The Litter Box - 2014-09-09

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2:20 AM

Hm...

My snake seems to be hurting from whatevr he has

8 hours later…

10:46 AM

0

Q: My Cat is missing hair on her neck

I've just discovered that my cat has a huge patch of missing hair on her neck. Is this something serious? http://postimg.org/image/o3ycefnrj/ http://postimg.org/image/3l3g9d9u7/

cats skin-condition veterinarian

7 hours later…

5:55 PM

user image

Going through old photos of my cats, it's hard to think about how tiny the one used to be.

user image

user15026

@MattS. Yeah, I found pictures of mine when he was really little and was like "man you were so small!"

user15026

Those are super cute pictures :)

6:46 PM

@AshleyNunn Thank you :)

Your cat looks like it has half of a handlebar moustache :D

user15026

I never really thought about it, but he totally does :)

35

Q: How do I get my cat to wear a tuxedo for several hours?

My cat is quite dapper and handsome, so when we sit down for a candlelight dinner, he should have the proper attire. Therefore, I would like for my cat to wear a tuxedo. What is the best way to get my cat to wear a cat-sized tuxedo or tuxedo costume? I plan for him to be dressed this way for...

Except just half of one. The fancy half. :p

7:08 PM

Is anyone here, this moment?

I need help

My medium-ish sized dog just got all stiff, lay down on the ground, and did a kind of running-like thing for about a minute. Foaming at the mouth, sounded like choking.

Can't be choaking, I can hear air, etc.

Chest moving normally, but breathing kinda heavy

Acting fairly normal now

Wouldn't drink water.

What am I supposed to do?

@Undo sounds like maybe a seizure?

That's what I thought right away.

I would call your vet and see if they can see you today

Dangit. Was hoping to avoid the vet.

user15026

Yeah, that sounds a lot like the seizures my mom's cat has, but on a bigger dog scale

7:15 PM

Is that blanket advice or is there real reasons to it?

user15026

I would go to the vet asap

and if your normal vet isn't available, consider an emergency vet.

Not possible for me to get to a vet within a few hours.

user15026

@Undo I would go as soon as you possibly can.

sometimes these things can be caused by blood clots in the brain, and the sooner your dog is treated, the better the outcome will be

I really really encourage you to see a vet TODAY

user15026

7:17 PM

Yeah, they can be blood clots, or other very serious things. (My mom's cat turned out to be epileptic, but it could be a tumor or a clot or something else very serious)

I'll try my best. I can probably do it today, but not with much degree of urgency.

@AshleyNunn any way to tell the difference?

user15026

This isn't something that you want to wait a large deal of time on.

user15026

@Undo Short of vet tests, no

Crap

user15026

And for any of those things, they need help from a vet

7:17 PM

I can do three to four hours, that's the limit.

Because family logistics.

user15026

Fair enough, but I would go as soon as you are able.

Any symptoms to watch for post-thing?

She's acting normal now.

In the meantime, I'd keep the dog in a low stimuli environment.

@MattS. good idea

Low-lit room, little or no sounds.

7:19 PM

She's lying down, sleeping like normal.

if it happens again, a video from your phone may help the vet diagnose the problem

K

Is food/water a good idea?

Petting?

lots of people I know with neurological problems get tired after seizures/episodes

I don't know about water, but food gets in the way of tests.

I would guess if she is looking for attention, don't withhold it, but if she's sleeping just let her sleep

7:21 PM

K, I'm gonna try to get things straightened out schedule-wise

yeah, no food, I would offer water

Keep advice coming.

I know some blood tests, and some cat-scans, require fasting for so long before doing it, so it might save having to make a trip back if you wait until after the vet to offer food.

user15026

I would avoid food, stay near her if she seems to want it (I know after seizures my mom's cat wants people and likes to be petted gently and reassured), let her sleep if she wants, keep an eye on her breathing and stuff

If it's a seizure, wouldn't there be noticeable effects?

(I know nothing about dog health :P)

7:23 PM

effects like what?

I dunno, stumbling around, general weirdness?

depends on the cause and seiverity

vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/…

She's demonstrated she can jump fine :P

If she wants to go outside and chase a squirrel, do I let her?

no, keep her inside and draw the curtains so she doesn't see the squirrel

7:27 PM

Kk

@Undo I wouldn't in case the seizure was a response to something.

She's only 3, if that helps anything.

So just let her rest, close windows, etc.

yeah

someone I know on twitter has a dog who seizes whenever he goes somewhere new in a car (walking new places is fine) so the triggers can be really weird and you want to avoid them as much as possible

And if it happens again, take a video of it, take all the stuff she can injure herself on away (just like people seizures). That's it?

user15026

@Undo Not necessarily. If you never saw my mom's cat seize you'd think it was a normal cat.

7:31 PM

Which is something you might want to mention to the vet, is what she was doing before she went into a seizure.

@Undo yeah, that's all you can do until you get to the vet

She's licking one spot on the carpet. What do I do?

Wait, she stopped.

@Undo does she normally lick the carpet?

@MattS. sleeping.

Uh no

She might have got one M&M (chocolate) a few days ago, could that have anything to do with it?

she might be confused and just feeling weird

7:33 PM

I looked it up and the "bad dose" on chocolate is way above one m and m for a 21-lb dog.

@Undo unlikely

Good

Food poisoning is usually a one day illness.

So... This means big vet bill, right? >.<

It's something like 8 hours for food to fully digest.

7:34 PM

if she goes into a continuous seizure for over 5 minutes, you need to get her to the vet immediately

@Undo very likely

Dangit.

@Zaralynda I have no car.

And it'd be bad for me to get caught driving one.

@Undo is there a mobile vet in your area?

No idea. Zip code 83713.

Okay, theory: She was laying at my feet like normal. Whenever someone touches her with their feet she growls and moves somewhere else. Could that be the stimulus?

Can't remember if I touched her or not.

So suppose I don't take her to the vet (I probably will, of course). What are the risks?

mobilepetmed.com they say their van even has a surgical suite!

@Undo yes, she's probably confused and feels weird and doesn't understand what's going on

user15026

It really depends on what is going on. It's kinda like people - seizures could be manageable and you could live with them (likely with meds if it is an ongoing seizure disorder), or something more serious that could be life threatening. It's not something I would personally feel comfortable just leaving, as seizures can be a sign of many serious things.

7:40 PM

@Zaralynda no, she's done the growling thing her whole life with us.

Are we talking $$ or $$$ or $$$$?

I'm just so cautious around other people's (parent's) money, always have been.

Thanks everyone for being supportive*

user15026

Again, that depends on what they think is wrong, and the tests they decide to do, unfortunately :(

oh, then the growling thing is a personality trait thing, impossible to tell if it's the trigger for the seizure at this point

if you don't take her to the vet, it's possible she could die from additional seizures. it's serious

figures

She'll get to a vet.

as for money, it just depends on what the tests show and how many tests they need to do

Choking wouldn't cause her to stiffen up like that, right?

7:46 PM

@Undo i've never seen choking described like that

There's been a little rubber ball floating around here that I think we got put away, but it makes me nervous

user15026

@Undo That doesn't sound like choking. It sounds almost exactly like what my mom's cat does when he seizes.

sigh

have to walk someone through a data analysis so stepping away from chat for a bit

cya, thanks for the help

I'm trying to find some way to convince myself this isn't EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HALP NEEDED :P

mainly so I can stay calm

user15026

7:48 PM

While it is concerning for sure, take some deep breaths. Your dog seems to have calmed down, so follow her lead, and then follow up with a vet as soon as you can.

We used to have to patrol our yard for sticks so our labrador would get to them. She'd chew on them and choke on the pieces. We didn't want her getting any splinters in her throat.

She would make loud hacking noises, like she was trying to clear phlegm out of her throat,

I'd seen her do that, yeah

@AshleyNunn thanks

inhales

chokes on too much air

user15026

No problem. Please keep us updated as you know stuff :)

i shall

8:35 PM

@Ashley / @Zaralynda We've been giving her "sentinel", mom wonders if that could have anything to do with that.

That's flea prevention/treatment right?

Yeah

Okay, so parents are deciding whether to take her to the vet. Decision is out of my control now (yay, I don't like decisions), I'm trying to steer towards the vet, but again it isn't my choice.

Apparently there's a "possible link" to that drug causing seizures in animals.

The only link I could find that mentions convulsions is from people who are paranoid about fluoride rotting our brains.

... exactly

I'm not sure what brand it was, but one of the flea treatments I gave my cats gave them a bad reaction.

8:48 PM

(context: Our toothpaste doesn't have flouride in it ;)

It caused them to itch constantly, I ended up giving them baths to get rid of it.

aha

That had to be fun

The worst side-effect I know of from flea treatment was fur falling out and not growing back.

Especially if you've been using it for some time. It's not likely to be the cause.

Parents calling vet (who will of course tell us to come in), so the chances of us going are fairly high

Sentinel is one that you apply directly to the back of the neck right?

I found the product insert for the flavor tabs: sentinelpet.com/media/pdf/product_insert.pdf

They do list convulsions.

That would be something I'd ask the vet about then, and if it's something in the flea treatment that's causing it, then they could tell you what it is and you would be able to find a safe flea treatment.

8:58 PM

Our dumb phones won't call. Good grief.

Neither the cell phone or the landline. For the first time ever. Right now.

user15026

That sucks :(

Okay, we broke out of the iron curtain around the house, apparently :P

That nasty Faraday guy and his cages :P

@Undo have my fingers crossed for you

yay sounds like we have an appointment or something

Okay, so... no appointment.

The vet said that if it happens again, then it needs taken care of.

user15026

9:16 PM

Alright, well hopefully it is an isolated incident.

I hope so.

This is the vet that did a fairly good job on her spaying, so I think I trust them.

(we only had to go in once because she jumped in some water and a stitch busted loose)

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Sep '149

The Litter Box

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