Cat medical question

[Denine]

My almost 11 year old baby, Shannon, has an enlarged heart with a grade 3 murmur and high blood pressure. She has had the murmur since we have had her, almost 9 years, but it has worsened in the last year.
The vet sent us to an internist who did a cardiac echogram. He put her on cardizem and vasotec. He did baseline blood work 2 weeks ago and follow-up bloodwork on Friday. The tests were fine. He wants to see her again in 6 weeks.
The problem is, we have already spent $700 on her and it will probably be another $100 in 6 weeks. We just can't afford to keep spending that kind of money! I don't have a problem giving her medication, but why can't our regular vet monitor her now that the initial work-up is done. They can check the liver profile and reanl panel just as well and if there is a problem, send us back to the internist.
I dearly love our cat! I don't want to jeopardize her health, but there is only so much money!

 

[SeaSpray]

I don't have any answers for you, but I do sympathize with you.

Almost 3 years ago our 6yr old Siamese cat had problems that turned out to be major kidney disease. The vet told us they could put her on dialysis and give her medication, but even those measures probably wouldn't help much, and if this cat had been a human, we'd be looking for an organ donor. We hated the thought of losing our cat, but we didn't have the $$$$$$$$ to pay for all that medical care which the vets said would only prolong her life briefly, if at all. We took Tofu home for one last night, then brought her back the next morning to put her to sleep

Maybe you can call the regular vet to see if he/she would be willing to see Shannon next time.

Best wishes to you and your kitty =^..^= but don't feel guilty for whatever decision you have to make. It sounds like you've given your cat a good long life already.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that you should call your regular vet and see if s/he feels comfortable monitoring your cat. {{{Hugs}}} That's a very tough position to be in. I'm wishing the best to you and your kitty.

 

[Denine]

Thanks! The internist told us she could live happily for several more years. She doesn't act sick, never did. If she did, the decision would be easier! She still tears around the house playing!