poison its parasites”. Not a sound strategy.)
  
  Can you ask around for me please if any of your colleagues have seen a nose like that, despite over a month intensive blunderbuss therapy? Feel free to post the images on a specialised dermatology group if you know of one.
  
  Colin
  
  7 months ago
2. Colin Post author
  
  Dear Dr. Krista,
  
  Thank you for your comments. Your mention of locality sparked a line of new thoughts.
  
  Most of my vet jobs have been in the tropics (Jamaica, Arabia, Singapore etc) where venomous creatures are commonplace (Toads, insects, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and snakes).
  
  I’ve seen Arabian horses lamed by a centipede bite, a rare Arabian Oryx die from a snake bite.
  
  One characteristic symptom I’ve noticed in cats of spider bites is intense, frantic licking of the cat’s body. It is continuous until the toxin effect subsides after a few hours, so mild sedation is called for. It’s clinically distinct from the CNS effects of agricultural toxins.
  
  This cat has lived around a 24 hour 7/11 shop, and the bright lights at night attract swarms of termites and beetles: Cats love eating termites, +but so do; scorpions, snakes, spiders, centipedes, and toads+ that live in drains.
  
  Just this week, my other strays brought two live snakes as “love gifts”, one was a harmless Tree-snake, the other a 60cm Red-necked Keelback (small, but whose venom is nonetheless as deadly as the Banded-Krait’s!) (See attached snap I took of “Chatty” offering a cute-little Keelback present to me.)
  
  https://thailandsnakes.com/red-necked-keelback-venomous-mildly-dangerous/
  
  Doctor Krista, It’s possible what we are looking at is a cat recovering from a bite, or sting, on the left nostril by a snake, scorpion, hornet, spider etc.
  
  I know from personal experience that such wounds provoke Type 4 cell-mediated immune responses, (cf. acute inflammatory antibody responses) and so are very slow to heal. (My neighbour was blinded in one eye by reaction to a Hornet sting.)
  
  With neoplasia, I’d expect this cat to be inappetent and “ill”, but she’s bright, eating well, and purring loudly by my side as I type. So I’m leaning to the insect, arachnid, snake bite, or sting idea for now.
  
  It’d be nice to have the luxury of lab-work and histology, if it were available and reliable, but I’m old-school trained, and content diagnosing on sensory data alone.
  
  I certainly considered your Pemphigus differential, but she would have responded very well to the prednisolone 2.5mg/day according to this paper and others:
  
  https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/feline-pemphigus-foliaceus
  
  Thank you for helping me brainstorm 🙂
  
  I will update you on her recovery.
  
  Colin
  
  7 months ago
3. Colin Post author
  
  “Princess” : 15th. March 2025, five month update…
  
  See attached snap of her after five months, off the street, and in my care.
  
  “That nasal ulceration doesn’t look any better!” You reply, and I have to agree, it’s very frustrating.
  
  She is still happy, bright, and eating every meal I present her with.
  
  She’s tiny, but the Top-Cat of my six strays.
  
  When stared at by another feline, she stares back silent & unblinking, and if eye-contact is maintained, she gives a paw-slap to the cheeky chappie, as if to say, “You do NOT stare at a Princess like that you commoner!”
  
  The flea season has begun here in the tropics, so I shampoo her weekly, and rinse with Carbaryl 5% flea and tick powder. She enjoys the soothing effect of shampoo and warm water, and then after a rub down with a towel, frolics in the garden to dry out quickly.
  
  The only medication I’m using is 2.5mg of prednisolone tablets every few days according to how irritated she is by the sore nose. A serous fluid runs from it occasionally, but isn’t continuous. She sneezes about 3 times a day, that’s all.
  
  Now, to business;
  My working differential has been Trauma/FVR virus at the top since I’ve ruled out; neoplasia, cat leprosy, rodent ulcer, etc. (see previous posts).
  
  Now, with the passage of time, I’m almost convinced it is caused by FVR/Feline Herpes virus, primarily because of the photo you see on this article, it looks almost identical to Princess;
  
  https://pro.dermavet.com/feline-cutaneous-herpesvirus-clinical-and-therapeutic-aspects/
  
  Compare that with the pictures of her, I’ve already posted in this thread.
  
  Notice particularly the tiny black specks around her mouth and eyelids. I’ve highlighted them in RED.
  
  They have been a constant feature, which I previously confused with food debris/blood from eager gobbling of her raw chicken and sardines meals.
  
  But now I’m pretty sure they are the cellular debris (eosinophils and monocytes from Herpes (FHV-1) infected epidermal and mucosal cells from her lips and eyelids.)
  
  So finally, +there’s my diagnosis+ (I feel better already!)
  
  Feline Herpes poses no danger to humans, and my other healthy strays will have developed natural immunity long before “they found me”.
  
  So towards a better treatment… The article suggests;
  Q/
  Antiviral Treatment:
  Famciclovir currently represents the reference antiviral in the treatment of FHV-1 infection. Its administration at a dosage of 40 to 90 mg/kg two to three times daily has proven effective in controlling clinical manifestations. The duration of treatment must be adapted to clinical evolution and can extend over several weeks. Monitoring of renal function is necessary during treatment due to the molecule’s nephrotoxic potential.
  
  Other Options:
  Other molecules can be considered in the therapeutic strategy. Azithromycin, administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg once daily for 10 days, has shown some efficacy. Topical treatments, particularly daily application of acyclovir or imiquimod used two to three consecutive days per week, can usefully complement the systemic approach.
  /Q
  
  Which sounds hopeful, but I can’t get those medicines here in the mountains on the Burmese border.
  
  Please can you help with that Dr. Krista?
  
  1) Famciclovir (Nephrotoxic warning noted. I’ll need several weeks supply.)
  2) Azithromycin
  3) Acyclovir or Imiquimod.
  
  Happy to pay the cost and postage to finally get this precious creature better. (PM/email me for postal address, and how to pay you.)
  
  Colin
  
  Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
  https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
  
  4 months ago
Colin Post author

Here’s an update on what “Princess” looks like today, after 3 months in my care.

Desperate for progress last week, I sedated her; cleaned up her face, trimmed her whiskers, and extracted all her remaining teeth, (there were 8, not four, with their roots, see snap attached,) just in case it’s an atypical case of “screaming cat-mouth”. Which is caused by feeding cats dry cat-food, and packets of Monsanto pet-sludge, instead of what Carnivores were created to eat: Raw meat and bone in the form of whole animals and arthropods.

She’s still a happy pussy, and eats whatever is put in front of her; suffers occasional calici/FVR snuffles, has mild pharyngitis, but her mandibular LN are now back to normal size, +BUT that nose ulcer is no better,+ and no worse.

Again, I could not palpate, or see, any polyps in her mouth or nasopharynx, but I don’t discount the likelihood of smaller polyps in her anterior nasal passages causing this. Perhaps as reaction to FVR, sting, trauma etc.

She’s still head-shy, it’s as tender as it looks, but she likes to rub her face with her front paws, and on objects, as though it itches.

I’ve ruled out neoplasia because she’s so well in herself, and her lymph nodes returned to normal after an antibiotic course.

Demodex, ringworm, and mange are common in strays here, and they’re easily cured with gentle application of home-made flours-of-sulphur and ivermectin creams. She’s had all that routine therapy, so I discount those. This is distinctly different from such cases.

The black specs are food remains, not scabs.

My differential diagnosis is now, in order of likelihood;

Nose trauma/FVR that has caused tiny nasal polyps.
Insect sting, spider, or snake bite inside her oral cavity, or on her face,
“Screaming cat-mouth” (aka. Commercial “pet food” toxicity. She could have lived on pet food poached from neighbours’ pets.)
Atopic allergy. (She licks her body fur all over, in long sessions until it’s wet with saliva, despite bathing and de-fleaing her.)
Cat leprosy, (Mycobacterium from rodents.)
Rodent ulcer (Ought to have resolved by now.)
Leishmaniasis. (Very rarely reported but present in SE Asia)

Suggestions for therapy welcome 🙂

Colin

6 months ago
1. Colin Post author
  
  Update Feb 1st. 2025:
  This is the state of “Princess’s” nose on Feb. 1st 2025 compared with when I found her in early November 2024.
  
  An example of one of those many conditions vets struggle with!
  
  She’s bright, happy, and still eating whatever I offer her, but I’m keeping her on mainly raw chicken, as the lysine in the meat is supposed to have some antiviral activity. Her alimentary system is working perfectly. She has no teeth, but still manages to make short-work of raw chicken frames I chop up for her! (I could make a video of her eating one to post here, but it’d be a big file, and may overload your forum software.)
  
  No cough despite the seasonally cold weather here in the mountains. I let her sleep with me indoors.
  
  I give her three day courses of Amoxycillin and predisolone crushed in her food, now and then, when she appears snuffly and bunged up. I also clean her nose daily, and it seems to be less tender now. You’ll notice her left nostril is almost fully occluded in the latest picture, a baby-sized cotton-bud clears it, but makes it bleed, so I feel bad hurting her.
  
  She’s putting weight on, and her mandibular LN are only slightly enlarged. Not surprising considering what we see here.
  
  She still licks her fur all over, somewhat manically, she’s often soaking wet with saliva when I pick her up, and of course this symptom subsides when she’s on prednisolone.
  
  My differential has not changed, and I welcome good advice.
  
  Colin
  
  Colin Melbourne English missionary in Asia
  https://www.born-again-christian.org/news/
  
  5 months ago

Question

Ikram | 10 months ago

Hi Krista, We Had Adopted Two Month Old American Short Hair And Got Them All Vaccinated …

Hi Krista,
We had adopted two month old American Short Hair and got them all vaccinated at Petco plus got them Spayed/Neutered.
One of them, 2 years old Riley had a runny nose(Green Mucus) right from the beginning and later on the Vet at Petco mentioned that she has a Polyp and can’t be treated at their facility.
I need your help to find a vet that can perform Polyp removal surgery on my 2 year old female American short hair cat near Chicago, IL
It seems Riley has a very large Polyp or some type of mass that’s blocking her airway and food pipe; the vet tried to insert a tube for breathing and it couldn’t go through due to a large mass that is blocking it.
This Vet @ Westchester Animal Clinic in Porter, IN recommended a Specialist and is not optimistic that this polyp or mass can be removed through surgery and was proposing Euthanizing as an option which we didn’t agree.

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Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello,

I apologize for the delay. Somehow I missed this one.

Call everyone and see if you can find someone who will anesthetize and look for a polyp behind the soft palate. Call all of the rescues, shelters and private veterinary clinics. Put out a plea on social media. Use all platforms to ask for help.

Keep me posted.

10 months ago

Question

Valerie | 1 year ago

Hello Dr. Magnifico, I Called Your Clinic About Cat Ear Polyps. I Watched Your Videos On …

Hello Dr. Magnifico,

I called your clinic about cat ear polyps. I watched your videos on Youtube about these. I believe my cat has one and was wondering what price range your office charges for the removal of these. Here I either get we can’t give an estimate at all without seeing them or very expensive. I live in Wisconsin and am having problems with resources regarding this situation. I don’t know who else to contact. I want to get my cat help with his ear.

Thank you,
Valerie Wild

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Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello,
There are still quite a few old timer vets who may be in your area and willing to help. Call everyone around you. Try to avoid the corporately owned clinics, and ask for a reference from everyone at the local shelters, rescues and via every social media outlet you use (facebook, nextdoor, etc). In many cases if these are older cats then these are either masses due to chronic infection and inflammation, or a neoplastic mass.

If this is a younger cat it may be an oronasalpharyngeal polyp.

Keep asking for affordable options and keep advocating for your cat,

1 year ago

Question

Pam | 1 year ago

I Could Really Use Some Advice About My 7 Year Old Cat, Squeak. I Posted A Comment …

I could really use some advice about my 7 year old cat, Squeak. I posted a comment on Dr. Magnifico’s YouTube video about a cat named Bear that had ear polyp surgery but thought I’d post here, too. I am an emotional wreck right now because yesterday morning I got some very bad news regarding Squeak’s cytology results from a FNA that was done at a specialty hospital. Sadly, my poor boy was diagnosed with malignant melanoma for the 3rd time in two years! I’m heartbroken… The trouble started at the end of December 2022 when I noticed a small lump on his right pinna. My primary vet did a lumpectomy and sent it off to be evaluated. Came back malignant melanoma. Excision was complete with clean but narrow margins. All was well until September 2023 when I found another lump at the base of the same ear. My vet advised me to go for a consultation with an oncologist and it was recommended that Squeak get a TECA-BO done. I was told that this procedure can be “curative” in some cases. The cost was astronomical but I wanted to do the best for my cat. He means the world to me! I began calling specialty vet hospitals to schedule the surgery as soon as possible but none near me were able to fit Squeak in. I finally found one in Pennsylvania and made an appointment for a surgical consultation. The surgery was done on September 25. My boy was a real trooper and recovered well. He did lose the blink reflex in his right eye but it resolved in about 2 weeks with me putting moisturizing drops in his eye daily. I was thrilled with Squeak’s progress and I thought we might have won the fight even though there was no guarantee that he’d be out of the woods now. I had to take money out of my retirement savings to pay for this surgery (it was actually more than $10,000!!) but it was worth it to save my cat’s life. Recently, I noticed that Squeak had been shaking his head and scratching where his incision was. I had an appointment scheduled with my regular vet for a checkup and to get some chest x-rays to make sure all was well. While there, I mentioned about the scratching and head shaking and asked if maybe it was scar tissue causing the reaction. My vet wasn’t concerned and just said “Maybe he feels something.” X-rays were clear and showed nothing concerning. I was told to come back for a recheck in 6 months. However, the symptoms gradually became more frequent and I brought Squeak back to the vet. This time, thinking it might be an infection of some kind, he prescribed Baytril and prednisolone for a course of 2 weeks. There was no improvement and this was very concerning for both the vet and myself. He said that it would be beneficial to get a CT scan to find out what we were dealing with. I was beginning to panic because I had a feeling where all this was leading. I took Squeak to the same hospital where he had his oncology consult. He was examined by a veterinary surgeon first and she did a FNA . Unfortunately, the CT scan could not be done because their machine went down. I got the cytology report yesterday morning. The pathologist’s interpretation was “Lymphocytic proliferation and many atypical multinucleated cells; suspicious for lymph node with metastatic amelanotic melanoma.” The vet that did the FNA said she would consult with an oncologist and get back to me with options for “treatment”. Surgery, radiation and/or chemo was mentioned . Meanwhile, I have been scouring the internet for any information I can get to help me make the right decision about what to do next. I have also posted on numerous cat health forums but only got one response from a vet in Virginia. He said that radiation would be recommended if there was a concern about margins but chemo would not be a good choice for this kind of cancer. He wanted me to keep him posted so I told him about the cytology results. I have not heard back from him yet. Can I please ask for your opinion about all this? I posted this in hopes that Dr. Magnifico would see it because she has done a similar type of surgery for a cat. Can anyone give me some guidance about how I should proceed? I will be discussing this on Monday with my regular vet after he reviews the report that was sent to him. I know I should just calm down but I’m basically a mess! Any information about a way to extend Squeak’s life and keep him comfortable would be SO much appreciated. Thank you!

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Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello,

I apologize for the delay. This case is likely too complicated and difficult to provide much assistance via text.

In all of these cases I think it is best to contact as many local rescues and pet care providers as possible. This might mean reaching out to your local shelter and veterinary college. You can also start a go fund me page. Post on all social media accounts and personal accounts. Start with general practice vet who the rescues recommend. Give them a realistic budget for you. Ask about payment plans and payment plan companies like care credit or vetbilling.com. There are places to help. Keep trying and keep asking.

1 year ago

Question

Ramin | 1 year ago

Need Second Opinion. Our Cat Shows All Of The Signs Of A Nasopharyngeal Polyp.

Hi Dr. Magnifico,

Our adopted cat (former stray cat, now 100% indoor) has always shown all of the signs of a nasopharyngeal polyp (about 4 years now). I didn’t know what it was until I saw videos of cats with similar breathing noises and eventually saw your YouTube polypectomy videos.

Three short videos of his breathing sounds (turn up your volume) follow:

Called our vet for a surgeon referral, but they’ll only refer for a CT scan ($2000) before they’ll refer to a surgeon. Surgeon’s websites all indicate that they will only accept appointments by referral from a general Vet, so I can’t just make an appointment for examination by a surgeon (which I’m happy to pay for).

Bottom line, looking for a second-opinion / consult (happy to pay!) on whether it’s really necessary to do a $2000 CT scan *before* being referred to a surgeon for (a probably $2000) surgery. I’d rather just have a surgeon put the cat under anesthesia, go in, look for the polyp, and remove it if they see one. Happy to pay $2000 for just that surgery, even if it turns out there’s no polyp.

Thank you in advance for any response.

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Comments

Krista Magnifico

Hello,
I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. You are not alone. I know that a lot of people are in the same position that you are.
I am not sure how vetmed got to this place. I am not sure why so few veterinarians are willing to go and look for a polyp that if it continues to grow will kill, by suffocation, its host.
The idea that every single one of these cats needs a CT is incorrect. What every single one of these cats is is to breathe. Some of these cats will have polyps in places that we may not be able to get our hands on,, these cases may need a special scope to access. For this reason the price of care may increase.,, but for all of the cats I have seen I think I have given them a second chance at breathing, and a second chance at life.
Call every vet in your area. Try every single veterinary practice that is single doctor (therefore privately owned) and every practice that has some old guy (or girl) working there. I promise that every veterinarian over 50 knows how to, and already has experience with this. They can help.

If you cannot find anyone please come find me.
I will do my best to help.

Dr Magnifico

1 year ago
1. Ramin Post author
  
  Thank you, Dr. Magnifico!
  
  1 year ago
  1. Krista Magnifico
    
    you are welcome,,, if you find someone to help you affordably please let me know
    
    1 year ago

Question

Chris | 1 year ago

Hello. Can You Please Cut And Paste This To Pawbly.com And I Will Reply There. …

Please help with removing nasal polyp.

Hello,

My girlfriend has a cat she rescued almost 10 years ago. Her name is Kitty.

She has quite a bit of difficulty breathing. We have taken here to and from several local veterinary hospitals and they have prescribed various antibiotics and steroids.

After almost 6 months these seem to offer little relief to our poor little Kitty.

I am willing and able to drive Kitty anywhere within 500miles to try to remove the polyp. We can stay for a few days if you need us to.

The local hospitals want over $10k total in several rounds of scans, xrays and preoperative over several weeks. We can’t afford this. Someone will be be able to make a real difference in Kitty’s life they would agree to meet with her and do what they can.

I would also add that my girlfriend has a deep love of animals. She regularly helps local shelters and hard luck cases like when she found Kitty. She cleans and grooms pets for a living and volunteers her services to local shelters. You would be making an incredible gift to her. I don’t have $10000 but I would gladly pay fairly for the procedure and arrange for our travel to you.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you,

Chris

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6 Responses

Comments

brian

I think I might be able to help. I’ll look into this immediately and let you know what I find out before today’s end.

Respectfully,
Brian

1 year ago
brian

Where are you located?

1 year ago
1. Chris Post author
  
  Hi Brian, I am in Ottawa, Canada. I actually reached to your clinic…Dr. Krista Magnifico fyi.
  
  1 year ago
  1. brian
    
    Oh fantastic that’s exactly who I reached out to!
    
    1 year ago
    1. Chris Post author
      
      Many thanks. Fingers crossed.
      
      1 year ago
Krista Magnifico

Hello.
I would be happy to help BUT I do not have a scope to do what the specialist would do. So unless I can see it behind the soft palate to avulse it I can’t do what they can do. Also polyps are much less common in older cats (like over 3 years old). It is more likely to be either infection or mass (possibly cancerous).

1 year ago