Cat Paralyzed-ish Back End? Vet appt scheduled.

[jentralala]

Here's some pics of my Tybs. One pic of him as a kitten, a recent pic of him helping my mom in the garden (don't worry, it's all fenced and he's always supervised with us), and a pic of him with his brother and sister (Tybs is the seal point on the left laying down). His brother was rehomed to a teacher, but we still have his sister (that wasn't the plan, but she stayed. Hard to get adopted when you brothers are so handsome haha). We originally weren't going to keep any of them, but we decided to keep Tybalt after we lost one of our own cats suddenly to stomach cancer. And Sissy just kind of stuck around, so...haha)

20150309_163611.jpg

• jentralala
• Jul 20, 2015

IMG_0108.JPG

• jentralala
• Jul 20, 2015

IMG_0213.JPG

• jentralala
• Jul 20, 2015

 

[jentralala]

Ooooohkay, back from the pharmacy. He has atenolol and clopridgrel.

So, I don't have much experience with prescription meds. On the bottle, where it says "quantity" is that how many doses you get? The atenolol only has a quantity of 15, that seems reaaaally low if that's true, because he gets a dose 2x a day. And it was $19. $19 a week plus the other one has 90 doses (so 45 days) and was close to $30.

It's just very daunting to look at that as lower middle class. I'll pay for it, of course, there is no other option, but is there any advice for finding medication like that cheaper somewhere else? Is it worth looking to put him on pet insurance, but he has a pre-existing condition?

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

 
Ooooohkay, back from the pharmacy. He has atenolol and clopridgrel.

So, I don't have much experience with prescription meds. On the bottle, where it says "quantity" is that how many doses you get? The atenolol only has a quantity of 15, that seems reaaaally low if that's true, because he gets a dose 2x a day. And it was $19. $19 a week plus the other one has 90 doses (so 45 days) and was close to $30.

It's just very daunting to look at that as lower middle class. I'll pay for it, of course, there is no other option, but is there any advice for finding medication like that cheaper somewhere else? Is it worth looking to put him on pet insurance, but he has a pre-existing condition?

first, i have to say that your tybalt is a gorgeous boy! just gorgeous! of course, i've always been partial to cats with siamese in them -- and my snick is a siamese mix.

could it be that the atenolol in a quantity of 15 doses is a small amount because your vet wants to see how your tybalt reacts to it/how he does on it? i'd call and ask your vet about the 'quantity', just to be sure. i'm pretty sure that means the number of doses, but with medications it's best to be absolutely sure -- so no mistakes are made.

you might look into buying the prescriptions through a Canadian pharmacy, if you're living in the US. there can be lower prices through Canadian pharmacies for some medications, if they ship to the US. but i would wait until you and your vet have your boy on a medication(s) that he does well on and that are effective, before looking into buying options. may i ask -- is there a reason why the medications are being dispensed through a compounding pharmacy? are you having it compounded into a transdermal gel? i have some experience with using a compounding pharmacy.

 

[catpack]

The quantity is now many pills are included in the prescription. This doesn't necessarily mean how many doses there are.

There should be intructions on the bottle as to how much to give (sometimes it's 1/4 a pill, 1/2, or a full) and how many times daily.

So, if the instructions are to give 1/4 of an atenolol twice daily, 15 pills would last you a month.

 

[jentralala]

Sorry for being absent, it's been busy with Tybs and some new foster kitties.

We are using a compounding pharmacy so we can get the medications in liquid form, as he is very...fractious, about medications. So far I'm still the only one brave enough to give him the medicine, haha. He's for sure not a fan, but thank goodness he doesn't hold grudges so we have a nice cuddle afterwards.

Isn't he just the most handsome kitty ever?! He's so stunning, and everyone just fawns over him when they visit. His blue eyes are so striking. And he's not the least bit conceited I'm guessing daddy was a siamese/mix, as momma was a black and white kitty just like his sister. Thanks for all the kind words!

!

Thank you all so much for the help about the medications. I've talked to my vet about doses and how long it will last and at the moment we are on a wait and see basis. So far so good on that front.

However, today I finally got the results of Tybalts blood work (after playing phone tag with the vet for a few days). We did a specific test for an enzyme that shows whether there is heart damage present, and they were very elevated. So that confirms his diagnoses of cardiomyopathy.

Unfortunately, there were also some very unforeseen results. His white blood count was over double what it should be. Since he already had a recent negative feline leukemia test, that was ruled out. Which left pretty much only one thing - cancer. The vet suspects lymphoma, and we will be doing some more testing (another CBC with individual cell analysis by the pathologist). And, of course, the treatment for that is usually steroids/prednisone. Which would be very detrimental to his current heart issues. We have another appointment with the vet soon, but at this point I have no idea what to do or what can even be done with two life threatening diseases. 

He seems oblivious. Still his sweet, chill self. Last night as we were making the bed he had an absolute blast playing under the covers and we had a nice long play session and he was just purring up a storm and trying to shred the blankets. He's such a goof.