when it rains.... good thoughts

[radfringe]

Two weeks ago we lost our 20year cat, Dutchess, her liver shut down.

last night, our 22year old cat, Kudra, became all congested - definitely a cold/upper respiratory problem. Will be getting her to the vet today.

and Tovah, our 1 year old beagle/pointer mix has a lump on her lip - swelling has gone down, I think she may have been stung by a bee....might as well bring her in too and get it checked out...

[radfringe]

1. Kudra update and we're probably changing vets

they ran blood work - various levels were higher than normal, but no red alerts. she was also dehydrated. they wanted to keep her overnight and run an IV and give her antibiotics, then run more blood work in the morning - estimated cost between $600-700.

after some discussion and considering that Kudra is 22yrs old, we opted for bloodwork, do a sub-q for hydration and took her home with antibiotics. she'll go back next week for a follow-up unless we have further problems.

she's in her bed, all warm and comfy. Drank a little when she got home, and took a swipe at one of our dogs

meanwhile about the vet change

called our regular vet, they wanted to charge us $50 extra because it was an emergency visit on top of the regular office visit charge and whatever else had to be done :eyes: and didn't have any appointment available until 6pm tonight...

$90 to walk in the door.... arrrgggg. outrageous, and with 5 cats, 3 dogs we've thrown alot of business to this vet over the past few years.

I called a neighbor who had been through similar experience in trying to find a vet for an emergency - she recommended a clinic in town.

I called them at 8:30 - they said they could juggle a couple of appointments and get us in at 9:30am. they were very nice, took the time to go over all the options, explained the tests and the results. I'm happy with them, next week when we go back with Kudra, my partner will come along, she can check out the place and if she's happy with it we'll make the change.

[IndyOp]

2. I am sorry to hear about Kudra, but I think you were smart to bring her home after her sub-Q...

Cats are typically very stressed by having to stay at the vet's office -- moreso than dogs and I think that any time the vet can treat the cat and then you can take it home for a comfy calm night then that is optimal.

:hug:

I hope you are happy with the new vet...

I've been thinking a lot about the economy and the expense of pets since DainBramaged posted this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x36692

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Gald Kudra is doing better. My friend's vet suggested ENSURE as something

to give the cat when she was not eating/drinking. It provides some extra nutrition.
You can also try Pedialyte...the stuff they give to dehydrated babies.

Did you find out if it was a bee sting on the pup's lip?

I think you made an EXCELLENT decision about changing Vets.

[radfringe]

4. tovah's lip

not as swollen as it was, if there's no improvement by tomorrow night - we'll get her into the NEW vet

[radfringe]

6. vanilla flavor ensure ok to give to cats?

I also plan on picking up a bottle of the pedialyte - unflavored

[brer cat]

5. I'm really sorry for you and your fur-babies.

I agree with IndyOp that you made the best decision to bring Kudra home. Less stress, and at this stage of her life, the comforts of home and closeness of loved ones may mean more than emergency care.

Good luck with the new vet, and I hope for the best possible outcome.

Rose

[Eurobabe]

7. Sorry about your Kudra

she's probably missing Dutchess, cats know these things. I hope that Kudra remains comfortable. :hug:

I find the price of vets in the US to be totally outrageous. Do you know what a vet visit costs over here? $10. You read right.

(In March, we had our older cat in for an emergency visit, and boarded for 5 days because we were going away, and we didn't want to leave him alone with our neighbor who catsits for us. They did bladder ultrasounds, heart ultrasound, IV fluids, pills, tests, everything, it was 400,00€ -- we were shocked at how reasonably priced it was)

I think it's like everything else, a vet comes out of school with massive amounts of debt, and starting a practice is not cheap, so guess who pays in the end? We do. Because we love our furbabies. :shrug:

I've often wondered about those insurance plans, if they make sense?

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I think the insurance is a great idea, but I think they will only insure young pets..and they mainly

cover unusual treatments...not the every year shots and checkups. If you are considering it, make sure to check into exactly what is covered, and for how much.

[radfringe]

8. update

She's still hanging in. I can tell you I was a bit nervous heading home from work yesterday - wasn't sure what I would find.

We put her in a large crate yesterday morning, one we use when fostering greyhounds, to keep her from being bothered by the other "kids". Put in plenty of food/water - this would give us a chance to see if she would eat on her own.

Came home yesterday and she was "complaining" a bit, I was relieved to hear that complaint. It looked like a bit of the food was gone - not as much as we would like. I let her out of the crate and she wandered about.

After taking the dogs out, feeding the other cats, and doing other chores. I mixed up a blend of pedialyte and baby food - a little over 1 ounce, used a large syringe and fed her. She didn't struggle, seemed almost anxious to have it. But when I offered it to her to eat on her own - she refused.

I fed her another ounce a couple of hours later - no problem doing it, she didn't struggle.

This morning - she was still with us. Seemed a bit stronger, but still not wanting to eat on her own. Had to give her two pills - and she gave me a bit more of a tussle than yesterday's pill session.

Mixed up another ounce of the pedialyte/baby food and fed her - she didn't struggle, took it right down with no problem. I'll give her another feeding before I go to work.

Her color looks a bit better too. Keeping fingers crossed.

[demnan]

10. Lily had an episode just after I got Pad Thai

where she wouldn't eat. I think it was pschological. The vet gave me appetite stimulants. You could ask for those. They might help.

:hug: