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Visceral Bystander posted:Lately (as in over the past couple of days) my 12 year old black Labrador, Chloe, seems to have developed a fear of stairs. It's probably a medical thing, but it's also possible that she became afraid of the stairs for some reason. My food-motivated dog once became afraid of his kibble, because he associated it with us leaving. We switched him to wet food for a few days and he was back to normal.
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May 18, 2012 00:24
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I got this stuff for a Dane I thought I was going to be adopting because he seemed to have hip problems (Gus, for those of you who know the story): http://liquidhealthpets.com/k9-vegetarian-joint-formula (I didn't mean to buy the vegetarian version, I'm retarded) My question is-- I no longer have Gus, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give it to Sunday, since it was like thirty bucks and I don't want to waste it. She doesn't have any hip problems that we know of, but it should be okay to give her as a supplement, right? And if it is, can it be mixed with her food?
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May 20, 2012 01:38
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I don't know the exact details but apparently my sister is taking care of a small kitten that is just a few weeks old. I told her to go get her some KMR but in case she can't get it tonight, is there anything she can feed the kitty in the meantime that won't make it sick or anything? Also is it going to be possible for her to potty train it this early? Here is a picture of the kitten:
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May 20, 2012 02:22
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That kitten doesn't look that young, are you sure it's only a couple weeks old? Anyone else feel free to chime in here, but that kitten looks old enough to be on regular kitten food.
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May 20, 2012 03:21
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That cat is like 6 weeks oldish, it can have food.
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May 20, 2012 04:04
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That kitten is plenty old to know how to use a litter box. It's actually pretty amazing how quickly they'll go for it once it's presented. Just plop her in there and let her run off, she'll get it.
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May 20, 2012 05:09
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My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting a dog for awhile now. We're concerned about adopting from a reputable rescue because we live in a studio apartment with no fenced yard. We live right next to a wilderness area, and we would take the dog out there to eliminate, so that is covered. And, he works construction, and I work at a ranch, so the dog wouldn't be left at home in our apartment. He would join one or the other of us at work. The trouble is, we are definitely interested in a high-energy working breed, as we both love backpacking and we want a dog that could join us on those trips. I'm also interested in doing agility. I have experience with working breeds at my work (Aussies), but I worry that with no fenced yard we're not going to look like the best potential adopters. So my question is, does anyone have any advice for selling ourselves to rescues (or potentially breeders)? Would it be a bad idea to have a working breed in a studio apartment regardless? I really want to adopt from somewhere reputable.
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May 20, 2012 05:20
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By reputable rescue do you mean a rescue that does a lot of fostering? Really there are TONS of high energy breeds and mixes in any shelter ever. They're often given up around a year old because people got more than they bargained for. Adopting through a breed specific rescue seems to be where people come across issues like housing and fences, not a city shelter. A kill shelter isn't going to really do that much checking on you, especially if you're in an area where shelter overcrowding is a big problem. You can also check pet finder, shelters post listing in there a lot. Other posters can probably share their own experience with breeders and housing situations if you wanted to go that route.
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May 20, 2012 06:59
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Yeah, I've only seen that picture and not the kitten in person, but my sister said when she tried to give her the kitten milk that she chewed the nipple off of the bottle.  She only told me that it was a "few" weeks old so that's what I said. Anyway, thanks for the replies! I might try to post a thread later.
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May 20, 2012 18:27
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Thanks for all the replies! I took Chloe to the vet and after all the testing was done (including hips and eyes) it turns out that other than the wear and tear of being an elderly dog, Chloe is a-okay and has miraculously mastered the stairs once again. I'm starting to think my animals are both a little "special".
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May 21, 2012 12:13
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So I have a female black cat and her name is Kiki. Shes approximately 7 years old and was spayed a while ago. Kiki is an indoor cat though she does love the outdoors and we let her out multiple times every day to go explore. In only the last 4 months or so, she has maintained a large bald patch on her belly and I'm quite concerned about it. It hasn't really grown much over the period of time, though it is slightly larger than it originally was. My first instinct was to assume it was related to some form of allergy she may be having to something so I took her to the vet to ask about it and he gave her a cortisone shot along with her normal maintenance vaccines. That was about 3 weeks ago and since then, I have noticed no affect -- the bald patch is still just as big and just as bald, with no sign of any fur beginning to grow back. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing, or have had it happen to their own cats before? Here's a picture of the patch in question: 
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May 21, 2012 16:02
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Brain Issues posted:So I have a female black cat and her name is Kiki. Shes approximately 7 years old and was spayed a while ago. Kiki is an indoor cat though she does love the outdoors and we let her out multiple times every day to go explore. Were any other diagnostics done at the time of the steroid injection? Did you and your vet discuss anything? Allergies are one of the big reasons why cats over-groom, but there are also psychological causes (the cat's crazy) or underlying pain. If no diagnostics were done at the vet visit, there is still a lot your vet can do.
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May 21, 2012 17:27
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Have you noticed her licking that spot at all? Maybe she's licking it bald.
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May 21, 2012 18:21
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Hello everyone, this is Mitters. She is 14 years old. In the past few days, she has developed some kind of ulcer on her lip. Sometimes it looks worse than others but today, it's really red and swollen. She hasn't stopped eating or drinking, but seems to be eating somewhat less than she did before. She's still pooping and peeing, and there's nothing off about those particular things. Here are a few pictures:    She of course gets super pissed off when you try and touch her face, but that's no shock. She's not bleeding and I haven't seen any pus. Any ideas?
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May 21, 2012 20:15
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...take her to the vet?
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May 21, 2012 21:23
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Dogen posted:...take her to the vet? We're doing that tomorrow, sorry. I forgot to mention. I just wanted to see if anyone had seen something similar and had any ideas.
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May 21, 2012 21:40
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soap. posted:My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting a dog for awhile now. We're concerned about adopting from a reputable rescue because we live in a studio apartment with no fenced yard. We live right next to a wilderness area, and we would take the dog out there to eliminate, so that is covered. And, he works construction, and I work at a ranch, so the dog wouldn't be left at home in our apartment. He would join one or the other of us at work. I was in a similar situation (studio apartment, no fence, worked on a ranch) years ago and had no problem adopting my first dog. There are some breed rescues that will rule you out because you don't have a fenced yard, but most city shelters and even some breed rescues will be fine as long as you can show that the dog will get adequate exercise. They may want to speak to your bosses to make sure that you actually can have the dog at work (that's what a breed rescue I volunteered with did anyway), but as long as you can show that the dog's needs will be met you should be fine. Mine came from the city shelter and they didn't even check, but most private or breed rescues will probably want to verify that. I would make it clear that you are familiar with high-energy breeds and that you understand the exercise requirements they have. I think the biggest problem I've run into in doing rescue with a working breed is people who think that a 1-hour walk through the neighborhood is a lot of exercise. Give details about how you plan to exercise the dog. My biggest concern about your situation (as someone who is familiar with ranch work and construction and high energy dogs) is whether your dog will actually be getting exercise at work with you guys, and what you will do if it doesn't work out. Have you and your boyfriend already discussed this with your employers? Will the dog be loose with you or will you have to tie it out? If it is just hanging out at the job site with your boyfriend, will you provide additional exercise if it isn't self-exercising? What will you do if it doesn't get along with the working dogs at the ranch, and/or is uncomfortable or a problem at the construction site? How secure are the sites where your boyfriend works (as in, can the dog get out)? Is your ranch fenced for dogs and if not, what will you do if the dog you get doesn't have good recall? I mean, presumably you'll train that, but what about in the meantime? That's all stuff I'd probably want to discuss with you and make sure you had thought about if I was adopting a dog to you. I think having a high-energy dog in your situation is definitely possible. My dog did great with the studio/come to work with me model for 3 or 4 years as a young dog. He's ancient now and still one of the most well-adjusted dogs you'll ever meet, and I think it is largely because of that early lifestyle. It can also fail miserably though, so be sure you've thought through all the possibilities. 2tomorrow fucked around with this message at 00:42 on May 22, 2012 |
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May 22, 2012 00:39
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Corridor posted:Have you noticed her licking that spot at all? Maybe she's licking it bald. I have seen her do it on occasion, yes. I don't think its anything psychological. She's a very relaxed cat in general, and has a very friendly personality. She's not scared of people and always has to come up and say hi to everyone. This bald spot thing just started suddenly appearing 4 months or so ago and its the first time she's done it in her entire life which leaves me puzzled. I don't think it has to do with pain because she doesn't feel overly tender there or anything. The problem with doing more vet testing is I don't have the money. That one visit ran me $105 and I can't afford to keep going back.
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May 22, 2012 02:42
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My kids have been super-interested in the snails that insist on eating all my plants lately, so I decided today to start a terrarium for my kids and start taking them out of the garden rather than killing them. I've looked up a few resources on keeping garden snails, but I was wondering if anyone here had any tips. I think these are just normal brown garden snails, although one has a white, see-through shell. Question one: Have I hurt them by peeling them off of the plants? They seem to be moving around okay, but I later read that that can hurt them. Duh, of course it can, why didn't I consider that? But I can't imagine actually getting them out of my garden with the methods they recommend, like spraying them and then sticking my hand under their head, especially the tiny little ones. Question two: How bad is it, exactly, to use normal tap water to mist their environments? Only two of the five sites I read mentioned that, but it was too late by then. Are they all going to be dead before I can get them dechlorinated water?
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May 24, 2012 11:24
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Brain Issues posted:I have seen her do it on occasion, yes. I don't think its anything psychological. She's a very relaxed cat in general, and has a very friendly personality. She's not scared of people and always has to come up and say hi to everyone. This bald spot thing just started suddenly appearing 4 months or so ago and its the first time she's done it in her entire life which leaves me puzzled. Unfortunately, figuring it out may take time and money. Cats over-groom because of allergies (food, fleas, environment), pain in the area (rarely), because they're developed some sort of mental desire to do so (rarely)... and then you have tons of other possibilities which may be causing the hair to stop growing, thus when she grooms that area it doesn't grow back (uncommon). With food allergies, you'd have to be on a diet that does not have the same protein sources as the original diet, and the problem with that is how OTC diets can be contaminated with other proteins not on their list because of how they're manufactured. Thus, prescription novel protein diets are usually the way to go, but they're expensive. With flea allergy, you may not see any fleas or flea dirt - and some animals can react to only 1 flea bite (rare, but it happens). Good flea control is essential. With environmental allergies, it may be seen as seasonal (if it's to pollen or mold or something), or it could be year-round (indoor allergens, like dust, people dander, or mites). This tends to be the hardest to diagnose. Many of the cat over-grooming diseases used to be simply grouped under the 'crazy cat' label until vets figured it out that that's not the only thing that causes cats to over-groom.
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May 24, 2012 16:37
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I have a rescue basset hound, she's about three years old now. When we got her she was nothing resembling house trained and peed/pooed often in the house. With time she got better, we've had her for almost two years. She's been sleeping with me in my room for the last month or so and was sleeping in my parents room before that. Until we house trained her she was in her kennel. Recently, as in last week she started using the bathroom in the house again. Like, last Tuesday I went into the rec room and saw she poo poo everywhere, and she started peeing again too. This dog spends tons of time outside with the other dog. She'll pee as soon as she comes in. What's up with that? She hasn't gone to the bathroom in the house in months and all of a sudden it's like she's reverted back to when we first got her!
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May 25, 2012 03:46
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Sudden changes in bathroom habits like that can be a sign of pain. I had Bassets growing up and I know they're prone to all sorts of back injuries as well as things like ear infections. Pain symptoms can be very subtle in animals and inappropriate elimination can be a big sign that is often ignored or misinterpreted. I'd recommend a vet visit.
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May 25, 2012 04:13
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2tomorrow posted:I was in a similar situation (studio apartment, no fence, worked on a ranch) years ago and had no problem adopting my first dog. There are some breed rescues that will rule you out because you don't have a fenced yard, but most city shelters and even some breed rescues will be fine as long as you can show that the dog will get adequate exercise. They may want to speak to your bosses to make sure that you actually can have the dog at work (that's what a breed rescue I volunteered with did anyway), but as long as you can show that the dog's needs will be met you should be fine. Mine came from the city shelter and they didn't even check, but most private or breed rescues will probably want to verify that. Thanks, you've given me a lot to think about! I've definitely given a lot of thought to exercise. My boyfriend is a runner and we both hike. There is also a dogpark down the street from my work which I plan to make good use of--there is a big grassy fenced-in area for fetch. I can also use the arena at my work to do agility practice. The dogs at my work are used to a parade of other dogs coming through, and any dog we'd consider would have to be dog-friendly. I know anything can happen though! Other guys at my boyfriend's job site bring dogs to work. They do tend to be off leash (in the fenced-in site), so I'd want to have a pretty secure recall before he was allowed to roam there. Thanks for the success story too, that's great to hear. And thanks Kerfuffle! I'm on my phone so I can't quote you, but just going to a city shelter is a good call.
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May 25, 2012 04:40
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2tomorrow posted:Sudden changes in bathroom habits like that can be a sign of pain. I had Bassets growing up and I know they're prone to all sorts of back injuries as well as things like ear infections. Pain symptoms can be very subtle in animals and inappropriate elimination can be a big sign that is often ignored or misinterpreted. I'd recommend a vet visit. I see. She hasn't been acting at all out of the ordinary otherwise so this is a huge surprise to us. I checked her ears just now and they look okay, when my JRT had an ear infection it was pretty obvious from the snapping of his head, scratching and malaise but Presthe basset seems regular. I'm going to keep an eye on her behaviour and see if I can get her into the vet for a check up. Could it be the weather? Last week it rained off and on, and we've had consistent heavy rain/thunderstorms since Saturday where I live.
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May 25, 2012 04:43
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My friend dog's got into some bleach and she is not sure what to do. She lives in the middle of nowhere and might not be able to take her dog to the vet (a situation which makes me feel like she shouldn't have a dog in the first place, but that's another story). It's not clear if the dog actually ingested any bleach but there was some on her face. Assuming she won't be able to take the dog to the vet, is there any advice I can give her/things she can do in the meantime to help the dog along/help her calm down? I don't know anything about dogs.
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May 26, 2012 05:05
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Your friend should at least call the vet ASAP. They will be able to get details from her and advise her a lot better than random internet people.
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May 26, 2012 16:09
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Communista posted:Hello everyone, this is Mitters. She is 14 years old. In the past few days, she has developed some kind of ulcer on her lip. Sometimes it looks worse than others but today, it's really red and swollen. She hasn't stopped eating or drinking, but seems to be eating somewhat less than she did before. She's still pooping and peeing, and there's nothing off about those particular things. Here are a few pictures: These are most likely rodent ulcers. One of my cats gets them sometimes and they look pretty much just like that. His are caused by allergies or if I don't wash their food bowls often enough, but i understand that they can be caused by a variety of things, sort of like canker sores or cold sores in humans. It'll go away on its own, but my vet gives my cat antihistamines if his are really bad (sometimes his entire upper lip gets poofy).
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May 26, 2012 19:31
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I have a question one of the resident vets here can help me. One of my cats had to go to the vet about 2 months because of stones, he was cleared and fine up until a few days ago, took him to the vet yesterday and they suspected stones again. I had to leave him overnight. I called today and they told me he's stable and that it wasn't stones, it was a layer of hard skin over his bladder, that isn't the issue, the problem is that his penis or at least the head of it was apparently completely destroyed, just mangled beyond repair, so they cut it off. Well the mangled part anyway. They told me to call monday but I might go insane by then, I guess I'm just asking, what am I looking at here? What are my options? They mentioned reconstructing, how does that work? I just wanna know if my kitty is gonna be ok.
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May 26, 2012 20:39
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Totally fine, and this way I would think it'll reduce his chance of urinary problems later in life. Boy cats with crystals frequently get wangectomies, I'm sure it's fine.
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May 26, 2012 22:16
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My dog just got a broken blood vessel in her eye, I know it's harmless in humans but is it also harmless for dogs?
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May 27, 2012 03:07
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Dogen posted:Totally fine, and this way I would think it'll reduce his chance of urinary problems later in life. Boy cats with crystals frequently get wangectomies, I'm sure it's fine. That's a massive relief. Will he still pee like normal? Does anything change?
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May 27, 2012 03:23
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Alteisen posted:That's a massive relief. How the surgery goes depends entirely on who is doing it and how comfortable they are at performing the surgery. If the vets are offering it to you, they generally feel comfortable enough doing the surgery, but asking about outcome would be better directed towards them. They can tell you their success rate and amount of complications they experience. Assuming this is the normal "blocked male cat surgery" (called a Perineal Urethrostomy), they basically make a bypass of the urinary system. Yes, he does pee differently - they essentially make his plumbing like a female. Of course, it does not come without its own risks, and hopefully you can discuss those with the attending veterinarian.
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May 28, 2012 20:45
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Does anyone know of a dog worming treatment that actually prevents lungworm, rather than just treats infected animals? A coworker's dog went blind overnight and was found to be infected recently, so I've got the heebie-jeebies about it now.
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May 28, 2012 21:21
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My cat (female DSH, spayed, right at two years old) has been slowly losing hair on the back of her legs for the past few weeks. Today I noticed one spot, maybe half the size of a dime, on her front right leg. Nothing is inflamed, there are no scabs and I've never once seen her licking or biting at the area. She's using the restroom, eating and drinking like normal. Her activity level is the same, she still runs and jumps and plays with my other cat (female, around 6). She did have fleas last fall but that was taken care of with a massive cleaning/vacuuming/laundry weekend and regular applications of Frontline since then. It started around her back, uh, elbows, I guess? and has gradually moved up her legs but has yet to encroach on her stomach or lady bits. Since January I've had a new roommate who has a cat (female, about the same age as my older cat). It's only in the past month to six weeks or so my roommates cat has been hanging out in the common areas more frequently rather than lounging in her bedroom all day. Neither of my two cats play with the roommate's, but they're fine occupying the same room as long as they aren't too close. Unfortunately I don't have the funds available to take her for a checkup, though I anticipate a small monetary influx in the not-too-distant future (a month, tops). Neither of the other two cats have shown any symptoms. Any thoughts?
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May 29, 2012 03:37
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I recently (three or so days ago) got a brown Chihuahua that's having some trouble with one of my cats. It started out with the chihuahua barking because the cat staring at him too much, but now it's "barking if the cat is seen period". However, it's only for one cat; the other cat and the chihuahua are on neutral terms. Is there any way to salvage their relationship? I'd normally do things like slowly introduce them and give them a few weeks together, but others are very determined to simply give up on the dog after we've had him for three days, which is think is ridiculous and is a huge overreaction simply because the dog made you frown once. Is there any way to convince them that it can work out between the chihuahua and the cat, or am I hosed? He's a cutie that's just as adorable as our other chihuahua.
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May 29, 2012 03:53
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ClearlyDeluded posted:Does anyone know of a dog worming treatment that actually prevents lungworm, rather than just treats infected animals? Prevention of some lungworms can be done by knowing which lungworm is the concern and where it comes from - some come from infected fluids from the past host and some have to be eaten by the dog (while living in earthworm, snail, etc.) - and thus stopping your dog from ingesting those things. Otherwise, I have not heard of a lungworm preventative medication per se. Your veterinarian may be able to help you on that one (as it may require off-label usage of medication), but lungworm preventative medication is not the norm. As a side note, if your co-worker's dog's blindness was related to its lungworms, it's not a common event with lungworms - far, far more likely to see respiratory signs as opposed to brain signs. Some infections can cause blood clotting abnormalities that can manifest in the brain, so it's not impossible, just unlikely. Chief: Cats lose their hair for a variety of reasons, a big one being allergies (food, fleas, environment). Other things include fungal infection, other parasites, over-grooming (pain, stress, etc.), and diseases that makes hair grow a lot slower. Unfortunately, there really isn't a way to rule things out here. Doing so requires being able to take samples of the skin/surrounding hair to check for organisms (and any other tests that need to be run). She can be grooming when you're not looking. I've seen enough animals who don't lick or chew when their owner is around, but as soon as they leave the room BAM they're at it. Since you can't go into a vet at the moment, be sure to keep an eye on it. Note when it first started and anything different that happened around that time. Note its size and how/if/when it changes. Keep that information handy for when you do go into a vet so they can get a good history on it.
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May 29, 2012 05:55
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closeted republican posted:I recently (three or so days ago) got a brown Chihuahua that's having some trouble with one of my cats. It started out with the chihuahua barking because the cat staring at him too much, but now it's "barking if the cat is seen period". However, it's only for one cat; the other cat and the chihuahua are on neutral terms. Is there any way to salvage their relationship? I'm thinking either the Training thread or the Yappy Rat thread would be a good place for you to do some reading, though pimping my own thread isn't really humble of me. You need to condition the dog to view the cat's presence as a good, safe thing that he doesn't need to alert to, and sometimes that can take weeks. The training thread will show how to do that, and I have a post about conditioning a dog to cats somewhere in the yappy thread. If the other members of the household aren't in agreement, though, it's not really something you can convince them into. I agree, it's not enough time for the dog to settle in and take things slow, and they should really wait and see for a bit longer, since Chis are such reactive dogs to new environments. If it's your dog, and you made the purchase/adoption, ultimately it's your say, but if not then you may be out of luck. Captain Foxy fucked around with this message at 06:27 on May 29, 2012 |
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May 29, 2012 06:24
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HelloSailorSign posted:Prevention of some lungworms can be done by knowing which lungworm is the concern and where it comes from - some come from infected fluids from the past host and some have to be eaten by the dog (while living in earthworm, snail, etc.) - and thus stopping your dog from ingesting those things. Thanks for this, I feel better knowing I'm likely to notice symptoms easily (my dog spends a lot of time all up in my face and breathing his dog food breath at me). The speed of the other case worried me, is all, considering we spend a lot of time out in the horrible parasite infested English countryside. I'll ask the vet anyway, although I'm sure she'll say I'm worrying over tiny possibilities.
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May 29, 2012 11:19
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ClearlyDeluded posted:Thanks for this, I feel better knowing I'm likely to notice symptoms easily (my dog spends a lot of time all up in my face and breathing his dog food breath at me). The speed of the other case worried me, is all, considering we spend a lot of time out in the horrible parasite infested English countryside. Heck, you could even ask if you could put fecal tests for lungworms as part of the yearly physical.
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May 29, 2012 14:39
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My dog somehow managed to get a baby bird in her mouth. The bird didn't seem entirely harmed, but we're trying to find a number for a nearby humane/something to take care of it. However, I was curious about how likely it is that my dog might have gotten infected from anything by this? She only had the bird in her mouth for about 15 seconds, as I was outside when she found it, but I figure it's worth a trip to the vet anyway? I know when I was younger my dogs used to catch birds and the occasional squirrel and I don't think my parents ever took them to the vet but I'm a little paranoid when it comes to poo poo like this.
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May 30, 2012 02:13
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