Dealing with sick pets. How..

[inline6turbo]

So I'm at the vet. To find out my beautiful Siamese kitty is sick with liver disease. Now people that know me can attest to the fact that I like to pretend I'm a hard ass. But in actuality, I'm a giant baby. I cried for three days once (not to long ago so it's not like I was 5) when my fish died. A friggin fish!

So what do I do. Every fibre in my body says "Spend thousands and she'll get better". But to what point...

Who here has dealt with this before. I know she's just a cat. But I've been with her since day one. Frick I'm just about in tears as I type this. Can they recover from this? My vet isn't giving me much to work with on the "hope" scale The super sad this is she's only 5 years old! Just a teenager :(

Thanks guys...

:( :cry:

[Supa Dexta]

kittens are fun, get a new one and move on.

[LadyLuck]

Sorry to hear about your kitten hun.
If the vet isnt giving you much hope, then the ball is in your court. Is she suffering? At some point you will just have to use your own discretion and figure out whether its worth it for her to suffer and eventually get worse, or to go the other route.

Its your decision, and its not an easy one for sure.

Hope she gets better!

[Ntense_SpecV]

I had to put a cat down right before we went on holidays. It sucked, and life went on. The only other option that was given to us by the vet was to give it a liquid pain killer and an antidepressant every single day - that wasn't happening. Came back from holidays and went to the SPCA and got a new kitty. I still miss my old cat but I know in my heart we did the right thing.

[npham]

The cat is only 5 years old, so it's only going to create problems in the future if the disease is only suppressed and not cured.

[Kloubek]

OP: This IS super sad. I'm going to be heartbroken when I have to put my guys down. (I have two cats - and was almost forced to put one down a few months ago)

But unfortunately, that is the reality. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. There is a reasonable limit to how much one should spend to keep their pet alive. And if it means the pet will be in pain, or is terminal, I personally don't see the point.

Good luck to you.

[4bier]

atleast animal owners have that right when your animal get so sick we can put them down, but when a family member gets really sick you have to watch them suffer

[adidas]

Originally posted by 4bier
atleast animal owners have that right when your animal get so sick we can put them down, but when a family member gets really sick you have to watch them suffer

Yea im sure the first thing on everyone's mind is "KILL HIM/HER"

That's gotta be one of the most stupidest things i've ever read on beyond.

[GQBalla]

Aw this is sad, what's the opinion of the vet?

My kitty just got spayed and I just picked her up and she's in sooo much pain. She's giving off the sadest sounds.

[Pollywog]

My cat (28lbs :eek: ) was suffering from liver problems that stopped her from eating and almost put her to her death, but after seeking a second opinion from a vet off of canyon meadows (just west off macleod tr by the husky) the pills pills he pescribed not only saved us from either putting the cat down or "installing" a feeding tube (only options given by other vet), but in the end also completely saved the life of my cat. Sometimes it pays to go the extra distance with pet-care, sometimes it doesn't. It is very hard to put a dollar value on how much your pet means to you - but if it is out of logical means, its simply out of logical means. No one can tell you the right or wrong answer on this, the choice of care will in the end be up to you whereas the consequences will always remain out of your hands. Either way, don't feel bad for your choice, its never easy.

[speedog]

Ya gots to think about "the quality of life". We went through some troubles about 10 years ago with a cat my wife had since she was a young teenager - her cat was about 16 (15+ years with my wife) and had a fairly good sized stroke, we went to Calgary North and Dr. Torrence gave the cat some drugs, sent us home with the cat and suggested that we might be able to nurse her back to health. My wife did just that and soon we had the old Toesy back, but it was only for another month or two and then another stroke. Another visit to Calgary North and the advice this time is we could do daily injections and nurse her back again, but what quality of life would the cat be experiencing? Dr. Torrence was quite blunt about the whole situation and we decided in the end to have Dr. Torrence over to our house to put our cat to sleep using a very slow reacting method/medicine.

You will know in your heart what the right thing is to do - sometimes spending 1000's is the way to go if there is a viable possibility of a good life to live yet for the animal (pain free). I know of one customer in my shop who has spent over $7,000 on his standard poodle and he doesn't regret it at all as the dog is wonderfully healthy and frolics like a puppy. After all, one must remember that humans can understand pain and react to it appropriately - animals just know they're hurting but can do little to alleviate the pain and for the most part, they do not understand having to endure more pain (needles/whatever) to fix what's wrong.

[Hamann]

Last year my Gf spend over a grand on her rabbit (little 5lb dwarf) because he had glaucoma in his eye, and on top of that my ex roommate poisoned the little guy.

We were never able to prove what my roommate did but I got him back :devil:

But the little guy is blind in one eye now, and needs 2 sets of eye drops every day to keep the pressure down in his eyes and to make sure the other eye stays healthy.

In all honesty I was on the fence as to what she should do, spend all the money and hope he regains his health, or just tell her to have him put down.

I decided to help her pay for it, do to her having the rabbit for 4 years and He's the coolest rabbit I have ever seen (Beat up the Ex roommates Pitbull, made the fucking dog piss itself :rofl: which in retrospect could of had something to do with the poisoning...)

He was really jumpy and on edge for the first couple weeks after the procedure and the beginning of the medication but now is right back to his old "Gansta" self, puts my gf's 80lb puppy in its place all the time :bigpimp:

In all honesty, you should def get atleast another opinion from another vet, and if you think its reasonable that the kitten could life a good full life, and not be in pain all the time you should go for it :thumbsup:

[Tik-Tok]

What type of liver disease is it? Some are easily curable (fatty liver disease 80-90% survival rate when treated), some aren't (if the liver is already badly damaged).

I like to tell myself, I would only spend say $1000 for a problem with my kittay, but I know when it comes down to it, I'd probably spend a fuck of a lot more than that, IF I think he'll have a good chance at a good quality of life after.

After all, he's my damned child! lol (he got out on halloween, and I slept all night by the back door waiting for him to come home... which he did eventually, hahahah)

[sloan]

I cant put a price on my dogs. Ive spent more than $6K on my two dogs. It is very tough cause you feel so helpless when they are sick/injured. Costs even more when you have to take them to emergency.

[Coryz]

Its a tough situation, we have 2 chocolate labs and we found out they both had addison's disease before they reached 2 years of age (litter mates).
With the medications, vet visit's and the week each they spend at the animal hospital when they almost died I've spent a small fortune. My tally since Jan 09 - Nov 09 is between $16-18 thousand dollars and they are still not totally fixed yet.....

The first and probably the last time I will ever own a dog. :facepalm:

To the OP they do become a part of your family but I'm still trying to figure if there will ever be an end to my bank accounts suffering.

[JC522]

I'm not sure if they have it for cats but if there is, you could surrender them to non profit rescues. I know they're really big in the states for dogs because if people can't afford the medical treatment they just give them up to the rescue foundation and they usually cover th costs but you'd probably never see your pet again

[bignerd]

A second opinion doesn't cost so much if you are considering spending more or putting her to sleep. Ask you vet for a referral to a specialist where you could get more indepth information before making up your mind. Your vet should not mind doing this if it is what could make up your mind to decide your cat's course of treatment. Try to get the name of the vet the person above mentioned.

Ask you vet for copies of bloodwork and what not or have it sent over to the new vet so they can look it over also.

Takes thing a few weeks at a time and then re-evaluate and see how your cat is doing. You can always start to treat her and see how she does.

[inline6turbo]

Thanks everyone for your support! It means a lot to me.

She's staying at the vet over the weekend for monitoring, and I'm supposed to go there at 4pm on monday for an update. So far they've put her on IVs and some heavy medication and say she's been responding to them. She started eating a bit more as well. Next course of action is Xrays and an ultrasound and then determining how and why she got so sick.

It's amazing the lengths we go to for our pets. But there's no denying she is a part of the family. I don't mind giving her daily medication as long as she's living a good life.

*fingers crossed!*

[megavolt]

My cockatoo has liver and kidney issues (dumbass ate a lily flower), and I'm having to take her to the vet once a month for blood tests (at $200 a pop) and give her pretty expensive medication twice a day. That's after almost $2000 spent on this so far.

But she's worth it. Just wish she hadn't done it just as I was laid off.....

Vet care for birds is expensive!

On a side note, how many of you dog and cat owners actually have the available health insurance for your pets? I'm interested considering birds aren't insurable in Canada yet.

[cancer man]

My lab/airdale mix only cost me about 12 grand in 18 months.
She ate everything,and my wife goes this is great all new furniture and shoes not to mention drywall and seatbelts.

Good luck with your cat it's a hard choice but they do become family.

I still love this pic my wifes little girl.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/dogman8018/IMGP0642.jpg

[cycosis]

You don;t want to think about it as being a situation of whether you can afford it or not. I've got a chinese wter dragon that I "adopted" 5 or 6 years ago who was on the verge of death. Little guy was malnourished, had brittle bones, skinny as fuck. Vets were saying he was doomed unless I spent over $1,000. I didn't. I don;t know if he was in pain but I kept him alive and slowly nursed him back. After 6 years, hes full of colour, plump,a nd full of energy. But I keep telling myself, if he does get sick, then thats that.

Its painful to lose a pet, ive lost many myself, but its not worth putting yourself in debt if theres little chance for a full recovery. If there is a decent chance of recovery, then go for it. Kitty is 5 years old. You;ve got a potential10-15 more years with it.

[ekguy]

Always keep the suffering of the animal in mind when making a decision. As much as we love our pets it's selfish to keep them around if they will suffer.

[inline6turbo]

Alright well I got the bad news last night. She has FIP. Multiple organ failure (intestine, liver and something else). Spent the whole night in a ball of tears in primo girly fashion. $2600 vet bill after two surgerys, one biopsy and multiple blood tests in 7 days.

I will be putting her down *as I well up with tears again*.

<3 you fluflu, I tried.


What a cute picture. You were an ugly baby haha 3 months old here :)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/P2020016.jpg

My test pilot for many camera tricks :)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/CameraTest1098.jpg


Last couple pictures from two months ago.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS002.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS003.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS004.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS005.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS006.jpg
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http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS029.jpg

Very last pic of you :(
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/Iphone3GS030.jpg

[GQBalla]

aw thats too bad.

cute kitty sorry to hear bout your loss. :(

[syeve]

So sorry to hear about your loss. As for the money, one day not to long from now you will be very happy you spent the money to try to save her. The guilt of not knowing would have killed you.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss. When you are ready, a sweet kitty at the SPCA will be waiting for a second chance from a great pet owner like you. I can help you find a good one, when you are ready (I volunteer there). If you will let me, I would be happy to pay for the adoption fee's.

[inline6turbo]

Awe see what you did there. You being so sweet put into another fit of tears!

I'm such a baby.

I would love to see if I can help another one. Flu was an rescue cat. She was badly abused in an underground breeding house in Forest Lawn. My bf at the time and I stole her in the middle of the night. I think the trauma from her childhood damaged her to much, she had problems her whole life.

[syeve]

Just shoot me a PM whenever. :thumbsup:

[Jlude]

Sorry to hear, Renee. Such a cute kitten

Before owning my dog, I never really thought about paying for large medical bills to save a pet.

I can tell you now, (call me crazy if you want) that I'd easily spend thousands to take care of my dog.

[Kritafo]

Sorry to hear of your loss, it's very hard. Pets touch our lives in so many ways. It doesn't matter how long you have had them. Just know in your heart you did everything to save her. You never have to feel bad about thinking you could have done more.

When the time is right there are many loving pets in need of home. It's coming up for the anniversary of death of our beloved Airedale...I cry all the time over that dog. It's not being a baby, it's all the cuddles and the unconditional love they show. Just imagine you saved a beautiful cat from a life of misery, and even though she had a rotten start she found the courage to love you back.

Now I am crying again, it's been 2 years for us. We did move onto another Airedale that is a sweetheart.