Re: Cat rant (was Re: Tree on house was Low water medium sized tree for Sacramento valley)
gardenchat@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: Cat rant (was Re: Tree on house was Low water medium sized tree for Sacramento valley)
  • From: D* P* <d*@rewrite.hort.net>
  • Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2018 15:39:20 -0400 (EDT)
I'm in favor of disease testing because there are so many that also cause an immune system problem in addition to things like teeth and gum disease. Several of our cats have had both. Sometimes a thorough cleaning and any necessary extractions will reduce the strain that the other diseases pose and the cat lives much longer than it would otherwise. 

And then sometimes there's a disease that isn't causing any immediate problems that would be linked to gum or tooth disease, like one of ours that is carrying the FIP virus even though his mother doesn't. She was one of those we couldn't trap after her first litter and thus had a second before we could get her spayed. He's never been exposed to cats other than ours, but there it is. Her son lost a considerable amount of weight even though he eats very well. All we can do is keep a close eye on him. 

Your prices are higher than ours are by a good bit, perhaps because we've seen the same vet group for more than 30 years, or maybe it's just because west coast prices haven't caught up to us here. 

I hope that your Billy starts gaining weight and that you can figure out what's wrong with him. You're right, kidney problems in cats can be a biggie. If it helps, those of ours with kidney disease and no other problems have all done well with restricted diets and encouraging them to drink a lot more water than these normally desert-dwelling creatures drink. Several of ours drink out of the kitchen or bathroom faucet. 
I've been thinking about getting them all a fountain type water bowl. Have any of you tried one? 

d


> On October 8, 2018 at 3:09 PM Cyndi Johnson <aa0363ab1@rewrite.hort.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Our barn cat Billy started losing weight so I took him to the vet in 
> late August. Vet says, even though he's vaccinated better do blood work, 
> and BTW he has an infected tooth, but let's not worry about that right 
> now. Gotta test for all those diseases. I say okay. $300 for the blood 
> work plus the office visit, OUCH. So vet #2 calls me with results as vet 
> #1 is on vacation. She says, all is normal except his kidney enzymes are 
> one point over normal and his white blood cell count is up. But that 
> could be from the badly infected teeth that are oozing pus. I'm like, 
> WHAT?! Vet #1 sorta neglected to mention that part! Maybe because the 
> blood work before anesthesia is only $50, huh? So Vet #2 hems and haws, 
> we get Billy in for dental work. $800 (really OUCH) and four 
> extractions, fer cryin' out loud.
> 
> Anyway, Billy is now mostly a happy house cat but I still have concerns. 
> He eats well, acts normal, but isn't gaining any weight back. I'm 
> thinking about those elevated kidney levels and I know cats can hide 
> being sick for a long time,  but I just can't bring myself to take him 
> back in.  I thought the horses were expensive, but...damn.
> 
> Cyndi in AZ
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index