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One of my cats is really sick. About two weeks ago, she started licking the cinderblock wall in my basement. She started to act more and more lethargic, so we finally decided to take her to the vet. At the vet, she had a 103 degree fever, was anemic, and has low white and red blood cell count. The vet thinks she has some sort of autoimmune disorder/disease, but doesn't know the cause.
We have taken her to the vet four times over the past week and a half to get blood tests to check the cell count and for health rechecks. We have seen very little to any improvement.
She sits around all day not doing anything. She won't eat or drink, so we are forced to feed her with a syringe through the mouth. She is on daily steroids and antibiotics. She has another vet appointment tomorrow morning to get another blood check.
My wife and I discussed that if there is no improvement in the blood work, we are just going to keep her at home, finish up her meds and let her be. The constant vet trips cannot continue #1 because of the cat's stress and mental health, #2 because they really don't seem to be helping (our vet is awesome though!) and, #3 because it's very expensive (each trip is at least $120).
We have discussed having her put to sleep if things don't clear up, but are hesitant to do so because she is not in any pain. However, she does not have good quality of life right now and will not even eat or drink on her own. She's only 6.5yr old.
Any advice on how you would handle this situation?
Having recently spent a ridiculous amount on our 12-year old cat after she got deathly ill, I'm in no position to judge or advise someone else as to their pet's worth. I'll admit that had I been the sole decisionmaker I'd have had her put down.
Having recently spent a ridiculous amount on our 12-year old cat after she got deathly ill, I'm in no position to judge or advise someone else as to their pet's worth. I'll admit that had I been the sole decisionmaker I'd have had her put down.
It's not really the money. We do have the money, it's just that we aren't seeing improvement, so I feel like the money is a waste.
When someone gets treatment for an illness at a hospital, there is usually sign of improvement. We aren't seeing any improvement here, so I feel like it's harmful to her mentally to keep taking her back to the vet.
The vet wants to do more tests, but even the vet is pretty sure that the tests will come up negative based on her symptoms.
It's not really the money. We do have the money, it's just that we aren't seeing improvement, so I feel like the money is a waste.
When someone gets treatment for an illness at a hospital, there is usually sign of improvement. We aren't seeing any improvement here, so I feel like it's harmful to her mentally to keep taking her back to the vet.
The vet wants to do more tests, but even the vet is pretty sure that the tests will come up negative based on her symptoms.
Looking at your very first sentence, lepoisson, I'm curious what the cinderblock wall's attraction was? Did your cat start licking it after she was showing illness or before? What's on that cement, any paint? Or is it raw? Any chance of some kind of poisoning?
Looking at your very first sentence, lepoisson, I'm curious what the cinderblock wall's attraction was? Did your cat start licking it after she was showing illness or before? What's on that cement, any paint? Or is it raw? Any chance of some kind of poisoning?
We asked the vet about it. The cinderblocks are only in our laundry room and are not painted, so there shouldn't be anything poisonous. The vet said that animals will commonly lick stone or eat dirt when they are anemic. Apparently humans eat dirt or clay when they are suffering from anemia.
The cat has been near the cinderblock wall for years and never licked them, so we can only assume that the illness started, then the block licking, then her energy started declining.
I would go for a second opinion. Bring all the records with you for the 2nd vet to review. If the 2nd vet couldn't help her, then put her down. If it was my cat, that's what I would. I had a less dire situation with him where I took him to 6 different vets in the past 5 years to find out the cause of his drastic weight loss - Renal Failure. He had anemia too but no infection, and eats and drinks. To me, if I know my only other option is euthanasia, I want to make sure I did the best I could for him.
I would go for a second opinion. Bring all the records with you for the 2nd vet to review. If the 2nd vet couldn't help her, then put her down. If it was my cat, that's what I would. I had a less dire situation with him where I took him to 6 different vets in the past 5 years to find out the cause of his drastic weight loss - Renal Failure. He had anemia too but no infection, and eats and drinks. To me, if I know my only other option is euthanasia, I want to make sure I did the best I could for him.
ITA with this. At least if you get a second opinion and there's nothing else to be done, you'll know you did all you could.
Bad news. She went back to the vet this morning. She has leukemia. No idea how she got it unless she just randomly developed it. Both of our cats were tested right after we got them and they have been indoors.
They said blood transfusions were an option, but will only buy her a little time.
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