My dog has a puffy fluid filled ear love. I can't afford to take her to the vet right now. Can I just poke it with a sterile sewing needle and drain the fluid? We think it might have been caused by a possible spider bite.

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• My 7 year old Dogo has a growth on her front foot, been growing there a little over a year, Can you tell me what it is and what I should do. I dont particularly have money for the vet is why Ive not taken her there. What can I do ? Thank you very very much. Mark

  Hi Mark! Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Trouble and for providing a picture, it's very helpful. From the picture, it appears to be a benign growth but I can't say for...

  3 people found this answer helpful

• Hello, my mom's cat was just diagnosed with kidney problems (by ultrasound, tests are not ready yet) and dehydration, prescribed 200ml of fluid therapy. I just want to understand, is it normal to prescribe such a volume of fluid for a cat weighing 5.2 kg? I was told by another vet a while ago that 200ml is too much, and I am worried if I should advise them to attend a different clinic.

  Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Sorry to hear that your mom's cat was diagnosed with kidney disease. Unfortunately kidney disease is only something we can manage, not reverse.I am assuming the...

  2 people found this answer helpful

• Hi , I have a 9 year old dog who looked like she was stiff in her back leg the past couple of days and last night she was limping a lot and looked like her back leg was sticking out more then usual. I noticed this morning that she was licking her foot and just now saw that there’s a bare patch where she’s been licking. The foot looks swollen but can’t see a cut.

  Hello,I am really sorry to hear this about your dog. I worry at her age that something serious could be going on with her, like a bone tumor growing and causing her discomfort. I would recommend...

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• My dog takes Fluoxetine and Gabapentin. I have run out of Fluoxetine and my vets office is closed until Jan 2. Do I need to take him to emergency vet or will he be ok without it for a few days? I have plenty of Gabapentin.

  Hello there,I think it's very likely Hagan will be okay without Fluoxetine for a little bit, especially given that you still have his gabapentin. Watch him for signs of anxiety or stress and do your...

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• The latest bloodworks from my senior 16 year old dog. He has been quite skinny now and not eating as much. But still has energy to walk around but probably fatigues easier than before. He has arthritis. Can any vet give their opinion on the bloodwork results? Is he near the end of his life? Since the ALT is over 1000

  Hello,I am sorry to hear all of this about Gucci. Unfortunately, I do think it sounds like he is in the palliative stage of his life. When our pets are losing muscle mass in their senior years, it's...

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• My 9 year old staffy is huffing coughing then gagging with some throw up. He did have congestion yesterday and I treated it with a steamy bathroom and humidifier. He’s not eating but is drinking. You can clearly see he doesn’t feel good is there anything I can do at home for him to relive his symptoms? Could it be kennel cough? What can I treat it with. Also, I’ve been a paramedic for 20+ years and grew up on a ranch my entire life.

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Leonard. Poor guy, he does sound like he's not feeling well, and it's concerning he's not eating. It could be kennel cough but...

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• My 12-year-old female Cocker has always been calm but now is deaf and recently had a bad UTI. She’s on antibiotics and thyroid medication and has dry eye, for which I put an ointment in her eyes. She used to sleep next to me but now prefers the floor, and it feels like she wants to be alone. Her water intake and appetite are good, but she just watches my husband give dental bones to the other dogs instead of participating. She does go up and down the stairs much slower.

  Hello,I am sorry to hear this about Daisy. I know that must be hard on both of you. As they age and develop chronic pain, it's important to keep a close eye on their quality of life. It sounds like...

  1 people found this answer helpful

• Hi Would you recommend vaccinating a cat (7 yo, indoor, no other pets) who has a fatty liver? His ALT has been between 140–180 units for the past 1.5 y, and CHOL ~ 7–8, despite being on a diet and having lost weight (he now weighs about 4.9 kg). He was vaccinated before, but after the liver issue was discovered, we stopped vaccinating him. If the fatty liver persists, would it still be advisable to resume vaccination, or would you recommend avoiding it to prevent additional strain on the liver?

  Hello there,This is a good question. The absolute safest and most proactive measure would be to take bloodwork vaccine titers to see if Dushe has any preventive antibodies from previous vaccinations....

  1 people found this answer helpful

• Higgins started making the awful crunch noise this past November. He’s only making it when he’s sleepy, sleeping, or waking up. I thought it was teeth grinding but to be safe I brought him to the vet and they checked his teeth, said he has a little bit of plaque but over all looked good. I asked the doctor what she thought the noise was and she said it’s probably just him adjusting his jaw. She obviously knows way more than I do about pet health, I’m worried cause he’s never done this before.

  Hello,I can see why you would be concerned with a new onset of teeth grinding and noises. I'm glad to hear his overall oral health looks good. This definitely isn't a very common problem in dogs. My...

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• My shih tzu is 14 yr old. He has a large growth on him back and lungs (I think) that has never bother him, so it was never removed. But now (for the past month or so) he has a constant cough while active. It slows down when laying down and stop while sleeping. Is there anything I should do or give him to relieve this cough?

  Hello there,I am sorry to hear this about Tigger. In a fourteen year old dog with a new cough, my concern would ultimately be a terminal diagnosis. I would be most concerned for congestive heart...

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• I discovered my dog drinking out of a bucket of really gross dark green water outside. He was throwing up for a few days. I’ve since removed the bucket of water and he’s stopped throwing up. I am concerned however if he needs antibiotics or something in case there was a bacteria or parasite in the bucket of water. If he does I will call the vet and see what can be done but I’m limited on money right now so I’m asking here if an antibiotic is recommended?

  Hi there,I am so glad to hear that Nyko has improved since removing the bucket of water. Please be gentle on yourself. I think many of us have found our dogs drinking gross water at some point. They...

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• Hello hope you're doing well, My adult male cat Oscar has a rash on his chin, which doesn't look like normal cat acne. He has a bald spot there as you can see in this photo. What should I do to help, and what condition do you think this is? I can't access a vet easily.

  Ouch, that looks like quite the hot spot. Unfortunately, it'd be hard to tell what the cause is, such as bacterial, allergic reactions, fungal infections, etc without a skin scraping from your...

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• My dog , a golden retriever, ate some small grape leaves off a vine I was cutting down. No grapes, only leaves. He seems to be restless and in some discomfort. Is there something I can do to ease his tummy issues? Pepto bismal?

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Rio. He's such a handsome boy! The good news is that grape leaves are not toxic to dogs, only the grapes themselves. They can cause...

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• Hi my cat was in a car accident and suffered a grade 2 tall pull injury and had his tail amputated after a couple weeks as it did not regain function. He has since had a constipation. Fortunately he is still able to defecate but are small hard balls. A couple times I have had to administer laxatives. I am aware this is a lifelong issue after such surgery. However is there anything I can do which will help his stool? Massages etc? For example, I have been giving pumpkin puree, which has helped

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about your cat. I'm so sorry he was in an accident but I'm glad he survived. If pumpkin puree is helping, then I recommend continuing to give...

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• I just asked about this and sent a pic but was able to get a better pic. Does the nail look broken? As far as I can tell, it's in between her nail and pad. I'll still keep it clean and all that. Unless this pic shows you more than the last. Thx!

  Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Willa. I see what you mean in the picture, it does appear that it is under the claw. I can't tell, however, if her claw has been affected...

  1 people found this answer helpful