puzzling cat behavior- please respond

I have had my cat for over 10 years, probably close to 15 years. When I got my cat, he was full grown, declawed and fixed. His house burned down, and he was without a home. Needless to say, he has had a vet filled past. He had a growth on his face, which had to be removed for $1500. He has had "hyper thyroid" and had to take special pills, after a second opinion, the new vet said new cat food would do. Cat food was exteremly expensive so we switched to Science Diet by recommendation.

Smokey has been eating Science Diet for close to 3 years. Recently, in the last year, he makes these high pitch meows that sound like he is being attacked by an inner demon. Does it ALL day long as if to be practicing to be in the opera. Regardless, he has been throwing up lately on a regular basis, at least 1-3x a week.

In the last 6 months, he has now began to have problems with his right eye. First, his eye wouldnt open. The vet told me to put in some medicated drops. Which we have done... now his eye has gone from being closed to open too much. He now has a ooze coming out of his eye, which is green and almost looks like it is bloody (I know this is so gross). So, the ooze falls out of his eye every 12 hours and then builds up again. The vet has said he needs a "face lift" because of his old age. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That will cost $1500.

The cat, besides for throwing up and the eye drama, seems fine to me. Full of personality. Exteremly loving. So I ask.... has anyone experienced the same situation, similar? Recommendations?

I can't imagine putting another $1500+ into my cat who is so old...

I too have a hyperthyroid kitty. He has had a problem with sneezing, and after a year, a specialist determined that he may have a bone infection deep in his nose. He has been on antibiotics to treat the infection, but a few days ago he started getting green eye goop.

Have you had a blood test done recently to check your kitty's thyroid levels? The vomiting and the excessive meowing are signs that his thyroid may be out of whack and need to be adjusted.

I've never heard of a cat having a face lift before. Spot had a rhinoscopy (which was nearly in that price range) when we were trying to figure out what was causing his sneezing and one-sided nasal discharge, but I can't imagine doing a face lift on a cat.

You may want to get a second opinion from a different vet. Since the eye gunk is green, it sounds like it could be a bacterial infection that could be treated with antibiotics. The vomiting may be a sign of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) which can often be helped by a change in diet or the addition of a medication. Again, I would suggest that you have the thyroid checked (request a Free T4 as it can be more accurate) because of the meowing.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Wow...
To my knowledge, true hyperthyroid cannot be corrected with a diet change. It either requires ongoing medication, or surgery or radioiodine treatment to resolve. If your cat has hyperthyroid problems that are not being treated, that can explain strange behavior.

I strongly suggest getting your cat to a different vet for a second opinion and getting him a complete senior checkup, including a senior blood test profile.

A good vet should include you in the treatment process, explaining to you what he or she thinks may be going on with your cat, including the eye problem, what testing and treatment your pet needs, and why, and not give you something vague about a 'face lift' because of 'age'. Good grief!

This link (click here) has a list of feline specialists - click on the "find an AAFP doctor" icon to find a specialist in your area.

I hope you can get him some good treatment soon - he sounds like a sweetheart.

ps
Also, if you have financial concerns about cost vs. benefit to your cat, be frank with the vet and explain that to him. It will help if the vet knows if you have financial limits so that you can work out the best treatment plan for your cat within your budget, rather than just having the vet propose something you can't afford and then having you avoid treatment entirely because of the cost. Most vets understand that we're not all independently wealthy and will try to do the what they can within what we can afford, and if you ask will explain what's needed, why, and the cost.

hth