Pawcurious Vet Blog: Pet help, stories, and information with Dr. V

“$150,” the woman insisted.

I squinted at her. “Really?”

“In Italy,” she said. “Full mouth extraction on my cat.” She paused. “And the vet didn’t even use anesthesia.”

Now I was extremely skeptical. How do you pull every tooth in a cat’s mouth without anesthesia? “They were falling out anyway,” she added helpfully. “He just kind of twisted and out they came.”

“OK, so that is pretty end-stage disease,” I told her. “I’d like to try and avoid that in this cat-” gesturing to the current patient, who had the beginnings of stomatitis, a very painful dental disease. “But it will be more than $150.”

“That’s OK,” she said, and leaned in. “I like you a whole lot better than that other vet. I’ll never go back.” She proceeded to tell me about her bad experience at another hospital. “I had a blocked cat, and all I had was $200. And they euthanized him!” She paused, and started to tear up. “I begged them to try something, to just try and drain his bladder or something, and they wouldn’t do it.”

“You know, I think they were just trying-” I started, but she wouldn’t let me finish. “I just wanted him to have a chance.”

It was an interesting thing to hear, given my week. A few days ago, I had a client who brought me a blocked cat. He was already beaten down by not being able to afford the emergency hospital estimate, and wanted to know what I could do for, ironically, $200.

The problem with blocked tomcats is, you really can’t do anything for $200. At the very least, they need a couple days in the hospital. This doesn’t include catheters, IV fluids, medications, radiographs, and the distinct possibility that despite all this they might still need surgery. It’s a bear to fix. I’ve been there, I’ve been that ER doctor, and I know because of my experience that sometimes euthanasia is the best option. It’s a terrible way to suffer.

But this client was tearful, and desperate to try something, so I told him against my better judgment I would at least try to empty the bladder. He knew it was a long shot, a very long shot, but it would at least give him time to try and figure out if he could work out a way to treat the cat properly. “And if not,” I told him very bluntly, “you should euthanize him.”

We kept the cat all day, and when he showed up that night he hadn’t done anything to try and find money for more care. “I hoped this would work,” he told me. We pulled the catheter. An hour later he called, and said the cat re-blocked.

So he euthanized him. And he thanked me for trying.

I didn’t get it, and I guess some part of me still doesn’t, because I’m looking at it from the cat’s point of view. I knew what was going to happen, I knew it was futile, and I felt bad putting the cat through it for no good reason. But then I had this woman today, who was so upset that she wasn’t given the choice, and it got me to thinking about Emmett and the hours writing prescriptions for chemo drugs and aspirating nodes for the same reason. There is always hope. And while I can gently try to guide people to reality, it’s not really my place to force them to stop hoping when they aren’t quite ready.

OK, I don’t know if they are myths so much as long-held veterinary standard talking points, but it was a lot easier to type “myths” than “standard procedures and protocols with which I disagree.”

1. Feed your pet the same food every day or they will get sick.

This is true in some cases, namely if you have a pet on a prescription diet or a pet with dietary sensitivities, but for most healthy pets, there’s no reason not to switch it up. You have to be careful if you are watching your pet’s caloric intake- the calories per cup can vary very widely from food to food- but the vast majority of pets do just fine on a rotating diet. And let’s be honest- the recent pet food debacles have made many of us more leery than ever of quality control issues, so switching it up may dilute the risk of having a problem with any one batch of food.

2. My pet needs to be on dry food because of her teeth.

Dry food is good for a pet’s teeth, don’t get me wrong. There are prescription dental diets that are clinically proven to reduce tartar, and hooray for that. That being said, there are plenty of other reasons wet food should be a part of your pet’s diet (and particularly if you have a cat, I think it should be the majority of their diet!)

Having moisture content as a part of your pet’s diet is a good thing. Food in its natural state is not dessicated. We all need water to digest our food. Dry food is convenient, and less expensive than canned food, and does play a role in keeping teeth clean. But there’s no reason you can’t rotate canned food in there as well.

3. The more expensive the food, the better.

The only way to know if you are feeding your pet a good food is to become proficient at reading pet food labels. (I did a blog series on this complicated topic here.) Generally speaking, the more expensive foods do tend to have better quality ingredients, but you’d be surprised at some of the things found in “premium” foods. When ownership of pet food companies changes hands, it is often accompanied by a change in formulation, so read often.

One of my employees is always telling budget-minded people to buy Kirkland dog food- you know, the Costco brand? When I overheard this, I asked her what the heck she was doing. She showed me the label, and I’ll be darned- they have a very decent ingredient list, far better than many other foods in that price category. So now, when people are reluctant to go for the super-premium stuff due to price, I often tell them get Kirkland.

I know most people probably know this, but I’m astounded by the people who pull out those little plastic trays of food and tell me how great it is. Behold the mighty power of marketing. That food is the exact same food you find in cans, except it’s processed one step further to force it into meat-shaped spam-like chunks meant to fool you into thinking it arrived straight off the cow there in its natural state. They then float it in some chemical laden sludge, slap on a label of a cute poufy dog in a fancy looking plastic tray, and charge you a huge markup for the privilege.

4. My dog is spoiled rotten. He only gets chicken and rice. Isn’t he lucky?

No. No more lucky than the cat fed only tuna. Nutritional hyperparathyroidism, taurine deficiency cardiomyopathy…there are lots of nasty things that can happen to a pet on an unbalanced diet. I have no problem with people who really want to cook for their pets- I think it’s wonderful, actually, to devote that time to your pet.

But if you’re going to spend the time and money to do so, invest in some research to do it correctly. There are some great- and some not so great- resources available online. I have used Balance It, one of several online services; many veterinary schools also offer services with veterinary nutritionists available to create recipes tailor made to any pet, with any health condition.

5. I don’t need to put my dog on a special diet for a food allergy trial. I tried the “sensitive skin” diet/ lamb formula/ coat formula from the store and it didn’t work.

I can’t say this enough: There is no reliable test for diagnosing food allergies. The *only* way to diagnose food allergies is to put your pet on a lengthy and regimented food trial for 8-12 weeks, and see how they do. No treats, no flavored Heartguard, no rawhides.

The diets used by veterinarians to diagnose food allergies have one solitary protein source and one carbohydrate source. The protein is something unusual- venison, hydrolyzed soy broken down enough that the body doesn’t recognize it as an antigen; as is the carbohydrate.

“Sensitive skin” diets are not appropriate for food allergies because they usually have the exact same ingredients found in most other pet foods. “Lamb and rice” formulas often have chicken in them as well- if you review the pet food labelling rules you’ll see why. I am only aware of one over the counter commercial diet appropriate for a food trial. The other options are prescription diets or home cooked diets.

*I will, as I always do, add in the disclaimer that this post is skipping entirely the topic of raw foods, which I remain neutral on. Those who have gone down that road often have devoted many hours of research into nutritional topics and don’t need to be told any of the things in this post anyway.

I’ve had a nibble or two in my career, but I’ve been fortunate to never have any serious bites. Some of it is luck, I’m sure, and a lot of it is planning. If I don’t feel comfortable around a pet, I’ll muzzle it. It’s not an option, it is the condition on which I will complete an examination.

Which is why I was so rattled when a husky tried to bite my face off the other day.

He was nervous, in the way most huskies tend to be. He was an intact 8 month old dog who had zero training or socialization. I was going slowly during my exam, keeping an eye on him while talking to the owner.

It’s the stethoscope that usually does it. Something about extending this scary tubing under them while sticking your face near theirs is particularly intimidating for a dog. For this reason, I approach them gradually and pause if I’m concerned to put on a muzzle. The dog was acting nervous, but not agitated.

He lunged at me without a peep. The owner tightened on his chain so that he stopped short when I fell back, but I felt his jaws grazing the skin above my eyebrow and below my cheekbone. He intended to hurt me. I know I’m no Christie Brinkley, but be that as it may, I do like my face. It is pleasingly symmetric, what with its two eyes, one nose, etc. I would be most perturbed would those numbers change on me.

I backed out of the room, shaking. “I don’t know what happened,” said the owner. “He’s never been like this at home.”

I don’t spend much time thinking about the possibility of injury in the workplace. It definitely happens, but I hope to think that our precautions help to minimize that. Fortunately for me I came out of it with nothing worse than bruised nerves, and a reminder that I can’t afford to be worried about people’s feelings when it comes to protecting the safety of myself, my staff, and the owners themselves.

Our cameraman has spent months, nay, years, stalking the elusive Domestic Jungle Ocelot. His patience has finally been rewarded.

He is usually a nocturnal creature. At night, when the denizens of the day have retired, he emerges from the depths of the garage and stalks his prey. Namely, veterinarians.

Oblivious to her imminent doom, the veterinarian slumbers. She wakes up to the silent kneading on her chest as the ocelot sucks out her her life’s breath and bites her on the forehead. And all she sees in the last seconds of her life are two shiny yellow eyes.

What could lure this retiring creature from his dark daytime sarcophagus?

Birthday balloons needing popping.

A short distance away on the savannah, the archenemy of the domestic ocelot- the Goldenbeast- slumbers.

The ocelot is safe, for now.

Or is he?

The Goldenbeast’s sense of smell is keen.

The ocelot senses the presence of a predator. Does he stand his ground, or flee?

With the sixth sense that has ensured his survival for so many years, the ocelot has divined what we have not.

The Goldenbeast is tethered, unable to leave the confines of the lowlands.

What has brought the Goldenbeast to this lowly fate?

STEALING THE KILL OF THE HEAD BEAST WHILE THE OTHER BEASTIES WERE OPENING BIRTHDAY PRESENTS! THIS IS A BAD, BAD GOLDENBEAST!!!!

(This was a seriously tragic way to learn he could reach the plateau of the tabletop.)

The ocelot cannot help but laugh at the folly of the naive young beast.

He remains, as always, king of the jungle.

My daughter turned 5 this weekend, and with it came the requisite pomp and circumstance and party debauchery. Both grandparents come from modest homes, and both my husband and I were raised modestly. A couple of presents on your birthday, a few bucks from grandma slipped into a card, that sort of thing.

I try really hard to rein in stuff with my kids and resist the temptation to go overboard, because as we all know, that usually doesn’t end well. I don’t want spoiled kids (I save that for the dog.) So she got her one big gift- a bicycle with training wheels- a plastic necklace, and because I cannot erase the imprint my mother left on me, an educational item or two. My mom got me Barbies growing up, but she always balanced it with something like the Visible Woman. While other 12 year olds were experimenting with turquoise mascara and bangle bracelets, I was painting little plastic intestines. That explains a lot, I think.

With that background, all I can think is aliens have kidnapped our parents and replaced them with beings that look like them, but have bottomless wallets and marshmallows for innards. All my plans were for naught when the grandparents arrived, staggering to the door under the burden of more gifts than any one child- or any 5 children, for that matter- could possibly need. They’re going to have to come out of retirement at this rate. And she tore in with glee and delight, as I sat there cringing and trying to figure out how I am going to make her a decent human being in the face of all of this. And not ONE educational item from my mom. Who are these people?

Needless to say I was distracted when my daughter pulled a familiar figure out of one of the bags from my mother in law. It’s an old friend.

“Oh yaay!” my daughter exclaimed. “This is just like yours, Mommy!”

“Oh,” said my mother in law. “You already have one?”

“No,” my daughter says. “It’s MOMMY’S. We don’t play with it.”

My mother in law looked at me. “Well, I use it for my blog,” I tried to explain. “I don’t let her play with it because I’m afraid she’s going to lose it and I really, really need it.”

Now everyone is looking at me. My family knows about this blog, indulging me the way most parents do when a 6 year old says they are going to be an ice skater: “That’s nice, dear.” But they don’t read it. They don’t understand that this Barbie is as integral to the blog as my keyboard. They simply see a woman in her mid-thirties who has a stash of plastic dolls that she plays with while telling her kindergartner, “Hands off my doll!” Never mind that the child has approximately 45,395 other Barbies, 45,392 of which are from the grandparents.

“Well, at least she has her own now,” my mother in law said with a dubious look on her face. I suppose I could try the Pet Doctor Barbie posts with a Visible Woman in a wig, but somehow I think something would be missing. Like skin.

Receptionist: Hello, thank you for calling. How can I help you?

Person: I have a 4 year old cat and I need all 4 paws declawed. How much is that?

Receptionist: Well, we only do the front two paws here. And that runs about $250.

Person: Are you @$$!!%%$# kidding me??????!!!

Receptionist: …I’m sorry?

Person: That is just @#$!!# ridiculous.

Receptionist: I’m sorry.

Person: Isn’t there some back alley declaw vet you know of? Someone who does it for like, 50 bucks?

Receptionist: I can’t say that there is.

Meet me behind the dumpster at 7. You bring the helpless victim and $40, I’ve got the ether and the rusty pliers.

Seriously, though- I can’t imagine going into a place of business, deciding I dislike their prices, and demanding they tell me where I can get the same product elsewhere for less. Don’t get me wrong- I’ll help people find low cost spay and neuter clinics when they need assistance, and I do what I can to try and help people afford the care their pet needs day in and day out. But something about this conversation….*shudder*