Geriatric cat with arthritis
My 18yo chocolate Siamese mix female neutered cat over the last 3 years has been diagnosed as being border line diabetic with border line kidney failure, she was put on prescription food and given some kind of gel medication for the kidney failure. However, because she is so old and hates medicine, I told my vet 3 years ago that I wasn't going to force it in her twice a day for the rest of her life, so the meds only lasted a week (I'd much rather have a happy cat on her death bead then one who his hiding from me all the time on her death bed). However, I have kept her on the prescription food. Over the last 3 years, I've had follow up visits that say her "levels" haven't changed significantly, yet 3 years ago she was only given 2 years left of life. On to my question.... Over her life span she has been extremely overweight at one point weighing 28 pounds(10 years old)... at that time we noticed her back legs popping out of socket, vets assumed it was weight related and we put her on diet and got her down to a normal weight. Well it kinda comes and goes over the years but recently has gotten worse...it doesn't seem to hurt her but requires me to lay her down on her side and it goes back it it's place. Additionally, she has seemed to walk stiffer over the last 3 years and more recently over the last week, her back seems to arch more and more. It doesn't seem to bother her if you stretch her out but it seems to be getting worse over the last two weeks. Is it possible it's due to the cold weather. Do cats get Arthritis? Could it be related to her other medical problems. My concern with taking her to my regular vet is, not only does it cost me 150 dollars for blood work (which I don't mind when she's sick) but for 3 years her "levels" haven't changed, they want to vaccinate her (which makes her deathly ill every time and she seems to be continually sick for months afterwards), they are requiring me to give her a rabies shot at least (which they tell me wont make her sick, will it?) and I'm just not sure they were right with the original diagnosis. She's 18 years old, weighs 10 pounds, has cataracts in her eyes, probably arthritis the last thing I want to do is give her medicine or treatment she doesn't need.... help!!! |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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