Pet Health: Forum & Advice for Mysterious Pet Ailments

I have a maltese poodle mix that is 11 months old that has been having skin problems for about 9 months now. He gets sores that become thick layers of scabs on his back, his eyes and top of his nose get really red and has yellowish, brownish scabs around them, and he also gets these on his paws. He constantly licks his paws, scratches himself, and rubs his face on the floor. He has bad odor when it gets really bad, but his ears always smell. He lost a lot of his fur at one point on his back.

I took him to the vet and they told me that he has food allergies, so I switched him to Natural Balance Duck and Potato food. They have put him on two different kinds of antibiotics, an ointment for his eyes, and eye drops. It starts to get better but once he is off the antibiotics he starts again. I don't know what is causing this to him. Please help.

Maybe he/she has a gum disease(?) are the gums white? maybe it would be good to take him/her to a vet it maybe costly but our pets are worth it. good luck

Help! Does anyone know what is causing my dog's teeth to fall out? It all started last December when I found 3 very large openings in her gums above the teeth. My holistic vet treated it as a trauma injury from possibly a stick that she chewed on. But after 2 1/2 months it hadn't healed and her teeth were very loose. So, I took her to a dentist and they pulled 6 of her teeth and said that the alveolar bone ( it holds the teeth in the socket) was black and fell apart. So, there was nothing holding her teeth in.

The dentist sent it out for a pathology to be done and it came back with possible squamous cell carcinoma. But, she didn't have any tumors in the mouth. I don't want to do chemo or radiation because I believe that depresses the immune system and right now she is very healthy looking and acts very normal. But, now I am noticing two more small holes developing above two of her teeth in the gum line. I have been using silver shield from Nature's Sunshine to clean her gums, then swabbing with Young Living Essential oils that were recommended.

She is on many supplements to boost her immune system and I have taken her off of all grains. I cook her food using grass fed meats , no antibiotics or hormones and organic veggies. I am at a loss as to what is going on. And I don't want to see her loose all her teeth! She is only 4 years old and a gorgeous beagle girl! I would appreciate any suggestions or if someone else has experienced this with their dog to tell me what I am dealing with. Thanks!

I have a female cat about 7 years old she has always been a well cat but the last 3 months she has lost so much weight she looks like a waif and has been throwing up a fair bit. Can anyone suggest what I can try.

Itchy King Charles. Adorable 2 yr old has a constant itch right under the join of his front leg. He uses his back leg to scratch it. We can't even go for a walk because he is constantly trying to scratch that one area only. I have tried constant visits to the VET-spent so much $$. He has a series of cortisone shots- no improvement, tried Benedyl-no improvement, changed his diet completely many weeks ago- no improvement, tried the borax with peroide - no improvement. I bath him with a shampoo the VET sold me. His coat is very nice, but he still itches like crazy in that one spot. I am willing to try anything.. Can anyone out there help little Pete?? I love this site wonderful information here.

My 5 year old golden retriever is a mystery. He has been tested for Lymphoma, fungal infections, tick-borne illnesses etc. In October 2010 I took him in for a weepy eye, he rolled over and there was a large lump in his groin. After tests came back inconclusive, we had the lump removed and all tests came back negative. "Maybe a suture left in from the doctor who neutered him since the lump was wrapped around the sperm ducts, " the vet said. Poor recovery from the surgery, fevers, loss of appetite, wasting and then end of November, enlarged lymph nodes in neck. Took him to the Energ vet and Internal med doc and for two days he was tested and IVs. $$$$$$ Possible fungal or systemic bacteria. Brought him home and would not eat or drink at all. Took him off Tramadol and Clavamox and kept him on fluconozole and resumed Rimadyl till he started eating (the trick was cat food) mixed in the rice and chicken concoction. Then there were about 7 lymph nodes under the jaw and in the neck. Started coughing a lot and then took him in for chest xray and he his lungs showed clear but many large lymph nodes. Eating well, stool and urine normal. Found out neither vet had done fungal titers. Just got word today all fungal titers (including Valley fever) came back negative. Breathing is labored and rapid. More comfortable lying on right side. I think he may have left-sided heart failure. Any ideas?

My poor little kitten is very sick, but I can't seem to figure out what is wrong with her. I have tried so many websites, but nothing adds up completely besides feline leukemia... My husband and I are taking her to the vet today to figure out what's going on with our little girl... Her symptoms are as follows,

Bloody Diarrhea w/ Watery Mucous
Swollen Gums
Beautiful Coat, but hair falls out easily

She has the same appetite, and plays the same as always with our roommate's cat. Anyone have any input on home remedies for my little girl? Or any ideas on how to make her more comfortable?

Our 1 year old female Jack Russell started limping on her front right leg about 6 weeks ago. When this limp became more pronounced, 7 days later, we took her to our local vet. After certain tests were carried out, we were referred to a "specialist" vet practice but in the meantime, she could no longer stand on her front or rear legs. We eventually took her to "a national veterinary institution" here in the UK where she stayed for 4 days and all possible tests were carried out to determine "where the problem lay". Samples of muscle tissue were taken as well as spinal and nervous system investigation. Samples were sent to specialists in California USA as well as (UK) local laboritories.

We have been following the recommended dietary programme of low fat meals with plenty of protein, some fibre, natural laxative (virgin olive oil mixed with her food)and vitamin supplement programme. We must admit that there has been some gradual progress but her response seems to have "plateaued" after about 4 weeks. The recommended vitamin supplements included Vitamin B2, C, E, L-Carnitine, Selenium, and Co-enzyme Q10. Our vet was reluctant to administer steroid injections but as we cannot see any further progress, we were wondering if this would be the path to follow now. We are giving her physiotherapy by muscle stimulation/massage and hydrotherapy. We have to carry her everywhere, including into the garden to do her ablutions and we have purchased harnesses for transporting her to her ablutions and another to act as a life jacket when we put her into hydrotherapy. We would appreciate any advice from people who may have had a dog that is experiencing simlar problems.

Recently all dogs in my area came down with a disease that caused vomiting, diarrhea, & a general state of poor health. Them dogs were very sick, including our two family members. The Neighbor to our west had his Yorkie hospitalized, on IV. Nearly lost her. Our Neighbor to the North had two very sick mini dauschhunds. One of the weenie weenies also had to be hospitalized. The local Vets, who are great but expensive, had no idea what disease this is. There is no vaccine for it. Since we all have pastures irrigated with river water it was guessed that the sickness either came from the soil or irrigation water. My husband & I could not afford Vet when this happened. It looked dismal for our beloved Aussie Twister, and Taboo, a black chow-rot-lab mix! Then I found this site and a plain pumpkin cure. I bought plain canned pumpkin with no additives, and applied the can opener. Directions seemed to be 1 tablespoon per 50lbs body weight. Both of my dogs are over 50 lbs, so I planned on 2 tablespoons each. I pulled the spoon out of the can heaped with pumpkin. Twister grabbed it before I offered. In fact it was testy to get some to Taboo, cuz Twister wanted the whole can. They both felt better within an hour, and later that day had NORMAL stools! I gave them 3 doses of 2 tablespoons pumpkin each day for 5 days. YAY! WOOF! Woof, woof, woof! From Taboo, & Twister too! Many Thanx from our happy, healthy Doggin's!!!

You need to see a vet, preferably a holistic/osteopathic one. You did not mention urination or defecation patterns. Doesn't sound good. If you go to a conventional vet, get a diagnosis. Then find a holistic vet to have a phone consultation with if you can't find one locally.

Help for my dog - 4 year old lab - hasnt been eating abt a week - he will eat rice(bland) I make for him not drinking much -initially thought it was worms - gave him some tobacco about 3 days ago - (less than half a cigarette with some rice) then noticed no diarrhea - he's not "acting" sick but he is looking very thin. And this morning noticed his tongue is pale - I've been "forcing" water about 6oz he'll drink it not gulping ?? help

My cat is in need of help and I could use some suggestions... 6 year old male, ultra healthy, gorgeous golden long hair. Came in 3 mornings ago and refused his food. He proceeded to lay down and sleep all day (not unusual) but when dinner time came, I noticed that he wasn't coming to get it and he hadn't moved from that same spot all day (very unusual). Now we are on day 3 of his not eating, just resting, and not going to the bathroom that I can see. He is very lethargic and when he moves, he moves as if he is ill. He was like this about 3 years ago, where I thought he was dead, as he wasn't even lifting up his head and was cold to the touch. Vet visit did nothing ($300) accept talk exploratory surgery to see if there was a blockage. A holistic friend later told me to keep flushing him with Pedialyte every hour to keep him hydrated, which I did, and after a few days, he became well and began eating. We suspected that he had eaten something poisonous and made it through. This time, I am doing the same thing, yet he is not responding the same. I have added a bit of ACV to some water and baby food (after finding this site a couple of hours ago), which he had a few droppers of, yet he is still not coming around and looking any better... Any suggestions from anyone would be so appreciated. I think he has a few lives left, but this is so hard to see him so sick. Thanks, Karen

Cats virus?

I just wanted to tell my experience with my cat Sunny so it may help someone else. Sunny is a soon to be 4 years old male spayed cat. He asks for food every chance he gets. I try to ignore him sometimes because he is(was) already fat. Very active, outdoor and indoors. Anyways, one day he stopped pesting me for food every 15 minutes. Then he started laying in the house with no energy. I knew something was wrong. I wanted to take him to the vet but at that time I didn't have the money. So I started crushing vitamin C and adding it to his food. I saw that he ate it (I had tried to put garlic before and he would not eat it)so I started adding turmeric to his food. I also gave him ACV with water. Couple of weeks passed and even though he was willing to eat some he was just laying there without grooming himself, no energy, losing weight, his gum were paler than usual. So I decided to add Blackstrap Molasses (I hear is good for anemia)to his food and started him on Colloidal Silver. I was shooting in the dark I had no idea if this was a virus or a parasite. I continue to mix the Vitamin C, turmeric, Molasses and gave him Colloidal Silver every chance I got (3 to 5 times a day).After I started the CS I started noticing a difference, but I dont know if it was the CS or the vitamin C with turmeric that he had been taking for 2 weeks. Then one day he started coming around, he started miauing (oh, yes he had stopped miuauing!) asking for food (that's when I knew he was going to be ok), moving around more, grooming himself, etc. Today he is back to normal. I don't know what was it but I know he was very sick.I want to thank EC for this website I know that Sunny would probably hadn't made it. So now I am paying it forward by letting others know. Thanks and May God Bless You All!!!!!

Hi Ted, I have 4 dogs, a staffordshire terrier, chihuahua, and two blue nose American bullies. One of my bullies is a large breed male, Tyson, he seems to be looking skinny lately and I have even boosted up his food intake, my chihuahua seems to be losing weight also, its really odd. My other 2 dogs seem to be fine, everyone is eating fine, drinking fine, playing together and everything. What could this mean? I havent detected any worms, Tyson is being treated for ear infections... (he gets them alot and I have been using ACV, its working and all. I have also been putting a capful or two in their water. Tyson has had alot of problems (demodex), but the parasite hasnt shown back up. I dont know what to do. Layla is the other bully and she was just mated (show dog, very expensive girl!) I do not want anything to happen to any of my babies.. please give me some insight on this situation. Thank you, Jennifer