I have three cats. This weekend the middle of the three, Fanny (short for Fantasia) started throwing up. By Sunday she was laid out on the floor, staggering when she walked and looking generally quite sick. We decided to take her to the emergency vet as it was Sunday and our vet was closed rather than wait until Monday morning.
The ER doctor said she was terribly dehydrated, had an elevated white blood cell count and an elevated BUN (something to do with Kidneys, can’t remember what it stands for) elevated calcium and a couple of other things I can’t remember. They wanted to keep her overnight and give her IV fluids to re-hydrate her and some antibiotics to combat whatever infection was sending her white blood cell count so high.
I picked her up this morning. My bill for the treatment was $509
As instructed, I took her to our regular vet who did more tests and an x-ray. It’s looking like the infection is in her lungs. Could be pneumonia but could be cancer (vet is leaning toward cancer diagnosis) or heart failure or a couple of other things but we won’t know until they can ultrasound and see what that blip is on the X-ray. Meanwhile they want to keep her overnight except that there is no one at the facility between 7:30pm and 7:30 am. I opt to bring her home for the night and bring her back in the am. My bill for her day at the vet was $329.
The doctor told me that the ultrasound would be $750 - 1000 depending on whether or not they find something they want to biopsy.
I have no idea how I’m going to pay for all of this. OK, yes I do, I’m pulling out the plastic that we’ve vowed not to use and paying for it with my credit card (which we just paid down quite a bit and which was very close to being paid off)
And the doctor mentioned that if it is cancer there are some types of cancer that respond to chemo therapy. :eek:
And I’m wondering how Fanny feels about all of this. She’s got an IV catheter in her leg. She won’t eat so we’re force feeding her this special food. She’s got three different medications that I’ve got to force her to take several times a day. Right now she’s hiding under my bed and refuses to come out.
Things can go from being fine to being all f#$&ed up in just a day. Poor little kitty. I wish I could make her feel better.
Ah, that’s a damned shame, velvet. We could be in the same position some day - we have two cats, and very little money. If one of the girls gets sick, we’re going to have some very tough decisions to make, too. I don’t want to be one of those people who puts their pet down at the first sign of trouble, but I also don’t plan on going deeply into debt over a cat.
BUN is blood urea nitrogen. Kidneys aren’t flushing waste products out of the blood like they should, due to the dehydration, probably.
I’m sorry to hear your kitty’s so sick, velvet. I do hope she gets to feeling better soon and whatever is wrong turns out to be treatable.
As for the cost, ask your vet(s) if they take the Care Credit card. If they do, they should have a mechanism to apply in real time right in their office, or you could do it online, too. If you qualify, given the size of your bills, Care Credit allows you to make payments over time (from 3 months to a year) with no interest. You might even check with the emergency vet and if they accept the card, have them credit your other card and recharge the new one.
Shayna Thanks so much for the info. I’ll look into that this morning.
Lynn That’s my question but we won’t have a real prognisis until they do the ultrasound. My husband and I are somewhat reluctant to spend $1000 for an ultrasound only to find out that she’s got cancer and can’t be treated but I can’t see a way around it.
I’ll look into that Care Credit and see if we can make that work. Infinitely preferable to putting another grand on the credit card.
Right now she’s a very unhappy cat. Not eating or drinking, she just threw up the antibiotic I gave her.
I hope it isn’t cancer–we went through that with our kitty Meep last year (she had lymphoma) and the vet is right–some cancers do respond to chemo. We opted to go for it and it bought us 8 extra months with her, with a very good quality of life until the last couple of weeks or so. But it was expensive. I think the price varies depending on where you are (based on the info I was getting from the feline-lymphoma mailing list I joined) but for us…well, I sometimes joke that we bought Meep a car, because it ended up costing a lot of money before it was over. But those eight months were a treasure.
On the plus side, if chemo is called for, the kitty should experience few negative side effects (cats tolerate chemo very well–better than dogs or humans). On the minus side, it’s almost always just a stopgap measure and it’s very pricey. Cancer in cats isn’t “cured” very often (though it does happen).
I honestly don’t think I would go through it again if another of our cats got cancer–I think I would probably opt for making him/her as comfortable as possible for as long as possible–but it’s a hard decision, and I won’t know for sure unless it happens (which I very much hope it doesn’t–once is enough).
I wish you and your kitty the best–preferably a speedy recovery for her, but peace and comfort in any case, no matter what happens or what you end up deciding.
I feel awful about possibly having to make a decision of this magnitude. Just awful, really. I have spent a lot of time convincing myself that I’m indifferent to my three cats but truth be told I’m very sad. Guess I like them more than I thought.
I hate the idea that I might have to decide based on my economic circumstances.
But I also feel strongly that forcing Fanny to spend the rest of her life being poked and prodded and fed pills is a bad thing. She’s not a personable cat. She absolutely hates being held and only allows you to pet her on rare occasions. I’m sure all of this forced human contact is stressing her out big time. I can’t see how spending the rest of her life getting shots or pills is going to be a happy ending for her.
The ultra-sound doctor is supposed to see her at 5 today. I’ll just have to keep you posted.
In case anyone’s interested we got the diagnoses, she’s got cancer. It’s in her chest and causing fluid to build up on her lungs. It’s also “oozing” around her pericardium.
We could go for chemo or not and just see what happens. The vet pointed out that the two biggest determining factors in terms of “quality of life” are food and friends is she happy with her family and is she’ eating and drinking. Right now she’s got neither of those. She’s still not eating or drinking on her own and she’s a very miserable cat.
Meanwhile today’s adventure in ultrasound cost me another $771. Bank of America must love me lately.
I’m fairly certain we’re going to decide to euthanize. I’ll wait until hubby comes home and talk to him first but I’m sure he’s in agreement.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Don’t beat yourself up if you decide to put her down - cats are extremely stoic. If she’s acting sick, she’s really sick, and putting her out of her misery is the last best thing you can do for her.
My condolences. Having lost one of our wonderful cats a few months ago, I can relate in some small way to the sadness and frustration you must be feeling. Whatever you decide, be sure to give as much love and time and attention you possibly can, since being surrounded by her loved ones is what her last few days/weeks/months should be like.
Last night she actually came and laid on my lap and let me pet her which she never does. When we went to bed she meowed outside the door until we let her in and then she went to sleep under our bed, another thing she never does.
and I cried myself to sleep. I’m not sure if it’s the idea that she’s dying or the idea that I’m making this decision that’s more upsetting. I really had convinced myself that I’m not all that attached to the cats. Silly me.
I’ll be calling the vet this morning.
Thanks to everyone for your advice and kind words. It really has helped.
{{{{{velvet}}}}} I know it’s an awful decision and a tough one, but based on your last posting, I think Fanny’s telling you that she’s ready to go now.
We went to the vet this morning. They were really kind and compassionate and it was as quick and painless (for the cat and for us) as it could have been. My daughter went with me and we got to say goodbye.
It’s sad but I know we did the right thing.
Goodbye Fanny aka Fantasia aka Psycho Kitty. We’re going to miss you.
Your comment about Fanny coming to lay under your bed got to me–the night before we took Meep for her last trip to the vet, we left her sleeping comfortably downstairs (she hardly even moved at this point, so we didn’t want to move her around and cause her distress). The next morning, we found her under our bed, still alive but very weak. She had managed to struggle up a flight of stairs just so she could be near us.
They know we love them. Releasing them from their misery is an act of love–but it’s never an easy one.
Knowing you did the right thing doesn’t make the decision any easier, but at least you had time to say goodbye to her and you know that you’ve spared her from any suffering. Fanny left you in dignity, knowing she was loved and cared for right to the end.
