Sick Pets

[singastory]

I tried searching for an existing thread, forgive me if one exists already and I just couldn't find it. Is anyone else going through pet problems right now and feels like talking about them?

My kitty that I adopted last year (Aug. '10) has been having kidney issues for a few months. The rescue that I got him from estimated him to be 5 years old, but didn't have a lot of information other than that. I think he's quite a bit older than anyone thinks. I am a vet student and am familiar with kidney disease, but I've never gone through it with one of my own animals.

I know sometimes the general public believe that veterinarians are only in it for the money, but please let me tell you that most of us know what you are going through. I am a student with very limited income and I never take out credit (always pay the balance every month). I have spent almost $2,000 of my savings on this little guy in the past 2-3 months, and my pockets are turning out empty at this point. I'm in a horrible position either way, because if it's something that can be turned around I'm not sure how I'm going to afford it. If it's end-stage renal failure, well, that's all around horrible. Sometimes I feel that his quality of life isn't very good, but then he'll turn around and do things that make me feel like I'm horrible for considering putting him down. He looks so sick and uncomfortable sometimes, but then at other times he'll coo at me, he'll get excited about a bird outside, or he'll try and climb into my refrigerator (which he did today, the little sneak). He still runs and meets me at my door when I come home. My DBf lost his childhood dog to renal failure last September after months of fighting it, so I know how difficult it is to try and decide when enough is enough.

I'm just frustrated and upset. I knew someday I would probably face medical issues with a cat who has an uncertain past, but I never thought it would be this soon. I lost a cat a few years ago to mammary cancer, but I adopted her at a vibrant old age of 10 and she lasted 4-5 years at least before I saw her go. I'm also moving in a week and then I have my next trip "home" on August 4th, which is mostly for a conference but with a few extra days tacked on at the end. It's a lot to deal with all at once.

 

[Rose DiVerona]

I am so sorry for you and your ailing cat. As someone who has had to put a beloved pet to sleep, I know pet illness is very difficult to face.

My family's cat has also been having problems. It started two summers ago, when we brought a new kitten into the house. He began walking funny, with his head cocked to the side. At first we thought this was just some weird reaction to the new pet, but eventually we took him to the vet. This turned into several trips to different offices, various tests, and eventually a trip to a specialist hours away from our home. Nothing turned up.

For a while the cat seemed to be doing ok. Now recently he has begun peeing around the house instead of in his litter box. He was a stray before we got him, so he is a partway outdoor cat, but now he never wants to come inside. He wakes the whole household up at 4am meowing to be let out. There is no open resentment to the other cat--they have never been friendly, but he mostly ignores her.

We think he might just be rebelling, but we're afraid his old problems might come back. We love this cat, but we've had to start giving him sedatives just so we can get some sleep!

Anyway, I know this isn't exactly a serious health issue, but it's frustrating and worrisome and I needed to vent!

I truly hope everything with your cat turns out okay.

 

[disneychic]

Sorry to hear about the cats (both the OP and the poster right before me). I'm going through an issue with my dog right now. He is a 12 year old Cairn Terrier (like Toto from Wizard of Oz) and they are telling us he blew out his ACL. The surgery for this is supposedly $4000 - which I can't afford right now. My DH is at the ortho. surgeon with my dog right now as I'm typing this. Waiting to see what they suggest -- my fear is that they are going to suggest surgery (of course they will) and not only is the surgery very expensive, but my dog is 12 years old. I'm afraid to put him through a surgery like this (they insert metal plates into the knee). In the meantime, the dog is not able to walk on that back leg at all, so he his limping/hopping along on 3 legs and it's exhausting for him so we have to carry him outside, let him do his business and bring him right back inside. The thing is, there was really no warning sign of knee or leg issues. He was outside -- on the leash went to chase a squirrel and pulled the leg and that was it. Sorry to vent, but I'm glad the OP made put this on the boards so we can all speak to eachother about pet issues.