Peg writes from Pennsylvania: Dr. Randolph, my puppy recently had a Cuterebra larva removed. I was wondering, would it have been safer for the fly to develop and self-extract itself for a 9 week old pup vs. surgery. Also, what…
Catherine writes: “I am a veterinarian’s assistant. We recently lost a cat who had Cuterebra (also called “wolf worm”). It went up the nasal passage to the brain. I’ve never seen a cat howl and act like that. It was…
It’s that time of year: Cuterebra time! We’ve written about Cuterebra larvae and flies before. Alert reader John Wycoff found a squirrel infested with multiple larvae and took some great pictures. Cuterebra are also sometimes called “wolf worm.” WARNING! These…
Cuterebra. Pronounce it CUTE-uh-REE-bruh. They are anything but cute. Cuterebra is a bee-like fly which lays her eggs in places where target mammals will come in contact with them. Such locations as the orifices of bird and squirrel nests, burrows…
Regular readers will recall our Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine junior class story in which our Pathology professor gave us quite a fright by hitting us with a pop quiz on the very first day of class. No notice.…
A writes, “My farm dogs are always catching moles and eating many of them. My youngest Lab is about 14 months old. I observed her coughing, like she was trying to throw up. I put her outside. I found 2…
Heidi writes, “Our cat, Meowser, has some hard object just below her knee joint. We tried to clip the hair around it to see if we could loosen it. It does not seem to be attached to the main part of…
Mandy from California writes with a question: “I believe my cat has a Cuterebra. Do you know how much the veterinarian will charge to have it removed?”It’s a common and reasonable question. Alas, it is a question without an answer.…
