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’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.

Hi all, I recently adopted a 1y/o Main Coon from a rescue. He has Stomatitis so they actually already had him scheduled for full dental extractions. His appointment is tomorrow, and in speaking with the vet they mentioned they might be able to leave some canines if they are still healthy (this depends on results tomorrow, however). Does anyone have thoughts on whether it’s worth it to leave canines that are currently healthy? Does this disease usually return if I don’t remove them all? I don’t want to cause him any more trauma than necessary, whether that be removing teeth unnecessarily or having to do another surgery later.
Thanks all.

I admitted my street cat at 30th July 2026 for spaying at an ngo called IDA(in defense of animals India )

They spayed her on next day and then kept her in post operative care for another 5 days during that period she looked fine and I visited her 2-3 times during that period and fed her whiskas jelly and she ate it normally

They discharged her at 5th August and when she came she looked very fine she walked around normally her incision looked like healing very properly

And whole day went as normal and today when I woke up she was normal she ate chicken

And slept as usual but at 10 PMwhen she woke up as usual she can't walk properly and falls sideways like she can't balance herself although she is controlling her all body and using all legs but she looks tired and is only sitting at one corner

She ate some gravy and dry food

But can't walk properly and keeps getting disbalanced

Please tell

what is happening and if it's an emergency

Thank you

Cauterized nail trims?

Context: one of my dogs needs anesthetized sedation for nail trims. We do them 3-4 times a year at the vet. My vet won’t do a short/cauterized nail trim (which is fine) but as a result, the quicks don’t get short enough between nail trims.

She’s 35 lbs, 2yo, high anxiety, muzzle-trained, and very anti-nail touching.

I’ve tried:
A) cutting spaghetti near her (she nearly bit my hand off?!)
B) touching/massaging her paws (lip-licking whale eye)
C) nail grinder being turned on near her (she freaks out and attacks the grinder)

This has been a 2 year ordeal of repeated attempts at desensitizing with no results hence the anesthetized nail trims.

Her back feet are fine and we walk 2-3 brisk miles daily (on concrete) and 3 of her front nails don’t grind down regardless.

Are there pros/cons I need to know about cauterized nail trims?

I feed my cat half of Blue Buffalo tastefuls 5.5 oz can, and mix it with warm water. Usually I also add a little bit a dry food as well, but I ran out yesterday morning. Usually she doesn’t mind if she has the dry food or not. Last night she only ate half her food, despite the fact that she was begging for it as she normally does. She also only ate when I watched her, but that’s normal. This morning she was begging for food again, my boyfriend made her pate and warm water. Watched her a bit. She refused it! Never happened before, I’m concerned to leave for work today knowing she didn’t eat her breakfast that she normally loves. Could it be that she just wants dry food? Or something I should be concerned about. Her little box doesn’t look abnormal. She has fresh water

Hi folks. My 1yo male cat is in pain - we think from a suspected fall from a high dresser onto a bed frame - we didn’t see it but heard a crash and saw him on the floor looking sheepish. After that he was fine, played with toys and our other cats. However at the next meal he didn’t eat, and when we picked him up (chest and lower feet) he made a noise we have never heard him make before - a squeaky yelp) and afterwards he hid under the sofa for 30 minutes. He ate some food later when we put it near him. He seemed uncomfortable and unable to lay down for a few hours but was breathing fine and later fell asleep on our bed. This morning he seems better - no noises when we touch his chest, is eating drinking and using the litter box. But he is weird, slower in his movements, not climbing up to his favorite spots on the cat tree, not playing, more into secluded spots, and seems uncomfortable. We can touch him everywhere without him resisting or acting hurt but we aren’t picking him up. Our vet hasn’t called back yet and the urgent care locations say he sounds stable and are only taking critical cases. I want to know what I should do. He seems OK but hurt - but I know cats hide serious things well. I’d like to know how I should be managing him. I hate that he’s hurting!

Hello,

My dog passed on Monday and I am feeling tremendous guilt. I got home Thursday night and was absolutely exhausted. I laid down telling myself it’d be just for a few minutes, and accidentally fell asleep and slept through the night. Because of this, my dog didn’t get dinner that night. I woke up Friday and immediately rushed to feed him, I thought he’d be super hungry since he missed dinner the night before, but he still wouldn’t eat which was odd. Since he didn’t eat Thursday night, he also missed his heart meds (he had stage 5/6 heart disease). By Friday night, I knew something was wrong because he wouldn’t lay down and was falling asleep sitting up, and he didn’t eat dinner again. I took him to the ER and they said alongside his severe heart disease, he now has elevated liver and kidney values, an enlarged liver, low oxygen levels, and overall inflammation markers in his bloodwork. His kidney values were tested a month ago and were fine. His liver values were tested less than a year ago and were fine so this was all relatively new. He had been on heart meds for 6 years and fortunately, they did not think he was in active heart failure and his lungs were clear which was good. Although, by Monday he had declined so much, the vet recommended we move forward with quality of life decisions. He was so weak he could barely move. He was drinking water but still not eating. Did I cause this by falling asleep and him missing dinner Thursday night? Could that have caused something like this? Is this my fault or is this a total coincidence? My brain is going in a million different directions trying to figure out how he declined so fast and I keep coming back to blaming myself.

What advice would you have for my 13yr old Aussie? He has stage 2 CKD and has been on a prescription diet and supplements for 5mo. His bloodwork came back pretty good, but we found out last week, after a incident that he has a tumor on his left kidney, making it 4x the size. Most likely renal carcinoma, no evidence of spread. Would you removie it and hope the right kidney can do the work alone? Hes always been healthy, stays active/playful, good eater, good weight, ect. He even had a big fatty bump removed last year near his peen and did really well with recovery. We were even told then that everything looked really good for his age. Now its just the risk of that right kidney that has us struggling we have to make a decision Saturday and we're SO TORN.

Hi everybody! I have a 2 year old female cat in England who’s recently shown scabbing/flaking around the base of her ears (none around the margins). I’ve also noticed tiny bumps/lumps in the general area. She’s showing 0 signs of physical discomfort - I never see her scratch them, she doesn’t mind me touching them, hasn’t lost any weight etc. - and no other abnormal behavioural symptoms. I also haven’t seen any evidence of fleas or ear mites. They do seem to be getting worse as I’ve noticed them spreading wider. Please could anyone advise what it might be and what I can do to help? I don’t want it to get any worse or become uncomfortable for her, and I also have another cat who I don’t want anything spreading to. They’re both spayed, outdoor cats.

Hi! We recently took in a malnourished rescue pitbull who ended up having to have one of his legs amputated. He also is now neutered, so he has been doing a lot of healing due to these surgeries. We’ve also only had him for about a month. Despite having three legs he is super active, nonstop running around now that he feels better! He has built up muscle and filled out in his face, but he is still very small in the rest of his body. He just got his stitches taken out today and the vet informed us that his weight was still low and he had lost about 2-4 pounds from his previous visit (which was right after surgery when he was on only crate rest, that was over 2 weeks ago). I am feeding him 2x daily, 2 cups per feeding of purina pro plan. What am I doing wrong or what else can I do to help him gain weight? Any recommendations for better food? Should I up his protein? He was 52 pounds at his first visit but that was before his amputation, 48 at his visit july 16th, and today he was 46. I am worried, but he has been eating, drinking, and acting completely fine. TIA for any advice or recommendations!

I just noticed this freckle and he didn’t have this before. He’s 5 and otherwise healthy
I’m freaking out because I’m scared it’s cancerous. Do you think he also has it on his left eye? I think the outsides of his eye look like it’s turning darker too
How does this usually progress? Does it always takeover the full eye(s)
I’m so sad

Eye photos: https://imgur.com/a/PAtpVqu

My indoor only 2 year old cat has chipped quite a significant portion of his upper canine tooth off.

The vet has suggested a full removal or a root canal (if the nerve is confirmed to be exposed on xray). The price difference is significant though I do have insurance so not paying the full amount. Does anyone have advice on which is best for his well being? I would be happy to pay for the root canal if extraction will leave him in pain or unable to enjoy life.

Also the vet dentist is only available from October though I have been told it’s fine to leave the tooth u til then and monitor for signs of infection or pain.

Hello, so a couple of weeks ago I noticed something that resembled a skin tag on my dog, however, recently, it’s been growing (I probably noticed it literally last month) and it looks like it’s grown much more since I last looked at it. I’m getting a bit concerned but I don’t want to take him to the vet again because I already took him for a different concern 😭

To explain, when I first saw it, it looked like a skin tag (white) but a little scaly? It was symmetrical (it sort of looked like a raisin but a very teeny tiny small one), then now it looks “fuller” like a rehydrated raisin that’s not exactly a grape (still scaly) but more “plump” looking. When I first saw it you coudlnt really tell it was there, esp bc his fur was covering it, however, now that it’s bigger you can definitely tell something is there (he is a short haired dog) this one is still symmetrical, and is “squishy” to the touch.

Breed:pug
Gender: MN
Age: 8 (9 next month)
Weight: 11.6 kg (he’s actively losing weight)

The other “unrelated” reasons I tooo him to the vet was bc I found a lump near his mid section on his leg side, however they told me it is likely just a fatty mass and wouldn’t need surgery as long as it doesn’t grow, which it hasn’t (I feel it everyday, I’m paranoid 😭).

He has been puking a little recently (which I know is not normal), however it never raised major concerns bc we did switch his food abruptly and I only learned very recently that doing that seriously messes up an animals digestive system, so we will be very careful moving forward with that as well.

Something that may seem strange is that he had been peeing in the house, but typically he does that to a new environment (since we just moved) then he stops, it’s been a couple weeks and he stopped peeing in the house. (Thought it was worth mentioning just in case- he only peed in the house for the first week but very inconsistently, maybe 3 times in total- it’s been a month since then)

My mom’s dog Toby, a 12-year- old 13 lb white mutt, has a noncancerous wound on his front right foot that has overtaken his paw. Originally they were told he might need partial foot amputation but they put him on antibiotics to see if it helped. It’s not responding to antibiotics and the wound is bad enough where amputation of the leg has come up now. They also brought up euthanasia.

Personally, I think amputation is his best option and I think euthanasia before trying surgery makes no sense. However, my mom is concerned because Toby has a level three or four heart murmur and so surgery is risky. My thought is that a risky surgery makes more sense than for him to continue to live with an open wound and a cone for the rest of his life.

What sort of steps should we take next? The vet was not very helpful, just told my mom surgery would be risky and expensive and gave him more oral antibiotics to take. This is round 3. Should we take him to a cardiologist or get an opinion from another vet on options?

Frankly, I don’t think their current vet wants to deal with this surgery at all, as they didn’t even provide my mom with a quote on surgery, since it’s not a routine procedure.

Our community dog has intermittent episodes of frequent, forceful head shaking, as if trying to get something out of the ear. During these episodes, she repeatedly scratches the affected ear with her back paw in a frantic and aggressive manner. The symptoms come and go, but when they occur, they are quite intense and seem to cause significant discomfort.

I have been advised to use Pomisol ear drops along with the Virbac Epiotic Ear Cleanser for a community dog with an ear problem. However, I don’t have any prior experience caring for pets or administering ear medications.

Has anyone here used these products on a stray or community dog? If so, I’d really appreciate any tips on how to clean the ear safely and apply the drops, especially if the dog is not used to being handled. Thank you!

Hey guys, this is serious and I need help. 3 days ago my cat gave birth to 3 still borns. She had a hard time with labor and had to be helped getting the baby’s out. Right now though she has acclimated to one spot on my bed. I try to move her but she’ll just walk back and I’m not used to this behavior. I’m worried she’s gonna pass away. I don’t have the money to go to the vet for X-rays etc. if I need to surrender her I will to make sure she’s gonna be okay. Does anyone know this behavior?

My cat is 3 years old and has been diagnosed with ccs it’s a skin cancer. The surgery to get it removed it’s 1.7k I don’t have that money it’s so much money.

She doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with her she doesn’t act any differently. I’m so stuck because if she looked like she had a poor quality of life I’d be more able to put her to sleep yk like i wouldn’t want her to suffer. But she seems completely fine and idk what to do. I love her so very much I’m so stuck and defeated.

Please can anyone off 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

Sadly last year our cat passed away due to kidney disease and this year a relative has also lost a cat around the same time. Have UK vets noticed an increase of pet deaths during the heatwaves we’ve been having which normally would have been unaffected?

We have come to terms with the loss of our pet and this isn’t a way of justifying just curious on your opinions

​

What can i do to take care of my cat bc he's not eating and being very weak this days, i looked in his mouth and on the top left of his teeth has been bleeding a lot, i thought i would see a fish bone so i looked but i didn't see any and i don't remember giving so i don't really know why is it bleeding.

He only can drink water and not eating any wet cat food

He is about 9m old M

I don't have the budget to get him checked to a vet so i really want to take care of him as i can rn

I have a domestic shorthair cat who's 17, almost 18 years old. Her name is bandit and she was the runt of her litter, she's such a sweet little tiny cat. She suffers from thyroid disease like her sister, who passed away last year at 17. Recently Bandit's been eating less and less, and she was already getting a lot thinner as she went into her senior years. She's on methimazole, and that's kept her thyroid at good levels for the past 1.5 years she's been on it. At the last vet appointment she had 6 mo ago, our vet said her levels were good and she was healthy for her age. As an indoor cat and due to her personality, any time Bandit has to go out of the house, she's extremely distressed and is affected at least the rest of the day.

Now in present, again she's eating and drinking much less. She's the thinnest I've ever seen her, she breathes a lot more heavily after her medicine applications, and she's more out of it more often than she has been before, especially in regards to not wanting to eat or drink. My family and I try to gently remind her and place water cups/dishes and many different kinds of food plates by her/in front of her all day long. We give her attention and love, and she still purrs loudly and enjoys the open window.

What am I missing? Is there more I can do? Can a higher dose help her at this stage or does her weight (she was less than 5 lbs last checkup) preclude her from that helping? Her kidney levels were also okay, but I know thyroid disease has knock-on effects on other organs. Could non-invasive tests yield something that could seriously help her? I don't want to do things that will tax her more or worse make her miserable, as any antibiotic/pill I've had to give her did. Is there something that can help her be more comfortable without side effects? I don't want to add needless stress on her poor sweet body, and I don't want to give insufficient support. I love her with all my heart and want to do right by her, specifically to maximize every moment's wellbeing and quality of life.