Ask the Veterinarian!

[Obliviously Obvious]

Xana44

~Ichigo_Pie~

unfortunately, my parents said no more indoor pets for me and they kicked my dog outside until winter because of the flea outbreak we had - which is under control now thank goodness

I have a wand toy, but its really worn out... I'll go buy her another one... I also have a few bell balls for her... are there any other cheap toys that are good for her to play with?

Take a toilet paper roller. put a few kibbles of food (or treats) in it (or half her day's food). punch a few holes in it with pencil. Seal the ends with wax paper and tape. She can either play with it until the food falls out the holes or she can destroy it to get the food out.

Laser pointers are great. Flashlight in a pinch.

Piece of paper on the end of a string (only supervised).

Put herbs or catnip in a paper bag. Seal it with tape. Let her destroy it.

These things just let her get the aggression out on them rather than you.

I would have never thought of some of those O.o;; thank you so much >w<

you saved my hands a great deal of torture <333

[Sweetpea The Tigress]

Hi Xana.
A little while ago, I asked what to do with my skittish kitty that was barely eating. The kitty is eating much, much more. I now put her and her food in my big carrying case and close the door, and she stuffs herself. She's gaining weight already, and has started to play with the other cats. mrgreen Thanks so much for the advice. I'm going to get her fixed as soon as I can no longer feel her bones.

(Edit: My sister and her boyfriend are idiots!)

[Xana44]

Sweetpea The Tigress

Hi Xana.
A little while ago, I asked what to do with my skittish kitty that was barely eating. The kitty is eating much, much more. I now put her and her food in my big carrying case and close the door, and she stuffs herself. She's gaining weight already, and has started to play with the other cats. mrgreen Thanks so much for the advice. I'm going to get her fixed as soon as I can no longer feel her bones.

(Edit: My sister and her boyfriend are idiots!)

Yea! I am so happy that your kitty is doing better!!!! biggrin

I hate to say it, but it is amazing how many people function on so little brains.

[Sneakerologist]

my male cat sucks my other male cats genitals
hes just a kitten, and still is, and hes been doing it since birth....

[Xana44]

mskittlez

my male cat sucks my other male cats genitals
hes just a kitten, and still is, and hes been doing it since birth....

Believe it or not, this is a common problem with kittens.

We need to get this to stop, because if it continues, it can permanently damage the receiver's genitals (particularly the prepuce). I would recommend getting something like bitter apple on his bits for a few days to try to break the first kitten's habit. If the bitter apple does not work, ask a vet for some atropine ointment (it is an eye ointment that tastes really bad) and use that instead.

If All Else Fails, you will just have to separate them.

[Xana44]

In a strange coincidence, I have done a couple of big bad mass removals recently.

So I just thought I would remind everyone that many problems are best and easiest taken care of earlier rather than later. This is one of the reasons that yearly exams and routine blood testing are important parts of your pet's health care plan. The earlier a problem is diagnosed and treated, the easier the treatment will be on both the owner and pet.

I hope the lack of activity on this thread is a good sign that everyone's pets are doing well.

[Lovable_Sinner]

Actually Xana, I have a question (or three)!

My housemates and I adopted a greyhound about 6 weeks ago, she was spayed around then, but her wound is still all lumpy. It doesn't seem to be the regular scar tissue lumpiness, but instead feels like a series of small, sharp lumps. To us (four vet students and all our mates!) it almost feels as though the abdominal wall and/or sub cut stitches haven't been reabsorbed... But... the only way that could have happened would be if they used the wrong suture material, right? If that IS the case... can we just leave it? Or will she need to be opened up again? It doesn't seem to be irritating her at all and it's not painful to touch (poor thing, we've been poking her belly every night for weeks!).

[Xana44]

Lovable_Sinner

Actually Xana, I have a question (or three)!

My housemates and I adopted a greyhound about 6 weeks ago, she was spayed around then, but her wound is still all lumpy. It doesn't seem to be the regular scar tissue lumpiness, but instead feels like a series of small, sharp lumps. To us (four vet students and all our mates!) it almost feels as though the abdominal wall and/or sub cut stitches haven't been reabsorbed... But... the only way that could have happened would be if they used the wrong suture material, right? If that IS the case... can we just leave it? Or will she need to be opened up again? It doesn't seem to be irritating her at all and it's not painful to touch (poor thing, we've been poking her belly every night for weeks!).

The body can heal sutures one of three ways (or some combination there of):

1: dissolving the sutures if they are a type that dissolves. For years many vets used non-absorbable sutures in the body wall, so that is ok. One vet I worked with liked to use steel in the body wall, but these days usually an absorbable suture is used. Dissolving suture can take weeks to months, depending on the type of suture and how "actively" the body is working on it.

2: wall off the suture. The body can just wrap the suture in connective tissue and "forget" about it. It sounds like this is what is happening in your dog. This is common, but because greyhounds have so little fat and thin skin, it is more noticeable in her. So the upshot of your question is: yes, it is suture and this is normal, But for the rest of the lecture...

3: push it out. The body can also deal with a foreign body, like suture, by pushing it out of the skin, like a splinter, and healing behind it. This is fairly rare, but I have seen it happen more than once.

I would not recommend doing anything about the suture unless it starts to bother the dog. Or it starts to bother you too much. But if she were mine, I would not put her under for that.

Congrats on your new pet!

[Lovable_Sinner]

Phew! That's a relief, thanks Xana! I removed a lot of stitches when I was nursing, but I had never seen anything like this one before, you've put my mind at ease!

[Obliviously Obvious]

I has a quick and simple question...

We have used ivermectin before to treat our dog's demodectic mange. the directions we have say to inject it just under the skin... well we were looking online and some people sprinkle the ivermectin on their dog's food and let them ingest it instead of injecting it, however, all the people I've heard of doing this were doing it for treatment/prevention of heart worms... my boyfriend wanted me to ask you if it was safe to let ehr ingest it instead of injecting it... mostly because she's a big bigger and heavier now than the last time we had to treat her and she doesnt take our shots well... he's afraid she'll jerk up on him or something...

if she shouldn't ingest it (which is what I'm thinking) what is the best way to go about giving her the shot without worrying about her jumping up?

[Xana44]

~Ichigo_Pie~

I has a quick and simple question...

We have used ivermectin before to treat our dog's demodectic mange. the directions we have say to inject it just under the skin... well we were looking online and some people sprinkle the ivermectin on their dog's food and let them ingest it instead of injecting it, however, all the people I've heard of doing this were doing it for treatment/prevention of heart worms... my boyfriend wanted me to ask you if it was safe to let ehr ingest it instead of injecting it... mostly because she's a big bigger and heavier now than the last time we had to treat her and she doesnt take our shots well... he's afraid she'll jerk up on him or something...

if she shouldn't ingest it (which is what I'm thinking) what is the best way to go about giving her the shot without worrying about her jumping up?

I have usually injected the ivermectin when treating sarcoptic mange, although I have given it orally for other things and in other species. But I am not sure about Demodex, :checks books: The drug texts say it can be given orally for Demodex. I may have done that several years ago, come to think of it.

So I guess I would give it orally in that case. It will be ok.

[Obliviously Obvious]

Xana44

~Ichigo_Pie~

I has a quick and simple question...

We have used ivermectin before to treat our dog's demodectic mange. the directions we have say to inject it just under the skin... well we were looking online and some people sprinkle the ivermectin on their dog's food and let them ingest it instead of injecting it, however, all the people I've heard of doing this were doing it for treatment/prevention of heart worms... my boyfriend wanted me to ask you if it was safe to let ehr ingest it instead of injecting it... mostly because she's a big bigger and heavier now than the last time we had to treat her and she doesnt take our shots well... he's afraid she'll jerk up on him or something...

if she shouldn't ingest it (which is what I'm thinking) what is the best way to go about giving her the shot without worrying about her jumping up?

I have usually injected the ivermectin when treating sarcoptic mange, although I have given it orally for other things and in other species. But I am not sure about Demodex, :checks books: The drug texts say it can be given orally for Demodex. I may have done that several years ago, come to think of it.

So I guess I would give it orally in that case. It will be ok.

n.n thank you so much~!

[tulin13]

It's about time I stop lurking and post something sweatdrop
Hi! ^^'
I'm still here to lend a hand if anyone has a fishy question >w<!

Right now, I've been down to one fish. I had originally four fish, but three died 6 years old, which is quite good for goldfish. It was strange when my fish were getting old. I don't think the general human population know how attached and emotional fish can be.

My fish 'Pat' was very close to 'Fat'. When he was becoming ill, they would always sleep together. When Fat died, and she was on her own, she wouldn't eat for days. I thought she was going to die too.

Luckily she started eating again.

But it's amazing in a way, that fish have emotions too.

----- <>< ------

I am very weary of this becoming a spam/bump post,but erm... sorry;; sweatdrop I thought I should let you know I'm here.

[Xana44]

tulin13

It's about time I stop lurking and post something sweatdrop
Hi! ^^'
I'm still here to lend a hand if anyone has a fishy question >w<!


But it's amazing in a way, that fish have emotions too.

----- <>< ------

I am very weary of this becoming a spam/bump post,but erm... sorry;; sweatdrop I thought I should let you know I'm here.

Thanks for all the help with the fish questions.

I believe that animals have emotions. Definitely, they are just not able to express them the way that we do.

[AngryRobotsInc.]

We have a mentally disabled cat (from almost drowning as a kitten before we owned him), recently turned 6 years old. He's always been very affectionate with my fiance, but not really with anyone else. Within the past week or so, he's suddenly gotten really affectionate with anyone and everyone, more so than he ever was with just my fiance. The minute you sit down, he's up in your face, pretty much. He's also been drooling more often than usual. He did before, as he often sits with his tongue hanging out, but this is much more than I can remember since he was a small kitten.

Anyway, he's otherwise sleeping and eating normally, and is still relatively playful for an older cat, with our other younger male (2 years old) cat. Could his behavior mean something's up? Our other cat has been acting weird too, but he's just trying to get outside all the time (the both of them are fixed, so I don't think it's that), so I'm wondering if it's just something in the air recently, so to speak.