Blu has an ear infection

[CrazyBirdChick]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. I hope everyone and their birds are well!

Last week Blu had a spontaneous bald spot appear on his left ear. I kept a close eye on him and waited a bit because my beloved vet, Dr Sakas, passed away last year and I wasn't sure where to go. After a few days it didn't look to be getting any better so I made to decision to bring him in today with the other vet that works there.

She gave him his annual plus a cytology on the ear. They took blood from the leg! (I'm used to them clipping a toe nail for blood so it was quite a shock when I heard that's what they did this time)

She said he has yeast and a blood clot in the ear. I'm so sad for my boy. He has to take a drop of baytril in the ear, 4 units of enrofloxacin by mouth and 5 units of meloxicam by mouth for 2 weeks. This is going to be very difficult on both of us.

I hate that I couldn't go in with him due to covid so I was only able to speak to the technician at my car. The discharge paper says if he is not 100% better in 2 weeks they will need to do a culture to see what bacteria is growing. I would think it would be better to do the culture the first time, no?

Ugh, I miss Dr Sakas!

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Hi, it’s so nice to hear from you! I’m sorry Blu is sick, and I hope the meds help. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t do a culture first, but maybe you could call and ask. I’m sorry about Dr. Sakas, that’s so sad.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Hi, it’s so nice to hear from you! I’m sorry Blu is sick, and I hope the meds help. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t do a culture first, but maybe you could call and ask. I’m sorry about Dr. Sakas, that’s so sad.

Thank you Deanna!

 

[Teckechick]

I am sorry Blu is sick. I hope he feels better soon!!

I really miss Pete too, he was such a good man!!

 

[Shezbug]

I hope Blu recovers fast and feels better real soon.

 

[Mizzely]

Very glad to hear from you I hope you are well!

Some vets try to go down the Very Likely route for the remedy, especially if it works a high percentage of the time. This saves you money and them time in most cases. If it doesn't clear up, then they will travel the Less Likely route to clear it up.

I think because so many people get upset about vet expenses (and go as far as to say they are being ripped off with unnecessary procedures) that it has caused some vets to be afraid to go with the If Money is No Object route first.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I am sorry Blu is sick. I hope he feels better soon!!

I really miss Pete too, he was such a good man!!

I am sorry Blu is sick. I hope he feels better soon!!

I really miss Pete too, he was such a good man!!

Thanks Dawn! He really was. I trusted him completely and he was so cool and confident. May I ask, do you still go to Niles?

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I hope Blu recovers fast and feels better real soon.

Thank you Shez!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Very glad to hear from you I hope you are well!

Some vets try to go down the Very Likely route for the remedy, especially if it works a high percentage of the time. This saves you money and them time in most cases. If it doesn't clear up, then they will travel the Less Likely route to clear it up.

I think because so many people get upset about vet expenses (and go as far as to say they are being ripped off with unnecessary procedures) that it has caused some vets to be afraid to go with the If Money is No Object route first.

Thank you Shawna! Nice to hear from you too. That totally makes sense. I just worry about using too many antibiotics and causing resistance so if I would've known the ones she gave me might not work I would've insisted in the culture. I'm really hoping this will work though! Thanks for the insight as to why!

 

[Mizzely]

Thank you Shawna! Nice to hear from you too. That totally makes sense. I just worry about using too many antibiotics and causing resistance so if I would've known the ones she gave me might not work I would've insisted in the culture. I'm really hoping this will work though! Thanks for the insight as to why!

I'm sure you can insist! And there is nothing wrong with that

 

[Teckechick]

Thanks Dawn! He really was. I trusted him completely and he was so cool and confident. May I ask, do you still go to Niles?

Yes we do still go to Niles. We have been twice now since Pete passed away. One for Jenks to get his yearly. We went again a few months later when we adopted Toot-Toot to get a full work up on him. I don’t like that we can’t go in with the birds, it does make me nervous but every vet in our area is like that now. The vet we take our cats to is the same. When we first started going to Niles we saw Dr. Yang a few times, she was very thorough. I think going forward I’ll request her if they are still allowing that. I wonder who Sarah sees now? @Macawnutz

 

[Macawnutz]

Yes we do still go to Niles. We have been twice now since Pete passed away. One for Jenks to get his yearly. We went again a few months later when we adopted Toot-Toot to get a full work up on him. I don’t like that we can’t go in with the birds, it does make me nervous but every vet in our area is like that now. The vet we take our cats to is the same. When we first started going to Niles we saw Dr. Yang a few times, she was very thorough. I think going forward I’ll request her if they are still allowing that. I wonder who Sarah sees now? @Macawnutz

Sarah is still mourning....
I don't know what I'm doing. I make my best judgment call depending on the bird and issue right now. I have not been back to Niles since but I would if I needed too. I've only needed one vet trip since his passing and it was for Sam. I knew exactly what I needed done and the blood results would give me all the correct answers without question so I took him to Dr. Ford who consults at ER for Animals. I like Dr. Ford, he is the vet that imped Maui 10 years ago but he is not Dr. Sakas.

Diane, I would have insisted the culture be done at the first visit. It's one of the reasons I loved Sakas so much. We got to the point that he knew I wanted the answers the first time and didn't want to drive back again in a few weeks with the same problem. He knew that I would throw on extra tests that he didn't feel were necessary and he learned to stop making fun of me for it as I proved him wrong quite a few times.

It IS a money thing at vets. I took our old man cat in last week. Told them to run everything they could. They kept calling me in the car to approve a little of this and a little of that. I finally just listed every test I wanted done including an ultra sound and any other senior cat thing they could think of. When I got the bill I made a face and the man started explaining. The bill was four times less than if that would have been a bird. I was shocked it was so cheap.

 

[Zara]

Aww Wishing Blu a speedy recovery!

Glad to hear you are well, I have thought about you over the last year

 

[Teckechick]

It IS a money thing at vets. I took our old man cat in last week. Told them to run everything they could. They kept calling me in the car to approve a little of this and a little of that. I finally just listed every test I wanted done including an ultra sound and any other senior cat thing they could think of. When I got the bill I made a face and the man started explaining. The bill was four times less than if that would have been a bird. I was shocked it was so cheap.

We have had the same thing with the vets calling repeatedly to approve things. When we took Toot in I wanted a lot of testing done. He is 13 we had no real history so I needed to know everything we could. They called several time making sure and double checking that I really wanted this test done or that test due to the cost of some of them.

I can't believe how cheap the cats are to vet compared to the birds. When we took our three adopted cats in for the initial visit/shots and they came at me with the bill I just laughed. For three cats it was still cheaper than my normal yearly for the birds.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Yes we do still go to Niles. We have been twice now since Pete passed away. One for Jenks to get his yearly. We went again a few months later when we adopted Toot-Toot to get a full work up on him. I don’t like that we can’t go in with the birds, it does make me nervous but every vet in our area is like that now. The vet we take our cats to is the same. When we first started going to Niles we saw Dr. Yang a few times, she was very thorough. I think going forward I’ll request her if they are still allowing that. I wonder who Sarah sees now? @Macawnutz

Thanks for the reply! Sorry it took me a while to get back to this thread. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the medications. It's tough!

I'm not familiar with Dr Yang but I'm assuming as long as you give them a heads up with enough time to plan accordingly you can request any Dr you like. It'll be nice when life goes somewhat back to normal and we can go in with our fids and fur kids again

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Sarah is still mourning....
I don't know what I'm doing. I make my best judgment call depending on the bird and issue right now. I have not been back to Niles since but I would if I needed too. I've only needed one vet trip since his passing and it was for Sam. I knew exactly what I needed done and the blood results would give me all the correct answers without question so I took him to Dr. Ford who consults at ER for Animals. I like Dr. Ford, he is the vet that imped Maui 10 years ago but he is not Dr. Sakas.

Diane, I would have insisted the culture be done at the first visit. It's one of the reasons I loved Sakas so much. We got to the point that he knew I wanted the answers the first time and didn't want to drive back again in a few weeks with the same problem. He knew that I would throw on extra tests that he didn't feel were necessary and he learned to stop making fun of me for it as I proved him wrong quite a few times.

It IS a money thing at vets. I took our old man cat in last week. Told them to run everything they could. They kept calling me in the car to approve a little of this and a little of that. I finally just listed every test I wanted done including an ultra sound and any other senior cat thing they could think of. When I got the bill I made a face and the man started explaining. The bill was four times less than if that would have been a bird. I was shocked it was so cheap.

I wish I would have known what to ask for. I'm a noob when it comes to veterinary testing. I thought when they asked me on the phone if they could do a culture that that would have been the best course of action. It was only after I checked out and looked at the paperwork did I realize that a biopsy would've been a more accurate test for diagnosis. I should have asked you guys before I even went.

No one likes to pay vet bills but I figure it's better to know for sure the first time than have to medicate for two weeks and possibly have to go back just to have more testing done plus another vet check fee. Hopefully this does the trick though!




I'm having a really hard time giving him meds. Do you think it would be ok if I use a teeny tiny bit of Fage greek yogurt with no sugar added, mixed with the meds on a spoon? He's never had yogurt so I'm hoping two weeks of a tiny spoon might be a nice treat. The vet tech said I could put it on bread or something but I don't think he'd finish that, plus I don't want him eating bread (sugar)

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Aww Wishing Blu a speedy recovery!

Glad to hear you are well, I have thought about you over the last year

Thank you so much Zara! It's nice to be back! I missed many of you!

 

[Mizzely]

What kind of medication is it? I believe antibiotics shouldn't be given with milk products because it somehow reduces their effectiveness. I always gave them on a spoon with baby food puree!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

What kind of medication is it? I believe antibiotics shouldn't be given with milk products because it somehow reduces their effectiveness. I always gave them on a spoon with baby food puree!

He's taking meloxicam & enrofloxacin by mouth. The other med is a drop in the ear and that's baytril.

Unfortunately I've tried bany puree once with him and he didn't like that. I just thought he'd like yogurt cause he always tries to eat noxzema lotion. Lol. Plus, yogurt has beneficial bacteria. If it's not a good idea, I definitely won't

 

[Mizzely]

Enrofloxacin | VCA Animal Hospitals

Enrofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. This medication has been prescribed for your pet to treat a bacterial infection. It may be prescribed to treat urinary tract, skin or respiratory tract infections.

vcahospitals.com

The following medications should be used with caution when given with enrofloxacin: antacids, dairy products, other antibiotics, drugs that cause prolonged QTc intervals, corticosteroids, cyclosporine, doxorubicin, flunixin, iron, zinc, levothyroxine, mycophenolate mofetil, methotrexate, nitrofurantoin, probenecid, quinidine, sildenafil, sucralfate, theophylline, and warfarin.