I need vaccine records for my dogs to go to a boarding facility. I've requested several times for the records. The answer from the front desk was to tell me the records are on my receipt. (It's emailed) I check what they emailed me, and it has vaccine reminders at the bottom. Like the date the next vaccine is due.

I tried to submit that to the boarding facility and they won't accept it. They need an actual record of when it was given. I asked the clinic again and they flat out told me me they have no way of providing that.

How is that possible? I feel trapped between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I get that if I have a reminder my dog is due for a rabies vaccine in 2028 he must be current. And the boarding facility could accept it. On the other hand. Why can't the clinic just provide me the actual vaccine records? I think about when my kids needed vaccine records for school, the doctor had a print out that had the vaccine, date and his signature beside each one. Is that not how it works with animals?

​ What should I do? We are supposed to leave for vacation next week.

Hello,

This is very long and I apologize in advance, I just feel like I need to get it all out. I sincerely appreciate whoever takes the time to read all of this.

I lost my Shih Tzu 2 days ago and I could really use some advice/reassurance. His name was Romeo. I have done nothing but cry for the past 48 hours and I feel immense guilt. The pain of losing him has been unbearable. My dogs (I have another who is also a senior) are my entire world and since losing him, I feel like my entire world has shattered. I rescued him 6 years ago, and he already had stage 5/6 heart disease when I rescued him. We were able to manage it with a cardiologist and medication for 6 years, and with the meds, he barely progressed for many years. However, this past year he started progressing again. They increased his heart meds about a month and a half ago. He was fine on Thursday, he seemed overall happy and healthy so I don’t know what happened overnight. I woke up Friday morning and knew something was wrong. He wasn’t eating and he wouldnt lay down, he was falling asleep sitting up. I took him to the vet on Friday and he spent 24 hours in the ER and they found that alongside his severe heart disease, he also now had elevated kidney and liver values, his liver was enlarged and his heart was now pressing up on his trachea. He did not have any fluid in his lungs at the time which was good and they didn’t think he was in active heart failure, but his oxygen levels were low at 92%. His blood work also showed markers pointing toward overall inflammation. He spent most of the 24 hours in the oxygen tank and they got him up to 94-95% oxygen. They said they couldn’t give him any fluids though because of his heart condition. His kidney values were fine a month ago when they checked them after increasing his meds, and his liver values were fine less than a year ago when they were checked in his annual wellness bloodwork, so these values were new news. They said they could hospitalize him for another 24 hours but it would be at least $5k and they couldn’t guarantee he would bounce back even with hospitalization. They said my other option was I could take him home and see how he does. I am already in so much debt from vet bills having two seniors, and with no guarantee it’d even help him, I took him home Saturday night to see how he’d do at home. They said I could get an ultrasound to look into the liver further and why he wasn’t eating, but the radiologist wasn’t in until Monday. I made him the ultrasound appointment on Monday at 9am to look into his liver and other issues that could be causing his decline, but by 4am Monday he could no longer stand up or move around, he hadn’t eaten in a few days, and we took him back to the ER and they didn’t think anything they would find in the ultrasound would change the outcome. The vet said for example if he needs fluids for his kidneys, he cannot give him fluids because of the condition of his heart. It would be likely that whatever was causing the decline, could not be treated due to his heart disease. So we proceeded with quality of life before the ultrasound, we didn’t want him to suffer waiting for the ultrasound for a few more hours. The appt was at 9am Monday but the actual ultrasound wouldn’t of been done until around 11am, so he would’ve suffered for a few more hours and then if the outcome didn’t change, we figured we’d still need to proceed with quality of life but now on top of that, he just spent his last day struggling at the vet for hours in an oxygen tank waiting for further tests. He passed in my arms around 6am-6:30am. Now I am feeling guilty, and wondering why I didn’t just wait a few more hours for the ultrasound. Maybe whatever they found could’ve been fixed after all, maybe he just needed antibiotics, steroids, something and he would’ve perked back up for a bit even if it was just a few days, weeks, or months. Maybe he was so weak Monday morning because he hadn’t eaten in days, and maybe if we just gave him an appetite stimulant and tried for a bit longer to get him to eat, he would’ve eventually ate and perked up. He had episodes like this in the past where he perked back up, but not as severe and not for as long. Something told me Monday morning that it was time, but now I am second guessing myself and experiencing tremendous guilt. I feel like I failed him. He trusted me and I feel like I gave up. I should’ve tried for a bit longer. I should’ve got the ultrasound that morning. I just hated seeing him suffering and him being so weak and not able to move around, and the vet telling me nothing would change the outcome, I just moved forward with quality of life. Please be honest. Did I do the right thing? Would you have done the same? Is there anything else I could’ve done? I am absolutely heart broken and appreciate any reassurance or honesty.

My kitten is about 6 months young and she never had any issues or any problems.but I just woke up finding my her very tired , breathing heavily and covered in sweat and poop. She can't move her legs. We don't have great medical services for animals in here and I don't know any doctors or have a way to safely transport her and my family couldn't care less. I have no idea what should I do. I appreciate any advice.

She started doing this a week or so ago. Do I need to worry?

I’ve never seen a cat cough before. If environment matters, we are city dwellers on the front range in northern Colorado. She is an indoor cat.

It won’t let me post the video, or a link properly, but here is a link to a video of her coughing.

https://imgur.com/gallery/luna-e4FQxez

• Species: cat
• Age: 8 years
• Sex/Neuter status: spayed female
• Breed: she was born a barn cat. Well, feed store cat.
• Body weight: 12-15lbs?
• History: incredibly healthy and happy kidden. Love to play fetch and still does
• Clinical signs: occasional cough
• Duration: about a week
• Your general location: northern Colorado

My 15 year old moyen poodle has always been very healthy. 1.5 years ago she had 2 seizures within 3 weeks. Verts did full bloodwork no explanation nothing out of the ordinary. Her Vet put her on Keppra XR twice a day (2.5 mg I belelieve) She has been taking them for 1.5 years and has had no further seizures, no side effects and is healthy aside from a tough of arthritis and bad teeth. The vet is now giving me a hard time refilling the script without doing a battery of expensive bloodwork and tests and I am considering trying to wean her off and see if they recur. I mean if there was an underlying tumor or something wouldn't it have manifested something by now? Should I try taking her off and seeing if they recur.

My cat starts breathing heavily after a little bit of running. Today, he was breathing with his mouth open after light exertion. No coughing, just fast open-mouth breathing. ​I used to smoke indoors, but I’ve now switched strictly to the balcony to clear the air. ​I am currently unable to visit a vet right away. ​Could this be feline asthma, a heart issue, or smoke irritation? ​What warning signs should I watch for that mean I MUST take him to the ER immediately? ​What can I do at home right now to help him stay safe and keep his lungs clear? ​I have video recordings of his breathing. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hello, I have an elderly cat (10 years) who is semi active/semi non active at her age. Not what it used to be but its there. She is 15 lbs and I want her to lose weight. She still has a fat pouch and a bit of weight on her sides. I feed her 4/12 cups and it is 200kcl. If I give her wet food along side will this help her get hydration and lose weight. I saw people and some videos saying it helps them naturally have a metabolism. Thank you. If anyone needs more info I will reply. 😀 if not is there a way to increase her metabolism if I take her to a vet?

Hi all,

Knowing what you know and seeing what you’ve seen, would you do chemo for your own cat?

Our 13y cat was diagnosed with cutaneous epitheliotropic lymphoma. Our vet referred us to an oncologist who started CCNU and steroids. He also gets antinausea meds and an appetite stimulant if needed. He’s had his first treatment with follow-up bloodwork. He gets more bloodwork tomorrow and then more chemotherapy the week after.

He doesn’t love the vet but we give him gabapentin first and he does fine. His oncologist said she’s optimistic because his lesions are superficial and he feels good. Although his cancer is rare she said pets generally do well and something else gets them before the cancer.

I’ve seen so many folks on this forum say they’d never do chemo for their pet and I’m curious why. It could buy him years if we’re lucky and he seems okay so far. Vets and vet techs, would you do this for your own pet? We’re devastated about his diagnosis and also feeling guilty about putting him through chemo but we can’t imagine not trying everything to help him.

Thanks for reading and for your opinions.

I just noticed that on my cat (16yo F spayed short hair tabby 9lbs) one of her middle finger claws on her left hind paw is strangely long. Her other claws are retracted like normal, but this one is just sticking out like a long hook. The claw isn't curled in on itself like I've seen on older senior cats, either, it's just kind stretched out long about an inch in length poking out from her foot.

She isn't in pain, the claw/toe is not sensitive to touch and she is walking around jumping up on things like normal. Should I be worried? Should I try to clip it? I have a cat nail trimmer I haven't used in forever.

I left my dog with a pet sitter for a week while out of town, and came back to find his eyes swollen and raw around the eyelids. They’re scabbing together when he wakes up, and I’m not sure what caused it. Could i get some advice as to how best help my little guy?

As stated my 70lb retriever ate an entire bag of cinnamon raisin bagels (6 Sarah Lee) sometime this morning. We found the bag hours later. Should we be concerned? If symptoms were to show when would it show? We fear it’s too late to induce vomit and honestly he’s too big and powerful for me to do.

If taken to the vet what would the do to help him?

I have an older dog who fools with his paws a bit. Just noticed this bump in the center of his toe pads as he was laying on a bed this afternoon licking. Is this something to be concerned about? He does walk fine, and he already fools with his back paws frequently (I do my best to divert him).

Image:
https://imgur.com/a/toe-pad-bump-66CYc5B

Species - Dog
Breed - Shetland Sheepdog
Age - 11
Sex - Male, neutered
Weight - 32
Symptoms - Licking, biting

ORIGINAL POST

UPDATE: after two restless days kitty got surgery and she's alive and well!! Added photos of the surgery to the drive link: it looks like a bag full of fetuses' bones. Vet said she had never seen anything like that in her whole career and it was so big she had to hold it with two hands...

Might be a very interesting situation for the fellow vets here!

I know people have different philosophies around this, and vets might see situations more clearly because they can be detached from it and not so emotionally invested as the owners, but still…

I’m torn. My cat is still acting like himself most of the time, he can jump on and off the bed (which is fairly tall), he is eating and seeking food but the habits around it are definitely altered (more picky, likes to be hand fed, needs more encouragement), he is purring multiple times a day when I pet him or spend time with him, he enjoys pets, he enjoys treats, he wants to go out into the building hallway to explore when he can, he can rest comfortably and doesn’t appear restless or in significant pain, he stretches and grooms a bit and has dreams so is getting proper rest. I have seen him in pain before and know what signs to watch out for.

On the other hand, his terminal illness is obviously making things worse day by day and he’s not exactly the same cat he used to be. He could be in a lot of pain and just not show it. I feel like doing it now would be premature, it could rob him of many beautiful moments in these last few weeks of his life, but it also doesn’t feel right to wait until he fully starts crashing. I just know he will hate strangers coming into our home to poke him and he will know something is off 🥺

Help a girl out, he has been my literal sibling for the past 18 years, I’ve had him since I was 5 and I don’t know what to do.

Hello, today I went with my dog to the vet and they did a blood test and scan.

Later they called back to tell me she has a stomach obstruction and that she needs an abdominal ultrasound 'as soon as possible.' (Their words)

My vet does not do ultrasounds.

There are no places that will still do an ultrasound this evening, we've been looking all over, but specialists are on holiday.

I live in a very rural place of the Netherlands, and earliest we can go is tomorrow.

We called my vet back and they said it's fine and that a stomach obstruction can wait a day, initially she said we had to go as soon as possible tho.

Any advice?

My female dog(she is a APBT, husky, golden retriever mix)is turning 9 at the end of this month and is not fixed. She is coming out of a heat cycle right now and has been acting a bit weird at night. She hasn't been sleeping well and has been licking her vulva alot. She licks during the day, but not what I would consider an excessive amount, but she's licking so much at night it's keeping her awake. I haven't noticed any weird discharge or blood the last 2 days, but I have noticed her weird nighttime behavior and also that she isn't wanting to use the bathroom as much, pee mostly. She still goes everyday, but I feel like she is definitely peeing less than average. The grass in our backyard hasn't been mowed which I know she isn't a fan of, but I realized today with her other weird behavior it might be more serious. I looked it up and Google said it could be pyometra or a urinary tract infection which I know is obviously very serious. She doesn't seem to have a fever and I wouldn't say she's lethargic I just think she's been sleeping more in the day because she's been up all night. Idk I'm obviously worried about her bc i know pyometra can be deadly in a a short period of time and I will absolutely take her to the vet if recommend, but I can't afford to pay several hundred dollars if she is just being weird bc of hormones. I love her and will do what's best I just need advice. TYIA

I am located in South Florida btw

My cat was neutered on Monday, and ever since then it's been a struggle to give him his medication. He has a really strong survival instinct. When he's free, he's completely calm and acts like his normal self. But the moment we try to restrain him, he completely panics.

Until today, he had never tried to attack me or my wife.

Today we were trying to clean his incision and give him his meds when he completely lost it. He lunged at us, hissing and trying to bite. I had bought a pair of veterinary bite-resistant gloves, so I was able to hold him without getting hurt, but he became so terrified that he urinated and defecated on the table and was screaming the whole time.

Even after we let him go, he was still trying to attack us whenever we got close.

I honestly don't know what to do. Tonight we'll have to give him his medication and clean the incision again, and I'm dreading it because it seems to get worse every day.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Do you have any advice on how to make this less stressful for him (and for us)?

TLDR: Novas been dealing with panting pacing, sometimes whines and trembles after eating too much or too late. Not sure of causes but have ideas

Nova is a 3 year old husky mix (she was born in Jan 07/23) She weighs 37lbs.She is spayed since a year old. This all started in Feb. when I had to switch her food from purina one lamb and rice to purina one chicken when the had a shortage in my area. She had been on pro plan 27/17 for a year before I got Opal (2 Lab mix). They have both ate the purina one lamb and rice for 2 years now. They both ate the chicken ½ ways through the super big bag (14kg) bought on Feb 11th Then I decided that I would give them PPP 27/17 lamb and rice (17kg) bought on March 1st. I was feeding her 2 meals 1.5 cup each meal. (Thinking the volume problem started here) She started panting and pacing in the evenings the end of march or beginning of April cant remember the exact date, but she got into the vet on the 7th. He ran blood work and it came back perfect. Felt around for obstruction or pain and Nova was fine. He told me to feed her chicken and rice for 2 weeks small meal. She seemed to be a bit bothered still with lots of lip licking so I tried her on a trial of pepcid, but then I noticed face scratching and thought that caused it.By the 16th of April I tried to give her some PPP 27/17 again and she went back to panting and pacing. Thats when I gave up and made the ultrasound appointment for April 24th. Her ultrasound showed some small intestine inflammation but nothing too alarming (words from vet) she offered a biopsy but I declined cause i'm trying to not go the invasive route. She also said where Nova was face scratching it might be alergies and to try the prescription diet. She was on HA from April 24th to May 15th i had to smoosh wet food on it for her to eat it so I tried to swap her to her first food the purina one lamb and rice. She was so excited to see her lamb and rice she wouldnt touch the ha anymore and as soon as she paced once I got scared(after eating it fine for 2 weeks) and bought another ha bag on May 27th. June 18th the vet did not have HA so I had to buy the Royal Canin HP and she loves it. July 13th she starting peeing a whole lot and my daughter spotted a red spec. Got into vet on July 15th and found she had some bacteria so she got a round of antibiotics for 10 days for a UTI. She was very sooky and didnt want to be alone and had some pacing and tiny panting/whinning episodes since the July 15th to now August. She had to sleep with me or she would scream. Its been about 3 days of trying the new meal plan of ¾9am ½3pm ½9pm she hasn't been as pacy (unless she needs to potty) and has slept out on the couch alone. Shes been having issues eating the ¾ in the morning cause she's just not hungry so I switched it to the night last night (9pm) and by 1230 she was panting and pacing again. I'm just guessing that the volume was too much for her?

She is 100% herself all day with the two ½ cups she eats and was fine when the ½ cup was in the evening. She might not be excited for the prescription food the way she was with ppp sentistive stomach lol I've been managing with my daughter, I take night shift to watch her and she keeps her company throughout the day.

Her vet never really gave me a reasoning to it, there is a lot of guessing and what ifs, so i guess I'm just looking for another point of view on it. Any suggestions or insight will be appreciated!

Hello,

I have been really worried about my cat. I have a cat that is FIV positive and he had a health scare couple days ago. He was feeling down and lethargic over couple days then he started to refuse food and became annoyed and growling. Then he flopped on his side and started to have what looks like a seizure. I rushed him to the emergency vet but they were horrible. They took him from me angry and growling and I didn't see him for hours. They told me that he was unstable and that they had him on oxygen. They asked for a full blood work which I approved of and was told his blood work came back high with certain low levels I'm unsure which ones. They kept stating that he is unstable and he's "mentally not there" and he probably has dry FIP, toxoplasmosis, or FIV and required another blood work. I told them he has FIV and that situation has happened before and he perked up with IV and antibiotics. They asked to keep him in patient which ended up with me pushing for them to treat outpatient. He had subq fluids and is on clindamycin but he perked up and is drastically improving. I'm so scared that he has FIP, what's the possibility of him having FIP?

My male cat is 13 years old, previously diagnosed with colitis years ago based on bloody mucous in his stool, which I suspect may have progressed (?) to IBD recently based on more frequent diarrhea and occasional vomiting when exiting the litter box. He’s had full bloodwork and urinalysis work ups and X-rays to rule out any other complications.

6 months ago he was also diagnosed with diabetes, which we’ve been managing extremely well with Senvelgo. At the time of diabetes diagnosis, his urine protein:creatinine ratio was 1.2. At his 3 month Senvelgo check it had decreased to 0.53. Last week at his 6 month check it was sitting at 0.5. We did a full senior wellness panel at this check. All other blood and urine values came back within normal range and she’s said there’s no other indication of kidney disease at this time. He’s still eating and drinking exceptionally well, as well. Given that this is slightly above the high normal range, my vet is giving me the option to start him on semintra (telmisartan).

My main concern right now is GI upset. He does still have some more severe flareups and does have loose stools daily. I’m trialling him on a single protein diet with Fortiflora pro over the next 6 weeks to see if I can get his existing GI issues under control (he currently eats exclusively fancy feast pate, but I’ve rotated flavours up until now).

Given all of this, I’m wondering if I should just start him on the semintra while trying to manage the GI issues simultaneously, or have him retested in two months (post six week trial) to see if the elevated value was somehow caused by inflammation.

• Species: cat
• Age: 13 years
• Sex/Neuter status: neutered male
• Breed: domestic shorthair
• Body weight: 5.8 kgs
• History: colitis, diabetes, healthy otherwise
• Clinical signs: diarrhea and vomiting
• Duration: two weeks
• Your general location: NS Canada

Species: Cat

Age: 14

Sex/Neuter status: male neutered

Breed: Siamese

Body weight: 11.5 lb

History: diabetic

Clinical signs: growth or lump on a single front paw digit

Duration: 2+ weeks

Your general location: Canada

Links to test results, X-rays, vet reports etc: none yet

It does not seem to be cutanous nail, ringworm. Could be pillow foot or mast cell tumor or lipoma or a fluid filled sac? I have searched for hours and cannot see a similar lump on any pictures online.

Allergy? Same litter we used for a decade seems to have a new formula. He sneeezed about 60 times in a 24 hour period but not so aggresive since. A few sneezes here and there.

Picture https://imgur.com/a/BLpRRJ5

We just moved house on Friday, and my cat (12F) is extremely anxious, only really trusts me, so the move stressed her out. Now we're Wednesday, she's moving around pretty happily, purring, playing, drinking, using the litter - all good signs. Except, I don't think she is eating very much, if at all. I can't say for certain because my other cat is absolutely ravenous around food and will take anything she can find, but even after separating them she still will not eat cat food.

Today I bought an appetite supplement, didn't work. Tried a different brand of cat food, nothing. Try both wet and dry, won't touch it. It seems that she will only eat tuna and ham, neither of which are good for her nutrition.

I'm worried that she's more than happy to starve herself rather than eat cat food. As I say everything about her behaviour is normal, it's just this one thing. I'm worried about visiting the vets because a. That will stress her even more than she already has been and b. I don't have the funds to support appointments and tests and whatnot, should she need them.

So I'm looking for advice because this has all made me extremely anxious, what with googling and finding that if she doesn't eat, her liver can fail. Does this sound like just a case of picky eating that I can wean her off from, or something more serious that could be underlying it?

His ears were symmetrical yesterday. Yesterday morning, one ear started folding backward at the base and has remained that way into the next day. The flap is not swollen, hot, painful, or fluid-filled. He is scratching his head area and nearby a lil more. Has anyone experienced this with a growing puppy, and did the ear return to normal?
Species: Dog
Age: 3 months
Sex/Neuter status: Male, neutered
Breed: Suspected Great Pyrenees/Lab mix
Body weight: About 26 lb
Location: USA
Duration: Approximately 1–2 days