We love our pets! Healthcare challenges..

[FantasticDan]

In the past few years, we've had two older cats slowly get sick with what turned out to be pervasive cancers. I'll spare the details, but in diagnosing and attempting to treat these issues, lots of time and travel and money was spent to no real positive result. Did I regret the effort? With 20/20 hindsight, yes and no, I guess..

Anyway, I now have a third cat (14yo) that's started having issues that are likely cancer related. She's already seen my regular vet (an 80 year old man with vast experience, but an office that's been unchanged since 1974), and will be consulting with another one very soon. I'm trying to stay "in control" with the effort and expenditures in trying to help her.. doing what I can, but not going overboard. In other words, resisting the urge to visit the Cornell Univ. Animal Hospital an hour away, who charge you $300 just to greet the receptionist.. :eek:

Just curious to hear others' stories and experiences in trying to get their pets through difficult times.. :)

[acorn54]

i think i heard that their is health insurance for pets. maybe if you do research on it, it could help you financially.
my sister always has a german shepard and through the years i have helped her with the expenses. i can't think of a better way to spend money than on health care.

[cj's dad]

Good luck with the cat. My youngest son lives at home and recently the dog (mixed lab and pit) came home with a 6” gash on his side. I think he tangled with a raccoon or cat or whatever on his nightly run.

My son took him to the vets and it was $800 for a few stitches and meds. These guys charge more for a visit then my Doctor. Without insurance her fee is $80.



I think at some point when the pet gets above 10 + years of age and has illness it’s time to let go.



BTW, maybe to lighten up your mood a bit, a true story:

Years ago, all the boys were still at home and the wife was alive, we had a mixed breed Irish Setter.

Samantha (Sammy) was beautiful but a complete lunatic. If left alone, at home, she would do some sort of damage. This got real old and of course dear old Dad had to either repair or pay to repair this damage. We went from a sofa to a chair, carpet, wall paneling etc… Finally, I had had it. I concocted a plan to “take her to the vet” where she would break loose from me and take off only to be struck by a car and die. In reality, I took her to a friends house in the country about 10 miles from my home where she had plenty of room outside and other pets for companions. That evening, when the wife and boys got home, I had to break the bad news about the “accident”. Well, the crying and carrying on you can only imagine. But after a few days things quieted down. About a week later, throwing a football out front with boys, one of them began looking past me up the street. He said “dad, that dog looks like Sammy”! I hated the thought of turning around. The dog ran past me (I swear she gave me a dirty look) and went right to the boys. One ran into the house and a few minutes later the wife appeared.

“Well”, she said, “it looks like Lazarus has risen from the dead.” Needless to say I had to come clean.

I was punished for 2 weeks in the way only a wife can punish a husband.

[boxcar]

In the past few years, we've had two older cats slowly get sick with what turned out to be pervasive cancers. I'll spare the details, but in diagnosing and attempting to treat these issues, lots of time and travel and money was spent to no real positive result. Did I regret the effort? With 20/20 hindsight, yes and no, I guess..

Anyway, I now have a third cat (14yo) that's started having issues that are likely cancer related. She's already seen my regular vet (an 80 year old man with vast experience, but an office that's been unchanged since 1974), and will be consulting with another one very soon. I'm trying to stay "in control" with the effort and expenditures in trying to help her.. doing what I can, but not going overboard. In other words, resisting the urge to visit the Cornell Univ. Animal Hospital an hour away, who charge you $300 just to greet the receptionist.. :eek:

Just curious to hear others' stories and experiences in trying to get their pets through difficult times.. :)

Tough call, Dan. I can really empathize with you.

Right now, our oldest cat (at least 16 years old, maybe closer to 17) was/is having dietary problems. Had a tough time keeping down her food and clearly did not feel well, isolated herself from the rest of the feline population in the house, etc. (typical behavior when a cat doesn't feel well.)

We moved her into the guest bathroom where she sleeps behind the toilet under the tank. In fact, we leave the door open but she doesn't have any interest in coming back out to roam the rest of the house. We feed her carefully. We first started with baby food such as turkey and chicken broth. Then we moved her up to raw chicken breasts (most cats love this!). Now we mix the raw chicken with a little canned cat food. In the last few days, her appetite has been great but she still doesn't want to mingle with the other cats.

Vets can be very, very pricey. My neighbor took her cat in because she thought the female had a urinary tract problem. Turns out she did, and the vet operated on her to the tune of $2,100.! And here's the kicker: The vet never called to get permission to operate or to see if my neighbor wanted to pay that much money.

There is an excellent website out there that caters to cat lovers. Here is the link:

http://holisticat.com/

Their is an annual subscription fee to read or participate on the site. But it's reasonable and there is a lot of good advice on there.

What do we plan to do with our ailing puddy? Give her as much love as possible and feed her what we think will be the best food for her. So, far she's responding fine. But we're not under any illusions. She's up in age and her health has been slowly and gradually trending toward degeneration.

Hope this helps,
Boxcar

[elysiantraveller]

Its a completely personal thing. Cats are difficult too because the age at which they can live normal healthy lives varies so much animal to animal.

My family had a dog growing up that suffered a massive twisted gut at about 3. We don't know if she was hit by a car or what caused it but we found her unable to stand up she was in so much pain. She was ran to our local vet where he performed a surgery and afterward offered us two options either go to Michigan State Vet Hospital or that she would most likely die. I remember picking her up from the vet, I was highschool at the time, and, seeing the shape she was in, getting into a cussing argument with my mother begging she be put down. Long story short, two surgeries later, a massive vet bill, and a bit of irony, the dog is still around (15).

I have two dogs right now, the girls Beagle and my Lab, and we have rules that invasive surgeries after 12 and 9, respectively, are not options. At those ages they will have had full and happy lives and surgery to prolong them is more selfish on our part than in the best interest of the animals.

Its a completely personal thing and there is no right or wrong answer.

[horses4courses]

We have 3 cats.
Two litter mates of 7 years old, and an 8 month old.

In the past 2 years, we 3 lost three others. Two of them to old age (19 and 20) and incontinence, the other (our 14yo pride and joy) who went missing - most likely taken by coyotes.

Vet fees over the years? A small fortune.
You can only stretch it so far, though.
If it doesn't work for your budget, then so be it.
Just do the best you can for them.

That 14yo orange tabby we lost had the highest expenditure.
We took him to a specialist in Reno in 2007 to have a melanoma on his eyelid removed. Our vet up here had had it tested, and it was cancerous. The specialist freeze dried it, and the procedure worked perfectly. It cost close to $800 to have it all done ($200 up here, $600 in Reno). Money well spent.

Cats (and dogs) are great company.
I would recommend having a pet to most people.
You can't, though, go broke for them.

Do what you can, but keep your priorities straight.
Enjoy the good times, and remember they are lucky to have you as an owner.

[johnhannibalsmith]

...

Right now, our oldest cat (at least 16 years old, maybe closer to 17) was/is having dietary problems....Boxcar

I know you are on top of your shit, but if you haven't tried something along these lines and are out of options - give it a try. Its a pretty common supplement we use for horses in a few different contexts, but I have used it with pet food, including cat food with varying results. Basically a microbial that intends to improve or restore the balance of the digestive bacterials, it is a simple powder that you can easily mix with almost anything and has always seemed totally palatable to any animal I have given it to.

http://www.animalhealthexpress.com/catalog/images/PINSP110.JPEG

[boxcar]

I know you are on top of your shit, but if you haven't tried something along these lines and are out of options - give it a try. Its a pretty common supplement we use for horses in a few different contexts, but I have used it with pet food, including cat food with varying results. Basically a microbial that intends to improve or restore the balance of the digestive bacterials, it is a simple powder that you can easily mix with almost anything and has always seemed totally palatable to any animal I have given it to.

http://www.animalhealthexpress.com/catalog/images/PINSP110.JPEG

Thanks, John. I hadn't heard about this product until now. Will definitely keep it in mind.

Boxcar

[JustRalph]

if money is not tight..........quality of life for the pet is the prevailing answer to your question. I have been through it many many times and never forget they, the vets, get paid handsomely to prolong the answer to your question.

In the end........ quality of life is the only real answer.

[NJ Stinks]

if money is not tight..........quality of life for the pet is the prevailing answer to your question. I have been through it many many times and never forget they, the vets, get paid handsomely to prolong the answer to your question.

In the end........ quality of life is the only real answer.

I think Ralph nailed it.

I won't relate anything myself except to say we spent much more than I ever would have myself to save our last cat. But my wife wanted to so we did.

But then, measuring quality of life can be subjective too.

P.S. CJ's Dad, I loved your story!! :lol:

[chickenhead]

so we just put down our Johnny Cash -- I had mentioned he ran away when we moved house, first night at the new place and he disappeared. Found him 11 months later in just terrible shape.

He had severe kidney failure, which seemed premature since he was only 8, I'm wondering if he didn't eat or drink something he shouldn't have. So anyway the joy of finding him was replaced with the concerns about how best to take care of him -- put him to sleep or try to nurse him back to health. He weighed just a few pounds and could barely walk.

My point of view was that this little dude battled for 11 months through obviously terrible conditions, if he wasn't gonna give up then we were going to give him every shot at now having some good days. Unfortunately we weren't all that successful with getting him to gain weight, up to about 6.5 lbs is all. But he got much stronger, much happier, was purring a lot and while not playful was very lovey dovey all the time. But, he mainly slept and hardly ever left our bedroom, he pretty much decided to live on our bed.

So for his kidney failures we failed miserably with the subcutaneous injections, he hated them. We've given them to other cats with no problems but he wasn't having it, it was torture. So I found this stuff called Azodyl online at Amazon, and highly recommend it for CRF cats. He made it 7 months with very little deterioration or rise in his bad blood levels using nothing but that, no injections. His appetite was good throughout, lots of raw chicken breast, baby food, and kitty food. He just wasn't metabolizing it well. So well also tried some stuff like John suggested, it helped a bit but he developed other problems...a growth started on his side, apparently a tumor, and grew quite quickly.

It didnt bother him at all, the vet suggested he was too weak to consider doing anything about it, which I agreed with...so we let it go, but it kept growing and I think sucking up whatever extra nourishment he should have been getting. So after a whole lot of good happy days, the poor little guy went into a sharp decline over a couple of days and we had to take him in for the final visit.

Amazing how tough cats are -- he was happy right down to the very end, just kind of confused in the way animals are when they have something wrong, he just didn't understand why his damn legs wouldn't work very well.

Anyway, now I miss the hell out of taking care of him...

[Grits]

Anyway, now I miss the hell out of taking care of him...

Animals and humans alike, we should all be so lucky, Chickie. All of us.

[thaskalos]

His name is Mickey, he is 7 years old...and he means the world to me.

I was introduced to pets rather late in life...and cannot believe what a difference they make...

[boxcar]

His name is Mickey, he is 7 years old...and he means the world to me.

I was introduced to pets rather late in life...and cannot believe what a difference they make...

They do indeed. When you love them, they love you back in so many different ways.

Nice looking puddy, Thaskalos.

Boxcar

[lamboguy]

my wife loves cats, and boy does she ever!

our first cat had the same symptons as you described. we went to angel memorial hospital and they got us for about $1200 to run the tests and there was nothing conclusive. we brought her home, she was de-hydrated, we treated her with IV, she started to eat and 2 days later found the litter box and she seems back to normal now 3 weeks later.

BEST WISHES WITH YOUR BEST CAT

[Ocala Mike]

Well, we have two cats (strays that I rescued from a dumpster), two dogs (my wife's), and two horses. Our feed bills and vet bills are why the wife and I are still working part-time as "golden years" seniors. Wouldn't have it any other way, though.

Gotta go to the vet now and pick up trifexis for the two dogs. Only about $30 today.


Ocala Mike

[BlueShoe]

Reading these posts and the recent ones on the Nothing thread have brought back unpleasant memories, feelings of sympathy, and remind me of the awful dilemna I am in. In 2000, after about $5000 and much agonizing, my 10 yr old female cat, with advanced cancer and no hope, was sent to Rainbow Bridge. Two months later, a starving, nearly dead 1 yr old female cat, ravaged by fleas, that I later found out to have been abandoned when her owners moved, showed up on the back fence. Now 13, we are both old, and that is the problem. One of us is going to die first. If she goes first, it will be devastating for myself, as I am very attached to her. If I go first, what will happen to her, who is going to take in a cat that old? No volunteers so far. No solution to this one. Given a choice, would prefer that she goes first, at least she would be cared for up until the end.

[boxcar]

Reading these posts and the recent ones on the Nothing thread have brought back unpleasant memories, feelings of sympathy, and remind me of the awful dilemna I am in. In 2000, after about $5000 and much agonizing, my 10 yr old female cat, with advanced cancer and no hope, was sent to Rainbow Bridge. Two months later, a starving, nearly dead 1 yr old female cat, ravaged by fleas, that I later found out to have been abandoned when her owners moved, showed up on the back fence. Now 13, we are both old, and that is the problem. One of us is going to die first. If she goes first, it will be devastating for myself, as I am very attached to her. If I go first, what will happen to her, who is going to take in a cat that old? No volunteers so far. No solution to this one. Given a choice, would prefer that she goes first, at least she would be cared for up until the end.

You'll take care of one another and leave it to the good providence of the Lord to work out the who-proceeds-who details.

I have nothing but pleasant memories of all my many cats I've had throughout the years. Yes, I've suffered the pain and agony of hurt and loss but that comes with the territory of loving. When we give of ourselves and that love is reciprocated to us by animal or human, it pains us when we lose it. Even as I type this, my heart is heavy this night. We lost our little Java our oldest cat. I think she cheated death for quite a while but it finally caught up to her tonight. But I'm convinced that she's in a far better place than I am, but even more than that -- that one day I'll see my little furry friend again.

I miss her already....

Boxcar

[JustRalph]

Reading these posts and the recent ones on the Nothing thread have brought back unpleasant memories, feelings of sympathy, and remind me of the awful dilemna I am in. In 2000, after about $5000 and much agonizing, my 10 yr old female cat, with advanced cancer and no hope, was sent to Rainbow Bridge. Two months later, a starving, nearly dead 1 yr old female cat, ravaged by fleas, that I later found out to have been abandoned when her owners moved, showed up on the back fence. Now 13, we are both old, and that is the problem. One of us is going to die first. If she goes first, it will be devastating for myself, as I am very attached to her. If I go first, what will happen to her, who is going to take in a cat that old? No volunteers so far. No solution to this one. Given a choice, would prefer that she goes first, at least she would be cared for up until the end.

Contact a cat rescue in your area. They can make arrangements with you, that should ease your mind.

[NJ Stinks]

You'll take care of one another and leave it to the good providence of the Lord to work out the who-proceeds-who details.

I have nothing but pleasant memories of all my many cats I've had throughout the years. Yes, I've suffered the pain and agony of hurt and loss but that comes with the territory of loving. When we give of ourselves and that love is reciprocated to us by animal or human, it pains us when we lose it. Even as I type this, my heart is heavy this night. We lost our little Java our oldest cat. I think she cheated death for quite a while but it finally caught up to her tonight. But I'm convinced that she's in a far better place than I am, but even more than that -- that one day I'll see my little furry friend again.

I miss her already....

Boxcar

Just want to extend my condolences, Boxcar. I'm very sorry to hear about Java.

[chickenhead]

sorry you lost your friend Boxcar.

[bigmack]

But I'm convinced that she's in a far better place than I am, but even more than that -- that one day I'll see my little furry friend again.

I miss her already....
So sorry for your loss.

I fear I may be losing one of the all time greats; my beloved, Moxie.

They are only so resilient.

Again, sorry for your loss of Java.

[thaskalos]

You'll take care of one another and leave it to the good providence of the Lord to work out the who-proceeds-who details.

I have nothing but pleasant memories of all my many cats I've had throughout the years. Yes, I've suffered the pain and agony of hurt and loss but that comes with the territory of loving. When we give of ourselves and that love is reciprocated to us by animal or human, it pains us when we lose it. Even as I type this, my heart is heavy this night. We lost our little Java our oldest cat. I think she cheated death for quite a while but it finally caught up to her tonight. But I'm convinced that she's in a far better place than I am, but even more than that -- that one day I'll see my little furry friend again.

I miss her already....

Boxcar

I'm so sorry for your loss, Boxcar.

[Grits]

Java was much loved, no doubt. She's lost her best friends, her humans.

Box, with this sadness . . . . still, we know, she's surrounded by a heavenly host of new ones. You'll see her again.

((((hugs)))) --g.

[Ocala Mike]

Sorry for your loss, boxcar. In my view of heaven, it's a place where we'll all be reunited with our long-gone pets.

:( :( :( :(


Ocala Mike

[Tom]

Sorry for your loss, Boxcar.

[boxcar]

Thanks everyone I appreciate your kind thoughts. I, too, am confident that one day I"ll see her and all the feline friends I've ever had in God's kingdom.

But even at the last, God was good. I don't believe she suffered very much. He took her quickly and my wife was right beside her side when she left us.

Boxcar

[johnhannibalsmith]

Add me to the list of the empathetic.

[PaceAdvantage]

Me too. So very sorry for your loss Boxcar...

[BlueShoe]

Oh my, another beloved pet lost, so sorry Box. :( Last week my best track buddy came home and found out that his favorite cat, a female only 3 years old, had suddendly passed away, no trauma or early symptoms. As I type these words, I glance to my left and see my old gal snoozing peacefully on top of the recliner chair, and a sense of unease passes through me. Not a good idea, at 13 we could still have many years together, some cats make it into their 20's.

[FantasticDan]

Sad news about Java, Box. :( You sound like a very dedicated cat dad, and she was lucky to have you..

Just wanted to thank all for their stories and suggestions, it's much appreciated. Hopefully this thread can continue a good long while in helping to support fellow pet owners..

[boxcar]

Oh my, another beloved pet lost, so sorry Box. :( Last week my best track buddy came home and found out that his favorite cat, a female only 3 years old, had suddendly passed away, no trauma or early symptoms. As I type these words, I glance to my left and see my old gal snoozing peacefully on top of the recliner chair, and a sense of unease passes through me. Not a good idea, at 13 we could still have many years together, some cats make it into their 20's.

One of the really big items of care that promotes longevity is the food you feed your cat. So much of the typical food that we find in supermarkets is loaded with garbage that cats would not eat naturally. So, we read the ingredients carefully on anything we buy. And we also feed out cats raw chicken from time to time. They love it. We buy boneless breasts when they're on sale, chop it up it to fairly good size chunks and then freeze those in containers, and then "shave" or slice off pieces from the chunks as needed.
Most of our cats have lived long lives -- at least to 15 years or so. The only exception was with a male who was diagnosed with a heart condition way back when he was a kitten. He died when he was around 12. But even so...the vet wanted to put him down when he was a kitten! But we kept him on a special diet and he lived a good life with us. And he was one of the sweetest puddies I ever had. He had such a great disposition and was a great lap cat, too. :)

Boxcar

[boxcar]

Sad news about Java, Box. :( You sound like a very dedicated cat dad, and she was lucky to have you..

Just wanted to thank all for their stories and suggestions, it's much appreciated. Hopefully this thread can continue a good long while in helping to support fellow pet owners..

Thanks, Dan. We try to take care of our cats well. If you're going to have pets, then it's incumbent on owners to take full responsibility for them and to treat them well -- and, of course, to love them a whole bunch. :)

Boxcar

[BlueShoe]

But I'm convinced that she's in a far better place than I am, but even more than that -- that one day I'll see my little furry friend again.
Most of us have probably seen this at one time or another, but even so, and for those that have not, will post it anyway. Warning--for anyone that has ever lost a beloved pet this poem is very poignant and emotional. I consider myself a pretty tough, salty old guy, but every time I read it I still get a lump in my throat.
www.petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm (http://www.petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm)

[Ocala Mike]

That's a great post, BlueShoe. Here's another "unknown author" one that pertains:


From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a pet,"
or "that's a lot of money for just a pet."

They don't understand the distance travelled, the time spent,
or the costs involved for "just a pet."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a pet."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a pet,"
but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by
"just a pet," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch
of "just a pet" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a pet," then you probably understand
phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."

"Just a pet" brings into my life the very essence of friendship,
trust, and pure unbridled joy.
"Just a pet" brings out the compassion and patience
that make me a better person.
Because of "just a pet" I will rise early, take long walks and look
longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a pet"
but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,
the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a pet" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts
away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a pet"
but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being
"just a man" or "just a woman."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a pet,"
just smile,
because they "just don't understand."

~Unknown Author~



Ocala Mike

[turninforhome10]

Thanks, John. I hadn't heard about this product until now. Will definitely keep it in mind.

Boxcar

Your are right John this stuff has helped a lot of horses that I have worked with that were poor eaters. Within a week they usually start to become good eaters again. Also works good when shipping horses as they sometimes get what I call "the shipping drip" helps to add good bacteria when the horses GI tract is disturbed.
I am the now owner of two dumpster kitty's. Mr Ki and Gwendoline (Gwenny). They are more of roommates since they really run the show. At the Hospital I work for they offer Pet Health insurance and while i did not get it this renewal period since I had no animals, I might look into this year for 10.00 a paycheck.
Two years ago I had to put down my best friend Johnann Sebastian Bark. Johnny was black lab and the first dog I ever had for the entirety of their life. He got full of tumors to the point of not being able to walk and after 6 months of moving him around and helping him cope with this, one morning he looked at me and if he could have talked his words would have been "enough". That was the day I really figured out how much this animal and I were connected. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do and it still hurts. Animals bring out the best in people who have the best to offer.
My cats now keep things hoppin as they are pretty pushy when it comes to treat time. I miss that dog very much and know that I did right by him.