Tue Jun 21, 2016
"Is it normal for my poodle to lick his front paws till they are wet?" the young lady in her late 20s asked me over the phone yesterday and now she was present at Toa Payoh Vets. "He also licks the floor too!" This poodle was adopted 2 weeks ago.
"Was he licking his front paws when you adopted him?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "But not as frequently as the past few days. Till the front paws are wet with saliva!"
This poodle was extremely hyperactive and would not stay still. What was the cause of this abnormal behaviour and how to resolve it? Is there a cure?
Was the poodle suffering from some itchiness in his front paws directly or indirectly? He had the following conditions:
1. Left and right upper canine teeth had not dropped off and stuck behind the fully erupted permanent ones.
2. Thick tufts of ear hairs with ear wax clogging the ear canals. Would he get painful and irritated and try to relieve his pain?
3. Swollen anal sacs which shot out dark yellowish brown anal sac oil with some smell.
4. Thick hairy paws with no signs of bleeding or inflammation after clipping away the hairs.
Under Zoletil 100 IV sedation at 0.2 ml, the puppy canines were extracted, the thick ear hairs plucked and ear canal irrigated and 4 paws clipped.
What other possible causes of his behaviour such as licking the floor?
I had no clue.
"Is the dog toilet-trained?" I asked, since he was 6 months old.
"No," the lady said. "Sometimes he did pee on the newspapers. At other times, he forgot."
"Did you confine him to a cage or small area?"
"No, no," the lady said. "My family members would not permit it."
So, this dog peed and pooped everywhere in the whole apartment. Could it be possible that he was trying to clean his paws after stepping on urine present all over the apartment? I suggested confinement for the next 4 weeks.
This is a strange case. If only poodles can talk.
VIDEO
Pet health and care advices for pet owners and vet students, photography tips, travel stories, advices for young people
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
2959. A cat is constipated and incontinent
Sat Jun 18, 2016
PATIENT: TP 46680 Domestic short-haired, male, neutered, 6 years
Constipated for 2 months. Hard stools palpated.
Incontinent, leaking urine for 1 month
Vomits "hair balls" 4-5X/day
PATIENT: TP 46680 Domestic short-haired, male, neutered, 6 years
Constipated for 2 months. Hard stools palpated.
Incontinent, leaking urine for 1 month
Vomits "hair balls" 4-5X/day
2958. A dedicated stray cat catcher in Singapore
Sat Jun 18, 2016
At 11.30 am, I met this woman in her late 40s, wearing a CWS black T-shirt with the white words of "Trap, Neuter, Release, Manage. " She has 3 years of almost daily experience of trapping the stray cats and sending to the vet for sterilisation. The cat feeders will pay her for the sending the cat to the vbet. She shared her experiences.
CAT PSYCHOPLOGY
1. The traps come from the US. There are 2 types.
1.1 Long cage with food at the other end. There is a long "tunnel" and many stray cats are cautious of the structure. The cat steps in and springs a trap door which closes down.
1.2 Shorter broader cage looking like a shelter with a transfer cage. These were present in her SUV which can accommodate 11 cat carriers.
"The trap door is at an angle on the top. So, the cat views it as a safe haven and enters the cage," she explained to me. "I will pull the rope to drop the trap door. "Must have good eyesight if your rope is very long and you are distant. There is a remote control but I don't trust it."
SMELL OF CAT FOOD
1. Good quality fish provided by some cat feeders. "The cat just will not eat it," she said. "The smellier the better and they are usually of lower quality and meant for stray cats. ."
"What brand you use?" I ask.
"Aristocat. The bigger can. The cat just cannot resist it."
PERFORMANCE
1. 4-6 hours of work to trap 6-8 cats per day. The other stray cats get wiser and will not be caught.
"What to do then?" I saw that she was very busy with her passion of daily cat trapping although she has a job.
"I come back another day."
"Will the cats be wary of you?" I asked.
"Cats are not so clever. They see the broad cage I use as a shelter and the strong smell of Aristocat will just be irresistible!"
VET FEES
$30 to neuter a male and $60 for a female, excluding hospitalisation charges.
(CWS)
1. "The CWS needs $20,00 per month to sterilise all the stray cats in Singapore," she said. "Cats can hide inside drains unlike the poor stray dogs and so there are many more every day." Her cat feeders pay for the vet fees.
I notice many fewer stray cats near coffeshops nowadays. I suspect that the government and the town councils and pest controllers have culled them by netting. They are many hiding somewhere.
At 11.30 am, I met this woman in her late 40s, wearing a CWS black T-shirt with the white words of "Trap, Neuter, Release, Manage. " She has 3 years of almost daily experience of trapping the stray cats and sending to the vet for sterilisation. The cat feeders will pay her for the sending the cat to the vbet. She shared her experiences.
CAT PSYCHOPLOGY
1. The traps come from the US. There are 2 types.
1.1 Long cage with food at the other end. There is a long "tunnel" and many stray cats are cautious of the structure. The cat steps in and springs a trap door which closes down.
1.2 Shorter broader cage looking like a shelter with a transfer cage. These were present in her SUV which can accommodate 11 cat carriers.
"The trap door is at an angle on the top. So, the cat views it as a safe haven and enters the cage," she explained to me. "I will pull the rope to drop the trap door. "Must have good eyesight if your rope is very long and you are distant. There is a remote control but I don't trust it."
SMELL OF CAT FOOD
1. Good quality fish provided by some cat feeders. "The cat just will not eat it," she said. "The smellier the better and they are usually of lower quality and meant for stray cats. ."
"What brand you use?" I ask.
"Aristocat. The bigger can. The cat just cannot resist it."
PERFORMANCE
1. 4-6 hours of work to trap 6-8 cats per day. The other stray cats get wiser and will not be caught.
"What to do then?" I saw that she was very busy with her passion of daily cat trapping although she has a job.
"I come back another day."
"Will the cats be wary of you?" I asked.
"Cats are not so clever. They see the broad cage I use as a shelter and the strong smell of Aristocat will just be irresistible!"
VET FEES
$30 to neuter a male and $60 for a female, excluding hospitalisation charges.
(CWS)
1. "The CWS needs $20,00 per month to sterilise all the stray cats in Singapore," she said. "Cats can hide inside drains unlike the poor stray dogs and so there are many more every day." Her cat feeders pay for the vet fees.
I notice many fewer stray cats near coffeshops nowadays. I suspect that the government and the town councils and pest controllers have culled them by netting. They are many hiding somewhere.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
2957. A 1.5-year-old male entire cat cannot pee- perineal urethrostomy.
Jun 15, 2016
Vet 1 had hospitalised and catheterised this cat twice and told the owner to come back if the cat still cannot pee. But the owner went to another vet who referred to Vet 1 for operation. The cost of perineal urethrostomy would be $3,000 but the vet was not free. She phoned other vets but they would not do the operation citing much post-op complications and complaints.
She phoned me. My fees were lower and the owner brought the cat to me. He had enlarged kidneys and azotemia as evidenced by Vet 2's blood test. I did an X-ray which did not show bladder stones. A perineal urethrostomy was done. The cat was warded for 3 days and went home. N
FOLLOW UP ON JUL 4, 2016
No complaint
Vet 1 had hospitalised and catheterised this cat twice and told the owner to come back if the cat still cannot pee. But the owner went to another vet who referred to Vet 1 for operation. The cost of perineal urethrostomy would be $3,000 but the vet was not free. She phoned other vets but they would not do the operation citing much post-op complications and complaints.
She phoned me. My fees were lower and the owner brought the cat to me. He had enlarged kidneys and azotemia as evidenced by Vet 2's blood test. I did an X-ray which did not show bladder stones. A perineal urethrostomy was done. The cat was warded for 3 days and went home. N
FOLLOW UP ON JUL 4, 2016
No complaint
2956. Incredible personal stories - 4 Caesarean kittens return from death's door
Jun 15, 2016
Yesterday, at 6 pm. Dr Daniel had Caesarean section and delivered 4 kittens, said to be 67 days old by the owner. Their toe nails were white and 2 mm long and the coat was thick. The kittens were wrapped up in shrunkened oily waterbag and did not move at all.
The first of the 5 kittens was born naturally at around 6 am. The owner phoned a vet who quoted $200 to $500 for a C-Section, but when he came to the clinic, the vet said it would be $1,000. Some unpleasant conversations led to the vet telling the owner to get lost as he was deemed "abusive". Hewent home.
He called Toa Payoh Vets at around 5 pm and that was how the C-section was done.
I had performed over 200 C-sections, mainly in breeders' dogs and had encountered such a situation of oily waterbags and dead puppies due to long delays in seeking C-section. So, there was no chance of recovery. Water had filled up the lungs and the kittens could not breathe.
As witnessed by the intern, a Seconday 3 student from CHIJ, Ang Mo Kio, I swung the kittens, pinched their neck skin and cleared their mouth and nostrils of mucus. Lots of water came out from the lungs when I swung the kittens in an arc for around 5 times/kitten. .
For over 15 minutes, my intern and I stimulated the kittens. 2 had faint gasps of breaths every few seconds and were not moving. But the other 2 were "dead". The gasping kittens would not pass away over the next 5 minutes and so we continued rubbing them.
Judy the assistant, came out of the op room, after the dam was stitched up and would rub their chest back and forth as they lay sideways.
"The one with gasping will live," Dr Daniel took over after he had stitched up the dam. Time would have been over 30 minutes by now. Only one gasping kitten's body was warm. The 3, including the occasional gasping kitten were cold. The 2 gasping kittens would not pass away. I put their mouth into mine and blew in air to inflate their lungs. Many vets feel squeamish about such a procedure but it would save lives if the lungs had been cleared of mucus by swinging the kitten in an arc and seeing the mucus dripped out.
Dr Daniel and Judy used a hair dryer to warm the 4 kittens. It took some 10 minutes.
of more rubbing. A drop of adrenaline injection SC.
It is hard to believe. The 4 kittens were moving. So I got a video done to prove it. However, there was no video done before that and so, it is up to the readers to believe or not my incredible feline story of 4 kittens returning from death's door.
FOLLOW UP ON JUN 29, 2016
1. The natural born kitten died on the second day.
2. As at Jun 29, 2016, 15 days after C-section, only 2 kittens survived. The dam did not have much milk.
One of the 2 kittens had a right eye infection and the owner treated it himself. He sent me an image:
Yesterday, at 6 pm. Dr Daniel had Caesarean section and delivered 4 kittens, said to be 67 days old by the owner. Their toe nails were white and 2 mm long and the coat was thick. The kittens were wrapped up in shrunkened oily waterbag and did not move at all.
The first of the 5 kittens was born naturally at around 6 am. The owner phoned a vet who quoted $200 to $500 for a C-Section, but when he came to the clinic, the vet said it would be $1,000. Some unpleasant conversations led to the vet telling the owner to get lost as he was deemed "abusive". Hewent home.
He called Toa Payoh Vets at around 5 pm and that was how the C-section was done.
I had performed over 200 C-sections, mainly in breeders' dogs and had encountered such a situation of oily waterbags and dead puppies due to long delays in seeking C-section. So, there was no chance of recovery. Water had filled up the lungs and the kittens could not breathe.
As witnessed by the intern, a Seconday 3 student from CHIJ, Ang Mo Kio, I swung the kittens, pinched their neck skin and cleared their mouth and nostrils of mucus. Lots of water came out from the lungs when I swung the kittens in an arc for around 5 times/kitten. .
For over 15 minutes, my intern and I stimulated the kittens. 2 had faint gasps of breaths every few seconds and were not moving. But the other 2 were "dead". The gasping kittens would not pass away over the next 5 minutes and so we continued rubbing them.
Judy the assistant, came out of the op room, after the dam was stitched up and would rub their chest back and forth as they lay sideways.
"The one with gasping will live," Dr Daniel took over after he had stitched up the dam. Time would have been over 30 minutes by now. Only one gasping kitten's body was warm. The 3, including the occasional gasping kitten were cold. The 2 gasping kittens would not pass away. I put their mouth into mine and blew in air to inflate their lungs. Many vets feel squeamish about such a procedure but it would save lives if the lungs had been cleared of mucus by swinging the kitten in an arc and seeing the mucus dripped out.
Dr Daniel and Judy used a hair dryer to warm the 4 kittens. It took some 10 minutes.
of more rubbing. A drop of adrenaline injection SC.
It is hard to believe. The 4 kittens were moving. So I got a video done to prove it. However, there was no video done before that and so, it is up to the readers to believe or not my incredible feline story of 4 kittens returning from death's door.
FOLLOW UP ON JUN 29, 2016
1. The natural born kitten died on the second day.
2. As at Jun 29, 2016, 15 days after C-section, only 2 kittens survived. The dam did not have much milk.
One of the 2 kittens had a right eye infection and the owner treated it himself. He sent me an image:
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
2955. A 15-year-old female Westie vomits many times in past 3 days
One year can make a great difference to the dog's health
as in this case
Jun 3, 2015
Not eating, vomited 2X in past 3 days
Heat 2 weeks ago. Milk present in mammary tissues.
Now pee many times as if urinary incontinent, pollakiuria and dysutria.
No abdominal or bladder pain.
Cystitis +/- pyometra. Advised spay 4 weeks later.
----------------------------------------------------
Jun 12, 2016
Not eating, vomited many times in the past 3 days
Heat 2 months ago.
Lower abdominal and bladder pain.
Cystitis. No pyometra as white cells not elevated.
strong uraemic breath smell
lethargic. IV drips. Urea is very high and creatinine overshot the high range.
Affer IV drip 2 bottles and medication, no more foul uraemic breath. But not eatring. Looks brighter. Went home to do dialysis at home.
CONCLUSION
Kidney failure due to old age likely. Or chronic cystitis. No regular checkup after Jun 2015 successful treatment. Urea and creatinine levels were normal one year ago. But urine was showing protein 2+, blood 4+, white blood cells over 900, bacteria 2+ one eyar ago. Urine pH 7.0, SG 1.007. Also no crystals at that time. So there was cystitis one year ago.
Would this female dog have better chance of survival if spayed at younger age as open pyometra with bacteria going to bladder and kidneys in the past year is possibly a cause of kidney failure.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
1284. Update: An ear gangrene hamster and a ringworm hamster
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