Cali
Canine Pet of the Month - December 2024
Cali is a sweet, senior Pomeranian. Cali presented a few months ago for sudden onset of severe and excessive sneezing and pawing at the side of the face. The owners had noticed this right after she had been outside in the yard. Her overall physical examination was unremarkable. The suspicion was that Cali may have sniffed up foreign material into her nose with the history and sudden onset. Inflammation, dental disease and cancer had to be ruled out as well. These things can also have sneezing signs. Antibiotics were started and Cali was scheduled for skull radiographs to look for material and tumors in the nasal passage. The radiographs of the nasal passage were unremarkable. Sometimes the underlying cause is not seen on radiographs and rhinoscopy is the next step. Rhinoscopy is a procedure in which a rigid scope with a camera inserted into each nostril to look at the nasal passage. In Cali’s case we saw a large blade of grass folded up in the left nasal passage mid nasal passage. Using a camera-guided grabbing tool in the rhinoscope the grass blade was removed. Cali recovered uneventfully and is doing very well. The sneezing has stopped.
Cali was a very unique case with a great outcome and that is why she is AHS’s canine Pet of the Month!
Daisy
Feline Pet of the Month - December 2024
Daisy is a 16-year-old spayed female cat who has been a patient at AHS her whole life. Daisy has always been healthy with her only issues being dental cleanings that occur every two years or so.
This summer, Daisy started urinating outside the litter pan. While this is not uncommon in cats, it was out of character for Daisy. Cats frequently will urinate outside the litter pan when suffering from cystitis-a complex and frustrating syndrome that usually is caused by a stress/hormonal issue. This is difficult to diagnose as there is no direct test for it. We start by obtaining a urinalysis to rule out things like urinary tract infection (extremely rare in cats), crystals in the urine (quite concerning in cats) as well as others. Daisy’s urine was excellent with no indication of any issues other than moderate blood in the urine. She was started on medication to help rule out stress as a potential primary cause.
Daisy did well for several months until the problem started back again. Because Daisy had to be sedated for her exams, we chose to start a special diet to help relieve stress as opposed to a continued work up. After 4 weeks there was minimal improvement, so Daisy was sedated for a follow up urinalysis. This again showed blood. Subsequent X-rays showed that Daisy had developed a bladder stone which was not present at her first visit. Frequently, the urinalysis will give indication of a possible stone. Daisy’s urinalysis did not. Daisy was scheduled for surgery and the stone was removed. She was better within a week.
Daisy’s case shows the complexity of cat bladder issues and the frustration as we work though them. Once her stone was removed, Daisy returned to normal. Because of her great recovery she is AHS’s feline Pet of the Month.