When a vet recommends surgery, what do you do?
Two years ago, my golden retriever sustained an injury the vet called a spinal stroke. She spent a few nights at the animal hospital before I brought her home. I was given a dog harness to help her move around and told she should make a full recovery within days. Sure enough, in less than a week, she was pretty much back to normal — even able to jump into my bed, which is fairly high.
She plays, eats, runs and appears healthy and pain-free in all other ways. However, about a week ago, she tried jumping onto my bed and fell back onto her hind legs. Since then, I have noticed her rear legs go out from under her when running. The vet said it was unrelated to the previous injury and prescribed joint medicine, which I have been giving her for almost two years. I have seen no improvement.
Recently, the vet said a CT scan would be next if the meds don’t help. I assume that it’s either a hip or leg issue. My dilemma is needing to figure out what to do, whether it’s one or the other. She is a happy, healthy dog in every other area and if they recommend surgery, I’m not sure I would want to put her through that unless necessary. Your thoughts?
— Jeff, Holtsville, New York
Dear Jeff: You have to know what’s wrong and have all your choices presented before deciding what you might do. Depending on her age, overall health and diagnosis, your vet may or may not recommend surgery. Even if they do recommend it, surgery may not be your only treatment option. The doctor could suggest a different medication, some physical therapy or even acupuncture, depending on the problem.
I mention acupuncture because I had a dog with hips that started giving out when he was about 8 years old. He wasn’t a candidate for surgery, so my vet recommended acupuncture. It wasn’t expensive, and I was amazed at the results. We used a combination of acupuncture and medications to make him more comfortable and able to still get up on his own for the remainder of his life. Pets of any age can have surgery, but unless it’s needed to save your pet’s life, other treatment options may be available for your consideration.
Dear Cathy: I’ve had many pets and found that if they threw up, they usually ate something they shouldn’t have. My wise mother told me to check the labels on my canned cat food for liver. Yep, it was frequently mixed into the food. When I stopped feeding it, my cats stopped throwing up (unless it was a hairball). I hope this helps others.
— Susan, Highland, Indiana Dear Susan: There is some truth to what you’re saying. Too much liver in a cat’s diet can cause vitamin A toxicity, impacting your cat’s bones and causing symptoms, like vomiting, weight loss and pain.
But in small amounts, liver can be good for your feline, too. It’s generally recommended that liver be no more than 5% of a cat’s diet and you have to factor in the pet’s breed, size and medical history. Liver could interact negatively with medications, other foods or chronic conditions. Before anyone feeds liver to their cats or dogs, they should talk to a vet first. If your cats stopped vomiting after removing it from the diet, perhaps the cats were getting too much of it.
Dear Cathy: I read about the cat that frequently vomits in my newspaper on Feb. 15, and the writer was Jean Seaford from New York. I wanted to suggest that the cat may have chronic pancreatitis. The condition does not always appear in blood test results. My male cat had the disorder, and when I started feeding him a wet-only food diet, he improved significantly, from vomiting nearly every day to every couple of weeks. I hope this helps if the other things you suggested for her kitty don’t work.
— Catherine, Porter, Indiana
Dear Catherine: I’ve received many letters about vomiting cats since printing Jean’s letter. Whether caused by food or illness, vomiting is one of the primary ways cats (and dogs) tell us something is wrong. The reason for vomiting can run the gamut, from hairballs to serious illnesses like pancreatitis. Determining the cause requires patience and a fair amount of detective work. I am glad you found the cause. Your experience may help someone else get to the bottom of their cat’s health problem.