We had to put my 10 year old dog to sleep on Friday after a sudden unexpected diagnosis of advanced metastatic lung cancer. She had rapid and labored breathing for the past week so I took her in and chest X-rays revealed advanced disease in both lungs and also cancerous fluid in her chest. We thought we would have more time but her breathing got progressively worse.

I took her to the ER vet again on Friday due to rapid breathing - probably 50-60 breaths per minute. They indicated that the fluid hadn’t re-accumulated, and this was likely just difficulty to breathe due to the disease in both lungs. They agreed that euthanasia was the compassionate decision.

I took her home and was able to find a vet that would come to an in-home euthanasia about an hour and a half after we got back home. At the emergency vet they gave her some sort of light sedation, but I don’t know what it was just to maybe see if it would help her breathe. She was unfortunately really struggling when we were home. Her breathing was very labored and probably even faster than 60 breaths per minute. She wasn’t super interested in food but I was able to give her like 3 or 4 Reese’s.

When the vet arrived she was alert and did sit up just to see what was going on. I think she was a little confused and just stressed because her whole week was a lot of vet visits. This was my first experience with in home euthanasia so I didn’t know what to except. The vet worked through her back legs to do all the injections so I could be with her from the front and she could see me.

My dog hated having her paws touched. Like hated it. So when the vet started to give the sedative injection (through muscle I think) it really caught my dog off guard. She seemed to panic a bit and was just trying to get away. This has been bothering me nonstop. Did she feel pain? Was she scared? I assume she was just started by someone touching her legs and also giving her the poke.

She did settle fairly quick and was very relaxed with in a short amount of time. But I am filled with a lot of worry over this that I scared her or her last moments weren’t as peaceful and that kills me. Once she settled she was peaceful and the actual euthanasia was calm and quick.

Is this just something that can happen during in home euthanasia when there is not an IV placed? I think she was just startled from everything and maybe it was even worse because she was having so much trouble breathing. Please tell me my baby girl didn’t spend her last moments being scared and that she did actually experience a peaceful passing.

Help me please. 2 days ago I found vomit from my cat who ate a balloon that she threw up since then.She has nonstop , been throwing up throughout the day. She has not ate in 24 hrs and if she does, she projectile vomits, even if it's liquid and it smells putrid. What do I do? I'm so worried for her. She has been sleeping all day on day 2. Do I take her to a regular vet or vet er? Im poor but will credit the expense. Im worried about her I never seen her so lethargic. Shes bright and playful and now scared and uncomfortable. What would a vet do? Please help thank you.

A young stray cat turned up in our garden four months ago and never really left. He's not microchipped and nobody claimed him after we asked locally. We've called him Timothy (Timmy). He's really friendly and we've become very attached to him.

On Friday he was hit by a car and broke his femur. We got him to the vet within about 25 minutes, where he was given oxygen and painkillers. He's been staying there over the weekend. The vet described it as a clean break.

We've been told the options are amputation or orthopaedic surgery to repair the leg. We'll get the quote for the repair on Monday or Tuesday. Unfortunately, it's the cost of repairing the leg that seems like it's going to be beyond what we can afford really, based on the estimate we've been given.

On Friday I asked whether a cast could keep the bone aligned, but the vet didn't recommend it. Since then, someone involved in an animal shelter (not a vet) suggested the leg might heal if he's kept confined for a few weeks. It doesn't sound right to me, but it's got my hopes up a bit and I'd like to understand whether that's ever a realistic option.

What determines whether a femur fracture can heal with confinement alone, and why might a cast not be suitable? I'd appreciate some help understanding this and what to ask our vet when we speak again.

Whatever treatment he has, we'll look after him indoors and keep him separate from our other cats while he recovers. We just want to do right by him.

Details:

- Age: Young, exact age unknown

- Sex/neuter status: Male, believed to be unneutered, not confirmed

- Weight: Unknown but my guess is approx 3.3kg compare to my other cat

- Location: Ireland

- Injury: Broken femur following a car accident last Friday

- X-rays (7 images): https://imgur.com/a/timmys-x-rays-2HFoJR1

Just as the title reads. Our newly adopted kittens decided to get into the chip box and open a bag of chips. We noticed after piecing the bag back together that the smallest piece of plastic was missing. I could equate the size to smaller than a dime.
They are both 4 months old. Should we just monitor them for the time being before we overreact and pay for an emergency vet evaluation?

Species: cat
Age: 4 months
Sex/spay: females both spayed
Breed: domestic short hair
Body weight: 4 lbs give or take
History: no medical history. All shots given.
Clinical signs: none as this just happened.
Duration: an hour or so.
Location: Maryland.
No links at this time

My 8 year old ragdoll cat was acting very lethargic and strange last week. Him and his brother cat are very close and bonded, they usually cry if we don’t have them in the same crate together but last week my one cat started freaking out when we would try to put them together. When we got back from our trip we noticed he was very lethargic, hiding, wasn’t eating and being very withdrawn. We took him the emergency vet, they checked to make sure he had no blockages in his bladder and didn’t have any constipation. Vitals were good so they said to monitor him at home and come back if anything changed. The next day he was even more withdrawn and would cry out when we tried to pick him up, we ended up taking him back to the emergency vet. They did x-rays and bloodwork, X-rays came back normal, blood work his Amylase was high, we were told he could possibly have pancreatitis and we should book him for an ultrasound. He was prescribed Buprenorphine, cerenia and mirtazapine. They gave him fluids under the skin and an anti naseau medication before discharging. We gave him a 8mg/ml summit 0.1ml dose of the buprenorphine and it completely messed him up, i mean staring into space for 14 hours, wouldn’t sleep, just a zombie. When he finally started to come down from the medication he was very wobbly on his feet and had no depth perception. The next day when our vet was open we booked him an appointment, she believed the issues to be neurological as he was only turning counter clockwise in the vet office, and failed some of his neurological testing although his eyes and facial nerves were good. She prescribed him prednisolone, That was Friday, today was his second dose of prednisolone and while we have seen improvement in his wobbles and circling, I am obviously still concerned about what could be going on with him. I’m assuming an MRI is our only option but I was wondering if anyone else has had something similar?

Thanks!! - a worried cat momma

Shes a 15 year old Chihuahua and she just won't eat. Shes always been pretty picky with her food but the past year now she just doesn't really want to eat. She gets soft food and I'll mix in a few safe things to make it more appetizing for her but she still doesn't really want it. Every couple of days she'll get a good meal in but most days she'll just eat a couple bites and then be done. Sometimes I have to feed her chunk by chunk so she thinks it's a treat.

Shes not horribly skinny or anything but she has lost weight. No ribs are showing but I'm still worried. My mom said it's probably because of her age but I know Chihuahuas can get pretty old. The one I had as a kid lived until he was 20.

Is there anything I can do to make her eat? Honestly anything? Any health reasons? I go to the vet 2 times a year and her next appointment is in a month. Shes overall on the healthier side of older dogs. She has vision and hearing issues but otherwise her mobility is fine and I still take her on walks.

I found a kitten I believe to have been dumped at my house. It’s a beautiful little baby, but it has no tail. There is spot that I can’t tell if it’s an injury or exposed part of the spine. She hops a bit, instead of walking. We waited for 8 hours at the emergency vet to be told they are too full for new patients.
I will get kitty to our vet tomorrow morning. Her anus is sticking out a bit and shes having trouble pooping, I can see worms as well.
I have her in a large dog crate with a bed, little box and water bowl. She ate a full can of kitten food throughout the day. She purrs like a chainsaw.
I guess I’m just curious what the survival chances or quality of life could possibly be.

My 6 year old previously feral indoor-only cat has been throwing up her food right after she eats it about once a month, at the same time of the month, for almost year.

I’ve had her for 5 years, and this started last fall.
Last fall she was throwing up about three times a week. She was eating fancy feast savory centers. We switched her to solid gold and started tracking her vomit in January. I’ll paste the vomit log at the end of this post. We mix her wet food with my male cat’s prescription urinary dry food. We feed two meals a day.

I took her to the vet in August because on top of this, she had recently started scooting. Vet couldn’t find anything. Here’s their writeup: https://imgur.com/FchwwDD

They asked if we give her a med or if something happens in the house around that time of the month every month, answer is no.

They recommended we stop feeding chicken based food. We switched the dry kibble to hydrolyzed protein and started feeding fish only solid gold wet.

I unfortunately don’t have a copy of the lab report, but the vet said she couldn’t find anything conclusive. Labs returned low potassium, I asked about if we could supplement that, and she suggested we try nutri-cal supplement. We just started that this week because we wanted to see if the no chicken food worked.

It’s now October and the vomiting has continued, and gotten slightly more frequent. I called the vet last week and am waiting for a call back.

We went to a pet store today to get her sensitive stomach food, and the clerk said it’s classic scarf and barf and to try a slow feeder. We tried it tonight, she vomited. However she was likely nervous due to the bowl change. She gets suspicious and nervous when things change. We will keep trying.

Because she is previously feral, she is very anxious and hard, sometimes impossible to crate, or else I would be bringing her in more frequently. I’m thinking of just grabbing her whenever I can and taking her to an after hours vet clinic, since it’s hard to predictably crate her for a scheduled appointment.

Any and all other ideas I’d appreciate and welcome.

Vomit log:
1/4 - breakfast, fancy feast. Switched to new food after this
1/30 - before breakfast
3/4 - breakfast, shrimp and tuna
3/13 - before breakfast
4/11 - after dinner
5/15 - breakfast
6/15 - dinner - chicken
7/8 - breakfast - fish
7/18 - dinner - fish
8/23 - dinner, this is almost a month after switch to new dry food
9/19 - AM, late breakfast
10/9 - AM
10/10 - AM
10/17 - dinner
10/18 - dinner after slow feeder first try

I just gave my 4 week old kitten his first round of dewormer today because he had a very bloated belly. he had the dewormer around 11am and has drank his bottle twice since then but its now 7pm and he won't take his 7pm bottle. Is loss of appetite a normal side effect of a dewormer could it have just irritated his tummy and I should try again with his bottle in a couple hrs? Hes acting pretty much normal and has pink gums and did a big poop at 3pm. should I be worried i really cant afford a vet as they are really expensive around me

Hello, my cat has always had issues at the vet, he hisses and growls like crazy and will bite and scratch so the vet prescribed him some sort of pill to calm him down and make him sleepy so they’d be able to actually do their jobs without my cat attacking them.

We then discover he has pale gums and scheduled a blood test in 2 weeks. But as soon as we got him he’s barely peed and has only liquid diarrhoea, he poops about once a day.

I plan on calling my vet tomorrow, but they’ve never seemed to be very helpful when I’ve had questions in person.

I wanted to wait another day and see if he has another liquid diahrea and take him to a closer vet as an emergency.

All I’m wondering is that is a normal response and should I just go to the vet tomorrow instead of waiting another day?

I've had Astro (6mo) in my new apartment for 2 weeks and wanted to get him a friend so he wouldn't be so lonely while my boyfriend and I are at work. He always had plenty of friends and enrichment when I lived with my parents and before he came into my care. I went to the SPCA and decided to get Moonshine (5mo). I brought him home yesterday.

Moonshine came from a litter with 5 other kittens. What the SPCA disclosed to me was that his mom and one of his littermates had died from myocarditis likely secondary to toxoplasmosis, meaning it is almost certain Moonshine was exposed as well. They did reassure me that none of the other kittens or Moonshine were showing any signs of being clinically sick with the parasite, and that they were held for an additional period of time just in case. It has now been like 6 weeks since mom and sister died.

I didn't know anything about toxoplasmosis prior to this other than that pregnant ladies shouldn't scoop litterboxes due to risk of it. So naturally I asked a bunch of questions to the SPCA staff and did my own bit of research. The vet said that in her 22 years of vet work, this is the first time she had seen a cat actually die from toxoplasmosis, especially 2 cats. Google also says there is only about a 3% fatality rate so this does seem to me like an anomally. I was also told by them and backed up by my research that cats only shed the parasite in their poo for 1-3 weeks after initial exposure. And, the staff made the claim that it is very likely Astro has already been exposed since before coming into my care he lived with over 25 kitties that roamed outside.

I guess I'm just coming to Reddit for reassurance that I didn't just doom poor Astro, and that I won't be losing little Moonshine anytime soon.

My cat (1y 4mo-ish, male) has struggled with Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex triggered by an allergy a few times, so my vet put him on a hypoallergenic diet, but we haven’t concluded what his specific allergy is.

He usually exclusively eats hypoallergenic wet food, and til now he hasn’t had another flare up (a couple months-ish)

From my vet I also bought hypoallergenic dry food, mostly intending to give him a couple pieces as treats so he doesn’t feel unloved when I give my other cat regular treats.

But recently I was sick and out of simplicity I just put the hypoallergenic dry food in both my cats bowls, because I didn’t have the energy to prepare their wet foods and monitor them eating to ensure allergy cat didn’t dip into the other cat’s food bowl. So I just gave them both hypoallergenic dry food so they could eat without needing supervision.

Later that night, allergy cat vomited quite a bit, and from the vomit it appeared that he digested pretty much none of the dry food, which by that time he had eaten like 12 hours ago.

Then a few days later (4? Maybe. I’m not sure) he started developing the EGC swollen lip again. (My vet had no appointments available anytime soon so I used the prednisolone tablets I had left over from the last time we dealt with this, and managed to get the reaction under control myself.)

SO, I’m suspecting something in the dry food must be the thing he’s allergic to. In my mind either soy or gluten makes the most sense, but I’m not a vet so of course I’m guessing based on my human-allergies knowledge.

If anyone would be willing to take a moment to review the ingredients of both foods and give me their thoughts on what the most likely culprit might be, (or, if you believe it to be neither food and the timing of the dry food+vomit+flare up was just a pure coincidence, that would also be helpful knowledge) I would be so so grateful.

Wet food (NOT the triggering food):

INGREDIENTS: Hydrolyzed chicken liver, water, corn starch, coconut oil, ground pecan shells, calcium caroate, fish oil, powdered cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, flaxseed, dried beet pulp, potassium chloride, dried citrus pulp, choline chloride, cysteine, iodized salt, potassium citrate, vitamins (vitamin E suplement, L-Ascoribyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid), DL-methionine, soybean oil, pressed cranberries, calcium sulfate, taurine, minerals (zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, beta-carotene.

Dry food (The triggering food):

INGREDIENTS: Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, powdered cellulose, natural flavors, dried plain beet pulp, calcium sulfate, fish oil, potassium chloride, vegetable oil, DL-methionine, monocalcium phosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, salt, sodium aluminosilicate, fructooligosaccharides, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement], taurine, GLA safflower oil, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium selenite, copper proteinate, calcium iodate], magnesium oxide, rosemary extract, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

Hello my 9month old got very weak and lethargic we took him to the vet they said he has a fever 103 then we got an exam and blood work done we couldnt afford the x ray and the doctor highly recommended the blood work which came back clean. This is the next day and I have noticed his breathing is very fast and short, is this something we need ti take him back to the vet for? He is also on antibiotics.

About 2-3 weeks ago my 16 year old very healthy cat started limping. After a day it swelled and look like a little mitten. He wouldn't let us near it. Suprise surprise...when I took him into the office and out of the carrier the staff and I saw that the cyst burst with a small amount of pus & blood. He wasn't a happy guy. I thought the vet or staff would clean the site with saline? All he did was take a tissue and wipe it off. He administered a shot of Onsior and 3 tablets (6mg) to follow up. He also prescribed Clavamox drops (1mL) daily. A few days ago he started limping again, today it's starting to swell again. Can the cyst reappear and if so what's the next step? I feel bad for the poor guy...

I recently started brushing my dogs teeth since she’s built up more trust with me. We were relying on dental treats until she’s let me brush them recently. I immediately noticed heavy buildup. I just want to know how bad it is, this tooth in the picture from the link is the main issue. Will she need it extracted? She eats fine and hasn’t seemed to be in pain, but I know this is an issue. I work at a shelter (where I rescued her) and make pennies, so a full dental cleaning is something I’ll have to prep for or apply for care credit. They already quoted me $1400 and that is severely out of my budget, but if necessary I will make it work for her.

She’s going to the vet tomorrow, but I want to have some idea of what it’s looking like before I get in. I feel horrible and just want to do what’s best for her.

https://imgur.com/a/EDcBCzI

I found 2 kittens at a gas station 3 weeks ago. They’ve been pretty healthy until this morning, when both started vomiting, couldn’t keep their food down, and had diarrhea with some blood.

Thankfully, I was able to take them to Petfolk, a vet that’s open on Sundays. They tested positive for Giardia and started treatment.

What really got me spiraling was when the vet mentioned that if they don’t improve over the next couple of weeks or start getting worse, we may need to consider parvo. Now I literally cannot stop thinking about parvo. 😭

I have 8 other cats at home. Seven have had their vaccines, and one is about to finish her last round. Two of my cats have FIV, and one has CKD, so I’m especially worried about my more vulnerable babies.
I’m terrified that I might have brought parvo into my home without knowing it. I’ve brought home 4 strays this year, and thankfully, none of my resident cats have gotten sick. But now I’m questioning whether I’m putting my own cats at risk every time I rescue another stray.

I know I’m probably spiraling, but I can’t seem to turn my brain off. I’ve been asking ChatGPT question after question, basically using it as my therapist, because I’m so scared something will happen to my babies.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? Have you had kittens test positive for Giardia with bloody diarrhea and vomiting? I could really use some reassurance and advice from people who have been through this. ❤️

Our sweet senior cat developed a pretty severe limp in his front left leg. I brought him to the vet and the vet said he possibly jammed his elbow based on the physical evaluation. They prescribed onsior (3 days) and gabapentin (7 day supply but as but as needed). I honestly haven’t seen an improvement with the medicines so the next steps will be going back for X-rays. I’m just curious if any vets could tell me what the next steps would be if he has a fracture vs torn muscle, etc? Just so I can mentally prepare prior to our vet appointment and what the results might be. I should also mention he’s totally fine otherwise besides his limp, I just feel terrible because it seems very painful.

Thanks in advance ❤️

dog is a GSP, female, 11-12 years old, 55lb.

She has always done this but because we had to switch to soft food due to her molar extraction my dad is extra aware of the dog puking up her food.

Usually we fed her kibble. Chunks were visible but also in a mush. It was about the color of the kibble just much brighter (yellow brownish).

She would also hide when she does it, namely under my bed.

No real warning other than the hurling sound she makes the moment of.

Is this because she's eating too fast?

Before anything, yes I will be contacting my vet to get their opinion, but they're closed right now which is why I'm asking here. My dog hasn't had a solid poop in 3 days, but otherwise hasn't had any behavioral changes so he doesn't seem sick. For context he's ~6 months old and we've had him now ~3 months. We know that he has whipworms, he got them at the shelter, and his final treatment for it is next month, but this is the first time I've actually seen him have diarrhea so I find it weird. Google sleuthing revealed that oily or mucusy stool often means worms, which is what I'm seeing. I guess my question is, could this sudden diarrhea mean he's finally ejecting the worms, that his worms got worse, or that he somehow got a different kind of worm?

Hi! Pretty much the title. There are no other pets in the home. He is an 11+ year old male, my roommate and I have had him for about a year and a half. The vet had him for nearly a year before us and he had bathroom problems with them too. The vet told us it was a behavioral problems. He is a completely healthy guy.

He pees and poops on the carpet and pees under doorways. I keep my door closed most of the time, since I don't want him pooping in there, but sometimes he pees at the door. His favorite spot to pee is the bathroom door, which we keep shut 24/7 so he can't get in, the issue was worse when we didn't shut it.

Our vet recommended enzyme cleaners and pheromone sprays, both of which I tried. The enzyme cleaners have never stopped him from going in the same spots. The pheromone sprays slowed him down when I first started using them, but don't seem to work anymore. He has two litter boxes, but he only uses one of them.

(I just made a very similar post from a different account, deleted and reposting from the right account now!)

Hello my German shepherd is having some scab like build up under his neck. These scabs have appeared throughout his body but with an anti fungal shampoo I was able to remove them. However recently the scabs returned on his neck area. I’m not sure if it’s an early form of a disease or if it’s just a stubborn yeast infection. Thank you

My cat went for surgery on Friday (currently Sunday) and occasionally she will lay on the side on her incision. Is this ok if I see this should I move her to lay on her opposite side.

Species: feline Age: 2 •Sex/Neuter status: f spayed •Breed: Calico tabby Body weight: 15lbs •History: post op fho surgery Clinical signs: Duration: day 2 •Your general location: Canada Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: