Birds are injured a lot in this area because of the many cars and people who live here. If a bird is on the ground, it does not necessarily mean that it is injured. Sometimes baby birds fall out of the nest but the mother is nearby, it is not always abandoned. If the bird is dragging its leg or its wing, it is truly injured and needs help. In the South Bay, there is a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation center located in Rancho Palos Verdes that takes in and rehabilitates wild birds and other local wildlife. If the bird is so injured that it cannot be saved, most local veterinarians as well as the animal control are usually willing to provide euthanasia services free of charge so the animal does not have to suffer.  [less]

At 4 weeks of age, the puppies are too young to have any flea control medications. Most of the flea treatments are for puppies over 8 weeks old. At this young age, you can give them a bath with a gentle puppy shampoo and use a flea comb to remove as many of the fleas as you can manually. Flea combs are sold at most pet stores and are relatively inexpensive. They have very fine, close tines which capture the fleas as you comb the puppies hair. You can then rinse the fleas under water or dip them in alcohol to kill them. Once the puppies are over 8 weeks old and over 2 pounds in weight, you can apply one of the topical once monthly flea control treatments such as Advantage, Frontline or Revolution all of which are very effective at killing fleas.  [less]

I would be very concerned about this cat. Obviously she is an older cat if you have been caring for her for the last 15 years. If she is drinking excessively, she may be dehydrated, have kidney or liver problems, be diabetic, or have a hormonal imbalance such as elevated thyroid levels. The diarrhea could be a result of improper nutrition, infection, internal parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer as well as any of the above listed diseases. The respiratory congestion could be an upper respiratory infection, feline herpes virus, feline asthma, pneumonia, heart failure or even lung cancer. Weight loss and lack of appetite in an older cat is always of concern and could indicate any number of diseases. Finally, feral and outdoor cats have an increased risk of acquiring the feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency viruses, which can both suppress the immune system and increase their risks for developing cancer. I understand the difficulty you have because she is a feral cat and is not easily captured or handled, unfortunately I suspect she may have something more serious going on, in which case the over the counter treatments may not be successful. For diarrhea, you can try a short term diet of chicken and rice (use boneless, skinless cooked chicken breast without seasoning and steamed white rice), the addition of a small amount of shredded cheese can sometimes help firm things up and a small amount of yogurt can add intestinal probiotics, however dairy products can also cause diarrhea so keep them to a minimum. You can also try over the counter pet anti-diarrheal treatments such as bentonite clay or an over the counter pet dewormer for internal parasites. For the congestion, you can try steam treatments by keeping her in an enclosed bathroom with the hot water running for 10 to 15 minutes. Saline nose drops for infants once daily can also help loosen up secretions and congestion to help her breathe a little easier. Sometimes cats do not eat well if they cannot smell their food. Over the counter antihistamines can also sometimes help with decongestion, but you will need to contact your veterinarian for proper dosage based on her weight. If she does not show some improvement quickly, I would encourage you to find some way to bring her to your veterinarian for more intensive care.  [less]

Yes, in small amounts this should be fine. After they are weaned from their mothers, kittens lose the ability to digest lactose (the main milk protein) and become lactose intolerant. If fed large amounts of dairy products, this could result in diarrhea, cramping and gas. In small amounts, however, there should not be a problem. Yogurt has the added benefit of providing probiotics (beneficial intestinal bacteria such as lactobacillus and acidophilus), which can help maintain the health of the gastrointestinal tract, although there is some argument as to whether the bacteria actually survive the stomach acid to make it through to the lower intestine where they are of most benefit. Start with just a small amount of yogurt and watch her stools carefully, if she shows any signs of diarrhea or intestinal upset, discontinue using the yogurt.  [less]

A foreign body such as grass blades in the nostrils is a common reason for persistent sneezing, however they usually do not cause a swelling of the side of the face unless there is an infection and an abscess of the tissues around the nose. Another possibility would be an abscessed tooth. The roots of the upper teeth are very close to the nasal cavity and an abscessed root could cause both swelling on the side of the face as well as an infection that breaks through the bone into the nasal passages causing a persistent sneeze. Fungal infections in the nose are also known to cause swellings on the side of the nasal passages and can sometimes cause severe deformities of the nose, usually in cats. In an older dog, however, I would be very concerned about the possibility of a tumor. I would strongly recommend an examination with your veterinarian to have the swelling evaluated and probably an anesthetized oral and nasal examination with x-rays of the nose and teeth as well as a biopsy of the area if cancer were suspected. Early diagnosis and treatment is key to a successful outcome whenever you are dealing with cancer.  [less]

Humping or mounting behaviors could be due to a dominance or a mating behavior. If either one of your dogs is still intact, spaying or neutering both of them may stop the behavior if it is attempts at mating. Even if only one of them is intact and the other is neutered, this can be the case as neutered male dogs are often found trying to attempt to mate intact females in season. If they are both already fixed, it may be because the new puppy is challenging for the alpha position or the older dog is trying to defend his alpha position. A problem may arise if the two do not come to an agreement on who will be in charge and aggression results. This frequently occurs as a new young puppy starts to reach maturity and is younger, stronger and faster than the older resident dog. You can try separating the dogs or interrupting them when they start this behavior and distract them with another activity to help reduce the occurrence, however, this will only work when you are home to see and stop the events.  [less]

What you are describing could be a hot-spot caused by a skin allergy. There are three main types of allergies in dogs: food allergies, flea allergies, and environmental allergies. Both food and environmental allergies have an identical pattern of itching, redness and hair loss which usually occurs across the under belly, armpits, feet and face. Flea allergies usually cause similar signs on the back, tail and rear legs. Because of the location of his lesion, I would suspect flea allergy to be most likely. Most of the time, these lesions are infected and require antibiotics. In addition, he may also need medication to stop the itching and chewing. Allergies in dogs are frustrating and are often a lifelong problem. If this is due to flea bites, you will want to make sure you use a good quality topical flea control product to prevent flea bites as it only takes 1 to 2 flea bites to set off a severe allergy. Make sure you use a product that kills fleas (some of them just sterilize fleas so they cannot lay eggs but do not kill them). Make sure you apply the product every 3 to 4 weeks and time the application with bathing. Many of them are listed as “waterproof” but that is not the same as “bath-proof”. If you scrub them with soap and water, some of the activity of the medication will be reduced. In general, I recommend bathing followed 1 to 2 days later by applying the flea control product for best results. Omega 3 capsules are well known to help reduce inflammation, assist with controlling allergies in dogs and are a good addition to the diet; however you want to make sure you are using them at the higher end of the dose range to get the beneficial effect.  [less]

This could be an indication of a lower urinary tract problem (such as an infection or feline lower urinary tract disease FLUTD) or it may be a behavioral issue. Because there is both urinating and defecating involved, it is more likely to be behavioral. However, you should have both of them screened for urinary tract disease with your veterinarian. Behavioral reasons for the inappropriate elimination may be because of stress, confinement or marking. You mentioned the cats are in the same enclosed area, if it is not a very large area, they may be stressed. If they are bored, they may also be stressed, so you can try to provide them with environmental enrichment such as splitting their food into several small shallow dishes and hiding them all over the room so they have to search and “hunt” for the food every day. Make sure that you watch their interaction with each other closely as a tense relationship between two cats that do not get along can also contribute to the problem. If this is the case, they may need to be separated from each other. It is also always a good idea to have extra litterboxes even if you only have one cat, the guideline is one box for each pair of cats plus one extra box. Every household should have a minimum of two litterboxes, even if there is only one cat. You can also try changing the litterbox type (i.e. covered vs. uncovered) as well as the litter type (i.e. clumping vs. non-clumping) to see if there is a substrate or location preference. Many large wild jungle cats have been known to defecate and urinate in their water source which is though to be a way to mark their territory. If your cats are not spayed or neutered, doing so may help reduce or eliminate the problem. Finally, as a temporary fix, you can elevate the food and water dishes on a block that is high enough that they cannot urinate and defecate in the dish but is still low enough to drink and eat from.  [less]

These symptoms are very characteristic for a urinary tract infection (UTI) or cystitis. Cats with a UTI often have an increased urge to urinate when only a small amount of urine is present in the bladder resulting in frequent squatting but only a few small drops of urine (often tinged with blood) coming out. Because it hurts when they urinate, they often avoid using the litterbox because they associate it with pain and try to find other places to urinate (resulting in many a bed being soiled). Another possibility for a cat who is straining to urinate and only a couple drops of urine produced is a urinary obstruction caused by a stone or crystals. Luckily, most female cats do not develop urinary obstructions because the size of their urethra is relatively large, but a male cat with the same symptoms would be a high suspect for a blockage which is a medical emergency. UTI’s in cats often develop because of an ascending infection from the outside because the cats squat to urinate in a dirty place (the litterbox). Cats can also develop a sterile cystitis, meaning there are no bacteria involved in the symptoms. The cause for this inflammatory bladder condition is unknown but the cat acts in every way as if it has a bladder infection (including having blood in the urine). A urinalysis and a culture of the urine are usually performed to determine if bacteria are present and antibiotics are needed. In addition, the urinalysis can identify the presence of crystals in the urine. Crystals can predispose cats to urethral obstructions if present in high numbers. They are often the result of low water intake and pH imbalance caused by the diet. Cats that develop frequent problems with sterile cystitis or crystals are often placed on a special prescription urinary health diet to regulate their urine pH and increase their water intake. Stress is thought to play a role in the development of urinary problems in some cats so at home try to make the environment as stress free as possible. Make sure there are numerous litterboxes in the house that are cleaned daily and make a routine for the cat that is rigorously kept. Avoid changes in the environment that may cause stress in the cat’s life. Water intake is another important component to keeping the urinary system healthy. Cats are notoriously poor water drinkers so encourage water intake by feeding a canned food diet, offering lots of fresh water daily, or even purchasing a cat water fountain.  [less]

Based on what you are describing, this may be a sebaceous cyst. These are benign growths that are common on the skin of older dogs and certain breeds. They start out as a grey or pink lobular raised growth. Sometimes they rupture and a thick chunky material comes out of the cyst. Another possibility is an infection or abscess however. An abscess can also be filled with chunky or creamy thick material (although the color is often green). Abscesses are localized collections of bacterial infection that require antibiotic treatment. Even a ruptured cyst can develop a secondary bacterial infection if left open or if it does not heal completely so you should visit your veterinarian to make sure this is not a more serious case requiring treatment. Although I know you are trying to save money, an untreated infection can become much worse, requiring more invasive treatments and longer courses of antibiotics ultimately becoming more expensive than if it was addressed quickly.  [less]