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Old 06-05-2014, 12:10 AM
 
17 posts, read 160,366 times
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Hi all. A few weeks ago I went to the local animal shelter with my mom and my 2 year old son to visit the animals. My mom ended up falling in love with this beautiful little black long haired cat. She's a full grown adult but very petite and dangerously thin at only 4.5lbs. So, long story short, my mom had to adopt this cat. She took her in for a wellness check up about 5 days later and the vet was concerned that she was so thin and starting to sneeze. Sure enough, poor thing got an upper respiratory infection. So, in addition to antibiotics, she (the vet) wanted to do a full blood panel to ensure that the cat was otherwise healthy. My mom went ahead and did the blood work. Today she found out that the cat is very much not healthy. The vet thought that maybe she was hyperthyroid, but her thyroid is ok. The vet thinks that she may have intestinal cancer, irritable bowel, or some other condition (I don't recall exactly what she said). The vet, of course, wants to do more testing, an ultrasound, and start giving her b-12 shots. My mom was in tears because she simply can not afford to invest this much money in this cat. She said she's already spent about $500 in less than 2 weeks between vet bills and cat supplies. She came to me for advice about what to do with the cat because she can't afford to get more medical testing done and I couldn't tell her anything more than "I don't know." So, I'm turning to you all, cat-loving internet people for advice. What in the world would you do if you adopted a shelter kitty and it ended up being a feline money pit? My poor mom loves this cat so much already but simply does not have the resources to provide extensive veterinary care. The cat is sweeter than sugar and was an owner surrender so I'm wondering if her previous owner knew she was sick and gave her up because they couldn't afford the medical care either.
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Old 06-05-2014, 07:51 AM
 
112 posts, read 299,200 times
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That's awful, and something I worry about for when we adopt a pet. I will be thinking about this some more, but the first thing that came to my mind is to reach out to the shelter. Ask them if they have any sort of program/assistance in a situation like this where a newly adopted animal turns out to be very sick. I think some of them do, but it probably depends on the place. That's where I would start...
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Old 06-05-2014, 08:47 AM
 
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Well, the first thing is to get the URI taken care of and high quality high caloric food into the kitty. Was she wormed?

Let's start with the simple things first.
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Old 06-05-2014, 08:56 AM
 
Location: Wisconsin
2,974 posts, read 3,868,588 times
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ITA with the comment above. First, get the cat over the URI and help her put on weight. Feed a high quality wet food and start monitoring her weight. If she has an IBS like situation, a high quality food will help with that. Here is a great article on feline nutrition to read: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

While I know it's hard not to jump to conclusions, please try not to. Did anything unusual show up in the blood work? Anything the vet commented on, like high white cells or something?
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Old 06-05-2014, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Des Moines Metro
5,103 posts, read 8,541,297 times
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Quote:
She said she's already spent about $500 in less than 2 weeks between vet bills and cat supplies.
Take her back to the shelter. If they can't help, surrender her. She will probably be put down.

There are a lot of "surrenders" because of medical problems. In one area of Ohio around Maumee there's a "cancer cluster" no one is talking about, but there's a ton of sick tabby kitties. They usually die by 9 months and look very ill from 6 months on.

OP -- suggestion -- when it's time to get another cat, look for an older one, 1.5 - 2 years old that appears to be in good health and has been checked for FPV.
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Old 06-05-2014, 09:36 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
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For whatever help it may be, here's my story.

Over many years I've rescued cats and kittens, worked with local vets to get ferals spayed and neutered - much more than needs to be gone into here as this is about one in particular.

"Miss Max" was brought to me over 6 years ago as a tiny little thing, barely weaned, who'd been found crouched by a store dumpster. She lay in the palm of my hand a filthy dirty little mess, runny eyes gummed shut and with a nasty upper respiratory infection. I doubted she'd last the night but made her comfortable and, very early the next morning, picked up antibiotics, feeding bottles and formula from the vet.

Suffice it to say that Miss Max not only survived but thrived and the rest of my clowder gently mothered her. A few years later and she still had bouts of the respiratory irritation but she knows her limitations and is, all around, the sweetest little girl imaginable.

My situation has changed drastically in the last two years through circumstances totally beyond my control and it's a continual struggle to not only keep the wolf from the door (this too shall pass) but the five cats who now share my space are well taken care of and live a most happy and healthy life. But Miss Max has, in the last month, suddenly lost a LOT of weight and there is absolutely no way I can take her to the vet and spend the inevitable hundreds of $$s on fees and a barrage of tests. She eats and drinks well - a little and often; her excretory functions are fine; she's been kept on Revolution; and although she is sleeping a lot she's happy and in absolutely no pain.

And as long as she remains pain-free and content, that will be that and if she eventually just goes to sleep one day and doesn't wake up then so be it. She's had wonderful years which she never would have had otherwise.
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Old 06-05-2014, 09:55 AM
 
568 posts, read 957,782 times
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Start with a high quality cat food for her diet. Give her fresh water every day and lots of love. She deserves some compassion. The vet sounds money hungry...I have been through the same thing (blood transfusions etc). My kitty passed away, but she did it in my arms and not in some horrible place. Sure, it made my sad and I cried for three says, but I know I did what I could and she loved me as I loved her. I have another fur baby now. Your mother is a kind hearted person and more animals need people like her.
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Old 06-05-2014, 10:26 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads
3,032 posts, read 4,712,165 times
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I am with everyone on switching to high quality kitty food, but I also throw this out:

Let the rescue know that the kitty that your mom adopted was very sick and that you're trying to make her well. Ask if they have, or know of any, low income vet clinics that could help.
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Old 06-05-2014, 10:36 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
1,519 posts, read 2,660,549 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pooterposh View Post
Start with a high quality cat food for her diet. Give her fresh water every day and lots of love. She deserves some compassion. The vet sounds money hungry...I have been through the same thing (blood transfusions etc). My kitty passed away, but she did it in my arms and not in some horrible place. Sure, it made my sad and I cried for three says, but I know I did what I could and she loved me as I loved her. I have another fur baby now. Your mother is a kind hearted person and more animals need people like her.
Yeah, I'm surprised a bit by the Vet jumping to all sorts of tests. URIs are very common in shelter kitties and if he's jumping to all those other things due to her being underweight, well, do you know her history? Was she at the shelter long or could it be that she was on the streets starving for a long time? I found a stray a couple of years ago that was so small I thought she was a 4-6 month old kitten. Turns out she was an adult, just small and starving. She's now a pudgy little thing, still smaller than average, but no longer skin and bones. I agree with folks above. Concentrate on the URI and feeding and see if she puts on weight before jumping to more tests. Is the cat eating? Did the bloodwork show anything unusual or was it normal and now the vet wants to attack other tests to find an explanation for her being thin? My vets usually try to conquer one thing at a time -- see if she gets better from the URI first, try to get some weight on her.
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Old 06-05-2014, 11:23 AM
 
17 posts, read 160,366 times
Reputation: 53
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocngypz View Post
Well, the first thing is to get the URI taken care of and high quality high caloric food into the kitty. Was she wormed?

Let's start with the simple things first.
She has been on the antibiotics for 4 days now and her URI is clearing up quite well. Her breathing is no longer labored so I think that's soon to be history. She's on a high quality food already as well and she eats like a pig. She cries for food every couple hours during the day and can only go 5-6 hours at night without eating. I think her body is so nutrient deficient that she is constantly craving food. She was wormed at the shelter and then again at the vet Friday. I got a stool sample from her and it was taken in on Monday when the blood work was done. That was clear so no worms.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rene S View Post
ITA with the comment above. First, get the cat over the URI and help her put on weight. Feed a high quality wet food and start monitoring her weight. If she has an IBS like situation, a high quality food will help with that. Here is a great article on feline nutrition to read: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

While I know it's hard not to jump to conclusions, please try not to. Did anything unusual show up in the blood work? Anything the vet commented on, like high white cells or something?
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. The blood work apparently did show some abnormalities, but I'm not sure what exactly. All I know is that the vet left a voicemail yesterday which my mom played for me. The vet said something about her body not absorbing nutrients or protein (?? I don't recall exactly) and that she was a pretty sick girl so she wanted to do more testing and an ultrasound plus start her on b-12 injections.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meemur View Post
Take her back to the shelter. If they can't help, surrender her. She will probably be put down.

There are a lot of "surrenders" because of medical problems. In one area of Ohio around Maumee there's a "cancer cluster" no one is talking about, but there's a ton of sick tabby kitties. They usually die by 9 months and look very ill from 6 months on.

OP -- suggestion -- when it's time to get another cat, look for an older one, 1.5 - 2 years old that appears to be in good health and has been checked for FPV.
OMG, NO! What a horrible suggestion. We absolutely will not be returning her to that place. And she IS an older cat, her paper work says 5 years old. Additionally, how can one eyeball good health? Get one that's plump and it should be healthy? I never for a moment thought that this kitty was sick despite her being thin. She doesn't act sick. I find it deplorable for someone to surrender a pet because of known medical problems UNLESS they are disclosing those medical problems and providing vet records showing what they know about the condition.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pooterposh View Post
Start with a high quality cat food for her diet. Give her fresh water every day and lots of love. She deserves some compassion. The vet sounds money hungry...I have been through the same thing (blood transfusions etc). My kitty passed away, but she did it in my arms and not in some horrible place. Sure, it made my sad and I cried for three says, but I know I did what I could and she loved me as I loved her. I have another fur baby now. Your mother is a kind hearted person and more animals need people like her.
My mom definitely has a soft spot in her heart for fur babies. I think she'd have a house full of cats and dogs if it were an option. She's used this vet for nearly 2 years (she also has a toy poodle, 11 yrs old, with some minor health issues) and really likes her (the vet). I don't think the vet is wanting to do things that are unnecessary, she wants to get as clear of a picture of the cats health as possible because we know nothing about her past.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback and suggestions. In the past my mom and I have both only adopted animals from breeders or private shelters. In that situation the animals had been to the vet and were without a doubt healthy. It's heartbreaking to know that the county shelter doesn't have resources allocated to provide vet checks. Being "no kill" is a big deal around here and I fully support this movement BUT attaining this status by ignoring health issues is quite negligent. I will post a follow up later as my mom is going to discuss the situation and options with the vet sometime today.
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