This Week's Q&A's: (through Sunday December 30, 2001) Ask the Vet - This Week's Top Ten By Dr. Kelly Brodnik 1) Dog with Hematomas Question: My dog is developing a hematoma and had developed one on his other ear a few months ago. He was operated on and has developed it on his other ear. What can be done to prevent this from recurring and my dog has had hair loss also. Please help. G.P., Maharastra Answer: You need to have your vet find out the cause of the ear problems. Hematomas (blood trapped between two tissues-usually between the cartilage of the ears in this case) can be caused by trauma and severe head shaking. Head shaking can be caused by foreign objects lodged in the ear canals, allergies, parasite infections, bacterial or fungal infections of the ears, even hormonal problems such as hypothyroidism. Hairloss can occur with any of these as well, including allergies. Get your dog in for a workup of what is causing the ear problems including skin scrapings, fungal cultures of the skin and ear, fecal testing, blood testing (hormones such as T4), and possible allergies. Good luck and get to the underlying problem and that should help with preventing the hematomas (usually secondary to another problem). 2)Sneezing May/May Not Be Caused by Shots Question: Since adopting our kitten from the humane society she has been sneezing, not constantly, but enough that we notice it. She doesn't seem to have much energy. The humane society says she has all of her shots accept rabies and the vet only found flea mites in her ears. We are using drops on the ears. She eats good, drinks good, and uses the litter box. Could the sneezing and the watery eye be caused by the shots? D.M., Miaamia, Oklahoma. Answer: Vaccines can lower the body's ability to fight infection because they use the immune system to do their thing. If the immune system is already fighting something off (virus, etc) then it the vaccines and the viral fight will neither be ideal and the kitten may even get worse symptomatically. Most shelters have problems with upper respiratory infections (URI) in kittens and cats because the incubation period is about 7-14 days in which the animal is infected but not showing any clinical signs (which means it spreads to other cats rapidly). There is no way to detect this problem early on, so often they will have outbreaks of URI. You need to take your kitten into your vet, have it tested for Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency virus, examined for URI, and a fecal test checked for parasites. Your vet will then prescribe the appropriate treatments for your kitten, which will need shots again at 12 weeks and 16 weeks of age. Good luck and for more information on kittens check out: The Cornell Book of Cats : A Comprehensive and Authoritative Medical Reference for Every Cat and Kitten 3) Feathers on Budgie Sticky and Hard Question: I noticed the feathers on my Budgie's head are sticky and hard. There are spikey bits growing out of her head like new feathers. Is this what they are? Will the hard feathers grow out and be soft? This is my first budgie and I think she is about three which is a lot older than what the pet shop said. Thanks. Lizzie, Leatherhead, Surrey. Answer: Birds will "molt" from once a year to several times a year depending upon the breed, the bird, and the environment. Molting is when they lose their feathers and get new ones. They usually fall out when a "hard" new one pushes it out of the skin. The "hard" feather is covered by what appears to be a white or clear plastic coating which the bird will preeen off, presenting the beautiful new soft feather underneath. For more information on budgies in particular, check out: The Proper Care of Budgies 4)Cat with Infected Foot Pad Question: My 1 yr old Persian cat has been getting infection on his back right pad. I have been to the vet 2 times in 2 mons and today will be the 3rd time. The vet gave him an antibiotic the first time it went away and came back within weeks. The 2nd time another antibiotic and antiseptic scrub. Again, the infection is back. I nos see it on his front pad. What should I do. Luv, a very concerned mom :(. Please help me I don't know what to do. My cat is becoming afraid of me. Thank you in advance. Michele, Budd Lake, New Jersey. Answer: You need to have your vet sedate your cat and explore the wound and see if there is something stuck in it such as a grass awn (seed) etc. The wound may require a drain. It could also be a parasitic infection, tumor, fungal infection, etc. You need to be sure to have the cat tested and vaccinated for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus because both of these will make it harder for the cat's own immune system to fight off infections. Your vet may want to culture the wound and send it in for a sensitivity test to find out what bugs are there and which antibiotic is most susceptible. Your vet may also want to do a fungal culture or provide antibiotics for a longer period of time, depending upon what they find. Good luck and don't give up. Skin problems are the number one reason people leave veterinarians for other vets, because they are the most difficult to diagnose and people think their vets aren't competent when they are. Skin problems involve much testing and if you happen to get it right the first time, you are only LUCKY. Allow your vet to do whatever he/she needs to in order to find the cause. Good luck. 5) German Shepherd With Myositis Question: Vet diagnosed my dog with myositis. Dog had weakness in back end. What is the recommended treatment and prognosis? G.R., Evansville, Indiana. Answer: I am assuming alot when I assume that your dog was diagnosed with protozoal myositis because most other forms of myositis involve the muscles of the orbit of the eye not the hind end. Treatment and prognosis depend upon treating the protozoal infection and the severity of the disease in which it is arrested. As for other forms of myositis, it varies with the cause. Myositis is just inflammation of the muscle and sometimes the cause is known, while others it isn't. It can be anything from trauma, dietary deficiencies, the presence of other disease states in the body, infection, etc. I am sorry I cannot help answer our question, but I would need a little more information. Good luck. 6) Cat with Growths in Ears Question: We have an old cat that has growths in her ears. We had them removed 3 mos ago and they have returned. She is always digging at them and bleeding. We are told they will always come back. Our regular vet died, so we ar at a loss. Help Please. P.K., Morris, New York. Answer: I hope I can help. You didn't mention whether or not the growths were sent in to a professional histopathologist to determine the type of mass as this would be very helpful information in answering your question. Many tumor types will return if they have not been completely excised with very wide margins, something next to impossible in an ear canal. If they were superficial and just on the outside pinna of the ear, then you could potentially remove the whole ear and eliminate the problem, but if they are in the canal, they are too deep to remove wide margins. Talk to your vet about chemotherapy for the type of tumor that was removed; this may be another option. Keeping the cat comfortable is the most important aspect at this stage of the game. 7) Border Collie Rash on Muzzle Question: My 10 mo old Spayed Border Collie has a rash on her muzzle, between her mouth and nose. Her hair thinned out and it became red and splotchy Now, I noticed that werhe it touched her nose, it has changed the black of her nose to an irritated red color. But it doesn't seem to bother her at all. We live in the Colorado mountains and she spends most of her day outside, but comes inside whenever she needs. Should I be concerned? M.M., Leadville, Colorado. Answer: Yes. Anytime there are changes that you are describing this can signify a problem. Living in high altitude will predispose your animal to lots of UV radiation which can result in some forms of skin cancer. Some allergies (contact allergies) can behave this way if your dog is allergic to the plastic in food bowls, etc. Try stainless steel and see if it clears up. Your dog should be on antibiotics regardless because any time there is a break in the skin barrier, you have the opportunity for infection, so please get her in for this anyway. Some animals also develop an autoimmune problem with their own immune system attacking normal cells around the nose, but we don't usually see that at this young of an age. Get her in today and don't apply anything to the area until a diagnosis is made. 8) Cat Sensative Around Tail Question: Bo, my cat, has been very sensative around his tai.. When I was able to inspect it, I found about 30 red scabby bumps. They seem to be itchy and soure. Could he have mites there? He has already been treated for fleas. In fact, because he is indoors I haven't seen a flea in years. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it? Thanks. C.C., Williamston, North Carolina. Answer: You really need to take him in and find out what is causing the problem. The bumps could be an allergic reaction to something in the stool, a toxin, a parasite bite (including flea bites), food, etc. You need to get to the root of the problem in order to treat it properly. It may just be a bacterial infection of the skin, infected anal glands, etc., but get the cat in soon, it is suffering. 9) Smelly Mouse Cages Question: I have desparately been searching for a solution to my smelly mouse cages. All the things I have found and used don't work. Can you tell me if there is one other there that actually WORKS or something I can do to stop them from smelling after I've cleaned them? R.F., Brewster, New York. Answer: I am afraid to tell you that mice produce a musky smell in their urine that you won't be able to get rid of. It is natural for them and helps them to attract females, males, etc for breeding. It is in their urine and feces. The only solution would be to clean the cage daily using a 1:32 bleach to water solution and letting it dry completely in between. Also, try using some type of substrate that can be dumped out or cleaned more frequently, and cleaning more often. Or, you may just have to find an alternate home for them if you cannot stand the smell. 10) Cat Needs Medical Help Immediately Question: What kind of disease would a cat or kitten have if he can barely walk, tongue hanging out of mouth and panting, loss of bowel control, a seizure that lasts a couple of minutes and crying out loud. I tried to look it up on different web sites and couldn't determine what disease it was? D.S., Toledo, Ohio. Answer: I hope that by the time you recieve this message that your cat has been treated and gotten better or it is no longer suffering. You would not want anything to live like that if it could be helped. It sounds as if the cat was in alot of pain. Causes could have been toxin ingestion (antifreeze, etc), brain tumors, metabollic problems such as diabetes, viral infections such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency, feline infectious peritonitis, feline distemper, etc), to name a few. The only way to get a diagnosis is to have an autopsy performed on the cat or have medically testing done to determine the exact cause. Good luck to all and thanks for the questions! You can always join me on Wednesday from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern) 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Pacific) on our website at www.petservice.com for our Ask the Vet Live. We would love to have you join our LIVE CHAT!

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