Recent Content by Joxer

I have three water bowls available to her, each in a different room, changed daily with fresh water from a Brita pitcher (same as I drink). Maybe a fountain is worth a try. I've never had a cat before who would not drink water on her own. I add a lot of water to her food. Initially she hated...

Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I appreciate the time you put into that. The organic pumpkin should be here tomorrow (I had to order it online if I wanted it to be organic, as that wasn't sold locally). It sounds like lactulose might be worth a try if pumpkin doesn't do the trick...

No, just chicken. I've read that high levels of iodine in fish can contribute to feline hyperthyroidism. I'm hoping that Lindsey will be my first cat not to develop that condition. As for duck, beef, etc, it's just a question of finding a food that she will eat, that is relatively low in...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to start with the organic pumpkin puree that I ordered last night and see if that works. From what I've read, it should at least be safe for Lindsey. If it doesn't work, I'll probably try one of the supplements.

You've been very helpful before, responding to several of my other threads. You may recall from one of them that my go-to vet clinic of 17 years botched what should have been a routine wound cleaning for my other cat, Casper. When I expressed concern about his apparent neurological damage --...

My eight year old Maine coon, Lindsey, has had episodes of constipation -- repeated litter box visits, little pieces of poop left outside the litter box, and more rarely straining to poop so much that she vomits -- for most of her life. She will not drink water from a bowl, so I add it to her...

I have a choice of vets, though I plan to keep going to the same practice for regular (non-emergency) care since Casper's regular vet is very good. For emergency care, there are very limited options. I'm basically left with one, which is more expensive, with longer wait times, and of course...

I finally got a call back from the medical director of the practice (it took her a month). She literally called back just to tell me that I was no longer welcome to take Casper there for emergency care. I didn't even dispute the bill; just complained about their quality of care, which was...

A couple days ago, Lindsey's bump exuded some more white paste, followed by some brown fluid (neither of which had any odor), then disappeared. Now she looks completely normal. I think an anal gland issue was probably the cause, but it appears to have resolved on its own.

My vet (to whom I sent the photo) never got back to me. Lindsey's bump ruptured last night and released some whitish paste, after which which it looked like a very small cut (about the size of a paper cut). There was no blood, and she didn't seem bothered by it. Today, there's some more...

I sent the photo to my regular vet (who has actually never seen Lindsey before, because Lindsey doesn't go outside and has not had any significant health problems in many years). I was thinking the bump had something to do with her anal glands, but now as I understand the anatomy more, that...

My cat Lindsey, an eight year old Maine Coon with no known health conditions, has developed a small pale bump at roughly the 3 o' clock position just right of her anus. She's a happy, confident cat whose tail is often sticking straight up, so I'm aware of how her backside usually looks and this...

I obtained Casper's medical records today. The "sedation" protocol (for a 4 kg 16 yr old cat with stage 2 CKD) was this: Methadone - .8 mg Midazolam - .4 mg Alfaxalone - 4 mg Maropitant - 4 mg Maropitant was for nausea, and Casper has received that before without issues. My understanding is...

"The veterinarian should have made you aware that doing a local of lidocaine on a cat is not an option. Cats have a very low threshold for lidocaine and the amount needed to block the pain would cause potentially life threatening side effects such as tremors, seizure activity cardiac and...

"Alfaxalone is an anesthetic agent that has the advantage of being able to be given IM. Midazolam is commonly used in conjunction with anesthetic agents. Midazolam has the advantage that it causes short term amnesia. So, if the cat has a bad experience, they won’t remember. Methadone is used for...