Zoey was put to sleep last night. I will not post details here, as I know they belong at the Rainbow Bridge.
However, through my experiences in the last 4 weeks, I have learned one thing. Vets do not know everything. I am not saying not to go to a vet. I am not saying not to take their advice.
I am saying to do your research. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to get a second, third, or even fourth opinion if you don't think your vet is trying everything. And don't be intimidated by the authority of those in the white coats. Blaise suggested a thread on intimidation by authority when discussing metacam, and I thought I'd start that thread.
The first time I took Zoey to the vet, he said he thought maybe she was going into heat. I had never had a cat, but thought it was a little strange that she was hiding during heat. The next day, she woke up and was barely able to walk.
I had heard horrible things about Metacam was worried about the possible side effects for a kitten who was so sick and dehydrated, but the vet scoffed at my fears. I listened, because I trusted his professional judgement and he said it was either that, or nothing at all. I didn't want her to be in pain. Although she never showed any of the negative side effects, I would have felt much better if she weren't on Metacam. And, I KNEW there were alternatives. But, I didn't want to rock the boat and tick off my vet, so I gave it to her.
When the vet said he was going to stop her antibiotics, it made no sense to me. Call it mother's instinct or just plain common sense, but I KNEW that Zoey, who had an astronomically high white blood cell count in her last blood work, should have stayed on antibiotics, at least until we got new blood work done to see her white blood cell count was. I truly believe that taking her off the antibiotics is what killed her. She went downhill too quickly and by the time we could get her back on the antibiotics, she was too far gone. She had been fighting too long.
Finally, I KNEW my vet was writing Zoey off as an FIP kitty. I KNEW that he wasn't treating her the same as he would if she had a negative coronavirus test. And I KNEW her blood results didn't indicate FIP. I KNEW we were missing something. And I KNEW that the vet was annoyed with me after me questioning him on the use of metacam. However, we had been to 3 in town vets (the one who has been treating Zoey was the 3rd, I did not like #1 and I didn't like the clinic of #2) and 2 emergency vets, and I started to think it was just me. I now wish I had taken Zoey to another vet. One with fresh eyes to look at her most recent blood work.
Perhaps others have stories about how they didn't "trust their gut" and ended up with difficulties. Or maybe those who did and had success with new vets or standing up to their vet.
There are lots of great vets, and I'm not saying that my vet was a bad vet. But, they are people and they do not know everything. They see your cat for a few minutes and are expected to make a diagnosis. You see your cat 24 hours a day and KNOW them. If your cat is sick, that is likely the only sick animal you are taking care of and researching. Your vet sees many animals in a day, of various species. Take your knowledge with you to your vet and make them listen (they may not agree, but they should at least listen). If they will not listen, find another vet who will listen.
to all those who are helping sick kittens.
However, through my experiences in the last 4 weeks, I have learned one thing. Vets do not know everything. I am not saying not to go to a vet. I am not saying not to take their advice.
I am saying to do your research. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to get a second, third, or even fourth opinion if you don't think your vet is trying everything. And don't be intimidated by the authority of those in the white coats. Blaise suggested a thread on intimidation by authority when discussing metacam, and I thought I'd start that thread.
The first time I took Zoey to the vet, he said he thought maybe she was going into heat. I had never had a cat, but thought it was a little strange that she was hiding during heat. The next day, she woke up and was barely able to walk.
I had heard horrible things about Metacam was worried about the possible side effects for a kitten who was so sick and dehydrated, but the vet scoffed at my fears. I listened, because I trusted his professional judgement and he said it was either that, or nothing at all. I didn't want her to be in pain. Although she never showed any of the negative side effects, I would have felt much better if she weren't on Metacam. And, I KNEW there were alternatives. But, I didn't want to rock the boat and tick off my vet, so I gave it to her.
When the vet said he was going to stop her antibiotics, it made no sense to me. Call it mother's instinct or just plain common sense, but I KNEW that Zoey, who had an astronomically high white blood cell count in her last blood work, should have stayed on antibiotics, at least until we got new blood work done to see her white blood cell count was. I truly believe that taking her off the antibiotics is what killed her. She went downhill too quickly and by the time we could get her back on the antibiotics, she was too far gone. She had been fighting too long.
Finally, I KNEW my vet was writing Zoey off as an FIP kitty. I KNEW that he wasn't treating her the same as he would if she had a negative coronavirus test. And I KNEW her blood results didn't indicate FIP. I KNEW we were missing something. And I KNEW that the vet was annoyed with me after me questioning him on the use of metacam. However, we had been to 3 in town vets (the one who has been treating Zoey was the 3rd, I did not like #1 and I didn't like the clinic of #2) and 2 emergency vets, and I started to think it was just me. I now wish I had taken Zoey to another vet. One with fresh eyes to look at her most recent blood work.
Perhaps others have stories about how they didn't "trust their gut" and ended up with difficulties. Or maybe those who did and had success with new vets or standing up to their vet.
There are lots of great vets, and I'm not saying that my vet was a bad vet. But, they are people and they do not know everything. They see your cat for a few minutes and are expected to make a diagnosis. You see your cat 24 hours a day and KNOW them. If your cat is sick, that is likely the only sick animal you are taking care of and researching. Your vet sees many animals in a day, of various species. Take your knowledge with you to your vet and make them listen (they may not agree, but they should at least listen). If they will not listen, find another vet who will listen.
to all those who are helping sick kittens.