- Joined
- Aug 26, 2018
- Messages
- 20
- Purraise
- 10
Hi all,
Sadly, my first post on the forums is about the health of my little man Scottie. Scottie had a rough life before I adopted him. At some point along the way, he had injuries to his ears which led to him having curled ears, a scar at the base of his tail which has given him a bald spot, and his previous owner died and he had to be surrendered to the Humane Society. I don't know his exact age, but he's at least 8 and I've had him for a year.
I'm guessing because of how his life has gone he developed separation anxiety. I live alone and sometimes have to travel for work for a day or two, so he would be in the apartment alone (2 bedroom so plenty of room) and I'd come back to pee on the bed or couch even though I cleaned the box before I left and would have someone come feed him the second day I was gone.
Anyway, this is important because this led to a few things. He is very friendly with cats and about 4 months ago I adopted Zelda thinking he needed a presence when I was gone. After a week or so, they got along. Not super best friends, but they will sleep like a foot from each other with me on the bed.
Anyway, this month I had really long work days, had to travel, and did a horrible job cleaning the litter. Scottie peed outside the box twice, so I thought it was the separation anxiety + being a bad cat dad, but then I noticed he had been drinking less water and eating less food than normal. I thought he might have a UTI which could contribute to both.
I took him in for what I thought might be a UTI and the vet was immediately concerned about weight loss and wanted to do a full work up. He had lost nearly 2 pounds since he last came in (8 months or so). I'm not sure how quickly that had happened, but I knew he had been gradually losing SOME weight when I got Zelda because Zelda would eat his left overs (Scottie is a grazer).
More than $400 dollars for xrays and complete blood work and the vet told me his blood work was all fine and no UTI, but he had a lot of fluid up in his abdomen that obscured the organs there. She said it was probably cancer or FIP and that my next step was to pay another 400 for an ultrasound which would probably confirm either. She said I could either do than ultrasound or nothing and that he would probably decline rapidly. When I was silent because of the shock (she had spent 10 minutes telling me his blood work results one by one showing no issue, then BAM cancer or FIP are probably it) she said they could examine the fluids in his belly but that would probably not show anything.
I apologize that this is so long, but I am coming to my question. I haven't talked to that vet since. I have a vet tech friend who was hanging out with me the day before and whom got to see Scottie. I asked her what she thought and she asked if the vet had recommended appetite stimulates, diet changes or any meds to reduce fluids or examining the fluids themselves. The vet didn't mention any of that other than the fluid test which she immediately dismissed, I didn't even know they were options to be honest.
I changed his diet to Blue Buffalo wet food from Fancy Feast wet food and he immediately began eating that and drinking about as much water as he usually does. He's been on BB wet food for the past 3 days and its like his appetite is back. Its hard to gauge his energy levels because he was always a lazy cat, but he grooms himself and sleeps in his favorite spots. I can't really afford another $440 test right now, but should I ask for the vet about the other options or even for a second vet to look at his results?
Sadly, my first post on the forums is about the health of my little man Scottie. Scottie had a rough life before I adopted him. At some point along the way, he had injuries to his ears which led to him having curled ears, a scar at the base of his tail which has given him a bald spot, and his previous owner died and he had to be surrendered to the Humane Society. I don't know his exact age, but he's at least 8 and I've had him for a year.
I'm guessing because of how his life has gone he developed separation anxiety. I live alone and sometimes have to travel for work for a day or two, so he would be in the apartment alone (2 bedroom so plenty of room) and I'd come back to pee on the bed or couch even though I cleaned the box before I left and would have someone come feed him the second day I was gone.
Anyway, this is important because this led to a few things. He is very friendly with cats and about 4 months ago I adopted Zelda thinking he needed a presence when I was gone. After a week or so, they got along. Not super best friends, but they will sleep like a foot from each other with me on the bed.
Anyway, this month I had really long work days, had to travel, and did a horrible job cleaning the litter. Scottie peed outside the box twice, so I thought it was the separation anxiety + being a bad cat dad, but then I noticed he had been drinking less water and eating less food than normal. I thought he might have a UTI which could contribute to both.
I took him in for what I thought might be a UTI and the vet was immediately concerned about weight loss and wanted to do a full work up. He had lost nearly 2 pounds since he last came in (8 months or so). I'm not sure how quickly that had happened, but I knew he had been gradually losing SOME weight when I got Zelda because Zelda would eat his left overs (Scottie is a grazer).
More than $400 dollars for xrays and complete blood work and the vet told me his blood work was all fine and no UTI, but he had a lot of fluid up in his abdomen that obscured the organs there. She said it was probably cancer or FIP and that my next step was to pay another 400 for an ultrasound which would probably confirm either. She said I could either do than ultrasound or nothing and that he would probably decline rapidly. When I was silent because of the shock (she had spent 10 minutes telling me his blood work results one by one showing no issue, then BAM cancer or FIP are probably it) she said they could examine the fluids in his belly but that would probably not show anything.
I apologize that this is so long, but I am coming to my question. I haven't talked to that vet since. I have a vet tech friend who was hanging out with me the day before and whom got to see Scottie. I asked her what she thought and she asked if the vet had recommended appetite stimulates, diet changes or any meds to reduce fluids or examining the fluids themselves. The vet didn't mention any of that other than the fluid test which she immediately dismissed, I didn't even know they were options to be honest.
I changed his diet to Blue Buffalo wet food from Fancy Feast wet food and he immediately began eating that and drinking about as much water as he usually does. He's been on BB wet food for the past 3 days and its like his appetite is back. Its hard to gauge his energy levels because he was always a lazy cat, but he grooms himself and sleeps in his favorite spots. I can't really afford another $440 test right now, but should I ask for the vet about the other options or even for a second vet to look at his results?
