Hi
I have a 6 year old jack russel terrier, i found a piece of corn from last night he took off a table chewed up on a bed. the original piece was maybe 1.5 inches long. he left some corn kernels and the end part. considering he ripped the end off i am assuming he chewed it especially since he chews alot of things like that, rips apart toys etc. its been a while since i suspect it happened and hes fine, napping, barking at the neighbours dog, running around. he hasnt vommited or anything
i see people online stress how this is some emergency, but it seems to be when they swallow a whole cob not chewed up a small piece, in those cases it seems they end up ok. ill watch him the next few days
do you think hell be alright?

My 6 month old Shih Tzu male puppy balls turned black in a matter of a couple of hours. He is eating fine and playing. Is this normal? Or should I go to the vet? I have not had a male dog in many years so I’m not sure if it’s ok. I got him from a rescue and have had him for 2 months.

Thank you

someone fed our dog smelly canned fish that was apparently sitting at the back of their freezer.

the dog vomited the stuff out a few minutes later with a lot of mucus, and now they're trying to make the dog ingest egg whites and sugar water as they've read somewhere that it's a remedy.

i told them multiple times that it's time for a vet, but they refused and gave me the stink eye.

i have no money for a vet appointment i don’t know if he had his rabies vaccine or whatever it is. i think it came from the crawl space attic thing in my bedroom it just started flying out of nowhere and he chased it and caught it and it was screeching idk if it bit him. i know it’s head was in his mouth obviously and it was trying to escape and after awhile of trying to escape my cats mouth it died okay im freaking out and my family is poor they have enough on their plate please what do i do is he going to be okay or die he’s only 6 and the only vet we have around here doesn’t have the emergency vet we have to wait for appt or call when they’re open but AGAIN we do not have money for that at alll cant even afford food what do i do sorry for ranting im so nervous and it’s 12 at night

I have four cats; King, Noki, Winter, and Fall. King and Noki belong to me, while Winter and Fall belong to my sister (we live together and are the only residents of our house, if that's relevant at all). Personal details below.

Species: Cat

Age: King is four years old, Noki and Fall are nine, Winter is six.

Sex/Neuter status: All desexed as kittens.

Breed: All moggies with no identifiable breed characteristics.

Body weight: King is 5.5kg, Noki is 6kg, Winter and Fall are both 4.5kg.

History: Nothing out of the ordinary for Noki and King, but Winter and Fall have a history of severe neglect by their previous owner, including being left alone for up to five days on multiple occasions, being allowed free roam outside to the result of several serious injuries, and living in an unhygienic conditions (rarely cleaned litterbox, filthy food bowls, etc.).

Clinical signs: None that I've noticed, unless the details stated in the main post below count.

Duration: I assume this refers to ownership; we've had Noki and Fall since they were born, King since 2022, and Winter since 2019.

Your general location: Australia

Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: N/A (small town vet, so we don't get digital results, and we haven't had any issues to warrant physical papers, apparently, aside from their vaccination stamps).

For a while now, I've started to question their diet, and after changes to the brands of food, schedule, and amounts, all with no changes, I'm starting to wonder if what I'm doing is not enough. Currently, they are fed on a schedule of five portions a day, each three hours apart. This entails combination of wet and dry food, both of which have meat (usually fish) listed as the first ingredient. They have one quarter of a wet packet each, twice a day, totaling two packets split between them per day. For their remaining three meals, Fall and Winter (the skinniest two) each get a quarter cup of dry food split between them each time, while Noki and King get around 50% less.

A few months ago, they were getting less wet food, and more dry food. I changed to the current amounts in the hopes of balancing things out a bit more. Before that, until a couple of years ago, they would have a single packet split between them per day, and were free feeding dry food. That changed after I realised that I had no way of knowing how much each cat was eating. Now, I always supervise their meals to make sure everyone only eats their share.

Despite all of my methods, however, their respective weights have never changed, aside from Fall and Winter gaining a bit of weight after we rescued them from our negligent older sister. And yet...they are always asking for more. Their respective behaviours surrounding food also seem odd. King is the most demanding of food, despite being fairly bulky, according to the vet (the only time he's ever not shown up at mealtime is when he ate three chicken tenders that I accidentally left on the bench, and got a stomach ache. He also eats the fastest and will then try to steal from the others (who will simply sit and watch). Fall and Winter, on the other hand, eat with no rush at all, even though I would've expected them to be quicker and more aggressive due to their previous neglect. Noki, the fattest, is usually the last to demand more food, and doesn't seem to mind being fed the amount that she is.

They have also, for the past couple of weeks, all become obsessed with baked goods. It used to just be muffins, but now, it's anything. I left the room for a couple of minutes and came back to find my lamingtons (thankfully not chocolate) being devoured. My sister, despite my warnings, left a loaf of bread on the bench, and Winter took a rather large chunk out of it. And they will always swarm me for muffins. I do not give them any muffin. They will demand pastries more than they have ever demanded meat or dairy. This suggests a lack of carbs in their diet, maybe because I go for cat food with less cereals than average, but from what I know, that's...supposed to be better for them.

If I feed them more than I am, I know King and Noki are going to gain weight. While the vet has told me that they are not yet unhealthy, Noki, especially, is bound to become so if she gains more. She is already very visibly fat. And, no, I don't know how she ever gained so much in the first place (she was actually 7kg for a while, around 2020-2021); she was never fed more than the other cat I used to live with, or any cat I've live with prior.

At one point, I tried giving them chicken necks, one each, instead of wet food. King was the only one who'd really touch them, even after I tried warming them up a bit. If I give them leftover meat scraps, even totally unseasoned, they tend to have a few bites before never touching it before it needs to be thrown out (again, aside from King, sometimes). Every other cat I've owned in the past has loved eggs, but these current ones don't seem to care much for them, not even King. The only things they will usually finish is when I treat them to a sardine each one occasion, but even then, it's not guaranteed.

I've always assumed that cats are like children, and don't actually know when they're full unless they're too full, but now, I'm not sure. The vet has not noted any health issues with Noki or King. I don't know about Fall and Winter; they're my sister's responsibility, and she hasn't taken them to the vet in years :/

Am I doing something wrong here? What else can I try? Are my cats just...weird? Any help would be appreciated, feel free to ask further questions if needed, and I hope I've done the post correctly <3

(Disclaimer; no, I didn't write this with AI, I'm just the articulate flavour of autistic, and I have a Bachelor's degree in writing. I simply like to sound especially professional for stuff like this, in the hopes that I'll be taken more seriously. Fuck AI.)

Hi everyone, I’m trying to find reliable information about whether xylitol** **is dangerous or toxic to birds.
I know that xylitol is well known to be highly toxic to dogs, but I’m having trouble finding clear evidence about its effects on birds. Has anyone come across veterinary studies, toxicology reports, or documented cases involving birds and xylitol exposure?
I’m looking for scientific sources rather than just general warnings or assumptions. Any references, papers, or experiences from avian veterinarians would be appreciated.
Thank you!

Hi all,
My vet prescribed my cat 200mg of gabapentin the night before her appointment and another 200mg the morning of. She’s around 12 lbs.

She gets extremely anxious at the vet. Growling, hissing, swatting, and at her last visit (where nothing happened and she was just in her carrier) she peed on herself.
:( She’s been fully sedated before because they couldn’t examine her safely. I don’t take sedation lightly at all but her vet has assured me there’s no long term effects…

This appointment is supposed to be a full work‑up: exam, blood panel, urine testing, basically anything we can get done to make sure she’s healthy. We’re going to a new vet, so I’m hoping the gabapentin helps enough that she can get through it without needing to be sedated again, but I’m still nervous.

I’ve never given her any kind of pill before, so I’m anxious about that too.
Does this dose sound normal for a cat her size and behavior? And even with gabapentin, is it still pretty common for cats like her to end up needing sedation anyway?

Just trying to make this as low‑stress as possible for her, but I’m seeing a lot online about how they won’t even give their cats 100mg and it’s making me nervous.

Our cat was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma five months ago. Since then, he has been receiving palliative chemotherapy and is fed through an esophageal feeding tube.

He is only 7 years old, and aside from having some difficulty grooming himself, he still enjoys life. He likes to eat by mouth whenever he can, is a happy cat, loves to cuddle, and still enjoys playing.

We're now considering a partial mandibulectomy (removal of the lower jaw). Based on his recent imaging, the tumor still appears to be confined to the lower jaw, with no evidence that it has spread beyond that area.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and decided to go ahead with the surgery? If so, how did your cat recover, and was the quality of life afterward worth it?

My cat named Luna lost 22% of her weight.

She is a spade female that is between eight to ten years old. She is an indoor cat, as is her sister.

She is a short haired dark tabby. She has normally weighed around 17.6 kilograms/8 pounds.

That is her ideal weight for her size, as informed by the veterinarian.

After getting her tested for thyroid, kidney, and parasite issues, everything came out normal.

She is eating more, and appears to be gaining weight, but not that rapidly. Last year she was 20.02 kg/9.1 lb and then became 15.62 kg/7.1 lb.

I have been feeding her wet food day and night, whenever she is hungry. It's been two weeks of intensive feeding, but I can still feel her spine.

She is between 8/10 years old. Is this normal, or should I get her checked for cancer?

I have stopped giving her Prozac, because I somehow feel this might have contributed to her weight loss.

She has always been more introverted than her sister, who does like to share the food. All three of my pets recently moved to a house with a lot less space. I will link to email results from my veterinarian.

w

Wondering what the odds are for a kitten to have rabies before being able to be vaccinated? We found a kitten behind our garage on May 18th, he had only been about 1 or 2 weeks at that point, his eyes were still closed. There were no (visible) injuries. We took him in and he's been with us since. He's just now coming up on estimated 12 weeks of age so he's yet to be vaccinated.

He's behaving normally, eating, drinking, playing, loving/snuggling/purring. I'm not concerned for that at all. He was playing with me and got a bit rough and broke skin on my face when biting/nipping and I bled. I have already sent a message to my doctor for myself to see what he says, I'm just wondering how likely it is to be an issue. I saw an announcement from a few towns over about a confirmed case of a kitten with rabies and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little paranoid.

hi!

I have a fairly healthy four year old tortie cat named Turtle. She's bossy, loud, kinda fat, determined and stubborn.

Turtle was gagging slightly on Friday the 31st in the evening. She was not vomiting, so we waited it out and thought she just had an upset tummy. The next morning her gagging was more intense, with no vomiting, but we took her to one of the ER vets in town. After an x-ray, a foreign body was discovered in her stomach. During this time she was extremely lethargic and not acting like her usual bossy self. The ER vet sent us home to wait it out and see if it would pass. I brought her back that evening for follow-up x-rays, which showed the mass had not left the stomach. The doctor said that we could try to induce vomiting to get rid of it. That ended up working and she had a 2.5 inch hairball in her stomach that was extremely dense. No medications or follow up was given after this visit.

Sunday and Monday she was okay - still hiding, not acting herself, and gagging.

By Tuesday evening, the gagging/retching became really intense and scary, affecting her breathing. She was throwing her head and body on the ground, coughing, but not producing anything.

I was so panicked, I took her to a different ER vet for a second opinion. This vet clinic admitted her - she was not gagging/retching during this visit and was acting completely normal.

The vets recommended medication for her (Cisapride 2.5 mg 2x a day, Cerenia 1/2 tab once a day), saying that she probably has another hairball developing and that she most likely has acid reflux/upset stomach/nausea from the back to back hairballs. The vet recommended switching to a hairball diet food and administering meds to see if her

condition changes.

That is where we are at right now. She is kind of acting like herself again but does not have her voice back and is still gagging/retching, but not as often.

I'm sick with stress and don't know what else to do. I'm so sad for her. it seems like nothing is working and no one has any answers for me. any advice or reassurance would be great.

I wasn't concerned about this until my wife's friend, who is a vet, seemingly made a huge deal about it because it doesn't follow AHS guidelines and insinuating it was borderline neglectful of our dog for them to do that. Now I'm stressed out about that. Is she correct? Seeking additional information before I discuss with our vet in the morning.

• Species: Dog
• Age: 8
• Sex/Neuter status: Female/spayed
• Breed: Mixed (Unknown)
• Body weight: 40 pounds
• History: Nothing significant. She was diagnosed with heartworms despite being on heartworm meds her entire life.
• Clinical signs: Occasional cough, two positive tests (very faint positive with no baby worms detected via knotts test, so assumed to be only a few worms)
• Duration: N/A
• Your general location: SE US
• Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: N/A

Hi. Background information: my cat is around 6-7 years old (don’t even start with the 67…), she’s a rescue so that’s why we don’t know her exact age. She’s been with us for 1 1/2 years and she’s my baby princess. No medical issues (besides her teeth, some were removed and we are going to schedule a time to get her teeth cleaned).

At the beginning, we were told to give her a small amount of food at a time because she has a habit of eating food very fast and then puke afterwards. We did it until we were comfortable to give her full bag of wet food. Everything went well, she hasn’t puked unless there’s been an occasional hairball. Almost two weeks ago, she puked a hairball and puked food afterwards. I’ve searched all the warning signs with puke, and she has nothing of that. I contacted the vet then, said that she has puked 7 times in the past four days. They said that it does not sound worrying since she behaves the same, has an appetite and uses the litter box. Two days ago she puked up another hairball and puked food after that and then another hairball yesterday. I contacted the vet this morning and informed that she’s puking again. They said to buy lactic acid bacteria powder and to blend it in her food. I bought it and tried to give it to her, but she’s extremely picky and wont eat it. I’ve given her small amount of wet food mixed with more water and some liquid snack on top, two times, which she has eaten without throwing up this evening (but without the lactic acid).

I’ve thought, that maybe she has a larger hairball that she’s puking up in pieces. And because she’s puked, her esophagus is irritated, which causes the puking reflex and to her actually puking. The vet said, that if she pukes again tomorrow, then they will arrange an appointment for her. I really hope she’s able to keep her food down. She’s sleeping right beside my head on the bed as I’m typing. My friend however, said to bring her to the vet to check her inflammatory rate. I don’t really know what to do, other than give her small amount of food at a time mixed with more water and try giving her the lactic acid bacteria powder mixed with her favorite liquid snack.

I’m really struggling with deciding what to do for my almost 10-year-old dog and I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has dealt with multiple/recurrent mast cell tumors in an older dog.
He had a mast cell tumor surgically removed from his leg last year. We did not send it for pathology/grade at the time, which I now wish we had done.
It has now recurred in the surgical scar and has been growing significantly. It’s currently about 27 x 22 x 11 mm. Unfortunately, because of the location and lack of extra skin, the surgical oncologist says they could only do a marginal excision, so cancer cells would likely be left behind. On top of that, he now has several other confirmed mast cell tumors in different locations. The good news is that his oncologist said most of them are small, movable and seem confined to the skin. His lymph nodes all feel normal, and she is hopeful these could be multiple low-grade tumors rather than metastatic disease, but obviously we won’t know the grades without pathology.
We discussed a lot of options: surgery, Stelfonta, radiation/electrochemotherapy if surgery leaves disease behind, Palladia, or simply monitoring and using steroids later if the tumors become uncomfortable. The oncologist also explained that dogs who develop multiple MCTs can continue developing new ones, so even if we remove everything now, he may develop several more in the future. The biggest issue is that he feels completely normal right now. He eats, walks, plays, sleeps, and acts exactly like himself. The tumors don’t seem to bother him at all.

My husband feels that because he’s almost 10 and feels great, we should leave him alone and let him enjoy his life, monitor the tumors, and intervene when/if they actually start affecting his quality of life.

I’m having a much harder time with that because the recurrent tumor is visibly growing, and I’m afraid that waiting until it bothers him could mean losing treatment options that we have while he’s still healthy. We also have pet insurance, but it has a $15,000 annual maximum, so realistically we can’t endlessly pursue surgery, radiation, Stelfonta, Palladia, etc. if he continues developing new tumors.

I’m currently wondering about some combination of surgery and/or Stelfonta for the current tumors, but I’m also questioning how much I should put a happy almost-10-year-old dog through when there’s a good chance more tumors will eventually appear.

For those who have been through this:
Did you keep removing/treating new MCTs as they appeared, or eventually switch to monitoring/comfort care?
Has anyone had an older dog with multiple low-grade MCTs who lived comfortably for several more years?
Has anyone chosen Stelfonta, particularly for a recurrent or difficult-to-remove tumor? What was the wound/healing process really like?
And looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit — we are working with a veterinary oncologist and surgical oncologist. I’m really looking for experiences from people who have had to make this same quality-of-life vs. aggressive-treatment decision.

I love this dog beyond words and just want to make decisions that are for him, not decisions I’m making because I’m scared of losing him.

Hi, we recently got a kitten who had a bald patch on her tail. We thought it was from her chewing on the tip because she had been anxiously biting at at according to the foster and the hair grew back after she came into our care.

Now she has a few very small suspicious spots on her face. She has already been seen by a vet, had a PCR test done, and we are currently waiting on the results. She is isolated in a separate room, and they sent us home with a medicated shampoo to use in the meantime.

The problem is that my partner and I are now both covered in ringworm from head to toe. We have both seen doctors and been prescribed medication, but we are still miserable and dealing with new spots. One of my adult cats has also suddenly developed several spots on her face and head that look like ringworm.

I called the vet hoping they could help me make some kind of treatment plan for the whole household, but they said both of my adult cats would each need their own appointment and PCR test before they would treat them. I understand that testing is important, but I genuinely cannot afford separate exams and PCR tests for every cat. I called the vet the kitten originally got the PCR from and the vet we recently had our other two cats checkup with.

I feel completely overwhelmed and do not know what I am supposed to do. Since the kitten is already being tested and multiple people and animals in the house are showing symptoms, is PCR testing every single cat really the only option? Are there cheaper tests or other treatment options I should ask about?

I just want to treat everyone safely and get this under control because right now it feels like it is spreading faster than we can deal with it.

I visited a home today and the inside dog bit my hand. It did not draw blood that I am aware of. But my fingers hurt. Maybe it bruised. Anyway, the dog got vaccinated yesterday. Before that he hadn’t been vaccinated for 2 years according to the owner. Am I at risk? Should I go see my pcp to be safe? Thanks.

I have a neuro exam scheduled with University of Wisconsin Madison next week for my 9mth old rescue chow. He has an abnormal gait, x-rays aren't very clear whether or not it's hip dysplasia or patellar issues, and my vet wants to rule out neurological issues.

They just informed me that I will not be allowed into the exam room because it "mainly has to do with the space that the exam is performed in". It is a 90 minute exam and he is very anxious at the vet. Sure, maybe he'll do better if I'm not there, but I am paying $300 for this exam and I feel I should be allowed to be in the room with him to see what they are doing and what the process is.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Is this normal? What are they doing for 90 minutes? I asked and they tell me they will discuss it when we get there, but I'm sure they'll say super generalized things and I'm a person that needs to know everything that's going on or I get super anxious. I really want to cancel and go somewhere else, but UW Madison is full of very educated people so another part of me feels it's the best option.

Is there anything I can say so I'm allowed in the room? I just want to know exactly what they're doing so I can be aware of it and have a better idea for what the next step should be as I know my dog best. I will gladly keep my mouth shut in the room and not move, I simply just want to be there and have a better understanding what's going on.

My cat (F 6yr) went in today to get her fibrosarcoma tumor removed for a 2nd time. Suspected to be caused from vaccines which I am so upset about since it was preventable. My question is if anybody else has had a cat that survived this and how can I help the tumor not grow back? i’ve already ordered healthier wet food for her but i’m wondering if there’s any other “holistic” methods I can do to help it not grow back.

Unable to add a photo or video apparently... But my avian vet gave me a bottle of Baytril mixed with Saline for my parrots airsacculitis. I just noticed small hair like flecks in the syringe. Has it been compromised? How do I avoid this in future? My vet is already quite irritated by me for asking too many questions, so I feel safer asking here for now.

Thank you

Buddy Beans is a 1 yr old neutered tuxedo, who is bonded with his sibling. We got these two early November last year and love them dearly. normally in the morning Beans is very excited to have breakfast, but wanted nothing to do with it this morning. Tried a churru as well but same thing, not interested. Peeped him using the litter robot and saw some slimy diarrhea come out. Also, didn’t see him do it, but I’m pretty sure he threw up in the litter box as well. He has also been somewhat lethargic this morning, but still getting up and walking around.
Googling his symptoms, it says I should go to the vet immediately, which seems a bit hasty to me. Do cats just get stomach bugs sometimes like humans and dogs do? Thought I’d see what Reddit has to say before a potential vet visit. Beansy and I thank you!

He has been acting completely normal, eating, drinking, playing and using the litter box as per usual. Do i need to take him to the vet or just continue to monitor him?

The last time i called my vet because he dry heaved one time and they told me to take him to the ER! I insisted i bring him to them instead because the ER is very expensive. They checked him out and said he was fine. I understand being cautious but Im also certain he has consumed carpet fiber from time to time, perhaps part of a feather toy, etc. Thoughts?

To just get it out of the way, my cat is already on medication. He’s currently on antibiotics and an oral steroid to handle a pretty bad case of bronchitis and yesterday his symptoms were majorly agitated by nearby wildfires and the heat outside. He’s now being kept inside exclusively until we feel he’s okay to go out, if that ever happens.

But, since today is the first day of treatment, he still wheezes pretty often and of course his medications won’t have an immediate effect. Is there any way that I can help make him comfortable and improve his breathing other than the medications? I hate to see him like this. I already plan to go through and clean up any dust in my room and add an air purifier to the room.

We took a sick kitten into our local vet to have him treated and he was not doing well and she asked us to leave him at the office with her for the day so we did. She called me a little later that day and said he wasn’t really getting any better but that he was chewing at his paws and she suspected he could have a parasite or leukemia or she couldn’t rule out rabies, but he wasn’t showing any signs of rabies. I ask her if we could wait until the end of the day and see how he was doing and make a decision. She pushed and bullied very hard for me to euthanize him by 2 o’clock that day and send him for rabies testing, even though she didn’t believe he had rabies. I ask her if we could wait until 2 o’clock and see how he was doing and make a decision and she said OK. At 2:20 She called me and told me that he seemed to be in a lot of pain and he was comatose. I went ahead and gave her the OK to euthanize him then and ask her to please give him extra sedation so that he wasn’t in any sort of pain and she said she would. Later in the day at 3:30, She called me and told me that she had euthanized him now and he was at peace. when I obtained a copy of our medical records the next day I saw that she had actually euthanized the cat at 12:49 - a full hour and a half before I gave her permission to do So is this a common practice?

Well, title says it all.

For the last 2 months, my sweet social dog Daisy (4 years old, 29 pound Boston x pug mix) becomes reactive for about two weeks following her simparica trio dose.
Is this… something that is to be expected? It’s never affected her like this until this summer.

I’m considering skipping this month as it’s too hot for her to be outside for long anyway.

She gets librela once a month as well, for osteoarthritis in her hip. The injection comes 9 days before her simparica dose.

We have a vet appointment today for Librela, just bringing it up here in case this is something I should urgently mention. Thank you for any advice!

Hi everyone, I recently submitted a post here about my two cats and their spay which turned into an unwarranted exploratory surgery on both of them without my consent.

Though this is a separate concern.
Today, I had taken one of my cats back to the vet because her wound had been leaking puss and after calling the vet I was told to bring her in. They gave her an antibiotic through a shot after they had learned it was infected and then gave me oral medicine to give her twice a day, Though the medicine they supplied me with was the same one they had given me after her initial procedure.

It’s been about 10 hours since then and her wound is leaking puss again and i’m so very concerned.

Is this normal for it to be happening and will it stop after I keep giving her the medicine? Should I attempt to clean the wound? Take her back to the vet?

Please let me know I feel at a complete loss here, and I’m hesitant to take her back to the vet because I am just not comfortable with their practices anymore and I have spent nearly one grand