Why Does My Cat Have Scabs All Over the Nose?
Fly Bites on a Cat’s Nose
Scabs All Over a Cat’s Nose
“Doc, Shadow’s nose just looked this way one day,” said Maria as she held the scared black cat’s head pointed toward the veterinarian. “What is it?”
Bumps and crusted scabs covered the top of Shadow’s nose. She did not itch it very much and it did not look ulcerated or raw (see the exact picture at the right.)
“It looks just like fly-bite hypersensitivity, but we must do a few tests to rule out some other problems that can look similar to this,” said Doc Truli.
“Is it contagious?” asked Shadow’s worried mom. Read more…
“Cat Losing Fur by the Base of the Tail”
When a cat doctor sees these words in the appointment book, she thinks, “flea allergy dermatitis.” 95% of the time, fleas are the cause of fur loss, scabs, and irritation at the end of the back where the cat’s tail starts.
So, when Princess showed up on the exam table, Doc Truli asked extra questions about fleas:
- “Do you see fleas?” (answer is almost always ”no”)
- “Do any of your other pets have fleas?” (“no” – veterinarian still believes fleas are likely, you just didn’t see them)
- “Do any of your pets go outside at all?” “no” – veterinarian still believes you probably don’t count the sun room as “outside”)
- “Do you apply monthly flea preventative to each of your pets?” (“yes” – veterinarian wonders if you applied it right and if you used a reputable brand – and if you “stretch it” past a month.)
- You show the veterinarian where you applied the great brand you buy regularly from her hospital and you have the computer record to prove it.
- Then you mention you have the yard and house exterminated anyway, just in case. (Veterinarian starts to believe you know what you are talking about and you have a difficult, unusual problem in the rare 5% category of cats who are itchy at their tail base and do not have fleas.)
- “Doctor, what is wrong with my cat??”
1-Year Old Chihuahua Teeth Poke Through the Mouth Floor
Charley
Teeth Poking Through the Floor of the Mouth are Bad
Charley was a perfectly cute 1-year-old long-haired male Chihuahua. However, he had a horrible, hidden tooth problem. Charlie’s bottom canine teeth were base narrow. The canine teeth could cause lifelong pain and infection. Read more…
15-Year-Old Pomeranian Surgery Success
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The dull look of abdominal pain.
Ancient Pomeranian Suddenly Mortally Ill
The morals of this story are: never count an old dog out. And never assume a dog won’t eat something he shouldn’t. Here’s how a miracle came to pass.
Pit Bull Puppy Not Moving Right
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APBT Puppy with tetanus forehead wrinkles
American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) Puppy Suddenly Not Acting Right
When I say suddenly, I mean suddenly. This puppy saw Doc Truli the day before for a health certificate. He looked perfect. His two chunky, silver-grey sisters looked perfect, too. Now, he sat on the examination table and wobbled. He sat where we placed him and tried to stand up but instead, he kept rocking forward and back onto his haunches. When he tried harder, he fell over and had to throw out a paw to catch himself. If we stood him up, he could not take a step. He just stood there, frozen.
“I swear nothing happened to him,” said his human,”he just woke up this morning all messed up.” Read more…
Neck Pain Sends a Tai Pei Dog to Surgery
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Tai Pei
Ten Year-Old Tai Pei Cannot Move His Neck
“Doc, Alex was perfect until yesterday after he came in from the yard. He barely wants to walk. He won’t eat or drink. He’s shaking, even for no reason at all. My daughter went to pet him and he screamed in pain, like she hurt him. But she didn’t do anything, I swear!” said the 10-year-old Tai Pei’s mom.
Alex looked miserable. He did not look up. He did not wag his tail. He walked very tenderly, like his front paws hurt. His eyes were half closed most of the time, then they would pop open suddenly when someone moved near him. Then he would go back to the resting, quiet stance.
The physical exam revealed extreme pain on the left side of Alex’s neck. In fact, he could not turn his neck to the left at all and would let out an excruciating yelp.
“Alex has severe neck pain,” said Doc Truli.
“Why?” said the Tai Pei’s mom.
X-Rays Show IVDD
Calcified neck disc in a dog (near the middle)
“Let’s take a few radiographs and see,” said Doc Truli.
We sedated Alex for the X-rays for a few good reasons. First, so he would have less pain. Second, so he would not move and the x-rays could be diagnostic. If a patient moves during an x-ray, the image turns out fuzzy. We needed to see fine details of the intervertebral disc space and the delicate neck bones. When a dog is in pain, he might not feel comfortable laying on his back or his side with a big x-ray machine above him. (I know I wouldn’t!)
Alex’s radiograph showed a white oval object in between the second and third vertebra. Intervertebral discs live in between the vertebral bones. They are made up of a connective tissue pouch filled with a biological gel-like cushion material. Both contain very much water and do not show on an x-ray. The fact that anything showed means that inflammation let calcium settle in the intervertebral disc until the whole thing looks like a calcium pillow on the x-ray.
Calcium makes up limestone and other rocks. It does not make for a comfortable pillow cushion.
Pain of IVDD Comes from Inflammation, not Calcium
You would think the problem was the calcified disc. Nope! The calcium-filled disc just means there is a problem somewhere nearby. It means the dog has a tendency for inflammation and disease in the discs. The calcium-filled area itself may not actually cause the pain.
Alex needed a more detailed type of imaging than x-rays. He needed an MR (Magnetic resonance imaging) procedure performed at a neurology hospital.
“But Doc, won’t he get better without surgery and a specialist?” said Alex’s dad, “We really don’t have that kind of money.”
”Sometimes a dog needs neck or spinal cord surgery to alleviate pain, even though they suffer no paralysis or loss of nerve function,” says Doc Truli. “The pain can be excruciating.”
We just cannot tell which dogs need surgery and which might need surgery if they are walking and eating and generally functioning. A paralysed dog, yes, surgery is the best chance of walking again.
A dog in pain might need surgery.
Painkillers for Neck Pain in a Dog
Alex took 3 kinds of anti-inflammatory painkillers and other painkillers. We tried all-natural supplements and we tried raising his food and water bowls so he did not have to bend his neck. We stopped using a leash around his sensitive neck and put a harness on him.
Two days later, Alex’s family called with desperate news,” Doc, he’s just crying day and night. he won’t sit or lie down and he’s howling in pain every other hour. What can we do?”
Alex needed evaluation for decompression surgery.
Neck Surgery for a Painful Dog
Alex went to the neurologist, went under anesthesia, had an MR scan, and then went for back surgery right away while he was still under anesthesia. The surgeon could see on the MR scan, he had a pinched nerve and a bulging disc at C3-C4 (between cervical vertebra 3 and 4). The surgeon removed the bulging disk and examined the spinal cord. Luckily, Alex’s spinal cord showed no signs of bruising.
“It seems strange that you can remove an intervertebral disc and live just fine without one. It makes you wonder, why does he have it in the first place? I think of it as scaffolding for the body to build it’s design,” says Doc Truli. ”You can remove some of the spine’s scaffolding without ill effects.”
Alex was pain-free in the post-operative hours. He returned home to his family the following day. He rested for 6 weeks and now if as good as new!
10-Year-Old Miniature Dachshund with a Swollen Face
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Manny’s Face is Suddenly Swollen
This swelling showed up overnight!
“Doc, I swear he looked fine yesterday!” said the 10-year-old Miniature Dachshund’s dad.
The right side of Manny’s face above the upper jaw and next to the bridge of his nose looked swollen like a golf ball. It felt firm but not hard. A little spot of blood and yellow-green liquid eked out of a hole under the fur by the bridge of his nose.
“Manny ate breakfast and everything else seems fine,” said Manny’s dad.
At this point, Doc Truli knows that pessimistic people ask if it’s cancer and optimistic people ask if it is an insect bite. Almost nobody thinks of the obvious, most likely diagnosis.
“Manny has a tooth root abscess,” said Doc Truli.
A Carnassial Tooth Root Abscess
When the upper side of the face swells suddenly like this, it usually involves an abscess that has festered at the tip of the root of the carnassial (aka fourth premolar, aka 108) that finally tries to break out through a path of least resistance. In Manny’s case (and many dogs), the pus swells up between the cheek muscles and breaks out through the skin under the eye. Sometimes it even breaks out through the conjunctiva (the white connective tissue around the eye). When this happens it looks like pus coming out of the eye.
Periodontal Disease Carnassial Tooth
The Diseased Carnassial Tooth
The fourth premolar, otherwise known as carnassial tooth, looks terrible when it is infected and loose. A thorough annual physical exam would have predicted this outcome. Probably Manny’s regular veterinarian recommended a “dental” in the past. Probably Manny’s family thought it cost too dearly to find the space in the family budget.
The other main reason families put off dental surgery in their Dachshunds in a heart murmur. Fear of the anesthesia hurting the heart makes people delay treatment. Ironically, the longer you delay, the worse the teeth and the heart become.
A heart murmur seems an inevitable result of severe dental disease. The tartar holds the plaque biofilm. The plaque attracts and protects very harmful bacteria. This bacteria eats away at the roots of the teeth and the tiny ligaments that hold the teeth in the socket. The bacteria also easily travels through the blood the tiny, filmy heart valves.
Lodging on the heart valves, especially the mitral valve, the bacteria make the valves thick and nodular. Then the little valves do not close tightly. Think of a window with little rocks and grit and dirt on the window sill. The window will not close tightly, right? Same with the heart valves. Then your veterinarian hears a heart murmur, an abnormal sound caused by blood not moving smoothly through the heart. Now you are worried about heart disease.
Suddenly, anesthesia and tooth cleaning becomes much riskier. Now you must have the heart checked out to increase the confidence in the safety of the anesthesia. Many families cannot afford these tests and stop at this point and “wait and see” with the teeth. Instead, they should talk candidly with their veterinarian about risks and affordability. It may be worthwhile to take care of the teeth without a full cardiac work-up, as long as everyone understands the risks.
Delaying Proper Oral Care for Your Dog Shortens His or Her Life by at Least 2 Years
Poor tooth care and dental disease shortens our lifespan and our pets’ lifespans by years. Years.
What’s a better way? Start tooth care early. Start brushing your puppy’s teeth when he or she is very young. Go to the veterinarian’s for a check up at least yearly. 75% of cats and dogs have periodontal disease by the age of three. That means it started at 1-2 years old! So those check-ups you thought you did not need because your pet was young? Not so fast! Make an appointment!
If your older pet or foster or adopted pet already has dental disease, get it taken care of as a high priority as soon as you can. Once a tooth root abscess becomes a swelling on the face, you have an emergency.
Manny weathered his emergency tooth root surgery well. His heart murmur was not associated with heart failure, so with careful anesthetic monitoring and luck, he recovered perfectly well. Manny needed 10 more teeth extracted that would have become another abscess in the future.
“Labradors and other large chewing type dogs often fracture a carnassial tooth and so the tooth root abscess may be the singular oral pathology they suffer. Dogs like Miniature Dachshunds often suffer progressive long-term periodontal disease and the abscessed tooth is one of many,” says Doc Truli.
Continue Reading VirtuaVet Dental Stories
German Shepherd Needs 9 Teeth Removed
Top Five Ways Dogs Fracture Their Teeth
Help! My Dog’s Breath Smells Bad!
and many more under the Dental Success Stories Category in the right Sidebar.
Dachshund with a Swollen Face
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What’s Wrong With My Dog’s Face?
Allergic reaction!
“Doc, Gertrude’s face looks wrong. She was just sitting on her dog bed in the living room and now this,” said the darlin’ dapple dachshund’s worried dad.
Gertrude is a ball of energy. So, immediately something sounds “off.” Why would this little spitfire sit quietly on her bed in the middle of the afternoon?
“Where was she a half hour before this happened?” asked Doc Truli.
“She was out back in the yard, chasing a squirrel,” said Gertrude’s dad.
“Looks like she was either bitten by a bee or insect or had an allergic reaction,” said Doc Truli, flicking a syringe full of clear liquid allergy relief medication. Gertrude needed two shots of medicine to get her face to stop swelling up.
“If you look closely, her left side looks bigger than the right side. I’ll bet an insect bit her,” said Doc Truli.
What to Expect as an Allergic Swelling Goes Away
Tooth Root Abscess
First, we stop the allergic reaction with medication. The swelling is caused by edema (pronounced eh-dee-ma). If you understand that edema is fluid build-up within the tissues of the body, not between the layers like an abscess pocket, then you understand how the body has to absorb the fluid back into the bloodstream over time.
(With a pocket of fluid, like pus, we can surgically drain the fluid and relieve the uncomfortable pressure.)
The swollen allergic muzzle will begin to go back to normal, but not before gravity starts pulling some of the edema fluid through the tissue layers and under the chin.
“It is perfectly normal for a soft swelling to form under the chin after a swollen allergic face on a dog. It is not a new symptom, it’s just the effect of gravity on the extra fluid,” says Doc Truli.
Follow-up Care for a Swollen Face Allergic Reaction
If your dog starts having breathing problems, that means the edema swelling could be around the throat, or in the lungs. Get to a veterinarian right away; breathing problems can be life-threatening.
Your dog might be very tired from the allergic reaction, the healing process, and the medications. Let him or her rest in a dark, quiet room.
Ask your veterinarian how long the medications will last. Many meds we use for allergic reactions wear off before the reaction is done. Your vet will let you know if your pet needs to stay under observation in the hospital, go home, or needs repeated doses of oral medication at home until the reaction is safely passed.
Gretchen must have been bitten in the yard. She felt “funny,” so she can into the house and rested on her bed. Her dad could not see anything wrong until her face looked swollen. Then he knew he had to do something for her and came to see Doc Truli.
Thirty minutes after the medication injections, Gretchen’s face swelling was smaller. Her dad repeated her medications at home in 6 hours and she recovered fully. We still do not know who (or what) bit her, but life is like that!
Step-by-Step Dog Food Allergy Elimination Diet
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Allergy Elimination Diet Instructions
Fat Allergic Shih Tzu
It’s a diet to figure out food allergies by process of elimination. This process takes a total of 17 weeks, at a minimum. This means you and your family will commit to the plan for at least 4 months. That’s 4 months of feeding a “safe” diet like an expensive hydrolyzed protein diet or a novel protein diet. (You can consult your veterinarian regarding local options for your country.)
Allergy Elimination Diet Goal
The goal of your allergy elimination diet is to only feed special diet and special treats in order to help the body clear out it’s reactivity. Allergies are unforgiving. Therefore, you must even replace flavored heartworm preventatives with alternatives per your veterinarians instructions. Read more…
"Petcare decisions are practical, ethical, moral, and spiritual decisions" -Doc Truli
