PancreatitisQ: Dear dr., my 8 yr old vizsla suffered an attack of "pancreatitis" on mem day weekend. she was hospitalized and fasted, given iv, antibiotics and carafate. we gradually weaned her from hamburger/rice to dry dog food and she started to suffer again. her lab chemistry reports were all normal including lipase. amylase was 1538 and our vet suggested hamburger/rice and gradually wean to hills id this time. we are doing that but she seems so "depressed". could she be this way due to pain? how long does it take for the pancreas to heal so there is no more pain? should she be taking any other med or supplement to help the pancreas heal? A: Tough to say as each case of pancreatitis is different. despite sometimes even diet therapy some dogs can have relapses. usually most recover in a matter of days to a week. however i would make sure diagnosis is correct by having abdominal ultrasound done as many vets over diagnose this condition based on blood tests. also consider prozyme supplementation from 1800petmeds which can help long term as well as making home made diet as described in book dr. pitcairns guide to natural health for dogs and cats by richard pitcairn, dvm
Shop for: prozyme, 1800petmeds
Confused?Q: I have two kittens about 7 months old who just recently got neutered and declawed. they are both from indoor cats and from the same litter and are my only cats. one of the kitten's stool sample was tested during their recent vet visit and was negative. they said they only needed to test from one kitten because if it was positive it would show up in both kittens. then tonight, my kitten vomited (he ate dog food earlier so i'm not sure if thats what its from) and there were two (waht looked like) worms in the vomit. they looked like roundworms (long, whitish colored ones). if they were tested just a few weeks could it be possible they just recently got infected with the worms? if so, how? is it even worms at all? would it be too late if i called the vet on monday? today is sunday and they are closed. any help would be much appreciated! A: Some cats can have hidden round worms even though stool checks can be normal no worry or problem. simply worm both kittens with good wormer like pyrantel or nemex Shop for: nemex
Feeding and vitaminsQ: A litter of kittens have found there way in my heart, as well as my home. there are four of them and they seem to have lost there mother they look very young they do have teeth but are very tiny too small to eat yet so i took them in and fed them my 4 month olds baby milk? is that okay ? how can i tell how old they are ? one of them follows me around they are less then a pound each and are as small as my hand , well i concerned if the formula is okay for them and should i give them any supplements other than the milk and is there anything special i need to do to take care of them . someone told me they wouldnt go to the bathroom on there on they had to simulated to go by there mother! is that true. i am going to take them to the vet but that take s time and money and at the moment i do not have alot of it. i order from pet meds all the time and they are great but they didnt seem to know very much about young kittens if you can give me any info on what to do it would be so helpfull i love my pets i spend alot of money at petmeds i put flea meds on my dogs and on my sisters dogs but if you could help me out her i would be so greatfull. anything i should know to properly treat them would be usefull donna A: I cant address all questions in brief space here. you need to have vet go over with you in office and show you directly with kittens how to stimulate bowel movements, etc. i cant tell you old they are without seeing them. baby milk is not best thing for them. i would get some sort of feline milk replacer such as kmar which you can get at local pet store and bottle feed them every few hours as much as they will take until can have vet visit.
SafetyQ: We have a 5 year old chocolate lab and are considering giving her frontline plus for her fleas however, we also have a 21 month old son who is constantly crawling all over her. what side effects, if any can occur to my son should he come in contact with the medication that has been applied topically? A: Keep your dog apart from your child for about 24 hours after application. once it is dry there is no problem. it would only be a problem if your child came in contact with a lot of the product while wet on the lab.
Shop for: frontline plus, frontline
NeuteringQ: I have a male lab who has already fathered 3 litters and is 2 years old. he is becoming more aggressive lately to our other dogs, even when a female is not in heat. would neutering help him any, as far as aggressiveness and marking his territory in the house? A: Certainly worth a try and is next step
