Hi. I just took in a 10+ y/o little guy. He used to live with a friend but when she was hospitalized for a few days, we (my SO and I) had to go over and care for her critters.
At that point we noticed this chin seemed really off. We don't see them often for a multitude of reasons but we've visited enough in the past to know the boy's normal temperament. He was lethargic, hopping oddly, had noticeable weight loss, his face/head looked kind of crooked and was grinding loudly, barking, and whimpering/crying.
We got him into the vet and the vet noticed cataracts and suspected a tooth root abscess for these reasons.
1. Terrible smell in mouth
2. Face/nose was crooked like \ but of course a softer slope
3. His eye was REALLY swollen
4. A raised area could be felt on the outside of the mouth
There may have been another reason or two but if so I don't remember at the moment. Xrays weren't done as the chin was really weak and frail and the doc wanted to get him stronger first.
The doctor put him on Chloramphenicol (which he HATES) and Metacam (which he loves). He's also on the Apple-Banana Critical Care and I'm syringing him water. The Chloramphenicol was really stressful on him so I've been giving him .2-.3ml of butternut squash afterwards to help with the taste and he went from drooling and gagging from the Chloramphenicol to no issues taking it. I'm watching for tummy issues but no problems so far.
The meds seem to be working since his face looks to have evened out and his eye swelling is nonexistent (at least to my eyes) so hopefully it was an infection that is clearing up.
He goes in for a recheck (it's been a week) tomorrow and he's a lot stronger now so we plan to ask for xrays. Is there anything else we should be asking for as a diagnostic tool to figure out exactly what is going on in his mouth?
And if it is a root issue, I see most people here have said not to extract. Is there some other type of treatment I should be looking into that has helped? I'm quite confident in my vet but I also would really value opinions of people that have dealt with situations like this one.
I'm not going to keep him here if his life ever became uncomfortable but I'd like to make that choice as far down the road as possible. I'll update this when I get back from tomorrow's appointment.
**I just want to add to avoid any confusion- I didn't kidnap my friend's chin, (though I've loved him for years and had joked about that in the past). We're just in a better place to provide both emotionally and financially for a special needs animal so she's decided to allow us temporary/possibly permanent custody.
At that point we noticed this chin seemed really off. We don't see them often for a multitude of reasons but we've visited enough in the past to know the boy's normal temperament. He was lethargic, hopping oddly, had noticeable weight loss, his face/head looked kind of crooked and was grinding loudly, barking, and whimpering/crying.
We got him into the vet and the vet noticed cataracts and suspected a tooth root abscess for these reasons.
1. Terrible smell in mouth
2. Face/nose was crooked like \ but of course a softer slope
3. His eye was REALLY swollen
4. A raised area could be felt on the outside of the mouth
There may have been another reason or two but if so I don't remember at the moment. Xrays weren't done as the chin was really weak and frail and the doc wanted to get him stronger first.
The doctor put him on Chloramphenicol (which he HATES) and Metacam (which he loves). He's also on the Apple-Banana Critical Care and I'm syringing him water. The Chloramphenicol was really stressful on him so I've been giving him .2-.3ml of butternut squash afterwards to help with the taste and he went from drooling and gagging from the Chloramphenicol to no issues taking it. I'm watching for tummy issues but no problems so far.
The meds seem to be working since his face looks to have evened out and his eye swelling is nonexistent (at least to my eyes) so hopefully it was an infection that is clearing up.
He goes in for a recheck (it's been a week) tomorrow and he's a lot stronger now so we plan to ask for xrays. Is there anything else we should be asking for as a diagnostic tool to figure out exactly what is going on in his mouth?
And if it is a root issue, I see most people here have said not to extract. Is there some other type of treatment I should be looking into that has helped? I'm quite confident in my vet but I also would really value opinions of people that have dealt with situations like this one.
I'm not going to keep him here if his life ever became uncomfortable but I'd like to make that choice as far down the road as possible. I'll update this when I get back from tomorrow's appointment.
**I just want to add to avoid any confusion- I didn't kidnap my friend's chin, (though I've loved him for years and had joked about that in the past). We're just in a better place to provide both emotionally and financially for a special needs animal so she's decided to allow us temporary/possibly permanent custody.
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