I went to gastro docs for some strange bloating and distension of my belly. I had recently lost, inexplicably, over 10% of my usual weight. The doc signed me up for colonoscopy--it was time for one--and ENDOSCOPY. Found on the endo h.pylori, the nasty bug that causes ulcers and is highly associated with stomach cancer. Turns out H.pylori was not the cause of my original complaint--"slow stomach" was--but it is very important to get rid of h.pylori. There are some non-invasive but not so conclusive tests for h.pylori, but endoscopy is the gold standard for finding out. Go see some gastro guys and see if there is some reason they would not want to test for h.pylori. There is no reason I should have had h.pylori, a water-borne illness (I drink 99% bottled water...just saying), but I had it and it took 2 rounds of antibiotics to shake it. Hope this finds you already on the road to recovery, but the big symptom for h.pylori is unexplained weight loss.

My old gal has had bouts with diarrhea for quite a few years. When they start, I immediately change her diet to the Eukanuba Low Residue Adult - equivilent of chicken and rice you would make at home (kibble is just more convenient and less time consuming). We also start Metronizadole (keep it in the house for when the diarrhea flares up) as well as the low residue food. At one point late last spring we thought that she would have to be on the low residue food indefinitely. She can go 5 days on and 5 days off with the Metronizadole. We haven't gotten to the point where she has done that schedule, it is usually resolved with 5 days of the Metronizadole. I'm not positive, but I don't think the Metro is an antibiotic, and if it isn't, why is your vet putting your dog on antibiotic for diarrhea? Has he done any tests for the origin of these episodes? Have you thought about changing the diet to a food that includes oatmeal. I recently changed from Nutro's Sensitive Stomach formula to a product called VeRus which has similiar components to the Nutro product. All is going well with the VeRus - no episodes of diarrhea. Best of luck to you.

We use scoopable litter, but the "extra-strength" version, which forms harder clumps (Everclean ES, unscented--it's a bit pricier than some other brands, but does the best job preventing odor IMO). We liked it better for two cats since the clumps are less likely to break apart with two of them going in/out of the box. The downside, is you can't flush it--it states on the box that it will clog the toilet. Once in awhile, if someone goes in and makes a stinky poop, I'll scoop it out, and either bag it and run it down to the trash can in the garage, or flush it down the toilet. I figure, the minimal amount of litter stuck to it isn't going to cause a clog. Generally, we scoop the litter box twice a day. In the morning, DH scoops, puts it in a bag, and takes it down to the trash can in the garage on his way to his car before work. At night, he scoops again, and either takes it down with the garbage bag from the kitchen, or takes it down by itself if the garbage doesn't need to go down. I don't know if it's possible for you to do anything like that, but if you can, it'll prevent odors from building up.

Thanks for the support! Dustin's eyes are dilating this morning so I'm relieved about that. He's eating both wet and dry food and using his litter box (though he was clawing at my closet door to get in before he did and I think he wanted to use it instead, lol). He's quieter now, not making his squeaky noises as much, is sharpening his claws on his new post (and the mattress but I'll let him get away with that for a couple of days) and seems more like himself. Except for the billing issue, which they were kind enough to help me out with, I've been very happy with the service there. Their treatment of Dustin and the attitudes seem great. I feel comfortable with them and will probably continue to go there. It was a stressful day but I felt comfortable leaving him in their care and seeing how they interact with him it seems that they have a genuine love of animals. My mother's vet and office staff are a bit more professional, don't talk as much to the animals (vet barely spoke to me) so I'll likely go back. I'm not quite sure the signs of a good vet/clinic but I think the way they interact with the pets is a sign of how he'll be treated when I'm not around and I watch how the vet handles Dustin and how she talks to him and this, I think, helps to calm Dustin and establish a connection with him. I plan to start putting money aside for rainy days/unexpected vet bills but my mother was with me when Dustin and I found each other and said she would help if any emergency vet trips were needed (she loves animals too) so even in my financial situation I know that I'll have some help caring for him if he ever got sick. Thanks again for the tips and reassurances that Dustin's recovering normally. Its one thing to read about how he might react in a general pamphlet they send you home with but each pet will respond differently and its great that people can share their experiences to help ease the minds of others. I'm very happy to have found this site!