Important information for people asking pet questions.....?

Question

There seems to be a problem with the Pet category of Yahoo Answers. People are mistakenly asking questions that should only be asked of a vet. I can only assume people have trouble recognising an emergency. So, here are the circumstances in which you should NOT waste your time on Yahoo Answers:
-if your pet appears to be in any pain
- if your animal is vomiting/has severe diarrhoea
- if your animal refuses to eat
- if your animal is pregnant/in labour and hasn't been checked by a vet
- if you have ANY questions about new born animals

Here are questions appropriate for Yahoo Answers:
- ideas for naming pets
- interest in people's opinions
- if you need emotional support
- any general NON-MEDICAL query
If you suspect there is something wrong with your pet, please don't wait. Vets are trained to give you advice, and on here you don't know WHO is answering, so how can you trust their advice?

Yes I have posted this question before - thankyou for all your positive answers and support! Sorry i didn't get there in time to choose a Best Answer - it would have been Answerer 7 - thank you for the 'bravo', it restored a little of my faith!

Thanks Esther that's brilliant, I didn't know about the suggestions board - I'm on my way there right now! L-)

OK, clearly I should've said 'cat/dog/rabbit' instead of just 'animal'!
By the way I'm a veterinary nurse, and VERY tired of people coming to my surgery who have no intention of paying. We don't overcharge - drugs are expensive, and we need to make a profit so we can eat/pay our mortgages too!
I'm not telling people NOT to ask advice - as I said, this is a good forum for many sorts of question.
BUT if your pet is sick - you risk getting erroneous advice here, even from well meaning people.
And I seriously believe people should not have pets if they can't afford to care for them.

I do know about different circumstances - I work in a fairly poor area. This opinion is not just based on reading Yahoo Answers!

Kayla - if your pet is vomiting persistently it can be frankly dangerous to get a diagnosis from people on these boards. What if it ISN'T something obvious like something the animal's ingested? What if a person accepts the answer :"It's just an upset tummy, stop feeding this that or the other" - and it turns out to be a liver tumour? You CAN NOT make diagnoses without viewing the animal, even a vet wouldn't do that!

Answer 1

I'm glad to see you posted this. You should seriously put this up on the Yahoo Suggestions Board and see if Yahoo would be willing to add this to the Pets requirement.

You should add the people who advertise for pets on here as well.

Kudos to you!

Answer 2

I know this answer is going to get me a lot of thumbs down and probably make me a few enemies as well, but I feel the need to state my opinion...

Have you ever considered that some people can't go to a vet and may get the answers that they need from someone on here who's gone through the same problems??

"If your animal is vomiting..."
-if the asker gives enough information, people can tell them what made their pet sick...ie..don't feed them that many treats..or...that food has too many oils...or your cat just has a sensitive stomach...

"If your animal refuses to eat"
-what about snakes?? lots of snakes refuse to eat and there are a lot of people on here who have various techniques for getting them to eat and information on why they may not be eating...

"If your animal is pregnant.."
-many people ask about pregnant fish, are you going to tell them to take their pet to the vet??

"If you have ANY questions about new born animals"
-most questions about new borns are pretty simple like, how old do they have to be to leave their mother. Lots of people know great websites that can give that kind of information, or have raised those animals and know the answer themselves...

Yes I have to agree that the best answer will come from a vet, but many people do not have that option.
I will also agree that you don't know who is answering on here so you don't know if it's good advice, but that's something they have to consider...
If someone asks a question and gets 100 answers, all of which say the same thing...They can bet that they have the right answer, even if it is medical advice....

Also, if you've posted this before, then I think you've already made your point...

I know this is more than likely going to piss you off along with all of the others who agree with you, but I hope it makes you think about some circumstances...

Answer 3

I agree with you on almost every point you made. This is a forum with average joes answering and a sick animal needs treatment by a vet asap. If you can't afford to treat your sick animal you shouldn't own the pet. But to ban asking medical questions is not a good idea.
1. Most of the responsible people on here who answer medical questions recommend contacting a vet immediately, most will even recommend a professional trainer for behavioural problems.
2. Medical issues and questions should be discussed as many times after or before medical treatment people have forgotten to ask the vet "the small stuff" and replies to their question may offer a question or idea to speak to the vet about. How many of us ask others questions about the last time they had the flu to compare symptoms.
4. What about when you can't see the vet immediately sometimes there are things you absolutely shouldn't do or give your sick animal because it can cause more harm.
For instance my dog was poisoned, I didn't know what was wrong with her when my husband woke me at 6 in the morning. She was walking like a drunk and vomitting, I gave her water hoping to make her feel a bit better while I was trying to get help. No I wasn't procrastinating but the nearest emergency clinic was 1 and 1/2 hours from my house and when I called they informed me that I could bring her in but all they would do was moniter her until the dr came in at 9:00 a.m. my vet also opened at nine plus I knew he went in early for surgeries and would get my voice mail. He called me and had me in his office at 8:30. He diagnosed her having antifreeze poisoning and explained that it was destroying her kidneys and giving her water was bad for her. Now I'm not saying that if this forum was here it would have saved her, but just possibly while I was frantically trying to make her comfortable and searching the net for help, someone might have recognized the symptoms and suggested not giving her water.
All I'm saying is that people who are relying solely on this site for answers and solutions to medical situations are more than likely not going to seek a vets help to begin with. So asking medical questions can be a help to those of us responsible pet owners who have or are going to use suggestions from posters in conjunction with medical treatment by a licensed vet.

Answer 4

Most people are asking these questions, not because they think they don't have to go to a vet, but because they want piece of mind. They are mostly looking to see if this has happened to anyone else and what was the outcome.

You can't always get your pet to the vet in 5 minutes. Even if you call the emergency number you have to wait till they call you back and tell you when to come in. On the other hand if you call the vet and then hop on yahoo answers you may get some piece of mind while you are waiting.

Its not that big of a deal...anyone who is on here saying their pet had their foot chopped off and is bleeding everywhere is obviously someone who is just playing around...other then that (not to be a broken record) but they are just looking for piece of mind.

Also...in regards to getting "just anyone" answering your question...I know more then the average vet in regards to ferrets. I have actually had to suggest treatments and therapies to several different vet's in regards to my animals. This is just based on the research I have done on my own time. My knowledge has never failed me and I offer a lot of ferret owners on here sound advice and correct information EVERY TIME! I am sure there are people on here who can say the same for themselves in regards to ANY animal whether it be a bird, cat, dog, reptile, etc., etc.
In other words...if I was a person on here asking about ferrets, I would want me to answer.

Answer 5

I totally agree with you, but I think part of the problem is that people don't want to spend the money to get there pets looked at by a vet. And if it's the weekend, it's even worse, because people really don't want to pay emergency room prices. Believe me, I work in a vet's office and you wouldn't believe the kinds of things we see and hear. It really makes you wonder why some people are even allowed to own animals when they can't even pay a $20 bill. Then there are the people who wait two weeks to a month after their pet has broken it's leg to bring it in. I had one lady call the office once and tell me that she thinks the dog might have accidentally drank some clorox out of the toilet when she was cleaning and if there was anything she could give her in case something bad happened, and then she decided she would just wait it out. Seriously, what would you do if you broke your arm or if your kid ingested some clorox? Would you really wait around for something worse to happen?
Sorry, I know this is long, but it really just makes me sad and angry that people don't think of their animals as their kids and don't give them the same kind of medical attention.

Answer 6

I couldn't agree with you more. If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet.
As much as that ticks people off, it should be what we live by.
And the statement that most times these questions are asked by people who cannot afford the care for animals they picked up as strays is wrong too. Some of those questions are asked by good samaritans who picked up a stray, but most times it's just people trying to save a buck.
Also, as parents, if you're not willing to get your kid's animals the care they need when they need it, don't be buying them animals. You know your kid won't be able to afford the care, so it's your responsibility.
I do understand that there are times when our situations change, jobs get lost, divorces happen, money gets tight. Noone is really to blame when these things happen, but we still have to provide for those in our care, human and otherwise. I used to have a vet fund in my savings account, but just to be on the safe side I keep a credit card in my freezer. It's frozen so I won't get tempted to use it for anything else(it's in water, lol), but it's there for any emergency that might befall my pets. I had to use it once this January when my oldest female ferret had to have $800.00 worth of surgery.
For those of you who cannot or do not want to do this, there is a service called Care Credit. It is available for MD's and vets and if you pay the money back in the agreed time they don't even charge interest. If it takes you longer they do, but it's still at a reasonable rate. Just check http://www.carecredit.com
Again, Chalice, thank you for posting this even if some people think you've already made your point. It bears repeating.

Answer 7

It's their choice to ask medical questions. Who are you to tell them not to? Many people can't afford a vet and the animals they are asking about sometimes were strays or some animal that was trown apon them. They just want to help. I'm not made of money and wouldn't bring, for instance, a pregnant or sick cat that ended up on my doorstep. I would try to help it and might buy it medicine but vets seem to always over charge and many people aren't made of money. It's all up to the asker to take the advice of the answerers. Any of MY pets, I would take to the vet, hands down, but like I said, many can't afford it.

Answer 8

I totally agree with you. However, some people do not take their pets to a veterinarian at all. Ever! Some only take the dogs in to get the required Rabies vacc. for the dog license. In some, I say some, cases a small amount of advice is better than non at all. I am a retired vet. tech. and do not claim to know as much as a Dr. of Vet., but I do know more than some. Thank you for your idea. It is basically a good one.

Answer 9

So would you rather the ones who haven't, can't or don't not have the access to people who do know (like yourself) until they do, can or will?
Your Judgement of what is an appropriate question is as erroneous as the lack of vet care we can assume from some of the questions. I do agree with your intent but don't drive the questioners away with your non medical query statements as people like yourself could be the influence needed to get some animals proper care.

Answer 10

I always advise GO TO THE VET! Yes it seem that some people should not have pets at all, I only hope they don't wait when their children are hurt of sick.