Update on Bear

I could cry. I know that Caroline urged me to find a new vet and I didn't...until it was too late. Bear is at the shelter. They took him off all of his meds for Giardia and gave him a few days for his tummy to heal. Now, 3 days with no meds, he has had not one stool since 8am (it is now 5pm). He goes 1-2 times a day now. His bottom is NOT raw or red anymore. It looks "perfect." I feel so stupid! I took him back because I thought he was near death and when all is said and done, I was just too dumb to seek another vet. I am so sad right now - I just can't stop crying. I am not sure if the shelter is going to let me have him back either. I think they think I must have lied of something - because all they did was stop his meds and voila, he is fine. I was following what my vet said to do! I gave him everything in hopes of making HIM better...and I was really just hurting him. I am a horrible cat owner. I can't believe this. It is like a nightmare I just can't seem to wake from!

I AM SO MAD AT MY OLD VET! I will never darken his door again! EVER!

Oh honey, you are not a horrible cat owner, and I am pretty sure the shelter would gladly give him back to you... They will understand you were doing what's bets for him, and you were just following what the vet told you to do... If you love Bear, and if you want to have him back, by all means, I say go back and try
Please don't blame yourself... Many of us had our share of bad vets, myself included... They have a diploma, they have a title, they tell us to trust them... What is left for us to do?
The wonderful thing of all this is that Bear is fine now! Bear is FINE! That is just great!
You see? Maybe something was telling to to take him back to the shelter for some odd reason so he could get better to get back to you
Don't beat yourself up hun, you are not anything of those things you said there; taking him back proved to save his life, and best thing of all, there is still time to go back there and fetch him!

I wonder if it would help to get all the medical records from the vet and take them with you to the shelter - to show them on paper you were just following his instructions - and then swear you're finding another vet immediately?

I feel sure anyone talking with you would realize you were doing everything you thought you should be doing, based on vet advice - but sometimes copies of records and receipts are helpful as well.

If you have the records, the prescriptions, etc., there's no reason they can blame you. And 3 days isn't enough to know just what will happen.

You are not a bad cat meowmy! You went above and beyond for Bear and the medical records show that. I would think that if you gathered all your records and took them to the shelter, they'd let you have him back. Please keep us posted and don't play the woulda-shoulda game!

Oh honey, you CANNOT blame yourself for following the advice of your vet - and the shelter shouldn't either! I know you're beating yourself up about the vet - but you simply can't. As I recall, you did get a 2nd vet opinion, and were about to seek a 3rd! And if I recall correctly, every indication was that the giardia seemed to be a particularly virulent strain - and stopping the meds could have been dangerous. You are not a trained cat health professional sweetie, and your vet records will support the decisions you made (in the eyes of the shelter).

I agree; don't beat yourself up.
You did the best you could with the information you had at the time. You logically, rationally, understandably relied on experts. You made your decisions based on their expertise. Called learning. The Hard Way.

Really, the shelter people can't blame you for following your vets instructions. Most animal welfare people wish more owners would take their pets to vets and get help. But vets, like any doctors, vary in the amount of talent, and experience they have. And everyone makes mistakes.

So, if you want Bear back, I urge you to talk to the shelter adoption manager and explain what happened. You may want to do that soon so they know you want him back and someone else doesn't adopt him. However, they may want to, and maybe should, keep him a week or so longer to make sure his problem is really cleared up.

And I'd wait until your other cats are healthy, too.

You are an especially good meowmy, not a bad one!


Robin

It's not your fault. You trusted this vet and believed you were doing what he said would help your cat. You never had a problem like this with another cat, so you wouldn't know what to expect.

Now that you know about your vet, you need to start looking for another 1. It's not your fault, you didn't know he wasn't any good. A lot of people, myself included, stayed with a vet longer than we should have. Because you trust them, you believe they care about your cat, and are helping them, that's why.

As for the shelter giving you back the cat, I don't know if they will. But why not tell them exactly what happened? Explain the situation to them. I think the fact that you were giving him back so he could be treated and made well again, shows you care about him.

Thank you all for your kind comments. I did not talk to anyone from the shelter today - I am trying not to annoy them. However, I met a woman who runs an ADL in my area and we were chatting about cats and my situation and what happened. She urged me to wait and see how Bear does - it is too early to say, "he is fine." The shelter has not put him back up for adoption again yet, either.

This woman urged me to come look at their cats. She knows the background and the story and told me that she loves to have owners like me adopt their cats. I may go take a peak...but I told her no promises and I am not going to do anything or bring anyone in my home until I am sure Blue and Rex are healed.

This place does things much differently than the shelter where I adopted Bear. You choose the cat, fill out an application, and wait. Then, the woman checks your vet references and approves the app. The animals are vetted when they first get to the facility. Then, they are vetted again when your app is approved. If anything is found to be wrong with the cat, it is kept by the facility and treated. When the cat is well, the facility volunteer drives to your home for a home inspection and delivers the cat to you. I think this is a wonderful way. Sure...it is not "grab and go," but I am so glad this place cares enough for their animals to find them really good homes!

It's a good idea to wait until Blue and Rex are healed, before you bring in another cat. Even if you don't take Bear back, hopefully he makes a full recovery!

I pray that Bear does make a full recovery and goes to a great home if they won't let me have him. He is so beautiful. He is about the only black cat I have ever seen with big GREEN eyes. Most have yellow eyes. I miss him so much! But I know that everything will work out the way it is meant to be in the end. I have faith!

Let us know if he's ok, and you do get to adopt him again. Black cat with green eyes, sounds beautiful. I once saw a black cat with blue eyes in a petstore, but that was years ago, and I didn't even bother begging my mother for him, I already knew the answer would be "no".

He was very beautiful. I bet a black cat with blue eyes would be able the most rare thing! I have never seen one with that color eyes!

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

He was very beautiful.

I bet a black cat with blue eyes would be able the most rare thing! I have never seen one with that color eyes!

Click to expand...

I never saw 1 like that again! Maybe as a kittens, but their blue eyes changed.