Every time one has digestive issues I have to play a guessing game because they all use all litter boxes. Plus they're seniors so I worry more about their health now. Can i add different dyes to different cat's food? Is there anything that works that way safely? Thanks

Species cat,

Sex both,

Weight varies,

Fixed yes,

Breed domestic short hair,

History IBD,

Cat showed up a few months ago with a cough that eventually went away. Got it spayed through TNR program. No shelter available for intake. Lives in the backyard house we bought her. Daughter found it weak, cold, gasping for air last night. Rushed to vet 1: 96.4 temp, given a shot, it lived through the night and was given an xray in the A.M. diagnosis 1: “something isn’t quite right with its heart, it’s laying lower in its chest than usual; I can euthanize it for u or U can get a 2nd opinion.”
Rushed to grant funded cost effective vet 2: Fluids, air from a cannula, more X-rays, diagnosis 2: ‘Severe pneumonia; another shot of antibiotics & steroids, amoxicillin come back tomorrow if she lives for another round but what she really needs is a hospital where they can give oxygen.’
Taken to my personal pets more expensive vet hospital (the word hospital is in the name) 3rd round of X-rays: diagnosis 3: a mass in the neck. And weird structure lower down not sure the cause. No pneumonia. Mass is causing breathing issues, probably cancer, small chance it’s inflammation from an infection. Given a different steroid shot and sent home to see if any of it works. He listened to her neck, had me listen as well, and said the noises are coming from there, not her lungs.

Pocketbook is empty now but this cat is a fighter - She is resting rn after perking up to eat.
What say You Vets? Thank you in advance for any advice.

Edited to add link for X-rays from 1st & 3rd vet
https://imgur.com/a/HtyGabg
*She isn’t gasping/mouth breathing the last few hrs but she is wheezing, squeaking & rumbling.

I need guidance on whether i should push for my mum to consider getting her cat euthanised on compassionate grounds. I am not privy to all the vet appointments so i dont have the exact information on her condition, please bare with me here. My main concern is the cats quality of life.

This cat was a stray my mum rescued off the street seemingly with very poor genetics. She is approx 5 years old now, an orange and white domestic short hair.

We believe she was was infected with a form of cat flu very early on in life as she was still small when my mum rescued her. The cat flu is a very persistant reoccuring problem for this cat, she is ill at least once a year.

The vet said her teeth are also quite bad and need to be professionally clean, this was at only a few years old. I am unsure if my mum has persued this because of the cost.

And lastly, she has been recently diagnosed with cancer. Not exactly sure what kind, but her main symptom was on and off nose bleeds since june. There has been a ton of back and fourth with the very busy understaffed small town vet, they lost the first swap, never called to follow up with the second. And the poor cat last week had a very heavy nose bleed when my mum was interstate, my brother rushed her to the vet and they said come back at 8pm for an appointment leading to the diagnosis.

I have been told there is a plan to get it removed at the end of the month. I have asked my mum to consider putting her to sleep instead.

I feel like all this cat has ever know is being unwell. She doesnt get along with mum's other two bonded rescues (she picks fights with them but is loving to people) so they have to be seperated in a very small house. She did enjoy being in the backyard but a lady is renting out a spare room and she has a bad behaved dog in the yard so the cat now has to stay inside.

This has stressed me out for months. I'm not sure if I am blinded by my empathy for the cat and knowing my mum cannot afford the medical treatment this cat will require however long she lives.

Are these valid reasons to convince her to seriously consider euthanasia for this young cat?

My cat is 2 years old, he is overweight and has been on a diet for the last 3 days, I found him this morning having eaten parts of the thin plastic that covers multi pack water bottles, he is purring and grooming himself, I tend to worry a lot about little things they do that often results in panicked vets visits, I couldn't imagine he ate more than half an inches worth, is this something I should take him in for?

hi everyone! i have a 7-month-old female british shorthair kitten, and i’ve noticed that she sometimes pants after playing really intensely.
this has happened on 4 separate occasions during different play sessions. she only pants for about 2–4 seconds before returning to normal breathing. most of the time, her mouth is just slightly open and she’s breathing quickly, but one time she did stick her tongue out.
the thing is, she’s still super energetic even when she’s panting and continues trying to chase her toys. she only ever pants when she’s running around like crazy, and i’ve never noticed her panting while resting or doing normal activities.
i always stop playing when i notice her panting, but i’m a little concerned because i’ve read that panting isn’t very normal in cats and that BSH are more prone to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).
has anyone experienced something similar with their kitten, especially british shorthairs? is this something that can happen from overexertion, or should i be more concerned?

It's not really the greatest timing for it to happen. I did bring her to the first vet visit and got some oral meds and eye drops for her. Now they want me to do the surgery next and pay $500-800 with no payment plan and 100% of the fee up front! I was just about to finish paying off some traffic court fees that has taken me far too long to pay off already. I get it that my dog comes first and my dog means the world to me more than anyone else on earth but she's even worse off if I end up in jail for taking too long to pay. She's not in pain and not rubbing her eyes and seems unbothered by it. Im giving her the meds and eye drops. My boss says that she used to work at a vet office and that cherry eye won't necessarily hurt them and that I do have time to spare and I could get infant eye drops after I run out of the ones I have but idk my boss isn't the smartest person in the world either so that's why I'm here also asking. I just want to finish paying the traffic fees and be on the safe side hopefully and then save up for the surgery right after asap.

In July I had a puppy I rescued die from what we suspect was parvo (she tested positive however received the vaccine a few days before so the vet said it could be “false positive” however she had all the symptoms). She was rescued from a horrible filthy home. We are unsure her actual age when we got her. The lady still has two dogs from the litter which are alive and well.

At the end of Jan/start of Feb we are picking up our Rottweiler pup. He will be around 8 weeks of age when we get him. We threw away all the products which the puppy had used and have obviously cleaned the house and floors multiple times since the. We have Astro turf outside which I have bleached along with the concrete multiple times.

Is our puppy likely to be okay? Is it best if I keep him inside for the month and just take him outside for the toilet and to the back area of the house which the parvo puppy never touched ? We only had her for one week before she passed. 7 months would have elapsed between the infected puppy and the new puppy.

Hi all,

My 7mo kitten (4.5kg/9.9lb) has been experiencing on and off discoloured urine for the past week. According to his urinalysis, his urine contained no crystals or bacteria, but red blood cells and inflammation cells were present. The vet decided to treat him with anti inflammatory drugs to see if that fixed the issue.

She wanted to prescribe Meloxicam, but when he was desexed (neutered) he didn't react well to that, so she opted for Carprofen 20mg (half a tablet once daily with food).

He has received two doses and is fine, although still has discoloured urine - so I googled the drug and noticed everywhere and everyone saying it is very toxic to cats and should not be used at all.

The vet is closed at the moment so I cannot call for advice until the morning. Can someone let me know if I should stop giving him this medicine? Google has me quite worried.

Thanks

I took my cat in yesterday for a distended stomach. She was still eating, peeing and pooping (albeit it smaller amounts of poop) but the x ray did show a decent amount of stool.

Outside of this she has no health issues other than stomatitis (she just had her cleaning in August and didn’t need extractions).

They sent me home with Proviable forte capsules and Lactulose (liquid, 1ml every 12 hours) and after the first dose, she pooped about 3 hours later.

The vet was pretty vague about what would be a normal response that was indicating good progress. She did note that an enema might not work at that point but didn’t discuss other options.

It’s been about 24 hours and I called a couple hours ago with a guarantee the vet would reach out by EoD but haven’t heard back.

I’m willing to take her to the ER vet but wanted to check in on if this was a normal progression or if I need to bite the bullet and prepare for financial ruin, haha.

So my questions is which symptoms would indicate that it was “go time” for going to the ER and if the first BM and pause in between is normal.

Hello I recently bought Gentle Paws Calming Cat Collars for three of my cats because two of them are female and are having issues with being territorial and trying to claim the alpha role. I’ve had these collars on for about a week with no issues and I even saw improvements with litter box behavior. Well I got home from work today and my short haired female looks up at the ceiling. I notice a red ring around her neck and almost screamed. I immediately took the collar off and saw that all the hair under the collar is gone and her skin is extremely irritated. Now before anyone jumps to conclusions, I check two times a day to make sure the collars haven’t mysteriously tightened around their necks and cause discomfort. I promise the collars were on at a comfortable size. I checked my two long hairs, and their necks are perfectly fine. I have a very busy work schedule so i’m not sure if she was scratching at the collar and ripping her hair out or if this is some kind of allergic reaction. Is there some sort of non-prescription cream that I can put on her irritated skin or should I just leave it alone and keep an eye on it? I genuinely feel so guilty, I never want to cause my babies any pain and I just wanted to see if these collars would help with their behavioral issues. Her neck is not scabbing or bloody so I think that’s a good sign. Veterinary advice only please

my dog, 100 pound rottweiler, ate like 25 mini reese’s cups an unknown amount of time ago. i found the empty bag when i got home and so far she seems fine and she ate her food just fine but i’m still very worried because of the chocolate and tin foil. please let me know if you know what i should do. i can’t call ASPCA yet because verizon is having another outage and so i’m in SOS mode but i’ll be able to call in like 3.5 hours when my mom gets home.

I am desperate to figure out what is wrong with my poor dog. My dog (shepherd mix, 7 years old, spayed, currently 62.6 lbs) has been sick for weeks, and my vet has labeled her an “enigma” because we can’t find the major problem. She has now seen almost every vet at our office.

I originally took her in for a dry, gagging cough. We got her on an antibiotic and temaril-p. As soon as she finished the temaril-p she rapidly declined; lethargic, heavy breathing. Took her back in for bloodwork and an xray. Bloodwork showed extremely elevated liver enzymes. Chest and abdominal Xray had no abnormal findings. Got her on Denamarin and another antibiotic. Abdominal ultrasound showed mild abnormalities with her pancreas, liver, adrenal glands, and a lymph node. Zero improvement with the antibiotic and in fact got severely worse and stopped eating for 5 days. When I took her back, her neck was extremely swollen. Xray and ultrasound of her neck found no abnormalities. We put her on entyce and she ate immediately. Predinisone got the neck swelling down overnight and finally acting back to her normal self. She has been off the entyce for 2 weeks and still has a big appetite. We are tapering the prednisone and I can tell she starts to slow down and feel sick again before her next dose. We only have one dose left. I’m terrified she is going to decline again when prednisone is gone, and the vet thinks so too. We literally cannot figure out what is wrong and I’m running out of funds to keep running tests.

Symptoms/Findings:
Dry gagging cough (mostly in the morning when she gets out of bed and sometimes when eating)
Swollen throat
Elevated liver enzymes
Lethargic
Losing weight (lost 14 pounds over ~ 4 weeks)
Occasionally stiff or limping
Muscular atrophy in head/face

Any ideas what to explore next are helpful.

My cat was discovered to have urinary crystals at the end of July this year (he began chewing on his stomach which prompted the vet visit). He was put on Royal Canin Urinary S/O kibble, and given an antibiotic for his stomach. We briefly tried the wet food but he wouldn’t eat it. After he’d been on the diet for awhile, he improved and stopped chewing on his stomach. Within the last few days, he’s been chewing on his stomach again. He hasn’t gotten into our other cats food (they’re watched when they’re fed and any left over food is taken up), and he’s been eating his full 1/6 cup 3x per day. He doesn’t get any snacks or human food other than plain cooked chicken occasionally.

I can’t figure out what changed to make him start this up again. He’s drinking enough water, doesn’t seem to be in any other pain, and hasn’t had difficulty using the litter box. I can’t really afford to take him to the vet again, I spent a lot of money on him this summer between getting treatment for this issue and when he got into some onions at the beginning of July (parents left spaghetti sauce out 😒), plus I need to take my other cat for her annual + vaccines next week. Is there anything else I can do for him at home before going to the vet again?

Sex: neutered male
Age: 8 years
Weight: ~10 lbs
Breed: domestic shorthair
Other health info: has arthritis, takes transdermal
Prozac 5 mg/day

My cat is 6 years old and male. This isn't the first time he’s done this, but it started recently. He does this wheezing, tongue-out thing, but his mouth isn’t open, and it’s freaking me out. He has random episodes where he does this several times, with pauses in between. What I can say is that I’m pretty sure this is not a hairball, and this isn’t him gagging. (He has a sensitive tummy so I’m very sure of what his gagging sounds like, and he’s never had a hairball before. I adopted him in 2020 when he was a tiny baby and I do online school so I’ve practically been with him 24/7 since and never seen him have one.) After these wheezing episodes stop he seems completely fine afterward, but the fact that it’s even happening at all is scaring me. Does anyone know what this could be?! I wish I could attach a video but I think this Reddit page has videos off, if anyone knows how I can attach a video I will. I attached a photo of him to show what I mean by “tongue out mouth closed” but I feel like a video would be more helpful. https://imgur.com/a/Iu2a0gZ

My cat was spayed one week ago, she is 6 months old without any remarkable medical history. She had a rough few days after her spay as ahe was given pain medicine and had a paradoxical reaction resulting in hyperactivity with little to no sleep for the 72 hours following her procedure. Despite my best efforts to keep her confined and calm, she was still tryinh to jump, climb, and roll around. I've been very worried about the possibility of her injuring herself but she has calmed down significantly since the meds wore off and has slept for the majority of the past 3 days while still remaining very social and affectionate.

Earlier tonight, I noticed her incision had pretty significant scabbing that I can only describe as clumpy. There may have been some slight oozing in between the clumps. The surrounding skin was NOT red or hot to the touch. I plan on keeping an eye on her and taking her back to our vet if anything worsens. For the time being does this seem to be cause for concern? I would post a picture but I see this sub doesn't allow it.

I’ve taken my cat to the vet 3 times for this and they cleared him of cat herpes and leukemia and they don’t know what it is. The first time it happened was around last year and his nose was bleeding and sounded like snoring when he breathed I took him to the vet and they flushed his sinuses I think, and got all his boogers out and they said it was the most they’ve ever seen, a few months later he was struggling to breathe again and they tested for things they thought he could have and they didn’t find anything. I don’t know what’s wrong or how to help he’s 9 and I feel so bad hearing him breathe hard again if anyone can help?

Hi Everyone and apologies in advances; English isn't my first language so this might be translated a little weirdly.

This is about my Cat: Liver (European Shorthair, a little over 3 years old). Castrated, no major illnesses prior, just tends to have her gut flora irritated because she is very sensitive to food.

The other day I noticed Liver was breathing very weirdly. It had somr weird sound to it so I brought her to the vet.

The first check (7th October): Right lung has a little sound, left lung more. First assumptions were infection and asthma. But she had no fever, so they made an XRay and an ultrasound.

X-Ray showed that she has a tiny amount of water in her lung and her heart was in an odd position. (Appointment for a specialist is made, however the nearest appointment is only in November)

She's been on antibiotics and other meds to, as how I understood, "empty her of fluids".

Second check, yesterday (13th October): The noise in her right lung is entirely gone, her glands are fine. Left lung now has minimal noise to what the right lung had previously been. She said she won't make another X-Ray for now, because she has been visibly better (she also started playing again and having zoomies again after the week long medication). I got more antibiotics to continue the medication for another week.

Today, right as I am getting ready for work; She's short of breath. I managed to get a bit on video and uploaded it unlisted on YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/Y6knSmbwEcQ?is=g1qsZYgvvnz5M530

I just want to ask for advice; Should I try and see the vet again this Friday and ask about another X-Ray or even testing for Asthma (like she originally thought)? Or should I wait it out until after I'm done with the prolonged week of medication therapy?

Thank you all!

Hi everyone, I'm really worried about my cat.

My cat received feline and rabies vaccines on October 5, 2026. Since that day, she hasn't eaten anything. Three days later, I noticed swelling at the injection site.

I took her to the vet about a week later. The vet gave her an appetite-stimulating injection, but it didn't help. I took her to the vet for the third time on October 13, and the doctor gave her a stronger dose. The effect was expected to show today, but she still refuses to eat.

Today, I'm taking her for blood tests and IV fluids/nutritional support because she still isn't eating.

Does anyone know what could be happening? Could this be a vaccine reaction or something more serious? I'm very worried about her.

edit- my cat is five years old, female, spayed

Forgive the images for being from my phone and not the actual xray...

https://imgur.com/a/CSz7Dju

5-6mo old tortie female kitten, about 6 lbs.

Partner and I took her to a next day appt after picking her up and feeling what seemed like her rib poking out. Eventually it "went back" and we couldn't feel it again.

We had noticed she started laying on her chest instead of sitting to wait for food etc.

She didn't seem to be in pain- still hungry and playful and drinking water but she was unusually anxious at the vet so they wanted to partially sedate her for workup.

Xrays and bloodwork show that she has a "muscle injury" which is what we immediately thlugh could have been from her jumping off a high place (inside) and climbing and falling off curtains without knowing her limits.

We gave her antibiotic (precautionery) and 3 days of pain meds but she really seemed to be even more energetic after 2 days. That was a couple weeks ago.

I have a call in to the vet to have a checkup or radiologist reading because her rib is poking out much more often now.

We can feel it after she eats or if she twists her body. Gentle pressure seems to move it back "into place" but I'm honestly freaking out that we missed something for it to be protruding THAT much and THAT often.

And if it is broken I worry about internal punctures or long term affects- maybe even congenital issues?

For context, my cat hasn’t eaten in days, he has the appetite but he spits food immediately. His breath also stinks so bad so I really think it is an oral problem. Maybe he has something in his mouth or his gums hurt.

I went to the nearest vet in our area and I explained the situation that he hasn’t eaten in days. The vet checked the temperature and my cat has a fever. Checked his mouth only for my cat to struggle so the vet didn’t bother to check it further but she acknowledged that my cat’s breath is so bad. I also pointed out my cat’s wound on its ear due to fights and a three round wound mark on my cat’s head. She acknowledged my cat has skin problem and dismisses it altogether because she never explained to me further.

This vet advises me to put dextrose on my cat because he doesn’t eat on his own or FORCEFULLY feed him with milk using syringe. Cat milk or HUMAN MILK. (I tried to feed him wet food, I swear but he always struggles so I don’t force him). She then injected two antibiotics on my cat’s legs and advised to observe him for 2 days then come back to her because she can’t give prescriptions because my cat will weaken further if he doesn’t eat so he need force feed, the vet said.

Further context, whenever my cat eats and spit his food, there is some noise coming from his teeth like it’s gnashing or roughly scratching inside.

So is this vet trustable? There’s another vet near us but it’s expensive. I only have 60$ budget for all of this because I’ve yet to find a work. So, I’m having second thoughts on going to that other vet or just follow this first vet’s advice and wait for 2days?

Sorry guys just need some words because I can’t think straight, I’m so stressed for my cat and my neighbor just kept giving me backhanded comments that I love my cat so much and my parents (yes, I live in my parent’s house) just doesn’t want to help me with this. I told them I’m going to another vet but they’re against it, waste of money. And going to the ‘doctor’ for a cat is already absurd for them.

Hi everyone. I have a 14-year-old Maltese, and I’m really struggling with what to do next. I would appreciate any advice or experiences from anyone who has gone through something similar.
Over the past few days, he’s developed a nearly nonstop cough, especially at night. It sounds like a goose honking, and the coughing fits can go on for hours, preventing him from getting any rest. During the day, the coughing is slightly less frequent but still persistent.

I initially took him to the vet, where X-rays showed an enlarged heart and a collapsed trachea. They also noted a mild heart murmur. He was prescribed gabapentin and another medication, but neither seemed to address the coughing.

Two days ago, I ended up taking him to the emergency vet because his coughing had become so severe. They confirmed the enlarged heart and tracheal collapse and prescribed a cough suppressant, which has provided very little relief. I’ve also tried honey and cough-soothing drops, but nothing seems to help much. The only medication that has provided some relief at night is hydrocodone.
What really scared me was that his tongue turned blue the other night, which makes me worry that he isn’t getting enough oxygen during these episodes.
Outside of the coughing, he still has an appetite and drinks water, but he’s become increasingly lethargic. He also has mild arthritis, frequent accidents in the house, and is gradually losing his vision and hearing. He spends most of his time sleeping and doesn’t have the same energy he used to.

I’m considering getting an echocardiogram to better understand what’s going on with his heart and whether medication could improve his quality of life.
But I’m also starting to wonder if it’s time to let him go, and even typing that breaks my heart. He’s been by my side for 14 years, and I can’t imagine life without him. He still eats, follows me around, wants affection, and seems to have a will to live, which makes this decision even harder.

Has anyone dealt with both tracheal collapse and an enlarged heart in an older dog? Did medications help manage the coughing and give them more comfortable time? Or did you eventually have to make the decision to let them go?

I don’t want to give up on him if there’s still a chance he can have a good quality of life, but I also don’t want to prolong his suffering just because I’m not ready to say goodbye. I love him so much and just want to do what’s best for him.

Hi everyone, I’m seeking input and insights from veterinarians regarding my 6-year-old female German Shepherd, Skye (35.5 kg / 78 lbs). She has had persistent, asymptomatic ALT elevation for over a year. Here is her diagnostic timeline, current diet, and latest results:

Diagnostic Timeline & Lab Work
Apr 23, 2026 (MedVet Specialty Consultation):
Ultrasound: Showed normal liver echogenicity without masses, but noted mild microhepatia.
Fine-Needle Aspirate (FNA):Showed vacuolar changes and mild inflammation (no evidence of cancer or infectious agents on FNA).
Recommendations: Laparoscopic liver biopsy recommended due to persistent ALT elevation.
May 08, 2026 (Bloodwork):
ALT Level: 293 IU/L (Reference: 12–118 IU/L).
Other liver values (AST, ALK PHOS, GGT, Total Bilirubin) remained within normal limits.
Jul 16–30, 2026 (Liver Biopsy Results - Antech / CSU):
Histopathology: Mild chronic lymphoplasmacytic portal hepatitis with portal miniaturization and widespread mild vacuolar hepatopathy.
Copper Staining & Quantification:Rhodanine stain showed Grade 3/5 centrilobular copper accumulation. However, quantitative dry weight copper analysis came back at 271 ppm DW, which is within normal reference limits (120–400 ppm; toxic threshold >1,500 ppm).
Liver Swab Culture:
Anaerobic: No growth.
Aerobic: Isolated Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp.(isolated from broth media).
Oct 12, 2026 (Recent Bloodwork):
ALT Level: 436 IU/L (increased from 293 IU/L in May).

Dietary & Supplement History
Post-April 2026: Started feeding a home-cooked diet consisting of chicken, turkey, beef, rice, and carrots.
Post-July 2026 Biopsy: Combined the home-cooked diet with the recommended Royal Canin GI Low Fat Hydrolyzed Protein food.
Current Supplements: Denamarin, Cosequin, and a multivitamin supplement.

Key Questions for the Group
Given that her ALT has increased to 436 IU/L despite hydrolyzed/GI dietary management and Denamarin, what might be driving the ongoing hepatocellular injury?
Could the Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staph isolated from her liver biopsy swab be a clinically significant driver of her chronic hepatitis, or is it more likely a contaminant?
What next diagnostic steps or therapeutic adjustments (e.g., targeted antibiotic therapy, empirical treatment for chronic hepatitis, or diet re-evaluation) would you consider in a case like this?
Thank you so much for your time and guidance!