Nose Discharge and 1 Week to Payday

Hello everyone,

My kitten has a nose discharge, which he has had since I got him. Just over a month ago, I took him in for his first vet visit and the vet gave me eye and nose drops. This resolved the problem for a little while, but the stuff is back, on the right side of his face in his nostril. The discharge dries to a brown black colour. I clean it out every day with a cue tip,. but it isn't resolving. I plan to take him into the vet in a week, but I need a remedy in the short term. Here are my questions:

He has a tiny little lesion on his nose from irritation, I assume. Can I put some polysporin or vaseline on this to ease the dryness?

This may be a terrible question, but can I give him diluted over the counter human antibiotic nose drops? Is there anything I can do to get him through the next week?

Jill

Do you really want this hanging over you during Christmas? Is there any way you can get him to the vet now and pay later?

Over the counter human antibiotic nose drops are NOT an option!!!!!!! Put him in the bathroon turn the shower on hot so the bathroom with steam up - that should help. Good luck and get him to the vet asap.

If you have been established with a vet maybe they will let you write a post dated check? Or maybe you can go to a payday loan place? I know in California the Golden State Humane Society has a low cost clinic in Long Beach.

... or a pawn shop. Pawn something in your house, and get it out after you get paid. They like tools, tvs, game systems, jewelry, etc.

I don't think I would even be able to handle having any pets without my emergency credit card. You need to have at all times some way to get to money in an emergency whenever you have dependents of any kind. Maybe you could do the pawn shop in the short term, and a credit card in the long term. If you can't get a credit card, you can put away $20-$30 per month and keep a mini piggy bank for emergencies.

Thank you all for your advice. I've been doing the shower thing, I couldn't keep him out of the bathroom if I tried.

I talked to my vet about getting an appointment and paying by postdated cheque. He wouldn't do it. I phoned another vet in the city today, and talked at length. She told me that the condition is viral (which I knew from a prior diagnosis). I told her the nose discharge is clear, but the crust dries blackish, and she said this is normal for the condition. She said that if it becomes yellow or green, he has an infection and need antibiotics. She advised me to keep the area clean, which I've been doing, and also to put some vaseline on his nose. She said at this point, there wouldn't be any medication that I could give him, and since he is still active, eating and drinking, it sounds like it just needs to run the course. She said I could use saline drops to keep his nose clean. I've set up an appointment for Jan 4 to have him in for a cheque up, but I can take him to an emergency clinic if his condition gets worse.

I asked about the nose drops for humans because several holistic websites I visited suggested using pediatric nose drops diluted with saline for the condition. I had always heard human meds for cats was a big no no, so I thought I'd rely on the folks here for advice.

I do know to keep money set aside for such emergencies, and I have pet health care insurance, but I had another emergency this month. It's been a rough one, but my cat is a priority. I'll hawk whatever I need to if he needs to see a vet urgently, but since he seems healthy otherwise, I will just wait it out.

- Jill

Sounds like I'd be switching to the second vet. Sounds like you are doing the right things.

I dont understand vets now a days. I understand we all have to make a living. I can honestly say if I was a vet I wouldnt be rich. And wouldnt mind one bit as long I was helping someone, 2 legged or four. In my opinion there is something not quite right with a vet who knows there are going to get paid (not just right away) and still refuses to see a sick animal.

Ghibli also has noseboogies- I suppose it's about normal. I just use a wet paper towel and try to clean him up sparingly so he doesn't get the irritated nosey. I will say, it's easier to clean if you can get your kitten to let you get the boogies good and soaked before (otherwise you're in for a losing battle) and also, to wipe the fur at the side/under the nose, where it flaps over, rather than trying to get at the nostril. Really the boogies get stuck to the fur rather than the actual nostril.

Originally Posted by Shawn90801

I dont understand vets now a days. I understand we all have to make a living. I can honestly say if I was a vet I wouldnt be rich. And wouldnt mind one bit as long I was helping someone, 2 legged or four. In my opinion there is something not quite right with a vet who knows there are going to get paid (not just right away) and still refuses to see a sick animal.

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Yeah, you would probably go out of business, and then who would you be able to help?

I work in a vet clinic, so I see the other side of things. How many times we get burned -- thousands upon thousands of dollars. And almost all vets do a bit of charity work to boot! They are not rich by any means, but if we went the billing route with everyone who asked us, we would go under. There have been a lot of people too who come in, and at the end of the visit say, "Oops! we don't have any money. Guess you will have to bill us." 99% of the time, they do not pay... at any rate, every time they don't, there goes my raise, and my quality of living too!

And every time we bill, assuming the person DOES pay, the doctors still have to pay for the supplies used, and the employees they paid during that time, and all this time waiting for payment. We have had our account go into the negative several times from waiting for our accounts receivable, and I am sure we are not the exception. We get hundreds of requests to defer payment, but it is just not a feasible option for vets.

At any rate, I guess I am saying it is not really fair to blame a vet when the client does not have the money to care for thier pets. It is really the responsibility of the owner to have the means to care for their responsibilities -- it is not the clinic's fault if they do not! Any more than it would be a local grocery store's responsibility to give you free food when you run low on grocery money!

<<I am not referring to the original poster here, just this post in question.>>

I can totally sympathize with your (and the vets) position. I know that I have a new kitten and they can't be sure I won't run off without paying. So, I wasn't too upset when they turned me down. The situation was not that bad, and if it had been I would have borrowed some money.

Good news, I got home yesterday and Jakkob was doing great - no new nose boogies. I put some vaseline on his nose, and put some saline in his nose (Which he took much better than the nosedrops from the vet). This morning, he looked great!

- Jill

Originally Posted by turtlecat

Ghibli also has noseboogies- I suppose it's about normal. I just use a wet paper towel and try to clean him up sparingly so he doesn't get the irritated nosey. I will say, it's easier to clean if you can get your kitten to let you get the boogies good and soaked before (otherwise you're in for a losing battle) and also, to wipe the fur at the side/under the nose, where it flaps over, rather than trying to get at the nostril. Really the boogies get stuck to the fur rather than the actual nostril.

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Thanks for the tip. I did notice yesterday when I soaked his nose with saline before I tried to pick off the stuff from the day before that I couldn't get off the fur, he was much happier!

Just passing on a story. While I was at one vet's office with Mike trying to decide the best course of treatment for Tazzy, this girl walked in with a very sick looking cat. She was in her twenties (I would estimate) the girl, not the cat. She had piercings of every type coming from almost her entire face, and a tongue piercing too. She thrust the cat to the girl behind the desk and said it was dying and she wanted them to help the cat. She also told them she had NO money, and they would just have to deal with that fact.

Now, I am no expert on piercings, but aren't they like a couple hundred dollars apiece? Seems to me, if the cat was that important to her, she could have forgone some of the ornaments on her face and tucked the money away for emergency pet visits. But instead, she expected the vets to eat the cost to save her cat because it was important to her. Entirely unfair of her to expect that, and she left without the cat being seen.

Originally Posted by hissy

Just passing on a story. While I was at one vet's office with Mike trying to decide the best course of treatment for Tazzy, this girl walked in with a very sick looking cat. She was in her twenties (I would estimate) the girl, not the cat. She had piercings of every type coming from almost her entire face, and a tongue piercing too. She thrust the cat to the girl behind the desk and said it was dying and she wanted them to help the cat. She also told them she had NO money, and they would just have to deal with that fact.

Now, I am no expert on piercings, but aren't they like a couple hundred dollars apiece? Seems to me, if the cat was that important to her, she could have forgone some of the ornaments on her face and tucked the money away for emergency pet visits. But instead, she expected the vets to eat the cost to save her cat because it was important to her. Entirely unfair of her to expect that, and she left without the cat being seen.

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I'm not sure about that, maybe she had the peircings before the cat?

I thought I was really well prepared when I got Jakkob. I set aside a chunk of money for the vet visits for the first year, and bought all the supplies before I picked him out. I'm not a rich person, I get by, but I did a budget to be sure I could afford the cat and also bought pet health care insurance.

Unfortunately, I fell in love with a sick little kitten, and I didn't realize until I took him for his first vet visit, which ate up most of the money I set aside for treatments. I'm trying very hard to make sure that I can keep my cat healthy and well. You can't always predict everything, and I'm sure there are many good pet owners out there who just wind up on the short end of a payday every once in a while.

Anyway, lesson learned for me. In addition to the pet health, I'm starting a Jakkob account that I'm putting money in for emergencies not covered under the pet health.

After reading these posts, I see two sides here. It's easy to understand how vets feel if they are not being paid and their staff and business are in jeopardy from non-payment of treatments.

On the other hand, people with sick animals need help too.

As for the lady that put aside money before she got her kitty, good for her - she's a responsible pet owner that is just short of funds temporarily.

As for the pierced young woman - I agree that if you have money for piercings, new clothes that probably are totally unnecessary, etc., then you should have money to take care of your animals.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't think the process of owning a pet through to understand it takes money, time and commitment to have the pleasure of a pet. That lady in the vet's office had a point - for that many people not to pay up, that would indicate to me there are a lot of people taking their animals to a vet that should never have owned the animal in the first place. I agree, if I don't have money for food, I don't expect the grocery store to give me free food.

In my opinion, it is called RESPONSIBILITY.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't think the process of owning a pet through to understand it takes money, time and commitment to have the pleasure of a pet. That lady in the vet's office had a point - for that many people not to pay up, that would indicate to me there are a lot of people taking their animals to a vet that should never have owned the animal in the first place. I agree, if I don't have money for food, I don't expect the grocery store to give me free food.

In my opinion, it is called RESPONSIBILITY.

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What a beautiful siamese you have! My Jakkob is part siamese/ part manx.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that for some people, a cat is a pet, and for others, a cat is a family member. The later is true for me. I would never have left him without care if I thought the situation was serious enough to need an emergency vet visit.

Nonetheless, you can plan, plan plan, and inevitably something goes wrong (I'm a prime example)

I don't blame the vet at all for telling me I'd have to wait, since I could.

Originally Posted by hissy

Just passing on a story. While I was at one vet's office with Mike trying to decide the best course of treatment for Tazzy, this girl walked in with a very sick looking cat. She was in her twenties (I would estimate) the girl, not the cat. She had piercings of every type coming from almost her entire face, and a tongue piercing too. She thrust the cat to the girl behind the desk and said it was dying and she wanted them to help the cat. She also told them she had NO money, and they would just have to deal with that fact.

Now, I am no expert on piercings, but aren't they like a couple hundred dollars apiece? Seems to me, if the cat was that important to her, she could have forgone some of the ornaments on her face and tucked the money away for emergency pet visits. But instead, she expected the vets to eat the cost to save her cat because it was important to her. Entirely unfair of her to expect that, and she left without the cat being seen.

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Yeah, we have had several people roll up intheir BMW's, with their huge diamond rings, and claim to be to broke to pay for a neuter, and ask if there are any programs that pay for that out of charity. Who knows? Maybe they went broke paying for all that stuff -- but it is all pawnable/sellable -- and perhaps if they are that broke they have taken on too much to handle and should not be in charge of a dependent in the first place.

At any rate, true, we all run into trouble at one point or another, but I find it mysterious how so many people run into financial trouble all the time... you would not believe me if I told you how many calls we get asking for free services. The old clinic I worked at had an overly-charitable vet, and word got around very quickly. We were getting people left and right showing up with these sick pets and no money. And for her troubles, she was living in a bad neighborhood, yet still struggling to keep her house, she couldn't afford to hire kennel help, so SHE cleaned the kennels -- meaning she came in at 6 am, and did kennels before work, and stayed late after work to clean them again, and she couldn't afford to pay her employees more than $6.50 per hour. It became ridiculous -- she had to start putting her foot down. Once one person starts telling all their broke friends how you give away free services, there are suddenly hundreds of people wanting the same thing.

That's why it frustrates me when people try to make vets out to be heartless for not giving away their services every time someone has a sick pet and no money. We always feel for the pet, but it is just not a feasible option... until you have walked a mile in someone's shoes...

Jillyvn, I am not referring to you here, just continuing a discussion. I am glad to hear your kitty is doing better!