Ask A Vetblr

FAQ, and Questions We Will Not Answer

Given that this is a blog run by volunteers, we cannot answer every question that comes in. Some are due to lack of time; others are due to the fact that we simply can’t answer that type of question well.

First and foremost: PLEASE SEARCH THE BLOG FOR THE TOPIC OF YOUR ASK, *BEFORE* YOU ASK. If your question has been thoroughly addressed in the past, it will either be deleted without an answer, or routed to the previous posts if the mods are feeling generous. All of our asks are well-tagged with the topic(s) of the ask and are easily searchable. The home blogs of our contributing authors are also a treasure trove of previous discussions and information. Due to the long time delay, we recommend searching their blogs for relevant information as well before submitting your ask. We are working on several masterposts on a variety of topics and will link the main masterpost here when it is ready.

Second: even if your question follows all of the guidelines, we cannot answer time-sensitive questions. We place our asks in a week-long queue in the event we have time and energy to get to them, so a question asked today might not get published for a month or more. Some questions will simply never be answered due to time or energy constraints, or because they do not fit the guidelines below.

Third: this is a vet care blog, NOT a pet care blog. Questions should be relevant to veterinary medicine. We can discuss anxiety disorders in animals, but will not offer advice on how to make your specific pet's life more enriched or which crate is most indestructible. We are happy to discuss animal nutrition, but will not get into which food bowls are the best for your situation. Caveat: Questions about exotics* husbandry and nutrition are acceptable, as this is a large part of exotics medicine, but we are not here to tell you how to set up an enclosure for every single exotic pet.

*Exotics include any pet that isn’t a cat, dog, or farm animal

Fourth: We will not answer questions privately. If they follow the guidelines and are a question we want to answer, it will be published on the main blog.

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Once you have considered the above three points, keep in mind that we cannot, or will not, answer the following question types:

1. “My vet told me this, why did they say that?”

We can’t tell you. Go back and ask your vet. It’s okay to ask “My cat was diagnosed with heart failure. Can you discuss what factors are involved in the development of heart failure?” and another thing entirely to ask “Why did my vet prescribe a diuretic for my cat?”

2. “My vet told me this/did this to my pet, but I don’t believe them/think they did the wrong thing. Do you agree?”

We can’t tell you anything that your vet hasn’t already told you, at least not without a hands-on physical exam and performing diagnostics. If you don’t believe your vet, you need to ask for a second opinion or request referral to a specialty clinic. If you truly believe there was malpractice, you need to report the vet to the local governing board. We will not side with you against your vet and will not publish any question that includes vet-bashing.

3. “I haven’t been to a vet yet and my pet is sick. What do you think it is?” OR, “I’ve been to a vet and they don’t know what is wrong with my pet. What do you think it is?”

Again, we can’t tell you anything without a physical and diagnostics. Even if we could, we wouldn’t be able to prescribe or perform any treatments. Especially if it could be time-sensitive, you need to get in touch with a vet that can actually help you.

4. “Why does my pet behave in a certain way?”

While we do have a board-certified veterinary behaviorist volunteering with us, she is the busiest of all of us and has the least time to volunteer. While she does like to discuss overall behavior and behavioral disorders, there is simply not enough time for her to get into the nitty-gritty of every unusual habit of every single person’s pet. That is more of an @why-animals-do-the-thing question.

5. Personal anecdotes or responses to previous questions.

Clinic stories, life stories, vet stories, pet stories, etc will not be answered. While we do, as a group, occasionally appreciate the OP’s follow-up on our answered questions, and will read them if they come through the inbox, these will not get published. The purpose of the blog is information-spreading, rather than feel-good stories, of which there are many blogs to whom you can submit your pet pics and stories!

Finally, we reserve the right to decline to answer any and all questions that come through the inbox. We are a small group of volunteers and the blog needs to stay fun for us too. This project is intended to be an informational blog, not a replacement for doing your own research and asking your own vet.

Happy reading!

Sueanoi here,

That sounds lovely. I love food as gift. We always need some quick access to food.

Sueanoi here,

Cat claws are usually self shedding by a cat scratching on scratch post, or some cats would just bite off the top layer (sometimes with gusto...), but if a cat is reluctant to display this behavior it could be a sign of joint pain, or other problems, too (example, nail bed dermatophyte, but it's obvious at one look.). but I usually see this on joint problem cats. That would be a topic starter for your conversation with your vet.

cutting a cat claw you must be careful and avoid cutting into the quick (pink flesh inside). Because that is extremely painful and the cat will never want to comply to nail cutting ever again. Better to do shallow trim often than risk pain and bleeding.

I hope this is helpful.

Sueanoi here,

We list the sex of our patient as such :

Some other facilities may use the word "neuter (n)" instead of "castrated/spayed" for simplicity.

In writing, sometimes we'd use the symbol (♂/♀/♂c/♀s) instead of M/F/Mc/Fs.

fun fact: I HAVE had an intersex cat case, but the computer program doesn't have "intersex" listed, so we went with M, and then Mc, after it had been neutered (We thought it was bilateral cryptorchid cuz external genitalia was completely male-like but surprise there were uterus inside the belly, and the gonads were a mix of testes and ovaries)

gettingvetted here.

For cats and dogs, ivory tower/gold standard medicine would dictate getting a CBC (complete blood count), chemistry, heartworm/tick borne disease screening, and a stool exam once yearly starting at 1 year of age, and then at 7 years of age doing this twice yearly (except the heartworm/tick borne disease/fecal screen) plus checking the thyroid and a urinalysis. I would say that most clinics are not getting this minimum database on most of their patients simply due to cost concerns. The most common bloodwork panel I commonly run is not routine (because again, most of my clients are not willing or able to spend very much on their pets) but includes a CBC, Chem 21, and total T4.

Horses, cattle, and other livestock species rarely get routine labwork other than stool exams.

gettingvetted here.

I'm sure *someone* out there does give frozen thawed mice to their cats. But the biggest reason is that cats don't need mice to live and there are far more efficient ways to feed cats - commercial food for most, or larger prey species for those that insist upon feeding raw or home-cooked diets.

gettingvetted here.

I have never heard of a vet that doesn't use one. I use one, for sure. I think I'd have to create a much larger incision if I was going to look for the uterus without a spay hook. And spay/neuter vets make incisions so small that you couldn't fit a finger through them if you wanted to. It doesn't mean it's wrong for someone *not* to, it would just be considered highly unusual.

GV here.

It's less of a matter of age, and more of a matter of weight. Most spay/neuter clinics will alter cats that are at least 2lbs with an absolute minimum of 1.5-1.7lbs. This weight is usually achieved at 2-3 months of age (a healthy kitten should be around 1.7-2lbs at 2 months while a kitten with health issues early in life would take closer to 3 months). However, spay/neuter clinics are aiming for population control.

The average owned cat should be altered around 4 months of age. The current mantra is "fix by five (months)".

Hi, Sueanoi here.

There is a research that states "There is reasonable evidence that soft diets are associated with increased frequency and severity of periodontal disease, and that harder foods requiring vigorous prehension and mastication are preferable for dogs and cats."

So according to that, raw bones probably do something more than soft meats. However, from my own anecdote, raw bone chews isn't as good as dental chew toys. and dental chew toys isn't as good as regular brushing.

I've only recently tried the fresh breath drops. result is still pending to me, so i will not comment about that.

I live in Southeast Asia, the Paradise of Parasite. I will never recommend raw food as bacteria here *flourish* in raw stuff. While there are people who can successfully do it, it's not easy nor safe to try without extensive education on how to do it right, with the correct nutrition percentage and contamination control. As this research states in its entire section about health risk (please click and read that. It's a lot.)

*If you have that education and training, i will not stop you.* however, I have had to treat animals that get self prescribed antibiotics to the point of everything is resistant. I WILL give you a judgy eyes when we have that talk.

If you can't brush your cat's teeth (which, honestly, the majority of cat owners can't) a routine professional cleaning with a vet is recommended to prevent uncontrolled dental problems. Perhaps once a few years, or sooner if your cat has an on-going dental disease.

I hope this answer helps.

Hi, Sueanoi here

Yeasts are, indeed, an opportunistic pathogen. Your cat are more likely to have an outbreak of yeast during a low-immune time. Another sickness can cause this low immunity. And once your cat becomes healthier, I expect the issue to improve, if not resolved.

Still, I recommend getting treatment for the yeast, so the skin do not get permanent damage and cause a chronic issue. Please ask your vet about it.

Hi, Sueanoi here.

For where I work, where rabies is endemic and is always a concern, rabies vaccine for vet is only a "recommendation" and not a "rule". I personally joined an experimental research for rabies vaccine in vet, so I have had my titer checked for free. I later get bit like twice a year during my early practice because of how careless I was. Which means I had to get boosters relatively very often compared to other vets who are better at dodging that I am.

The point is: titer test for rabies are available. It's quite costly, but it's there if you need to check. If you truly do not develop titer, anti-rabies serum is still a treatment that works well for a post-exposure patient in case you get bit. but it is much more costly, and more painful, than vaccines. (And I heard there's more risk of allergic reaction than vaccine too, this info needs fact check, however.)

Lastly, I recommend that you check your local laws regarding this issue. and whether or not rabies is endemic in your country is an important factor of your risk.

I don't think this means you can't become a vet. But your best bet is "DO NOT GET BIT" (Or get painful and costly treatment every time), which... is really difficult to count on, because accidents can happen at any time.

Hi, Sueanoi here.

Yyyyeeaahh... I'm so sorry. but it's kinda our job now. I hadn't had this problem that much since my country is pretty aware of vaccine benefits. You might wanna get an infographic poster in your clinic, but it's useless to people who are determined to not read.

If you're feeling burned out, occasionally you may need to choose your battles and save your energy for people who would listen.

And when they came back with a canine parvo virus. Well... can't say you hadn't warned them. (Or worse, rabies ... which risk the lives of the entire human family.)

vet-and-wild here.

Not at all! Most of our systems are automated now so we can easily look up that information anyway.

Hi, Sueanoi here,

Long haired cats often have dermatophytes without any signs on their skin. Short haired ones less often so. But it's a possibility.

Sueanoi here

They actually know you're different than themselves, as their communication towards humans are different than when they're "talking" to other cats.

but what, exactly, is their thoughts about your question, I don't think anyone can answer confidently.