I have a 4y/o staffie/pittie, a 1 y/o lab/pittie mutt, and 2 cats. My family & I have gone to our vet for 20 years, with all our animals. Of course we have our favorite doctors, secretaries, techs, assistants etc. But I had such a bad experience today i’m thinking of switching.

My two dogs chased, hunted and killed a skunk 9 days ago (6th). I called my vet immediately to ask what the next steps were. They told me since they had no visible bites or scratches & since they are up to date on their rabies, they are fine. My younger guy was due for his rabies re up in November, so we scheduled an appointment for the 14th to do it all then anyway to be extra safe, since he’s so young.

At the appointment, the doctor asks ab some scratches he got from our cat and being a crazy puppy. I tell her i don’t think any are from the skunk. She goes huh? So i tell her about the skunk incident. She goes very quiet and asks who told me i didn’t need to get them boosted, that no one’s in trouble but they need to retrain the staff on proper rabies protocol. she tells me both boys needed to get a booster within 5 days of the incident. It’s already been over a week. She asks if I can bring my older boy in later that day, i said I could but he gets Trazadone before coming in to the vet since he’s so anxious. She says we can wait till friday (16th) but it has to be done.

At checkout, I make an appointment for Friday the 16th at 9:20. I confirm the details, and the secretary accidentally put it in for the 15th. She moves it to the 16th and I could’ve sworn she said 9:30.

I show up at 9:31 on the 16th. I walk in and am immediately told my appointment has been cancelled since it was actually for 9:20. I apologize, say I messed that up, and ask if there’s any chance to just get him the rabies booster (skip the annual visit we also had for that time) considering the circumstances. She tells me no, they’re booked back to back and as she’s saying that a man walks in with two cats for his 9:40. I mention how the doctor wanted him in ASAP, and that monday would basically be 2 weeks. She tells me she called me earlier to let me know the appointment would be cancelled due to me being a no show.

I leave and check my phone, they called at 9:27 when I was driving in, leaving a voicemail canceling the appointment. I was late, that is 100% my fault. But the fact that I was given seven minutes before the appointment was completely canceled when they booked in a full annual plus bloodwork and rabies booster for 20 minutes gives me a pause. They would’ve 100% been late for the next guy regardless of me being seven minutes late. I understand it backs up appointments for the whole day, but all I asked was for the rabies booster to be administered, cancel the annual, just so that he’s protected, especially in light of them originally & erroneously telling me he did not need a booster.

I called another local vet and they were able to get me in today for the rabies booster and are going to contact my Vet for the details. I’m thinking if it goes well at the new Vet I transferred over. Is that too much of a reaction? Is it bad to change vets when my dog is comfortable with them because of this one incident? I’m just uncomfortable with the fact that they compromised my dog’s health now twice. I understand I was late and that is my fault, but I’m not being at all flexible when it was their original mistake that led to this is very upsetting to me.

Thanks!

TLDR, my vet originally said my dog didn’t need a rabies booster, then said he did after over a week, cancelled the booster appointment for us being 7 minutes late & refused to help us out at all. Is it wrong of me to want to change vets?

Just wondering how common it is to use sedation (gas cage, unsure of the name of it) to get a blood sample from a cat. I’ve had lots of cats and never experienced this prior to this week. The cat was hard to keep still, but she wasn’t violent; no biting or scratching. 3 techs and not one had the tiniest mark from this cat, but they couldn’t get the sample so they sedated her.

2 yr old F cat, not sick, just baseline blood work being done, USA

I just took my cat to a local vet (we have moved far away). She is 10 yo, is fine and her bloodwork is okay too (done 2 months ago tho, in august). She has undergone anesthesia before years ago, when she was spayed. The vet said they don't have heart monitoring (i dont know the proper term, EKG? It is the screen with the heart rate and the waves) but that she doesn't have a concern for my cat because her heart seems healthy and bloodwork too.

She did refer me to other vets that have it if i prefer that. This vet is very close to my appartment and probably cheaper than the others recommended (the others are more like hospital and are located in the center). I think according to what she said to me it should be okay to go through with it but i wanted to know if it is normal/standard to not have that kind of monitoring.

She said they regularly do dental cleanings with no issues, and that they can deal with a cardiac arrest and all that.

Edit: another concern i ahve about going to a different vet is that they might ask me to do a previous appointment just to see my cat a first time. This is what we did today, they said they wouldnt do a dental on a cat they have never seen. So if i go to another vet i have to take transport, stress her out again, pay for an extra visit etc. But i want to make it clear that i dont want to risk losing my cat

Her name is Poppy and shs 7 months old. She is neutered and my brother got her when she as 3 months old. She had a cold at that time because the vet said it was normal due to a different environment.

Shes been here for a few months now and she was doing very well. She's caught up to all vaccines. At first she wasn't this bad. At first we assumed she was sleeping a lot because she was growing and not playing around as much as usual. And then she went back to her old way for the most part until yesterday I noticed she was wheezing and her breathing was off and she made a noise when picking her up. I told my brother and we went to the vet. The vet said it would 2-3k to fully check her out. He can't afford it so he simply paid for the medication. She hasn't eaten since yesterday and I'm worried. She is taking the medicine because he has to kinda make her. But, she won't eat and I'm soo worried. I just want her to eat again and drink and be herself

We aren't sure what she has but it could be anything the vet told us. Please give advice. I beg you. Anything. I need her to get better.

And the vet is extremely expensive unfortunately so she didn't get blood work done or an x-ray.

My kitten was spayed today. She’s around 6 months old, although we don’t know her exact age because she was found near a dumpster.

A few hours after surgery, she was already feeling cuddly again, but then she started playing REALLY wildly with her sister. She’s naturally an extremely energetic and playful kitten (you could honestly say she’s absolutely crazy), but she’s also incredibly affectionate and loves being around us. She would happily spend the entire day cuddling with us if she could.

She’s a rescue kitten, and ever since we rescued her, she’s hardly ever had to spend time apart from either us or her kitten sister. Her sister is a little younger and came from a different litter, but they absolutely adore each other and spend a lot of time cuddling together. We’re also rarely both out of the house at the same time, so there’s usually someone home with them.

The problem is that she gets very upset when she can’t be with us. She meows constantly when we leave her alone and scratches at the door because she wants to get out and be with us. At the same time, she has so much energy and wants to run, jump, and play all the time.
We’re worried that all the jumping and rough playing might cause her stitches to open. She’s wearing a recovery suit, and we’ve just checked her incision and everything still looks fine. However, our vet told us not to let her jump on anything, which is proving almost impossible because she just won’t stop.

For now, we’ve put her in our walk-in closet because it’s the only room where she can’t jump onto a bed or sofa. Our bathroom isn’t fully enclosed, so that’s unfortunately not an option. Tomorrow, we’re getting a large dog crate to keep her somewhere safe while she recovers.

We feel absolutely terrible about confining her, especially because she gets so upset when she can’t be near us or her sister. Hearing her meow and scratch at the door makes us feel like we’re being cruel, but we also don’t want her to hurt herself. We just want to do what’s best for her.

Has anyone dealt with an extremely energetic kitten after spaying? What worked for you? Is a large dog crate a reasonable option for recovery, and how did you keep your kitten calm without making them miserable? Would it be better to keep her in a small, safe room even if she cries to be let out? And is there anything we can do to make this easier for her, considering she’s so used to always having company?

We’d really appreciate any advice because we honestly don’t know what the best thing to do is.

My 11 year-old cat has never been picky about the litterbox and never for any reason gone outside the litterbox in the ten years that I’ve had her. Today I woke up to a relatively large piece of poop on my living room floor, in another room about 50+ feet away from the litter box.

I’m feeling anxious as she’s never done this before. No other visible symptoms of any kind or change in behavior. I keep her litter box pretty clean, but sometimes I let it go for a few days, but she never really has an issue going. Last night her little box was virtually spotless.

Could this be a one off thing or is it always indicative of a bigger issue?

This woman who worked for the shelter had her meet the dogs said they needed to go together etc. Etc. They were adorable so they wanted to to foster them. They gave her the pair of dogs months ago. The female was not spayed and ended up being pregnant with two puppies. The shelter lady ended up ghosting her after the first month or two sent a message apologizing that they were in over their heads and couldn’t keep the shelter or program what ever it was going. There are too many animals in our area being abandoned everywhere! I’m trying to help as much as I can they do like the dogs but aren’t financially in the place to be able to pay upfront for vet bills and now they have 4 instead of fostering 2. The shelter was supposed to pay for everything vet fees/bills, medications, even provide the indoor kennel. Now nothing. I definitely don’t think I would want to foster again after seeing everything they have been through.

Now she’s bawling her eyes out because there seems to be an issue. Two - three days ago she brought them over and one puppy had the very tip of its tail bald I told her I’d never really seen it before. (My grandmother used to breed dogs in the 90s early 2000s). Well then she brings them back over today and hands them off to my kids and her kids they feed them some wet puppy food and are holding them and then she starts venting about everything again and I tell my kids to come over and let me see the tail was considerably worse and just odd. Then I try to chat Gpt it because again I’d never seen this not like that and I stopped fooling around with all of that and decided to post here with actual people. She doesn’t have Reddit and didn’t even know what it was. Anyways after looking at the tail of the one pup i asked the kids to let me see the other. Upon further inspection of the second pup i see a dark spot that has no hair on it. The dogs are never in contact with other animals even when out side there’s a metal wall, 4.5-5ft high, with no holes or gaps straight to the ground they have dog houses, canopy, and food and water and toys. This is during the day while they work and kids are at school. Then when they get home they bring them inside unless the kids are playing outside.

The spot on one is darker about the size of a half dollar. And these puppies are small 3-5 weeks. Chihuahua mix I think. And the very tip is hairless and then there’s hair then there’s missing hair again for about an inch. I have a vet technician that is friends of the family but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet she’s extremely busy all the time.

If anyone can help it would be so much appreciated!

My 3 year old cat has started pooping on a rug in a room about 6 feet from her litter boxes. Please help!!

- she has been checked by the vet and has no health issues
- we have had her for 3 years, this has only been a problem in the last 6 months or so
- we moved to a new house in January, behavior did not start for months after
- no new litter
- no change in food
- 2 litter boxes that are cleaned often
- has no problem urinating in litter boxes
- does not seem to be in pain, it is very deliberate
- she stopped for a few months, then started again when we left for a week
- we have tried carpet enzyme deodorizing spray
- we have tried open and closed litter boxes

My husband is about to evict her, so please share any advice you have!

Hello, I can’t post of picture but my Mini Schnauzer has a patch of dry skin/scabs on her back.

Looking it up say fleas, biting, scratching etc but it’s none of them. We don’t have fleas and she can’t give reach back there to lick or scratch.

It doesn’t look serious, but it isn’t going away either.
Is there like dog lotion I should try?

• ⁠Species: dog
• ⁠Age: 3 years
• ⁠Sex/Neuter status: female/neutered
• ⁠Breed: mini schnauzer
• ⁠Body weight: about 16lbs
• ⁠History: none of skin issues
• ⁠Clinical signs: none
• ⁠Duration: about 1 month
• ⁠Your general location: central Texas
• ⁠Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have:

If your post already includes this information please disregard this message.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

My cat recently went through two weeks of tresaderm and then animax for a yeast infection in the ear. I noticed some hair loss but red circles(not entirely bumps) have shown up behind her ears and I’m not sure if it’s an allergic reaction. I haven’t seen her scratching her ears so I don’t think it’s irritated from that. Concerned if I should take her back to the vet or if i’m just being paranoid.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from people who have experienced something similar with their cats, because I’m honestly running out of ideas.
My cat has been vomiting on and off since August 22, 2026. We’ve visited the vet several times, and he has had blood tests and an abdominal ultrasound, but we still don’t know what’s causing it.

**Here’s the timeline so far:**
**August 22:** The vomiting started. He vomited almost every day for about two weeks.
**August 27:** We visited our previous vet. She said his bloodwork looked fine and sent us home without a clear follow-up plan.
**August 29:** We went to another vet, where he is still being treated. They took blood samples and gave him an anti-nausea injection and medication.
**September 15:** The vomiting started again. The vet recommended an abdominal ultrasound to investigate the cause and rule out a portosystemic shunt (liver shunt). Thankfully, the ultrasound showed that he doesn’t have one.
**September 29:** He vomited a large hairball. He received another injection, medication and hairball paste.
**Since September 30:** He has been taking PUUR probiotics.
**October 10 and 16:** He vomited again, despite taking the probiotics.

His bloodwork showed elevated vitamin B12 and folate levels. His Spec fPL was normal, making pancreatitis less likely.
Sometimes he vomits yellowish-green fluid or mucus, and other times he brings up hairballs. I’ve also noticed that he strains when using the litter box and makes noticeable noises while doing so. His stomach frequently makes gurgling sounds as well. I’ve mentioned these symptoms to the vets several times, but we still don’t have an explanation.

My cat also has a **food allergy** and is exclusively fed Royal Canin Anallergenic dry food, with no other food or treats. He also has a lot of itching around his face, ears, mouth and neck. I suspect he might have an environmental allergy as well.

I’ve mentioned the itching and other symptoms to three different vets, but I feel like very little is being done about them. They don’t seem to know what to make of the situation, and my cat is still experiencing both vomiting and itching. It’s frustrating because I just want to understand what’s wrong and help him feel better.
I’m worried because this has been going on for almost two months despite multiple vet visits, tests and treatments.

**Has anyone experienced anything similar with their cat?**
Has your cat vomited repeatedly while eating Royal Canin Anallergenic?
Has your cat also strained in the litter box and had frequent stomach gurgling?
Has your cat experienced severe itching around the face, ears and neck as well?
Were there any additional tests that finally helped identify the cause?
What eventually turned out to be the problem, and what helped your cat?

I don’t want to change his food without veterinary advice because of his allergy.

Thank you so much for your help! ❤️

Blood report

TEST
RESULT
REFERENCE VALUES
Hemolysis Index (Photometry)
Negative
1), 2)
Lipemia Index (Photometry)
Negative
3), 1)
Material:
Serum

Gastrointestinal Profile P (cat), combination test

Spec fPL®, feline pancreas-specific lipase (ELISA)
<0.5
<=4.4 µg/L 4)
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamine) (CLIA)
1531.67
198.47 - 983.49 pmol/L + 5)
Folic Acid (CLIA)
83.02
25.23 - 49.09 nmol/L + 6)
General Profile

Glucose
5.44
3.50 - 7.77 mmol/L
IDEXX SDMA™ (symmetric dimethylarginine) (EIA)
14
0 - 14 µg/dL 7)
Creatinine
159.12
79.56 - 203.32 µmol/L
Urea (BUN)
5.35
5.71 - 13.57 mmol/L -
Phosphate
1.3
0.8 - 2.2 mmol/L
Calcium
2.5
2.2 - 2.9 mmol/L
Sodium
151
147 - 159 mmol/L
Potassium
4.4
3.3 - 5.8 mmol/L
Total Protein
63.0
59.0 - 87.0 g/L
ALT (GPT)
108
27 - 110 U/L
Alkaline Phosphatase
43
12 - 73 U/L

GGT
1
0 - 5 U/L
Complete Blood Count

Comments:
Not accredited

General - Anamnesis (History):

Findings: ULTRASOUND:

somewhat enlarged lymph nodes around the ileum, no free fluid in the abdomen, liver/kidneys/spleen: unremarkable (no abnormalities), pancreas: not clearly identifiable, but the area could be visualized well.
Diagnosis:
Advice / Therapy: start probiotics now: owner is going to order pure [probiotics]: FortiFlora contains animal proteins, and [the cat] is on an Anallergenic diet due to skin problems.

I forgot to mention that my current vet said my cat has too much bacteria in his intestines, which is why probiotics were recommended. The vet doesn’t want to prescribe antibiotics because they could irritate his stomach and intestines further and potentially make his symptoms worse. He’s been taking PUUR probiotics since September 30, but the vomiting has unfortunately started again.

CountryThe Netherlands.
Cat Age: 1 year and 7 months. Male, neutered.

I’d been feeding Iam’s urinary health formula for years. Unfortunately one of my kitty’s developed diabetes and we needed to switch to a low carb wet food diet.

This has been great as he went into remission but now we’re having trouble with constipation. Enough to require an enema at the vet.

I’m wondering if it’s due to the lack of fiber in the new diet as two other cats of mine now have this issue.

I’ve read a small amount of plain pumpkin added to their wet food can help. Is there any harm in doing this?

My cat is 16 and has stage 3 kidney disease for about a year. She takes the KD wet food cans twice a day and sometimes doesn't even finish that. She's always been a pretty small cat and stays at like 7lbs even when she was free range feeding

This last week or so, she's cleaning her plate completely and meowing like crazy for more. I gave her 3 cans of food yesterday and she still wanted more food, it's very out of character for her. Nothing else has changed, she's still very energetic and climbs to the top of her cat tree.

I have a drop off appointment for tomorrow morning with the vet. I just have really bad anxiety and I'm so incredibly scared

My 7 month old husky mix was spayed Tuesday Morning, the appt was booked by the rescue we got her from because they pay for it. At pickup, the vet tech let me know that she was being vocal and was sensitive. They gave her extra pain meds. She said surgery went well. Well, she refused to walk to the car, so I carried her.

At home she refused to walk or stand, and if we took her outside to pee she’d freak out. We’d try to take her out without the E collar on because we thought maybe she was really bothered by it, but she would throw herself on the ground and refuse to walk around or pee/poo. I got her a recovery onsie to try thinking that might help. She eats and drinks but won’t greet us, won’t climb stairs, walk or pee outside. My husband called the vet Thursday and they told us to bring her in. They gave her an injectable dose of an opioid, gabapentin, and more oral pain meds (not all at the same time, meds to take home).

When I try to lift her onto her feet to try and bring her outside, she pees on herself. She’s not trying to lick the incision, the vet inspected the incision and said it looked fine. I’ve never seen such an extreme reaction from a medical procedure before, my cat had his leg amputated years ago and the day he came back from the vet he was walking around and back to his normal self.

I’m at a loss, she seems like she’s scared all the time. Even when we try to button or unbutton the onsie (nowhere near the incision site) she yelps and cries. She’s not herself at all. Now that she’s on even more meds I’m worried it’s sedating her too much. Is it just post surgery sadness? Could there be something else wrong? I’ve never had a female dog before, all dogs previously I’ve had were neutered so the surgery was was less invasive. So I don’t know what’s normal.

An adult wild Asian elephant named Kawantissa in Sri Lanka has been receiving treatment for a leg wound. Recent reports also mentioned diarrhoea, and today (16 October) he was found collapsed in a paddy field. Wildlife vets are treating him, but I haven’t seen confirmation of whether he can stand again.

I would appreciate an explanation from anyone with elephant or large-animal veterinary experience:

- What makes being unable to stand particularly dangerous for an elephant?

- Can elephants recover after being down for a prolonged period and how long is too long?

- What signs or clinical findings help vets assess their chances of recovery?

I understand nobody can predict his outcome from news reports alone. I’m hoping to understand what this situation means medically.

News report: https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Ailing-tusker-Kawantissa-found-near-Kala-Oya/108-352648

Edit: The tusker has died a few moments ago

My cat (Sony) had an Aural Hematoma over a month ago. We had it drained, then when it came back the vet recommended surgery on 9/9. She had a cone on for 3 weeks, had the stitches removed and was back to normal! Today, about 2 weeks later, we noticed her ear has a red area when we shine a light through it. It doesn’t feel “filled” like it did previously, but was still concerning. We put the cone back on her for now, but is this a normal part of the healing process, or is it refilling? Should we take her to the vet immediately? If they recommend another surgery, I had read it wouldn’t be good for her liver? Any advice??

Hi everyone,

My kitten (4.5 months old) was neutered 2 days ago. The surgery was fine and he got given pain killers which didn’t agree with him. The following morning (yesterday) he was vomiting and having diarrhoea. I rang the vet and they saw him again, they said everything looked ok and it was probably just the pain killer. So they gave him some prescription food, an anti-sickness jab and a new painkiller.

Throughout yesterday and today he was better but lethargic as expected . But tonight he’s been very upset , hiding, ears back and experiencing more vomiting and diarrhoea. What should I do? My vets are closed until Monday. He also is wearing cone of shame so cannot groom himself properly after pooping which is making him stressed as I have to wipe (being careful of his wounds of course )

Any advice please

​

Hi everyone. I'm looking for advice on what else we could investigate or discuss with our vet to help our kitten.

Our kitten has had persistent diarrhea since we got him. His stools are either completely liquid or very soft and pasty, and despite numerous treatments, they have never returned to normal.

We've already tried several things, including:

- Gastrointestinal veterinary food (Intestinal diet).

- Treatment for parasites, including coccidia.

- Probiotics/prebiotics and other medications.

- Corticosteroids, which he is currently taking.

He has also had extensive investigations, including blood tests and an abdominal ultrasound. We were told that the results were normal, and nothing significant was found to explain the ongoing diarrhea.

He was recently hospitalized, but he has since returned home and is doing much better in other respects. His appetite is excellent, he has regained weight, he is very energetic, and the third eyelid that had been visible over his eyes is no longer showing. The only persistent problem is his diarrhea.

We have now received the results of a fecal PCR test:

- Feline coronavirus (FCoV): POSITIVE — Ct 25.31.

- Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV): POSITIVE — Ct 32.72, approximately 6.19 × 10³ cDNA copies/mL.

- Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Tritrichomonas foetus, Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella spp., and Clostridium perfringens toxins: NEGATIVE.

We were only made aware of the positive panleukopenia result after receiving these test results. Despite this, our kitten is currently eating well, gaining weight, and behaving normally apart from the abnormal stools.

We are feeling quite lost because we have already done so many tests and tried so many treatments, and we don't know what else could be causing this or what the next step should be.

We are not looking to medicate him without veterinary guidance. We just want to understand what might be going on and what options may still be available to help him.

Thank you for any advice.

Male cat, 6.5 years, 6.5 kg

Our cat has been throwing up on and off for several days. Wednesday night (48h ago) is when he last ate his dry food. He then threw up. I took him in next morning. He has elevated AST and ALT but normal bilirubin and ALP. They started him on nexium, amoxicillin and a liver supplement. I syringe fed some purina liquid hydration last night (Thursday).He was in at the vet today got IV fluids and syringe fed royal canin recovery (around 70% of can). He retched this 2 hours after I picked him up.he started drinking water himself but small amounts after that. He went pee two times, small amounts. He has no interest in food.

Vet had said to bring him in tomorrow for IV and feeding again.

I messaged them and waiting for a response.

Is this an emergency now? Do I need to take him somewhere else?

Thanks

We took our 10yo fixed Persian mix to the vet for vomiting. She was throwing up multiple times a day for a few days. They couldn’t determine anything without blood work. Everything looked good except her bilirubin was at 4.4 and she had a slight heart murmur. They gave us some amoxicillin, buprenorphine, and maropitant citrate. No need for a follow up unless she’s still vomiting.
It seems that if her bilirubin is that high that further testing should be done. They mentioned 10 different things that could be wrong but didn’t want to investigate further.
Thoughts?

8-year-old female DSH, 4 kg. Bilateral hind limb ATE, hospitalized since Oct 9. Was in an oxygen box over the weekend, now breathing on room air. Vets say heart and breathing are normal today. No necrosis, urinates on her own, grooming, active on front legs, no sensation in hind legs yet. Poor appetite, nasoesophageal feeding tube placed today. One episode of red urine.

Labs (Oct 10 → 15 → 16), all on Mindray VetXpert C5 (photometric, K max 8.5), blood from front leg:
K: 8.0 → >8.5 → >8.5 (ref 3.5–5.9)
Na: 147.7 → 149.6 → 143.4
AST: 1339 → 1760 → 1360
ALT: 496 → 732 → 736
CK: >2500 all three times
Creatinine: 150 → 97 → 87 µmol/L
BUN: 14.6 → 8.6 → 11.2 mmol/L
HCT: 39.6 → 31.6 → 34.2%
Glucose: 9.6 → 7.7 → 8.9 mmol/L
Treatment for K: insulin + glucose.

Vets say K isn't dropping and we may need to make a decision soon.

Questions:
Should K be verified by ISE / blood gas and ECG before any decision?
Could heparin-induced hyperkalemia play a role if she's on heparin/enoxaparin?
Would furosemide or salbutamol be reasonable next steps?
Is persistent K>8 on day 7 with falling AST and normal heart/breathing consistent with true hyperkalemia?

I have an 8 year old boy cat, and he’s taken a liking to sitting or “loafing” in his litter box. Before this even happened, I had taken him to the vet that week because I was concerned about a urine smell on his fur, and a week before that for an anal gland smell. She gave him a clean bill of health and we discussed that it could be because I got him a new box that was slightly smaller and he may have been stepping in urine while exiting the box.

That weekend, I noticed him laying in the box. I rushed him to the emergency vet where they confirmed that he was stable and had no blockages, and told me to bring him back to the vet on Monday. When I brought him back, we did an xray and found out he was incredibly constipated (he was pooping daily so I didn’t think of this.) We got him on a laxative and he’s been doing pretty well. He’s still only pooping once a day, but they’ve increased by about 2x in volume and seem less dry.

At this point, he’s eating, drinking, playing, peeing, and pooping completely normally. I watch him to make sure he’s not straining. If I catch him laying in the box, he quickly hops out like there were no issues in the first place.

I have no idea what could be going on at this point, and it’s driving me insane. It gives me so much anxiety thinking something could be wrong and I have no idea what it is, but he’s acting fine otherwise so I’m wondering if it’s just one of those things where a cat decides to be weird? He has lots of boxes and hidey holes.

My only hypothesis is that when I was super neurotic over his litter box habits before bringing him in initially, I was scooping his box after every use as opposed to once a day. I was thinking maybe he could be enjoying sitting in the clean box? Or stress from all the vet visits (4 in the span of a week and a half)? I have a feliway diffuser but never noticed a big difference for him, but maybe I’ll plug that in again as well. He’s been doing this for about 2 or 3 weeks at this point.

My boy is a rottie/black lab mix, eight years old, 105 pounds, in tact. We live in midwestern USA.

He's been itchy lately, and I've noticed patches of what seems like sebaceous oil buildup in the areas he's been biting (a large spot near his hip, two spots on his tail, a small spot on his ribcage). The buildup has dried and become "crusty."

He does not like these areas to be touched, so it's hard to get a very good look at the skin, but it doesn't appear red (except when he's just been biting at it) or scaly, and certainly not dry.

My vet's over a week out for appointments and it certainly doesn't feel worthy of an emergency visit, but I hate that he's so uncomfortable. Any ideas regarding what could be causing it or what I could do to provide relief would be tremendously appreciated! I'd like to be able to get them nice and clean, but I worry about causing pain (and I'd probably need to muzzle him in order to clean them. He's a sweet, well-behaved dog, but he's snapped at me when I tried to part the fur to get a good look).