My cat's full of sh!t & I have the pictures to prove it.

[theGinsue]

Before any of you'z wise guyz scream out "this thread is worthless without pics", I have to tell you that it just ain't gonna happen.

So about a week and a half ago my male cat (my "little buddy") was acting a bit peculiar but by the next day he was fine again.

Then, on Friday, he was back at it - skulking around, acting timid, etc. My wife and I took him to the vet where they ran tests and determined he was a bit de-hydrated, but otherwise fine. We were careful to tell them he has has 2 instances where he was in the Pet ER with SEVERE constipation. They chose to disregard this information. Just in case he was developing an infection, they gave him a shot of an anti-biotic and provided us with amoxicillin to give to him and they also gave him a quick IV to push some fluids into him. Two hours and more than $200 later, they sent us home with him proclaiming there was nothing to worry about.

So today he had been hiding (unlike this fella) and when I could find him he skulked and cried a few times and generally acted like he was really sick. So, being the loving pet owner that I am, I took him to the Pet ER this evening (where he remains for the night as, much like Congress, he needs an enema).

The Pet ER listened to his symptoms and history as I described them, gave him a quick physical, then determined they needed to get a urine sample to check for a UTI and get a couple of x-rays. The urine test was clean, but the x-rays revealed that his colon is completely filled with feces. THIS IS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM - severe constapation - again. They informed me that if we had waited 2 more days it could have become life threatening. I had to sign/approve the estimate for almost $700 for his treatment. This is more than double what I would have paid @ his regular vet for the same treatment, if only my regular vet had just x-rayed him and actually listened when I provided his history. In fact, most of the $200+ I paid on Friday @ the regular vet was for treatment for issues he really didn't have.

So, now here I sit almost $900 poorer than I was when I got off work Friday.

Those of you who are just dog people and can't stand cats won't understand, but this little guy is my buddy. He greets me whenever I come home - even after a trip to the store - by stretching up my leg and wanting me to pick him up. He plays fetch. He drops and plays dead when I make a sound like I shot him. He even flushes the toilet because he like to watch the water swirl. In many ways, this cat thinks he's a dog.

With all of that I still really hate vet bills, but whats a fella gonna do?

[mx'r]

Is that something that Castor Oil would fix?

[theGinsue]

Naw. We discussed that with the ER vet. She said that it isn't safe for cats and neither is mineral oil like you can give to horses.

We have to change the dry cat food we feed him, water it down (yea, mushing cat food - he'll love that. Not.), and also buy and feed him this perscription stuff that greases up the intestines/colon. Of course, it'll cost a hell of a lot more that caster oil would. We've already been to the store to buy him the different dry cat food (vet recommended against a diet of soley wet food). We paid as much for a 7lb bag of this stuff as we usually spend on a 25ls bag of his regular stuff.

I think my cat has joined my wife and kids in thier misson to suck up every dollar of discretionary funds (translated gun and hunting money) I have.

[opie011]

Wow that's crazy. I understand as I have a cat that got very ill once and ended up costing me $2k. I have dogs and cats and they're all my buddies so I take care of them when needed.

Glad your cat made it thru that sh!t storm

[Irving]

You should for sure complain to your regular vet.

[scratchy]

Thank you for showing restraint on pics of a rocket propelled cat.

[2ndChildhood]

My budget doesn't have room in it for fixing up us humans much less the pets. When the wife wanted a dog, we made an agreement what our dollar limit would be for medical expenses because otherwise she would bankrupt us for a dog if it got sick.

[BPTactical]

I feel your pain Ginsue. Last summer one of our guys (we have 4) was acting punky and totally unlike himself, isolating himself and yowling. The wife noticed he had a really tight stomach and was just miserable. Now naturally this was on a Saturday afternoon which mean the only vet open was the Emergency clinic. I am at work so the Mrs carts him off to the ER.
Blocked urinary tract due to bladder stones-they had to do emergency surgery to remove them to the tune of 1400.00.
Ouch! Seems like too much to spend on a cat but what kind of a price do you put on a family member?

You are on the money as far as diet. Dry foods are generally a bad thing for a cat. There is too much ash and useless filler in them and it can cause problems with the poop tube system as well.

[Bailey Guns]

Good for you for taking care of your cat. You did what you needed to do for a friend.

A lot of people don't understand why we: 1) rescue so many dogs, and 2) spend so much money on vet bills for them.

We rescued a deaf JRT. A few months after that we noticed his eyes looked funny. Took him to a doggie ophthalmologist (yes, there are DVMs who specialize in this) who said he had a life-threatening eye condition where the lens separates from whatever it's attached to. At best it causes blindness, at worst it can be fatal if not treated.

Jokingly, I suggested we let the deaf dog go blind and rename him "Helen".

Anyway, we opted for the surgery to the tune of $3k. That was about 4 years ago and he's been fine since.

We've spent about $2500 just this year on routine vet bills and a few emergency visits. Yes, the emergencies ALWAYS happen between 1700 on Fri and 0800 on Mon. Emergency vet clinics love us.

[KevDen2005]

I just wanted to be that guy....