Heart Murmurs and Oral Surgery: $1000 for a Dead Cat?

bunkybookitty

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My geriatric cat Scooter and I have a serious dilemma, and it mostly involves her teeth. Sweet little Scoots has been my best friend for almost 15 years now. About August of last year I finally moved into a pet-friendly apartment, so I was able to have her come live with me. My mom has been taking care of her since I moved out, and she’s the kind of individual that doesn't really believe in veterinary care. I don’t blame her because Scooter, although her back legs are misshapen, has always been healthy.

A couple days after moving her in, I took her to the vet for a check-up since her face looked swollen and found out she has a heart murmur and a serious mouth infection, the latter being common in older cats. The vet mentioned surgery, but made it sound like some antibiotics would fix the problem. Once the prescription was used up she seemed fine: friendlier, healthier, eating fine, swelling gone and all that.

I moved again, and took her to a different vet for a follow-up. This time the doctor seemed incredibly concerned and mentioned that at this point her mouth would only get worse, antibiotics alone can’t solve the problem, and since Scooter has a heart murmur she’s at serious risk of dying during surgery. I’m sure the doc had to stress this for liability reasons, but it scared the bejeezus out of me. I just noticed today that a different part of her face is swollen and I’m seriously panicking.

So right now I’m stuck between paying over $1000 for a surgery that might kill my cat, letting her suffer and die, or putting her down. No vet insurance covers pre-existing conditions, but my mom has offered to help me pay for medical care.  I was considering asking the vet to give me a painkiller and antibiotic prescription so at least Scooter won't be in pain and can function. I have no idea what to do.

tl,dr: Has anyone else’s cat gotten oral surgery with a heart murmur? What can I do to make the remainder of Scooter’s life most comfortable? I really need some advice. Thank you!
 

kacy

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Poor girl. :( I've been in a similar situation, but with a toy poodle who has since passed. (His passing was unrelated!) He had a fairly serious heart murmur, but after some pre-surgery blood work and imaging, he got the go-ahead and had the majority of his teeth pulled with no issue. It improved his quality of life immensely. Do you know what grade her heart murmur is? (If memory serves, I believe they're graded on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the most severe.) 
 
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bunkybookitty

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I'm so sorry to hear about your poodle. My friend has one right now who's experiencing a lot of health issues. I didn't know they have different grades for heart murmurs! Neither vet gave me a number, although both made it sound like it's really mild especially considering they recommended surgery. I'm just so afraid to take the risk since she's so tiny. Scooter is a bit bigger than a toy poodle though, so that actually puts me at ease a little. Thank you!!
 

white shadow

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Hi bunkybookitty and welcome to the forum !

IF I were to suggest dealing with a top-of-the-line Vet hospital....one that is located in Fort Collins......would that be "workable" for you ?

(Those of us who are heavily involved in cat forums like this one - who "have been around the block" - have learned early on that.....there are Vets, and then, there are competent feline Veterinarians......and....that the differences between the two "types" can mean the difference between life and death for our little ones. That's what's behind my question above.)
 

rogue22912

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I have to second White Shadow about going to the vet hospital/school in Fort Collins. We use to have a dog that liver functions were off the charts and no vet wanted to neuter him because of that and they suggested Fort Collins and everything went off without a hitch there. They do amazing work. 
 
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bunkybookitty

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Sorry for a late reply! I didn't realize I had email notifications turned off. XD

FoCo huh? I have a friend who lives up there, I might be able to make that work. My only issues would probably be driving my cat since she hates car rides and the medical costs. I'm looking into getting CareCredit, but I don't think my score will be good enough. What are some of the names of these vet hospitals? Thank you both for the feedback!
 

rogue22912

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It the college up there. They are one of the nation's top veterinary school. I forgot what the name of the college is maybe White Shadow knows. As for the car ride you can always get the felway spray and spray some in the kennel, it always helped my cat when we had to take a car ride
 
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bunkybookitty

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So after much deliberation and research, my mom is going to help me try to afford surgery. Now the problem is finding time off work to get up to Fort Collins! Thank you all so much for you assistance and advice! Scooter seems to be doing better now. I'm getting her occasional check-ups to make sure her mouth isn't getting worse and to make sure she doesn't need antibiotics.
 

lilin

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Glad to hear the good news!

A murmur is not a deal-killer for surgery, or even necessarily terribly high-risk. It depends on the grade and the cause. Lots of murmurs are "functional," or minor enough that a good anesthesiologist should be able to handle it just fine.

My old kitty also acquired a murmur as she aged, but it wasn't her murmur that made her unsuitable for being put under. It was her liver issues. If it had just been her murmur, she would have been fine.

I'm sure they will take very good care of your Scooter and be able to tell you if he's suitable for surgery. In many older cats, mild murmurs are common and relatively benign, so hopefully a skilled vet will have no problem with it. :)
 
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