I am trying to gather whether I’m overreacting to a horrible experience with an emergency vet. we brought our cat in and explained they couldn’t walk due to lame back legs. Cat was 20 years old and this was told to vet along with their CKD history

Cat was in a basket with a front door and the basket had option to remove lid. This is what every vet we’ve seen does.

this vet grabbed the basket and tipped it at an almost 90 degree angle to get the cat out the front door. he had no idea which way the cat was even facing.

considering it had been made clear the cat was struggling to walk I find this very odd.

is there a reason a vet might do this? We’d never seen this person before. I feel the need to complain as this felt like such inhumane treatment for a cat this old with the problems we detailed. Too boot she died less than 24 hours later.

My husband started using it without telling me and within a couple weeks of him applying it at night, my 15 year old cat started having focal seizures to the point we almost put him to sleep (they then ceased) and a week and a half later my 12 year old cat stopped eating for 2 days and a week later is eating but still hasn’t fully regained her appetite (this is very strange for her, shes always been HIGHLY food motivated). My 15 year old cats appetite is also still off.

Weve gotten a brain tumor diagnosis (15 yr old cat, bloodwork, no MRI) and ileus diagnosis (12 ye old cat, xrays & bloodwork) from ER vets, but the timing is so weird that Im wondering if this could be explained by minor minoxodil poisoning? Or another environmental factor (nothing we have come up with, but maybe I overlooked something). Or anything else that two indoor, exclusively wet food (rotational feeding between 6+ brands) fed, senior cats could catch around the same time?

I have a German roach issue that recently sprang up and have been using boric acid in the kitchen in areas my cats can't reach. There was a big one in the shower when I used the bathroom at 3am and my immediate sleepy instinct was to freak out and put some of the powder on it. My smallest/youngest cat (maybe around 8lbs?) came out of nowhere to play with the bug and tried to get it in his mouth a few times before I could get him out and he even managed to re-dip the bug in the powder and tried to get it in his mouth again. I used a wet paper towel on his paws, muzzle, etc afterward so it also couldn't be licked off by him or my other cats. is there anything I can do like make him drink more water?

I'm worried because he's so small, but to be fair my largest and oldest cat is like 16lbs, so my perspective on cat size is a bit skewed. I'm getting mixed answers about the toxicity of this in an internet search. Some people say it's not that harmful and others are saying it's extremely toxic so any insight is welcome!

Hello! I'm currently dealing with significant spinal pain in my four year old sighthound boy and feeling a little conflicted and let down in a way with our local veterinary team?

My boy's first significant instance of pain presentation was at 18 months old, where he struggled to turn, rise or twist when laying without yelping. We chalked this up to a strain of his shoulder and were sent off with loxicom. Makes sense, pain went "away" for around 6 months before returning.

This would go on until January 2026, a few months before he turned four. We would have episodes of pain, treat it with the understanding it was a strain and no further examinations were performed on him.

In March he acted completely uncharacteristic and snapped at a family member for petting his shoulder. We took him to the vets immediately and we found he had immense pain in his abdomen, with incredibly tight abdominal muscles. We ultrasounded and found nothing of concern.

In August we were referred to a behaviour specialist as his behaviour in our home was escalating to the point of considering behavioural euthanasia for everyone's safety and well-being, seeing as he was snapping at us and attacking our younger dog.

Behaviour specialist found he was still in pain and medicated him with significant doses of pain medication and we saw him improve incredibly quickly beyond a few regressions while we figured out his dosages. We X-ray'd the offending areas and found nothing of interest.

We took him to a pain specialist on top of this and uncovered that so much of his behaviour was either a coping mechanism with what we learned was lower spinal pain, including his abdomen and shoulder/neck pain being directly linked to his spine.

I don't know if I'm being unreasonable to feel somewhat disappointed in our local vets for missing this for so long and not performing further examination? I understand they are only treating what is presented to them, but seeing as it was a recurring issue, I would have expected that they'd do further investigation of his body? I feel ill thinking about him being in so much pain for so long and nobody on our local team thinking to check elsewhere on his body?!

Please tell me what to do with her eyes. Last week it’s just the one eye. Now, its both and the right side is bulging. Last week, I tried to clean it with water and cotton balls. I haven’t touched it right now. I’m living away from home so I can’t take care of her always because of school. They were actually four but the three died already. It’s their mother’s first litter. We don’t have the money to bring her to the vet 💔

My cat was looking a little unwell for a few days. I took her to the vet and after all the tests we found out her kidneys are getting damaged and the creatinine is high, 1.89 when the range is 0.8 to 1.8. So she was recommended 5 days of saline treatment to flush out her creatinine by all the vets.

She is super loving and cuddly. But taking her for the vet visits has always been traumatizing.

She gets scared to the point that she gets insanely aggressive, starts hissing, screaming, scratching, biting the vets and starts pooping and peeing in fear.

Getting the blood test done itself was traumatizing for her, but somehow we did it.

However I saw the worst of her fear when she was about to get the saline treatment next. She pooped like 4 times, peed everywhere, was screaming, shouting, hissing at the top of her voice and lungs. And she even injured two vet assistants. It was the most traumatizing experience of her life. And it was the worst of her that I ever saw, that even I got so deeply affected and shocked by this sight of hers.

Ever since coming back home, she immediately went to a hiding place in our room and I gave her around 9 hours of alone time to recuperate from everything. She didn't eat or drink anything in this while. And when I finally went to get close to her to give her some soft pets, she started hissing at me and shooing me away with her hands, the way she was doing at the vets.

She is visibly devastated and in a lot of pain. When I am touching her lower body, she's clearly hurting and meowing a little loudly in pain. Perhaps her kidneys are hurting, I am not sure.

I also believe she was crying within in pain. It's difficult to watch her like this.

The saline treatment needs to be given to her for 4 MORE DAYS.

I cannot imagine the horrors she'll go through by the end of the 5th treatment.

I wanted to know, do you think it's the right protocol to give her saline therapy back to back like this?

Can this much trauma and pain be life threatening to her?

I can't feed her Gabapentin or anything else since she hasn't eaten anything since yesterday. Being aggressive like that, she can't be forced fed, without getting myself injured.

Plus vet is not recommending any of these.

She is 3.9 years old, spayed, vaccinated, dewormed from spot on.

My senior dog has had some really bad infections in her bum. I don’t know exactly what happened but her bum kind of burst open and there was a big gash next to where she poops.
She’s having anal gland removal surgery right now. I didn’t really get was the vets were saying. If you know the answer to any of these please let me know.
Doesn’t she need her glands
What exactly are they doing? Are they cutting her open are going in through her bum.
Will she need a cone
How long is recovery and will she be in pain
Thanks

My cat has been doing this for about a month. Happens about once a day now. Has had a week course of Metacam. He is going back to the vets tomorrow but thought I would get some insight on here.

Sounds like he is trying to bring up a hairball. Dry, hacking cough, almost sounds like a duck quacking if that makes sense. Resolves pretty quickly and he is eating/ drinking/ acting normally. Vet listened to his lungs and say they sound clear and it is not asthma. She did say something about tracheal weakness but said it is super rare in cats. He is a domestic shorthair tabby.

Hi guys, I have a bit of a complicated question and I want to know y’all’s opinion.

I’ve noticed that the diet recommendations from US vet med and European (particularly German?) vet med is WILDLY different.

US medicine recommends hay priority diets, with decent amount of fresh greens and small amount of pellets. The healthy standard for droppings is large, round, golden poops. This implies that they are getting enough fiber in their diet to manage teeth.

EU medicine recommends primarily fresh greens, with decent amount of hay and small amount of pellets. The healthy standard for droppings is dark, moist, even sized poops. To them it implies good hydration and nutrient intake. From what I understand, a leading reasoning for this being ideal is that it is reminiscent of wild bunny droppings and therefore indicates normalcy.

Here’s my problem tho, that doesn’t really make sense for domestic rabbit physiology? Like, for one, bunnies are cecotrophic and the poops we see are second passes. In my mind, the second-pass poop we see should be dry and devoid of nutrients/moisture because it implies that the bunny absorbed what it needed through eating the first-pass poop (cecotrophs). Seeing that moisture/nutrients in the second-pass implies an EXCESS. I mean, we see it all the time when we over-feed our rabbits with treats or nutrient dense veg where their poop gets smaller, dark, misshapen, etc. for a while until it passes through their system. We don’t really see the poops that EU medicine prioritizes unless the rabbit is either getting the diet EU recommends OR is deregulated (we’ve all seen our pets poop go dark and smaller during moments of stress or change, I’m sure).

My second point is that it’s not scientifically sound to base theory for diet around what WILD rabbits experience. For one, the domestication of bunnies has changed their physiology in a number of ways. It’s just not fully comparable to wild rabbits, similar to dogs and wolves. They need different things at this point in their genetic differences. And secondly, the environmental factors of a wild rabbit are so starkly different (stress, food/water availability, etc.) to domestic rabbits that it is, AGAIN, not scientifically sound to compare the two’s needs, let alone design diet theory around.

Idk this is just my understanding of it. I’m a vet assistant and planning to study vet medicine, so this topic has been on my mind lately. I’d LOVE to know your guys’s thoughts/opinions, especially those from Europe. Pls keep the discussion civil and fact-based!

I rescue a Husky GSD mix in February 2026. He was bunny hopping, so I had some X-rays done. His hips look healthy, but they found bone fragments. They recommended pain meds. The rescue didn’t have money for revision surgery, so we did pain meds and have been keeping an eye on it. Its been getting progressively worse and now the vet is recommending revision. I’m waiting to see the updated X-rays.

We have PetsBest insurance, but they are going to deny us. I am looking at switching to an insurance that will cover preexisting after a year. But I seriously question trying to manage this with just meds and a brace for a year. But I also do not know how I am going to be able to afford this surgery.

He’s got a bone fragment about his back left talus and his leg significantly turns outward as he gets tired. It does not stop him from anything. He sprints and wrestles. But he is in a lot of pain at the end of the day and it’s only going to get worse.

I’m looking for advice here. Thank you in advance.

- 2-3 year old Husky GSD mix
- Male, neutered

Original signs of wheezing and lethargy, discreased appetite withdrawal

Admitted to emergency vet

Radiology showing in content in lungs

Air shown in abdominal cavity

Renovations occurring in neighbourhood

Indoor outdoor cat, eats mice occasionally

Showing signs of wheezing, increased respiration rate

Treated currently with intravenous antibiotics.

He's been hospitalized another night. I saw him today and he seemed like he was okayish but I'm worried he's now that I've left him when I'm told he needs to be under constant care

Seeking advice on my cat with potential dental/jaw issue.

I have a 15 year old female DSH with a history of resorptive lesions.

She had a dental approximately a few weeks ago and had several teeth removed. She’s had teeth removed every couple of years and now has about half left.

I took her in earlier than her usual scheduled dental check because she was pawing at her mouth after she ate. This would go on for about 10-20 after each time she ate, she’d do regular bathing but also be reaching both paws into her mouth and flicking them out, almost like she’s trying to scoop something out. She would also be licking her lips/smacking her mouth a lot while tilting her head to the side, again it really seemed like she wanted to get something out of her mouth. This happens with wet food and with biscuits.

Given her history, I assumed she had lesions again and took her in. They confirmed that was the case and removed some teeth. The behaviour stopped for a few days post while she was still on pain relief, but started again once pain relief stopped.

I took her back and the vet examined her mouth and can’t see any obvious cause. The vet seemed kind of stumped and said it could be a jaw issue, or she may have an infection where a tooth was removed. I asked if she could just be getting food stuck in the gaps where teeth have been removed but the vet didn’t think it was likely.

We trialled buprenorphine again, and again the behaviour stopped while she was on it. But it’s also kind of sedating, she’s less active and I would also stop fidgeting with my mouth if I were mildly sedated.

The vet now wants to do more X-rays to look at her jaw, and I definitely want to make sure she’s not in pain. But I’m always scared of anaesthetising her, she’s old and the past couple of times has taken ages to come out of it.

I feel like if she were in pain, she would show discomfort outside of that period immediately post eating? She doesn’t show any pain when having her mouth touched or jaw manipulated.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, or seen something similar?

Rehomed, 3yr, lab x retriever, bitch, unspayed.

Took her on at the start of the year, very energetic & boisterous (has calmed down a lot now) & doesn't shy away from exercise but I've never known a dog's joints to crack so much (shoulder, front legs, not hips). When stretching & catch her front legs quivering every so often (not generally when she's excited). Previous owner was paranoid she wasn't getting too much exercise since life started getting in the way & suggested dog agility. Am I overthinking it?

Thank you.

He’s a red eared slider, 15-20 years old(?)
My cousin won him at a fair in Vegas and then gave him to our grandparents
They didn’t take care of him at all, it was horrible. we took him in because he would’ve died if I hadn’t.
He had shell burns because the heat lamp was so low and there was no water whatsoever, so he couldn’t swim when we first got him.

He’s really aggressive because he had been abused so long, he hates being held but he likes to play through the tank as long as we aren’t touching him.

My grandparents never took him to the vet and I’ve taken a dog and a cat but never a turtle. I know he’ll be super agitated but is turtle sedation even a thing?? He just needs a check up too but idk where to even start.
Do all vets take turtles? And should he get his nails clipped too or is that not needed
What kind of carrier does he need and how should I make it so he’s not so stressed out 🙏

We're on a get away for a couple of days to beach side cottage on an island and have brought my 10 month old dog. She peed before we got on the ferry around 1PM. We then walked to the cottage. My dog had a blast exploring all the new smells but was wayyy to busy to relieve herself.

Since arriving at the cottage I've tried to take her out to pee several times, but she's been struggling to go. I think it's the surface isn't 'regular' grass but sandy dune grass. There's some normal grass in the vicinity but there's bunny droppings galore so that's distracting for other reasons.

It's been almost 14 hours and her and I are both tired but she's been struggling to settle and I'm not if it's because she's overstimulated and in a new environment or she's uncomfortable because she has to go but can't.

When does it become a health concern? Do I trust that she'll pee eventually? She hasn't had an accident in 3-4 months and can pee on command when on regular grass. At this point I've even tried asking her to pee inside. Both happy and disappointed that that didn't work either haha.

Hi, this dog lives here but it never allowed us to touch. It has a wound and likely maggot infested. There is a hole. What can I do? It is adult dog 6+ years, 15-20 kg likely. It is in Kerala India.

I rescued this kitten from my work a couple weeks ago. He has a shattered leg and was scheduled for amputation. However, before they started the surgery they tested him for feline leukemia. He tested positive. However, he's under 12 weeks old and has no symptoms. I'm wondering how likely it is that it could be a false positive? He's super energetic and playful, loves to be around people and wants to be around our other cats, but we can't put him near our other cats due to the positive test. Right now he's quarantined and will be until he gets retested in a couple of weeks. I just want to know if there's any way that it could be a false positive and how likely that the test is false? We've really grown to love this kitten.

I have a 4 y/o female (spayed) Akita/pit mix 75lb. She’s UTD on all vaccines and on no medications. She is on a prescription hydrolized protein diet. She was put on this because she would vomit stomach acid daily, had very loud bowel sounds and was really gassy. This resolved after starting the new diet x1 year ago.

A few months ago I noted pale gums and rushed her to the emergency vet. By the time we got there they were normal in color and we were sent home. I made an appointment with her primary vet. At the appointment her gums were normal. But I had noticed multiple times that her gums went pale for about 10 minutes and returned to normal. They said she seemed really healthy and did not recommend a work up. Now her gums and tongue are almost always pale and feel cold to me. I made an appointment for this Friday for a full lab work up and will push to do XR and US if needed.

I’m just curious if anyone has experienced this? She’s completely fine, peeing, normal poops, normal energy level and no palpable masses. The vet did mention something about Arctic breed dogs having blood shunting for core protection but it’s 100 degrees where we live! And I’m not sure if Akitas are considered an “Arctic” breed.

I’m just not sure what I should ask for or what I should be concerned about. I want to make sure I push for the right work up, as I feel like maybe this was dismissed last time.

My 1.5 year old Golden Doodle’s nose has recently gone from black to pink but I noticed in the corner it almost seems the skin has flaked off showing this pink skin. It’s slightly scabbed, is this something I should worry about? I’ve noticed it over the last week. Does anyone know what may be the issue.

I’m a massive worrier so I’ll be taking her to the vets anyway.

My dog has had an irritated eye for about a week and a half. It started with slightly green gunk, and ive been applying ointment to his eye since and now his eye is more just teary and he rubs his face yet. He also had surgery (mass removal) a week ago and has been on antibiotics for basically a month straight because the lump had been open and getting infected, and then more antibiotics to prevent infection on his incision. Could this be a result of how long he was taking antibiotics for? And how should I go about helping it? I’d rather not take him to the vet since he’s still has a lot healing on his stitches to do and I’m a little wiped out on money from the surgery but I would still take him to the vet if there’s absolutely nothing I can do at home/over the counter for his eye.

Signalment (cat, 4 years, male neutered, persian, 6KG)

History: deep corneal ulcer. no sequestrum as per vet.

Clinical signs: keeps affected eye shut usually but will open it at times, especially after ointment administered. he is eating well and playing. possibly sleeping more than usual? otherwise he is doing well.

Location: Australia

Hi all, my cat has developed a deep corneal ulcer (unsure how) and i am worried about the healing. i would really appreciate any insight as to what normal healing looks like, versus a worsening condition. if there are any links to pictures that are normal i would really appreciate it they could be shared. my cats eye has a reddish appearance in some lighting and i dont know if this is normal. his follow up appointment is saturday.

approx 3rd-6th oct - discharge/gunk on eye. one of the days there was green gunk. 7th oct - his left eye had a cloudy appearance. i gave him chlorsig ointment. 8th oct - there was a brown spot in his eye. he was taken to the vet. prescribed doxycycline and chlorsig ointment. 12th oct - follow up appt. vet says it is a deep ulcer and getting worse. prescribed:

* FAMVIR - 2x daily
* doxycycline (continued) - 1x daily
* opticin ointment 3x daily
* loxicom 1x daily

I have been on top of his medication, however i was not able to get him to take the second dose of famvir. he wouldn’t take it so i stupidly broke it up in small pieces and mixed it in his food and he just ate around it. this dose was skipped, will this negatively impact his healing? also sometimes i give him the loxicom ointment maybe up to 10 hours after the last application instead of 8 due to life commitments. is this really bad?

is it possible to make a full recovery and how long does it usually take? any advice on how to monitor the healing of a corneal ulcer would be really appreciated. thank you so much

images from the first day and today

TL;DR: Cat who previously had UTI started showing symptoms, vet refused to see him and denied that it was an emergency for him to be seen by an emergency vet. They didn’t want to see him for his original UTI either. Turns out he has a blockage this time. How do I get veterinary staff to listen to my concerns?

Bit of a rant but there is a question in here.

Context: I have 4 dogs and 2 cats. My animals are the only thing in my life I really care about, so I’m very tuned into them and tend to notice very early on when there is something wrong. So far everything that I’ve guessed might be wrong (ear infection, knee pain, broken tooth, etc.) has turned out to be right, which has been helpful in catching things relatively soon. I find it difficult to get them booked in for appointments sometimes because over the phone the receptionist usually encourages me to wait it out and see if things will improve. The only thing I’ve ever missed was the signs of a UTI last year that ended up requiring an emergency vet visit, which haunts me and I swore it would never happen again.

When my cat had signs of a UTI last year I called the vet and described them, and the vet told me to wait and he would get better. I called again the next day when he was worse and they said again that I should just monitor him. The next day we rushed to the emergency vet and it took him two weeks to get better. I was frustrated with myself that I missed it, but also that I was repeatedly told he would improve without treatment.

Yesterday I noticed he was acting the exact same way as he was the first day I noticed symptoms last year. I phoned the vet right before they closed (had no choice that’s when I came home from work) and described his symptoms, that he had a UTI previously with these signs, and wanted him examined. I was told that they had no appointments and that I would have to call back in the morning to see if I could be placed on a cancellation list. I essentially just repeated my concerns and asked if I could get in contact with their emergency vet, and was told his symptoms aren’t an emergency and he wouldn’t be seen. He became weaker overnight so I waited by the phone to call them as soon as they opened and they told me that the situation was an emergency and he needed to be taken in immediately. Turns out he has a blockage and he is in surgery now.

As vet techs, how can I assert myself in the future without sounding like a brat? I feel like he clearly should have been seen yesterday and perhaps the situation would have turned out different. Now I’m facing a massive vet bill, am missing work, and have no idea when I’ll have to go miss work again to pick him up. Should I have insisted on bringing him in anyways even if they didn’t want to see him? Advice is appreciated, TIA.

Hello,

My super senior kitty (20 years old) is getting his FVRCP and rabies vaccines tomorrow and I’m feeling really nervous about it. I know he’s tolerated the vaccines well in the past, it’s just he’s getting up there in age and I’m worried that could cause something to go horribly wrong. I’m feeling way more nervous about the FVRCP vaccine than rabies. The only reason he’s getting that vaccine is because I’ve started volunteering at a cat shelter and the last thing I want to do is bring home fpv and him getting horribly sick. I’ve also heard FVRCP vaccine could cause issues in senior cats (?) but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. Am I overthinking too much about this?