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From July 20th to yesterday I have spend $2000.00 on cats. My Booboo is very sick and is going in today for a feeding tube... the vet thinks she has pancreatitis but is not 100% sure. Which means more tests, maybe an ultrasound, maybe a specialist, maybe exporatory surgery....
Frankly, I am in shock. Booboo is only 8yrs old and been like a horse her whole life until now. The only change in her life at home is that I got a 14month old from the shelter but they have been getting along quite well after the first 10 days of getting used to each other.
Years ago I spent a ton of money and heartache putting 2 cats through alot and then they both died. I decided to never do that again.
So, now I am faced with the same problem only a much younger cat. I adore her but I have to be realistic.
Saber had pancreatitis near the end, and THERE IS a definitive test for it. I would Really consider finding a new vet ASAP. It sounds like this one is either not up to date on current IDEXX tests (which is highly unlikely since that lab is THE go-to lab for tests and results) or this vet will put your animal through hell just to make money.
I feel the vet I was using for Saber was barely competent (now that I've become better informed) but even she knew about the IDEXX test and figured out that he should be tested for pancreatitis.
Also, I don't see the point in telling your current vet about the IDEXX test, or asking Them to do it because ... you really need a vet that is smarter than your forum group, AND is ethical.
What vet are you supposed to take her to today? I could try to research them on industry sites ... see what I can find. I don't know anything about protocol for feeding tubes, but why today? why not yesterday or when they last saw her?
When did she last eat at home?
Also if the vet is a part of a chain hospital that doesn't always bode well, or, if they have all the latest machines and technology, the business model is to [have] to use them to make them pay for themselves as well as using them to generate additional tests and income.
Back in late 2005 I was faced with this same kind of decision ... my 14-1/2-year-old kitty Satay was clearly very sick and I had no idea why. I took her to the vet and she stayed in the kitty hospital for several days. I thought she was getting better, but tests showed that she wasn't -- she stopped eating in early January 2006 and I was there with her when she died on January 9, 2006. (Even now I can't write that without getting teary. Satay was a soulmate kitty, one of those incredibly special ones.)
I remember talking to my mom when Satay was in the hospital, and she went on about how expensive it was likely going to be. (It wasn't actually that bad.) I said, "Mom, what else do I have to spend my money on?" What I meant was, I don't spend a lot on clothes, or big TVs, or "toys." I spend on books and my house and my cats. I put money away every month to cover "regular" expenses and a separate amount every month to cover those unexpected things that just happen in life.
That said, I didn't actually put a dollar amount on it. I guess my thinking was, if I can afford it without feeling really nervous and scared about my finances, then it is worth it to me to figure out what is going on with Satay and hopefully help her get better.
I know that others can't spend a lot on their pets -- they have kids or elderly parents that they are helping, or they don't make much money to begin with. So I completely understand when people say they can only spend up to a certain amount, and then they just can't afford any more. Brava4, hopefully you will know when you are at that point. I am so, so sorry about what you are going through. It is so very hard.
I would not spend near that much money on an animal. We love our animals but refuse to spend that kind of money on treatments like that.
In my opinion you are only prolonging their lives for yourself and not for them, that is no quality of life for anyone, human or animal and we just won't do it.
I spent so much on my cats, I won't even tell people how much. And, I was unemployed those years. I don't know, it's a personal decision. I prolonged their lives a long time with the care and my resolve and they had great quality of life those years.
Saber had pancreatitis near the end, and THERE IS a definitive test for it. I would Really consider finding a new vet ASAP. It sounds like this one is either not up to date on current IDEXX tests (which is highly unlikely since that lab is THE go-to lab for tests and results) or this vet will put your animal through hell just to make money.
I feel the vet I was using for Saber was barely competent (now that I've become better informed) but even she knew about the IDEXX test and figured out that he should be tested for pancreatitis.
Also, I don't see the point in telling your current vet about the IDEXX test, or asking Them to do it because ... you really need a vet that is smarter than your forum group, AND is ethical.
Yes, she didi the IDEXX test and it came back negative. She is sending a GI panel to the lab as well.
I have to get this cat some food, whether by her own will, not happening, or tube. She isn't drinking water either. Which is very scary. Thanks for your info an reply.
When it's obvious the case is hopeless. We had a stray euthanized who we came to love about 4 1/2 years ago. She had some kind of infection (inner ear perhaps) that kept her head twisted to the left. When she started to have seizures and could no longer get into the low litter pan we said ENOUGH! Her quality of life was zero and she showed no improvement over 8 weeks of assorted treatments. She was becoming non-responsive to us. We never did know what her problem was as all tests were negative. Our hearts were broken but to prolong her suffering was crazy. She is now in a better place. :*(
We went to the local high-kill shelter and adopted two girl kitties, one 6 weeks old and another 9 months old. We later adopted a 4 1/2 month old boy kitty from Petco.
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