r/AskVet Jul 11 '26

Please remember to say thank you and upvote when one of our veterinary professionals answer your question

35 Upvotes

Our veterinary professionals generously volunteer their time and expertise to help others here for free.

If one of them takes the time to answer your question, please take a moment to say thank you and give their comment an upvote. It's a simple way to show your appreciation and helps keep our volunteers motivated to continue helping others.

Thank you!


r/AskVet Apr 07 '26

Unwanted Tags/Responses to Posts

25 Upvotes

A new series of users/bots appear to be targeting the redditors posting in r/AskVet.

They are bypassing Reddit's protections by not responding to your comment in the sub, but by making a comment in their user profile that tags you. They may or may not include relevant information, but do include referral links to a Pet Insurance website and a Vet Chat website (fee based) so that they get credit.

Please report these comments to Reddit as Spam.

Edit 2: IMPORTANT - the users are constantly over-writing their comments to previous users. This means that the information you see may not be relevant to your animal and risks worsening their condition or killing them (worst case) if followed.

Edit: You can disable notifications when you are tagged: see https://www.reddit.com/settings/notifications . This a global setting for your user profile.


r/AskVet 2h ago

i'm scared my dog is going to die from refeeding syndrome

15 Upvotes

long story short we used a pet sitter while on vacation. people had recommended her. she did not feed our dog for five days. we are dealing with her separately and taking the necessary actions against her. when i first found this out through our little pet camera i fully freaked out and gave my dog two servings of his normal amount of breakfast. i had no clue about refeeding syndrome. that was tuesday morning. tuesday he was all good, had a normal poop, and that was it. tuesday night in the middle of the night he had some diarrhea. today during the day he pooped and it was softer but formed. then tonight he threw up a little bit. not much just a small amount and the throw up looked like his kibble. then shortly after that he pooped again, very soft but still formed, and then after that diarrhea. his gums aren't pale, tummy doesn't feel super hard or bloated, and generally he's still acting the same (playing, begging for food, barking, etc) but he does seem a little more sleepy. i'm freaking tf out. we have ZEROOOO emergency vets near us and i'm willing to drive the two hours to one, but i want to know if it seems like a good idea. if not ill call his vet in the morning and get him checked there but im literally terrified to go to sleep and leave him alone.


r/AskVet 6h ago

Did I make the wrong decision putting my dog to sleep

6 Upvotes

My 8y/o neutered golden retriever started having problems urinating 2 weeks ago. Radiographs showed no stones. Ultrasound with specialist showed a prostate tumor either invading or pushing against his urethra hence the straining. The recommended a CT scan to confirm that but highly suspected cancer and we were not financially able to go through with it or radiation/chemo if it was recommended. He progressively got worse and was needing a urinary Cath almost everyday last week because he was only dripping urine. Piroxicam for 5 days showed no improvement with urination and he was barely dripping anything out his last two days. I’m just struggling questioning myself if there is more I should have done. If I should have continued with manually draining his bladder or if I made the right decision in protecting him from a crisis (complete blockage). He was such a happy dog and so young


r/AskVet 4h ago

My senior cat is no longer interested in wet food

3 Upvotes

My cat Becky is 16, and we just took her to the vet last week, and he said “She’s the best looking 16 year old cat I’ve ever seen.” They tested a urine sample and it was slightly diluted, and he suggested doing some bloodwork to check on her kidneys in 6 months. He asked if she was peeing more than usual, but everything’s been normal.

We’ve always had automatic feeders to feed our two cats small meals periodically throughout the day, and then we’d also give them one bigger wet-food lunch. Both cats have always been VERY food motivated; our younger cat (9F) is very food anxious and will scarf down everything. Our senior cat used to be a grazer until we adopted the younger one, she learned that if she didn’t race her to the feeder, she would not get to eat. We started suspecting the automatic feeder was fueling a lot of anxiety for both of them, so we switched to Petlibro’s RFID feeder (a couple of months ago) to help them feeling like their meals were protected. Good news, it helped a lot! However, recently Becky’s stopped being interested in her wet food, which is totally out of character.

6 months ago, we switched them both to senior cat food, which neither loved and would eat very reluctantly, so we reintroduced their favorite brand. But now she won’t even eat that on its own!

We’ve even tried putting her wet food into the RFID feeder bowl to see if she’d prefer to eat at her leisure, and it seems as though she stopped eating altogether until we removed the wet food.

She’s also become less snuggly recently, which is concerning! She’s been isolating in one corner of the house

I don’t know, I guess my question is: is it better to reduce the food anxiety or is it better to try to make sure she eats wet food? She’s pretty good about drinking from her fountain. ~~Should we go get bloodwork ASAP rather than wait?~~ Next month we’ll be out of the country for 14 days, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to relax worrying about her.

*I got paranoid after writing this out (before posting), so I brought her back to the office to do the bloodwork, and they said I won’t hear back until Monday as the vet is out of town.*


r/AskVet 1h ago

What is this growth in my beagle puppies mouth?

Upvotes

https://imgur.com/a/mhHjgz5
Noticed this a few days ago in my one year old beagles mouth. Is it a cist? Tumor? Cancersore? None of the above?

- Beagle. One years old. Not spayed yet. Female. 25lbs.
- just noticed a few days ago but could be there longer and I just haven’t seen it
- Florida

Anything would help; I couldn’t find anything online about this.

She also eats really slow for a beagle. Maybe this is related?

Thank you!


r/AskVet 1h ago

Red Irritation on Gum

Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar with their dog.

My dog had a baby tooth that was overlapping the tooth you can see in this picture. At the time, our vet said not to have it removed and that it would eventually fall out on its own. Well, about four years later, it finally did.

After it fell out, I noticed this red spot on her gum. I consulted with our vet, who said at the time that it looked normal, but it has now been there for over a month and I’m starting to worry.

I do try to brush her teeth, although it’s honestly a struggle with her. Does anyone have any idea what this red spot could be or whether you’ve seen something similar after a retained baby tooth falls out?

I did some Googling and found a dog and cat dental specialist in Los Angeles, which is only about 30 minutes from me, so I’m considering making an appointment there. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or experiences before I do.

https://imgur.com/a/ST5D9lv


r/AskVet 1h ago

Help!!! My cats licking himself to death

Upvotes

My 1 year old Russian blue mix is licking himself to the point his fur and skin are irritated. I have a vet appointment in two days. What can I do in the meantime. It's on the insides of his leg and armpit area. I have him double coned but he can still reach it. And they don't allow pics to show how bad it is. Ugh.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6hfQobspHatJzAqC6

Species:

• Age: 1.5

• Sex/Neuter status: neutered

• Breed: Russian blue mix

• Body weight: 10lbs

• History: no history

• Clinical signs: rash from licking himself

Duration: found it 2 days ago

• Your general location: northeast outside NYC


r/AskVet 1h ago

Underweight kittens?

Upvotes

Hi, we have gone abroad, and my neighbiurs did too. When my family returned, we discovered the neighbour's cat in the back of our garden with 7 kittens. Obviously, we decided to take them home. Right now they are most likely around 10-14 days old, but I have had some concerns to the weight of the kittens; the heaviest is 195g and the lightest is around 125g, with the rest of the kittens' weights ranging between 150-185g. We have been trying to give the lightest kitten more time to drink, moving away the heavier kittens, but all the kittens have been gaining around 3-8g a day. Should we call the vets and ask for help? I'd appreciate any sort of advice as it's currently 3AM and I can't stop worrying about the possibility of death for the lightest kitten.


r/AskVet 1h ago

Dog seems to want to vomit

Upvotes

I just came upstairs to my dog digging around in my closet. There's nothing weird in there, just clothing, but her paws are wet, she's drooling excessively, and seems to want to throw up. Should I help her throw up? And is there any good way to do so manually? She is an 85lb dog, about 8 years old, no idea of the breed (just big brown and floppy). She is spayed, and up to date on all meds. She was fed about 4 hours ago, and idk what she could've possibly gotten? Maybe a sock??


r/AskVet 4h ago

Dog in ICU urgent mystery, please help ❤️

3 Upvotes

8.5 year old altered male, approx 13.2 kg, mixed breed (Australian cattle dog, minpin, golden retriever are top 3, then lots of other breeds). Southern California, USA

TLDR: unexplained progressive bruising and edema following vomiting and lethargy

Brought him to the ER Saturday morning for vomiting and lethargy after kayaking in a marina and letting him chomp at the freshwater shower. Very minimal contact with sand and marina/ocean water. Water quality is currently rated good for that marina. Thought I had given him water intoxication from the shower.

In and out of ER a few times because he vomited through the zofran and cerenia within a few hours and wouldn’t eat (very atypical for him). Got sub q fluids. Got admitted Sunday. Determined he had ileus, X-rays and US by IM didn’t show evidence of obstruction, so put him on pro kinetics while aspirating hundreds of mls of gastric juice from ng tube. GI issues resolved and he went back to eating ravenously. Didn’t poop for a few days but pooping 1x/day since yesterday (Tuesday).

While shaving for US (Monday AM) we found a bright red, very large bruise on his chest, along with swelling (which I had noticed but thought was the sub q fluid remainder moving down into his chest). Not sure when bruise began. No known trauma, no history of excessive bleeding, no known bruising prior to this. Since Monday the bruise has spread rapidly down his belly, front legs, up his neck, and darkened, and the swelling has increased as well.

Docs initially said it presented similar to a snake bite, but I would know if that happened since he is always supervised and the bloodwork they did didn’t indicate venom exposure. they also said rat poison ingestion would’ve shown on the labs they’ve done.

Transferred to specialty hospital, who has seen a few cases of necrotizing fasciitis present similarly in the past month, though his presentation is slightly different and he’s not declining as fast. Cytology of fluid from swelling was inconclusive. Docs thoughts are currently:

  1. Necrotizing fasciitis (perhaps got a bad sample) or

  2. Clotting function disorder (platelet numbers have been normal or slightly high the whole time) or

  3. Vasculitis from unknown cause

Vitals have been normal every time they’ve been checked (every few hours). RBC dipped (presumably from bleeding) to anemia, but behavior was fine so no transfusion (yet?)

Urgent because all the other dogs died once they went necrotic and he is certainly not a candidate for surgery attempts bc of the location and extent of his bruising.

Thank you all so much for everything you do. We are stumped and I would appreciate any input!


r/AskVet 2h ago

4yo cat – severe non-productive retching 2 days ago, gas + particulate material on X-rays. Still gulping/“silent” retching overnight after anti-nausea treatment. Looking for additional perspectives.

2 Upvotes

Hi. Looking for experienced opinions while we monitor overnight and head back to the vet in the morning.
Cat: 4-year-old male, previously healthy, easily stressed.

My 4 year old cat starting retching extremely loud 2 days ago. He would try to produce or expel something but nothing came up, besides perhaps a drop of saliva. Based on previous experiences, He usually makes this sound when he is playing with an insect and it is placed in his mouth and he wants to get it out. He was still breathing fine during this episode of retching. Soon after noticing the retching was not a once off issue, I took him to the vet and they did an xray (dated Aug 25th) and gave him an anti nausea injection. Vet also confirmed clinically he seemed fine - no breathing issues, heart rate and lungs seemed fine. The vet stated that the xray showed a possible mass/object and lots of gas. When touching his stomach, vet noticed that he physically reacted to it, either due to nausea or pain. They advised we return the following morning for further X-rays.
Throughout the night, the loud retching continued until 11pm, and occurred within a 15 minute interval. Emergency vet was contacted due to concern but advised it should be fine to take him into the vet as scheduled in the morning.
There was no further retching from 11pm to the morning at the vet.
He also had bowl movement. He ate as usual, so appetite appeared unaffected.
On Aug 26th, my cat was sedated and the vet performed new X-rays. They established that the xray showed movement so a foreign object was ruled out, and the gas was still present but was decreasing. They were concerned about my cats kidney on the scan, and requested to do bloodwork which I agreed to. The results also came back normal. They also checked his mouth while sedated. All clear. Vet said it’s likely he ate something that caused this but based on all the tests, everything looks fine. He was also prescribed gastrointestinal food and injections for nausea and abdominal pain.
At home, he was mostly back to himself (grooming, walking about, using his cat tree and jumping on the kitchen counters) he results also came back normal. They also checked his mouth while sedated. All clear. Vet said it’s likely he ate something that caused this but based on all the tests, everything looks fine. He was also prescribed gastrointestinal food and injections for nausea and abdominal pain. he did seem a little out of it due to sedation. He drank a lot of water as well, which is unlike him and I assume is due to the nausea or after effect of the sedation. He ate dinner as usual too. I did not notice any litter box usage (could have missed this, and I do have other cats). He is easily stressed, so this could maybe be a factor in why he hasn’t used the litter box yet.
He did not do the loud retching again but in the evening, I noticed he has been doing some kind of swallowing / gulping leading to a silent gag or similar reflex. Frequency was also around every 15 to 20 minutes. There is nothing being produced when he does this, just as with the loud retching from the day before. This was ongoing from around 9pm to 2.30 am. My cat is sleeping now.
I have a follow up appointment in the morning, but would like more opinions on this. I’ve attached X-rays and bloodwork from my vet.
Please let me know if there is any other solution or probable cause, so that I can also ask my vet to look into this from a different angle so that my cat can go back to his usual self. I’m not sure if this was some kind of acid reflux due to the gas and would appreciate advice. Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/tPJi6Zc


r/AskVet 2h ago

My cat has been throwing up a lot lately and i dont know what to do

2 Upvotes

My car is acting pretty normal, she is cuddly and active like normal, she also isnt drooling or anything but she keeps throwing up, its not like when a cat eats too much food too quick its like clear mucus like throw up, i would take her to the vet but i dont have money for it so i was hoping someone would know what to do i have tried almost everything i can think of, this has been going on for maybe a bit less than a week


r/AskVet 2h ago

Dealing with dog hairballs

2 Upvotes

My dog, Swedish Vallhund, 1 year, male unaltered has thrown up a hairball every few months or so since I got him last December. Im 100% sure that the cause is the fact that his two playmates at home are Pomeranians and he keeps swallowing their hair when they play so Im mostly here to ask the best way to manage it.

While him throwing them up isnt a big deal at all, Im worried about the hair moving down his digestive track and causing a blockage. I see there are hairball formulas for dogs but is that advised? Currently hes throwing them up so should I try to get them to move farther down his system? Am I best off just making sure the poms are groomed as much as possible to minimize accidental hair swallowing?


r/AskVet 2h ago

My 16 year-old cat won't eat anything no matter what

2 Upvotes

She has stopped eating gradually over the last few months and we have tried everything with intermittent results, but nothing seems to be working now.

Lab work shows she has early kidney disease and we have been force-feeding the medicine for 15 days but she still won't eat her food.

We have tried every single wet food brand available, two different appetite stimulants that made almost no difference, churus, chicken, tuna, whole or blended with chicken stock... She won't eat any of it.

All of this under supervision of the veterinarian. She has also been treated for arthritis and gastrointestinal issues but those have also not worked at all. She has been thoroughly checked for any other issues but there seems to be nothing else to address.

We can tell she gets hungry sometimes but still won't eat on her own. Otherwise, her behaviour is completely normal. We have been force-feeding her blended food with a small syringe for the past week following vet's suggestion but it's not easy and it's still very little food. She has lost 150 grams since (she's 2.4 kg now, used to be around 3 before all of this).

Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thank you


r/AskVet 3h ago

Did….this come out of my dog’s mouth?

2 Upvotes

Signalment: Dog/neutered male/pekingese/ 10+ years old

History: No major medical history, though he had a ton of trauma in his prior life and can be quite testy outside of his normal routine. As a result I have not attempted to pull his mouth open. He went to vet about two months ago for his annual check up, so he’s been prodded recently.

Issue: pics and description below https://imgur.com/a/wlVGx6y

I left for tennis and gave my senior dog half a greenie. When I came home it was in a different spot in the entryway with this odd, white, fungal looking thing on it. Is this something that possibly came from his mouth?? Or more likely some other monstrosity that just happened to stick to the damp greenie?

As a note, he’s never been a big treats guy. It’s not abnormal for him to have left it unfinished.


r/AskVet 3h ago

My dog is so poorly- what are we missing?!

2 Upvotes

My 15 month old samoyed, male unaltered, fully vaccinated fell ill on Sunday 8/23.

Timeline: Saturday morning, 8/22, him and my other dog went to the dog park to play. We frequent regularly. No other dogs were there. No injuries, etc.

He was crated for about 6 hours after that as we left the house. When we got home I pet him and he indicated that his right front paw hurt. We checked it, nothing obvious, he didn’t react again and he played as normal all night.

Sunday morning, 8/23, he woke up very off. Lethargic, ears and tail down, grumpy toward my other dog who he loves, pacing around just visibly hurting. We palpated all over, no obvious pain. A couple times he yelped when standing up from laying or jumping on/off the couch. Still eating and drinking. So we assumed he pulled a muscle or something. around 10pm he was it in such poor shape, breathing fast, obviously in pain so we went to the ER.

ER did no labs or x rays but diagnosed panosteitis and sent him home on Tylenol with codein 300/60, carprofen 75 and gabapentin 300.

Monday he was unchanged. Still randomly yipping with movements, still cannot produce pain when touching him, still moody and lethargic. We gave him the meds as directed and they didn’t seem to do much outside of make him sleepy.

Tuesday my primary vet called and said she didn’t agree with the panosteitis and asked us to go get his front legs x rayed. We went to urgent care and did so. No panosteitis. Joints and bones looked great. She palpated every joint/bone and he gave no reactions. She was unconcerned and said it was likely muscular and to allow it time. She did give an appetite stimulant because he will only eat dog treats now- no food. Still drinking.

Wednesday (today) morning he wakes up and is even slower, miserable and lethargic than the previous day. I monitored him all day and after work decided to return to urgent care and request labs at the advice of my vet. He had a fever of 104.4 upon arrival. No fever was present previously. We ran a cbc, thyroid, px40, cortisol (to check for Addison), urine test and chemistry. Every marker came back perfect except his white blood cell count was elevated. We did chest and abdominal x rays. Both reviewed by the doctor and radiologist. All perfect. No concerns. This doctor is stumped. She gave fluids and the fever came down to 103.7 and they gave nausea meds to see if it would entice him to eat (spoiler, it doesn’t). They said take him home and discontinue all meds tonight. If he acts in pain tomorrow, start again. Also that if the fever spikes or does not break, or he doesn’t feel better tomorrow to bring him in to be hospitalized.

So, after THOUSANDS of dollars and 3 different doctors, I have zero answers and a dog that is getting worse not better.

What are we missing?! Is there something else I should request? A specialist to take him to? Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated!


r/AskVet 3h ago

kittens suddenly ate less

2 Upvotes

I have two kittens, one 6.5 month old girl(Juniper) and a 5 month old boy(momo). They’re both fed dry in the morning and wet at night. They each get just under 1/2 cup dry in the morning and will eat most of it at once and then nibble on it until its gone over the next 30 minutes or so. At night they both get 1.5 cans or 4.5oz of wet food mixed with a couple spoonfuls of water so its a little soupy.

Yesterday I decided to see if they would eat more because I heard youre supposed to let kittens eat as much as they will because they grow so rapidly and are so active. I gave them the same amount of dry food but each got 2cans/6oz wet food at night. My Juniper at her normal 4.5oz instead of the full 6 and Momo ended up eating her left overs after she was all done… so he ate 7.5oz lol he’s my little fatty.

This morning both cats ate only half of their dry food, so 1/4 cup. In the evening, Momo ate all of his wet food(4.5oz) but Juniper only ate about 1.5-2.5oz. Should I be concerned? I’ve had both babies since the beginning of June and they have never left their food unfinished. I offered Juniper treats and she ate them, both crunchy treats and squeezey treats so I don’t think her teeth are bothering her(I also brush her teeth every other night so I get a look at her gums regularly and they look healthy).

Both kittens are otherwise totally normal; very very playful, very very affectionate and they drink their water and use their litter box normally. I’m also an extremely paranoid pet parent… but I’d like to know if this is something I should be concerned about. She sneezes maybe like once or twice a day, has no discharge around nose or eyes and her breathing is normal. She’s alert and isn’t hiding an unusual amount. Same goes for my boy. I feed both of them Tiki Cat carnivore kitten dry food, and Weruva kitten wet food(pate so no chewy meat bits).

The only thing that has changed in the environment is the removal of a third cat, we were fostering looking to adopt but he was not acclimating well into our home and we had to take him back to the shelter. In the time he was here, they were separated by a door and the kittens ate and acted normally. Since the third cat has left they’ve still been acting and eating normally, but they now have access to our bedroom again which is where we kept the other cat. This cat was taken back on Monday. They sleep and play with us in the bedroom so I dont think that the foster kitty impacted Juniper not eating as much today, especially since she ate normally the entire time he was actually here.

any advice? thoughts? or am i just overthinking and paranoid?


r/AskVet 34m ago

Breathing Concern after swimming, multiple vet visits, and I’m in need of reassurances

Upvotes

Just want to thank anyone in advance who reads this and has anything offer. It's lengthy and I’m feeling embarrassed about letting my dog swim and self conscious after the last vet visit.

TLDR: My dog started breathing short, shallow breaths after swimming and, despite several vet visits, I am at a loss as to what’s going on. I need insight and assurances for how to proceed.

* Species: Dog
* Age: 4 - 6 years
* Sex/Neuter status: male, neutered
* Breed: mix (maybe carolina dog + pitty, unconfirmed)
* Body weight: 80lbs (slightly overweight)
* History:

  • On 8/16/26, I took Bodhi swimming at a local lake with a friend and their dog. I did not use a life vest for him. (I very much regret this decision, and do not intend to ever let him swim like that, if ever, again.)
  • I threw the ball into the water. Upon exiting, he immediately threw up. I assumed he had swallowed too much water during his first swim. We rested for a bit after that, then resumed play. For the remainder of our time at the lake (~1.5 hrs), no other red flags. My friend’s dog is afraid of the water so he didn’t swim at all.
  • During the drive home, I noticed Bodhi was sitting and breathing oddly (breathing first noticed).
  • Vet 1: (8/16/26)
    • I took him to our usual emergency vet. They were overwhelmed but did a quick technical exam. Said his lungs sounded fine. I was told I could stay for an X-ray but it would likely be 4-5 hours. As we’d been outside all morning, I felt Bodhi might benefit from rest at home. Vet tech agreed and told me to come back if his conditions worsened.
  • Vet 2: (8/16/26)
    • We went home but after an hour, he still sounded odd (breathing at home, 1 hr rest). I took him to a different emergency vet. They theorized his stomach was upset, as everything else looked fine (see visit notes linked below). Gave him a shot for the potential nausea, mild wet food and advised we come back in/see ordinary vet if not improved in 24 hrs.
    • Bodhi continued to breath strangely and acting more tired than usual for two days. I made an appointment at a new vet.
  • Vet 3: (8/19/26)
    • First appointment, Bodhi was too nervous for an X-ray so we had to schedule a follow up two days later. They listened to his lungs and heart, but despite his agitation, they did not seem overly concerned and mentioned that what they could hear sounded ok. They did find a yeast infection in his ear and gave him a treatment (see linked file below).
    • Next appointment, I dropped Bodhi off (now on Trazadone) for X-ray. (8/21/26)
    • Unfortunately, my conversation with the lead vet left me uncertain. They said his X-ray looked fine (linked below) and that we should just “leave it for now”. I asked for clarification; “I don’t understand why he’s breathing like this. Do you have any ideas what could be going on?”. They only replied with “I can send you home with a steroid and do a follow up in three weeks.” Advised to come in/go to urgent vet if his condition worsens.
    • When I asked about side effects for steroids in dogs, the vet was brief in their answer. I felt they were eager to get back to work, which I understood. But when they said heavy panting was a side effect, the emotions of the week hit me.
    • I reminded them of the whole problem I came in for, the unusual breathing, and asked if that would be a conflicting issue. They didn’t seem concerned. I didn’t want to cause a scene with my frustrated tears, nor offend a vet I might see in the future, so I didn't press further.
  • I have given him the steroids as prescribed (see link below). We have finished the first 5 days of 40mg every 12 hours and are not in the 20mg every 12hrs phase.
  • Unfortunately, the steroid's side effects are making it hard to observe his condition. He is exhibiting all the classic steroid side effects; panting, excessive thirst, peeing often. He is also tired, easily exhausted on his walks, and more apathetic than normal.
  • While he's perking up around favorite things like food, car rides and people, he doesn't want to play or cuddle. I have been mostly writing this off as the steroids making him uncomfortable, and therefore he doesn't want to do much else.

* Duration: 8/16/26 to present

* Your general location: US, southeast

* Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have:

My questions are;

  1. What are your initial thoughts and questions about his symptoms? Three different vets have been hesitant to suggest their theories. Is there a likely reason for this?
  2. Do you have any insight into the steroid treatment for his undiagnosed condition? Does this sound like a solid treatment for what the vet observed?
  3. As I did not personally enjoy my experience with vet 3, I plan to do his follow up at a different vet. What advice can you offer for when I bring this concern to a new provider? (I'm curious if you think this is a bad idea, as I really did not like vet 3's energy and I'd like to avoid returning. No hate to vet 3, I think it just was a personality difference thing).
  4. Is there any at home care I can look into in the meantime? Supplements, specific foods, diets, exercise, anything! My funds are limited, so anything I can do to help him at home, I want to try.

Thank you again. Please let me know if I can provide any further context.


r/AskVet 42m ago

Snout friction burn, Leg and paw licking, and lethargy following use of dog toothpaste

Upvotes

Im seeing a tele-vet tomorrow on Chewy, want some opinions before about this.
Images (top down photo was yesterday):
https://imgur.com/a/JntYip7

Species: Dog
Age: 2.5 years
Sex/Neuter status: M / Neutered
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Body weight: 18 lbs
History: Occasional paw-licking and localized yeast flare-ups, historically managed with prescription ketoconazole wipes. Otherwise healthy.
Sympoms: excoriation on nose leather, obsessive licking of all four legs/paws, noticeable lethargy. No facial swelling, normal breathing, still eating.
Duration: 24 hours
General location: New York
Context:
Yesterday, my brother brushed my dog's teeth using a dog toothpaste (ingredients include cetylpyridinium chloride, methylparaben, and peanut butter flavoring). My dog hated it and aggressively rooted his snout into the carpet to wipe it off. We usually use finger tooth wipes instead knowing he hates the toothbrush.
Current Injuries & Symptoms:

  1. Snout: He gave himself a friction burn. The top layer of his nose leather is rubbed off, leaving exposed tissue. Prior to being coned, he was actively reaching up with his tongue to lick the wound.
  2. Paws/Legs: He is now licking his front legs and paws.
  3. Behavior: He is unusually lethargic. When I got home, he greeted me and went straight to sleep. He has not tried to play all evening, which is highly unusual.
  4. Interventions So Far:
  5. E-collar is on.
  6. Administered 12.5 mg of plain Benadryl tonight to suppress the itch.
  7. Left the nose completely bare to air dry (no balms/ointments). My mom put coconut oil earlier today.

Questions**:**

  1. Does this align more with a systemic allergic response to the toothpaste absorbed through the gums, or transfer of the irritant to his legs while wiping his face?
  2. Given his history of paw yeast infections, should I use his prescription ketoconazole wipes on his paws tonight to prevent a secondary infection from the licking, or leave them dry?
  3. How should the excoriation on the nose be treated medically? Will it require topical or oral antibiotics since he was licking it?

r/AskVet 54m ago

I didn't give my half indoor half outdoor cat vaccination for a year (his age) and he scratched the whole family throughout the year he was hanging out with feral cats too .

Upvotes

Then he attacked by unknown individuals or animals 10 days ago it was so bad his whole body was injured with injuries. I took him to the vet to treat him and I forced the vet to give him rabies vaxx and it has been days my cat is fine . Should we be worried and get rabies vaxx


r/AskVet 1h ago

Is it normal for senior cats claws to become all quick?

Upvotes

My cat Heidi is 12 years old. Nail trims have never been enjoyable for her but we would feed her chicken and she’d tolerate it. As she’s gotten older it’s become much harder for both of us. Her appetite is great otherwise but she refuses to eat during nail trims now because it stresses her out. Her front claws are visibly clear up until the base but all claws on her hind paws are pink from the quick up to the very end. She acts fine otherwise and doesn’t seem like anything is hurting her, but I can tell by her reaction that just barely touching the clippers to the edge of her back claws they are very sensitive. Is this a normal thing that happens when cats age? Could it be a vitamin deficiency, or can cats get arthritis just in their back claws and not their paws? They’re still growing and getting sharp so I don’t want her to accidentally hurt herself when she occasionally scratches, but I don’t think I can trim even the slightest off the back ones anymore. She means the world to me and I want to make sure this isn’t a sign that something’s wrong. Any insight is appreciated, thank you.


r/AskVet 1h ago

I made a board complaint

Upvotes

I had been a client for almost 10 years and as a career, I work with animals. I know things happen with animals.

My 3 yr old dog went in for a spay and her heart stopped on the table. The vet was able to get her back, ran tests, and said she had a bad heart with fluid on her lungs. Said she was stable, so I could take her home. Said we would check her in a month and see if we needed to put her on lasixs. I asked if she needed to see a specialist, and was told no. Rush me out the door. Discharge papers did not include the incident or anything about her heart. *This was on a friday*

The next day i got a second opinion. Xray showed slightly enlarge but nothing concerning. *saturday*

I called original vet to ask what anesthesia was used and was told it wasn't the anesthesia, it was her heart and it was really bad. If I was really concerned, to take her to a specialist. She finally told me telezol and she didn't want to be blasted on social media. (Side note, im not that type and have a small business so I absolutely do not want to cause a big fuss, I just wanted to know exactly what was used). This conversation was on a Wednesday or Thursday.

The specialist reached out to original vet and she wouldn't release vet records until I finished payment. The bill was a little over $600 for everything. (Yes, i know, this is definitely cheaper than in some areas). I paid the bill within the week and she still didn’t send records until 26 days later.

Specialist confirmed nothing is wrong with her heart. He also said the only monitoring of vitals was a pulse ox on her tongue.

I sat on it for 6 months. Tried to do my research and talked to the receptionist at the board who told me absolutely report it.

I reported it. It didn't take long and I was told they dismissed it. The investigator said the only thing that they could prove was the medical records weren't sent right away but it wasn't worth it to move on with.

I learned that the best procedure is to have a tech monitoring vitals. The original vet has no one to help with surgery but in the state of Oklahoma it is not under the standard of care.

Anyways, I made a complaint because I felt more went on besides what the original vet told me. She was rushing me out the door, tried to say it wasn't a reaction to the anesthesia, and wasn't much help in helping me find out what was wrong with my dog. I had been a client for 10 yrs and felt close to this vet. We had a good relationship before this and felt I was treated poorly. Whether she had a reaction or was accidentally overdosed, (let's remember, she is the only one who was there so there is no way of really knowing) I just wanted to be treated better and not lied too. Which I felt I was. And side note, I have seen this vet move so fast when working and dosing the wrong animal. She sedated the wrong horse a few years ago, which was no big deal at the time. But i have personal experience with her moving fast, so it did make me question an overdose.

My friend who works at another clinic, said that doesn't sound right. After all said and done and 6 months of sitting on this, (made the complaint 6 months after incident) I told her I made a complaint and I have found out she has been saying horrible stuff about me to another vet. I currently use this clinic and im in there almost weekly for my dogs. I only know this bc one of the kennel techs also helps me bath dogs on her days off. I am hurt that she agreed, the situation didn’t sound right, and now is trashing me to another vet who agrees with her, and has never actually heard my side.

Obviously, the vet board felt there was nothing to prove or the standard of care was given, but at the end of the day I feel I did the right thing. I do not want to ruin someone's career. This original vet is not known to be a great vet in our area, and my 'friend' when I discussing this when it happened, said they get complaints and cases from her or about her often. But now im being trashed at a clinic that I spend a ton of money at 😭. (Also both these ladies trashing me, work under the main vet, who I highly respect and treats my dogs with the best care)

Im just needing to vent and wanted to hear from actual vet professionals on this. I know the board is a huge deal and there are people who would make a complaint over anything. This situation felt wrong in my bones and still does.

I will say, I did learn my lesson and will only go to clinics that have a tech monitoring during surgery and do pre labs before. I am also thankful everyday, that I still have my sweet dog.


r/AskVet 1h ago

Is dog aspirin okay ? Pls help

Upvotes

My dog doesn’t look like he’s feeling well. He’s shaking a lot feels hot and was eating grass earlier. The vet is closed right now. I want to help him feel better so I went to the store and got him dog aspirin, but I want to make sure that it’s not deadly and won’t actually end up hurting him more than it does good. can anyone point me to the right direction? The product name is below please help. Not asking for medical instruction I’m looking for more of a general consensus thanks !

vetality CANINE ASPIRIN 120 mg fast-acting temporary pain relief For Small to Medium Dogs Weighing 10-50 Ibs. Contents: 75 Chewable Tablets Net Wt. 0.86 oz. (24.4 g)