[AMA] I am a veterinarian. Ask me anything :D

lycans

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from cbc, can they know if my dog had pancreatic positive?

CBC stands for "complete blood count" it just tells a few things like platelet count, reticulocytes, hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cells, etc

unlikely to tell if ur dog is having pancreatitis just by cbc, unless u misunderstood ur vet
 

thinhlegolas

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whats ur cat's history? where did u get him from? did u vaccinate ur cat at all?

i think its cat flu but could be rhinitis

Thanks for your reply.

He was a stray. I got him from a fosterer about 2 months back. She's with the Cat Welfare Society.

When I first got him, he was already suffering from flu. I can tell from the heavy eye discharge, running nose, sneezing/coughing with phlegm. He was given antibiotics by the vet and seemed to improve after a week. After that he started sneezing again and was again given antibiotics. This time the sneezing doesn't go away.

Never had the chance to vaccinate him since he has not completely recovered.
 

lycans

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Thanks for your reply.

He was a stray. I got him from a fosterer about 2 months back. She's with the Cat Welfare Society.

When I first got him, he was already suffering from flu. I can tell from the heavy eye discharge, running nose, sneezing/coughing with phlegm. He was given antibiotics by the vet and seemed to improve after a week. After that he started sneezing again and was again given antibiotics. This time the sneezing doesn't go away.

Never had the chance to vaccinate him since he has not completely recovered.
Almost 100% guaranteed its cat flu....

No cure, palliative treatment with lots of fluids, symptomatic therapy, antibiotics is often used such as doxy but i dun recommend it unless its real bad. Lysine is apparently a supplement some people would use to help cats with cat flu
viralyspowder.png
 

thinhlegolas

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Almost 100% guaranteed its cat flu....

No cure, palliative treatment with lots of fluids, symptomatic therapy, antibiotics is often used such as doxy but i dun recommend it unless its real bad. Lysine is apparently a supplement some people would use to help cats with cat flu
viralyspowder.png

Thank you lycans. You've been really helpful :)
 

freespiritsy

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I did blood count for my cat when I adopted her 2 years ago. Here it goes

ALT 159 (above norm)
BUN 31+(a tad high)
CRE 2.1 (a tad high)

As my previous 12 year old cat died of CKD (which I attributed to Science Diet dry food), I have been feeding this new cat (8 years old) wet food only. My vet has asked me to keep her on low protein level diet ie not more than 15% protein for wet food. These past 2 years I have been feeding her just Wellness Core and Applaws (min 14-15% level which is high). My vet has suggested Royal Canine renal food (I am not keen as I was told it does not have the full nutrition) so I am thinking of changing my cat's diet and hopes her blood count will get better. A friend of mine has suggested for me to feed my cat Primal Freeze Dried (Protein 52% though - good quality protein food) and with Nutripe Canned food (8-10% protein). My husband is a fan of good oral health as our oral health can affect our overall health and has suggested to the vet to do scaling for the cat. The vet has said the cat's gums not that great. Scaling will require GA though which carries some risk which I am not so keen on.

My friend has also suggested I try to rub her gums with CET toothpaste.

Should I bring my cat for scaling? Is the diet change I mentioned good enough for my cat - any other suggestions regarding her diet?

Thanks in advance for your replies. Have a good weekend!
 
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freespiritsy

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I did blood count for my cat when I adopted her 2 years ago. Here it goes

ALT 159 (above norm)
BUN 31+(a tad high)
CRE 2.1 (a tad high)

As my previous 12 year old cat died of CKD (which I attributed to Science Diet dry food), I have been feeding this new cat (8 years old) wet food only. My vet has asked me to keep her on low protein level diet ie not more than 15% protein for wet food. These past 2 years I have been feeding her just Wellness Core and Applaws (min 14-15% level which is high). My vet has suggested Royal Canine renal food (I am not keen as I was told it does not have the full nutrition) so I am thinking of changing my cat's diet and hopes her blood count will get better. A friend of mine has suggested for me to feed my cat Primal Freeze Dried (Protein 52% though - good quality protein food) and with Nutripe Canned food (8-10% protein). My husband is a fan of good oral health as our oral health can affect our overall health and has suggested to the vet to do scaling for the cat. The vet has said the cat's gums not that great. Scaling will require GA though which carries some risk which I am not so keen on.

My friend has also suggested I try to rub her gums with CET toothpaste.

Should I bring my cat for scaling? Is the diet change I mentioned good enough for my cat - any other suggestions regarding her diet?

Thanks in advance for your replies. Have a good weekend!

Acceptable protein level according to my vet :
Wet : less than 15%
Dry : less than 24%
What about acceptable protein level for freeze dried food? Primal freeze dried protein level is 52% - is that acceptable level? Tks
 
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lycans

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As my previous 12 year old cat died of CKD (which I attributed to Science Diet dry food), I have been feeding this new cat (8 years old) wet food only.
I keep seeing people say that but I found no evidence to suggest that. Although a famous Sydney university lecturer recently suggested that commercial pet food diet is bad, the jury is still out on that
http://theconversation.com/the-convenience-food-industry-making-our-pets-fat-46387

My vet has asked me to keep her on low protein level diet ie not more than 15% protein for wet food. These past 2 years I have been feeding her just Wellness Core and Applaws (min 14-15% level which is high). My vet has suggested Royal Canine renal food (I am not keen as I was told it does not have the full nutrition)
Told by whom? Did you go do abit of reading about it after you were told?

Nutrition is a very grey area in both human and veterinary medicine. Many "opinions" exist and its important to sift through what is known empirically and from old wives tales.

so I am thinking of changing my cat's diet and hopes her blood count will get better. A friend of mine has suggested for me to feed my cat Primal Freeze Dried (Protein 52% though - good quality protein food) and with Nutripe Canned food (8-10% protein). My husband is a fan of good oral health as our oral health can affect our overall health and has suggested to the vet to do scaling for the cat. The vet has said the cat's gums not that great. Scaling will require GA though which carries some risk which I am not so keen on.
I have no idea about those products, protein % asides, does it have good high quality protein? If you think it does, then should be fine. The rule of thumb with CRF is to feed high quality protein in small amounts, the idea is that more protein goes into the body, the harder the glomeruli has to work. However the cat still needs protein to function otherwise you will kill the cat with malnutrition

Yes, good dental hygiene can be very helpful but you need to weigh the pros vs cons of the dental surgery as it does involve GA
My friend has also suggested I try to rub her gums with CET toothpaste.

Sure why not, if it helps clean their teeth. Although I am unfamiliar with CET toothpaste

Should I bring my cat for scaling? Is the diet change I mentioned good enough for my cat - any other suggestions regarding her diet?

Thanks in advance for your replies. Have a good weekend!
Diet change and dental cleaning will be my choice but discuss with your vet to see what ur comfortable with
 

lycans

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Acceptable protein level according to my vet :
Wet : less than 15%
Dry : less than 24%
What about acceptable protein level for freeze dried food? Primal freeze dried protein level is 52% - is that acceptable level? Tks
whats the phosphorus level?

As per my post above, "rule of thumb" when feeding CRF patients is low protein but as I said also, nutrition is a controversial area and many opinions and contradicting research exist. 52% is pretty high I would think.
 

onitsuka_1

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Same question I posted in the groomer thread.. My dog Juz had surgery last week and will remove stitch on Saturday. Ok for her to go for grooming next day or wait a week?
 

freespiritsy

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I have no idea about those products, protein % asides, does it have good high quality protein? If you think it does, then should be fine. The rule of thumb with CRF is to feed high quality protein in small amounts, the idea is that more protein goes into the body, the harder the glomeruli has to work. However the cat still needs protein to function otherwise you will kill the cat with malnutrition

sorry for belated reply as I had to work full days on Saturdays and Sundays. I agree with you regarding high quality protein.

I have forgotten to highlight to you previously that my cat does not like to consume water and as she doesn't drink water, I will add water to her wet food as I know water consumption is important. I just don't know if I am feeding her enough water though.

to your other question, my cat's phosphorus level was 5.3. is this level acceptable?

BTW, the proposed level of protein proposed by my vet is based on label on cans. I know that a more accurate way of calculation is via dry matter analysis (DMA). When I did the conversion, the protein level based on the type of cat food I have been feeding her can range from 40-70%. will you know what will be a good protein range for wet cat food based on DMA for normal and/or CKD cats? not sure if a separate protein range is required for freeze dried cat food though? tks

Yes, good dental hygiene can be very helpful but you need to weigh the pros vs cons of the dental surgery as it does involve GA

I know you have advocated for my cat to go for teeth scaling but can you help share what are the pros and cons for my benefit? tks.
 
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freespiritsy

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I know you have advocated for my cat to go for teeth scaling but can you help share what are the pros and cons for my benefit? tks.

hope to hear from you tomorrow regarding teeth scaling as my appt with the vet for teeth scaling has been scheduled for this Thursday. tks, much and sorry about the rush :)
 

lycans

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sorry for belated reply as I had to work full days on Saturdays and Sundays. I agree with you regarding high quality protein.

I have forgotten to highlight to you previously that my cat does not like to consume water and as she doesn't drink water, I will add water to her wet food as I know water consumption is important. I just don't know if I am feeding her enough water though.

Cats as a species dont like to drink water due to their efficient nephrons, some studies in the past even suggested that cats could drink seawater and live on it
to your other question, my cat's phosphorus level was 5.3. is this level acceptable?
5.3 what? 5.3 mmol/l? 5.3 mg/dl?

The number itself doesnt give a lot of information
BTW, the proposed level of protein proposed by my vet is based on label on cans. I know that a more accurate way of calculation is via dry matter analysis (DMA). When I did the conversion, the protein level based on the type of cat food I have been feeding her can range from 40-70%. will you know what will be a good protein range for wet cat food based on DMA for normal and/or CKD cats? not sure if a separate protein range is required for freeze dried cat food though? tks


I know you have advocated for my cat to go for teeth scaling but can you help share what are the pros and cons for my benefit? tks.
i dont really put much stock in DMA as it can be misleading, rather I try to look at the ingredients and hazard a guess if it is a good protein source. As stated before, nutrition is a grey area with alot of information and misinformation. Caveat lector

Pros - bacterias in the mouth dont cause more problems for the organs, animal welfare is improved (try having a few rotten teeth in your mouth, see if you like it)

Cons - general anesthesia is always a risk, possibly death or some organ damage if anesthesia drug used is not good for the patient
 

lycans

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Same question I posted in the groomer thread.. My dog Juz had surgery last week and will remove stitch on Saturday. Ok for her to go for grooming next day or wait a week?

Rule of thumb is to wait 10 days post surgery before grooming, more if complications arise.
 
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