Recent Content by Joxer

I have some concerns about Miralax. One of them is this: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/miralax-side-effects-in-kids-should-parents-be-concerned/ I'm not sure that polyethylene glycol has even been studied in cats. I know that ethylene glycol (antifreeze) is lethal. I understand that these...

I had two sibling cats, each 15 years old, both lose interest in eating and drinking last year. For one of them, Xena, it turned out to be the start of a long, slow decline, and in the end, there wasn't much that I could do. But for her brother Casper, all that was needed to perk him back up...

I've been using one heaping teaspoon of pumpkin, mixed with Lindsey's canned food, once each day. She has no problem eating it if it's thoroughly mixed in with the canned food. There hasn't been anything close to diarrhea yet. However, I don't see much evidence so far that it's resolved her...

No constipation on pumpkin so far, but it's only been three days. I have a question: What is a "teaspoon" for pumpkin purposes? Are we talking about a "heaping" teaspoon, or a teaspoon with just enough pumpkin to fill it to the top of the sides. Because the former is twice as much pumpkin as...

I'm in the USA. Chewy.com wants a prescription for lactulose.

I have three water bowls available to her, each in a different room, changed daily with fresh water from a Brita pitcher (same as I drink). Maybe a fountain is worth a try. I've never had a cat before who would not drink water on her own. I add a lot of water to her food. Initially she hated...

Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I appreciate the time you put into that. The organic pumpkin should be here tomorrow (I had to order it online if I wanted it to be organic, as that wasn't sold locally). It sounds like lactulose might be worth a try if pumpkin doesn't do the trick...

No, just chicken. I've read that high levels of iodine in fish can contribute to feline hyperthyroidism. I'm hoping that Lindsey will be my first cat not to develop that condition. As for duck, beef, etc, it's just a question of finding a food that she will eat, that is relatively low in...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to start with the organic pumpkin puree that I ordered last night and see if that works. From what I've read, it should at least be safe for Lindsey. If it doesn't work, I'll probably try one of the supplements.

You've been very helpful before, responding to several of my other threads. You may recall from one of them that my go-to vet clinic of 17 years botched what should have been a routine wound cleaning for my other cat, Casper. When I expressed concern about his apparent neurological damage --...

My eight year old Maine coon, Lindsey, has had episodes of constipation -- repeated litter box visits, little pieces of poop left outside the litter box, and more rarely straining to poop so much that she vomits -- for most of her life. She will not drink water from a bowl, so I add it to her...

I have a choice of vets, though I plan to keep going to the same practice for regular (non-emergency) care since Casper's regular vet is very good. For emergency care, there are very limited options. I'm basically left with one, which is more expensive, with longer wait times, and of course...

I finally got a call back from the medical director of the practice (it took her a month). She literally called back just to tell me that I was no longer welcome to take Casper there for emergency care. I didn't even dispute the bill; just complained about their quality of care, which was...

A couple days ago, Lindsey's bump exuded some more white paste, followed by some brown fluid (neither of which had any odor), then disappeared. Now she looks completely normal. I think an anal gland issue was probably the cause, but it appears to have resolved on its own.

My vet (to whom I sent the photo) never got back to me. Lindsey's bump ruptured last night and released some whitish paste, after which which it looked like a very small cut (about the size of a paper cut). There was no blood, and she didn't seem bothered by it. Today, there's some more...