Dear Dr. Forsythe: It is a total sham that veterinarians require a heartworm test every year instead of just letting people have the heartworm medicine. Dogs don’t really get heartworm disease anymore, do they? Please consult with the other vets in town and let them know that many of us in Sonoma are tired of the extra expense that comes with needing to get a heartworm test, we’d rather just buy the medicine and give it when we can.
Gives it when he can
Dear gives it when he can: I’m sorry to say that your plea doesn’t float with me. I have two patients in my hospital at this very moment that are being treated for class III heartworm disease. Their owners gave them heartworm pills “when they could,” but never got that annoying heartworm test either until they came to me. I’m unyielding on this test and I strong-armed them. When the tests on both pets came back positive, it gave me another opportunity to gently but firmly explain the importance of testing for this dreadful and fatal disease. So please, rather than ask me to consult with my colleagues to try and talk them out of annual heartworm tests for their patients, I have a better idea: Have your pet heartworm tested every year and use monthly preventative to avoid the preventable heartache that comes with discovering your pet has heartworm disease. With all due respect, this is an issue that is not about the money, it is about saving your pet’s life.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: My cat has blocked up two times and had to go to the emergency hospital. Each time it was really scary. He starts crying really loud and scratching around his litter box, but nothing comes out. It has cost a fortune to save him, and now they want to turn him into a female. Have you seen success with this procedure? I’m a little worried about turning my big beautiful Max into a female, but I love him so much, I’d do anything to take care of him.
Loving mom
Dear loving mom: The procedure you are talking about is a perineal urethrostomy. It used to be done routinely to almost any male cat that became blocked. More recently, as treatment for feline lower urinary tract disease has become more comprehensive and successful, medical management has cut down on the frequency of this surgery. However, if urinary blockage is recurring, and the cat’s urethra is so enflamed that the doctor cannot place an indwelling catheter, this costly but corrective surgery is required to save his life. Patients usually do very well despite being no longer “anatomically correct.” I have never seen a transformed cat change its regular behavior. In fact, they tend to pretty much do what they did before they got sick: lie around and wait to be fed, meow orders and wait for their humans to adore and worship them. As a matter of fact, I recently had the opportunity to perform this surgery at my hospital, and I don’t recall that cat even saying thank you on its way out. I believe the cat simply hissed and sent me a searing message of disdain. I didn’t take it to heart because I know that deep down inside, every time the cat pees, it’ll be thinking of me. So I say, go for the corrective surgery. Max will love you for it, live longer and pee more freely because of it.
Dr. F
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